Kumamoto’s wide moat

Article posted on Sunday, July, 3rd, 2011 at 10:38 pm

I was greeted with coldness last February. It seems nine summers in the Northern hemisphere haven’t been enough to to prepare me for sub-fifteen-degree days. Of course, I mean 15° Celsius.

It was not without effort that I guided my near-numb finger to the shutter button for the capture. What can I say? The wind-chill factor was hellish.

The moat we see below is far and away the widest at Kumamoto. For some reason I’ve got it in my head that the moat is like this to keep the gunners out of effective range. I’m 99% sure that I’ve read that very explanation somewhere, but do you think I’m able to dig it up?

The doubt keeps creeping in. Now I’m only 98% sure. What I am able to state with some certainty is that the walls and the tower to the right of the image were all (re)built in the last 10 years.

And now another little factoid pops into my head: After being quarried, the stones were left in a field for several years to give them a more rustic patina. Now, I’m not even going to bother Googling that one! I think I just need sleep.

Oh, and thanks must go to Japan Dave for the post processing. :)

Karatsu day trip

Article posted on Saturday, April, 30th, 2011 at 8:47 am

I woke up bright and early and drove to the city of Karatsu in Saga Prefecture (on the island of Kyūshū.) I’d been tracking the weather all week and the weather on the day was absolutely superb.

It was a fairly easy schedule, first was the castle of Karatsu (lots of repairs going on.) Then I visited some temples whose main gates had come from Karatsu castle via Hizen Nagoya castle. Finally, I drove up to see the thoroughly-fascinating Hizen Nagoya castle itself. I did manage to get some good photos but camera battery life was a limiting factor. It’s okay, there will be a next time.

Below is one of the first photos I took of the castle. The man fishing had just thrown some chum in the water to lure in his breakfast.

Swanning about

Article posted on Sunday, November, 28th, 2010 at 8:30 am

David from JapanDave, who we’ve met before, was kind enough to offer me his sensational image tweaking skills. When I saw the results, I almost fell over, such was the impact of the changes. So, what do you think? I’d also like to know your thoughts on altering images in general, if you have any… Love it or hate it?

The image was taken during my Summer-vacation trip to Nagano. It is, of course, Matsumoto castle‘s main tower & a strategically placed swan.

Click on the image to see the original photo (the image is actually different, but all will make sense after you see it.)

Some links: (recent post) Matsumoto’s Taiko Masugata gate, The JapanDave site, The JapanDave Facebook fan page & (why not?) The Japanese Castle Explorer Facebook fan page