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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 66 mm — 1/2500 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Just a Bit of Snow
random, but color, strangers
Shirakawago Village, Toyama Prefecture, Japan
In my most recent post about our short four-day New Year excursion a few hours' north of Kyoto by car, I ended with our having left Gokayama village (五箇山) after lunch, heading a bit further south to Shirakawago Village (白川郷).
The two villages are both world-heritage sites, famed for their quaint and interesting gasshou zukuri style of construction (built without nails or screws). Shirakawago is by far the more famous, and it suffers for it: it's a tourist attraction that happens to have some quaint buildings. Gokayama, on the other hand, felt like a small village that we just happened upon, and I liked it much more. (I wrote about it here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, aaaaaaaaaaand here). I'll have fewer posts about Shirakawago.
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1/500 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Slushy, Wet Quagmire of Cold
two inches of standing water in the parking lot
During this whole trip I developed a deep appreciation for the in-street water sprinklers that I belittled as “stupid” last year... they turn driving from a slip-slidey white-knuckle experience to normal, but one downside is that their use in a parking lot without proper drainage makes for some very wet and soggy shoes.
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1/1250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Seeking Shelter from the Rising Flood
or, just playing on the really big mound of snow
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1/160 sec, f/13, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Kid Equivalent of a Bird's Dust Bath?
nothing quite so pleasurable as being the first to mess up a virgin area of thick snow
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 48 mm — 1/3200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Poooooofth!
flopping into the fresh powder, snow shoots out of the gap between his arms like old faithful
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1/250 sec, f/9, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Roof Shoveling
without a net, perhaps gunning for a Darwin award?
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Safer Snow Removal
The guy by the house in the photo above is holding onto a rope that is tied to the ridge of the roof... to remove snow from the steeply-sloped roof, he just drags the rope from side to side, causing it to slide down. Normally they don't care about the snow buildup on these roofs —. they're designed to hold the weight — but in this case it presents a hazard to customers entering the first-floor shop, so they keep that side of the roof clean.
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 36 mm — 1/1250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Anthony in his Element
that is, anywhere he can play
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1/2500 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Sorta Quaint
the quintessential Shirakawago they normally show you
This town is much larger than Gokayama, so we saw even less of it than we saw of Gokayama (of which we didn't see most). But we perhaps saw some better spots than most that day because we pushed on away from the most egregiously tourist-trap center of town, out just a bit toward one edge...
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 36 mm — 1/50 sec, f/13, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Forging Ahead
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 58 mm — 1/640 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Up and Away
“Warning: Slippery when covered in ice and snow”
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1/500 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Less Touristy
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 32 mm — 1/500 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Hibernating
apparently, the whole area was mostly clear of snow two days earlier
As everyone guessed properly, this truck's wipers were the answer to yesterday's quiz. I thought it would be the least interesting of my “What am I?” quizzes, which is why I titled it “Snowy Quiz of Questionable Appeal”, but it garnered more guesses than all my other quiz posts, combined.
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1/1000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Little Stream
and utility wires
Unlike Gokayama, Shirakawago is full of utility wires, telephone poles, kitsch, and touristy crap. One must take great care with composition to exclude it from photos. I'm sure the snow helps. I've tried my best in most of these, and have refrained from using Photoshop to help.
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1/400 sec, f/5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Urban Living
we're on the public street; there's a house under that big pile of snow
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 35 mm — 1/800 sec, f/3.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Exposed Edge
of the same house
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 38 mm — 1/250 sec, f/5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Typical Shirakawago
quaint house; quaint utility wires
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 62 mm — 1/500 sec, f/5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Less Typical
I'm sure that being half snow blind helps in this one
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1/500 sec, f/5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Wide View
without telephone poles!
It was starting to get a bit chilly, wandering around in the relative wilderness like that, so when we saw a small sign for a cafe pointing down a small path, we decided to give it a try and stop in for something warm.
The path had apparently not been used since the snow started, and I had to try to forage for it among the streams and gardens(?) it passed through.
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 34 mm — 1/500 sec, f/5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Little-Used Path
covered by a couple of feet of fresh snow
Great photos. I visited SHIRA KAWA GO in late 2001 and 2002. Lots of snow then, but, never as much as shown n your photos. Question. What brand of GPS do you use ? I am using one which is similar to the NIKON unit, but, am having issues with it not working in low temperatures. Not as cold as where you were though . I look forward to your comments.
Regards … Peter ( playing tourist in Beijing )
The GPS unit I use is described here —Jeffrey
Jeffrey..Many thanks for the reply. I will invesigate this. Regards from Beijing…… Peter
Loved your snowy pictures of Shirakawago. We will be travelling there next week, 3/13, so now we know what to expect!
I like your pictures. Much more snow than last year when I was in Shirakawago. Your images remind me how much I like the Japanese and their country.
BTW, I caught a cold there too.
If you have time you may explain how they clean their roofs. Seems clever. I have the same problem every some years at our home in the Bavarian Alpes.