tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76356617881546720222024-03-19T05:33:25.471+01:00Out of CamPhoto-journalism with a twist.Syntax Surferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00623064096222350972noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7635661788154672022.post-66224344777960925982010-08-09T12:21:00.055+02:002010-08-09T17:52:05.039+02:00Decaying villages and a hidden gemAfter crossing Kazurabashi (かずら橋), the path winds up the slopes of the valley and eventually passes by a well-maintained camping ground: Iya Kazurabashi Camp Village (祖谷かずら橋キャンプ村). If you want to stay, it's only 500 Yen per night - a real bargain with a scenic view over (almost) unspoilt nature (see picture below). But I'm out for something else. Since I had read Alex Kerr's book "Lost Japan", I Syntax Surferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00623064096222350972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7635661788154672022.post-82595195864052894752010-08-05T18:24:00.026+02:002010-08-05T23:00:35.555+02:00Crossing KazurabashiThe train from Okayama is late, as I arrive at Oboke (大歩危), right in the middle of Shikoku. That's pretty unusual for Japan Railways, who claim to have the most punctual train service in the world, and Nori-san, who picks me up at the station, is already being nervous. "My father came for a surprise visit today", he says, "and he expects me to make dinner for him." A few seconds pass, before he Syntax Surferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00623064096222350972noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7635661788154672022.post-79889454287477157362010-08-04T17:40:00.038+02:002010-08-04T21:36:03.417+02:00Fishin' the sun in UwajimaAlong the south-eastern stretch of Shikoku's coastline, in Ehime prefecture, the discrepancies between modern and traditional Japanese society are not as visible as in the big cities on Honshu and Kyushu. The area is quite rural, and many people who live on the coast still work as fishermen. Even the architecture of Ehime's urban settlements is largely dominated by functional industrial-era Syntax Surferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00623064096222350972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7635661788154672022.post-79962718200571446612010-07-25T21:49:00.030+02:002011-04-28T14:41:34.752+02:00Gunkanjima's future remains uncertain Off the coast of Nagasaki, the bustling city on Kyushu in the south of Japan, a mere one-hour boatride from the harbor, time seems to have come to a complete standstill, as I set my foot on the pier of Gunkanjima.
An urban explorer's dream, I had read and heard a lot about the island, which once had the highest population density in the world, and today, some 36 years after all its inhabitants Syntax Surferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00623064096222350972noreply@blogger.com0