 Image search results - "Nerima" |
Shakujii-Koen Station on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line. 石神井公園駅
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Road to Shakujii Park.
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One end of Shakujii Park.
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Shakujii Pond 石神井池
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Swan boats on Shakujii Pond. 石神井公園
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Shakujii Pond 石神井池
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What is this?
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An egret stalking insects. It did not mind us photographers only meters away.
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The only egret which never flew away when I approached.
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Notice the black legs and yellow feet.
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Trail to the other end of the park.
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There is a walking path around the entire park with two ponds.
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Sanpoji Pond 三宝寺池
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Shrine
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Shrine
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Ukimido Pavilion good for feeding ducks.
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Map of park. The park is a long, elongated shape.
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Shakujii-Koen Station, North Entrance
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The Harry Potter Tokyo studio is conveniently located in central Tokyo, near Toshimaen Station (豊島園駅), about 15 minutes from Ikebukuro Station by train on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line.
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Entrance to Harry Potter Studio in Tokyo.
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Lobby and tour entrance straight ahead.
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Great Hall’s head table.
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On left is the costume worn by Ron and a chest of Quidditch balls.
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Quidditch filming experience: We visitors could act as spectators at a Quidditch match between Griffindore and Slytherin.
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Props for Goblet of Fire.
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About Voldemort, The Dark Lord.
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4 Privet Drive (Dursley residence)
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Harry’s closet-like room in the Dursley home named Cupboard under the Stairs.
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This compartment shows Ron and Harry feasting on a pile of sweets. That’s when the chocolate frog jumped out.
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London Ministry of Magic, Atrium is unique to the Tokyo studio. (Not found in the London studio.)
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Robotic Hagrid's head. The eyes blink realistically.
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Realistic makeup on a Gringotts Bank teller goblin.
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Hagrid’s giant half-brother, Grawp.
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For the movie actors, the broomsticks were custom-designed and fitted for each person. The stick was a solid metal pole strong enough to support the actor sitting on it in front of green screens.
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Broomstick flying experience. It looks like a ride, but the broomstick is just a stationary prop you sit on and be filmed in a green screen booth. They charge ¥3,500 to download the broomstick video (without watermarks)..The staff tells you when to sway left or right, when to wave, when to reach out your hand to catch the Golden Snitch, etc. The resulting 70-sec. video shows you flying fast on a broomstick amid different background scenery like city streets, Quidditch field, and Hogwarts Castle.
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Gringotts Bank (with goblin workers) has a facade, but we cannot enter it like at the Harry Potter London studio which has a full-size replica of the bank’s interior.
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Owls for sale at Diagon Alley.
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You can also engrave your name on the wand. When I was there, the Slytherin wand was sold out.
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Dragons
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Bottled “Tokyo Special” butterbeer (¥1,000).
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The 16th Kitamachi Awa Odori was held on July 26, 2008 from 6 pm to 8:30 pm. Kitamachi is a small neighborhood near Tobu-Nerima Station on the Tobu Tojo Line.
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They danced on the main shopping streets called Kitamachi shotengai (pictured here) and New Kitamachi shotengai. Just few minutes walk from the train station. きたまち商店街
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After a few speeches and a "tape-cut" ceremony, the festival began at 6:30 pm.
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Twenty-three dancing and non-dancing troupes participated. This is somewhat small compared to bigger Awa Odori dances in Tokyo, but the enjoyment and enthusiasm of the dancers and crowd were top-class.
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One group was from the local junior high school.
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There were about 1,400 dancers and about 70,000 spectators lining the streets.
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Junior high school dancers dressed in yukata.
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School baseball team, Kitamachi Faiyers. No dancing.
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Would you believe a karate group? They did not dance. Just punched and yelled their way through. Kitamachi Awa Odori, Nerima, Tokyo 極真空手連
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I much prefer the women dancers.
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So photogenic, like a crane in flight.
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Daikon-ren from Nerima-ku.
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These kids were very good at the taiko drums.
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Dancing in formation.
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Aoi Shin-ren, one of my favorite Awa Odori troupes. 葵新連
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Kitamachi Awa Odori, Tokyo 写楽連
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Kitamachi Awa Odori, Tokyo
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Takara-bune-ren 宝船連
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She loved to pose for photographers.
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They were hoppin'
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Awa Odori dancer
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All the dancers' faces were glistening with perspiration.
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Kitamachi Awa Odori, Nerima-ku, Tokyo
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Kitamachi Awa Odori Dance, Nerima-ku, Tokyo きたまち阿波おどり
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Nice formation.
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They know how to look good.
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For the last number, the finale.
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Quite spectacular finale performance by this troupe called Hyottoko-ren. ひょっとこ連
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The 33rd Nakamurabashi Awa Odori festival was held on Sept. 7, 2008 from 5 pm to 8:30 pm. Before 5 pm, it poured rain. However, it became a drizzle and the dance started as scheduled.
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Due to the downpour, festival spectators huddled in the train station and under the train tracks.
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The opening ceremony started on time at 5 pm under the train tracks instead of on the outdoor stage in front of Nakamurabashi Station. These are local politicians lined up to give speeches. Each speech was short, but there were so many of them.
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Outdoor stage in front of Nakamurabashi Station. The opening ceremony supposed to be here, but the rain prevented that. This stage was also later used for Awa Odori dancers to perform.
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The dance parade was held along the Santsu Nakamurabashi shopping street that intersects with Nakamurabashi Station. Nakamurabashi is a short train ride from Ikebukuro Station on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line.
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Santsu Nakamurabashi shopping street is a straight road intersecting with the Keio Line train tracks. It has a good number of shops and restaurants. サンツ中村橋商店街
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These photos center on the local Awa Odori dance troupes such as this one called Daikon-ren. だいこん連
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Daikon-ren
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Daikon-ren
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Daikon-ren passing through Nakamurabashi Station.
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Daikon-ren also gave a great finale at the end of the festival.
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Daikon-ren finale
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Boy drummers show their stuff too.
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Read his palm.
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Daikon means radish.
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Daikon-ren at Nakamurabashi Awa Odori
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Another local Awa Odori troupe is Nakamurabashi-ren.
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中村橋連
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Nakamurabashi-ren passing through Nakamurabashi Station.
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Nakamurabashi-ren
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Nakamurabashi Awa Odori dancer
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Nakamurabashi Awa Odori
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Nakamurabashi-ren 中村橋連
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Nakamurabashi Awa Odori Dance with Nakamurabashi-ren 中村橋連
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Tsuzumi shoulder drum
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Okame-ren 女華夢連
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People and umbrellas crowd the outdoor stage in front of Nakamurabashi Station.
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On the outdoor stage.
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A karate group from Nerima also performed.
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Nagoyaka-ren なごやか連
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Shinobu-ren (Koenji) teamed up with Chirudo-ren (Child-ren). しのぶ（忍）連
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Shinobu-ren (from Koenji) teamed up with Chirudo-ren (Child-ren). しのぶ（忍）連
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Chirudo-ren チルド連
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Chirudo-ren
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Koganei Sakura-ren 小金井さくら連
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From Koganei in the outskirts of Tokyo.
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Kumegawa-ren 久米川蓮
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Nakamurabashi Awa Odori in Sept.
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Kasei-ren かせい連
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Kasei-ren
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At the end of the festival in front of Nakamurabashi Station, they invited everyone to dance.
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Everyone dancing in front of Nakamurabashi Station. The rain never really stopped, and the dancers got pretty wet.
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Poster for the 33rd Nakamurabashi Awa Odori
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The 34th Nakamurabashi Awa Odori dance festival was held on Sept. 6, 2009 from 5 pm to 8:30 pm. First they held a tape-cutting ceremony with local politicians and festival organizers.
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After the opening ceremony on the outdoor stage in front of Nakamurabashi Station (Seibu Ikebukuro Line), Daikon-ren performed on the stage while other groups started dancing on the streets. だいこん連
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Daikon-ren
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I took a good number of Daikon-ren pictures last year in 2008.
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Another local troupe is Nakamurabashi-ren. 中村橋連
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Nakamurabashi-ren 中村橋連
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Nagoyaka-ren was a cute group with many kids. なごやか連
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Tsukushi-ren is outfitted with clothing dyed with indigo. つくし連
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Tsukushi-ren
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Fast-action dancers of Takarabune-ren performed on stage for about 15 min.
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First time I saw an awa odori dancer wearing a hat like this.
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