Holy cow, I'm drained. I tried something called “hot yoga” (ホットヨガ) today at a local gym (Inspa in eastern Kyoto, near Sanjo Kawaramachi). I'd never done yoga... it seems to be simple stretching and balance, but “hot yoga” is doing it in a humid room heated to about 36°C (97°F). Fumie had just joined the gym and really liked this particular class.

Considering that I am spectacularly unflexible, I thought perhaps it'd be beneficial in limbering me up, so I thought I'd give it a try. I was not prepared for just how hot/humid it was, though I would have been fine if the class were just 45 minutes, but it was an hour and that last 15 minutes utterly drained me to the bone.

I will sleep well tonight.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — ¹/200 sec, f/7.1, ISO 6400 — image data
Bento for a Big Boy
rice, minced beef, egg, asparagus, nama yatsuhashi, jelly snack

Anthony (fifth grade) has a school field trip today for which Fumie had to make a bento lunch. It's been a while since he needed one of these, though when in preschool (five years ago!) he needed a bento every day.

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 400 — image data

The challenges of bento design are many... food that he'll eat without being fussy, food that will stay fresh without refrigeration until lunch, a presentation that is both pleasing and robust against the bumps and bruises of the inside of a backpack, all while being both healthy and sufficiently nutritious for a long day of hiking. It's perhaps easier now than when he was a baby, but whoever said “Motherhood isn't rocket science” was making a slight against rocket scientists.

As Fumie was arranging the sliced asparagus, it was hard to miss the similarity in shape to ballet pointe shoes all lined up.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/640 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Lunch is Served
Men-Baka Ramen Restaurant (めん馬鹿)
Kyoto, Japan

I'll follow up my post about Restaurant “Kiev” with another Kyoto restaurant of note, Men-Baka (“Noodle Idiot”, めん馬鹿一代), which Damien Douxchamps brought me to.

The proprietor saw my big camera and warned that I'd be too dangerous to take photos of my own ramen, so suggested that I take the opportunity to photograph a pair of high-school boys receiving theirs.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/320 sec, f/1.4, ISO 2000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Protective Aprons for All

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/320 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1600 — map & image data — nearby photos
Typical Kitchen
of a ramen-noodle joint

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/160 sec, f/2.5, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
In All Seriousness
applying a hot pink hair scrunchies

The proprietor was a riot. With the dead-serious voice reserved for topics of grave concern, he had the boy with longish hair pick out a colorful hair scrunchie and proceeded to apply it to his front bangs, citing the impending danger of the flames.

Of course the little bit of hair didn't make the slightest difference one way or the other, so the scrunchie and the grave concern was all just a joke, but I don't think the kids realized it because the man was so serious. It was pretty funny in retrospect.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/320 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Serious Instructions

The set of instructions one receives before the meal is important, and long... keep your hands behind your back, don't flinch, don't touch the bowl nor the table until given the okay, etc. At this point none of us knew what exactly was coming, so we all listened carefully.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/320 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Flaming Pan

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/320 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Spout of Flame

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/320 sec, f/1.4, ISO 250 — map & image data — nearby photos

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/640 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
This is why you don't try to put out an oil fire with water

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 cropped — ¹/640 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Pretty

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/640 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 cropped — ¹/500 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Slightly Different Color Balance
balanced for the flame instead of the sunlight streaming in

Then it was time for the second boy's noodles...

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/320 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1250 — map & image data — nearby photos

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/1600 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
See No Evil
the second boy didn't see either display

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/320 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1600 — map & image data — nearby photos
Ready To Eat

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 cropped — ¹/320 sec, f/1.4, ISO 2500 — map & image data — nearby photos
Speechless
the middle girl in the background

Then it was my turn. This flaming ramen is called negi ramen (ネギらめん), or “scallion ramen”.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/320 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Scallions

I didn't get to photograph my fiery display, but I could pull out the camera once things had settled down.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/320 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1600 — map & image data — nearby photos
My Bowl of Negi Ramen

If you have a camera, the proprietor takes a picture for you with your camera, directing you with the same grave seriousness to a ridiculous mouth-agape pose. I'd seen it with the two high-school boys, so was able to temper my pose a bit, but it's still silly:

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/320 sec, f/1.4, ISO 3600 — map & image data — nearby photos
First Bite
photo by Masamichi Miyazawa

You can find plenty of videos of this event on YouTube.

The ramen was not bad, but aside from the fun spectacle of its preparation, was otherwise not outstanding.

Балтика #3
Baltika Beer #3
at the “Kiev” restaurant, Kyoto Japan

We recently had a very nice family dinner at the Kiev Russian Restaurant (レストランキエフ) in Kyoto's Gion district.

I'd never had Russian cuisine and so didn't really know what to expect, but it was fantastic. It was a good place to make a first impression of Russian food because the highest quality was evident in every aspect of the meal... from the obviously superb raw ingredients down to the presentation.

At Kiev I had the spring seasonal course dinner “Besner”... course after course of absolutely delightful foods of, again, the highest quality. I couldn't get enough.

I only had my iPhone camera with me, and I don't want to put yucky photos of amazingly-good food, but here's one that's sort of fun, some kind of popover bread as a lid for a pot of exceedingly succulent beef stew...

iPhone 4S at an effective 35mm — ¹/15 sec, f/2.4, ISO 640 — map & image data — nearby photos
Wow
my mother-in-law registers surprise at the size

The meal ends with a cup of hot tea, made interesting by a huge pot of jam that you're supposed to mix in (instead of honey or sugar, I suppose).

iPhone 4S at an effective 35mm — ¹/20 sec, f/2.4, ISO 400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Tea and Jam

Kyoto's “Kiev” restaurant: highly recommended.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/400 sec, f/4, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
The Haradanien Garden
Kyoto, Japan
原谷苑、京都市

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Yesterday's post (“Photo Shoot at Kyoto’s Haradanien Garden: John and Ai”) has inspired me to at least start to try to show the magnificent Haradanien Garden (原谷苑) in north-west Kyoto, a few kilometers in the mountains behind the Kinkakuji “Golden Pavilion” Temple. I'd made my first visit last week and from that trip had posted so far only one wigglegram, and then visited a few days ago for the photoshoot with John and Ai, and from that visit also posted some subtle pastel blossoms.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/1000 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
The Little-Known West Entrance

Having entrusted my route to get there to Google Maps on my iPhone, I unknowingly ended up at a minor secondary entrance on the opposite side of the garden from the main entrance. This was wonderful because it meant that I had a large part of the garden just to myself for a while, before people filtered up from the main entrance. It was also nice because I was spared what I found out on the second trip to be a decidedly unappealing experience of loud hordes outside the main entrance.

I was surprised to find that the entrance fee was ¥1,200, double what I might have expected before seeing the garden. After having seen the garden at peak blossom season, though, the price seems low.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/1600 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Just Inside

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/3200 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Huge Canopy
that seems to never end

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Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/500 sec, f/2.5, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Multidimensional
It's hard to know where to focus

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
The Hordes Approach

It alternated between sun and clouds (and even rained a bit toward the late afternoon), and so the light was changing often, as did the view depending on whether you were under the canopy or looking out a portal...

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/500 sec, f/4, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Bright Spot

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Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/320 sec, f/7.1, ISO 180 — map & image data — nearby photos
Looking Up

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/1250 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Shade Punctuated by Sun

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/2500 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Teeming Crowds

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/1000 sec, f/2.5, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Yet Another Nice Area

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/3200 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
A Peek at the Mountains Beyond

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Leisurely Break

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Some Guy with a Camera

Despite that the crowds can grow quite thick, the layout of the gardens — paths crisscrossing on a many-leveled hillside separated by a large variety of flowers, trees, and shrubs — enables many photographic possibilities. I was constantly surprised at the kind of shots I could get... long, sweeping shots showing just one person or one small group in frame, despite the pulsating throngs of people.

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 125 — map & image data — nearby photos
Common Scene

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Peace

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Extra-Pretty Blossoms

I wonder what kind of shot she got. Here's mine:

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/1000 sec, f/2.5, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos

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Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/800 sec, f/2.5, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Multi-Layer

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/1600 sec, f/2.5, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Clearing

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — ¹/3200 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
“Omurozakura Cherry”
is what the sign says (御室桜)

Continued here...