This morning we jumped on the bikes and took a ride to Ikegami Honmonji (池上本門寺). My goal was to make some good photos, but it was also a family outing of sorts. I dragged along the 5D Mark II and two lenses: 24mm-70mm f/2.8 and 70mm-200mm f/2.8.
Japanese temples are interesting places. In Tokyo they are an oasis of peace in the middle of a crazy, crowded, and sometimes insane city. We went early enough in the morning that there were still very few people there. It was a nice break from the crowded trains and tired people that I see on a daily basis.
I'm never sure about taking pictures in cemeteries. I've been here long enough that I no longer feel like a tourist. When you're a tourist you point your camera at anything and everything, and think nothing of it. Everything is new and foreign, and photo-worthy. And the locals just think "stupid tourist" and go about their lives. But once you're not a tourist anymore you start to worry about things like "is it OK to take pictures here?" And I assume that the locals, instead of thinking "stupid tourist" instead think "why is that guy taking pictures here?" I don't know, probably I worry too much. People tell me I'm too serious.
If you look up 墓 (haka) in a Japanese-English dictionary, you get gravesite or tomb. But for some reason those words to me feel like there should be a dead body in there somewhere. The important thing is this is a memorial to those who have passed, and people come here to remember them. So in that sense it's not that different from a western graveyard. Actually I often think that cultural differences are in the details. It's common to see cups of sake placed on graves in Japan for example.
