{"id":1360,"date":"2009-11-15T22:07:14","date_gmt":"2009-11-15T13:07:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2009-11-15\/1360"},"modified":"2009-11-15T22:07:42","modified_gmt":"2009-11-15T13:07:42","slug":"a-couple-of-cozy-run-down-houses-in-the-neighborhood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2009-11-15\/1360","title":{"rendered":"A Couple of “Cozy” Houses in the Neighborhood"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
\nNOTE<\/b>: Images with an icon next to them have been artificially shrunk to better fit your screen; click the icon to restore them, in place, to their regular size.\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I mentioned\nyesterday<\/a> that I had<\/span> taken a short<\/span> late-afternoon stroll to photograph\nsome old Machiya<\/a> houses\nnearby. They overlook the little river that runs by my place, a short<\/span> walk\ndownstream.<\/p>\n\n

Here's the first...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/5, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nWith Mini Balconies Jutting Over the River<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

This is right across the river from where “Rare Shinto Shrine-Closing Ceremony<\/a>” was photographed (two years ago to the day, now that I think<\/span> about it).<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 110 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>160 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nReverse Angle<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>80 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 220 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nClose Up<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

I look at the overall design and suspect that they were originally meant\nfor stepping out to enjoy the cool river air, but in looking at their\nconstruction, I can't<\/span> imagine how they could support the weight of a\nperson,<\/span> so their intent remains a mystery.<\/span> Maybe they're just architectural\nstyling.<\/p>\n\n

Pulling back a bit for a wider view, you can see the mishmash of old\nconstruction and modern patches that make up what look to be the\nneighboring houses, though I'm hard pressed to identify exactly where one\nhouse ends and the next begins...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nMishmash<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

I'd love to visit these with a Japanese Architectural version of Stewart\nAinsworth<\/a>, for the story these buildings could tell. (In a way,<\/span> it\nreminds me of my “History Written in\nBrick<\/a>” post from a couple<\/span> of years ago.)<\/p>\n\n

I love these kind of old dilapidated houses, but unlike those I've posted before\n(“Abandoned House Returning To Nature<\/a>” and\n “Abandoned House in Hokkaido<\/a>”), these are\nstill occupied. I do suspect<\/span> that they all have the same owner, due to the\nsimilar nature of their gutters (such as the “quality” of the\ninstallation).<\/p>\n\n

Oh, and as you can tell, the red berries<\/a> that mark\nKyoto's colder seasons are out in force.<\/p>\n\n

Moving a bit further downstream there's another old, long machiya<\/i> house\nthat I suspect<\/span> holds multiple units....<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

The first one has a set of doors that are often open, at which I often<\/span>\nsee someone sitting quietly with a cup<\/span> of tea....<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nPeaceful<\/span>\nsimple table with a small vase, in front of the open window by the stream\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 125 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>80 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 1000 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nSelf Portrait Across the River<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Further down the same building, a reed<\/span> mats covering a second<\/span>-floor\nwindow were blowing briskly in the breeze...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Under the windows was an area missing its wood veneer, showing the mud, bamboo, and twine wall underneath...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>80 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 250 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nMud & Bamboo Wall<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

I imagine that the interior looks similar to the Old House of Bamboo and\nMud<\/a> that I wrote<\/span> about once. This kind of construction (heavy mud walls\nand heavy tile roof, supported by a timber<\/span> frame) is extremely dangerous in\nan earthquake. Kyoto doesn't get many big ones, though.<\/p>\n\n

By the way, these pictures are all a bit<\/span> fuzzy because I'm an idiot, and\nforgot to reset my D700's auto-ISO<\/i> feature when switching to the big\nzoom lens I used<\/span> on this photo stroll. The “auto ISO” feature is wonderful\nin the D700, but I can't<\/span> for the life of me figure out why they didn't take\nthe one small extra step to make it really useful: allow a\nfocal<\/span>-length-multiplier mode, one when VR is on and another when off. This\nwould be trivial from an engineering and UI-design point of view, and would\nmake it vastly more useful, so it's baffling that it hasn't been done.<\/p>\n\n

Anyway, the river then crosses under a small<\/span> street; here's the view from the bridge back upstream....<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>800 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nLooking Upstream<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Looking downstream from the same position yields an entirely different view...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>80 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 250 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nLooking Downstream<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

You're on a street with buildings all around (a museum,<\/span> a doctor's<\/span>\noffice, a tall<\/span> apartment building, etc.), and less than 70 meters away in\nthe center of the frame passes a major<\/span> four-lane thoroughfare with a subway<\/span>\nline under it. But it's all hidden in this view, and I sort<\/span> of like that.\n\ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I mentioned yesterday that I had taken a short late-afternoon stroll to photograph some old Machiya houses nearby. They overlook the little river that runs by my place, a short walk downstream.<\/p>

Here's the first...<\/p>

This is right across the river from where \"Rare Shinto Shrine-Closing Ceremony\" was photographed (two years ago to the day, now that I think about it).<\/p>

I look at the overall design and suspect that they were originally meant for stepping out to enjoy the cool river air, but in looking at their construction, I can't imagine how they could support the weight of a [...]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1360"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1360"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1360\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}