A BARFer in Japan - Round 2

Alright, time for a new thread's worth of pictures.

The first thread is here for those who are interested... pictures on the first couple pages: http://bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=405076

Last weekend we made a trip out to Mt. Moiwa. Travel on the only street car in Sapporo.



You take a cable car most of the way up


Then for the steep part you get on a different cable car that rides on rails


Locks that couples leave at the top


A pano from the top. I made the actual image from 30 22mp images, so it's a giant file. I need to find a gigapixel hosting site for it so everyone can explore it themselves




Just a shot by my apartment


The campus has a bunch of ravens on it... I study animal behavior, and I love ravens because they're super smart tool users. They freak out at cameras though. Heck, even if you stop walking and look at them they spook. This is the best picture I've been able to get of one


Weird sign #1 - even the dog is apologizing for the construction mess


My rail pass - for some reason it has a picture of a bear wearing an Elvis jacket toasting with a pink zebra. Somehow a frog is hanging from the ceiling and eating the colorful rice ball things. Just like they say that everything is meaner in Australia, I think everything is weirder in Japan


Kind of random... crayfish in the lab mating.


Just a woman pushing a cart full of babies.


Caught this on the way home one day... light was grabbing it just right


Weird sign 2 - so many things I find amusing about this


Map that pinned up in the international housing I'm staying in.


The dorms have these awesome murals all over them


These things are so awesome! 4 cylinder turbo diesel 4 wheel drive minivans! I've seen some that have a bit of lift and larger tires. Super badass


Ohhh, super premium!

DAMN your pix are awesome!

And some more...

The only cheap way to drink is to go to the all you can drink places. Single beers at most places are about 400-500 yen ($5-6), but the all you can dirnk places are about 1000 yen ($12) for 120 minutes of drinking. This includes beer, wine, sake, whiskey, and cocktails. I mean, you'd be stupid not to get the all you can drink deal!


By far the most unappetizing plastic food I've seen. The real stuff is actually pretty good, but man the model just looks like vomit.


I went to the Hokkaido University baseball game. The enthusiasm is unreal. These are their cheerleaders, who don't stop yelling or getting the crowd involved the entire time.






Halfway through the game the team cheering squads switch sides and start yelling at all the opposing team's fans.


During the halftime both teams run out and rake the field


Oh, and they have an actual ump at home, but for 1st and 3rd, the teams each use one of their own players (You can see in the background). It's awesome that they trust each other to make fair calls.


The field and equipment was all pretty old. They don't fund sports teams like they do here in the US.


Random - saw this in an old dilapidated truck that was broken down near the field.

It's amazing how dense Japan really is. I remember driving through Tokyo on a bus and just seeing endless building as far as the eye can see.

Great pics. Did you say that you shoot with a Canon 5d? I freaking love that camera. Thanks for sharing, we are moving over their in a month. You got me chomping at the bit...

Enjoying the photos, keep it up.

Really enjoying your insight into the Japanese way of life, please keep the stories and pics coming

Awesome pics. I can't believe I looked at sea porn.

Dang I want to go back and visit again, this time for personal vacation instead of business! Thank you for sharing more photos.

post more!

post some chicks on bikes

thanks everyone... I'll update when I have another 10 or so pictures

OzD said:

Great pics. Did you say that you shoot with a Canon 5d? I freaking love that camera. Thanks for sharing, we are moving over their in a month. You got me chomping at the bit...

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Yea, a 5Dii, 24L v2, 70-200 2.8 IS v2, and that new 40mm pancake. I use a 100mm macro in the lab, too. The 5Dii is pretty amazing... I've had mine for about 2.5 years and it's a beast. I beat the crap out of it and it still functions great. Well, I spilled a beer in it once and it needed some repairs after that, but otherwise it's solid!

Anyway, I love it here so far. People are insanely nice, and go to great lengths to make sure you're happy. Sometimes it goes too far in that you feel bad that they're doing so much for you, especially when you're fully capable of doing it on your own! Some of that is my fault in not understanding the culture. For example, I asked the postdoc in my lab if he knew of a place that made or sold high-end Japanese cooking knifes. Asking that sorta made him obligated to help me find some, and the postdoc immediately looked up some stores and offered to take me there. It's extremely generous of him, but one of those things that can go too far if you don't watch what you inquire about.

Agent Orange said:

It's amazing how dense Japan really is. I remember driving through Tokyo on a bus and just seeing endless building as far as the eye can see.

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Agreed... the density is pretty crazy, and I'm in one of the more sprawling cities.

gameboi said:

post some chicks on bikes

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Haha, motos are much less common, and women on them even more so!

Fantastic pics, and haha, the baseball fans, funny stuff...

Great pics thanks for sharing. Japan is an amazing place, I miss it.

thanks for posting; very interesting!

now before you leave, you got to find time/$$ for a trackday at Suzuka...

very cool. subscribed.

Love your pictures! You've got quite an eye.