Are the pictures blur?

It seems that quite a few of the pictures on my posts to Japan are blur. They were resized using F-spot -- the gnome photo management software. Looks like they are automatically saved with low jpeg quality. So much for saving time from using Photoshop's batch mode.

After some searching on the web, it seems that I missed the resize functionality in Picasa. While not as convenient as F-spot (that can resize and upload in one step), it allows you to control the jpeg quality of the resized files. I will probably be trying this out and replacing some pictures, so check back if you see a post with the pictures missing -- I am probably editing the post.

*** UPDATE ***
Indeed, F-spot's resize on upload sucks. I am updating each and every post's images with the Picasa resized ones -- well not all, the more scenic ones... grrr...

*** UPDATE 2***
Re-resized, uploaded and updated most of the blur pictures for the Japan trip. Now that took long...

Central Japan Day 3 - Shirakawa-gō

View the first post in this series here.
View the previous post in this series here.

02 June 2008

After leaving Kenroku-en, our tour coach took us up a winding road that eventually led to Shirakawa-gō (白川郷, "White River Old-District"), one of the historical villages and UNESCO World Heritage sites. The village is supposed to be famous for the straw thatched roof architectural style called gasshō-zukuri. The roof is slanted at a steep angle to withstand the heavy snowfall during winter. These country houses mostly have padi or vegetable plots right beside them that complete the serenity of the scene.

Shirakawa-gō was also featured in a murder-mystery anime, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (ひぐらしのなく頃に, When Cicadas Cry), that once was suspended for a few weeks due to a teenager actually stabbing her father with a murder weapon featured in it. Somehow many of the sights on this trip have something to do with dying...

First glimpse of one of the houses from the bus


A row of houses that are used as souvenir shops near the tourist bus area that is across the river from the main village


Our guide told us that the toilet was built at the cost of 3 million (my guess is USD) as they had to pump water from the mountains


A sturdy looking suspension bridge connects the tourist bus parking lots to the actual village across the river. It may be sturdy but it still sways.


Are these bears? It turns out they're racoon dogs called Tanuki


The houses may be old-architectural in style but the road they are beside is as modern as can be complete with cars


By looking at the colour of the roof one can tell which parts were recently thatched


An example of a panorama of this town, the straw thatched roofs houses are interleaved with more modern houses


A temple (probably Buddhist) with its bell


The actual temple building with its reflection on a padi field



Padi fields in every back yard


Panorama that includes a stretch of straw thatched roof houses


Re-thatching in progress, it looks like hard work


Close-up of roof texture


Some of these are shops, others are actual homes


Water from the mountain is so cold, it is used to cool drinks


They have drain fish (long kang hie) here too... just that they are Koi...


BBQ rice cakes, tastes sweet with the char-grilled flavour



Somehow the serenity and the mountains makes me feel like becoming a farmer here, maybe someone should open a research lab here


A Shinto shrine on our way back across the bridge


Back across the bridge, although the river is a trickle, the banks give away its possible size


Moving off

Much to our dismay, all we had in this scenic spot was a mere 30 minutes. For some strange reason we were hurrying to Takayama so that some of the others in the tour could go to a 100 YEN shop -- something I found to be rather nonsensical. Reluctantly we left Shirakawa-gō. I probably will not be here again. However all is not lost as Takayama is an excellent old town to be covered on foot. While the others were visiting a 100 YEN shop, the group of us went off on foot to the oldest building in the town, Hida-Kokubunji Temple. But that is for the next post...

View the next related post here.

Return to the trip index here.

Central Japan Day 3 - Kanazawa - Kenroku-en

View the first post in this series here.
View the previous post in this series here.

Return to the trip index here.

02 June 2008

Leaving the dreary morning and morbid Tōjinbō behind, our coach was back on the road towards our lunch destination at Kenroku-en (兼六園, Six Attributes Garden), one of the three great gardens of Japan. But before that we stopped by a ceramics/pottery shop and more interestingly, a large dessert shop full of samples!

One more of 'em serene looking country houses with Tang Dynasty styled roof


Ah! Pottery... Most people came here to buy a special ceramic device that cooks rice better when placed in the rice cooker


The fortune cats, "Don't buy the one with two hands up!", says my guide, "it means it's given up!"


Teapots


Probably the most expensive item here, ¥8,400,000! That's right it's about USD 84,000!



Cute looking figures


Now if you look carefully you will notice there are only 7 immortals instead of 8! The scholar is missing.


Be careful! Some of them have already given up!


We walked outside to enjoy some fresh air and check up on the drinks in the vending machines


"This coffee is dripped one by one person by one!", so it says on the can


Arriving at the dessert castle, Kagahan


Kagahan on one side, and a cultural village on the other


All desserts made in-house


The dessert machine in action


There's lots of variety, a pity they are perishable


There's lots of Sake and Sochu too


A dome stucture on the way to Kenroku-en, perhaps a storage facility for grain

Finally, after savouring the sweet desserts, we arrived on a hill in Kanazawa where Kenroku-en is located. This garden was named "Six Attributes Garden" as it is supposed to possess the six principles of a good garden as extolled in the "Chronicles of the Famous Luoyang Gardens" (洛陽名園記), a book by the Chinese poet Li Gefei (李格非) [1]. Originally concepted in about 1620 CE, it was gradually improved by the Maeda clan through till around 1840.

They charge to enter this garden


Here's what looks like a souvenir shop but it actually contains a restaurant in the lower levels (it is built on the hill slope)


This is what my guide refers to as an "Emperor's Lunch"


Notice the gold on the beancurd, it's edible, or so they told us


After lunch we quickly went to walk around this huge garden


First attribute -- spaciousness. The two legged stone lantern is sort of an icon for this garden


Second attribute -- panoramas



Most of the trees here look like huge version of what one normally sees in the miniature bonsai (penzai, 盆栽) plants


Third attribute -- artifice


Beautiful flowers are everywhere


Fourth attribute -- antiquity


Fifth attribute -- waterways


It is funny how trees grow in ways that cannot support themselves

Statue of Prince Yamato Takeru, a mythological hero. Erected to commemorate the Satsuma Rebellion against the Meiji government of which the office of the head of state (i.e. the Emperor) is still present today. The Last Samurai is probably based loosely on this rebellion.

The sixth attribute -- seclusion


The tortoise stone


Panorama from other side of large pond


There are lots of Koi in these waters, some prettier than others


On our way out. Looks like this garden is off limits to pets


Nicely shaped round bushes

Unfortunately, we did not have enough time to visit more of the garden. This seems to be the main problem with an organised tour -- Kenroku-en houses much more interesting sights and scenic spots than just the large pond that we circled. Reluctantly, we hit the mountain road that will gradually take us to 1000m above sea level at tonight's destination, Takayama. But right before that, our coach will take us to one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the historical village of Shirakawa-gō (白川郷, "White River Old-District").

View the next related post here.

Return to the trip index here.