Tokyo 2 – Tuna Auction and Fish Market
MindStorm Photography Blog and Gallery
by Burt Johnson and Evelyn Johnson
3w ago
A fun part of traveling is finding great places to eat. We really enjoyed our meals in Tokyo, not only for its freshness in ingredients, but also for the unique types of food. For one birthday meal, Burt selected eel for lunch. Then for another meal, we were shown some of the best sushi restaurants right at the Toyusa Fish Market Auction area. We experienced the best grilled octopus ever, that practically melted in our mouths instead of being chewie. The best surprise was tasting the wagyu beef, which is considered Japan’s national living treasure. The genetics of the Wagyu cow yielded one of ..read more
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Tokyo 1 – Sumo, Old Town, Skyline
MindStorm Photography Blog and Gallery
by Burt Johnson and Evelyn Johnson
3w ago
Enroute to India, there was a one stop with an 18-hour layover in Tokyo going across the Pacific Ocean, or a multi-stop route from HNL-LAX-JFK-DEL across the Atlantic Ocean. Each route took more than 30 hours. Since it was Burt’s birthday, we decided to celebrate by laying over and exploring Tokyo. We’ve fallen in love with Japan after spending only 4 days in Tokyo. The first stop on Burt’s birthday was to watch a sumo wrestling training session in an authentic Sumo Stable in Oshiage. Sumo is Japan’s national sport and a form of martial arts. The training is quite rigorous. It starts early in ..read more
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Hawaii 2 – Volcanoes and Stargazing
MindStorm Photography Blog and Gallery
by Burt Johnson and Evelyn Johnson
2M ago
Sunset at Mauna Kea, across the road from the Visitor’s Center. At 9200 feet, the cloud layer is below us, so you often can get a clear view of the sun setting. The road to the summit was closed again (this was our second attempt at going there), so we settled with this view. View of the Kilauea Volcano at Volcano National Park. Many times, we were only 50′ from the rim yet could not see the crater due to the terrible weather. Our friend, Kris, recommended staying at the Volcano House, located right at the rim of the Kilauea volcano, which last erupted from September 10-16, 2023. Both Mauna ..read more
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Hawaii 1 – Celebration and Hilo
MindStorm Photography Blog and Gallery
by Burt Johnson and Evelyn Johnson
2M ago
Sunset at the Lava Lava Beach Club in Waikoloa Village, Hawaii (above). The last time we were on the Big Island was over 50 years ago, so it was interesting to see the changes. There were a lot more resort communities and restaurants. Saddle Road, formerly a dirt road connecting Kailua-Kona with Hilo has transformed into a scenic asphalt highway. Kona Village was wiped out in the 2011 Japan earthquake Tsunami, and has been rebuilt, so most of the buildings in the Kona side were new to us. Jenna and Mark (Evelyn’s sister’s son) held a wedding reception at Kohala Village Inn in Hawi, near the ..read more
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New Zealand 9 — Auckland and New Year’s Eve
MindStorm Photography Blog and Gallery
by Burt Johnson and Evelyn Johnson
2M ago
This year we celebrated New Year’s Eve in Auckland at the iconic Sky Tower, in the rain. The 328 meter high tower lighting kept changing colors during the hour preceding midnight. Then there was the 10-second countdown. When we reached 2024, the cold fireworks emerged from the tower with a 5 minute spectacle of fireworks (yes, 5 minutes… a whole lot less than we were expecting…). There is a New Zealand law that says you can only buy fireworks between November 2-5 each year. Possibly as a result, there were very few neighborhoods shooting off rockets. Our taxi driver mentioned that New Zealand ..read more
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New Zealand 9 — WĒTĀ Special Effects
MindStorm Photography Blog and Gallery
by Burt Johnson and Evelyn Johnson
2M ago
Next doort to the iconic Sky Tower is the Wētā Workshop, an award-winning company (with 5 Oscars) known for creating special effects and props for movies and television as well as developing video games. Their special effects were used to create various movie sets in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit movies as well as his 2005 King Kong movie. Wētā’s artists also helped create the Te Papa Museum exhibit, Gallipole: The Scale of our War that we considered one of the best we’ve seen (the report of our visit to the museum is here). The castle in the image above is made ..read more
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New Zealand 7 — Ruakuri Glow Worms Cave
MindStorm Photography Blog and Gallery
by Burt Johnson and Evelyn Johnson
2M ago
Waitomo Caves is just an hour south of Hobbiton. Three caves make up the Waitomo caves network, and Ruakuri Cave is the only one where photography is allowed. These caves are famous for their abundance of glow worms, stunning stalactite and stalagmite formations and an underground river. Each cave has its unique features. In Waitomo Caves, you can ride in a boat and watch thousands of luminescent glow worms overhead. Ruakuri is the one where one can go white water rafting and inner tubing in a dark cave. The water level was so high the day we went that the rafting was cancelled, so we did not ..read more
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New Zealand 6 — Hobbiton and Te Papa Museum
MindStorm Photography Blog and Gallery
by Burt Johnson and Evelyn Johnson
2M ago
Whenever we hear New Zealand, certain images, including sheep, wine, and Middle Earth (since the release of movies ‘The Hobbit’ and “The Lord of the Rings”) automatically come to mind. We are fans of the Hobbit movies, so we went to Middle Earth to see where Bilbo, Gandalf, and Gollum lived on the Hobbiton movie set. We were expecting a touristy, commercialized enterprise, but came away impressed with the quality of the experience, and would highly recommend it to Hobbit fans. The setting in Matamata was selected by Peter Jackson, the movie director of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings tr ..read more
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New Zealand 5 – Christchurch 2 & Beyond
MindStorm Photography Blog and Gallery
by Burt Johnson and Evelyn Johnson
2M ago
Our last supper in Christchurch was at Astro Lounge, a vintage beer garden, which was a 5-minute walk from our hotel in pouring rain. The poster (lower-right) is from one of Burt’s favorite Sci-Fi characters (Dr. Who). It rained most of the time we were in New Zealand, even though we were starting summer. The average annual temperature is around 50 degrees Fahrenheit in South Island, but apparently we caught part of La Niña on this trip, so it was both wetter and colder than normal. Even many locals were complaining about the miserable weather. The Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhet ..read more
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New Zealand 4 – Christchurch 1 & Surroundings
MindStorm Photography Blog and Gallery
by Burt Johnson and Evelyn Johnson
2M ago
We had the pleasure of exploring Akaroa, just outside of Christchurch, with our friends, Faye and Ian. We visited some of their favorite bars, enjoyed Blue Cod Fish and Chips, art galleries and another delightful place, The Giant’s House (above), an art gallery and garden filled with whimsical mosaic sculptures created by artist Josie Martin, who still lives there. The mosaic artist and horticulturist, Josie Martin obviously had fun creating the garden. We all had fun posing with her sculptures. Christchurch is a wonderful city, that has been rebuilding after the disastrous earthquake in Fe ..read more
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