Social media posts by our community

March 9 −10°C Akanko early morning walk tour! Thanks to the cold that let clouds settle over the lake like a dragon, we could see frost flowers and rime ice gleaming against the blue sky♪ We walked across the lake, where diamond dust sparkled in a magical scene. ✨

Photographed on February 21, 2014. This is the hanachozu (flower water basin) at Kawagoe Hachimangu Shrine.

Making the puppet faces! In Nishiokoppe Village, there is a club that performs puppet theater. It’s called the puppet theater club Doremi. They have performed at local daycare centers, elementary schools, and the Forest Museum “Mokumu,” and they have also held shows in Shimokawacho and Monbetsu City. During winter and spring, they spend time making puppets and preparing props and background decorations for performances. One afternoon, we dropped in while Doremi members were gathered. Preparing for performances from summer 2026 onward, they were just shaping the faces and torsos of the characters that will appear. This year’s piece seems to feature humans and several animals. They glued several sheets of styrofoam together, then shaved and shaved, comparing their work with reference photos and shaving again. Areas shaved too much and add-on parts like noses are formed with paper clay and attached to the base. They then paste shoji paper over the surface to build the final shape. There is still painting and sewing of fabric parts to do, so completion will take more time, but I could have watched forever as the members chatted while working—happy and serious at the same time. #Puppet theater #Doremi #Puppet making

Himeji

Okayama

Photographed on February 24, 2014. These are the hanachozu (flower water basins) at Kawagoe Hachimangu Shrine.

(2026-01-30) Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo Forest Aurora I posted earlier about the Tokyo sea of clouds Actually, this event upgrades at night the :40 hourly show by adding colored LEDs and lasers onto the sea of clouds to create the “Forest Aurora” ※From last November until this Wednesday 18:10 Sea of clouds 18:40 Forest Aurora (sea of clouds + laser projection) 19:10 Sea of clouds 19:40 Forest Aurora : : and so on Not the “Tokyo sea of clouds” but the “Forest Aurora” This was my first 2026 challenge of catching moments I might otherwise miss in life Even a slight breeze can send the mist rushing toward us or drifting off in unexpected directions, constantly changing its appearance by the minute So I take many shots and then pick a few that feel right.

Photographed on February 21, 2014. This is the hanachozu (flower basin) at Kawagoe Hachimangu Shrine.

Photographed on February 17, 2014. This is the hanachouzui (decorative flower water basin) at Naritasan Kawagoe Betsuin.

Photographed on February 15, 2014. This is the hanachozu (flower water basin) at Kawagoe Hachimangu Shrine, located at the omikuji distribution area.

A photo of Hamarikyu Gardens near my office on March 5th. Returning from a business trip after a week, the gardens are in full bloom with rapeseed flowers.

Photographed on February 18, 2014. The red plum blossoms line the approach to Kawagoe Hachimangu Shrine. 🌸