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New Beginnings at Photosensibility.com

New Beginnings at Photosensibility.com 2007-04-06

From now on I will be posting images at www.photosensibility.com/photoblog/.

Please note the exact URL above. I am going to make Photosensibility.com a landing page with a gallery of my best shots.

I have been posting photos and text at Japan Window since February, 2004 (since May 2005 in this format). It occurred to me about a week ago that it's time for a change. First, I want to broaden my content and start posting photos taken outside Japan. It's looks like I'll be traveling more and more to Southeast Asia, and I want to post those photos without feeling like it's a diversion. I also realized that I started Japan Window in part to verbalize my process of understanding and adapting to life in Japan. As of last month, I've lived here for five years. I have a lot to learn and still have insights and surprising moments, but my focus is on other things. I want to follow my real interests and passions and need to get out of this mold to do that.

I want to say thanks to all the people who have followed this blog and commented (or silently watched and read) over the years. I hope I've passed something worthwhile on to you. I'll make no promises, but hopefully I'll continue doing that on the new site.

For those interested, this site has averaged over 2500 visits a day for the past three months (almost 80,000 visits per month in that time). It's still growing. Many of the visitors come from Google searches (the blog does amazingly well there), so it's hard to really know how many regular readers there are. It may seem like a strange time to stop, but these statistics don't help me take better photos. I suppose if the numbers led to income I might respect them more, but there is no money in this. Any deep pocketed sponsors reading this are welcome to contact me and change that. Regardless, I'll keep taking photos at the new location with no regrets, hopefully.

Just to be clear, Japan Window (the archives, gallery, etc) won't go away; at least not for a long time.

That's it for now. I'll respond to your comments. I'd love to get your feedback on the new site: design, photos, etc. You'll learn more about the changes there over time (as I will).

Don't forget to update your bookmarks, RSS readers, etc...

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  • Thanks a lot for the photos and insights alike. I've been a reader for almost the whole time and it was worth it. Good luck and I'm sure you'll do well!
    Jason @ 2007-04-06 16:04:31
  • I'm looking forward to seeing the new photos and insights Andy :)

    Hopefully you'll still indulge us in pics of your family life in Japan every once in awhile!
    Rachel @ 2007-04-06 18:06:40
  • Hey Andy!

    I've been one of those people who's been a 'lurker' on this site for (I guess) two years now, and I just wanted to say how much I appreciate your photos of Japan. Through your photos I've been able to experience a culture and people I love, in a way that I might not be able to discover even if I went to Japan myself.
    Thank you so much for sharing your life and insights, and I'll continue to check out your photos at the new site (even if they're not Japan-related!).

    God bless
    chickpea @ 2007-04-06 18:18:43
  • Andy,

    It has been an amazing experience over the past 2 years that I've followed you here.

    Many of us have came to Japan, lived and moved away, leaving something behind. I think a lot of us asked ourselves the same questions you have, and in some cases you have help us push further towards answers we may not have had when we left.

    Secondly, for those of us living with a family that spans these two cultures and especially for those of us just starting on the road of parenthood, you've been a great model.

    I'll always appreciate how you've managed to connect the personal and inner relationship to Japan with a reflection of the love for your children that shines through every shot.

    I will try to keep up with you on your new site but I can't help but feel like this is in some ways the end of a great journey.

    Best wishes always.

    Logan

    Logan @ 2007-04-06 20:58:58
  • Andy,

    All I can really say is a big thank you. Your site has been an inspiration to me.

    I can't wait to see what you have in store for the new site. Its an area I plan to travel in the future, and I'm sure with you pictures I'll gain a little more insight into what its really like there outside of travel books.

    Good luck and God bless.
    Ian B @ 2007-04-07 00:02:02
  • Also I have been a "lurker" for quite some time (forgot how many years it is). Thank you for always posting a refreshing photo on your site. I will follow you to your new site to see where your path is leading you.
    J. @ 2007-04-07 04:17:14
  • I have had this site as my homepage for over a year now. Once I knew we were going to be stationed in Japan for 2 years, I did a search on Japanese preschools and found your site. When I first read of your wife making your daughter's school bags, labeling each crayon with her name, and attending the entrace ceremony I knew our family could do it too. My daughter, now 3 1/2 will start Japanese preschool on Monday. The bags are sewn, names written in katakana on her "inside" shoes, and batteries on the video camera are charging as I write this. Your photos were my first real glimpse into this journey we are about to undertake. Thank you for all of your great photos , best of luck!
    Malia @ 2007-04-07 05:16:02
  • Andy,

    I do hope you'll continue to take photos and post them on a regular basis on your new website. As a former expat in Japan, I have really enjoyed your photos as they exude specific feelings form Japan, more than most photos -- the Coke machine at the bottom of the train station steps being an apt example. So, I don't want to be remiss of your photos and will be checking your new site. Best of luck


    sachi @ 2007-04-07 09:49:52
  • I can only add "ditto" to what everyone has already said and felt. Thank you for making this world a little bit better by sharing your photos, experience, and personal viewpoints about Japan. I look forward to visiting your new site.
    edwardo @ 2007-04-07 21:49:06
  • I am more-or-less simply repeating what the others wrote, but I want to thank you for giving us Japan Window.
    I visited often, and commented a few times. I'll miss your posts about life in Japan. However, I wish you all the best with the new project.

    Regards,
    David @ 2007-04-08 03:48:15
  • Look forward to your new pics.
    Alwyn @ 2007-04-09 00:57:37
  • Hi Andy,

    Thank you so much for the photos and your thoughts! I will miss checking this site every day!

    All the Best,
    Robert
    Robert @ 2007-04-09 07:36:27
  • Thanks a lot for all the photos. It was great fun. Good luck. (My pupils and I will miss them!!)
    Isabelle. @ 2007-04-09 21:36:37
  • Andy, as a visitor to Japan on a few occasions, and having a liking for photography, may I say how much I've enjoyed your blog. What has also pleased and interested me is your constant good humour, patience, and lack of cynicism. I shall miss my daily bit of pleasure, but I acknowledge your right to move on in new directions. Rest assured that your new blog (I'm getting to hate that word, it sounds crude and heavy!) will be in my RSS. Good luck!
    Richard@Guildford.uk @ 2007-04-10 09:21:10
  • Thanks so much for all your warm comments. I'm glad that this blog has been helpful, eye-opening, and encouraging for people. I do think you can expect more of the same at Photosensibility, although it will clearly be different as well. I'm very excited to share what I see in Thailand, Cambodia and other places in addition to my ongoing process of living and learning in Japan.
    Andy @ 2007-04-16 18:06:50
  • IF somebody interested in our photoes look www.foto.md )) another world.
    mp3rocker @ 2007-04-19 10:56:36
  • I discovered Japan Window after I started my blog for children about Japan. I'm just a mom with a camara. I stopped by once in a while to enjoy more professional photos of this amazing place.

    I'm looking forward to seeing your photos of other places. I lved and traveled in southeast Asia before coming to Japan in 1988. Wish I had had a camera back then! Best wishes.
    annie @ 2007-04-22 16:21:33
  • Hello!
    Bye.
    Later:)
    chickpea @ 2007-04-25 10:26:46
  • I am trying to obtain opinions from japanese people about -

    http://www.TheTenQuestionsOfLife.com

    Please help.

    Riaz @ 2007-04-25 18:47:29
  • Riaz,
    I would like to help, but first I need more information. The information you are asking for could very easily be used for legitimate or illegitimate marketing. I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt by responding, so don't be offended. I think you should include a clear privacy policy along with your real name and contact information. Honestly, even then I'm not sure if I'd feel comfortable giving you my email address and all the other information you're asking for. You're going to have to work hard to earn my trust. The bottom line is that an anonymous webmaster with unclear motives isn't convincing. (I read you're motives page. That's fine, but at the very top I think you need a one or two sentence statement that cuts right to the point. And sign it with your real name.) Good luck.
    Andy @ 2007-04-26 07:05:52
  • Hi. Give us somethink from spring series!) You have talent.
    mp3lover @ 2007-05-01 23:25:06
  • The child is angel, the child has a black eye, which leads to promiscuity to the photos. Black color not depend to angels )
    mp3-downloader @ 2007-05-04 01:03:32
  • Thanks. I've just spent some time browsing the site and it does seem really good.
    Edward @ 2007-05-18 07:16:01
  • Thanks for help to foreigners to reach insight with your unusual world in Japan, it is really magic.
    I'm from Ukraine and I love Japan so much. People like U help to strength that feeling more.
    But do not afraid of diversion, personality of creative men is broader then any limits.
    Dmitra @ 2007-05-31 23:04:56
  • you are doing a great work for chirst, i will love to discuss some issues on mission. pls contact me at ffcabuja2002@yahoo.com or call +234803 5910009
    ilori john @ 2007-06-04 07:30:23
  • Good photos!
    Gato @ 2007-06-04 19:23:19
  • GOD bless you on your new blog. may it draw interest from others and direct them towards the LORD JESUS.

    your brother in CHRIST
    chris @ 2007-06-08 15:17:45
  • Chris - That's quite a powerful opening statement on your website, and thanks. This is a photo blog (and the new site, too). Besides giving brief updates, I don't want to make text the object. Perhaps, over time, the photos and generally how I live will point to where I find hope and life. I hope so.
    Andy @ 2007-06-10 05:37:06
  • U've got pretty good photos.

    Keep goin'
    memi @ 2007-06-10 08:45:18
  • pretty photos ^_^
    Alwyn @ 2007-06-13 20:34:59
  • Hello Andy, I found very interesting your art work,
    and there is beautiful pictures of yours I'd like to paint such as baby face, contact or other interesting portraits you made. If you are willing to agree, you can answer me at m_math_8@yahoo.fr
    Thank you.
    Math @ 2007-06-15 11:40:59
  • Piękne oczy ma ta dziewczynka ...
    ... piękne zdjęci :)

    Zapraszam do siebie www.zajc92lw.photoblog.pl

    - Polska -
    nataliaaa @ 2007-06-25 03:32:18
  • Andy,

    I can't believe it's so? That's cool, see you at your new website! I'm sure you've got some great photography planned.

    flowski
    Digital Photography @ 2007-07-01 15:42:50
  • What can i say? great work, the photos are amazing, keep going!
    freelancer @ 2007-07-03 00:36:53
  • Hello,
    Just to tell you "Great Pictures".
    Publicidad en internet @ 2007-07-09 08:51:57
  • hola amigos de la web necesito de su ayuda, en yamagata se encuentra Nami y necesito que sepa que la amo y que la extraño mucho y que la esperare, que la noticia corra en la web y japon (es el amor de mi vida) fotos de ella en http://mipke.blogspot.com vivo en buenos aires argentina... gracias amigos de internet
    marcos @ 2007-07-15 19:18:07
  • http://www.photo.md/?lang=eng - moldavian photo gallery
    MP3 Wave @ 2007-07-24 06:43:30
  • greetings, How can I find the maker of the 'mimi balls' that are seen in one of your photos?
    I cannot find the manufacturer of them in the USA. Please help me to find out more about obtaining a supply of these. Thank you, Mitch
    mtr@fuse.net
    mitch @ 2007-07-24 16:44:44
  • It's sad that you're going to sell away this domain. But it could be a good window of opportunity for the right buyer.
    Pitt @ 2007-07-29 21:41:59
  • Andy, thanks linking to digi*ana*logue!

    and Good Luck New Project, too!!!!!!
    **sirop @ 2007-07-31 21:41:10
  • Andy,
    your site has been an inspiration to me. I will miss checking this site every day!


    Johonson @ 2007-08-03 02:50:00
  • Hi all! thank you for this very nice site ! I invite you to see some of my works in Thailand . This is the adress
    http://photofactor.blogspot.com/
    there is a link for comments . Thank you if you give me youre opinion.
    Best regards .

    Emanuel Stoica @ 2007-08-20 14:29:00
  • Wow.
    I like pens.
    Fish Man @ 2007-08-23 06:46:56
  • But Not As Much As I Like Sharpeners.

    Fish Man @ 2007-08-23 06:48:12
  • Dear Andy or whoever else,

    I have some rather unique difficulties considering i am in the military and i was wondering if you had any light at all to shed on my situation.Before I start divulging the inner workings of my very personal relationship with complete strangers I suppose it would be a good idea to introduce myself. My name is Peter Green, I am currently on active duty in the US Navy and I am deployed to the Persian Gulf along with my strike group and I have been so for the past 5 months. Originally I was born and raised in Michigan, I had dreams of adventure and travel and therefore joined the navy two years ago (at the youngest possible age...17) I had, and still have big dreams, one of which I find embodied in a lovely Japanese woman by the name of Emi ....I met her one night while I was causing my usual ruckus in the downstairs lobby of a San Diego apartment complex (where one of my Swiss friends had a previous residence) she was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, enough to pull me out of my party frenzy state of mind. She could barely speak English, but that doesn't really matter to me one bit, I knew from the first moment that we saw each other that there was some sort of connection that I had never felt before....it was amazing. I managed to ask her out to coffee the next morning and shyly she agreed to my persistent coaxing. About two weeks later we began dating and had a wonderful relationship for the next 6 months that I was stateside, living with each other, sharing our cultures, language, food....everything. It is definitely an eye opener. In the beginning it was great and it still is by a vast majority, but now (while I am out to sea, quite the timing headache I must say) the issue of marriage has come up and it had been a nightmare to cross the void between American and Japanese culture, not to mention the language barrier which if I may say would be even the most linguistically oriented and patient persons complete hell.

    We have both established that our feelings for each other are a strong enough basis to marry but many problems have arisen as well.....here are just a couple. This may be a little opinionated since I cannot fully remove myself emotionally from the subject matter, I figured that someone might be able to shed some light on these topics since many of you have stacked a couple more years of wisdom and worldly experience under your belts than I have. (I would have asked my folks but they are baffled since they are both American, and none of my shipmates are married to, or even seeing Japanese women....once again, I am sorry about this shot in the dark)

    1. She requires her parent's permission to marry, which I do respect as a courtesy...since that is not so different in the states. Though my personal view clashes with hers in this case...... not to sound as though I have a lack of respect for the idea..... however as a rather independent person .... I do not believe that the entire relationship's well being and timing should be either yay or neigh just by the whim of the parents. I am expected to travel to Japan and meet her parents in person, which I would be more than happy to do, however my active duty status (for another 5 years) prohibits me from leaving the country when not deployed, which makes it quite the puzzle to respect her wishes. Unfortunately her parents are too dedicated to their work to take a vacation and come and meet me stateside. Should I wait around forever until I get out of the Navy or wait until I get sent there (request a change of duty station) ....I could stand in a thunderstorm and wait for lightning to strike me dead and I guarantee it would happen before the Navy would accommodate a bachelors wishes. So I am stuck between a rock and a hard place on that one.

    2. I am not one to rush into the institution of marriage, I have seen too many Naval couples crash and burn because they rushed into things too quickly (somewhere around 60 or 70 percent if my statistics are accurate). However I am a fireman which means I make about nothing (less than a thousand a month to be specific) which is not enough to support anyone besides myself (and it barely does that) ....if I were to marry Emi though, I would get BAH (Basic Allowance for Housing) which would be more than enough to support buying a house and her rather spendy habits. I never had a lot of money as a kid (poor farm boy actually) and that is fine with me but Emi comes from a middle class family with all the comforts of home. Naturally as the sole provider (since she has a student visa and therefore cannot work here) I want to be able to support her, but I cannot on my present salary, if we were to marry I could do it with ease. I presented the topic to her and she told me that I want to marry for the money.....totally the opposite of the point I wanted to get across. She is currently doing bouts of time in Japan saving money and then coming to live with me in short stints when I am not deployed.....do you know of any better way. She says a working visa is too hard to acquire...so I am assuming that is out of the question. Any other ideas that maybe the two of us do not know about?

    Wow, this sounds like a very dysfunctional relationship already, since I referred predominantly to the negative aspects of her and my life together, please don't take it for that though.....these are the first of many bumps in the road for us, I was just hoping someone might have some advice so I could avoid getting stuck in a rut on these rather difficult (for me at least) issues.

    Once again, thank you for your time and I hope I can get a blurb from anyone....even if it just tells me "you're on your own kid"...I would appreciate any feedback.

    V/R

    Peter Green
    Peter @ 2007-08-28 11:27:26
  • Wow, looks like i posted that whole thing in the wrong spot. Oh well....the questions still stand. Sorry for placing that smack dab in the middle of this particular blog.
    Peter @ 2007-08-28 11:29:48
  • Peter - Your questions (and all the blanks in between) really go beyond me. I once posted on the topic of marriage, though, so please take a look at what I wrote. Then, if you want, you can reach me again. The URL is: http://www.japanwindow.com/archives/lessons_and_reflections/2005/love_and_marriage_japanese_and_american.html
    Andy @ 2007-08-31 02:04:59
  • woow so naturel picture got stuuf and exite
    i love this picture o have more bet pict guys
    but i hope you come to bali get found many culture in best bali island more info and realy best

    balivilas.jp special offer of Bali including online Bali hotels reservations, ... TRAVEL & BUSINESS INFORMATION SERVICE ON THE ISLAND OF BALI

    tanks broo so amazing fhoto and wating u in bali

    reagrd

    joko
    joko @ 2007-09-14 14:53:13

  • I apologize for sending you the mail because I have no way. Please help me God will help you. http://www.geocities.com/ashekvu/help1.html I, Ashek E. Alahi, age 45; am a service holder of a private organization is suffering for a Testicle Tumor for a long time. A Tumor developed in my Testicle. Now it is increasing and present weight almost 400 grams and size like a Tennis Ball and I feel difficult in my regular work moreover it may develop Cancer. Doctor advises me to operation the Tumor immediately otherwise Tumor will turn to Cancer.
    http://www.geocities.com/ashekvu/help1.html

    Help Wanted @ 2007-09-16 00:57:57
  • Nice pictures.
    HDR @ 2007-09-27 00:24:23
  • I'm pretty sure you will do well in this endeavor... Good luck and hope to see more great pictures...
    Gabriel Shocks @ 2007-09-27 19:30:30
  • I just found your blog today. And... I LOVE IT!!!
    You're great!
    Amalie @ 2007-10-15 12:32:59
  • Hi, I came across your site and I found it pretty interesting. I really appreciate your work. I’m fond of photos and just wanted to say that you provide people with very useful information
    Tommy @ 2007-10-25 03:34:17
  • Andy, just found your site while searching for some photos. great stuff and I'll keep checking out your new site.
    Dave @ 2007-10-27 17:47:42
  • nice to see that you stick on for so long. it's really what we appreciate!
    seed @ 2007-10-27 20:45:58
  • Wow, look at the crap comments. It looks like someone should moderate them.
    Contamination @ 2007-11-03 05:54:07
  • Hey, I'm really interested in the youth culture of Japan, what they're going through, how they express themselves-its similar to American Culture, but seems more exotic somehow, the differences are fascinating!

    I just wanted to tell you how thankful I am for the pictures and commentary you've put together! It's really brought into focus what their culture is like.
    Tristan @ 2007-11-14 08:23:44
  • hi all every body nice to know u all

    densi @ 2007-11-19 17:11:11
  • Thanks a lot for all the photos. It was great fun. Good luck.
    jane @ 2008-02-16 03:35:49
  • hank you so much for the photos and your thoughts! I will miss checking this site every day!
    Pop @ 2009-05-12 20:32:23
  • Thanks a lot for all the photos. Great jobs !!!
    Pop @ 2009-05-12 20:35:05
  • Make your life time easier get the home loans and all you want.
    CorneliaMejia @ 2010-08-01 21:08:58


Visit my new photo blog at www.photosensibility.com for photos of Japan and Cambodia


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