Being one of the crowd at Ginko Avenue (November 2012)

I can't help but love the Japanese love of celebrating seasonal changes such as cherry blossom viewing in Spring and the changing of leaves in Autumn.  These viewing activities are usually done en-masse and are generally an excuse to eat, drink and take lots of photos. 

So getting in on the act, last November, I went to "Ginko Avenue", near Aoyama and one of the most popular places in Tokyo to see the ginko trees as they turn golden.  But I was not alone....

It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon and it felt like most of Tokyo had turned up to view the ginko.  The street had been closed and thronged with people.

 



It became clear that this was not an event which you came alone to, this guy had brought his cat.

This next guy just happened to be strolling through the crowds and well, I thought he looked cool.

I took this photo of these ladies catching up on each other's news but then I realised that one of them had brought her teddy bear along.. why should Ted miss out on the fun?

Also you can see the lady on the left has been collecting the golden leaves which was a popular activities for all ages.

I love this photo of the child earnestly inspecting the ground for the best leaves

 

 

 

And this young lady already has an impressive selection and is showing them off in her best "catalog" pose.

 

 



 



And with it being close to the 7-5-3 festival (celebrating children who reach those ages), it was lovely to catch this girl in her kimono, also getting in on the leaf collecting.

 

 



 

Those who weren't collecting leaves were photographing the leaves.  These girls caught my eye because of their bright clothing and accessories. 

 



 

 

And it stood out to me how many different ways there are to take a photo these day, not necessarily with a camera but a gaming device will do just as well

 



 

 



But what about the trees themselves?  Ok, here is the golden covered walkway at the side of the street

 



 

 

And capturing the cone shape of the trees

 

 

But what I really love is to capture the leaves against the sky and so I leaves (sic) you with this.

 

 







Enjoying the winter sun in Yoyogi Park

Yoyogi Park is an open space in the heart of Tokyo, accesible from JR's Harajuku station and close to Meiji Shrine.

I like to think of Yoyogi Park as Tokyo's living room.  As houses in Tokyo are usually small and packed together, people need open space to practice musical instruments, sports, dance and generally hang out and Yoyogi Park is such a suitable place for it.  If you go there at the weekend, you will see all kinds of activities, people walking dogs, and other animals, I once saw someone with a rabbit in their bicycle basket, bikes can be hired, and many people are just there to relax in the sun.

On Sunday 27 January, 2013, the sun was shining and the air was cold but fresh and I went to see what was happening in the park.

A man with a lot of bubbles was keeping the kids of all ages entranced.

But he didn't keep all the fun creating the bubbles to himself (although the little girl seemed to enjoy chasing the bubbles more than making them).

I'm not sure why this guy was videoing the other two but they seemed to be enjoying their walk through the park



I loved this couple who were enjoying a picnic in the park in their matching bobble hats.

It is possible to hire bikes and there are dedicated cycle tracks around the park.  Great for a photographer like me if you want to get some practice on panning shots.

Kids on bikes are great for panning shots as usually they, and their bikes, are brightly coloured.

It isn't just people that meet in the park.  This crow caught my eye as you could see he was calling out, then listening for a reply from across the park.  This one was well behaved but I've seen the crows in the park stealing food... perhaps I will be able to photograph that sometime...

 



This lady was practicing her drumming with her sensei (teacher).  Japanese taiko (drums) have a lovely sound and she sounded good.

 

 

I liked the look of the empty benches, in the shade it was a bit too cold to sit on them on a winter's day, but they just looked like they were waiting for the coming spring when they will be used again.

 



 

According to Wikipedia, Yoyogi Park was once the site of the first successful powered aircraft flight in Japan, on December 19, 1910, it has also been a military parade ground and the site of the main athletes' village for the 1964 Olympic Games and now it is a valued open space in an otherwise bustling metropolis.

 

Over the year, I plan to revisit Yoyogi Park and see it throughout the seasons, and I hope to share more of the people and views of the park.