I wrote about mikoshi (神輿、みこし) at exactly the same time last year (here), so I won’t bore you with the whole explanation of what one is and what they represent. I was, however, out and about yesterday and could not help but come across team after team of mikoshi carriers (in the 5 minutes it takes me to ride to the next station, I saw 4). I really like the whole atmosphere, with all the yelling and moving and shaking and colour, so I stopped a few times to take some pictures.

I’ve been fooling around with “selective desaturation” in Photoshop recently (see more examples here), so I thought I’d combine the two as a way of adding something new-ish to the the mikoshi-picture-taking thing:

I have just spent another stretch of time in yet another poorly equipped training facility (which, to me, essentially boils down to whether or not there’s a broadband connection). I dunno…2007…I expect infrastructure…it’s amazing how places in Tokyo can be so cutting edge while others are sooooo, what should I say, retro…?

A stunning, stunning sunset this evening:

As I’m sure everyone’s now aware, Prime Minister Abe has just resigned. Seemed to be complete and utter shock in the media today - I was at home, so I put the TV on as soon as I heard. I suppose it’s the timing that’s the shock because it certainly cannot be truly shocking that he has decided to resign. Japanese Prime Ministers don’t usually hang on very long and the landslide defeat in the summer was the alarm bell that he wouldn’t be sticking around much longer.