Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55 f/2.8 @ 31mm — 1/320 sec, f/7.1, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Terraces of Rice
On the little trip where I photographed the elderly couple harvesting rice, I was returning to the mountainous area with a lot of terraced riced paddies that I'd visited the week prior with Nils (where the kids had played). I'd returned to try to get some shots from higher up on the mountain, where I envisioned I'd be able look down at a wide expanse of rice paddies splayed out before me.
It turned out that the terrain wasn't that steep, so all but the few closest terraces seemed to blend into one. There were dozens of levels between the road and the top, but I could never really see them all at once.
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55 f/2.8 @ 55mm — 1/320 sec, f/7.1, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
View from the Top
Various fingers of farmed land extended up into the mountains, accompanied by tiny access roads, that was fun to explore.
Here's an area fairly high up, away from civilization, that was suddenly very nicely manicured:
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55 f/2.8 @ 20mm — 1/350 sec, f/8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Well Manicured
There's a perfectly flat shelf of lush grass between the slope on the right and the hillside on the left, making it a perfect place for a picnic or barbecue.
One of the little access roads continued well past any farming, and became very rocky and almost impassable. It probably wasn't the best way to treat my scooter, but I took the road until it ended in the middle of nowhere, way up in the middle of the mountain (which turns out to have been 681m tall Mt. Daibi — 大尾山). By this time, the area had become very steep.
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200mm — 1/1000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
Steep
With the high vantage point, I had a nice view of the mile-long “Rainbow Road” bridge across a particularly narrow area of Lake Biwa.
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200mm — 1/800 sec, f/5.6, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
Bridge and Wheel
The main goal of my trip was to see the rice terraces, and indeed I saw plenty. Most hadn't yet been harvested, but some had.
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200mm — 1/1250 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
See You Next Year
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55 f/2.8 @ 17mm — 1/500 sec, f/7.1, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
That last shot, another one from the top of one set of terraces, is nice in that you can see the lake and the mountains way beyond. (You can even see the ferris wheel, if you look closely enough). It has a sense of expanse that I enjoy, but perhaps it's one of those “had to be there” things.
On one of my trips around the lake by bicycle, I found that there was a crazy bungee-like swing ride at that little thrill park. Two high platforms about 100m apart, as I recall, and a pivot point in between. You put on a harness and do a really big Tarzan swing d-o-w-nnnnn! and then u-u-u-u-u-p the other side, and back and forth until you run out of potential energy, or lunch, or both. Wonder if it’s still there.
On the other side of the bridge there was a place called “Wan-Wan Ohkoku,” “Doggy Kingdom,” where you could play with all kinds of dogs of numerous breeds, watch various astounding doggy feats of skill
and comical doggy clown acts. it was fun but I think it folded.