Photo 4: 1998 - Hikone, Japan

In 1998 I took a couple of interesting trips, one of which was to a little town called Hikone (彦根) in Japan on the shores of Lake Biwa. There is a reasonably nice castle there, though it's not one that I would recommend going to unless you're in Japan for an extended period (Himeji, Matsumoto, and Nijo are the three I most recommend for those on shorter trips). The beef in Hikone, Omi-gyu, is absolutely worth going out of your way for. It is absolutely as good as the Kobe or Matsuzaka types of wa-gyu, but goes for a lot less (though these days the regional "brands" of beef are gaining in popularity in Japan, so this may have changed). I had a fantastic sukiyaki dinner there, though, for about $40 including drinks.

In any event, while I was there, I took a couple more black and white shots that I really like. The swan was one of my luckiest shots ever, as I really had no idea that the "wake" would turn out to be so clearly defined. I remember framing the shot thinking that it would be the white of the swan against the black of the water, and when I saw the way it turned out I knew it would be one photo I would always have to judge anything I took in the future against.

Later that afternoon I was walking through a plum orchard, and while it was September and thus abviously not plum blossom season, I caught sight of this gentleman walking alone. I never got very close to him, but if you think about it, he's probably just an average salaryman. When I look at the 1997 shot of the salaryman rushing through Nagoya Station and compare it to this shot of the same type of guy, I see so many of the Japanese men I know. After a busy day at work, nobody minds a nice, quiet walk in the park.