Tag: ‘Landscape’

Photos of cephalopodic playscapes

05 Jul 2007

Photos of giant cement octopi posing as playground equipment in Japan...

Giant octopus playground equipment --

Giant octopus playground equipment --

Giant octopus playground equipment --

Giant octopus playground equipment --

Giant octopus playground equipment --

Giant octopus playground equipment --

Giant octopus playground equipment --

[Source: Google 1, 2]

UPDATE: Here's a huge, wonderful photo gallery of octopus slides (Thanks, Alexander!). According to the site, there are no accurate records showing how many of these giant cement creatures exist in Japan, but they are believed to number in the hundreds. Many of these octopi, if not all, were constructed by Maeda Environmental Art Co., Ltd., who says each one has a unique design.

For more photos, check out this page by D-one, a photographer with an eye for the octopoid playscapes (the links that include pink text (??) are the ones you want to see). Also, a lot of the links on this page are to photos of octopus slides.

Giant octopus playground equipment --

Giant octopus playground equipment --

Photo: Strange clouds over Sea of Okhotsk

20 Jun 2007

Strange clouds over Hokkaido --

This photograph, taken June 18 from a Japan Coast Guard aircraft off the northeastern coast of Hokkaido, shows a bird's-eye view of cloud streets over the Sea of Okhotsk. According to the Sapporo Meteorological Observatory, these low-altitude stratocumulus clouds were rolled into long, distinctive ribbons after becoming trapped in air currents. While it is not uncommon for wind to form such patterns in stratocumulus clouds, photos that clearly show the clouds rolled into strips are rare, says the observatory.

UPDATE: Watch the video.

[Source: Mainichi]

Giant geoglyph ad visible from space

06 Jun 2007

Smart Loop crop circle ad visible from space --

Next time you float past Hokkaido, look down upon the town of Urahoro. There in a field you will see a giant geoglyph that spells out the words "Smart Loop."

This crop circle message is the work of a highly advanced race of aliens Pioneer, which has taken shears to grass to promote its latest Smart Loop car navigation system. Pioneer spent a month working on the 1,000 x 200 meter (3,280 x 660 feet) ad, and has filed an application with Guinness to get it officially recognized as the world's longest (widest?) geoglyph.

While the geoglyph is certainly large, it faces some stiff competition from the likes of Marree Man in Australia, which measures 4.2 km from head to toe and is recognized as the world's largest manmade artwork, and the triangular Area 51 bombing target, which measures about 1 km per side.

Pioneer is now in the process of obtaining satellite photos of its crop circle message from 680 kilometers (420 miles) up. It is unclear whether the work will appear on Google Maps, but here is the location just in case.

[Source: Carview]

Neo-Ruins: Lithographs of post-apocalyptic Tokyo

10 May 2007

Neo-Ruins --
Shibuya Center Town

Neo-Ruins --
Ameyoko

Neo-Ruins --
Kabukicho

Neo-Ruins --
Ginza Chuo Dori

Neo-Ruins --
Ginza 4-chome Intersection

Hisaharu Motoda's "Neo-Ruins" series of lithographs depict the cityscape of a post-apocalyptic Tokyo, where familiar streets lie deserted, the buildings are crumbling and weeds grow from the broken pavement. The antique look of the lithographic medium effectively amps up the eeriness of the futuristic setting. "In Neo-Ruins I wanted to capture both a sense of the world's past and of the world's future," says Motoda on his website.

More images: 1, 2, 3

[Link: Hisaharu Motoda]

Only in Japan

17 Jan 2007

For interesting photos of scenes unique to Japan, do a search for "only in Japan" on Google Image Search. Here's a sampling of what you'll find on the top few pages...

Only in Japan --
A relaxing day at the swimming pool

Only in Japan --
Hello Kitty in the snow

Only in Japan --
Manhole cover

Only in Japan --
Nipplescarf

Only in Japan --
Honda WOW: Dog-friendly concept car

Only in Japan --
Extreme casemod

=========================

It's also fun to see what comes up when you do an "only in [...]" search using other place names. Can you guess where each of the images below are from?

Only where? --
Subway map, only in...?

Only where? --
Car wash, only in...?

Only where? --
Snake wash, only in...?

Only where? --
Convenient emergency services, only in...?

[Link: Google image search]

Creepy Japanese scarecrows

02 Nov 2006

Fantastic video slideshow of mannequin scarecrows haunting Japan...

[Via: Fucked Gaijin]

Image of Raijin (God of Thunder) appears in rice field

14 Jul 2006

Raijin (God of Thunder) appears in rice field A giant image of Raijin, the God of Thunder, has appeared in a rice field in the village of Inakadate in Aomori prefecture. The different colors consist of different varieties of rice -- the green areas are tsugaru-roman (the local variety), while the purple, yellow and red areas consist of so-called kodaimai, or ancient strains of rice. Mid-August is reportedly the best time to view the rice field.

Not shown in the photo is the image of Fujin, the God of Wind, presumably located in a nearby field. Fujin and Raijin usually appear together and are perhaps most well-known for their depiction in the Fujin-Rajin Folding Screen (Fujin-Raijin Zu Byobu), an Edo-period work by Tawaraya Soutatsu. The original screen is on display at Kennin-ji Temple in Kyoto and has been officially designated a national treasure.

[Source: Yomiuri]

Daily photos of Japanese intersections

03 Jul 2006

Osaka intersectionAs writer and photographer Chizon-san (from Slow Ahead) wanders the back streets of Japan, he does what most of us do when the sign (and the paint on the road) at an intersection says "stop" -- he stops. But before continuing on his way, he pauses long enough to snap photos capturing the subdued mystery and desolate squalor of Japan's back street intersections in all their mundane glory. He then posts the photos online.

The scenes and moods vary from shot to shot, but all of the photos share a similar foreground featuring the kanji character for "stop" (tomare) in paint on asphalt. With a new photo posted daily and many more stops to make before reaching his goal of 365, there is no telling what might turn up.

[Link]