Image search results - "and" - JAPAN PHOTOS by Philbert Ono

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Finland: Land of Lakes　湖だらけの国When you look at a map of Finland or see it from the air, the first thing you notice is that it has a lot of lakes. Ten percent of the country is covered by lakes, but from the air over the southern half, it looks like least 30%-40% of the land is water.

It looked like a field of giant puddles or one giant marshland. It was like the country was sinking into ocean. I had never seen so many lakes in my life. Incredible. And if it's not water, it's forests. Some 70% of Finland is covered by forests.

I think Finland will someday become a popular tourist destination, especially for people who need to escape the urban hustle-bustle and stressful lifestyle. There are nothing like trees and lakes which can pacify humans.

Basic intro to Finland: http://virtual.finland.fi/
Finland map: Virtual Finland map

上空からも直ぐ分かるけど、フィンランドは湖がとっても多い国。20万弱の湖。面積の一割が湖。なんと国の７割は森林。湖と森林は、人を癒すものである。
HP: フィンランド政府観光局（日本語）

Letter of Thanks from PhilI really enjoyed my first trip to Finland during September 4-18, 2005 (Sept. 8-17 in Kuusamo) and savored every hour. The people in Kuusamo were all so nice and it was a great pleasure to meet and see the work of many talented and dedicated photographers from Europe.

They have definitely piqued my interest and opened my eyes to the nature and wildlife in northern Europe and the Arctic region. I've also become much more keenly aware of the seriousness of global warming. People in Finland have told me how the climate has become noticeably warmer over the decades. Such countries near the polar regions are the first to feel and see the detrimental effects of global warming. I really hope we can someday reverse the trend.

I want to thank the people who made my sponsored trip and participation in Kuusamo Nature Photo 2005 possible and very enjoyable. After months of email correspondence with the festival staff, it was great to finally meet all of them face to face. It makes a big difference when you know the face and person behind the name.

I know they worked very hard to pull off a very successful nature photo festival. For all the email correspondence, coordination, and making all the arrangements, I especially want to thank the following:

Lassi Rautiainen, Kuusamo Nature Photo Director
Pekka Pirhonen, Kuusamo Culture Department Manager
Seija Väisänen
Hannele Pappila
Town of Kuusamo
Corporate sponsors

I also want to personally thank the following people:

Pirkko Väätäinen, my interpreter who interpreted my three slide shows into Finnish.
Hannu Hautala and wife Irma, for having us over at his home/office. Despite his fame, Hannu is a very down-to-earth and warm-hearted man. It was a great pleasure to meet him, to see his collection of Japanese photo books, and hearing about his two trips to Japan.
Barbara, for videotaping my slide shows with my video camera and taking some great snapshots of me enjoying myself in Kuusamo. And also for providing transportation to/from the airport.
Tõnu Ling, for taking snapshots of me in Kuusamo and being my first friend in Kuusamo (we met on the plane to Kuusamo).
Koillis sanomat newspaper and reporter Tuomo Pirttimaa for interviewing me in an article they published.

Again, I have to thank Lassi for everything. He was the one who took care of all the details even during our nature trips. Lending sleeping bags, carrying hot drinks in heavy thermos bottles, driving us all over the place, answering all our questions, taking pictures of us, and making sure everyone had an enjoyable time. He turned out to be quite humorous. I can highly recommend him to anyone who needs a very knowledgeable local guide to watch or photograph wildlife in Finland.
See his Web site: Articmedia

Finally, I want to thank all the people and photographers I met at Kuusamo for their pleasant company and friendship. Remember that you have a friend in Japan. If you ever come and visit, let me know.

Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy this permanent online gallery of Finland photos explained in both English and Japanese.

Philbert Ono
Tokyo, Japan

P.S. In case you don't know, "kiitos" means thank you in Finnish.

Sign for Tomonoura. Tomonoura is a National Important Traditional Townscape Preservation District (重要伝統的建造物群保存地区).

Sign for boat going to the islands (no longer in service)

Ferry between Tomonoura and Sensui island.

400-meter long bridge to Takeshima island near JR Gamagori Station. The island is made of granite. Circumference is 680 meters. There's a walking path around the island.

Rabbit Island

Rabbits

Feeding a rabbit

Bentenjima island near Tomonoura.

Rabbit Island

View from Rabbit Island

Boat to Rabbit and Monkey islands (no longer in service)

Monkey Island (Sarugashima)

Helsinki-Vantaa Airport　ヘルシンキ・ヴァンター空港It takes about 9 to 9 1/2 hours from Tokyo to Helsinki via Finnair. Only one country lies between Japan and Finland: Russia. Both countries actually share a border with Russia. As of this writing, Finnair flies direct from Tokyo only twice a week. Narita is so congested with only two runways, they cannot offer more flights. Finnair has more direct flights from Kansai Airport in Osaka.

現在では、成田発のヘルシンキへの直行便は週に２便しかない。関空発は週に５便。9時間ちょっとでヘルシンキへ行ける。

Geisha chocolate　ゲイシャ　チョコSome years ago, when a Finnish friend visited Japan and gave me this Geisha chocolate from Finland, I was very amused. Why in the world did they name it "geisha??" It's milk chocolate with a soft hazelnut filling.

Then when I went to Finland, I was surprised to see this chocolate brand almost everywhere. It's made by a company called Fazer, and when you look at their Web site, they explain in Finnish why they named it "geisha." (Wish I could read it.) The logo on the packaging uses a nice drawing of a geisha. But at the company's Web site, they have a wallpaper gallery showing a real human modeling as an obviously fake geisha.

No offense to the company, the model, makeup artist, and chocolate, but she is one of the worse-looking geisha models I've ever seen. Egad!! She might even be a man.

Take a look: http://www.fazermakeiset.fi/ Click on the Geisha button, then click on the fourth candy from the top to see the wallpaper.

After careful analysis, I know why Fazer's geisha looks so awful: Her fake wig is way too high above her ears. It's too small or too short for her (or his) head. The wig was probably for a young girl. See this photo and compare. They should stick to the cartoon logo instead.

この「Geisha」チョコはフィンランドに大人気。何故そう名付けたか分かりませんが（フィンランド語の説明がある）、数年前に初めてフィンランドの友人からもらったとき爆笑だった。そしてフィンランドへ初めて行ってこのGeishaチョコがどこでもあって驚きました。

Fazerという会社が作っていてHPを見るとなんと人間の「ゲイシャ」のモデルさんも登場している。このゲイシャのモデルもとても見苦しい。よく見ると、その桂が小さ過ぎて（または高すぎる）耳が丸見えてとても変な感じ。
HP: http://www.fazermakeiset.fi/
Geishaのボタンをクリックして、上から４番目のキャンデイをクリックするとそのモデルの壁紙がでる。いかがでしょうか。

30-min. delay from Helsinki to Kuusamo...　出発30分の遅れKuusamo, the site of the annual Kuusamo Nature Photo festival I was invited to, is in northeastern Finland near the Russian border (see map). After spending a few days in Helsinki, I took this plane to Kuusamo taking about 70 min. Finnair flies from Helsinki to Kuusamo usually once a day. By car, it's about 800 km.

This day (Sept. 8, 2005), we stood in line at the gate, gave our boarding passes, and boarded a bus that would take us to the plane, a Boeing MD-82.

After standing and waiting for some minutes in the bus, they announced that they had to change one of the tires of the plane, so the flight would be delayed by 30 min. We all went back into the terminal building and waited. Of course, no one complained. We would rather fly in a safe plane. I wonder why they waited until the last minute to inspect the tires? Shouldn't they have inspected the tires the day before??

It's hard to see in this photo, but the left-most rear tire was indeed replaced. It looked new (shiny black) compared to the tire next to it.

ネイチャーフォトの写真まつりの開催地クーサモは、フィンランドの北東にある。ヘルシンキからクーサモへ毎日一便（約７０分）が飛んでいるが、この日、飛行機を乗るところになんと左のタイヤの交換が必要という知らがあってターミナルビルへ戻されて３０分を待った。勿論、安全が第一で誰も文句を言わなかった。この写真で見づらいが、確かに一番左のタイヤが新品だった（艶があった）。

Bear cave　クマのほら穴Small bear cave for hibernation. This was a short walk from the road.

Rafts ready to roll from Käylä

Boat for Taketomi at Ishigaki Port.

Monkeys

Entrance to Sekigahara Warland

On Taketomi, the best way to get around.

Battle Museum 合戦資料館

Okinawan house, Taketomi. Taketomi is a National Important Traditional Townscape Preservation District (重要伝統的建造物群保存地区).

Inside museum with a map of the battle

Okinawan house and rock wall, Taketomi

Warland path

On Bandai-bashi Bridge

Lookout tower

Yamauchi Kazutoyo

Bandai-bashi Bridge. The tall building is Toki Messe.

On Taketomi, residential homes are toward the middle of the island, not along the beaches. The middle part of the island is built on hard rock called chert. Freshwater wells can be dug along this rock to provide water. View from lookout tower.

Outside the middle part of Taketomi, the ground is on limestone where water seeps through. Difficult to have rice paddies or wells on limestone.

View from lookout tower

Matchlock guns

White coral road

Kobayakawa Hideaki on Mt. Matsuo who turned against Ishida Mitsunari and helped Ieyasu win the battle.

White coral road, one of Taketomi's trademarks.

Home-cooked mealI forgot the name of this pea soup, but it was good.

Senate Square and Cathedral　ヘリシンキ大聖堂One of the symbols of the city, called Tuomiokirkko. This Lutheran church was completed in 1852.
More Helsinki sights: Helsinki City Tourist & Convention Bureau

ヘリシンキの一つのシンボルである。中は割りと地味な感じ。
HP: フィンランド政府観光局（日本語）

Landing in Kuusamo in northeast Finland slightly below the Arctic Circle. I was invited to their 10th Kuusamo Nature Photo festival in September 9-17, 2005 to give slide shows of Japanese photographers. クーサモの上空Lakes everywhere. In fact, about 14% of Kuusamo's land area is covered by lakes (about 166 of them), and 60% is covered by forests. Lakes and forests breed a lot of nature and wildlife. Hence, Kuusamo is one of Finland's prime areas for bird-watching and wildlife safaris. The population is over 18,000, but they receive about 1 million visitors a year for the nature and skiing.

With so much water and trees all around, I think Finland is a very pacifying country. Most people feel at peace whenever they see water or trees. Finland will probably become a popular tourist destination when more people discover it. A great place to kick back and relax.
See Kuusamo on map: Virtual Finland map
Web site: kuusamo.fi

クーサモの14%が湖で６割が森林。こんな水と木の多いところは、やはり癒してくれる環境である。言うまでもなく自然いっぱいの地域。野鳥や野生動物を観察できる最高の地域。

Inside bear cave

Life jackets, helmets, waterproof jacket/pants, boots, and glovesFirst we had to suit up. It was like we were ready for combat. But it wasn't that dangerous.

Kondoi Picnic Site

Ferry boat from Takamatsu to Megishima. 20 min. ride.

JR Gotanda Station, east entrance 五反田駅

Kondoi beach

Be aware that these parasols are not free.

Megishima is associated with Momotaro, a famous folk tale.

JR Gotanda Station, east entrance 五反田駅

Kondoi beach

JR Gotanda Station as seen from Keihin Kyuko Gotanda Station.

Ishida Mitsunari on Mt. Sasaoyama

Megishima beach　女木島

Air Nippon YS-11 propeller plane. Donated by All Nippon Airways in 1997.

JR Gotanda Station, east side

Destination: Waseda

Ishida Mitsunari on Mt. Sasaoyama

JR Gotanda Station, east side

Hand-to-hand combat

View from lookout deck

Front of YS-11 propeller plane.

JR Gotanda Station, east side

Heads of the enemy

Hoshi Sunahama or Star Sand Beach

JR Gotanda Station, east side

Evidence of victory

Seto Inland Sea as seen from Megishima, Kagawa Pref.

Route 1 in Higashi-Gotanda

Tokugawa Ieyasu at his base camp

Taketomi Primary School

JR Gotanda Station, east side

Tokugawa Ieyasu inspecting the head of his enemies at his base camp

View from Sokos Hotel Torni　ホテルの展望台Helsinki has no real tall buildings so the skyline is low. In this picture, you can see the famous white cathedral in the background and Stockmann department store (brown building) in the foreground.

Helsinki also has many islands off shore. Helsinki's sister city in Japan is Sendai in Miyagi Prefecture. It's easy to guess why. Sendai is also a coastal city and near Matsushima, famous for many pine tree islands in the bay.

This terrace atop the Sokos Hotel Torni afforded a terrific, 360-degree panoramic view of Helsinki. The terrace also has chairs and tables since it is part of Ateljee Bar.

ヘリシンキは、高層ビルがなくて低いスカイラインである。海岸沿いに島々が多い。ちなみに仙台市と姉妹都市でもある。

Piirakka tarts

Kuusamo Airport　クーサモ空港. クーサモはヘルシンキから飛行機で70分で行ける北東の自然いっぱいの町。2005年9月にクーサモのネィチャーフォトの祭りへ招待されてスライドショーをあげた。The airport is close to town, taking about 10 min. by car.

市街まで車で１０分。

Bear-watching hut　ヒグマ観察小屋This is one of the bear-watching huts (called hides) in the Kuhmo wilderness operated by our guide Lassi Rautiainen (see Articmedia). It was close to a pond in the wetlands.

Kuhmo is near the Russian border near the town of Kajaani. It took about 4 hours to drive from Kuusamo.

湿地の荒野のところで、板の上に歩く。

Great day for raftingBut later we had hail.

Power voltage station

Looking toward Takamatsu

Hand-painted candles

Okinoshima in sight

JR Gotanda Station and Tokyu, road to Sony HQ

Tokugawa allies at his base camp

Magistrate's living quarters 居宅（嵐山の間）

Taketomi Port boat for Ishigaki

Misty Okinoshima

JR Gotanda Station, west side being completely redeveloped.

Looking toward Ogishima in Seto Inland Sea. 男木島

Entering Okinoshima Port. Okishima is the largest island in Lake Biwa. MAP

JR Gotanda Station, west side being completely redeveloped in April 2007.

Sekigahara Warland

Route 1 in Nishi-Gotanda toward TOC.

Memorial for the fallen warriors at the Battle of Sekigahara

Leaving Megishima

Side of boat

Memorial for the fallen warriors at the Battle of Sekigahara, built in 2000, the 400th anniversary.

Okinoshima Port

Okinoshima Port and boat schedule

Okishima Port

Sea wall

Annantalo Arts Centre (my slide show venue)　スライドショーの会場A former primary school built in 1886, this distinguished-looking building is now an arts center for children and young people. It also has a small auditorium where I gave a slide show on Japanese festivals on Sept. 6, 2005. It's centrally located and convenient.
Annantalo Web site: kulttuuri.hel.fi/annantalo/esittely_en.html

ヘルシンキにも急遽スライドショーをやることになってこの会場になりました。児童の芸術文化センターの施設。市内の中心部にある。

BeansSomething like beans in a pod. Sweet. At Market Square.

Kuusamo Hall　写真まつりのメイン会場、クーサモ・ホールKuusamo has been holding a nature photo festival annually in September since 1996 at this beautiful hall. They invite a good number of nature photographers (mostly from Europe) to give slide shows and exhibitions. The main venue is Kuusamo Hall, pictured here. They also use other venues in Kuusamo town for photo exhibitions.

Normally, the festival is held for four days centering on one weekend. But for their 10th year in 2005, the festival was held during two consecutive weekends during September 9-18. For this special year, they decided to invite people from as many countries as possible (like ten), including Japan for the first time.

In spring 2005, they contacted me for recommendations on Japanese photographers to be invited to the festival. We tried to invite a well-known Japanese photographer (with me as his guide and interpreter), but he had to pull out at the last minute so I ended up being the only person from Japan to participate in Kuusamo. I gave three slide shows held in this hall on Sept. 9, 10, and 11. Fortunately, it worked out very well.

As you can see, they raised the flags of all the countries represented at the photo festival. I was proud to see the Japanese flag and to be representing Japan even though I'm American.

Kuusamo Nature Photo Web site: kuusamo.fi/naturephoto/english.html
Kuusamo Hall Web site: kuusamo.fi/kuusamotalo/eng/

クーサモネイチャーフォトまつりのメイン会場であるクーサモ・ホール。この写真まつりに初めて日の丸も上がった。私はアメリカ人なのに、日本も代表できることで嬉しかった。星条旗も上げて欲しかった。クーサモ・ホールの他にも市街にある展示スペースに写真展が開催された。

今年の春にまつりの実行委員長 (Lassi Rautiainen) からメールが来て、「今年は１０年目で、日本人の写真家も招待したいので推薦できる写真家がいないか」と聞かれました。私が一人の有名写真家を推薦したけど、彼が急に都合が悪くなって結局、僕一人で日本の代表として行くことになりました。これも上手くいった。

Bear hide　ヒグマ観察小屋It's a cross between a tent and mountain hut, but perfect for watching and photographing bears and wolverines. The exhaust pipe on the right is made tall so that the wildlife don't smell the humans inside and get frightened away.

野生動物にとってかなり不自然な不気味な建物だけど、ネィチャーの観察のためでは効果的だそうです。右側に排気管を高くしている。人間の匂いが動物に届かないために。

"If you fall out, just float and do nothing. We'll grab you back in."Before we started off from Käylä, our guides gave us basic instructions such as what to do if we fell out of the raft. (Don't do anything and just float until someone grabs you and pull you back into the raft.)

Shore road

Steps to the larger hill

Neck of Okishima.

Okinoshima Port

Narrow alley

Renmyo was here.

Slide show notice　スライドショーのお知らせPosted in Annantalo for my slide show held on September 6, 2005, from 6:30 pm to 7:45 pm. The slide show was titled "Japan's Sights and Sounds" to show my pictures and movie clips of Japanese festivals. It was planned almost at the last minute. A small announcement also appeared in Helsinki's leading newspaper called "Helsingin Sanomat (English version)."

フィンランド語のスライドショーお知らせ。会場内の掲示板にて。

BerriesAt Market Square.

Inside Kuusamo Hall　ホールの中（休憩中）The hall, called Kuusamotalo in Finnish, has a very nice auditorium with comfortable, deluxe chairs equipped with tables. As if symbolizing Finland's vast number of forests, lots of wood is also used in the hall's interior.

Opened in 1996, the hall seats over 500. It is geared for all kinds of events like conferences, concerts, stage performances, and slide shows. This is where all the slide shows were held during the Kuusamo Nature Photo festival.

We could easily project our images either with a slide projector (with remote control) or from our own laptop computer which we could control directly from the podium. The screen is very large and well-suited for slide shows. The hall's sound system is also excellent. Picture taken during a slide show break.

500人以上も入れる大ホールが木がとても奇麗。スライドショーは、自分のノートパソカンで直接上映できたり、またはホールスライド映写機でも使用できる。音響システムも抜群。

Bear hide window　のぞき窓Inside the hide, the narrow window provided a good panoramic view of the area. We were required to whisper and not make any loud noises which would scare the animals away.

There's no guarantee of seeing anything, so it's a waiting game. You might see a bear or you might not. But the more days/nights you spend in the hide, the greater the chances of seeing something.

On the day before, our guide had placed a pig carcass near the hide as bait to attract bears and wolverines. This was standard practice and obviously increases the chances to see wildlife.

野生動物（特にヒグマ）が出没するかどうか全く保証できないため、２〜３晩に泊まった方が当然出没する確率が高くなる。観察の前日には、ガイドさんが豚の死がいを近くに置いてくれる。

Cruising with outboard motorWe had oars, but an outboard motor also propelled us on the water.

Kankakei Gorge marker and lookout 寒霞渓

Goshikinuma is a chain of five colorful volcanic ponds. Pleasant hiking trails lead to the ponds. Part of the Bandai-Asahi National Park. Bishamon-numa Pond is the largest of the five and it has rental rowboats. 毘沙門沼

Aoshima in the distance.

View of Kankakei

Bridge to Aoshima.

Leaving Okinoshima (we'll be back).

Autumn colors seen from the ropeway.

Colorful koi carp fish in Bishamon-numa Pond, Fukushima Pref. 毘沙門沼Bandai-Asahi National Park

Straight rows of layered rock.

Toden streetcar leaving Oji Station

Monkeys

Bishamon-numa Pond, Fukushima Pref. Bandai-Asahi National Park 毘沙門沼

Aoshima Shrine torii and Devil's Washboard, Miyazaki

Misty Omi-Hachiman coast

Foggy Okayama Port and ferry from Shodoshima.　岡山港

The color of the water is stunningly beautiful.

Aoshima Shrine torii and Devil's Washboard, Miyazaki 青島

Nature trail to other Goshikinuma ponds.

Marvelous contrast between the torii and layered rock.

Close-up of rock

Aoshima Shrine torii

One paddle, two paddleThat's me wearing the red helmet.

Annantalo auditorium　小ホールの中Nice little venue for my slide show in Helsinki. It seats 45 people.

４５席の小さいホールが会場。

Dried mushroomsAt Market Square.

Kuusamo Hall exhibition space　ホール内の展示スペースBesides the big auditorium, Kuusamo Hall has multiple facilities including exhibition spaces and a restaurant. It functions as a performing arts and culture center.

総合的の文化施設で広い展示スペースや会議室も設けている。

Inside bear hide　ヒグマ観察小屋の中Below the slit window are holes for camera lenses. Tripod heads are also provided. There is enough sitting room for four to six people. The bench on the right can also be folded up to make enough floor room for four people to sleep in sleeping bags. The floor was made of cushion material.

Compared to the outside temperature, it was quite warm inside. I thought this hide was very well-designed. The best hours for watching wildlife was a few hours before dark and after daybreak. During midday, we drove back to our real lodge for hot meals and a shower. Then we returned to the hide a few hours before dark.

At night, it is too dark to photograph anything. During my one night and two days in the hide, I was lucky enough to see a wolverine (see movie clip) and two bears.

Our guide, Lassi Rautiainen, offers wildlife photo safaris in Finland at hides like this one.
Web site: Articmedia

この観察小屋は、４〜６人が入られる。中にのぞき窓があって、その直ぐ下にカメラレンス用の穴がある。三脚の雲台も用意されている。そして座れるベンチが折りたたみ式で上に固定するとクッションが敷いている床に寝袋で４人が寝られる。ここで一晩を過ごした。（いびきがひどい人がいると辛い。あまり寝られなかった。）

外の気温と比べると中はずっと暖かい。４人もいると自然に暖かくなる。暖房は特になかった。ここで日暮れ前と夜明け後の数時間にじっとして野生動物の出現を待つ。

トイレは外。外に誰もいないので女性でも大丈夫。ただし、野生動物が人間の匂いとか音に非常に敏感で動物がいないことを確認してから外へ。シャワーと水道もないのでウェットティシュが便利。カメラ機材、食べ物も飲み物も持って行く。

日中は、動物の活躍があまりないので、車へ戻ってちゃんとした宿泊先で食事やシャワーを。運良くヒグマとクズリを見た。

Verse 2 Lyrics (Omatsu/Omi-Maiko)　二番の英訳（雄松"Pine trees are very green, on sands very white.
Omatsugasato is, a young maiden's home.
Bush of red camellia, hides her teary face.
She's weeping o'er a lost love, much too short to last.

松は緑に　砂白き
雄松が里の　乙女子は
赤い椿の　森蔭に
はかない恋に　泣くとかや
Matsu wa midori ni, suna shiroki
Omatsugasato no, otomego wa
Akai tsubaki no, morikage ni
Hakanai koi ni, naku toka ya

Omi-Maiko is still famous for white sand beaches and pine trees. In summer these beaches are cluttered with people trying to get a tan.

See more photos of Omi-Maiko here.

Benten-numa Pond. 弁天沼

Benten-numa Pond, maximum depth 6 meters. 弁天沼Bandai-Asahi National Park

Aoshima Shrine, Miyazaki

"Pine trees are very green, on sands very white." Omi-Maiko

Aoshima's Devil's Washboard

Aonuma Pond 青沼

White sands of Omi-Maiko (Omatsu), Otsu, Shiga

Not my bicycle

Inawashiro Station 猪苗代駅

Trail around the island

Ripples lap white sands of Omi-Maiko.

Serving free sake.

Pine trees at Omi-Maiko

Aoshima from a distance.

Easy rapidsOur guide instructed us as to when to start paddling forward or backward.

Slide show in Annantalo auditorium　スライドショーFor about 80 min., I showed my pictures and movie clips of Japanese festivals in English: Kiba Kakunori square log rolling, Tokyo Jidai Festival, Yamato Awa Odori Dance, Onbashira Festival in Nagano, Yotsukaido Hadaka (Mud) Festival, Yokaichi Giant Kite Festival in Shiga Pref., Imperial Palace visit on the Emperor's Birthday, and more.

The slide show was held as an event by the Friends of Japanese Culture Society in Helsinki. It was a good crowd, perhaps 30 or more people attended. Special thanks to the Society's chairman, Ronny Rönnqvist, who arranged everything on very short notice, and to the Annantalo staff. Annantalo is also the venue used by the Society for its annual Japan Day event in April.
Annantalo Web site: kulttuuri.hel.fi/annantalo/esittely_en.html

80分ほど日本のお祭りをスライドショーで英語で紹介しました。木場角乗り、東京時代祭り、大和市の阿波踊り、滋賀県八日市大凧祭り、皇居の一般参賀など。約３０人が来場した。ヘリシンキにある「フィンランド・日本文化友の会」のイベントとして開催されました。その会長(Ronny Rönnqvist)が私の友人でお世話になりました。

偶然に一ヶ月前にこの会長が別件で初めてメールが来て、返事のついでに「実は、９月にフィンランドへ行くよ」と言ったら「是非会いましょう」と。じゃ、せっかくだから、友の会のためにもスライドショーやってあげようかと提案したら急きょ受け入れてくれた。クーサモへ行く前にヘルシンキに数日間いる予定だったのでヘルシンキにも日本を紹介できました。運良くこのいい会場が見つかれた。

BerriesAt Market Square.

Kuusamo Hall exhibition space　ホール内の写真展This nice dedicated space held the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition.

ホール内の一番いい展示スペース。

Kyoto University Rowing Club arrive at Omi-Maiko in Aug. 2006 during their annual Lake Biwa rowing trip.

Omatsu "Famous Place" marker

Wolverine movie clip (High-speed)　クズリのムービーI used my digital video camera to film this wolverine grabbing a huge piece of pig carcass and carrying it for some distance until he dumped it out of fear. But it shows how strong these animals are. They can carry a carcass three times their own weight. Wolverines belong to the same family as weasels. They have sharp teeth and claws. The picture is not very sharp, maybe because of the rain. The sound has been erased. The movie clip is 1 min. 36 sec.

クズリが現れて豚の死がいの大きい部分を持って行こうとしたが、間もなく放置して逃げた。自分より重いものを運べる強い動物である。96秒のムービー。

Shooting the rapids

Friends of Japanese Culture Society officeThe office is actually a small room in this nice building.
Web site: japaninkulttuuri.net

「フィンランド・日本文化友の会」の事務所があるビル。

ShrimpIn supermarket.

Log loader　道路の障害In Finland, sometimes you will come across a log loader like this one blocking the road. We waited for about 20 min. until he finished his job and left the scene.

車の中に２０分ほど待ってやっと用を済ましてどけてくれた。

Kuusamo Hall exhibition space　フォトコンの展示Photo contest winners displayed in the hall's lobby.

フォトコン受賞者の作品も展示された。

A piece of cakeOur guide instructed us as to when to start paddling forward or backward.

Finnish Museum of Photography　フィンランド写真美術館It is in a complex called the Cable Factory since it used to be a cable factory. The photo museum is housed in the large building on the left. The museum even once held a Japanese photography exhibition in 2001 which had traveled from Sweden. They still had the exhibition catalog in stock so I bought one.

The complex also houses other cultural facilities like dance theaters and art galleries.
Web site: fmp.fi

元のケーブル生産工場が現在美術・文化施設となっている。2001年にスウェーデンから来た日本の写真展も開催された。その図録が館内のショップでまだ販売されて一冊買った。

TomatoesIn supermarket. The leaves at the top of the tomato are removed. They look bald. Something we don't see in Japan.

Kuusamo Hall 2nd floor lobby　２階のロビーThe balcony on the 2nd floor also served as an exhibition space and booth space for sponsors and the sale of photo books.

Reindeer　またトナカイA few of the reindeer are looking at us because our guide Lassi gave out his reindeer love call. They look up to see what's there, we take their picture, then they run.

Most reindeer have a collar around the neck which has the owner's contact information in case it ends up as roadkill.

Reindeer often cross the road, so they can cause traffic accidents.

Almost autumn colors

Picnic food (at Suomenlinna)

Opening ceremony　写真まつりの開会式An opening ceremony was held on September 9, 2005, the first day of the Kuusamo Nature Photo festival. Speaking is Lassi Rautiainen who headed the festival committee. Since the beginning 10 years ago, he has been the main man behind this annual nature photo festival.

実行委員長であるラッシー・ラウティアイネン氏(Lassi Rautiainen)の挨拶。この写真祭りの創業者でもある。今年で１０年目。

Reindeer crossing

Finnish Museum of Photography　フィンランド写真美術館の展示室Large, impressive space. The bookshop also had a good collection of photo books.

相当広いスペースです。一階だけですが、いくつかの展示部屋が仕切っていた。

Reindeer toppingMy first dish at Kuusamo. Delicious.

Reindeer food　トナカイの大好物Lichen

Lunch break

Picnic place

SaladAt Kuusamo Sokos Hotel restaurant.

Outdoor toilet　野外のトイレ

Nissan Pivo with swivel topElectric car with a top that swivels 360˚ so you can drive forward or back without turning the car around. Seats three people. The driver sits in the middle.

I waved to her, and she waved back...

Main dishAt Kuusamo Sokos Hotel restaurant.

Delicious Finnish sausagesOne of our friendly guides smiles for camera.

Dessert: Cloudberry puddingCloudberry is a delicacy from Lapland. I bought some cloudberry jam at Helsinki Airport. Someone should import it to Japan.

Finnish horse and owner

TartAt Kuusamo Hall.

Sudden hailSuddenly, it hailed. Our helmets came in handy for the onslaught of little ice pellets.

Ferry to Suomenlinna Sea Fortress　スオメンリンナへのフェリーA boat for Suomenlinna departs often from the market place at the waterfront. Only 15-min. ride. Suomenlinna is a sea fortress designated as a World Heritage Site and Helsinki's biggest tourist attraction.

スオメンリンナは、ヘルシンキ沖にある島で中世の城塞。このフェリーで15分。
HP: スオメンリンナ要塞（日本語）

Reindeer meat + potatoesThe delicious dinner we had when we went to the Finnish sauna and saw the aurora.

Hail

Honda Sports 4 ConceptI like this picture.

Sandwiches

Helsinki waterfront market place and seagull　マーケット広場The waterfront and market square is one of the city's most picturesque areas.

ヘルシンキ市内の一番美しいところ。

Announcement of photo contest winners　フォトコンの授賞式The Kuusamo Nature Photo festival opened with the awards ceremony for the winners of the nature photo contest. Pictured here is one of the winning photos.

写真まつりの一つの事業はネイチャー写真のフォトコン。主に青年とアマ用。

Fried rice or pilafIn Kuhmo.

My question is, is there a Finnish restaurant in Tokyo?

Wiping off the hailMy feet was near freezing even though we were wearing boots. The hail made it even colder. Our guides made us run up and down a hill before we went back to the hail-covered raft. My feet were still cold.

Kuusamo Nature Photo contest winners　フォトコンの授賞式Lassi speaks with the winners of the nature photo contest. It's good to see both men and women photographers.

最優秀の作品は女性のアマでした。

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