Life in Japan - Pictures galore !! Arcades, Temples, Rainy days, etc

Oh yeah, those are so funny. I mean, these people look like right dicks. It's a beautiful sunny day and they have their arms covered with sleves, log legged pants, stupid bee keeper type masks and then a parasol. And there's me walking around in shorts and T-Shirt.

 

Nice shots GP.

Heh. I have a Ph.D in the subject (particulate matter).

Many breathing issues associated with cities in general, are not due to particulate matter (such as PM2.5). The masks the Japanese wear do little to reduce PM2.5 as the particles are so small. Most people are not wearing proper PM2.5 equipment. But, that doesn't stop the advertising industry (as GP has said, scare tactics work the best).

Seasonal breathing issues are more to do with high levels of ozone gas (which only a gas mask could stop). Tokyo has relatively low particulate matter concentrations, but has super high ozone concentrations. This can result in asthma, skin irritations... etc.

Hardly any dust makes it over to Japan from the Gobi, in relative terms. Same can be said for pollution from China. Only a couple of months ago, Tokyo was sitting in more particulate filth than Beijing – it was simply due to basically zero wind around Tokyo for a couple of days, so all of the muck was stuck.

Of course, however, nothing makes the Japanese press tick like a bit of anti-China sentiment.

 

Weeaboos everywhere

 

I think most people in this thread live in Japan, granted Martin and Yakumo are immigrants but neither particularly conjure up weeaboo images when I imagine them.

 

Heh, yeah, I actually discussed this with my girlfriend last night (she is a respiratory doctor). It is purely paranoia about spreading the flu. Apparently the masks became common after the H1N1 scare back in 2009. Despite the fact that these masks do absolutely nothing to prevent the spread of viruses, TV programs were still saying that people should wear them, and people did. Nothing to do with particulate matter, as I had assumed.

The air quality this year isn't nearly as bad as it was last year. Last year, there were days where they recommended people stay inside (the air had the smell of smoke, all of the pollution/dust was floating in from China).

 

Indeed. I'm anything but a weeaboo (stupid bloody word too). I have no desire to be Japanese. I complain about everything, hate Japanese TV and so on. I just live here with my family. That's how my life panned out. Yep, I like gaming and older anime (not that I watch much these days) but that doesn't make me or Martian ir GaijinPunch weeaboos.

 

Ha yeah, no kidding. I don't know how anyone who has recently posted in this thread could be considered a "weeaboo". My girlfriend is Japanese and lives in Japan, and that is why I am in Japan right now. If not for that, there is no reason why I would go here. Really, the big draw for me in Japan is the amazing landscape. Lush forests and volcanoes are everywhere, this is not something that I got when I lived in Australia and Canada.

And yeah, Japanese TV is fucking terrible. Every show has the same formula: panel of people discussing some bullshit, then showing some clip with a focus on one of the panel members to see their reaction. Every show has a component that involves food. You'd wonder why the Japanese aren't morbidly obese with the media's obsession on food. I don't watch anime, and I have only seen one anime on TV since I got here (some tennis anime). In fact, I have seen more shows where they go to foreign anime conventions than actual anime shows.

 

They've been around way, way longer than that. They were here when I first came (to Japan, not in general) in 1996. Of course, public scares do mean more masks and DEFINITELY more of the hand sanitizer sold. The latter I'm totally for, mainly b/c your hands get dirty as fucking touching... well... everything. I remember when SARS happened way back when, there was a visible change. The cleaning lady in the building I worked at gave the toilets a NASA grade scrub every hour.

 

Thank you so much. At last someone else who understands the pain of Japanese TV. And do you know what? I've been here 15 or 16 years and the style hasn't changed at all in all that time.

 

cruising in Shibuya

 

I recommend dropping by Fushimi Inari, if you visit Kyoto.

Red Gates of Fushimi Inari by martindesu, on Flickr

Rust by martindesu, on Flickr

Red & Shadow by martindesu, on Flickr

竹 by martindesu, on Flickr

伏見稲荷大社 by martindesu, on Flickr

ねこ by martindesu, on Flickr

 

Thank you!

I'd say it's a little extreme perhaps...
Full exif info is available on the Flickr photo page itself; I'm not sure if it can be included as an auto footer/caption... it's embedded info at any rate.

 

Yeah, as Martin says, just taking a look at the Flickr exif will tell you everything from the lens, aperture, focal length, colour mode, camera mode and so on. Exif are pretty cool files.

 

Yeah, as Martin says, just taking a look at the Flickr exif will tell you everything from the lens, aperture, focal length, colour mode, camera mode and so on. Exif are pretty cool files.

Fantastic shots as always, Martin.

 

That Disney store looks fantastic, I really shoud visit Japan one day

 

Cheers

Please don't come all the way to Japan to see a Disney Store...

 

wunderfull shots! I start dreaming any time when i see such lovely places.

@martin: is it possible to get a picture in high-res for desktop bg? (asking for the last one with the cat)

 

You guys have fun checking the EXIF data on my photos.
It's not regular but I do forget which camera/lens I took mine with from time to time.