The aquatic—and controversial—photos of Asako Narahashi

The photos of Asako Narahashi are controversial, but not in a don't-show-the-kids kind of way.


Instead, the controversy is: Are her photos enthralling and original, or just gimmicky?


What do you think?



"Are these the marine observations of an aquatic creature or the final sights of a drowning man?"


—Mellow Monk

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Living in a garbage truck

Outside it may look like a garbage truck, but on the inside it's one tricked-out ride.



If you woke up inside this, you'd never think that on the outside it looked like this.


—Mellow Monk

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Translucent creatures

National Geographic has a great slideshow of translucent sea creatures.



A comb jellyfish in the dark depths off Antarctica.


—Mellow Monk

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Japan's World Heritage sites

The English-language edition of the Mainichi Daily News has a long, colorful slideshow of Japan's UNESCO World Heritage sites.



Tame deer wander through Nara Park, one of Japan's World Heritage sites.


—Mellow Monk

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"Living Flowers": an exhibit

The Japanese American National Museum is holding an exhibit called "Living Flowers: Ikebana and Contemporary Art."

Even if you can't make it to the museum, you can enjoy some photos of the exhibit.

—Mellow Monk

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Green enclave in a Japanese metropolis

In the midst of bustling Osaka is an "amazing rising garden complex," Namba Parks.

Here is a wonderful night view of the complex.

It's amazing how greenery can soothe and relax us, even in a busy urban environment.

—Mellow Monk

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Tokyo's Iceberg building

One of Tokyo's most unique-looking buildings is the Iceberg Building, located in the fashionable Shibuya district.



I'd like to see Jackie Chan scale down the side of this building. No, wait, Jackie—I was just kidding!


—Mellow Monk

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Komyoji, a Zen temple on Kyushu

Here are some photos of the Komyo Zenji temple, a Zen temple located in the city of Dazaifu, on the island of Kyushu (where Mellow Monk Green Tea is grown).














—Mellow Monk

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Highest waterfalls

Environmental Graffiti lists the 10 highest waterfalls on Earth.



Although not on the list of the world's highest waterfalls, the falls at Plitvicka Jezera National Park certainly are breathtaking.


—Mellow Monk

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Way-out-there Harajuku fashions

Japan Forum has a huge photo gallery of some of the outrageous fashions you can find on display in Tokyo's Harajuku district.



Insert mandatory joke about Halloween here.


—Mellow Monk

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The neighborhood tofu maker

This is a great photo of a small neighborhood tofu dealer in the city of Amagasaki. The blogger who took the photo writes [Japanese text only] that the shop has been in business since 1961. You can see how time has stood still here while the rest of the neighborhood developed.


Independent tofu makers who actually make their tofu on the premises are a rarity nowadays even in Japan.


Ah, fresh tofu . . . there's nothing like it!



A customer prepares to head home with her freshly made tofu. (Now maybe the city of Amagasaki can be known for something other than that horrible train wreck.)


—Mellow Monk

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Ghostly abandoned hotels in the desert

I'm not the only one fascinated by pictures of abandoned buildings, because I've run across quite a few such photo collections on the Web.


Is it a guy thing? Are we drawn to such structures because they tickle some sort of "man cave" gene?


Anyway, here's a collection of pics of hotels abandoned in the middle of construction in the Sinai desert.



The last words the project manager spoke before ordering construction halted were, "You mean it's always this hot here?"


—Mellow Monk

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Bulldog nurses tiger

A slideshow of the animal kingdom's oddest couuples includes a French bulldog nursing and raising a baby tiger at Japan's Shirotori Zoo [image search], located in the city of Higashikagawa. The tiger cub had been rejected by his mother.



Hachi the tiger cuddles with his new mom, Nana. Raised on dog's milk, Hachi is just like other tigers — other than a propensity to chase his tail.


—Mellow Monk

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Online library of Edo-era paintings

The Tohoku University Library had made available online part of its Kano Collection.


Of the "108,000 items of classical books, scrolls, documents and art objects" from the Edo Period collected by educator–philosopher Kokichi Kano (1865-1942), 16,700 images from about 1,180 items are available online.


A neat category of images to peruse are illustrated scrolls like this one.


Kokichi Kano was also said to have had the world's largest collection of, ahem, "adult-oriented" ukiyoe prints, although all the ones linked to on this page are one hundred percent safe for work, minor children, and those with delicate sensibilities, such as yours truly [Yeah right, Monk. —Your loving staff].



A scene from a scroll titled "The Takano Picture Scroll" (Takano Emaki).


—Mellow Monk

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Cities at night

NASA's "Earth Observatory" website has some incredible photos taken from space of cities at night.



Tokyo at night.


—Mellow Monk

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Photos of old Japan

If you like photographs, Japan, and old stuff, well then my friend, have I got a website for you: Old Photos Japan, which describes itself as "a photo blog about old Japan that reads like a book and works like an archive" and which promises a new photo every day.


I'm usually not one to attempt to see into the future, but I predict I will be visiting this site quite often.



"Employees pose in front of Tokyo sidewalk restaurants on a sunny day in May, 1934. The delivery bicycle belongs to Yanase Sushi (the shop with the white sign with red kanji)."


—Mellow Monk

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Schoolkids picking tea

The newspaper Mainichi Shinbun recently ran a story [in Japanese only] about a group of 60 middle-school students in Yame, Fukuoka, who went on a tea-picking field trip as part of a "comprehensive learning" class.


(In addition to tea, Yame is also known for its hina doll festival.)


Harvest time in Aso, where our tea hails from, starts in mid-May—later than in Yame because of Aso's higher elevation.



"You're not supposed to eat the leaves, silly."


—Mellow Monk

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Tokyo Gardens

Photographer Tim Porter has an online photo collection called "Tokyo Gardens" featuring beautiful sepia-and-white photographs of some of Japan's most famous gardens.


So brew yourself up a nice cup of green tea, because this is a wonderful site for perusing during a green tea break.



The Rikugien garden in Tokyo. Click on the photo to see more of Tim Porter's collection.


—Mellow Monk

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Tokyo at night

Another excellent, excellent website for a green tea break: ArkiBlog's "Tokyo at Night."



Click on the photo to go to the online album.


—Mellow Monk

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See netsuke online!

"What on earth's a netsuke?" you ask?


The word netsuke is usually translated as "toggle," but it's actually more like a keychain in that it was fastened at the end of a cord attached to a traditional Japanese carrying case (sagemono).


Back in the days of kimonos, you see, no one had pockets, so the only way to carry around personal belongings was in a kimono sleeve or in a sagemono hung from the kimono belt (obi). The netsuke served as a counterbalance and as a stopper that prevented the cord from slipping through the obi.


The Los Angeles County Museum of Art has an online gallery of its impressive collection of netsuke from the Meiji period (1868–1912).


This is a really cool collection to peruse with a cup of green tea. So take a break, relax and nourish your body and mind. The lawn can wait another week.


By the way, does it surprise you that there is an organization devoted to netsuke? Nope, it doesn't surprise me, either.



A horse-shaped netsuke.



This predates "Pirates of the Caribbean."


—Mellow Monk

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Tokyo panoramas

The Tokyo page at 360cities.net has some amazing panoramic photographs of Japan's largest city. These photos really make you feel like you're right there in person.


I could kick my feet up on my desk, sip green tea and peruse these photos all day. But then what kind of example would I be setting for my employees? [Monk, it's way too late to worry about that. —The Staff]


When you go to the linked-to page, there will be a map taking up the majority of the page. On this page, the circled numbers indicate how many sights there are to see at that spot. Mouse over one of the names on the map and you'll get a hovering preview of the panoramic shot. Click on it, and the moving panorama appears in the upper right-hand corner.


To get an amazing full-screen version of that panorama (such as the one shown below), click on the small screen icon below the lower left-hand corner of the preview.


Just don't spend too much time at this website, alright? I already have enough companies mad at me as it is.



To view a full-screen version like the one shown below, click on the icon indicated by the green arrow.



Tokyo's Kabukiza district, home of traditional kabuki theaters.


—Mellow Monk

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Photoethnography of Japan

One of the online exhibits at Karen Nakamura's Photoethnography.com is a collection taken at Japan's Tsukiji fish market, one of the world's largest.


Also note that there are multiple pages of photos in this collection, so if you like what you see on the first page, be sure to click the "next" button to see pages 2 and beyond.



An fish auctioneer at work.


—Mellow Monk

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Lost America

"Lost America " is a collection of nighttime photographs of modern-day ghost towns and other abandoned buildings and facilities in the American West.


Although slightly creepy in a last-man-on-Earth-movie kind of way, these pics are still fascinating and perfect viewing for a green tea break.


By the way, to see more photos you may have missed previously, click on "photographs" under "Labels" below.



Are you sure it's really ... empty? [Cue evil laughter.]


—Mellow Monk

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Amazing panoramas of Tokyo

Talk about a site that's perfect for a green tea break.


The Washington Post has a collection of self-rotating 360-degree panoramas of famous spots in Tokyo.


When you click on one of the thumbnails, the full-size panorama may take a moment to load, but it's well worth the wait. There's even a full-screen mode, which really makes you feel like you're there in person taking in the sights.


Once it loads, the image begins moving to the side automatically, so you can sit back with your cup of green tea, relax and enjoy the show.



A still shot of the 360 panoramic view of Sensoji Temple in Asakusa, Tokyo.


—Mellow Monk

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The waterfall that turned into an icicle

I sure hope that no one in Aomori Prefecture ever made a promise that was contingent on Nio Waterall (Niogataki) freezing over—such as, "Sure I'll pay you back—when Nio Falls freezes over."


Because that's exactly what happened this week.


Actually the freezing of the falls is known to happen occasionally—the last time was 3 years ago—and is said to be a sign of a bountiful harvest in the fall.


[Source: Yahoo Japan]



Yeah, I'd say it's a little cold today.


—Mellow Monk

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18 stunning bridges

One of Japan's entries on Frikoo's list of 18 stunning bridges from around the world is the Kintaikyo Bridge, in Iwakuni Prefecture.



First built in 1673, the five original wooden arches of the Kintaikyo stood for nearly 300 years, until they were destroyed by a typhoon in 1950. The current arches were built 3 years later.


—Mellow Monk

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The world's 10 most amazing temples

Japan's Chion-in Temple, located in beautiful Kyoto (where else?), is the country's lone entry on Neatorama's list of the world's 10 most amazing temples.



More amazing than any movie set: Bhutan's Tiger's Nest Monastery.



A great winter shot of the Chion-in Temple.


—Mellow Monk

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In pictures: Japan's food crisis

The current upswing in world food prices is particularly worrying to Japan, which imports a big chunk of its foodstuffs and so ranks 124th in the world in food security.


Part of the problem is the shift in recent years to more Western-style foods, especially among young people, many of whom prefer burgers to broiled fish or—say it ain't so!—bottled green tea to traditional brew-it-yourself tea.


Much of this bottled tea is made from tea leaves grown on massive corporate farms in places like China or Brazil, but not Mellow Monk: our tea is grown on family-owned and -operated farms in Aso, Japan.



At a small eatery near Shinjuku Station in Tokyo, office workers wind down with food and drink before heading home.


—Mellow Monk

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Ghostly abandoned sites in Japan

They look like the set of one of those post-apocalypse movies, but they're not—they're real-life modern-day ghost towns in Japan.


The captions are all in Japanese, but the photos are pretty much self-explanatory. There are resorts that went under because of bad business decisions, and a few sites (including an entire island) that were left in the wake of Japan's collapsing coal industry.



An abandoned glass factory next to an abandoned shipyard near the port of Imari.


—Mellow Monk

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World's scariest teahouse?

It's not actually the teahouse itself that's scary; it's the steep cliffside path you have to navigate to get to it.


These online photos are probably as close as yours truly will ever get to this mountaintop shop, which is located somewhere in China. If anyone knows exactly where this is, please use the comment feature to let us know.



Ah, to be young and fearless.


—Mellow Monk

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