Don't know if this is interest, but I thought to put up some photos of Japan, with a truck and other machinery bias. I live in Yamagata and like to photograph everyday things. Went out for a roam with the camera today, snapping cherry blossom. Came across this well-worn Acty with a load of mountain vegetables drying. In spring as the snow melts, lots of people follow the snow line up the mountains, collecting first growth shoots. Traditionally the first fresh vegetables after living on preserves all winter. This is the reason I was out, to snap the cherry blossom (sakura). This is our local train, the mini-shinkansen. It fits the standard loading gauge, so can get through the mountains to Yamagata, but still runs up and down the east coast main line at 300kph plus. Croquet (called gate-ball here) under the mountains. Still some snow about.
"Glen" Thank you! Your articles and pictures never cease to amaze me! Always so entertaining and informative I very much appreciate them, and look forward to more. Tmikewww (tom)
Agree need more , nice to see them in their original environment. Some of the vans would be nice as well
Thanks everyone Glad people are interested. I have thousands of photos taken over the past five years, but not many of kei-stuff. I have posted some of my ski photos elsewhere, but not a lot. If people are interested I have a lot of stuff on daily life in a small country town and plenty of technical stuff on building, farming etc. Here are a few more. Early February in town. The family car. The people over the road are experts at clearing snow And I posted these two a few weeks ago in the intro thread. This is our Sambar.
Oh yes. Without 4wd here, there will be plenty of days you can`t get out of the drive. We have four Subarus on the fleet, all 4wd.
Absolutely send more pictures. Try to find some working mini trucks so we can send them to TXDOT. Thanks for the pictures. Dang that snow is deep.
OK. I was out this afternoon, and stopped to check out the new expressway that is going through. They cast the bridges and build the expressway up to level. It's funny seeing a series of bridges lined up across the landscape (buy one, get one free) waiting for the road.
I see something similar to this near Izu Peninsula where there was going to be the new Tomei highway but was never built. They could use it for a movie set for one of those disaster movies. We got a completely finished bridge near my house (my wife is anxious to use it since it cuts 5 minutes commute time 1 way) and the road is not connected to it. Wierd.
Hi Steven. This one is definitely going through. It's the Yamagata chuo expressway, and is part of the "A" list of public projects.
Trax&Horns. Here are a couple for the TXDOT. It's out local fire brigade having a parade and open day. The first three Chinese characters (kanji in Japanese) on the door read "O-ishi-da", which translates to "big stony ricefield". It's the name of our town, though the ricefields aren't stony. It's a bit of a change from the old days. When all the houses were built from wood, straw and paper, if you had a fire all the neighbours turned up with hooks on poles and pulled your house down. My mother-out-law died on Tuesday. We've cleared the living area for offerings, and all of the displays are gifts from connections. These are the ladies of the family. My partner is 3rd from left.
Ken, My condolences to you and your family. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. Thank you for sharing your pictures. They are a nice window to the world. ________ Honda CB650SC
Many thanks Gentlemen. The passing was not unexpected, but the finality is hard. Like most families in Japan, this one is Buddhist. The story is that the soul will spend a week travelling between this world and the next. To complete the journey she has to cross a river, and this is the hardest part. To help her, on Tuesday there will be another ceremony. Then the soul will become perfect, and the official mourning period ends.
The Postman Always Gets Through. Even if you need chains on the studded snow tyres! In the background is our shop (we live upstairs), and the magnificent Legacy. Looks like I was just back from skiing. That car is utterly faithful on snow and ice.
Ken, That postman's scooter reminds me of a Honda Trail 70 (CT70) I had when I was a kid. Looks very similar minus the fairing around the engine. ________ buy easy vape
Now I have this incredible urge to visit Japan. Thanks for these great photos. Please keep them coming.
Yes, my condolences. Half life that is a 70cc Honda Passport. Pretty amazing to see one with chain/studs though!! I'm pretty sure it is the same motor as the CT70. I had a CT70 back in the 80's. It was a great little trail bike! I had alot of fun on that bike. Yamagata ken, what amazes me with your pics (other than they are beautiful) is with how much snow there was in February and the pic you posted last week of cheery blossoms already. It's amazing all that snow melted! We don't even have buds on our apple trees yet. Keep them coming, they are really great!
Thanks again for your kind words, gentlemen. As for the snow, we are only 38 degrees north, so it never gets really cold here (it does in Hokkaido). What we do get is a super-sized version of the lake effect. In the winter, the wind comes from the NW, off Siberia and Central Asia. Then it crosses about 800km of the Sea of Japan, where it warms and loads with moisture. It all gets dumped as snow along the west coast and central mountains. The snow starts in late December, and stops around the end of February. That's an average of around 20cm per day for two months. It's either snowing, or going to snow. When the winter weather switch turns off, the sun is getting high, so everything melts very quickly. It still boggles me to look at a field with a 2m blanket of snow, and think "there'll be a nice crop of rice there, come summer". The small Hondas are known here as Cub. It's amazing that that family has been responsible for motorising just about the whole of Asia. Soichiro Honda was a genius for building his company from scratch into a giant. Honda have a wonderful museum at Motegi. I thought some of these may be of interest. You got to have tartan seats. And, a typical Honda touch, a deDion axle. Here's an S600 engine from 1964. 600ccs, 60bhp @ 8,500 rpm. Incredible that Honda were mass producing this quality at the time. In the UK, Ford had just switched from side valves to the ohv Kent, and BMC were knocking out A-series. Here's their first GP car, the RA 271. 1500cc v12. I'd love to hear that.
our family had a 77 honda c-70 passport. sister got it all fixed up then sold it. for a measly 1000$... we did not know that it is worth allot more then that... should have known when the mufflers cost over 250 each...
Ken, Thank you, for the wonderful pictures and articles. I look forward with anticipation each time I' am notified that there is a "new message from Yamagata Ken" to a "thread" I have been "subscribed" to. My condolences for your loss Tmikewww (tom)
HI there, Sorry to hear about the passing of your mother-in-law. I never quite understood why grieving people take photos with the person who died. My wife and her mother did that when my wife's father passed away. Everyone looks so sad, of course. Not something I'd want to remember. Any idea Ken?
When I worked at the Honda HQ in Tokyo, my manager's boss was the son-in-law to Soichiro Honda. My manager's boss was/is married to one of Honda's daughters. Interesting guy and he and I used to talk a lot about "stuff". Very cool experience, especially when we used to go for lunch. You'd never know he was a Honda (so to speak) because he would put me in the place of honour rather than himself, even when I insisted. Cool guy. Wish I didn't lose touch with him.
Thanks Steven. Soichiro was a tough man. He knew what he wanted, and how to get it. He was known for throwing tools around the workshop when people didn't follow orders, and famously disinherited his son (of Mugen Honda) because he didn't believe the son was the right man to follow. He was right because the son later went to jail for fraud. Moving along. August is festival season (obon), so I like to take a few snaps. This is a parade for a local shinto shrine setting off. What better way for the priests to travel than in the back of a kei truck. Meanwhile, the workers are having to work. Ladies to the front, gentlemen to the rear. I love living here. People seem so content with their lives.
What I liked about living in Japan was the cool integration of old (no...ANCIENT) customs with the utterly modern. See your picture of the priests in the kei trucks. I have a very strong memory (over 26 years ago now) of watching a woman cleaning a temple in Nikko. Not a very glamourous job but she was doing it with enthusiasm and purpose. We've often used that story with our kids to remind them that no matter what they do, to find enjoyment in it and to do their best. Oh, and super #1 family car in the Acerguy family is a 2003 Legacy wagon. Perfect for farm living in Wisconsin!
You are right there, Keith. People mostly seem to do the humblest of jobs with pride and purpose. What were you doing in Japan? Good to hear that the Legacy cuts the mustard in Wisconsin. You'd know all about the "lake effect" there! It has enough room and power for our needs, and is small enough to be handy. We have a long trip today to Saitama, loaded to the roof with frozen cake. Beautiful today. I got a good look at Gassan, our local big mountain, and I could see Chokai San, over 50 km away. Chokai San is a classic stratovolcano, a cone just like Fuji, and it's an impressive sight looming on the horizon.