I have been down for a while due to poor conditions, but I am now back to a reasonable state of physical and mental health. However, I have run out of stock of photos to use for my blog, so I’m slowly but surely resuming my series of articles.
This time, I had some business in the Shirokane area of Minato-ku, so I put the SIGMA 17-70 contemporary lens on my PENTAX K-3III in my bag and went for a walk on the road.
From the pedestrian bridge on Route 1 near Shirokane-Takanawa Station, I looked north because of the beautiful blue sky.
I’ve never had much of a connection to this area, and I had only a vague idea that Shirokane was some sort of high-class residential area. It looked like a regular big-box office district, with the Tokyo Tower peeking out in the distance.
But when I walked around the back streets, I found it wasn’t so high-so (lol). There was some kind of big torii gate, so I decided to take a picture of it anyway.
The SIGMA 17-70 is not very good at backlighting, so there is a lot of ghosting, but, uh, it’s the Shirokane Hikawa Shrine.
It was a Sunday morning and the shrine in the heart of the city was so quiet. But still, I thought to myself, “Why?(voice is in Tachikoma)”.
I don’t think it is an Inari shrine, but there are foxes instead of komainu (guardian dogs) in the precincts of the shrine.
Although the lense is weak against backlighting, it has a nice soft bokeh effect for a standard zoom, which is very soothing.
The area around the sub shrine house in the back side was even more serene and tranquil by 30%.
Now, we leave the shrine and head up a nice hill.
I was slogging up Sanko Hill when I came across this place.
I’d be punished if I said it was “not so high-so” but this is the entrance to the University of the Sacred Heart, which may not be the most exclusive school in Japan.
I was in the neighborhood of Shirokanedai station, and I walked a long way around the subway station. Then I was curious to see a flashy report of success in front of the gate of a certain cram school or preschool.
No, when you look at the lineup of these “Celebrate Acceptance” elementary schools, this is high society for families in this area, no matter what anyone says. I am very sorry for stating something that I did not know and underestimated.
I could have left the station, but I decided to stop by one more spot that has been on my mind for a while. So next time, you will probably see snapshots of the “Tokyo Metropolitan Minato Ward Folk Museum”.
