Today's post is an essentially-random collection of pictures.

Canon IXY DIGITAL 700 — ¹/400 sec, f/7.1 — map & image data — nearby photos
Spectating at 150mph

A view of Mt. Fuji, taken with my point-n-shoot from the window of a shinkansen (bullet train) traveling at about 250kph. This was from a trip about a year ago to Tokyo to see Kousuke Atari in concert.

A point of trivia: I believe the river you can see in the background is an electrical dividing line: household current to the east of the river (Tokyo, Nagano, Sapporo...) is 50Hz, while that to the west (Kyoto, Osaka, Nagoya, Hiroshima, Amami....) is 60Hz. The difference matters less with modern equipment, but old clocks and things with high-voltage engines (e.g. refrigerators with their compressors) couldn't be used on “the other side”.

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — ¹/1250 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Rickshaw Driver

Rickshaw are still commonly seen only in a few areas of Japan, with where I live in Kyoto being one of them. They're quite popular, both for common tourists and for wedding parties (an example of the latter can be seen here; other posts with rickshaw can be seen here, here, and here). I happened to have snapped this shot on the outing last December that produced my Making the Best of Bright Light in Fall-Color Photography post.

Canon IXY DIGITAL 700 — ¹/40 sec, f/2.8 — full exif
Covered Parking

Anthony's creative play last year, involving the train set he got when he turned five years old, some packing Styrofoam, and some mini cars. If the mini cars look familiar, it's because they appeared on an earlier post, Anthony the Valet. I am, of course, biased, but I like Anthony's creativity, and have featured it from time to time, including:   Heavy Industries on the Kitchen Table,     Two Anthony Projects: Security Gate & Impromptu Airplane,    Creative Street-Sweeper Design,    and Preschool Car Repair.

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VR @ 65 mm — ¹/640 sec, f/5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Ferry

I'm not really big on abstract shots, but for some reason I feel partial to this shot I took while standing on a pitching ferry while traveling from the mainland to Miyajima Island, during last fall's trip to see Kousuke Atari in concert for the first time (at the Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima).

Miyajima is a pretty area, and I ended up with so many posts from that trip that I created a Miyajima category on my blog.

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 55 mm — ¹/60 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1250 — map & image data — nearby photos
Some Random Fern

Taken at the same impromptu stopover that produced Chestnut on a Bed of Moss (with desktop-background bonus).

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — ¹/2500 sec, f/2.2, ISO 250 — map & image data — nearby photos
Roof

The roof of one of the buildings on the grounds of Kyoto's Nijo Castle. I visited Nijo Castle for the first time last year, and despite having a bazillion shots, I've yet to post more than some of its heavy wooden gate, and one desktop-background pretty autumn scene. Must. Post. More....

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 26 mm — ¹/320 sec, f/4.5, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
Cute Bench

Taken during yet another Kousuke Atari inspired trip: Sunrise in Takamatsu, Japan.

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 55 mm — ¹/1000 sec, f/4, ISO 250 — map & image data — nearby photos
Palm-Tree Trunk

In the front yard of the “Horizon Club” bed and breakfast, on a remote southern-Japan island in the East China Sea.

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — ¹/125 sec, f/2, ISO 1250 — map & image data — nearby photos
Friendly Cup of Coffee

While visiting a friend's house, I was offered coffee. I loved the look of the presentation, of the cup on the old table with a nice patina, so I just had to snap a photo of it. It was much tastier than the $9 cup of coffee I had at a ritzy Tokyo cafe. I guess friendship makes everything better.