Japan | Raleigh Travel Photographer

Wow, it's hard to believe it's a new year and I'm just now doing a blog post! For those who have asked, despite not posting since December, everything is fine : ) I've been busy working on a brand new blog (coming very soon!) and making some much needed updates to my website (still in progress). I have many blog posts to catch up on and I hope to make many of them on my new blog very soon!

I actually thought I had posted these a couple of months ago, but with the busyness of holiday sessions and editing, it just didn't happen. These are a few images from my trip to Japan (in July!). I was so excited to spend some time with my sister, Joanna, and her boyfriend Victor. They both live in Japan, and despite it being a fantastic country, I am really looking forward to them both moving back to the US this year.

I only got to see them for a couple of days, but we made the most of it with some good food and some late night karaoke. We visited the Studio Ghibli Museum, which was so cool. I would never have expected a museum to have real Miyazaki sketches plastering the walls with no glass around them. It was as if there was no concern that they might get damaged or that someone might steal one. For those who are unfamiliar with Miyazaki's films, please check them out. This is a random thought, but I have to say that I think Miyazaki (and his studio) might give more attention to wind than any other animation studio. It's really beautiful to watch in his films.

We traveled to Lake Ashi, where we rode on a pirate ship and saw Mt. Fuji. Nearby, there was a beautiful cedar forest that we walked through. That night, we stayed in a traditional ryokan that Victor had booked. It was so cool to be able to sleep in a traditional Japanese hotel instead of a more touristy one. It had an onsen and also included a Japanese breakfast.

Oh--here's a tidbit of advice for anyone traveling to Tokyo. Go to one of the large department stores before they open and go in as soon as the doors are unlocked. We walked in and all of the employees were lined up down the aisle of the department store. Every single one of them bowed as we walked by. It was almost overwhelming and surreal, but such a neat experience. If you go later in the day, don't expect to see this. Even if you can't go in the morning, it's worth going to the department stores just to check out the food halls. They're amazing (and expensive)!

On to some photos!

Many parts of the museum reminded me of Gaudi's Casa Batllo in Barcelona.

This is right outside the little cafe at the Studio Ghibli Museum. I just loved the little detail of the tiny pinecones next to the vase of unripened blackberries on the red chair. So whimsical : )

This is a Mont Blanc, which is carried in most Japanese department stores in their food halls. It was Jacob's favorite dessert in Tokyo when we were there in 2005. It would never be my first choice, but I had to get one in his honor : )

Joanna and Victor in the cable car on our way to the pirate ship...

Mt. Fuji!

The cedar forest--so gorgeous.

My youngest sister : )

Beijing | Raleigh Travel Photographer

Okay, I'm finally getting around to posting the Beijing pictures. Where does the time go? After this, I'll post pictures from Japan--hopefully with less of a lag between posts!

The first picture you'll see here is the Beijing airport. I was in Beijing in 2005 and I can attest to the huge difference between then and now. This is an amazing airport. Truly.

We had a bit more free time in Beijing than in the other cities and one of the things that I wanted to do was a sidecar tour. My parents had done this in Shanghai and had such high recommendations, that I had to try it. The company is Beijing Sideways and you can do tours of varying lengths and in different locations. The commonality is that you're on a motorcycle with a sidecar and you can ride on the back of the motorcycle or in the sidecar (or alternate, which is what I did). I might have felt rebellious, except my parents were the ones who told me to do it! This method of transport allowed us to weave in and out of traffic and go down some narrow alleys and into the hutongs of Beijing. You'll see a few pictures below.

Here I am, looking awesome (not). My contacts ripped the first day I arrived in Asia so I had to wear my glasses the whole time, which was sort of a pain since I don't normally wear them all day and hold my camera up to my face--to be met with glasses.

I loved this girl holding the rooster. I wanted to get closer, but we were riding and I took the only shot I could get.

Lounging and waiting for the next rickshaw passengers : )

Asia Trip: Shanghai | Raleigh Photographer

So, if I was late in posting Talah's birthday pictures, I would certainly be late in posting pictures from my trip to Asia in July. I'll break this into three posts because there are a lot : ) This was in every way a business trip, but I did have small pockets of time here and there to do some things and I definitely took advantage of that. How could you not?

The first stop was Shanghai. There wasn't much free time here, but I did bring my camera with me when I went to lunch and walked around. We also went to the Expo one night, which was pretty amazing. The creativity exhibited there is just out of this world! I had heard that people who went during the day often stood in lines for 6-8 hours just to get into one pavilion. When combined with the sweltering heat and massive crowds, I can't imagine that would be much fun. We were there at around 8pm when the crowds had died down (but there were still PLENTY of people there) and the heat was more bearable. You can see more below.

House numbers : )

This is at the Expo. Can anyone explain this to me?

These are some of the exhibits we saw at the Expo. We only went in Mexico, Spain, and Norway because of time constraints, but it was fun just to see them from the outside to appreciate the fantastic architecture and lighting. The one below was Chile.

These were on the wall in Mexico. There was a whole room filled with art displays by Mexican artists.

We ate dinner in the Mexican Pavilion. I was tempted to get the "Evil Spicy Shrimps."

The picture below is not a good one. There's way too much stuff going on in the foreground with the railings and umbrellas. Unfortunately, there wasn't anywhere else to stand. Still, I had to show how cool the UK pavilion was. It was closed.

I can't remember which pavilion this was, but I loved how the ceiling looked like undulating seaweed. Unfortunately, I could only see it from the outside because the line was too long.

Switzerland is below. The netting had red plastic balls sewn in.

Spain was one of the few pavilions we were able to get into. I was very impressed.

The beginning had a movie going on all the surrounding walls. It started with the running of the bulls and then turned to soccer. They also had bones hanging from the ceiling.

This wasn't a big part of the exhibit, but I loved how creative they were in using hanging string as a projection screen.

They also had a huge animatronics baby, which attracted a lot of attention.

Sweden below.

Below is Norway. It had beautiful wood details throughout.

Next post, Beijing!