{"id":1749,"date":"2011-04-18T21:07:21","date_gmt":"2011-04-18T12:07:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2011-04-18\/1749"},"modified":"2011-04-18T21:07:21","modified_gmt":"2011-04-18T12:07:21","slug":"revisiting-the-road-to-imabari-the-view-from-mt-takanawa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2011-04-18\/1749","title":{"rendered":"Revisiting the Road to Imabari: The View from Mt. Takanawa"},"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\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>8000 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nHazy Sunset from a Kilometer<\/span> Up<\/span>\nfrom the summit of Mt. Takanawa (\u9ad8\u7e04\u5c71),<\/span> north-western Shikoku\n<\/div>\n\n\n

This post is a continuation of “Revisiting the Road to Imabari: Stops #1 and #2<\/a>”,\nwhich itself follows on from “On The Road to Imabari<\/a>”, about the first day of our short\ntrip to Imabari (Ehime, Japan) earlier this month.<\/p>\n\n

However, unlike the two earlier posts which sported all kids of pretty\nphotos, including ten that I thought<\/span> were good enough to present as desktop\nbackgrounds<\/a>, this post has pretty much nothing but\nphotographically-atrocious images. But since<\/span> my blog is a “stuff I want<\/span> to\nshare” blog, and not a photo<\/span> blog, I have no<\/span> qualms posting bad photos if\nthey help tell a story,<\/span> and today's post is an example. (I just<\/span> want to say\nthat up front, because I'd be embarrassed if anyone thought that I<\/i>\nthought these were good pictures.)<\/p>\n\n

Anyway, we left the previous installment<\/a> at\nthe top of a short<\/span> mountain overlooking the Japanese Inland Sea between\nHonshu and Shikoku, the largest and smallest of Japan's four main islands. We continued<\/span> south over the shimanami\nkaido<\/i><\/a> — all the islands and bridges to Shikoku — then\ncontinued further south within Shikoku for another 45 minutes to Mt.\nTakanawa (\u9ad8\u7e04\u5c71),<\/span> a 986m<\/span> peak that prior research on Google Earth led me\nto believe would offer easy access and stunning views. We decided<\/span> to give\nit a try<\/span> when it looked like we could make it for the sunset.<\/p>\n\n

The road to the top was much less substantial than I had<\/span> assumed for a\nplace<\/span> that offered such a commanding<\/span> view, but we luckily did not meet any\nother traffic, so didn't have to worry about trying to figure out how two\ncars could pass each other where there was barely room for one.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 14-24mm f\/2.8 @ 14 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/13, ISO 6400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nSummit Parking<\/span>\nabout as crowded as it got\n<\/div>\n\n

At the top there's a small parking lot a bit<\/span> from the top, and at the\ntop a large<\/span> communications antenna. In the photo<\/span> below, taken from the same\nspot as the photo above, you can see a small<\/span> shrine in the foreground, the\nantenna to the right, and a three<\/span>-story tall observation platform at the\nleft...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 14-24mm f\/2.8 @ 14 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>640 sec, f<\/span>\/13, ISO 800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

From the top of the observation platform you get an impressive view of the tower...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 14-24mm f\/2.8 @ 14 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/18, ISO 4500 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

But inexplicably, when you look the other way to see the view the platform is ostensibly there to provide, you're faced with:<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 14-24mm f\/2.8 @ 14 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/18, ISO 900 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nUgly Utility Poles Even Here!<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

It just boggles the mind that they couldn't put these seemingly-useless poles somewhere other\nthan exactly smack dab in the way<\/i>. There was plenty of space to move the observation platform\nover a few<\/span> meters, or perhaps make it higher. Anyway, I should<\/span> concentrate on being appreciative of\nsuch accommodating access to the view, spoiled or not, so with equal measures of extreme leaning and\nselective composition, I excluded<\/span> the poles from other shots.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 14-24mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/13, ISO 800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nWest-Coast Town of Yanagihara (\u67f3\u539f)<\/span><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Turning north, we could see the six large towers supporting the bridges\nof the final leg of the shimanami kaido<\/i> we'd driven up on, and at\nthe far right the edge of the town of Imabari...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>800 sec, f<\/span>\/8, ISO 800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nBridge to the North<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

It was extremely hazy, so to get even the minimal quality of the photo\nabove, I had to<\/span> heavily process the original in Lightroom.<\/p>\n\n

We made good time getting there, so we had 45 minutes to kill before the\nsunset, so we retreated down the mountain 300 meters to the quiet little\nTakanawa-ji Temple<\/i> (\u9ad8\u8f2a\u5bfa)...<\/span><\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24mm f\/1.4 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 1400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nEntrance To The Takanawa-ji Temple<\/span>\nEhime Prefecture, Japan\n<\/div>\n\n

Flanking the entrance was a pair of caged wooden statues...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24mm f\/1.4 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>60 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 6400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nTemple Guardian?<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

It's not uncommon for temple entrances to include a pair<\/span> of large wooden\nstatues like this, though like this they're almost always hidden behind\nprotective screening that make them difficult to see and almost impossible\nto photograph. I think<\/span> I've had them on my blog only one other time, in this photo<\/a> from a\ncouple<\/span> of years ago.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24mm f\/1.4 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 6400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nSimple Courtyard<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

I bet those cherry blossoms are stunning right about now. The building<\/span> in the center sported the cute puppy and friend<\/a> seen in the earlier post.<\/p>\n\n

I chatted a bit with whom I assume was the main priest (or whatever you\ncall them at a Buddhist<\/span> temple). He'd spent<\/span> six years at the Daigo Temple<\/a> not far\nfrom my house in Kyoto. What a change.<\/span>... it wouldn't surprise me if the\nDaigo Temple gets more visitors in five minutes during high cherry-blossom\nseason than the Takanawa Temple gets all year. The lack of<\/span> crowds certainly\nsounds appealing.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f\/1.4 @ 50 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>400 sec, f<\/span>\/1.4, ISO 800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nLooking Back to the Car<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Back up at the summit, the light was getting redder and the shadows deeper...<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Sigma “Bigma” 50-500mm OS @ 380 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>400 sec, f<\/span>\/6.3, ISO 1100 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nBridge 15<\/span> Miles Away at 380mm<\/span>\nagain, heavily processed in Lightroom to cut the haze\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f\/1.4 @ 50 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>4000 sec, f<\/span>\/1.4, ISO 800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nSame Bridge at 50mm<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Another look toward the setting sun at Yanagihara Village, I couldn't<\/span> help but\nwonder again<\/a>\nhow easily it could be wiped out by a tsunami.<\/span>...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Sigma “Bigma” 50-500mm OS @ 140 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>400 sec, f<\/span>\/9, ISO 1250 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nSloping Gently To The Sea<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Looking away from the sun, having the light immediately behind you made for interesting shadows\n(and a color<\/span>-balance nightmare)...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Sigma “Bigma” 50-500mm OS @ 340 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/18, ISO 6400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nLooking East<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

The sun set for Imabari City long before it did for us, so by now it had fallen into darkness...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Sigma “Bigma” 50-500mm OS @ 290 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>640 sec, f<\/span>\/6.3, ISO 2000 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nImabari City<\/span>\n12 miles away\n<\/div>\n\n

The tall building right of center is the Imabari International\nHotel<\/a>, which is were we stayed for the two nights of our trip. (If you\nlook carefully you can see Imabari Castle on the coast a bit<\/span> to its right,\nbut we didn't visit it on this trip.)<\/p>\n\n

Finally, the sun started getting close to the horizon...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f\/1.4 @ 50 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>640 sec, f<\/span>\/6.3, ISO 720 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24mm f\/1.4 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>640 sec, f<\/span>\/6.3, ISO 1800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nCheezy Sunset Shot<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>5000 sec, f<\/span>\/2.5, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nSubdued (But Slightly Odd) Sunset<\/span>\nit really did have a weird halo-ish feature above\/around it\n<\/div>\n\n

Finally we made it to the hotel, and after a day<\/span> of being mostly cooped up in the car, Anthony could “relax” in his own way...<\/p>\n\n

\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24mm f\/1.4 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>250 sec, f<\/span>\/1.4, ISO 560 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nBed Time<\/span>\nin one sense of the phrase\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This post is a continuation of \"Revisiting the Road to Imabari: Stops #1 and #2\", which itself follows on from \"On The Road to Imabari\", about the first day of our short trip to Imabari (Ehime, Japan) earlier this month.<\/p>

However, unlike the two earlier posts which sported all kids of pretty photos, including ten that I thought were good enough to present as desktop backgrounds, this post has pretty much nothing but photographically-atrocious images. But since my blog is a \"stuff I want to share\" blog, and not a photo blog, I have no qualms posting bad photos if [...]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1749"}],"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=1749"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1749\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}