All you Japan-phile out there, where is a good place for Street Photography ?

[steamer]

A friend got beaten in Kabukicho. If you are looking for some old Japan flavor Kamakura is a nice trip. Do you have money and are you interested in food? Recommendations depend on the answer.

 

[mike rosenlof]

(I haven been to Tokyo several times, but not in about six years...)

Tokyo is *very* photographed.

Harajuku is a common photo subject. Something of a cliche. The fish market at tsukiji can also fit both of those categories.

I find the train stations an interesting place to take photos. The same for temples and shrines.

My suggestion: get away from downtown Tokyo. Get on the train or subway to places where typical Japanese live. Maybe the Toei Shinjuku line or the JR Sobu line out to Ichikawa.

 

[raytoei@gmail.com]

guys,

thanks for your info, we came home last nite, and spent 4 days in Tokyo.

it was a really interesting trip, unplanned and almost everything was

just-in-time guidebook or google. we also had the good fortune of

staying in Shinjuku, which I found out later that it was the main

transport hub in Tokyo.

day 1: kabuki-chio, bars, red-light district. found a really good yakitori place

that was nondescript where locales went. (dinner for 2 + 2 bottles of sake was usd 60)

was wandering near the quiet hotel at 3pm and found denny's service cheap coffee.

day 2: went to Ueno park and Museum, wandered into Akihabara, and bumped

into Manga porn district. That evening found a Shabu-Shabu buffett place in

Roppongi recommended by the guidebook, dinner + drinks was expensive at 200usd

for two but affordable by local standards.

day 3: went to Asakusa, and stumbled into a family restaurant with a nice japanese garden,

found out that they specialised only in tempura. that evening, went searching for the "golden gai",

a drinking hole in old part of Kabukichio. Found a 6-seater place with lots of B&W prints and

japanese photobooks.

day 4: went to shibuya, found out about the dog that waited for its owner everyday at the train station,

even after the owner had died. whole place was full of kids in trending fashion. Went back to the

photography bar in Golden Gai, met a couple of Japanese film photographers plus a publisher.

Queued up for 45mins at this Nagi Ramen place in golden gai, supposed to be one of the oldest

and best Ramen in whole of Tokyo. Two bars in Golden Gai + Famous ramen for two came about 80 usd for two.



day 5: went home....



I shot 20 rolls of tri-x and kentmere 400, and brought 2 cameras, the IIIf with 35/f1.5 canon,

and the M6 with 35/f2 cron. Developed only 2 rolls and horror to horror found 30% blank frames on

the rolls, could be the iiif shutter or curtain problem.. (!!!)

will probably develop the rest later this week.

here is a picture that was okay:

Eye contact in Roppongi. IIIf with 35/f1.5 Canon.
Zone focused at f5.6. 5 feet at iso 1600.

raytoei

 

[Frontman]

Glad you enjoyed your visit. Too bad you only had 4 days to spend in Tokyo, but it is enough to see a lot if you hurry.

If you come again, you should head out to the countryside and do some sightseeing there. Japan has a lot of natural beauty, and the people out in the country are quite friendly.

Another good thing about the countryside is that it has the harmony which Tokyo and Osaka lack. The architecture is consistent, the buildings are generally wooden structure with tile roofs. The farms, fields, hills, and mountains are beautiful, and the people live a much more relaxed lifestyle.

Another plus for the countryside is that the food is fresher and cheaper, and drinks cost less than half what they do in the cities.

I visited Japan 3 times on vacation before I decided to move here. I've been here for 5 years now, and I am still loving it.