My wife and I took some time out for ourselves and finally went on a trip that we had been planning for a while: Japan.
Even with 2 weeks to explore, we both felt that there was so much more we could see. 2 weeks was not enough time to see all the places that there was to explore. While we did visit the normal "touristy" spots, we had the most enjoyment in the little "nooks and crannies" and things in the alleyways of the main streets: hidden tempura restaurants, little unique stores, quiet(er) neighborhoods, bamboo groves, Japan life.
Amidst taking images of large red lanterns with throngs of tourists as well as our 7&i Holdings (aka 7-11 in Japan) dinner(s), I took some time to take images of life in Japan as it was. Yes, I wanted to document Japan :)
From scrambling through the Narita Airport to get on the NEX Airport Express to trying to find our hostel in the darkness of night in Ikkebukuro, our journey truly started as an adventure. Thanks to street view and googlemaps, we successfully found the place and slept for the night to rest after a long flight. We awoke to explore an amazing city and an amazing country.
Vancouver, YRV Airport - The new departure terminal for International flights is amazingly beautiful!
Shinjuku, Tokyo
Shinjuku, Tokyo
Roppongi (Tokyo Midtown), Tokyo - Roppongi was quite a nice place. We visited an area called Tokyo Midtown, which had some amazing examples of architecture and design.
Roppongi (Tokyo Midtown), Tokyo - I focused here on the person with the umbrella.
Roppongi (Tokyo Midtown), Tokyo
Roppongi (Tokyo Midtown), Tokyo
Roppongi (Tokyo Midtown), Tokyo - This was taken in the library section of a design gallery that we visited.
Roppongi (Tokyo Midtown), Tokyo - A pet-focused store inside the mall with a grooming area in the back.
Roppongi (Tokyo Midtown), Tokyo - This place was very quiet in the morning but became very lively around lunch time as droves of office workers came down from their offices to have a bite to eat.
Roppongi (Tokyo Midtown), Tokyo - One of our many amazing Japanese meals. The chicken karaage here was delicious!
Roppongi (Tokyo Midtown), Tokyo - Taken from inside the restaurant where we had the chicken karaage.
Roppongi (Tokyo Midtown), Tokyo - Kimonos are quite common in Japan.
Roppongi (Tokyo Tower), Tokyo - We did the tourist thing and took a ride up the Tokyo Tower and were blessed with amazing panoramic views of the great city that is Tokyo. Here, I decided to take photographs of the others staring out at the amazing sight.
Roppongi (Tokyo Tower), Tokyo - And the clouds parted :)
Roppongi (Tokyo Midtown), Tokyo - Cafe level
Shibuya, Tokyo - Shibuya Station has a whole wall and a statue dedicated to Hachiko, the dog.
Shibuya, Tokyo
Tokyo - At an intersection as we made a way to our train to head to Mitaka.
Mitaka, Tokyo - We boarded the yellow Ghibli bus as we made our way to the Ghibli Museum.
Mitaka (Ghibli Museum), Tokyo
Mitaka (Ghibli Museum), Tokyo - We were not allowed to take photographs inside so I took as many as I could of the outside. This is a robot (about true-to-life size) featured in the film "Castle in the Sky" (Laputa).
Yamanote Line, Tokyo - If you time it wrong, you run into the busy Tokyo traffic. I don't recall which station this was but during rush hour they all seem this busy.
Ikkebukuro, Tokyo - A view from our hotel room. Many of the places we stayed in were actually in the alleys of Japan. Japanese alleys are pretty amazing. Usually they are very clean and they have a ton of neat surprises: unique shops, restaurants, small businesses, etc.
Ikkebukuro, Tokyo - Ramen! While we love ramen in Vancouver, there is nothing quite like a Japanese ramen in Japan
Part II coming up!
Camera tech info:
Color - Kodak Pro Color 100 on Olympus OM4 + 50mm F1.8
B&W - Kodak TMAX 400 on Leica M6 + CV 35mm F1.2