The Hanazono MTB Park is really shaping up now. The guys have been working hard through out the week in some average weather.
The last couple of days have dried out the mud and lines are appearing.
Today Martin and Paul got a huge boost by holding a trail luvin session – MTB keensters came from far and wide arrived to lend a hand.
Couldn’t have timed it better as you can see from the view in this panorama, click on the image to view the pop up interactive version.
Perfect weather ! I didn’t get my hands dirty but I did offer moral support and eat heaps of the the free BBQ !
Nice one Martin and Paul – fun day and great to see so many people getting into it….it’s going to be a sweet park.
Tagged as:
hanazono,
Hokkaido,
Japan,
mtb,
niseko,
panorama,
Photography
Last week I made it down to Tokyo and checked out day 13 of the May Sumo tournament at the Ryogoku Kokugikan
There are 6 Sumo tournaments every year, each one lasting 15 days. 1 in Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka and 3 in Tokyo. Ryogoku is the area of Tokyo and Kokugikan is the name of the building.
Amazing to see the big boys go head to head in the flesh !
At these Sumo tournaments there are many different levels of competition with the lower ranks starting from around 12 pm. The professional division called the Makuuchi starts from around 4 pm.
This panorama was the second last bout of the Juryo division just before the Makkuchi division.
One of the cool things about arriving early is that you can wander around the Kokugikan and take a close look at the ring and watch a few bouts from an empty seat close up – lots of people only arrive to watch the Makkuchi division from 4 – 5 pm. My seat was up on the 2nd floor.
The two Sumo wrestlers ( Rikishi ) in this panorama were just about to fight, when both Rikishi (wrestlers) touch the ground with there hands at the same time they slam into each other and it’s GAME ON – first Rikishi to either step out of the ring ( Douhyo ) or touch the ground inside the ring is the loser.
Tagged as:
Japan,
panorama,
Photography,
sumo
One on the amazing things about living in Hirafu year round is experiencing the dramatic change in seasons. After an amazing winter the snow has almost disappeared and the green season is coming back in force.
With so many things emerging from the snow, plants, landscapes, objects, farmers fields… it’s hard not to be surprised daily – this statue freaked me out.
To get idea of how much snow we get here in Niseko I thought these covered walk ways in Hanazono were set at ground level – WRONG
Mountain biking is a great way to check out what is happening and I’ve been on some amazing rides already.
With Spring arriving in Niseko the start of the local rafting season begins. This panorama was taken on the Shiribetsu river on outskirts of Niseko town.
The snow capped Mt Yotei is just visible through the trees. I imagined shooting this type panorama on a rock in the middle of the river but that seemed a bit risky when I was actually standing on the riverbank with my rig in hand. I’ll try another version in summer (shame about all the rubbish in this pano).
Spring….yes!…the flowers are blooming.
Tagged as:
Hirafu,
Hokkaido,
Japan,
niseko,
panorama
