Jeffrey E.F. Friedl's Blog, page 7

2017’s Typhoon #21 (Lan) was Quite the Doozy for Kyoto

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1400 —
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Recently-Cleared Destruction

remnants of trees that were blown across the road

This past weekend Typhoon #21 of the season (“Lan”) blew past,
and it was quite the different experience from most. (It was the 21st typhoon in the western Pacific this year, but only the
second or third to have much effect on Kyoto.)

It looked like it would make its closest approach to Kyoto late in the evening, so the day leading up to it was blustery and
rainy. I find it fun to ride in weather like that, so just as I did a ride
in the lead-up to a typhoon in August, I went out for a bicycle ride in the blustery afternoon, doing a simple Kyoto Heart Loop in the clockwise direction.

The ride (see at Strava) ended up being much tamer than
I expected. The rain was nonstop, which is why there are no photos from the ride, but despite it seeming “blustery”
while at home, out on the road and in the mountains there was surprisingly little wind.

However, the eerie and unexpected dead-air calm that existed for most of the three-hour ride was broken just a few times by
sudden, ridiculously violent “wind shear” moments of terror that threatened to blow me right off the bike. I was hoping for “wild blustery”, but this was well beyond that. Luckily, this kind of wind didn't total more than
30 seconds for the whole ride.

One thing I learned on this ride was that the “Glacier Glove” Waterproof Glove is anything but waterproof. They completely soaked through.

Anyway, I was home by 6pm, six hours before the typhoon made its closest approach to Kyoto.

As the intensity of the rain increased throughout the evening, the Kamo river started to get higher and higher,
as it tends to once every couple of years (as seen
here,
here, and
here), so I went out again just to check out the river.

Here's the radar view as I left the house at 10pm:

sort of intense

Kyoto is at the black dot lower-right of center





Panasonic LX100 at an effective 28mm — 1/15 sec, f/2.1, ISO 3200 —
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Under the Marutamachi Bride

water is high, but not flooding








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/20 sec, f/1.7, ISO 3200 —
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Under the Sanjo Bride

water is 2m lower than I've seen in the past








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/50 sec, f/1.7, ISO 3200 —
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Southwest Sanjo-Bridge Area

To compare with a big flood a few years ago, note the small bridge above-center in the previous photo.
That's the same bridge that was wiped out a few years ago.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/1.7, ISO 1250 —
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Angry Enough

the Kamo River








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/80 sec, f/1.7, ISO 3200 —
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Riverside Path

is under water here

So, it seemed to be relatively mild for Kyoto, which was 300km (190mi) from the eye's closest approach.

So, I was surprised in the morning to see that almost all the roads in the mountains were closed:

Roads Closed

as of 8am next morning

Wow. What happened? I jumped on my bicycle to go take a look.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 49mm — 1/500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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“Road Closed Ahead”








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/1600 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200 —
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“All Lanes Closed”

“from here to pretty much everywhere”

My first destination was the road to Hanase Pass, which goes through Kurama
(the village with the temple that I blogged about a few weeks ago). The main sign above says that the road is closed to various destinations, and it's sitting in front of a different sign
that I assume was announcing road closures related to the Kurama Fire Festival,
which had been scheduled for the previous day.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Messy Road

taken at 18 kph (11 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 —
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Lady Cleaning Slime from Road

taken at 16 kph (10 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/3.2, ISO 200 —
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Wow

road positively littered with leaves, twigs, and frons








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 28mm — 1/125 sec, f/3.5, ISO 200 —
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Unfired Wood

it looked like the Fire Festival didn't happen

(this shrine is where most of the photos on my Fire Festival post were taken)

I continued through the village toward the mountains...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 40mm — 1/640 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Closed Due to Power Outage

Kurama Onsen









Panasonic LX100 at an effective 62mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 500 —
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Wow!!

This road is normally completely clear pavement (as seen here), but
now it looks like a little-used track road through the wilderness. The untouched detritus in the middle of the road is as thick as
a pillow.

It's easy to see where the road goes because of the tracks laid down by vehicles that passed since the
storm, but it must have been eerie and scary for the first vehicle in the morning, trying judge where the road was merely from
the lack of trees.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/3.5, ISO 200 —
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Bus Squeezes Under

taken at 12 kph (7 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/160 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Still Passable

though perhaps not so safe








iPhone 7 Plus + iPhone 7 Plus back camera 3.99mm f/1.8 at an effective 28mm — 1/120 sec, f/1.8, ISO 32 —
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Not Passable

a worker guessed that the road would be closed for a week,

due to a landslide farther up








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/60 sec, f/1.7, ISO 200 —
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Heading Back Down

I didn't have a lot of time, but I popped over to the road that goes through Kumagahatta, the west-of-center section of the
Kyoto Heart Loop cycling route that so many use.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Super-Thick Super-Slime

a thick layer of evergreen frons turned to pulp








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 28mm — 1/160 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Clearing Work in Progress








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 35mm — 1/80 sec, f/2.3, ISO 200 —
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Holy Cow!

an estimated 40 trees had fallen across the road in just this short stretch

This was the end of my exploration for the day.

Sadly, one of the five workers seen above would be killed a few hours later when he was crushed to death by a section of tree trunk they were
working on.

With that sad news fresh in our minds, Damien and I made a somber visit to the area the next day....

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/200 sec, f/6.3, ISO 6400 —
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Roughly Cleared

it's neither safe nor complete, but vehicles can pass








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 36mm — 1/250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1800 —
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Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 2200 —
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Hidden Pavement

starts directly under the guardrail








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Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 50mm — 1/250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1400 —
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Workers

near a concrete utility pole that was snapped like a twig

The road was officially closed, but we received permission to venture in so long as we stayed out of the way. Now that the road was physically passable, they were working to get power restored to folks down the line, and planning
on how to clean everything up, restore the road, replace the lost utility poles, and re-string all the utility cables.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/320 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 —
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Concrete Utillity Pole









Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1100 —
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Looking Up the Hillside

representative of what long stretches of roadside hill looked like








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 44mm — 1/250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1100 —
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Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 32mm — 1/250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 400 —
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Downed Lines

the next few utility poles were completely down








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 52mm — 1/250 sec, f/4.5, ISO 720 —
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Hanging








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 48mm — 1/250 sec, f/7.1, ISO 2200 —
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Remnants

the poll falling into the river in the lower part of the photo,

had been standing on the right side of the road








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 35mm — 1/250 sec, f/7.1, ISO 720 —
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Same Pole

it had stood in the guardrail gap at left,

but was sheared off at ground level and fell across the road








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/250 sec, f/7.1, ISO 3600 —
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Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 62mm — 1/250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 2800 —
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Foot-Thick Trunk

snapped like a toothpick









Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 32mm — 1/250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 500 —
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Precarious








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/100 sec, f/7.1, ISO 800 —
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Passable

but still a dangerous mess











Same Spot the Previous Day

before any vehicle had made it that far

photo by Joshua Levine

used with permission





Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/100 sec, f/7.1, ISO 1400 —
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Very Precarious








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/160 sec, f/7.1, ISO 6400 —
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Stringing Power Lines

on the road leading to the Shimyouin Temple (志明院)

Eventually we made our way around the left half of the Kyoto Heart Loop heart, passing many crews working on various
things. Nearing Kyoto toward the end of that loop, I was surprised to find that the
restaurant
Yama-no-ie Hasegawa was actually open, so we stopped in.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/100 sec, f/7.1, ISO 640 —
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Entrance Steps

are not camouflaged








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/100 sec, f/7.1, ISO 6400 —
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Cheesecake and Coffee

I've stopped in this place many times while out with the bicycle or the camera, as the
“nearby photos” link under these photos shows, but it turns
out that it was Damien's first visit.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/320 sec, f/7.1, ISO 5600 —
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Seat Warmer








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200mm — 1/800 sec, f/7.1, ISO 320 —
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Uncharacteristically-Clear Air

the mountain in the far distance is Mt. Misen, and even 100km (67mi) away








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/200 sec, f/7.1, ISO 6400 —
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Descending From Kyomi Pass

The tree above is being held up by utility wires, which are causing a metal utility pole to bend:

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 28mm — 1/125 sec, f/7.1, ISO 900 —
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Tightly Strung

As a bonus (and nice counterpart) to all the destruction, Damien showed me the entrance path to a temple,
a path I have passed dozens and dozens of times without ever having noticed:

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/100 sec, f/9, ISO 2000 —
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Lovely Entrance Path

Koetsu-ji Temple (光悦寺)

I'll have to visit again in a few weeks once the leaves have started to turn.

In the week that I've been trying to get this blog post written, most roads have been reopened, though the
Kumagahatta section covered at length above is not, and likely won't be open for a while.

Typhoon #22 is approaching, and should be here soon.

looks to pass by Kyoto tomorrow afternoon

(though further away and less powerful than #21 was)

An Enkoji-Temple Fall-Foliage Preview

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 60mm — 1/400 sec, f/2.8, ISO 4500 —
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Whimsical Statue

at the Enkoji Temple two years ago
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今回は二年前の圓光寺（京都市）の写真です。撮影日は11月17日でした。

It's gotten suddenly chilly here in Kyoto, Japan, reminding me that the fall-foliage season is approaching. So just as with
last year's “Looking Ahead To Fall with a few Shots from Last Season” post,
this post is to help get me in the mood. All the photos on this post are from the same mid-November 2015 visit to the Enkoji
Temple (圓光寺) in northeast Kyoto.

This temple has been featured on my blog many times, so the “nearby photos” link under any photo brings you to other posts
from the temple.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — 1/400 sec, f/4.5, ISO 1800 —
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Entrance Rock Garden







Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — 1/400 sec, f/5, ISO 2000 —
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Paul Barr








Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/400 sec, f/1.8, ISO 900 —
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Edge of the Main Garden

The whimsical statue seen at the top of this post is just off to the left of this path, a tiny smudge of darkness in the photo above.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 34mm — 1/400 sec, f/2.8, ISO 3600 —
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Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/400 sec, f/3.5, ISO 3200 —
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It Usually Attracts a Crowd

though still difficult to see in this photo







Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/400 sec, f/5.6, ISO 4500 —
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Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1100 —
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Ignoring his $8,000 Camera

for a cell-phone snap









Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1400 —
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Paul Selfie

Of course, the little statute is just one small feature of the lovely moss-covered garden....

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/400 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1000 —
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Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/100 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1000 —
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Me

and my squished nose

photo by Paul Barr








Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/5.6, ISO 4500 —
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Garden-Viewing Room








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — 1/400 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1250 —
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From Inside

the garden-viewing room

It can get quite crowded, but even when it's not, it's almost impossible to get a people-free view of the room and the garden.
I (almost) did once, as seen in “Impossible Shot at Kyoto’s Enkoji
Temple: Garden *and* Garden-Viewing Room at the Height of Fall Colors, Devoid of People”. That was five years ago... I should try it again this year.

Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/400 sec, f/1.4, ISO 800 —
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Another Statue

“Sleeping Man with Rats”?

( not so popular for some reason )







Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/400 sec, f/1.4, ISO 560 —
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Serendipitous View

but I've got my 35mm lens mounted







Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 6400 —
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Better at 125mm

but I would have liked somthing in between







Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/320 sec, f/5.6, ISO 6400 —
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Different Angle







Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2500 —
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Serious-Looking Camera







Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 3200 —
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At Least Five Cameras

for this couple








Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2800 —
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So He Goes With the iPhone







Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/400 sec, f/1.4, ISO 280 —
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Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/400 sec, f/1.4, ISO 450 —
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Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2500 —
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Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2500 —
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Happy Shoes

but maybe a bit vibrant for the location







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Big Lens

and kimono, a lovely combination in my book

This is the couple that posed for
“Wigglegram of a Pleasant Couple Among the Fall Colors at Kyoto’s Enkoji Temple”

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 3600 —
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Paul Found a Leaf







Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 6400 —
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Even the Bathroom

is tastefully done







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Exit

back to the rock garden

Minh and Nghia Wigglegram at the Murin’an Garden

Note: this article may not appear properly in news readers.

This article contains interactive aspects that are likely removed by most news readers. Please see this particular article directly on Jeffrey's blog for full functionality.

Here's a wigglegram of
Minh and Nghia at the Murin'an Garden in Kyoto. The last photo of “Nghia and Minh in Kyoto, Part 2” is actually part of this wigglegram.

div#da5EfMqgiqgiEcA img { width:690px; height:441px; visibility:hidden; position:absolute; top:0; left:0; border: solid 10px #311}

















Animatable Wigglegram (16 frames) — slowly sweep mouse from side to side to view 3D effect
写真の上をマウスで左右にゆっくり動かすと「３D」な感じが出ます。

=i.length)return 0;else return which;}else{if(which=i.length)return i.length-1;else return which}};t=function(event){if(m>0&&((new Date().getTime())-m)R&&s0){f(c(s-1));console.log(s+":delta is "+delta);L=0.05;R=0.2;T=tilt;}}};d.ontouchmove=d.onmousemove=function(e){if(e.touches&&e.touches.length>1)return true;var x=Math.floor((e.clientX||e.pageX)/BW);var which=c(x>l?s+(x-l):s-(l-x));l=x;if(which!=s){m=new Date().getTime();f(which);}return false;};window.addEventListener('devicemotion',t,false)}

Finally Venturing Inside Northern Kyoto’s Kurama Temple

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 25mm — 1/400 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200 —
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Entrance to the Kurama Temple

a photo from this post a couple of years ago

I'd heard that the Kurama Temple (鞍馬寺), nestled on the side of a mountain in a northern suburb of Kyoto, made for a nice
visit, but despite riding past it dozens of times since I got into cycling, I'd never actually entered it. This week I finally did.

The main part of this post is about this week's visit, but first let me recount my prior experiences with this temple...

Normally I just ride past and perhaps snap a photo along the way, such as the following shot from
my first “real” bike ride 2½ years ago:

Nikon D4 + 35mm f/1.4 — 1/160 sec, f/13, ISO 280 —
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Flying By The Entrance

not realizing I was about to enter a world of snow

Sometimes I stop at the entrance to take photos, such as the following shot from
the two-year anniversary ride of my first “real” ride earlier this year:

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 42mm — 1/200 sec, f/10, ISO 160 —
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Kurama Temple

Apparently I had stopped by the entrance to this temple during a photo outing in 2012, with Paul and Damien, when I
took this photo of the edge of the entrance stairs:

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 3200 —
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Entrance Detail

Kurama Temple (鞍馬寺)

I post this shot because I really like its richness, its “vibe”, and to contrast it with all the crappy iPhone photos we'll see below,
from this week's visit.

On that same drive in 2012, I took these shots of a monkey harassing someone (for, I suppose, food of some kind):

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1100 —
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No Luck Here...








Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1250 —
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... Nor Here

That day-long outing five years ago, with Paul and Damien, was really great, and many blog posts resulted, including:

“Kyoto’s Road to Somewhere”
“A Few Pretty Pictures from Kyoto’s Middle-of-Nowhere Sourenji Temple”
“A Quick f/1.2 + f/5.6 Pair from the Sourenji Temple”
“A Wigglegram from the Well-Named “Fallen Leaf Shrine””
“A Long But Photogenic November in Kyoto”
“Kyoto’s Souren-ji Temple at f/1.2”

On that wonderful 2012 outing, I also took this slightly-overexposed shot of Damien:

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 10000 —
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from this blog post for Damien's parents

And that photo brings me to the reason that I finally visited Kurama Temple this week.

Damien was about to start his fourth and last “Hell Week” course of chemotherapy, a week-long torture of nausea-inducing drugs
that saps the will to live, so he wanted to get out into nature one last time before. He intended to hike from Kibune to Kurama,
and then relax at the Kurama Onsen. I wasn't able to make it in time to
join the start of the hike, so I went directly to Kurama, hiking up to meet him at the temple at the top of the mountain.

All the rest of the photos on today's blog post are from this recent trip, taken with an iPhone.

iPhone 7 Plus + iPhone 7 Plus back camera 3.99mm f/1.8 at an effective 28mm — 1/60 sec, f/1.8, ISO 25 —
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Entering The Temple Grounds Proper

at only 300 yen (US$2.60), a bargain








iPhone 7 Plus + iPhone 7 Plus back camera 3.99mm f/1.8 at an effective 28mm — 1/25 sec, f/1.8, ISO 200 —
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Theme For the Day

lots of steps

The path to the top has many different sections, both with steps and just a plain gravel path. The only thing that was consistent was the climb... whether steps or path, it kept going up and up.

iPhone 7 Plus + iPhone 7 Plus back camera 3.99mm f/1.8 at an effective 28mm — 1/30 sec, f/1.8, ISO 25 —
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A Road Diverged...

you can take the gravel path to the right, or the steps up through a sub-temple








iPhone 7 Plus + iPhone 7 Plus back camera 3.99mm f/1.8 at an effective 28mm — 1/30 sec, f/1.8, ISO 100 —
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More “Up”








iPhone 7 Plus + iPhone 7 Plus back camera 6.6mm f/2.8 at an effective 57mm — 1/60 sec, f/2.8, ISO 250 —
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... and More








iPhone 7 Plus + iPhone 7 Plus back camera 3.99mm f/1.8 at an effective 28mm — 1/30 sec, f/1.8, ISO 80 —
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... and So Much More








iPhone 7 Plus + iPhone 7 Plus back camera 3.99mm f/1.8 at an effective 28mm — 1/120 sec, f/1.8, ISO 40 —
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Oh Hey, Steps!

Finally, after 20 minutes of brisk climbing, I arrived at the lowest part of the temple proper.

iPhone 7 Plus + iPhone 7 Plus back camera 3.99mm f/1.8 at an effective 28mm — 1/610 sec, f/1.8, ISO 20 —
map & image data — nearby photos

... where I found Damien waiting for me. I was tuckered out from the hike, but took a quick selfie...

iPhone 7 Plus + iPhone 7 Plus front camera 2.87mm f/2.2 at an effective 32mm — 1/60 sec, f/2.2, ISO 25 —
map & image data — nearby photos








iPhone 7 Plus + iPhone 7 Plus back camera 3.99mm f/1.8 at an effective 28mm — 1/480 sec, f/1.8, ISO 20 —
map & image data — nearby photos

The View of the Mountains is “Meh?”

Apparently there's a huge multi-level complex to be explored, but we had neither the time nor the energy (nor the appropriate
camera) to enjoy it, so we headed back down the way I had come.

iPhone 7 Plus + iPhone 7 Plus back camera 3.99mm f/1.8 at an effective 28mm — 1/120 sec, f/1.8, ISO 25 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Heading Down








iPhone 7 Plus + iPhone 7 Plus back camera 3.99mm f/1.8 at an effective 28mm — 1/240 sec, f/1.8, ISO 20 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Old Staircase








iPhone 7 Plus + iPhone 7 Plus back camera 3.99mm f/1.8 at an effective 28mm — 1/500 sec, f/1.8, ISO 20 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Even though we were taking the exact path I'd just come up on, the view was so much more interesting heading down.
Time and again you could see much more splayed out before you. It was wonderful.

iPhone 7 Plus + iPhone 7 Plus back camera 3.99mm f/1.8 at an effective 28mm — 1/460 sec, f/1.8, ISO 20 —
map & image data — nearby photos











iPhone 7 Plus + iPhone 7 Plus back camera 3.99mm f/1.8 at an effective 28mm — 1/220 sec, f/1.8, ISO 20 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Side View

of he landing seen in the previous photo








iPhone 7 Plus + iPhone 7 Plus back camera 3.99mm f/1.8 at an effective 28mm — 1/310 sec, f/1.8, ISO 20 —
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Disconnect

it makes you wonder whether the two sides had ever been level with each other








iPhone 7 Plus + iPhone 7 Plus back camera 6.6mm f/2.8 at an effective 57mm — 1/60 sec, f/2.8, ISO 32 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Down Down Down








iPhone 7 Plus + iPhone 7 Plus back camera 6.6mm f/2.8 at an effective 57mm — 1/60 sec, f/2.8, ISO 32 —
map & image data — nearby photos








iPhone 7 Plus + iPhone 7 Plus back camera 3.99mm f/1.8 at an effective 28mm — 1/30 sec, f/1.8, ISO 64 —
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Hazy Side Area








iPhone 7 Plus + iPhone 7 Plus back camera 3.99mm f/1.8 at an effective 28mm — 1/95 sec, f/1.8, ISO 20 —
map & image data — nearby photos

All in all it whet my appetite to return with a real camera. Paul will likely be visiting next month, and by then Damien
should be recovered from his chemo, so I hope the three of us can spend a day here with the camera. It will be glorious.

After we exited the shrine, we went to the Kurama Onsen, and I tried the outside bath for the first time.
Until now, the Kurama Onsen for me was merely the start to one of Kyoto's hallmark tough cycling climbs,
the 5km @ 9% climb to Hanase Pass.

In the evening, for his last meal before returning to the hospital for Hell Week, we indulged in American-style Pizza
from Dai's Pizza Kitchen...

iPhone 7 Plus + iPhone 7 Plus back camera 3.99mm f/1.8 at an effective 28mm — 1/30 sec, f/1.8, ISO 40 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Picking up a Pizza








Mmmmmm....

half “Hawaiian”, half “Combo DX”

As I write this, it's the Friday at the end of his last Hell Week, so he's got light at the end of the tunnel. The week after Hell Week is usually filled with all kinds of side-effect problems, so that's still in the way, but
he should hopefully be back to normal by the end of the month, just in time for some awesome fall-foliage photo outings.

Joshua’s Eclectic Birthday Ride

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 62mm — 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Birthday Boy Reaches the Top

Joshua Levine looking comfortable at the top of a 23% slope

We had an eclectic little ride the other day to celebrate Joshua's birthday. Unlike a common ride that makes a big loop through
some gorgeous mountains, this ride stayed closer to home, hopping from interesting point to interesting point, at a slow, fun
pace.

It was my 16th time to ride with Joshua, since joining him on
a NORU bike tour two and a half years ago.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Starting Out

Joshua · Kevin · David

— as usual, making our way through some suburb to reach the mountains —








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/1.7, ISO 1000 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Unexpected Off-Road Descent

Nigel follows Tomas

It turns out that one can use this dirt trail to get around having to descent the
“Nasty” 21% slope. Personally, I'd rather just descend
on the road because neither my bike nor my courage are set up for off-road riding.

This little off-road excursion fit within the spirit of the day, which was to throw caution/inhibitions into the wind and just
have fun doing crazy things with friends. (That “crazy things” are as mild as a dirt path and the other things you'll see here speaks
to the fact that we've settled down in our maturity.)

The first true “crazy thing” came immediately after descending on this dirt trail: we rode up “Old Kyomi”, a road that is now
paved but was likely a trail for 1,000 years prior. A car-friendly bypass road appeared in the 1950s, so this older road is
now rarely used.

It's very difficult.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 75mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 400 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Nigel Suffers up Old Kyomi

Even though the slope is only 19% at this point,

the road surface makes it more challenging than the steeper parts.

The overall average of the segment — 1.6km (1mi) at 13% —
belies the true difficulty of the climb. It's really unfair that the photo makes it look flat; it's very steep.

The 100m leading to the point where I took the photo above averages 22%, which for me would not be an
insurmountable problem if the road surface were trustworthy. But it's not... just look at it... the road pavement is rough and
crumbling to begin with, and on top of that it's littered with rocks, sticks, leaves, moss, sand, etc., all just waiting
to take your tire out from under you.

That's why I was taking photos where I was. I had hoped to complete the climb without stopping (something I'd not been able to
do when I tried this climb a couple of years ago), but at this point I wasn't able to avoid a rut or something, and my wheel
slipped and I had to put my foot down before I fell down. So, I set the bike aside and sat down with the camera to await the
others.

Nigel was the first to arrive, and was pushing his bike. He's probably the strongest among us all, and you might remember him
from the outlandishly crazy “Ascending Hanase Pass on a
Mamachari”, so might wonder why someone so strong would be pushing. The answer is that he was on a single-speed bike,
one that didn't have multiple gears to choose from. My bike has 22 gear combinations; some folks' mountain bikes have 30. His had just one, and the road surface was just too difficult for the one he had.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 75mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 800 —
map & image data — nearby photos

David and Tomas Actually Ride Up

with some random, selfish guy in between who shouldn't be there

I don't know who the guy in red was, but he shouldn't have been there. Riding close behind someone on this road is simply
dangerous, and to try to pass would be as ludicrous as it is selfish. If the other person is part of your group then at least you
have some basis of trust on which you can perhaps negotiate the selfish move, but if you don't know them, wow.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 75mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 2500 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Crazy-Bad Road Surface

I sooo want to visit with a broom








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 62mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 250 —
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Kevin Powers Up

while Lianca and Tal watch from the side









Panasonic LX100 at an effective 30mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.2, ISO 250 —
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Power and Concentration

both are required for this climb








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 72mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 500 —
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Birthday-Boy Joshua

has the requisite power and concentration, but wears them differently than Kevin

After this bit of fun, we made our way across the northern outskirts of Kyoto toward the next crazy climb,
and this involved some short but steep residential roads.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Pathetic Camera Work

on a sudden steep bit in the suburbs

I'm still hit and miss with the small camera I bought for
cycling. The biggest problem that I have with it is that the controls get bumped off to some crazy setting, and I don't always
notice right away, especially when I'm trying to take an impromptu shot while riding. Most often the exposure compensation gets
bumped to the maximum negative, so all the photos (until I notice) end up almost black. I can recover quite a bit in Lightroom,
but the loss of quality is noticeable.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 25mm — 1/125 sec, f/3.5, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Up Up Up








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 25mm — 1/125 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Lots of Smiles

despite lots of blurriness

Another problem I have is severely overestimating the amount of camera shake I can get away with. Many potentially-great shots
are ruined because they're crazy shaky like the one above. I include it here mostly because the smiles shine through despite the
quality, and to illustrate the point.

We made our way to another steep climb —
580m @ 15% with sections approaching 25% — but this one is much easier
than the first because the road surface is good.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 62mm — 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Exhausted at the Top

Tomas and Nigel collapse on their handlebars as Kevin crests the top

Here's a video of the last half of the segment, after I had gone ahead of the others and rode at my
own pace. At the start of the video there's no one close behind me, but then suddenly Nigel and Keven
appear on my tail, and then at the start of the super-steep final 120m, in a display of incredible
power, Nigel blows by me on his single-speed and rockets to the top.

Remember, Nigel (the first to the top) is on a bike that has only one speed, and it's not a speed designed for 20% grades. He's just that powerful.

Also powerful was Tomas, who almost caught me at the top despite my having started so much earlier. In
fairness to me, I was just going at a steady pace, and was 30 seconds
slower than my best time on this climb. But in fairness to him, despite his speed at the end he was still
almost a minute slower than his best time (which also happens to be the “KOM” best-recorded time for the segment).

The photo that leads this blog post shows Joshua and David cresting the top.

At a top is a cemetery (for all the people who have attempted the climb) with a nice view:

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 50mm — 1/640 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Enjoying the View

Nigel, Tal, Kevin, Tomas, Joshua, David

This view has appeared on my blog before, here.

I'd made this climb six times prior, but hadn't noticed that the cemetery extends off in one direction, so was happy
that Joshua showed me.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Nature-Centric View








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/400 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Heading Back Down

this shot is a lot more difficult to take than you might imagine,

going down a 23% grade with one hand occupied by the camera








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/400 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Descent

near to far: David, Tomas, Lianca, Tal








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/320 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Three Musketeers

L-R: Joshua, Kevin, Nigel








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/1.7, ISO 250 —
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Huh Wha?!

Another unexpected section of dirt that Joshua led us on








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/400 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Lovely Long-Way Around

the same excursion that Joshua led us on earlier in the month








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/400 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 33mm — 1/200 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Joshua Bids Us Farewell

he had to be home for another appointment








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/320 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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So Different

than two weeks ago before the rice was harvested








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 28mm — 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Rolling Through Northern Arashiyama








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/160 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/5, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Normal Photo Spot

that we're bypassing due to the car and the caution tape

We opted not to stop at this spot this time, but as the nearby
photos link under the picture shows, I've stopped many times.

Then on to the next steep little climb, just
315m at 13%.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 75mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 400 —
map & image data — nearby photos

David and Tomas

cresting the climb








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 75mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 500 —
map & image data — nearby photos








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 75mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 400 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Kevin and Nigel








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 75mm — 1/125 sec, f/4.5, ISO 250 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Group Shot









Panasonic LX100 at an effective 25mm — 1/125 sec, f/1.8, ISO 500 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Now we were making our way to the Kuuya-taki Waterfall, a place I've been
visiting for years, after having
discovered it five years ago. When I got into cycling,
it was one of the first rides I did.

It'd been a while since I'd ridden there, and the approach
was longer and in worse shape than I remembered.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 26mm — 1/125 sec, f/1.9, ISO 800 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Steep, Broken Concrete

as little fun going up as going down








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 26mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.2, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Arriving At the Entrance

to the Kuuya Shrine (空也神社)









Panasonic LX100 at an effective 26mm — 1/80 sec, f/1.9, ISO 320 —
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Quick Cooldown

Lianca didn't realize that a waterfall awaited

Everyone else left their bike at the road, which is probably fine because it's essentially deserted anyway,
but out of habit I brought mine with me.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/1.7, ISO 400 —
map & image data — nearby photos

photo by Tomas Svab








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/60 sec, f/1.7, ISO 200 —
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Lianca, Me, Kevin

photo by Tomas Svab








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/60 sec, f/1.7, ISO 640 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Getting Closer

photo by Tomas Svab

The short approach hike is beautiful, and I've posted many photos from it over the years, including:

Discovery On The Way to The Waterfall
Interesting Bark Near the Kuuya-taki Waterfall
Beyond The Staircase Ruins at the Kuuya-taki Waterfall
On The Way From The Kuuya-taki Waterfall'>
The Effect of Shutter Speed on the Appearance of Flowing Water

Then on top of that you have the beauty of the shrine/waterfall area itself.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/1.7, ISO 2000 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Almost There

you can tell by this composition that Tomas is a real photographer

photo by Tomas Svab








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/1.7, ISO 800 —
map & image data — nearby photos

photo by Tomas Svab








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 54mm — 1/80 sec, f/2.8, ISO 3200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Tomas and David

confirm what we already had guessed: the water is cold

David's pose is a natural one for a waterfall; I did the exact same thing the first time I went in.

We relaxed for a while, then headed out

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/1.7, ISO 2000 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Heading Back








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/1.7, ISO 400 —
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Natural Spring

along the road

After returning to the city, a few of us thought to get a cup of coffee in Arashiyama. We went through its famous bamboo groves, which had a lot of people, but, thankfully, no where near peak.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/1.7, ISO 2000 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Crowded Road

Arashiyama Bamboo Forest (嵐山竹やぶ)

(and yes, it's a road open to vehicular traffic)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Main Road is Crowded Too








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 26mm — 1/400 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Nope

no coffee is that good








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/400 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

So, Heading Home

All in all it was a fun day of relaxing friendship punctuated by short, intense efforts, occasionally
with a bit of terror thrown in.

Happy birthday, Joshua.

Nghia and Minh in Kyoto, Part 2

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200mm — 1/800 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Nghia and Minh

main gate of the Heian Shrine (平安神宮), Kyoto, Japan

Where does the time go? I'm finally following up to “Minh and Nghia
Photoshoot Preview” about two weeks later than I expected.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/400 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

First Photo

After having a coffee and chat to get to know them a bit, we headed toward the always-photogenic Heian Shrine. I wore Nghia's
backpack so it wouldn't bother the photos, and we got down to it...

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 102mm — 1/640 sec, f/3.2, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Standard Posed Shot

I never really expect anything to come of the first shots, since we're just starting to get comfortable with each other and
with the situation, but what came immediately after the shot above pretty much foreshadowed the entire day:

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 98mm — 1/640 sec, f/3.2, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 98mm — 1/640 sec, f/3.2, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

I don't recall what it was that set them off, but it didn't take much. They just seemed so easygoing with each other, laughter seemed to come spontaneously.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Proper Form

at the end of the “cleansing” before entering the shrine








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/320 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 —
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Heading In








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 29mm — 1/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 110 —
map & image data — nearby photos









Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 28mm — 1/800 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 —
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Checking Out “Wish Boards”

people write their wishes on these wooden boards










Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 38mm — 1/400 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 —
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Found a Funny One








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/500 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 —
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“I wish that stuff I read could happen”









Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 29mm — 1/320 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 —
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Laudable

"Practice humility & love. Be thankful for everything & do not be complacent."








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 120mm — 1/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 220 —
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Now This One is Funny...








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200mm — 1/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 125 —
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“Bye Bye to Donald Trump”











Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 38mm — 1/200 sec, f/6.3, ISO 220 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Silly Pose

I dunno. Worth a try. For me, their laughing at it makes it.








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 105mm — 1/1250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200mm — 1/1000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 —
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Heading Out








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 82mm — 1/800 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 —
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Cooling Down

Nghia cools Minh with her little electric fan









Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/1250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/1000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 48mm — 1/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 125 —
map & image data — nearby photos

“Pretend the Moss is Interesting”

my instructions on this shot








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 32mm — 1/320 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

This Wall Is Interesting

it appeared on my blog nine years ago in “Burning Relief”

(thank goodness it was cloudy, or Minh's new ring would have set the wall ablaze again)








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/200 sec, f/4, ISO 400 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Entering Murin'an

a quite garden not spoiled by throngs of tourists








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 55mm — 1/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 280 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Amidst Lush Moss








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 720 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Watch Your Step








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 320 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Lovely View








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 800 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Simple Interior

To be continued...

Fun Exercise to Try at Home: Suicide by Squats

Let me tell you about a short, 16-minute exercise that I did a few weeks ago, an exercise that had an incredibly-unproportional
impact, leaving me with the worst muscle soreness I'd ever experienced, by a very wide margin. It wasn't until the 13th day
after this simple exercise that I got through the whole day without feeling its painful effects.

This exercise, which involves nothing more than simple bodyweight squats,
was introduced to me with the name “Death by Squats”.

It's simple: Start a timer, then do two squats during the first minute, at whatever pace you like. During the second
minute, do four squats, then six, then eight, and so on, increasing by two squats every minute until you can't perform all a
minutes' requisite squats.

Generally speaking, I've got strong legs. I do a lot of long-distance cycling (100+ miles at a time), and many lessons
at the gym include squats and lunges. It's common to do 50+ squats as a small part of an hour's routine. No big deal.

However, a lot has conspired to drive my fitness level down this year. In imagining what this exercise might be like, I thought that 40 squats in a minute wouldn't have been much of a challenge last year when I was in my best shape, but knew that I'd
probably not get to that point (the 20-minute mark) in my current condition. Anyway, I gave it a try.

The “whatever pace you like” naturally meant for me that I'd do them quickly, then rest for the remainder of the minute. At first it felt silly, as the first minute's squats are done in three seconds, so I just stood around waiting for the next 57.
Actually, during the early stages, I filled the waiting time with some simple tidying, such as putting laundry away. Such was how
unchallenging the start was.

I was still fine by minute 10, finishing its 20 squats in about 25 seconds. At this rate, the 20-minute mark didn't feel so far away.
But oh, how my hubris would soon be revealed. The insidious nature of this exercise is that while the amount of work increases, the amount of rest decreases.

Soon I was struggling. I was also struggling to keep my balance in the pool of sweat that had
formed on the hardwood floor under me.

As fatigue slowed down my pace, the ever-increasing number of squats left less and less time to recover, and I finished the
15th minute's 30 squats with less than 10 seconds to catch my breath. I knew I'd never finish 32 squats in the next 60 seconds,
but thought I should at least try to see how far I got. I finished 26 of them. Having failed to do the allotted number, I was done.

All in all, I'd done 266 squats in 16 minutes.

My legs were absolute jelly. I'd experience this while cycling, such as after an explosive effort on a
short climb, but in those cases control would return in a few minutes. This time, I was still shaky in the evening, 12 hours later.

The muscle ache the next morning was monumental. Every movement hurt, giving me a certain “that must have been great exercise”
satisfaction. In the past, muscle aches the next day are helped by light exercise, just to get the juices flowing,
so I went out on very light bike ride. Oddly, I could cycle just
fine, but when I got off my bike I could barely move without crippling pain.

I'd hoped that the light movement would have helped relieve the muscle ache, but the pain on the 2nd day after
was unlike any I'd ever experienced. And on the 3rd, it was almost unbearable. I literally couldn't stand from a chair (or from the
toilet) without plotting tactics on how to support myself on the way up. Attempting to walk down a set of steps was frightening, even while holding the rail, as I simply lacked the physical control to guarantee the legs wouldn't buckle.

Somewhere around this time I started to feel that the name “Death by Squats” wasn't as appropriate as “Suicide by Squats”,
since it's something I did to myself. But then I realized that even more appropriate would be “Botched Suicide by Squats”,
since I wasn't actually dead and so I was feeling pain and paying the price from what I'd attempted.

Sadly, “Botched Suicide by Squats” doesn't roll off the tongue so well, so “Suicide by Squats” it is.

The 3rd and 4th day after were the worst, but then it started getting better. The 13th day was the first that I felt no effects.

I have no explanation for why such a short little exercise had such a dramatic impact. It'll be interesting to see whether I see the same results next time.

Alexis’s Tour de Kyoto

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/5, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Alexis Turcas

in the mountains northwest of Kyoto, Japan

Alexis, a cycling Frenchman living in England, contacted NORU for a private bike tour around the
far-flung mountains of Kyoto. Joshua set him up with a bike and took him around, while I tagged along for photos.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 28mm — 1/320 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Making Our Way

through quiet streets towards the mountains








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Side Loop

through the Myoushinji Temple Complex (妙心寺)








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Obstacle Course








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/200 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Greeting Some Schoolchildren








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/160 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Minor Little Lane








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/5, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/320 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Along Hirosawa Lake

a lake seen in this post a couple of years ago








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 25mm — 1/320 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Rice Looks About Ready

for harvest








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 25mm — 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Panasonic LX100 at an effective 25mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 —
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Bit of Bamboo








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 25mm — 1/200 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Panasonic LX100 at an effective 25mm — 1/200 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Ugly Trees

but they'll make nice ornamental lumber








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 25mm — 1/200 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 25mm — 1/125 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Quaint Area

north of Arashiyama








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 25mm — 1/125 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200 —
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Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200 —
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Quintessential Photo Op

in front of a restaurant coincidentally featured prominently

in this week's
NHK's Core Kyoto episode “Ayu Sweetfish”

Right after this photo is the first real test of cycling ability, a short,
steep climb that averages 10% over 760m (half a mile), but has some 17% sections.

When you're contacted out of the blue by someone for a bike ride, you're not really sure of their level and what would be
appropriate/fun/challenging/daunting for them, so this initial climb would be a bit of a “trial by fire” to gauge someone's
level.

In this case, Alexis' demeanor on the bike on the steepest sections remained unchanged from when casually cruising among the
flat rice fields, as if the effort that was a challenge for me was not at all an effort for him.
He seems ridiculously strong, but not particularly interested in using that strength during this ride.
This was lucky for me, because the subsequent longer climbs that he was happy to just casually enjoy ended up at a pace that I could, with effort, maintain.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Enjoying the Views

on the short descent after that initial climb








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/4, ISO 200 —
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Very Twisty Very Steep








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/1.7, ISO 400 —
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Challenging

to photograph on the move on this steep a descent

( taken at 13 kph / 8 mph )








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/1.7, ISO 250 —
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Bottoming Out








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/100 sec, f/1.7, ISO 3200 —
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Panasonic LX100 at an effective 28mm — 1/200 sec, f/3.2, ISO 200 —
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More Views

above Japan Rail's Hozukyo Station








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/1000 sec, f/3.2, ISO 200 —
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Entering a Small Village









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Steep Section

he looks much more relaxed than I do, let me assure you








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Top of the Atago Climb








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Terraced Rice Fields

a lovely view seen better in this shot from the other day








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/640 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Doesn't Look Like It, But...

this was taken at 57 kph (35 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/100 sec, f/1.7, ISO 3200 —
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Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/400 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/640 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Crossing Hiyoshi Dam

with the “velodrome” in the background








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/250 sec, f/3.2, ISO 200 —
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“足湯” (ashiyu)

foot hot-spring








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/60 sec, f/8, ISO 200 —
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Heading Back

into the mountains








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 0.4 sec, f/8, ISO 200 —
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Finally

finally a photo that captures what a steep climb feels like

( it's easy to inadvertently bump the settings on my cycling camera )








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/5 sec, f/8, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Another

camera-setting mistake








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/320 sec, f/5, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 28mm — 1/125 sec, f/5, ISO 200 —
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mu +sports!

mimicking Joshua's sales-pitch pose from this spot two years ago








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/1.7, ISO 400 —
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Lovely Little Climb

taken during a short descent section at 55 kph (34 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/1.8, ISO 200 —
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taken at 44 kph (28 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Drink Refill








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Drink Refill

of a more-natural kind








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 44mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.6, ISO 400 —
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Descending “Nasty”

notice the 21% Grade sign in the background








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Fringe of the City

just outside of Shouzan (しょうざん)








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Almost Done

passing by the Kitano Tenman-gu Shrine (北野天満宮)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/3.2, ISO 200 —
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Safely Back

to NORU

All in all, Alexis had done 89km with about 1,750m of elevation gain. He seemed to have enjoyed his time, and I enjoyed both
his company and that I didn't slow them down too much.

After Alexis bid us farewell, Joshua and I headed east across the city heading to our respective homes...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/5, ISO 200 —
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Shortcut

across the grounds of the Kyoto Imperial Palace (京都御所)

Here's my full ride at Strava:

Minh and Nghia Photoshoot Preview

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 2000 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Hi!

Minh and Nghia, at Nanzen Temple (南禅寺), Kyoto Japan

I did a fun photoshoot today with Minh and Nghia, vacationing from San Jose, CA.

We're all American, but they had almost as much trouble with my German-ancestry name as I did with
their Vietnamese-ancestry names. Her name is pronounced “min”, like the start of “Minnie Mouse”. His sounds like “knee-ah”.

I literally haven't seen more than a smattering of the photos I took, but throwing a few darts at my Lightroom catalog brought
up a few I can share right away.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 320 —
map & image data — nearby photos

At the Murin'an Garden

They started their vacation as a celebration of five years together, but Nghia had loftier plans...

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/500 sec, f/2.5, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

New Bling








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 48mm — 1/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 640 —
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Wishes

for a happy future








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/1250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos









Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1600 —
map & image data — nearby photos








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 110mm — 1/1250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos











Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 29mm — 1/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 250 —
map & image data — nearby photos

To be continued...

Exploring the Nooks and Cranies of Ohara on a Fine Summer Day

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/400 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Such a Lovely Day to be Outside

main gate of the Heian Shrine, Kyoto Japan

I had an enjoyable bike ride of exploration around the nooks and crannies of Ohara the other day, so I thought I'd
share some photos. Here's the ride at Strava:

The impetus for this ride was to check out some of the minor roads I'd seen on 路面と勾
配 (literally “road surface and slope”), a blog full of reports on exceedingly-minor mountain roads, each
replete with detailed photos and commentary. He's got well over 1,000 such reports so far.

I spend a fair amount of my time updating OpenStreetMaps based on his
articles. These are the maps used by Strava, Galileo
Offline Maps, maps.me, and many others, so where I've done this these maps are more accurate
than Google Maps.

iPhone 7 Plus + iPhone 7 Plus back camera 6.6mm f/2.8 at an effective 57mm — 1/590 sec, f/2.8, ISO 20 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Long Line

waiting for lunch at a restaurant near my house

( the restaurant must be in some kind of tourist guide to get a line like this )

Once I got out of the city, I tried to take any little street that looked like it might go somewhere. Usually they didn't.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/3.5, ISO 200 —
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Dead End

above the main road I've taken dozens of times







Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/3.2, ISO 200 —
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A Pleasant Shortcut

taken at 20 kph (12 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 38mm — 1/500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Hand-Made Tobidashi-kun

Reminding drivers that children sometimes dash out,

and reminding children not to.

Before heading out, I scoured the satellite view in Google Earth for things that looked interesting,
such as this recently-built dam with a road that wasn't on any map:

Looks interesting

The approach road, though, was paved only so far, and then I ran into gravel:

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Rocky Road

I knew from the satellite view that it would become paved again, but I didn't have all that much time, so I decided
to defer. Plus, I knew there were two other potential approaches to the dam road, so I went to try them...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/320 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Also Not Paved







Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200 —
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This One Neither

Continuing on, I came to another location I'd spotted via Google Earth, a place I'd ridden by dozens of times without
ever noticing....

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 32mm — 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Looks Steep

taken at 16 kph (10 mph)








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Entrance to the Sairin-ji Temple

西林寺

Let's head on up to the first corner...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/4, ISO 200 —
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That's Steep

but the road surface is just dandy








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/1000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Looking Up Around the Corner

it's no less steep, but the road surface becomes much worse








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/320 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Yikes

Next time I'll use the flat stripe along the wall







Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/400 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Another Corner

this is about the halfway point, it turns out







Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Looking Back to the First Corner







Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Looking Back

to the second corner

Until this point the average grade is just over 25%, but it flattens out a bit around one more corner, eventually
reaching the temple...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Looking Back at the Road

after having arrived at the top








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/200 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Sairin-ji Temple (西林寺)

Because it flattened out at the end, the full climb from the road averages only 22.1% over its short-but-sweet distance of 150m. It's a little longer and a little steeper than the “Nasty” hill in Kyoto.

Sadly, Strava no longer allows one to create that-short a segment. The shortness of the segment, combined
with the impreciseness of GPS tracking that non-geek athletes don't really understand, probably results in too much burden on
their customer-service department, so they just disallow them now. One Stava user got around the problem by extending the distance
to include 170m of the run-up to the climb in the segment, creating the “for
Sairinji Climb” segment. Better than nothing. I'm the third Strava user to have made the climb.

I continued on my way to putz around the minor streets. One paved street ended at a little cemetery.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/320 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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The road continued into the woods, but unpaved...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Continues Unpaved

as seen on the minor-road blog.

The maps I consulted indicated that in one area I should find some tennis courts, and indeed I did...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/640 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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These Tennis Courts Exist

... but the road that they indicated should have exited from the area, not so much:

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Not a Road

despite what the maps said








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/640 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Somewhat Nervious Tobidashi-kun








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200 —
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Still Wearing His PJs?

I finally made my way to the main road I wanted to check out, the driveway to a temple. I'd often stopped by the pretty area where the driveway meets the road, but it seems I've posted about it
only once, here.

For some reason I thought the driveway was off limits to all but pedestrians, but after seeing
the report on the minor-road blog, I knew it was okay. There's a parking lot up there.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/1.7, ISO 320 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Heading In








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/100 sec, f/1.7, ISO 200 —
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Looking Back

from near the start












Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/1.7, ISO 500 —
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Steep and Mossy

Let me say up front that when it's dry, as it was when I was there, the road is perfectly fine to ride up and down.

But the moss on the edges would make me very wary to take this road were it wet. Still, this road is no where near as bad as
the road to the Ushio Kannon Temple, which is scary-slippery in the best
of times.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/60 sec, f/1.7, ISO 250 —
map & image data — nearby photos

End of the Road








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/60 sec, f/1.7, ISO 500 —
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Heading Back Down








Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/200 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Different







Panasonic LX100 at an effective 43mm — 1/125 sec, f/3.2, ISO 200 —
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Looks Inviting

“Beer 320 yen” (about US$3)









Panasonic LX100 at an effective 37mm — 1/80 sec, f/2.4, ISO 500 —
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Approaching Tobidashi-kun “K”

In his article on this road, the author of the minor-road blog
noticed that this tobidashi-kun has a “K” on it, and wondered what it meant...

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 25mm — 1/125 sec, f/1.8, ISO 640 —
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この飛び出し君の「Ｋ」は「けん」という現地の子供の意味です。

けん君の父親はこの飛び出し君を作った。

So I asked a local, and it turns out that I was talking to the grandmother of a “Ken”, a young child that lived there. His father had made the tobidashi-kun, so added a “K” for his son's name. The lady went on to explain that people steal these
things (“geez, how rotten do you have to be?”, I thought), so the father thought to personalize it in the hopes that no one would
take it.

Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/3.2, ISO 200 —
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Ken

small child on the push-bike in the center of the (dead-end) road

道の中にいる子供はけん君です









Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
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Another Non-Paved Road

that I'll leave to others to explore







Panasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1/125 sec, f/4, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

I Dunno

what this is

All in all it was a pleasant ride. I returned home to find that I'd whittled another second off my best time on this sprint segment, having taken advantage of a partial tailwind.
That puts me tied for seventh out of 1,327 people. Now if I can just shave a few more seconds off....