Fun beach kite flying in Tokyo
Kite flying is something many of us did when we were kids. I know Japan is famous for it. But until recently, I hadn’t seen it in Tokyo. Well, one fine afternoon, I saw people flying them at Kasai Rinkai Park. It was a fun spectacle for photography.
My photo gear for the day
- Camera body: Fujifilm X-T3
- Lens: Fujifilm XF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR
The kite photography experience
That day I was there for bird photography. So I only had my 100-400 mm lens. In some ways, that was good and terrible in others. It made zooming in on the kites in the sky easy. But it also made it difficult to get shots of the background. A wider lens would have been better.
People were flying all sorts of on the Kasai Rinkai Park beach. Early in the afternoon, I saw an octopus, a cobra, and a couple of aircraft-shaped ones. Later in the day, some people doing stunts joined them.
There was a group of older gentlemen. They seemed to have years of experience, judging by how the kites danced in the sky. I doubt I could have done that.
The octopus and cobra kites were giant. They might have measured twenty meters long. That’s a guess, though. There was another strange thing. I didn’t know who flew them! The owners weren’t around.
I saw the lines were secured by huge bags, which would have had weights inside. There might have been extra protection with spikes to hold them in place. The owners were probably nearby on sunchairs enjoying the sight.
On that day, the wind for flying was excellent. It was pretty strong and steady. The pilots I could see had no problem keeping their craft aloft. I’m sure the birds I was also photographing that day enjoyed the conditions.
I’ll have to photograph one of those huge traditional Japanese kites one day. That would be a blast. I’ll do some research, and hopefully, that will happen one day. If you have any comments or questions, leave them below.
Rohan Gillett
Rohan has lived in Tokyo for 30+ years. He loves photography and plans to capture the entire city.
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External kite flying websites:
- Hamamatsu Kite Festival (Official website)