I’m not sure why they say Yokohama blue but surely it shall be blue, probably not because of color of water, color of sky, color of people nor color of culture, but Yokohama is. As usual, someone is joging at a park next to the bay. As usual, a lot of tourinsts are dis embarking from a cruise ship. As usual, people are visiting there for weekend shopping. Even after a hundred years, nothing has changed. One very small difference is that I am part of the city.
The name of the shop was “Boutique Ephemer” and it seemed to be open for a limited time. There were signs all over the place asking you to feel free to enter, but for some reason I hesitated to go inside even though I had no plans to buy anything. The shop itself was decorated in Christmas-like colors, and just looking at it made me feel happy. I’m a rather practical person and don’t mind window shopping at bakeries. In the end, I end up buying bread.
It was always raining when I did something different from ordinary days. Sometimes it was snowy in wintertime. When I supported my family who had to do something important, when I visited a place that I was looking forward to, when I had to do unpleased things, it always rained. For a long time I didn’t understand why. After many years have passed, I realized that I remember bad weather as a bad memory. I learnt even also that a rain makes up the world being beautiful.
Yokohama is a big city but it has a short history. It was in 1859 that Yokohama suddenly appeared in Japanese history, let alone world history. That was only 160 years ago. The peaceful era that had lasted for 300 years entered a major turning point after a mission from the United States appeared. Yokohama became the place to open a port for them. Fifty years later, the red brick warehouse was built as a national bonded warehouse. Now that its role has ended, it is now a beautiful shopping mall that is loved by citizens. Above picture was taken there at night time. The historical scenery during the day and the energy at night seem to symbolize modern Yokohama.
It was a somewhat unusual year. In 2023, after returning from France, I worked full-time in Japan, took almost a month’s vacation, and moved to a new job. So, I have selected some photos that I took during my off time.
The photo above was taken in Hokkaido, the northernmost part of Japan. Spending your meal time in a different place, with different food, and in a different way is a great way to break out of the mundane. There was a canal between the restaurant and me, with small boats passing by.
The photo below was taken in the Okinawa region, the southernmost tip of Japan. It was a very relaxing time just looking at the calm sea.
The last photo was taken in Kanagawa Prefecture, where I live. I knew there were orange groves, but I didn’t know they were so sweet. Interestingly, some of the orchards have farmers’ stands where you can pick your own, and I ate lots of oranges there while looking out at the beautiful sea.
As you know, those are not my favorite shots but favorite places I’ve been last year.
l'atelier tanu | tagnoue 