A Japanese kite (tobi/鳶) on Himakajima Island.

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I first visited Himakajima in 2012 and remember returning home in the evening with a glow of self accomplishment on time well spent. I’d left early in the morning and spent the day wandering and photographing with my cherished Leica M6 and a roll of awful Lomography film. That combination of exploring a new place and getting slightly creative made me happy. I cringe looking back now at my original post now but who cares? Certainly not anyone reading this I presume.

That simple formula hasn’t changed and that’s what powered the recent walks along the Kiso-ji, Nakasendō, Tōkaidō, and Ise-ji, all of which I need to continue walking.

Walk – photograph – print (journal).

Simple.

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I promised myself I’d return and so more than 10 years later(!) I did under very different circumstances. Last time I was free to wander alone with no constraints but this time my wife and daughter came along, too. It was my wife’s first visit since childhood, and my daughter’s first. She loved bouncing up and down on the waves during the ferry crossing.

There was no Leica (I still have it but rarely use it), or awful film, instead my modern Lumix S5 (which I enjoy more and more every time I use it), a standard 24-105 zoom, and a brand new Sigma 100-400 telephoto lens purchased for getting closer shots in the mountains but that also comes in handy when playing around photographing the overhead kites (tobi/鳶) that can be seen on the island.

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The island can easily be walked around in an hour and is fairly easy to get to from Nagoya. It’s a small place with a good mix of fishing port life, traditional culture, and attempts by the local tourist board to bring in tourists from nearby Nagoya and beyond.

We walked, I photographed, we played on the beach, and then we ate locally caught fish.

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Heading back on the ferry to Morozaki I wondered why it had taken me so long as that glow of accomplishment came flooding back.

10 years is too long.

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I’m on Twitter again after being away for 11 years (?) or so. I’m still not sure whether it was a good idea to return but you can find me here. However as of now I’ve also started a Vero and Glass account and prefer them both a lot more to Twitter. You can find here on Vero and here on Glass.