Here are a few random pictures from the colorful Towel Museum in Imabari Japan, which I covered in a couple of posts last month (part one and part two). The towel giraffe above is a smaller version of the one Anthony is hugging in this photo from part one.

The displays of wares for sale at the many shops were always colorful...

I was thinking of using this picture as one of my "What am I?" quizzes, but it's probably not challenging enough, so I'll just post it here, and the answer follows later in this post.

The big wall [...]

As I noted in last week's "A Little Cold-Forging Metal Work", I recently visited a craftsman in the art of traditional Japanese swordmaking.

I have no interest in swords as weapons, historical items, or even as pieces of art (such as seen in "A Few Japanese Swords of Note"), but I find how they're made to be facinating. (See this video for a superficial overview.)

Later this month, Pierre, a Canadian working in Wakayama, Japan, will take the test to be an officially licensed Japanese swordsmith. If he passes, he will be only the second non-Japanese in history to do [...]

I often make the short drive up to the Shogunzuka overlook to catch the sunset or just enjoy the nice view, but it's usually to the public overlook, and only a few times to the actual Shogunzuka gardens next door (500 yen to enter... about $6). I should go more, because it's quite pretty in its own right, and the views are wonderful. Last time I went was about two years ago when my friend Ram was in town. I went today, and though it was quite pretty, you could definitely tell it was two weeks deeper into spring than [...]

I've had a number of posts recently about the Cosina Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 and the ultra-creamy bokeh it has in close-up macro shots, as featured in "Exploring the Edge of Creamy Macro Bokeh with Lily of the Nile", and other recent examples here, here, and here. All those examples were taken in less than ideal conditions, with the camera held by hand while the flower or whatnot jiggled in the breeze. So today when I noticed some nice fluffy dandelions by the river, I thought to bring some home to give the Voigtländer a whirl with the benefit of a [...]

This post picks up from yesterday's post about our relaxing bike ride over the long Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge in Imabari Japan. The photo above is from the bike path that juts out a bit from the bridge proper as it makes its way around one of the huge suspension towers. The island and tower visible in the foreground are at about the halfway point of the bridge.

We paused for a bit...

We eventually made our way to the end of the bridge, at which point the bike path peels off, and the expressway eventually dives into a tunnel.

The [...]