Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 66mm — 1/160 sec, f/2.8, ISO 800 — map & image data — nearby photos
山びこの森
Mountains of northern Takatsuki, Japan
Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 31mm — 1/60 sec, f/2.8, ISO 140 — map & image data — nearby photos
Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/60 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/50 sec, f/2.8, ISO 180 — map & image data — nearby photos
right before the end
We had a fun trip today to a small food/entertainment area in the mountains of northern Takatsuki City (高槻市), an hour or so west of Kyoto. The main objective that I'll post about another time (Update: here) was the picking of (and grilling of and eating) shiitake mushrooms (椎茸), but we also had fun at a play area that included a slide of rollers for 80m (260') down a hill.
UPDATE: for more information about visiting this slide, see this follow-up post.
Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/50 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
It was wet and dirty, but YOLO, so we gave it a go.
Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/160 sec, f/4.5, ISO 2200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/160 sec, f/4.5, ISO 1800 — map & image data — nearby photos
I waited to catch Anthony at the bottom for his first run because the slide shoots you at high speed off its end, into what was today a wet mess of dirty dirt and painful gravel.
For his second run he said he could handle slowing himself down, so I watched him pass with the camera...
Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/160 sec, f/2.8, ISO 800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/160 sec, f/2.8, ISO 800 — map & image data — nearby photos
control has mostly vanished
Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/160 sec, f/2.8, ISO 450 — map & image data — nearby photos
less elegant than he planned
Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/160 sec, f/2.8, ISO 450 — map & image data — nearby photos
Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 62mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 450 — map & image data — nearby photos
Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 62mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 400 — map & image data — nearby photos
For another run I positioned myself halfway...
Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/160 sec, f/2.8, ISO 800 — map & image data — nearby photos
where speed starts to increase quickly
Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/160 sec, f/2.8, ISO 800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/160 sec, f/2.8, ISO 800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/50 sec, f/2.8, ISO 110 — map & image data — nearby photos
The rain picked up noticeably at this point, so we headed home.
This call to mind some other mountain/roller/slide things we've done in the past, most notably the Slippery Green Slidy Day of Fun at Bluma no Oka five years ago, and a big roller slide in Otsu.
Very nice pictures, Jeffrey! They show the fun, which father and son had in the downhill.
Wish you and your family good luck.
Oooh ,natsukashii! That place is on my favorite riding loop when I lived in Takatsuki. I went out on that road, past the golf club almost to Kameoka, and then loop around and come back somewhat to the west, past all the concrete quarries, or whatever they were quarrying. Soo fast on the way back down. A lot of fun. Yoshiko did it on the tandem one time, I think.
Those things can accelerate kids (or adults!) to incredible speeds. Too bad they could never exist in America. Someone would get a boo-boo and sue the park for billions.
Ah, but such heady days did used to exist in The States: Action Park. —Jeffrey
These pictures bring back fond memories of the rollerslide we visited in Kasai. I got a brush burn on my calf that took one year to fully heal. I also had a fantastic time trying to find bacitracin in still-very-country, Himeji.
That interplay between Japan modern and Japan rustic will never get old. Many an American child-of the-1970’s will get this phantom nostalgia when they visit certain parts of Japan. Its palpable and yet it seems misplaced since you didn’t grow up there. –I think its things like that mountain slide that remind us of a much less baby-proof America. Seriously, many an American parent goggles at even the Ramune bottle, not because of the marble and codd-neck design but because it’s made of glass and all that sugar. (The horror!)
Thanks for the photos. Good times! Good times!
I loved Action Park when I was growing up. My mom hated it she even payed for six flags so we wouldn’t go. Like the first image. The colors of the rollers go well with the rest of the scene.
Jace loves this slide and wants to go there! It looks so fun!
Thanks for these great pictures Jeffrey! I’m going to (try to) build one of these in my backyard, and your pics are as close to plans as I can get. I assume the rollers are bamboo, looks like they’re divided for independent rolling, and I think there’s very little space between (to prevent catching fingers). I’m a little worry about that last point — boy these need to be close together or you’re gonna catch fingers / clothes / etc.
But, worth a go!
Yes, close together. I believe they’re metal… maybe plastic, but definitely not bamboo! That would be painful. —Jeffrey
I can’t seem to find any information about this slide. Do you have an address or place I can look up so I can find this slide?
The link to the location is in the first paragraph (and here). The slide is an inconsequential part of the operation, but it’s seen in passing in photos on this sub page. —Jeffrey
Hello, beautifull slide. I would like to make such one in our forest. Were die you fine those roling system? Can we make them ourselves?
Thans you for your answer, Erik , Brussels, Belgium
I have no idea, sorry, but a web search for “roller slide” in your language will be a good start. —Jeffrey
I went to a much smaller one today and took note of the manufacturer, with whom I have no affiliation. It is Ohkubo in Okayama. I googled their web page. No affiliation.
http://www.ohkubo-taiki.co.jp/roller/01.html
I don’t know if they made the one you are using here but it looks similar. Fun. I would like to go to Takatsuki just to try the slide.