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posted: December 29th, 2010 |
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This page begins with November 30th - Seasonal Illumination at Roppongi - Midtown. The next outing is a December 4th trip to the University of Tokyo's, Koishikawa Botanical Garden for Fall Color Viewing. The final outing on this page is a December 11th trip to Mt. Takao. Click on any thumbnail to begin. |
| Begin November 30th |
On Tuesday, November 30th, I had a class at Roppongi Midtown and took these photos of some Seasonal Illumination. In the first photo you need to take note of the box that the people are looking at. It is about 2 meters (about 6+ feet) on a side. The 2nd shot shows what you see when you press the camera right up against the wall of the box - it appears like it goes on forever. The 3rd shot is looking down into the box - looks like it goes down forever.
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 Nov30_20RAW_ RoppongiIlluminationRC |
 Nov30_11_Roppongi IlluminationRC |
 Nov30_12_Roppongi IlluminationRC |
Here are 2 more shots looking directly into the box as the colors change. Note that you can see through the box - the lighted trees in these 2 photos are the 2 trees which show in the very first photo in Row 1. The 3rd photo is a shot of the lighted trees. There are several more photos, but these are the best.
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 Nov30_16RAW_ RoppongiIlluminationRC |
 Nov30_17RAW_ RoppongiIlluminationRC |
 Nov30_06_Roppongi IlluminationRC |
| End November 30th, Begin December 4th |
On Saturday, December 4th, Kazuya and I went to Koishikawa Botanical Garden, a part of Tokyo University. Our intention was to see if there were any fall colors left. As shown in the first photo, the cherry Trees are pretty much bare of leaves at this time. In the 2nd photo, however, you can see that the Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) trees have a fair amount of leaves remaining. In the 3rd photo you can also see that the Acer palmatum trees also have a fair amount of leaves.
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 Dec4_005_Koishikawa Gar_FallColorsRC |
 Dec4_003_004_Stitch_ KoishikawaGar_FallColors_GinkgoRC |
 Dec4th_Koishikawa BG004_AcerPalmatumRC |
The 1st and 2nd photos in this row show more Acer palmatum colors. The 3rd shot was taken through a bare Cherry Tree looking towards the Maple Trees.
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 Dec4th_KoishikawaBG 006_AcerPalmatumRC |
 Dec4_020_Koishikawa Gar_FallColors_MapleRC |
 Dec4_032_Koishikawa Gar_FallColors_MapleRC |
Here is a final shot of the Acer palmatum area - with a star shaped sun showing in the branches of the tree. The 2nd and 3rd photos show an evergreen Cinnamomum camphora and a bare Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) tree side by side.
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 Dec4th_KoishikawaBG 021_AcerPalmatumRC |
 Dec4_043_Koishikawa Gar_FallColorsRC |
 Dec4_044_Koishikawa Gar_FallColorsRC |
Here are 2 shots of an Oak leaf (Quercus dentata and then a very interestingly colored maple - an Acer nikoense. The Acer nikoense is also known as Acer maximowiczianum.
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 Dec4_061_KoishikawaGar _FallColors_Quercus_dentataRC |
 Dec4_051_KoishikawaGar _FallColors_Quercus_dentataRC |
 Dec4_088_KoishikawaGar _FallColors_Acer_nikoenseRC |
Here are 3 Panoramic images taken near the pond. They each show some overlapping area, but they were taken in different spots so the angle is a bit different. I believe that the first 2 panoramas may have been taken while standing at the same spot, but the 3rd one was definitely taken while standing at a different spot.
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 Dec4_074_075_Stitch_ KoishikawaGar_FallColorsRC |
 Dec4_075_076_Stitch_ KoishikawaGar_FallColorsRC |
 Dec4_079_080_Stitch_ KoishikawaGar_FallColorsRC |
Here is one final shot of the pond area. The 2nd and 3rd shots show you how many Ginkgo Fruits (Ginkgo biloba) there are this year. If you know Ginkgo, then you know that the fruits have a bad smell. Our noses were offended and the bottoms of our boots were smelly after walking through this area.
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 Dec4_082_Koishikawa Gar_FallColorsRC |
 Dec4th_Koishikawa BG041RC |
 Dec4_056_KoishikawaGar_ FallColors_GinokoFruitsRC |
Here is a reflection Panorama image at a different pond. This is also a Ginkgo Tree. The 2nd shot shows a small stand of Metasequoia glyptostroboides.
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 Dec4_102_103_Stitch_ KoishikawaGar_FallColorsRC |
 Dec4th_KoishikawaBG084_ MetasequoiaGlyptostroboidesRC |
The first shot here shows the beautiful yellow leaves on this member of the walnut family (the tree had no name tag). The 2nd, and final shot is just a nice blue sky with some interesting colors in the foreground.
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 Dec4th_Koishikawa BG080RC |
 Dec4_131_Koishikawa Gar_FallColorsRC |
| End December 4th, Begin December 11th |
On Saturday, December 11th, Kazuya and I went out to Mt. Takao and climbed it in search of Frost Flowers. We did not find any Frost Flowers, but it was an amazingly clear day and we could see Mt. Fuji very easily and sharply. It is not uncommon to see Mt. Fuji from Mt. Takao, but it was amazingly clear today. Anyway, in this row - the first photo is a single Hydrangea Bloom - why is it blooming in December?! As you can see, it is surrounded by dead and dried out flowers. The 2nd and 3rd photos are Mt. Fuji. Mt. Fuji is 55 kilometers (about 34 miles) from Mt. Takao.
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 Dec11_01SIPeFR_ MtTakao_HydrangeaRC |
 Dec11_06_Mt Takao_MtFujiRC |
 Dec11_08_Mt Takao_MtFujiRC |
The 3 images in this row are all from the same photo of Mt. Fuji. The first photo is just as it came from the camera. The 2nd photo has been enhanced - if I recall correctly - I only adjusted the Brightness and Contrast in this one. The 3rd image has been HDR toned with Photoshop CS5 - that makes a major change in the appearance.
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 Dec11_11_MtTakao _MtFuji55kmRC |
 Dec11_11FR_Mt Takao_MtFujiRC |
 Dec11_11HDR_ MtTakao_MtFujiFRRC |
Here is a shot of Winterberries and a shot of Enoshima Island - which is 42 kilometers (about 26 miles) from Mt. Takao. We have never seen Enoshima Island from here, it is never clear down by the ocean! The 3rd image here has been enhanced with Photoshop CS5 to make the Island stand out better.
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 Dec11_03SIP_Mt Takao_WinterberriesRC |
 Dec11_13_MtTakao _EnoshimaArea42kmRC |
 Dec11_13_Fixed_Mt Takao_EnoshimaAreaRC |
| End December 11th, End Page 1 |
 Please check it out by clicking on the above button. (Click on the "Studies of Plants and Wildlife" link in the new window.)  Kazuya's 2010 Christmas Letter |
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| Thanks so much for taking the time to look at this page. Now, please go on to Page 2 for the continuation of this month's adventures. |
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