The quality of entries in the JETAA Wellington Japan Photo Contest was again extremely high this year, so we thought it would be great to share those entries with you. Below are the photos currently on display at the Japan Information and Cultural Centre under the three categories of People, Places, and Things. Click on the photos to bring up a larger image (though only slightly, we are limited in the size of files we can upload).
People
Winner: Lehyla Heward – Three tourist girls walking the Higashiyama district
Runner-up: Izumi Uchida – Oiran Dochu (Geisha-girl) in Nikko Edo Mura
Oiran Dochu (Geisha-girl) in Nikko Edo Mura
Tsuyoshi in Okinawa
Osaka
Truck crash in Akihabara, chaos brought under control
Three tourist girls walking the Higashiyama district
What could be better than delicious freshly made tofu??? Only seeing the wonderful smile of the wonderful lady who made it!!
The BGs (Blind Grandpas) and friends play a gig in the back garden, Miyazu, Kyoto
A couple go shopping for dinner in Ameyoko, Tokyo
Two lovely gentlemen playing a game in Hiroshima in the park
The Kakunodate yama-butsuke festival – a local summer festival in Akita, Northern Japan
Places
Winner: Nathan Crookes – The Kintai Bridge
Runner-up: Michael Edridge – Mt Yotei, Hokkaido
Temple (Mount Koya)
View over Eastern Akihabara
“Tourist Jinja”
Nozawa Onsen
Mt Yotei, Hokkaido
On the way to the supermarket in winter in Niigata
Street eatery, Tsukiji, Tokyo
Almost harvest time – A rice paddy of a little village of Hakusan, Fukui prefecture
The Kintai Bridge is a historical wooden arch bridge in the city of Iwakuni, in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. The bridge was built in 1673, spanning the Nishiki River in a series of five wooden arches
A view from a Japanese Tea House while travelling Shikoku (Ritsuren Park in Kagawa)
Things
Winner: Jesse Whitehead – The more the merrier!!
Runner-up: Fiona Howat – Teddys sunning themselves in Kyoto
Studio Ghibli Robot Soldier
Suspension bridge in Shinshinotsu, Hokkaido
Asakusa lanterns
Taiko drumming performance
Tokyo
One of the most important “things” in all of Japan: the trains. They embody Japan with their punctuality, cleanliness, diversity and technological advancement
The more the merrier!! A couple share kushiyaki with their dog in Naha City, Okinawa Prefecture
Fish on a stick – Murayama Park, Kyoto. Taken during Hanami season, many small vendors prepare food for those sitting under the trees – in this case, grilled fish eaten whole
Teddys spotted sunning themselves in the late summer sun outside some old shops along the Philosophers’ Walk in Kyoto
The process is as enjoyable as the meal. Tonkatsu set at a Katsukura restaurant in Kichijoji, Tokyo