俥 千代松 - The Rickshaw Man

俥 千代松 - The Rickshaw Man, originally uploaded by rickirick.

This is Kuruma Chiyomatsu (俥 千代松), who originally comes from Kanagawa. Being a rickshaw man at Asakusa for 5 years, he becomes one of the most senior rickshaw man at Asakusa, and get honored to attach name Kuruma (俥) as his first name.
Meeting new people with various background is one of his reason to choose Rickshaw-man as his profession. When I asked permission to take his portrait, he replied nicely and even showed me this wide smile :) I think he loves his job a lot.

Otsukaresama (お疲れ様) !!

ricki @ asakusa 2009

Stay nicely here dear

Stay nicely here dear, originally uploaded by rickirick.

Many Japanese mothers keep their child sitting on the back when cycling. I believe it requires a good cycling skill, otherwise it won't be safe enough to also carry a baby / child on the street.

ricki @ ueno 2009

The color of new season

The color of new season, originally uploaded by rickirick.

People here get pumped for the beginning of new season. Stunning sakura flowers blossom, warmth of the sunlight, and a traditional culture called hanami are the most interesting parts of spring arrival in Japan.
This is a snap of cherry blossom at Shinjuku-goen today, the second day of vernal equinox, really feel amazed of the color.

ricki @ tokyo 2009

King Penguins

King Penguins, originally uploaded by rickirick.

This is a group of king penguins at Ueno zoo. One of my dreams is to visit Antarctica and see real wild penguins live freely there.

ricki @ dream to antarctica

Early 桜 blossoming

Early 桜 blossoming, originally uploaded by rickirick.

Spring has come in Tokyo :) cherry trees start blossoming. This is one of the Sakura (桜) blossom at Ueno Park. Not feeling satisfied with the picture, lack of light made the color couldn't be exposed. Still have time this weekend to see more sakura blossom, can't wait to take more pictures and of course have hanami under the trees :)
Welcome spring 2009!

ricki @ tokyo 2009

But why is the rum always gone?

But why is the rum always gone?, originally uploaded by rickirick.

Familiar face, isn't it? :)
Yeah, this guy is acting as Captain Jack Sparrow at Disney Land Tokyo. I took his photograph while queuing for Pirates of Caribbean ride.
Although located in Japan, I suppose no way for Japanese can replace this guy acting as Captain Jack here :)

ricki @ disney tokyo 2009

Fun bike afternoon

Fun bike afternoon, originally uploaded by rickirick.

Japan is one of the countries where the bicycle culture is widely spread. Less polluted air and good infrastructure such as bike lanes favoring bicycle usage here. There is a nice article written at Japantimes Online about a famous economic analyst who always use bicycle to travel. I like the part when she said that she tend not to think about anything when taking public transport, but when she rides bike, she can aware of her movement, and feels the changes of the seasons. Yeah me too, I used bicycle everyday when I was working at Osaka 1 year ago, this autumn picture is taken on my way to the office riding bicycle :)

ricki @ tokyo 2009

Cosmo Clock 21

Cosmo Clock 21, originally uploaded by rickirick.

Another picture from my last trip at Yokohama, this is Cosmo Clock 21. It was the tallest Ferris wheel in the world when opened for public at 1999.

ricki @ yokohama 2009

Autumn at 大阪

Autumn at 大阪, originally uploaded by rickirick.

Took this picture about 1 year ago at Osaka-jo (大阪城) through my old pocket camera (Coolpix S5). It was autumn, quite interesting to observe the color changes of leaves from time to time, especially the garden that I passed by everyday on the way to the office. The trees fall off their leaves, with the leaves changing to a reddish or yellow hue before falling.

ricki @ osaka 2007

Purnama

Purnama, originally uploaded by rickirick.

Just had my first experiment to capture the last full moon at winter time (lenten moon) here :) .. unfortunately, the distance to the moon is really far, while my lens can only zoom up to FL 300mm.. as the result, image cropping made the quality worse.
In my hometown, full moon is called purnama.

ricki @ kagurazaka (神楽坂), tokyo 2009

A Night at Yokohama

A Night at Yokohama, originally uploaded by rickirick.

My team is supposed to move to head quarter office at Shin Yokohama, as my project at Tokyo is finishing soon. I was kind of excited, as new city must be always interesting for me :) ...but for some reason, the plan is canceled. My team is staying at Tokyo office until the end of the project on April.
Before it is going too late, I visited Yokohama last Saturday only for sightseeing and feeling the atmosphere of the city. Well, 1 hour journey from my place is nothing compared to some city scenes I managed to capture, and this picture is one of my favorites :)

ricki @ yokohama 2009