Day 6

These days have been a true test of endurance. Early to rise late to bed. It's AWESOME! We started the day with rushing into a town just out of Kyoto for an amazing parade and while wandering through to find a good place to set down and shoot we got separated. The parade was beautiful, it was great to people watch, it's funny because just as much as I find myself taking pictures of strangers, strangers are taking pictures of me. I guess it's not everyday you see a half dreaded photo geek wandering the streets of japan, or maybe that's pretty common...Anyways, Melissa, Rocky, Gino and I found ourselves leaving and going into Osaka to go to a concert. Our photo assistant Toko was kind enough to find a show for me to go and shoot and it was incredible. Although I didn't understand a word they said, you didn't need to. We saw three bands play, all with different sounds and they were phenomenal. Very funky. Awesome bass lines, full brass sections, outstanding percussion...it goes on and on. I only hope I can make it to another concert before I leave. After the concert we wandered a bit more, then found our way back home. On the way back we stumbled across as very drunk, very talkative science teacher named Akira. He referred to himself as "handsome teacher." He was a wonderful way to end our night and we all got plenty of photos to remember him by. Let's just say, he almost made me want to take a science class again, almost.

Day 5

Well we started the day with climbing up hikone castle, that was pretty cool. It's a gigantic fortress on the top of a very large hill in downtown hikone. Instead of going inside I roamed around the entire area around it and did some exploring, went some places I probably shouldn't have, scaled the side of the hill, fell a couple times, nothing out of the ordinary for me. At one point I thought I lost track of time and climbed up and down the large stone steps to find that I definitely still had a good 45 minutes. That was great, at least I got a workout. Once we got together, we realized that one of us was missing (evidently still exploring up in the castle) and Chris and Gino and I, the three smokers sprinted up the hill yet again to find him. Awesome. Anyways, the rest of the day was wonderful, did some more grocery shopping and then went to a hot spring, that made the entire day. I felt like a wet ramen noodle afterwards, in the words of my good friend Brian Mcshane "Bowsh"

Day 4

Today was our trip to the Hanshin Tigers baseball game in Osaka. I'm not the biggest sports fan in the world, but this was awesome. The enthusiasm that everyone collectively shared was unbelievable. There were so many people there that the only way we could keep track of each other was by meowing as loudly as possible. A rather unorthodox means of communication, but it worked for us. Osaka is a beautiful city filled to the brim with outstanding architecture and great little nooks to snap some great photos. I'm planning on going back tomorrow afternoon to explore so that should be badass. These two photos were two of my favorites from the day, again bringing in that contrast. Now, it's definitely time for a good nights sleep.

Day 3

So today was really badass. We woke up, the sun was shinning and we took the bullet train at 150mph to Kyoto. I gotta say, I've never smoked a cigarette on a train before, nor have I at such a high speed. Anyways, we got into Kyoto hopped on two more trains and finally got to where we needed to be. From there it was all roaming the city exploring, experiencing more culture shock and of course stopping every five feet to take a photo. I shot close to 400 images today, so it was a little tough to only pick one or two to include in this blog. These were two of my favorites. A little contrast between the beauty and the dilapidation. I'm really excited to hit up this city in the middle of the night, because the light in downtown is phenomenal. We ended the night at a great restaurant where I drank sake and some of the best beer I've had in a long time. This trip is going to fast, time to take a deep breath and live in the now.

Day 2

Cluttered. I woke up this morning to a set very large prehistoric looking crows practically screaming at my window. It was a confusing way to start my day, to say the least. Cluttered is a perfect way to describe my state of mind. I'm currently in a town where I know the majority of everyone has no idea what I'm saying, it's dumping rain outside which is making think of how I'm going to even take picture and it's difficult to organize my thoughts because there's so many new things to discover all around me. When I came across this pile of dilapidated metal wedged between two buildings, it reminded me of how cluttered and lost I felt at the time. With so much moving around me so fast it's hard to stay grounded and focused. It was a good reminder to take a deep breath and focus on one thing at a time. As the day rolled on, so did the rain, which as I was riding my bicycle suprisingly brought me peace. It may have not been the best day for photographs, but it was definitely a great day to collect my thoughts and welcome myself into the environment I've been placed in. By the end of the day, I felt much more organized and prepared for the trip to come.

Day 1

Longest flight of my life, but worth every minute of it. My minds filled to the brim with all the things I plan on getting done in these two weeks. One day at a time. We arrived around 6pm and left at 3pm, then had a two and a half hour train ride to Hikone. Although it's dark outside the smell of the rain and the lake tell so much about the surrounding area. I can't wait to wake up and see what everything looks like. I'm rooming with a good friend Chris Fry and our apartment is awesome. Although I need thorough directions as to how to turn the hot water on, all will come in time.
We have our orientation and first class tomorrow and I couldn't be more excited. This is a once in a life time opportunity and I plan on making the best of it in every possible way. On saturday I get to go into Osaka and shoot a local band called calmera. I'm really excited and I've already planned on the len's I plan on using as well as specific things to look for. Overall I think this trip will be a tremendous learning experience and I plan on using every fiber of photo knowledge in my brain to create images that I will hold dear for many years to come.


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