Taketomi Island Roundup
NOTE: Images with an icon next to them have been artificially shrunk to better fit your screen; click the icon to restore them, in place, to their regular size.
Modern Conveyances Taketomi Island, Okinawa, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 56 mm — 1/200 sec, f/11, ISO 360 — map & image datanearby photos
Modern Conveyances
Taketomi Island, Okinawa, Japan

So, picking up from yesterday where I recapped our spring trip to Ishigaki Island in the far south of Japan, and our side excursion to the culturally unique Taketomi Island....

Taketomi's tourist draw, besides the quaint little town, are tours through it in carts pulled by water buffalo. (Why water buffalo? No idea.) There were maybe a dozen water buffalo we could see, two or three in active service.

During Our Ride -- Taketomi Island, Okinawa, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1/320 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image datanearby photos
During Our Ride

I don't have many pictures from our ride, but wish I did because our tour guide (and caretaker of our buffalo, whose name he told us but I've now forgotten) was most excellent. He had a wonderful aura of kindness toward the animal and the passengers, was an excellent storyteller, and played a mean shamisen. He seemed to communicate with the buffalo on a plane we weren't part of... he'd be in the middle of telling some story about the history or character of the village, and without breaking gaze or cadence, he took a large bucket from the side of the cart and placed it under the rear end of the buffalo, who then proceeded to fill the bucket. The driver then returned the bucket to its storage spot, and we continued, all the while some story being told.

Water Buffalo Cart Check-In Inside Photo by Anthony Friedl -- Ishigaki, Okinawa, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Anthony Friedl
K001 — 1/950 sec — map & image datanearby photos
"Water Buffalo Cart Check-In
Inside
Photo by Anthony Friedl

One of the zany guardian things described yesterday, displaced from its normal spot on the roof.

Touristy Photo Op -- Taketomi Island, Okinawa, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 52 mm — 1/2500 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image datanearby photos
Touristy Photo Op

We then went for a stroll through the village...

Flying George -- Taketomi Island, Okinawa, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 32 mm — 1/320 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200 — map & image datanearby photos
Flying George
Coral-Lined Lanes pedestrians, bikes, and watter buffalo -- Taketomi Island, Okinawa, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1/200 sec, f/11, ISO 200 — map & image datanearby photos
Coral-Lined Lanes
pedestrians, bikes, and watter buffalo
Modern Urban Blight bicycle parking -- Taketomi Island, Okinawa, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 52 mm — 1/800 sec, f/5, ISO 200 — map & image datanearby photos
Modern Urban Blight
bicycle parking

Actually, there was plenty of urban blight any time you looked up...

Typical Japan -- Taketomi Island, Okinawa, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 26 mm — 1/500 sec, f/4, ISO 200 — map & image datanearby photos
Typical Japan

... but they were in the long process of burying all the cables...

Under Construction -- Taketomi Island, Okinawa, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 35 mm — 1/400 sec, f/4, ISO 200 — map & image datanearby photos
Under Construction

They started a similar project near my place four years ago, and have still yet to complete it. They completely redid the road and sidewalks, but left the wires and poles, telling me that the actual removal would follow “in a few years”. Still waiting )-:

High Point on the Island -- Taketomi Island, Okinawa, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1/200 sec, f/11, ISO 250 — map & image datanearby photos
High Point on the Island

The island is very flat, so a little outcropping of rock makes for a notable landmark with a view. Add to that a lookout tower kind of thing made a hundred or so years ago before zoning, and you have the highest point on the island whose status is now protected by law.

Lookout -- Taketomi Island, Okinawa, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1/200 sec, f/11, ISO 320 — map & image datanearby photos
Lookout

The stairs were the steepest I'd ever taken, somehow feeling even steeper than a vertical ladder. Some people could not navigate them, opting to give up (slowly and carefully) after the first few huge steps.

Village -- Taketomi Island, Okinawa, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1/200 sec, f/11, ISO 320 — map & image datanearby photos
Village
Recent Roof Repair sort of distorted due to having been cropped from the corner of a 24mm frame -- Taketomi Island, Okinawa, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
D700 + 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm, highly cropped — 1/200 sec, f/11, ISO 1250 — map & image datanearby photos
Recent Roof Repair
sort of distorted due to having been cropped from the corner of a 24mm frame
Leading the Stroll along the prettiest lane, where we eventually took a family portrait -- Taketomi Island, Okinawa, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1/1600 sec, f/3.2, ISO 200 — map & image datanearby photos
Leading the Stroll
along the prettiest lane, where we eventually took a family portrait
Okinawan Roof Incredibly Solid -- Taketomi Island, Okinawa, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1/3200 sec, f/3.2, ISO 200 — map & image datanearby photos
Okinawan Roof
Incredibly Solid
Veneer of Modern Traditionalism local post office -- Taketomi Island, Okinawa, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1/800 sec, f/4, ISO 200 — map & image datanearby photos
Veneer of Modern Traditionalism
local post office
Testing anti-gravity parachute parasol -- Taketomi Island, Okinawa, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1/1250 sec, f/4, ISO 200 — map & image datanearby photos
Testing
anti-gravity parachute parasol
Fixer-Upper comes with its own rusting steam roller -- Taketomi Island, Okinawa, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 42 mm — 1/200 sec, f/9, ISO 320 — map & image datanearby photos
Fixer-Upper
comes with its own rusting steam roller
George Flying Again approaching takeoff speed -- Taketomi Island, Okinawa, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1/200 sec, f/9, ISO 280 — map & image datanearby photos
George Flying Again
approaching takeoff speed

We eventually took the 15-minute boat ride back to Ishigaki Island, and stopping by a cafe for a coffee, found to our delight that we could see Taketomi Island off shore, in all its flatness.

Should Be Called Pancake Island -- Ishigaki, Okinawa, Japan -- Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 35 mm — 1/200 sec, f/14, ISO 640 — map & image datanearby photos
Should Be Called Pancake Island

All 2 comments so far, oldest first...

“Water Buffalo Cart Check-In ” guy REALLY looks like something Anthony made out of play-doh.

— comment by Marcina, USA on December 28th, 2009 at 12:18pm JST (14 years, 3 months ago) comment permalink

“Flying George” photo is highly charming & lovely.

What do you think of the, preferably printed, series: Coral-Lined Lanes, Leading the Stroll, George Flying Again, Flying George?

— comment by parv on December 28th, 2009 at 11:34pm JST (14 years, 3 months ago) comment permalink
Leave a comment...


All comments are invisible to others until Jeffrey approves them.

Please mention what part of the world you're writing from, if you don't mind. It's always interesting to see where people are visiting from.

IMPORTANT:I'm mostly retired, so I don't check comments often anymore, sorry.


You can use basic HTML; be sure to close tags properly.

Subscribe without commenting