The Dames Point Bridge is the most awe-inspiring bridge in Jacksonville. The bridge is massive, making you feel puny on your way through it. The harp cabling extends ahead and behind you as you progress, leading you up, then back down, then up and back down again. The scenery around the bridge is natural fused with industrial while tug boats pull tankers through the river, boating docks lie along the coast and acres of open land lay around it.
Continuing this series of posts from Alt Photo, I bring you to my favorite photo from the Albumen Process. We were introduced to this process during an Artist Workshop at the Museum of Contemporary Art in downtown Jacksonville (of which UNF has recently taken ownership). The artist that hosted this workshop was a well-known alternative process Fine Arts photographer Dan Estabrook, where he taught and guided us for three days through the 19th century process.
On the second day of the workshop, Dan also gave an inspiring lecture on his work to fellow students and faculty. We were given some great insight into his work, how to be an artist, and how to make work from within.
One excellent piece of advice he gave me during a personal meeting was how your work may not convey every specific point you wanted to your viewer, including back history, where it came from, etc. The viewer doesn’t have to know those things to have it be a successful piece, but it still has to come from there. That back story blends itself into the photo, making it’s story and history evident in it’s visual qualities.
Which brings me to this photo. Dan said those things in reference to this photograph. This was taken up in the mountains during my trip to Japan. We stayed in Hakone, in a lakeside hotel. When we woke, we were at such an elevation that we were in a literal cloud. Before our bus ride back down the mountain I looked out the window and had this. Raindrops were on the window while you can see a tree and the lake in the background. It references the physical and spiritual beauty of the place.
Disclaimer: I know that the above print is a Salt Print. But the two were nearly identical and I don’t have a scanned version of my Albumen print which is now framed.
It’s my final night here; we fly out tomorrow morning at 10:30am.
Thus, I want to leave you with the best view I could find that overlooked most of LA. We found this place after a quick google search to find the best spots to see the HOLLYWOOD sign. I’ve included a maps screenshot for reference.
Today included a trip up to the mountains, then over to Hollywood for some Pink’s Hotdogs, Rodeo Drive to look around, Sprinkle’s Cupcakes, The Chinese Theater and Hollywood Blvd, then finally a trip to this vista that overlooks most of the city.
Just like the song goes “I Love LA,” but I do miss home.
Woops. Well, it seems like it’s been almost a week since these events have unfolded and I’m just now making a blog post about it all. Since I’ve arrived back in the states, missing Tokyo immensely, I have been on such an extraordinary sleep schedule, sleeping for at most four hours at a time. It’s been odd, but I’m sure I’ll be back to normal in a few days.
Because of this lag, I have been uninspired to write about anything (and busy with going back to work), until now, at 3am, unable to sleep. So, I decided to grab some Koala snacks (today’s flavor is chocolate) and some Anpanman gummies and sit back and wish I was still in Tokyo.
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So, we awoke in the morning after our rest in the traditional Japanese hotel room, sleeping the longest amount of time since we’ve been there – about 10 hours! We slept til 8:30 or so, then got ready, ate some breakfast at the hotel, and headed off to catch our bus to begin our departure back to wards Tokyo. Now, this wasn’t a straight journey. We took many different forms of transportation so that we took our time, saw some scenery, and experienced it all.
We awoke in the middle of a cloud. It was extremely foggy and wet outside as we got into the bus and left the hotel.
This is what it looked like outside. And to top that off, it was VERY breezy – I’m talking about 4omph gusts that blew us away.
Onwards, we changed buses a few times and while we had some time at one of the stations be went into a small shop for some snacks, and to much of my surprise, they had some beloved toy capsule machines. Yes, I love those things. This particular one that I visited had some Hello Kitty merchandise, such as small pouches and watches. So, I got a kickass Hello Kitty pouch that I kept on my belt loop and kept all my coins in:
I was styling in that, I know. Mana and Brittany got a kick out of it (Mana called me Ben-chan haha).
One of the main attractions that we visited on our journey down the mountains was to visit the hot springs that were prevalent along certain spots. It said at one point that these hot springs could reach up to 80° Celcius!
So, why not. Let’s go check them out.
After what seemed like a half mile worth of steps up towards where the springs were in this particular location (and through a cloud, none the less), we arrived at a small peak where there were pools of hot springs all around.
This one was larger than some of the other ones around. A note about this spot: they had carriages that rode on ropes/wires that were guided some 100ft above the walkways that carried eggs from the peak to the bottom to be transported. These eggs were hard boiled in the sulfur water of the hot springs, then taken out to be sold and eaten. There was a small shop at the the peak that we visited and Mr. Watanabe purchases some eggs for us.
This is what they look like before you eat them, and they’re hot too! They feel like they came right out of the boiling water.
Well, you peel the shells off, pour a bit of salt on the eggs and you devour. Well, they taste like a hard boiled egg! Imagine that. Now, as legend goes, eggs that are boiled in these hot springs give whoever eats them increased longevity and lifespan. So, I just gained 5 years from that egg. Go me.
The next highlight of the descent that we visited was getting on a ropeway car to take us down the mountain to catch a train. Now, as I mentioned earlier, it was very windy this high up and the thought of being suspended by a couple cables a few hundred feet above a sloping landscape was not a pleasant thought and I was a bit unwiling to that idea.
By the time we rounded the corner and looked at the equipment, and how it was not nearly as primitive as my mind made it out to be (I’m sure the name “ropeway” didn’t help), I was rather comforted. The ride down the mountain was very smooth and quiet, and it had such a wonderful view.
You could see everything from the height and perspective. It was also rather nifty that at the 11o’clock angle from the zipline, there was a kanji carved in the mountain. “Big” is what it represented, I was told. Pretty clever. You can’t really do that with English words, in my opinion. It’s not as simple and symbolic as the Japanese writing is, though that could be my biased perspective.
We landed safely after the ropeway ride into a transportation station, where we had a few minutes to hang around. So, we went out to a deck area that had a great view of the scenery to take some photos!
He we are, the four of us again! Notice that Mana is standing on the ledge and is barely taller than all of us. Haha. So tiny…
Finally, a few train rides later, we arrive in a small town that has many small shops and restaurants. Our final train back to Tokyo left about two hours after we got there, so we got some lunch, shopped a bit, and hung out there for a while.
Here is Mr. Watanabe showing us our current transportation on a map. He is pointing to where our hotel was, and we are currently at the big red spot on the far right-middle on the map. Our journey took us north along the lake, then headed east through all the words that are on the map, until we arrived in this small town.
Here’s an image of the sidewalk of the small town. Its just a bunch of small shops and souvenir stores all along the main road. Brittany, Tyler and I spent a good hour going up and down these stores, buying things for ourselves and for gifts for other, while the rest of the group went to a public garden to see the flowers on display there.
And hour later, we all met up at the train station to catch our final ride back to Tokyo. We took a “Romancecar” which took us straight to Shinjuku station.
Here is the Romancecar arriving to pick us all up. Now, this was a semi-direct passenger train for personal transportation. The seats were comparable to an airplane, but with much more legroom. It was a very comfortable ride back to Tokyo.
The train ride was a solid hour-and-a-half journey, which was enough time to see some rice fields along the way, take a short nap, and snap a interesting photo in the reflection of the window.
The girl that was sitting a few seats in front of me was just being cute the whole ride. She is facing towards me because the seats can be turned around to face the rear of the train if people you know are sitting behind you and you can pull out a larger table. So, her seat was turned around and it was humorous to watch her be cute the whole way, and to get an interesting reflection photo.
Now, we have arrived back in Tokyo and I had to pick up my tripod from the reception place for the wedding, as I left it there by mistake (I had an epiphany a day prior and remembered that I didn’t have it, so we called and they held it for us). So, I journeyed out there with Mrs. Watanabe as my guide so I didn’t get lost, then met back up with everyone else, plus Bill, in Shibuya as I wanted to get photos of the incredibly busy intersection and busy lifestyle there. So, what’s the best place to meet people in Shibuya? By the Hachiko statue of course!
This is Hachiko, the dog (well, his statue). For those unfamiliar with the story of Hachiko, here’s a brief summary: he was a loyal dog during the 1930′s to a man who took the trains across Tokyo for work. Hachiko met his owner at the local train station in Shibuya every evening to greet him and head back home, but one day, the owner died while at work and never returned. Hachiko, being the loyal dog that he is waited there for the rest of his life for the owner, escaping from those who tried to adopt him. For the next 10+ years, he lived around the Shibuya station, fed and cared for by those that frequented the station. This is the second statue erected for him 1948, as the first statue was used for it’s metal during WWII.
Okay, so I was moved by his story. Gotta love such an adorable, loyal dog.
At this point, we all were together and headed for some familiar food – American Pizza at Shakey’s. It was VERY cheesy, but a solid meal for all of since it was such a familiar recipe.
Filled tummies, a bit of shopping in the hip area of Shibuya, then I couldn’t leave without getting a good view of the intersection.
This is of decent quality considering the circumstances: I had to shoot through reinforced (by small wires embedded in it) glass, on top of not being able to use my tripod to it’s full abilities as I couldn’t place my camera directly against the glass while on the tripod. I needed to place it against the glass to get rid of all the lines in the glass and to minimize any glare from the lights, though you can still see a lot of glare, especially on the left side of the image.
But, you get the picture (haha…). A busy, awesome place. I could see myself hanging out in a place like this.
So, we headed back to bed at this point. It was getting late, and our final day in Japan was coming up, which we had planned to be a full shopping day throughout the whole city.
There are many, many more photos on my Flickr page too if you want to see more! (Follow the link on the right sidebar. It says “Flickr.” Can’t go wrong.
-Ben
Well, after the late night of karaoke, we pulled into the hotel room at about 2pm and fell asleep. That got me over the jet lag for sure. But we slept in late, and my preparations took a bit too long and we had to run to catch our bus out to Hakone, which took about two-and-a-half hours to get there.
We went up mountain roads, through small mountain towns and I got to see mountains for the first time in my life. Yeah, if you can believe it. All my life, I’ve only lived in coastal states and cities, where it’s relatively flat. I’ve lived in proximity to salt water all my life, thus I haven’t been able to see mountains. So, for my virgin eyes, they were spectacularly beautiful.
I mean, seriously. Absolutely gorgeous. This is screensaver-worthy here.
Moving on, more hairpin style turns (that would go great for drifting – Initial D style!), and 2.5hrs into the bus ride and we arrive at Hotel de Yama, which is on the lakeside of Ashinoko (Lake Ashi), more on that later. The hotel was quite upscale, fancy, and very hospitable. Us young’ins stayed in a Japanese style room, while the adults stayed in a western room with regular beds – what you would normally expect in a hotel room.
Here I am standing in the first room you walk into after the foyer area, looking into the sitting room. Each room is divided with the sliding dividers, and the room smelled like Japan, if it would have a distinctive smell. To camera-left, the whole wall was made of windows and sliding glass doors that overlook the garden and the Ashinoko. The bathrooms were interesting japanese style, too where the showers are built into the wall and you sit on a small wooden stool to bathe, while the tub was built into the ground (photos on Flickr). I enjoyed this change of pace. During dinner, they would come into our rooms and prepare our beds, which would lie on the floor.
We went up to the fifth floor to look out of the observatory, where we can see the entire lake, the mountains and the gardens. And Mt. Fuji (in the distance, and for five minutes until the clouds cover it)!!!!
Mt. Fuji was a bit clearer in real life, but still hard to see through the haze and the clouds. But I saw it. 
It was a really great view of the whole landscape and such a beautiful place to be in.
Before dinner, we headed on a walk down a small trail that was along the lake, which led to small town and a Shinto temple.
This is us “kids” in front of the Gate of the Gods (?) that marks all the Shinto temples. This was the sea port entrance, and there were others up the hill, closer to the temple.
After a long hike up many flights of stairs, we arrive at Kosho Temple, which, as explained to me, was named after the emperor of the time it was built, some 2400 years ago (with renovations, of course).
This is the initial gate in to the main temple. The decorations and design of their buildings is interesting and definitely different than western-style, though not nowing much about architecture, I couldn’t tell you the first thing.
Now, walking down towards the town more, we stopped on a small bridge, and wow, what a view it had.
You could rent a small boat and ride it on the river, take a ferry (pirate) ship accross the lake, or fish from the docks.
This lake, Ashinoko, is one of five lakes around Mt. Fuji that were formed from it’s volcanic activity. The eruptions flowed so far that they blocked off and covered parts of a nearby river, enclosing and forming five lakes, including this one.
We then ventured into town and stopped at a few small shops, turned around and saw this wonderful view of this mesa with a small building atop it:
Everywhere I turned, everything was just so strikingly beautiful and there was something new to look at around every corner.
Just on the other side of the road was a cool piece of history.
This is the original dirt and gravel road, from about 400 years ago, that connected Tokyo and Osaka. Obviously, people traveled by foot and carriage (?) between the two cities down this long road.
After this, we headed back to the hotel and prepared for a relaxing time in the bathhouse. When I went, it was Tyler, Mr. Watanabe, and myself. So, for clarification, yes, this is where you bathe in public, surrounded by other people. Honestly, it took about 2 minutes to get used to and everything was fine. Mr. Watanabe walked me through the customs of the bath house, and the importance of it. It can link each other’s friendships and improve their communication, all while getting relaxed in the very warm bath water. I consider it male bonding time, and it really is.
This particular bath house had an indoor and smaller out door bath, showers all along the walls, a sauna (which was about 90degrees Celcius; and I have never been in a sauna, so I lasted about 2 mins), massage chairs, a large sink and grooming area, and different specific massages devices for your feet, etc. Overall it was extremely relaxing and you can feel the spiritual energy in there. Of course, as it was a bunch of naked dudes in there, I didn’t get any photos. But I’m sure you can understand that. Just trust me when I saying that it was well worth the personal exposure, which isn’t that bad, really.
I took a quick stroll through the gardens just before dinner as well, and took some photos with the fleeting daylight. Being so high in altitude, it was also very foggy from, well, being inside of a cloud, which gave it another eerie feel.
This is Ashinoko inside of a cloud, but you can feel a bit more surrealism to it.
Monochromatic-the-sun-is-gone type of light.
This is one of my favorites because of the different colored lights. The blue was from the fleeting dusk light, while the yellow lights were coming from the building nearby, so get complimentary colors in a dreamy atmosphere. There’s a small figure in the distance on the road also (Mr. Watanabe), which adds a nice final touch.
Following this, we had a very upscale Japanese dinner. Simply put, Brittany and I didn’t eat much. Haha. It was just a little out of my palette range, but Mana had a quite a bit more than us. She even said that it was a bit too much for her.
So, we were all ready to pass out by then, and our beds were there waiting for us. We slept for about 10 hours up in the mountains.
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Now, at 10:30am on Tuesday morning, my final full day in Tokyo, it’s a bunch of shopping and eating at ramen stands and curry shops for me. I’ll get to Monday possibly tonight.
Adios.
-Ben