{"id":1409,"date":"2009-12-28T11:45:41","date_gmt":"2009-12-28T02:45:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2009-12-28\/1409"},"modified":"2009-12-28T11:46:00","modified_gmt":"2009-12-28T02:46:00","slug":"taketomi-island-roundup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2009-12-28\/1409","title":{"rendered":"Taketomi Island Roundup"},"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
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 56 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/11, ISO 360 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nModern Conveyances<\/span>\nTaketomi Island, Okinawa, Japan\n<\/div>\n\n

So, picking up from yesterday where I recapped our spring trip to\nIshigaki Island<\/a> in the far south of Japan, and our side excursion to\nthe culturally unique Taketomi Island....<\/p>\n\n

Taketomi's tourist draw, besides the quaint little town, are tours\nthrough it in carts pulled by water buffalo. (Why water buffalo? No idea.)\nThere were maybe a dozen<\/span> water buffalo we could see, two or three in active\nservice.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nDuring Our Ride<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

I don't have many pictures from our ride, but wish I did<\/span> because our\ntour guide (and caretaker of our buffalo, whose name he told us but I've\nnow forgotten) was most excellent. He had a<\/span> wonderful aura of kindness\ntoward the animal and the passengers, was an excellent storyteller, and\nplayed a mean<\/span> shamisen<\/a>. He seemed<\/span> to communicate with the buffalo on a plane<\/span> we weren't part of...\nhe'd be in the middle of telling some story about the history or character\nof the village, and without breaking gaze or cadence, he took a large<\/span>\nbucket from the side of the cart and placed it under the rear end of the\nbuffalo, who then proceeded to fill the bucket. The driver<\/span> then returned\nthe bucket to its storage spot, and we continued, all the while some story\nbeing told.<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nK001 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>950 sec —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\"Water Buffalo Cart Check-In<\/span>\nInside\nPhoto by Anthony Friedl<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

One of the zany\nguardian things<\/a> described yesterday, displaced from its normal spot on\nthe roof.<\/p>\n\n

\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 52 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>2500 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nTouristy Photo Op<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

We then went for a stroll through the village...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 32 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f<\/span>\/6.3, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nFlying George<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/11, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nCoral-Lined Lanes<\/span>\npedestrians, bikes, and watter buffalo\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 52 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>800 sec, f<\/span>\/5, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nModern Urban Blight<\/span>\nbicycle parking\n<\/div>\n\n

Actually, there was plenty of urban blight any time you looked up...<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 26 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nTypical Japan<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

... but they were in the long process of burying all the cables...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 35 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>400 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nUnder Construction<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

They started a similar<\/span>\nproject<\/a> near my place four years ago, and have still yet to complete\nit. They completely redid the road and sidewalks, but left the wires and\npoles, telling me that the actual removal would follow “in a few<\/span> years”.\nStill waiting )-:<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/11, ISO 250 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nHigh Point on the Island<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

The island is very flat, so a little outcropping of rock makes for a\nnotable<\/span> landmark with a view.<\/span> Add to that<\/span> a lookout<\/span> tower kind of thing\nmade a hundred<\/span> or so years ago before zoning, and you have the highest\npoint on the island whose status is now protected by law.<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/11, ISO 320 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nLookout<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

The stairs were the steepest I'd ever taken, somehow feeling even\nsteeper than a vertical<\/span> ladder. Some people could not navigate them, opting\nto give up (slowly and carefully) after the first few huge steps.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/11, ISO 320 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nVillage<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nD700 + 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm, highly cropped — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/11, ISO 1250 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nRecent Roof Repair<\/span>\nsort of distorted due to having been cropped from the corner of a 24mm<\/span> frame\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/3.2, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nLeading the Stroll<\/span>\nalong the prettiest lane, where we eventually took a family<\/span> portrait<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>3200 sec, f<\/span>\/3.2, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nOkinawan Roof<\/span>\nIncredibly Solid\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>800 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nVeneer of Modern Traditionalism<\/span>\nlocal post office\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1250 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nTesting<\/span>\nanti-gravity parachute parasol\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 42 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/9, ISO 320 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nFixer-Upper<\/span>\ncomes with its own rusting steam roller\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/9, ISO 280 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nGeorge Flying Again<\/span>\napproaching takeoff speed\n<\/div>\n\n

We eventually took the 15-minute boat ride back to Ishigaki Island, and\nstopping by a cafe<\/span> for a coffee,<\/span> found to our delight that we could see\nTaketomi Island off shore, in all its flatness.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 35 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/14, ISO 640 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nShould Be Called Pancake Island<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So, picking up from yesterday where I recapped our spring trip to Ishigaki Island in the far south of Japan, and our side excursion to the culturally unique Taketomi Island....<\/p>

Taketomi's tourist draw, besides the quaint little town, are tours through it in carts pulled by water buffalo. (Why water buffalo? No idea.) There were maybe a dozen water buffalo we could see, two or three in active service.<\/p>

I don't have many pictures from our ride, but wish I did because our tour guide (and caretaker of our buffalo, whose name he told us but I've now forgotten) was [...]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,2,22],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1409"}],"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=1409"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1409\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}