Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/320 sec, f/5.6, ISO 360 — map & image data — nearby photos
Inspired by the Beauty
of the gorgeous Haradanien Garden (原谷苑)
for an impromptu fashion shot

This post is a continuation from Part 1 of “Kyoto’s Amazing Haradanien Garden”, with a bunch more photos that I hope gives a sense what it's like to visit at the height of cherry-blossom season.

I'll explain below why Haradanien (原谷苑) is wonderful despite the crowds, but make no mistake, it's very crowded.

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/320 sec, f/22, ISO 4000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Typical Scene
that you see if you want to see

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/500 sec, f/2.5, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
iPad Photography in the Crowded Path

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/2000 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Slight Clearing

It's crowded, but the layout of the garden, with wandering paths on a hillside, is masterful. There are people behind the lady posing above, but you can't see them, and that works well with the first rule of photography: “If It's Not in Frame, It Doesn't Exist”.

It works the same when you visit without the camera: the warm sense of enjoyment that I've dubbed “Cherry Blossom Joie de Vivre” permeates the experience, and the annoying part of “crowd” inexplicably seems to melt away.

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Typical Scene of the Crowds
that you see if you want to see

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Nikon D4 + Nikkor 200mm f/2 — ¹/800 sec, f/2, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Late-Morning Siesta
after a beer and some snacks

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 200mm f/2 — ¹/320 sec, f/2, ISO 180 — map & image data — nearby photos
Crowded But Eminently Pleasant

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/2500 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Okay, This is a Bit Much
stepping up on the seats with shoes on, a huge no-no in Japanese culture
(judging from the language spoken, they were visitors from another country)

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — ¹/1600 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Hillside Dotted with People
with plenty of room for enjoyment

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — ¹/4000 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Lots of Benches
to relax on

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — ¹/4000 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Alone
among the crowds

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 — ¹/2500 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
“This is All for Me!”
is easy to feel here

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/800 sec, f/2.5, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Intimate Moments

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

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 200mm f/2 — ¹/400 sec, f/2, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Fun Result
checking the back of the camera

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 200mm f/2 — ¹/1250 sec, f/2, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Bento Lunch

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 200mm f/2 — ¹/640 sec, f/2, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Tour-Bus Staff
enjoy the place despite likely having been here many times

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 200mm f/2 — ¹/500 sec, f/2, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Slow, Lazy Pace

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There must be millions of individual blossoms in the garden, but sometimes one or two just stick out and grab your attention as being particularly appealing (such as those seen in “Subtle Pastel Blossoms at Kyoto's Haradanien Garden”), and in this next shot Damien is photographing such a blossom...

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 200mm f/2 — ¹/640 sec, f/2, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos

He's borrowing my favorite lens, the Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5, because it's a macro well suited to close-ups of dainty things.

I tried it myself later when he returned the lens, but the result doesn't at all live up to my expectations. )-:

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 250 — map & image data — nearby photos

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Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 250 — map & image data — nearby photos

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That one particular blossom had really caught my eye and I expected to be wowed by the results, but they're just okay. I took one “establishing” shot of the blossom in context, and in looking at it now, I wonder what I saw in it. It's in the center of this shot:

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 200mm f/2 — ¹/400 sec, f/2, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Meh

While Damien used my Voigtländer, I was borrowing his Nikkor 200mm f/2, which is the baby brother of my 300mm f/2. The feel of the focus ring of his lens is the most delicious I'd ever used, and I immediately wanted to get one.

I haven't yet had the time to look through my shots with the 200mm f/2 to actually evaluate the results, but it's telling that many of the shots I picked for this “vibe” post are from that lens.

Here's one more with his lens that I gussied up with just a bit of Lightroom “Funky Joy” that blossoms are so amenable to (such as seen here and here, among dozens of other posts on my blog).

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 200mm f/2 — ¹/2500 sec, f/2, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos

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And to end this “Part 2” post, here's one more pretty blossom with creaminess that's all Voigtländer:

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 180 — map & image data — nearby photos
Pure

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This is straight out of the camera, with nothing done in Lightroom other than setting the white balance appropriately.

Continued here...

Holy cow, I'm drained. I tried something called “hot yoga” (ホットヨガ) today at a local gym (Inspa in eastern Kyoto, near Sanjo Kawaramachi). I'd never done yoga... it seems to be simple stretching and balance, but “hot yoga” is doing it in a humid room heated to about 36°C (97°F). Fumie had just joined the gym and really liked this particular class.

Considering that I am spectacularly unflexible, I thought perhaps it'd be beneficial in limbering me up, so I thought I'd give it a try. I was not prepared for just how hot/humid it was, though I would have been fine if the class were just 45 minutes, but it was an hour and that last 15 minutes utterly drained me to the bone.

I will sleep well tonight.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — ¹/200 sec, f/7.1, ISO 6400 — image data
Bento for a Big Boy
rice, minced beef, egg, asparagus, nama yatsuhashi, jelly snack

Anthony (fifth grade) has a school field trip today for which Fumie had to make a bento lunch. It's been a while since he needed one of these, though when in preschool (five years ago!) he needed a bento every day.

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 400 — image data

The challenges of bento design are many... food that he'll eat without being fussy, food that will stay fresh without refrigeration until lunch, a presentation that is both pleasing and robust against the bumps and bruises of the inside of a backpack, all while being both healthy and sufficiently nutritious for a long day of hiking. It's perhaps easier now than when he was a baby, but whoever said “Motherhood isn't rocket science” was making a slight against rocket scientists.

As Fumie was arranging the sliced asparagus, it was hard to miss the similarity in shape to ballet pointe shoes all lined up.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/640 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Lunch is Served
Men-Baka Ramen Restaurant (めん馬鹿)
Kyoto, Japan

I'll follow up my post about Restaurant “Kiev” with another Kyoto restaurant of note, Men-Baka (“Noodle Idiot”, めん馬鹿一代), which Damien Douxchamps brought me to.

The proprietor saw my big camera and warned that I'd be too dangerous to take photos of my own ramen, so suggested that I take the opportunity to photograph a pair of high-school boys receiving theirs.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/320 sec, f/1.4, ISO 2000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Protective Aprons for All

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/320 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1600 — map & image data — nearby photos
Typical Kitchen
of a ramen-noodle joint

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/160 sec, f/2.5, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
In All Seriousness
applying a hot pink hair scrunchies

The proprietor was a riot. With the dead-serious voice reserved for topics of grave concern, he had the boy with longish hair pick out a colorful hair scrunchie and proceeded to apply it to his front bangs, citing the impending danger of the flames.

Of course the little bit of hair didn't make the slightest difference one way or the other, so the scrunchie and the grave concern was all just a joke, but I don't think the kids realized it because the man was so serious. It was pretty funny in retrospect.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/320 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Serious Instructions

The set of instructions one receives before the meal is important, and long... keep your hands behind your back, don't flinch, don't touch the bowl nor the table until given the okay, etc. At this point none of us knew what exactly was coming, so we all listened carefully.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/320 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Flaming Pan

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/320 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Spout of Flame

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/320 sec, f/1.4, ISO 250 — map & image data — nearby photos

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/640 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
This is why you don't try to put out an oil fire with water

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 cropped — ¹/640 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Pretty

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/640 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 cropped — ¹/500 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Slightly Different Color Balance
balanced for the flame instead of the sunlight streaming in

Then it was time for the second boy's noodles...

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/320 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1250 — map & image data — nearby photos

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/1600 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
See No Evil
the second boy didn't see either display

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/320 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1600 — map & image data — nearby photos
Ready To Eat

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 cropped — ¹/320 sec, f/1.4, ISO 2500 — map & image data — nearby photos
Speechless
the middle girl in the background

Then it was my turn. This flaming ramen is called negi ramen (ネギらめん), or “scallion ramen”.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/320 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Scallions

I didn't get to photograph my fiery display, but I could pull out the camera once things had settled down.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/320 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1600 — map & image data — nearby photos
My Bowl of Negi Ramen

If you have a camera, the proprietor takes a picture for you with your camera, directing you with the same grave seriousness to a ridiculous mouth-agape pose. I'd seen it with the two high-school boys, so was able to temper my pose a bit, but it's still silly:

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/320 sec, f/1.4, ISO 3600 — map & image data — nearby photos
First Bite
photo by Masamichi Miyazawa

You can find plenty of videos of this event on YouTube.

The ramen was not bad, but aside from the fun spectacle of its preparation, was otherwise not outstanding.

Балтика #3
Baltika Beer #3
at the “Kiev” restaurant, Kyoto Japan

We recently had a very nice family dinner at the Kiev Russian Restaurant (レストランキエフ) in Kyoto's Gion district.

I'd never had Russian cuisine and so didn't really know what to expect, but it was fantastic. It was a good place to make a first impression of Russian food because the highest quality was evident in every aspect of the meal... from the obviously superb raw ingredients down to the presentation. In this I was reminded of Kyoto favorite Chez Luc (where as it happens I had lunch today).

At Kiev I had the spring seasonal course dinner “Besner”... course after course of absolutely delightful foods of, again, the highest quality. I couldn't get enough.

I only had my iPhone camera with me, and I don't want to put yucky photos of amazingly-good food, but here's one that's sort of fun, some kind of popover bread as a lid for a pot of exceedingly succulent beef stew...

iPhone 4S at an effective 35mm — ¹/15 sec, f/2.4, ISO 640 — map & image data — nearby photos
Wow
my mother-in-law registers surprise at the size

The meal ends with a cup of hot tea, made interesting by a huge pot of jam that you're supposed to mix in (instead of honey or sugar, I suppose).

iPhone 4S at an effective 35mm — ¹/20 sec, f/2.4, ISO 400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Tea and Jam

Kyoto's “Kiev” restaurant: highly recommended.