{"id":1466,"date":"2010-03-02T09:45:50","date_gmt":"2010-03-02T00:45:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2010-03-02\/1466"},"modified":"2010-03-02T09:45:50","modified_gmt":"2010-03-02T00:45:50","slug":"first-look-at-snowy-shirakawago-village","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2010-03-02\/1466","title":{"rendered":"First Look at Snowy Shirakawago Village"},"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 @ 66 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>2500 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nJust a Bit<\/span> of Snow<\/span>\nrandom, but color, strangers\nShirakawago Village, Toyama Prefecture, Japan\n<\/div>\n\n

In my most recent post about our short four-day New Year excursion a few<\/span>\nhours' north of Kyoto by car, I ended<\/span> with our having left Gokayama village<\/a>\n(\u4e94\u7b87\u5c71)<\/span>\nafter lunch, heading a bit<\/span> further south to Shirakawago Village (\u767d\u5ddd\u90f7).<\/span><\/p>\n\n

The two villages are both world-heritage sites, famed for their quaint\nand interesting gasshou\nzukuri<\/a> style of construction (built without nails or screws).\nShirakawago is by far the more famous, and it suffers for it: it's a tourist<\/span> attraction\nthat happens to have some quaint buildings. Gokayama, on the other hand,\nfelt like a small<\/span> village that we just happened upon, and I liked<\/span> it much more.\n(I wrote<\/span> about it here<\/a>,\nhere<\/a>,\nhere<\/a>,\nhere<\/a>,\nhere<\/a>,\nhere<\/a>,\nhere<\/a>,\nhere<\/a>, aaaaaaaaaaand\nhere<\/a>). I'll have fewer posts about Shirakawago.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nSlushy, Wet Quagmire<\/span> of Cold<\/span>\ntwo inches of standing water in the parking lot\n<\/div>\n\n

During this whole trip I developed a deep<\/span> appreciation for the in-street water\nsprinklers<\/a> that I belittled<\/span> as\n“stupid”<\/a> last year... they turn driving from a slip-slidey white-knuckle\nexperience<\/a> to normal, but one downside is that their use in a parking<\/span> lot\nwithout proper drainage makes for some very wet and soggy shoes.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1250 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nSeeking Shelter from the Rising Flood<\/span>\nor, just playing on the really big mound of snow\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>160 sec, f<\/span>\/13, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nKid Equivalent of a Bird's<\/span> Dust Bath?<\/span>\nnothing quite so pleasurable as being the first to mess up a virgin<\/span> area of thick snow\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 48 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>3200 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nPoooooofth!<\/span>\nflopping into the fresh powder, snow shoots out of the gap between his arms like old faithful\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>250 sec, f<\/span>\/9, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nRoof Shoveling<\/span>\nwithout a net, perhaps gunning for a Darwin award<\/a>?\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>250 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nSafer Snow Removal<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

The guy by the house in the photo above is holding onto a rope<\/span> that is\ntied to the ridge of the roof... to remove snow from the steeply-sloped\nroof, he just drags the rope from side to side, causing it to slide down.\nNormally they don't care about the snow buildup on these roofs —.\nthey're designed to hold the weight — but in this case it presents a\nhazard<\/span> to customers entering the first-floor shop, so they keep that side\nof the roof clean.<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 36 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1250 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nAnthony in his Element<\/span>\nthat is, anywhere he can play\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>2500 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nSorta Quaint<\/span>\nthe quintessential Shirakawago they normally show you\n<\/div>\n\n

This town is much larger than Gokayama, so we saw even less of it than\nwe saw of Gokayama (of which we didn't see most). But we perhaps<\/span> saw some\nbetter spots than most that day because we pushed on away from the most\negregiously tourist-trap center of town, out just a bit<\/span> toward one edge...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 36 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>50 sec, f<\/span>\/13, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nForging Ahead<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 58 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>640 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nUp and Away<\/span>\n“Warning: Slippery when covered in ice and snow”\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nLess Touristy<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 32 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nHibernating<\/span>\napparently, the whole area was mostly clear of snow two days earlier\n<\/div>\n\n

As everyone guessed properly, this truck's wipers were the answer to\nyesterday's quiz. I thought<\/span> it would be the least interesting of my “What am I?” quizzes<\/a>,\nwhich is why I titled<\/span> it “Snowy Quiz of\nQuestionable Appeal<\/a>”, but it garnered more guesses than all my other\nquiz posts, combined.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1000 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nLittle Stream<\/span>\nand utility wires\n<\/div>\n\n

Unlike Gokayama, Shirakawago is full of utility wires, telephone poles,\nkitsch, and touristy crap. One must take<\/span> great care with composition to\nexclude it from photos. I'm sure the<\/span> snow helps. I've tried my best in most\nof these, and have refrained from using Photoshop to help.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>400 sec, f<\/span>\/5, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nUrban Living<\/span>\nwe're on the public street; there's a house<\/b> under that big pile of snow\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 35 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>800 sec, f<\/span>\/3.5, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nExposed Edge<\/span>\nof the same house\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 38 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>250 sec, f<\/span>\/5, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nTypical Shirakawago<\/span>\nquaint house; quaint utility wires\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 62 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/5, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nLess Typical<\/span>\nI'm sure that being half snow blind helps in this one\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/5, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nWide View<\/span>\nwithout telephone poles!\n<\/div>\n\n

It was starting to get a bit chilly, wandering around in the relative\nwilderness like that, so when we saw a small<\/span> sign for a cafe<\/span> pointing down\na small<\/span> path, we decided to give it a try<\/span> and stop in for something warm.<\/p>\n\n

The path had apparently not been used since the snow started, and I had<\/span>\nto try to forage for it among the streams and gardens(?) it passed\nthrough.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 34 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/5, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nLittle-Used Path<\/span>\ncovered by a couple of feet of fresh snow\n<\/div>\n\n

Continued here...<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In my most recent post about our short four-day New Year excursion a few hours' north of Kyoto by car, I ended with our having left Gokayama village (\u4e94\u7b87\u5c71) after lunch, heading a bit further south to Shirakawago Village (\u767d\u5ddd\u90f7).<\/p>

The two villages are both world-heritage sites, famed for their quaint and interesting gasshou zukuri style of construction (built without nails or screws). Shirakawago is by far the more famous, and it suffers for it: it's a tourist attraction that happens to have some quaint buildings. Gokayama, on the other hand, felt like a small village that we just happened [...]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,2,6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1466"}],"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=1466"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1466\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}