jamesgalt.photo — Journal https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/ James Galt 2026-07-23T09:00:00+02:00 Grasmere, first morning https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/grasmere-arrival/ 2026-07-23T09:00:00+02:00 A yacht on flat grey water and a pointed fell rising over the cottages. The first morning in Grasmere, under cloud. Garden to dusk https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/windermere-garden-dusk/ 2026-07-22T19:00:00+02:00 Pale tulips in the afternoon, the same tulips at dusk, and the sun finally dropping under the cloud over the fells. Swaledale https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/windermere-swaledale-sheep/ 2026-07-22T09:00:00+02:00 A horned Swaledale ewe on cropped green grass, deciding whether I was worth moving for. Windermere, four moods https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/windermere-lake-moods/ 2026-07-21T19:00:00+02:00 One grey afternoon on the shore of Windermere: a stony foreshore, two jetties, and a bare lakeside tree holding its ground. The wishing log https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/windermere-coin-log/ 2026-07-21T09:00:00+02:00 A fallen trunk studded with coins hammered edge-on into the grain, turned copper and green with age. A Lakeland habit, one coin at a time. Rowing boats, Bowness Bay https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/windermere-bowness-boats/ 2026-07-20T19:00:00+02:00 Wooden hire boats pulled up on the shingle at Bowness in the rain, red keels showing, the launches waiting behind. Bowness, in red https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/windermere-bowness-village/ 2026-07-20T09:00:00+02:00 A phone box above the rooftops and a Triumph Stag by the Belsfield hedge. Two reds, five minutes apart. Last frames, Japan https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/tokyo-last-days/ 2026-07-19T19:00:00+02:00 A wall of apartment balconies glowing on the last night, then people riding the escalators up behind a glass front the next afternoon. The last two frames of the trip. Tokyo from the top https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/tokyo-skytree-views/ 2026-07-19T09:00:00+02:00 Fuji cut out on the orange horizon, the Sumida threading the city in lit bridges, a single floodlit ball field burning in the dark. Tokyo from the top of the Skytree as the sun went. The Skytree, day to night https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/tokyo-skytree-tower/ 2026-07-18T19:00:00+02:00 The tower from the street with a crane for company, straight up the lattice, the blue guts of it, then lit green and gold after dark. Back where the trip started, this time going up. The bridge at dusk https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/kanazawa-bridge/ 2026-07-18T09:00:00+02:00 The old green truss lit amber against a deep blue sky, the lamps coming on, the river town behind. Kanazawa, and the trip, signing off. Omicho Market https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/kanazawa-omicho-market/ 2026-07-17T19:00:00+02:00 A bed of local oysters on ice with the prices stuck in, baskets of seaweed down the side, the whole covered arcade humming under green and yellow awnings. Kanazawa's kitchen. Kenrokuen at dusk https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/kanazawa-kenrokuen-reflection/ 2026-07-17T09:00:00+02:00 A yukitsuri cone doubled in the still pond with the sunset behind it, a stone lantern lit in the trees. The last of the day at Kenrokuen, the garden at its quietest. Rigging for winter https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/kanazawa-kenrokuen-yukitsuri/ 2026-07-16T19:00:00+02:00 Yukitsuri, the rope cones that hold Kenrokuen's pines up under heavy snow, going on tree by tree. A man up a ladder, and the finished cones against the dusk. Kenrokuen, up close https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/kanazawa-kenrokuen-details/ 2026-07-16T09:00:00+02:00 Wet red maple, a pine branch holding its drops, fallen leaves over the moss, one last branch glowing against the dark. Kenrokuen in pieces as the light went. Kenrokuen, late autumn https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/kanazawa-kenrokuen-garden/ 2026-07-15T19:00:00+02:00 A rainbow over the castle hill with the trees gone gold, then the garden ponds holding the maples upside down. Kenrokuen in late autumn, the weather doing the work. After dark, Kanazawa https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/kanazawa-after-dark/ 2026-07-15T09:00:00+02:00 Glass towers, a hotel bar high over the lights, a negroni built slow, an empty escalator running gold. The contemporary side of Kanazawa, late at night. Warm windows, Kanazawa https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/kanazawa-tsuzumi-mon/ 2026-07-14T19:00:00+02:00 The Tsuzumi-mon over the station's glass dome, a sake shop glowing with bottles, a restaurant front full of coloured glass. Kanazawa after dark. The ryokan room https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/kanazawa-ryokan/ 2026-07-14T09:00:00+02:00 A round window cut straight onto a single pine, the interior all warm lamp and the garden going blue behind the glass. First night in Kanazawa. Nightcap, Kyoto https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/kyoto-nightcap/ 2026-07-13T19:00:00+02:00 A green one on a dark bar at the end of the day, beside a bottle of Japanese pearl liqueur with the blue settled at the bottom like sediment. A long way from the temples. Dusk over Kyoto https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/kyoto-dusk/ 2026-07-13T09:00:00+02:00 The sun catching the cloud above the Higashiyama hills, then full dusk from the slope with the city lights coming up and Kyoto Tower the one lit needle in the murk. Pagoda over the city https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/kyoto-kiyomizu-pagoda/ 2026-07-12T19:00:00+02:00 Up close the temple is all painted joinery in blue, green and gold; from across the valley, just a red tower above Kyoto. Kiyomizu's pagoda as the light turned. Up to Kiyomizu https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/kyoto-kiyomizu/ 2026-07-12T09:00:00+02:00 A rainbow over the Higashiyama rooftops on the climb up, then the city framed through the vermilion pillars and the pagoda with half of Kyoto at its feet. Kiyomizu in the late sun. Kennin-ji, afternoon https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/kyoto-kennin-ji/ 2026-07-11T19:00:00+02:00 A big Zen hall behind clipped pines, a thatched teahouse among turning maples, and a bronze pilgrim by the bell. A quiet afternoon at Kennin-ji, Kyoto's oldest Zen temple. Dressed for the shrine https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/kyoto-yasaka-kimono/ 2026-07-11T09:00:00+02:00 A family in their best for shichi-go-san, the boy in blue holding still, and two women under the big stone torii with a parasol up against the sun. A Kyoto shrine on a November morning. Yasaka Shrine https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/kyoto-yasaka/ 2026-07-10T19:00:00+02:00 The big cypress-bark hall, a couple in formal dress reading their fortune on a red bench, and a chozuya where the water runs straight onto the moss. A quiet morning at Yasaka. Kamo River, into Gion https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/kyoto-river-gion/ 2026-07-10T09:00:00+02:00 Walking in along the Kamo River with the machiya backed up to the water, then into Gion as the light came through. First morning in Kyoto. Last light around the walls https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/osaka-castle-golden/ 2026-07-09T19:00:00+02:00 The park gone red and gold along the moat, a tower catching the sunset across the water, then the keep over the ramparts with the crows coming in. The last of the light, and of the trip. From the top of the keep https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/osaka-castle-views/ 2026-07-09T09:00:00+02:00 The city going gold to the mountains, and one of the castle's golden shachihoko in the corner, the rooftop ornament you usually only see from below. The view from the top of Osaka Castle. Osaka Castle https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/osaka-castle/ 2026-07-08T19:00:00+02:00 The moat with the old stone wall on one side and the Business Park towers on the other, then the keep itself, gold in the low sun. An afternoon at Osaka Castle. The escalator tube https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/osaka-umeda-escalator/ 2026-07-08T09:00:00+02:00 A glass escalator tube slung between the two towers, blue-lit ribs the whole way and the gold of the next floor at the end. The best bit of the climb up the Umeda Sky Building. Umeda Sky Building https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/osaka-umeda-sky-building/ 2026-07-07T19:00:00+02:00 The ring lit gold, the escalators crossing the gap, the sky bridge glowing blue, then the city it was built to look at, laid out in the dark. Up the Umeda Sky Building after sunset. Umeda after dark https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/osaka-umeda-night/ 2026-07-07T09:00:00+02:00 The Christmas illuminations just up in front of Osaka Station: the street trees lit purple, then round the corner the crowd by the cinemas and a long rank of bicycles. Behind glass https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/tokyo-katana/ 2026-07-06T19:00:00+02:00 A katana in a gold-lacquer scabbard, resting on cream silk and lit out of the dark. The last frame of the trip, and the quietest. Two ways of looking out https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/tokyo-looking-out/ 2026-07-06T09:00:00+02:00 A tatami room framing a moss garden and a stone lantern, then Kengo Kuma's glass at the Nezu Museum. The same idea, centuries apart. A neighbourhood, early https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/tokyo-morning-streets/ 2026-07-05T19:00:00+02:00 A Don Quijote tower, a timber-clad Starbucks in a winter wreath, a green-tiled apartment block with a spiral stair. The ordinary texture of Tokyo, before the day got going. Out late https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/tokyo-night-eats/ 2026-07-05T09:00:00+02:00 A yakiniku place lit up yellow and red with nobody on the street, then a bar alley two minutes away, warm and crowded with signs. Tokyo after ten. Dusk, and the way out https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/tokyo-hamarikyu-dusk/ 2026-07-04T19:00:00+02:00 The thatched teahouse on the pond going quiet, then out past the hoardings where the towers caught the last of the sun. Closing time at Hamarikyu. Hamarikyu, the water https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/tokyo-hamarikyu-pond/ 2026-07-04T09:00:00+02:00 The tidal pond holding the city upside down, towers going gold as the sun dropped. The wooden bridge, the pines, the same skyline doubled in still water. Hamarikyu, golden hour https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/tokyo-hamarikyu-golden/ 2026-07-03T19:00:00+02:00 The garden's black pines kept low and broad over the grass, Shiodome's towers standing just past the treeline. Hamarikyu as the light went gold. The loose hour https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/tokyo-afternoon-walk/ 2026-07-03T09:00:00+02:00 Two kids parked on the grass with the towers behind them, then an empty side street with the sun coming in low. The unstructured part of an afternoon. Two in kimono https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/tokyo-kimono-portrait/ 2026-07-02T19:00:00+02:00 Two visitors in rented kimono near the palace, happy to stop for a frame. One small thing gives the century away. Around the Imperial Palace https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/tokyo-imperial-palace/ 2026-07-02T09:00:00+02:00 The moat with the city stacked along one bank, the clipped black pines of the outer garden, then Nijubashi. A loop where the towers never quite leave the frame. From the KITTE roof https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/tokyo-marunouchi-rooftop/ 2026-07-01T09:00:00+02:00 Tokyo Station's red brick seen from above, platforms fanning out behind it, glass towers all around. The Marunouchi rooftop everyone climbs up for, and the reason why. Tokyo International Forum https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/tokyo-forum/ 2026-06-30T09:00:00+02:00 Up out of the underground passages and into Viñoly's glass hall, where the ceiling lifts away into a lattice of white ribs. The way in mattered as much as the room. Garden pond, morning https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/tokyo-garden-pond/ 2026-06-29T09:00:00+02:00 Clipped shrubs, a maple turning, the still water doing the rest. A small Tokyo garden first thing, with the city standing in close behind the hedge. At the counter https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/tokyo-sushi-counter/ 2026-06-28T09:00:00+02:00 A single piece of silver-skinned nigiri on a bamboo leaf, ginger and scallion on top, gari beside it. The sign behind promises Ōma tuna; this came first. An atrium cat and a quiet staircase https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/tokyo-ginza-interiors/ 2026-06-27T09:00:00+02:00 A cat in a spacesuit piloting a rocket over a shopping atrium, then a travertine staircase quiet as a chapel. Two interiors a minute apart, opposite moods. Ginza to Marunouchi, Sunday afternoon https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/tokyo-ginza-marunouchi/ 2026-06-26T09:00:00+02:00 A man in a Louis Vuitton kimono owning a Ginza crossing, then a red postbox and a building wearing its garden, a few blocks over in Marunouchi. Three frames from one walk. Skytree from the bridge https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/tokyo-skytree/ 2026-06-25T09:00:00+02:00 The tower is nominally the subject, but the sky took up most of the frame, and most of the work. Chairs as portraits https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/copenhagen-chairs/ 2026-06-24T09:00:00+02:00 Two chairs lit from behind in their cases at Designmuseum Danmark, photographed straight on like portraits: an Eames LCW in molded plywood, and Arne Jacobsen's blue Lily with its curling arms. Morning at the Glyptotek https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/copenhagen-glyptotek/ 2026-06-23T09:00:00+02:00 Two from the Glyptotek on a quiet morning: Kai Nielsen's marble water mother in the planted Winter Garden, and a visitor who happened to match the rose walls of the painting rooms. Copenhagen, late evening https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/copenhagen-evening/ 2026-06-22T09:00:00+02:00 Two from the same golden hour: a window where the harbor and a wall of portraits overlap in reflection, and Nyhavn with the light running along the old fronts. Copenhagen harbor, evening https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/copenhagen-harbor/ 2026-06-21T09:00:00+02:00 Three from the inner harbor on a late-June evening: new housing on the Christianshavn waterfront, the Opera House across the water, and the fountain in front of it where two children were deciding how close to get. The light this far north holds long past dinner. Copenhagen, behind the street https://www.jamesgalt.photo/journal/copenhagen-passages/ 2026-06-20T09:00:00+02:00 Three spaces a few minutes apart: a courtyard reached through a dark gateway, the spiral ramp of the Round Tower, the glass dome at the Glyptotek. The city does a lot with the light it lets in slowly.