Land of the Rising Sun, Japan

Side Note: This blog has surpassed 7 Million page views!

I have just returned from my Japan short visit (for business trip actually), which I managed to squeeze out one and a half day for personal walkabout and shutter therapy. Yeap, you heard that right, I was doing Shutter Therapy on the streets of Japan, a perfect conclusion for my 2013. In case you do not know, this was also my first ever visit to the land of rising sun. 

As usual, bloggers at this time of the year would start to summarize and conclude their major events of the year and perhaps compose a closing blog entry for the year. I decided not to do that this year, after all I can always pause and do a quick reflection, re-capping the happenings in my life from time to time, and that does not necessarily have to be at the end of the year. As an alternative, I decided to make this Japan trip blog coverage as my final blog entry of this year. Therefore, this blog will be extra long, with a lot more photographs than usual (apologies to slow internet users) and I shall also randomly throw in more thoughts and sharing my experience in a more lengthy writing than usual. Considering all that I have gone through this year, with my mum's surgery, change of career path and me joining Olympus Malaysia in an official capacity, I do think that being out of the country for almost a week in Japan was the perfect finale I could have asked for. 

Before flying to Japan, I have consulted a few friends for advice, tips and recommendations on places to visit and shoot, especially for a photography-enthusiast with extra itchy fingers, with extremely limited time. Huey Yoong (click) has been extremely helpful in providing me very useful info, in fact I planned my entire layout for my schedule almost solely based on her detailed, well thought-out recommendation. I have shown the initial plan to my colleagues in Japan and asked for further improvements or tweaks if necessary, but everyone agreed that the plan worked, and was very good already. Also special thanks to a Japanese blog reader Norikazu Maki who emailed me and added a location for my shoot. The following list describes my locations which I have visited, in chronological order:

1) Hachioji

2) Shinjuku

3) Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building

3) Senso-Ji Temple, Asakusa

4) Akihabara

5) Yebisu Garden Place

6) Shibuya

All images were taken with Olympus OM-D E-M1 and M.Zuiko lenses: 9-18mm F4-5.6, 17mm F1.8 and 45mm F1.8

Friendly Japanese Folks. Hachioji

Mid Day Activities. Hachioji

The Cold Sun. Hachioji

Rush Hour. Hachioji

Decorated Pavement. Shinjuku

Concrete Jungle. Shinjuku

Rising Up. Shinjuku

Eco-Friendly. Shinjuku

Intense labor. Shinjuku

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building

Here are my random thoughts about Japan which I have collected during my short trip:

1) The whole place is very silent

On the streets, on the train, in the restaurant, everywhere, people are more silent than I expected. Perhaps people are culturally trained to respect each other's privacy and not disrupt with excessive unnecessary humanly made noise. For example in the train, the rule stated that everyone must have their phones turned off or switched to silent mode, and no conversation over the phone was allowed. The result, the whole train ride was as if someone pressed the human "mute" button. I must say coming from a country (Malaysia) where speaking, laughing and even shouting loudly (of joy of course) this new-found silence was indeed something refreshing, and I could get used to. Even on the busy streets during rush hour, in the coffee place, or any other locations, silence is the golden rule that everyone strictly observed. Amazing now everyone can be so quiet. Consequently everywhere I went to in Japan, I felt the sense of calm and peace. 

2) Survival Tip: The Internet

One of the must have item for any traveller to Japan, is Internet Connection. I subscribed to Japan Wireless (3G Modem Rent service) and paid in advance before arriving in Japan, and collected my wireless modem from the hotel. With Internet connection, you have your smartphone which will be your best friend throughout your stay in Japan. I used Google Maps to help me find my way and to translate some very important Japanese words. The Google Maps from extremely helpful, with complete route planning from your current location to the intended location, complete with walking distance calculations, public transport options, train routes, how many stops, and which platform to take the train from. On top of that, the transportation fee is also shown in Google Maps, allowing advanced planning to make sure you have enough cash. I was stunned to find out how expensive train rides are in Japan! It can cost as expensive as RM30 over per ride, and that is only one way. Also, using Google or internet search, I can have access to immediate information on the go, which may be helpful when plans do deviate or something interesting popped up in front of you. 

3) Cold Weather, but Pleasant

When I was in Japan for the almost one week stay, weather was cold, ranging between below zero degrees Celcius at night  to 10 Degrees Celcius during the day time. It felt as if I was in Perth, Australia during winter, but a lot more humid and wetter here. It was raining half of the time I was in Japan, and the rain was no fun at all. Not only was it wet and unpleasant to get around, the sky was white and ugly. I spent more time wiping the lens filter than actually taking any photos in my later location visits. Since i only had very limited time, I had to make do with what I can and still continue walking out and shoot. I managed to find abandoned umbrella by the bridge walkway and used the umbrella, thankfully, because it rained even heavier after that. Knowing that it rained a lot, my photography outcome was also affected!

North Tower, Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building

North Tower, Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building

North Tower, Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building

Evening Buildings, Shinjuku

Skyscrapers, Shinjuku

An Evening in Shinjuku

Autumn Leaves, Shinjuku

Back Street, Shinjuku

4) Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building

For the first timers, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building is a must visit. The entrance is free, and you get to go up to the observation deck at 45th floor (two views, but I randomly chose North Tower). The scenery from the 45th floor windows was simply breathtaking. I arrived just in time before sunset. I immediately realized one very big issue: reflection. I did not have the circular polarizing filter with me to cut out reflection and glare, hence reflection (from internal lighting system) was evident in almost all my shots, and it was even more evident as the sky got darker. For the same reason I did not stay till dark, plus I did not carry a tripod with me around. Nonetheless, the visit to the observation deck was one to remember. 

5) Being Selective, and put the camera aside at times. 

It was an urge to just randomly and endlessly click at anything and snap everywhere I see. I decided against that. Instead I made sure I do not take "touristy" shots, or images that are too plain. For many scenes or views being seen for the first time, I recorded them with my own eyes. I took my time to actually enjoy the views and really feasted my eyes without the distraction of calculating F-Stops or making sure the focusing was accurate. I knew when to put the camera away and just enjoy the moment. This was not an easy thing to do considering how little time I actually have. The important thing is to make sure I shoot only the things that I want to shoot. I still come home with massive amount of image files, but at least upon first encounter I have filtered more than 80% of what would have not even be selected to be used on this blog. 

6) Different Approach to Photography than usual

Since I was not familiarized with this new hunting ground, I did not dare to go all out and attack the strangers, fearing what would have happened if I did my usual walk up to stranger and just shoot routine. I was being a lot more discrete and hide myself more than usual. You will see many of the photographs were taken with the strangers not even realizing I was shooting them. Do not get me wrong, I find Japanese people to be extremely friendly and helpful in many times, but it does take a while for me to get comfortable and build up confidence before I can do what I normally do in Malaysian streets. One day is certainly not enough for me to pull that off. Hence, shooting from a distance, and being the "invisible" photographer approach were being deployed to grab most of my shots in this entry. Having smaller camera and smaller lenses do help a lot in this sense. I did however, manage to get a few strangers to pose for me, and do close up portraits, which turned out pretty alright. I really, really wished I had more time to know the streets more, and ultimately shoot and shoot more photographs!

Busy Crossing. Shinjuku

Popular Transport: Bicycle. Shinjuku

Selling Something? Shinjuku

Pedestrian Crossing. Shinjuku

Super Busy Crossing. Shinjuku. 

Happy People. Shinjuku

Meeting Point. Shinjuku

City of Neon Lights. Shinjuku

Beautiful Stranger. Shinjuku

7) Wrong Timing

I visited Akihabara, the Otaku central, famed for local folks dressed up in anime/manga characters aka cosplayers style. It was raining as I was there, thus everyone was covered up in winter jacket and thick overcoats. No luck for me to shoot some dolled up princess or anime characters. That being an important point, Japanese people are known to have more evolved sense of fashion (at least in comparison to Malaysians in general) and shooting them in public (or even observing) would have been an interesting experience. No such luck, as it was cold, pretty much the fashion show I got was winter fashion instead. Perhaps I should plan another trip to Japan, when it was warmer. Nevertheless, Akihabara was not a total loss, as I did step into Japan's largest camera and electrical store chain, the Yodobashi Akiba. I even accidentally found my photographs used as promotional material there (purchased from me of course) and it was quite a flabbergasting experience seeing my own photos there! 

8) Hunting for Used Camera Shops in Akihabara

Checking up on Japan Camera Hunters' website (link here), I was trying to locate two stores, Nisshin and Hikari, but I only successfully found Nisshin. As described in Japan Camera Hunter Hikari was really very well hidden and after a few rounds of finding it I decided to give up. I did see some very great deals for micro 4/3 gear at Nisshin. Too bad my budget was too tight, or else I would be coming home with an extra lens or two! 

9) Sun Position, Early Sunset

During this time of the year, I observed that the sun was almost always shining from a side angle, and never went all the way on top of the head. Perhaps Japan was located at the northern part of the globe, and the sun would not shine down from the top directly (as it does during noon at Tropical countries like Malaysia). This in interesting to me because I always avoid shooting during noon in Malaysia due to the harsh, unflattering look the light from top creates. Considering light is always shining from the side at this time of the year in Japan, one can shoot even during noon! How I wish that is also applicable in Malaysia. Another point to note is the very early sunset at 430pm, meaning much longer night life for Japan. Indeed, roaming around the streets of Shinjuku and Shibuya, the Japan at night is wild and alive. The streets were brightly lit, overly done so by the overcrowded neon lights all fighting to outshine each other. People came from everywhere and all directions, and crossing the roads may be a more hectic experience for an average Malaysian like myself. That being said, I do treasure the fact that there were so many places to go to at night, and shops and commercial places were open till late.  

Leaf-less. Mt Takao

Lonely One. Mt Takao

Generous Donors. Mt Takao

Tied Coins. Mt Takao

Temple and Shrines. Mt Takao

Christmas Mood. Yebisu Garden Place

Rainy Christmas. Yebisu Garden Place

Christmas Lights. Yebisu Garden Place

Stranger in Ebisu. Yebisu Garden Place

10) I experience snow for the first time in my life!

Weather forecast did mention about the high possibility of snow, and as we climbed the Mount Takao, suddenly I felt the change from light rain to something that fell a lot slower than rain drops. They were solid and it was actually snow! My colleagues pointed out to me that it could have been sleet instead of snow, something in between snow and rain and can be rather unpleasant. I am not sure about the unpleasant part, but I still think it was pretty cool and seeing something like this for the first time just made my day. I tried shooting the snow in still images but they all turned out rather ugly. Instead, I decided to just capture a short video clip (click) as an evidence that there was indeed snow (or something close to snow, since this was the closest a Malaysian boy could ever come to). The snow did get heavier and heavier and at one point it covered my winter jacket and even my camera bag, which require constant shaking off. It started to get annoying as the snow/sleet/whatever started to stick in front of the lens filter. 

11) Christmas in Japan

Due to the cold weather, and the existence of snow, Japan is a lot closer to Christmas experience than Malaysia ever was. A very kind blog reader,  Norikazu Maki recommended me to visit Yebisu Garden Place, which turned out to be a worthwhile deviation from my original route, and I did not have to spend too much time there since it was a passing by location. The garden was lighted up with Christmas themed decorations, and was very beautiful. This place is not large, but the lights were so carefully arranged and it looked breathtaking, definitely infinitely better than what that money wasting I-City in Selangor looked like. Seriously that I-City place looked uglier the more I see it. 

Grand Entrance. Senso-Ji Temple, Asakusa

Keeping Warm. Senso-Ji Temple, Asakusa

Burning Incense. Senso-Ji Temple, Asakusa

Heat. Senso-Ji Temple, Asakusa

Dragon Blessed. Senso-Ji Temple, Asakusa

Souvenirs. Senso-Ji Temple, Asakusa

What Is Your Number? Senso-Ji Temple, Asakusa

Were they Hand-made? Senso-Ji Temple, Asakusa

Japanese Art. Senso-Ji Temple, Asakusa

Temple Interiors. Senso-Ji Temple, Asakusa

Devotion. Senso-Ji Temple, Asakusa

Stall Operators. Senso-Ji Temple, Asakusa

Rainy Temple Days. Senso-Ji Temple, Asakusa

The Professional Photographer. Senso-Ji Temple, Asakusa

On the whole, I think this will be a trip I will always remember. I think I am in love with Japan. The place is so breathtaking and I have not even explored the more exotic places outside the city, and certainly I heard the parks and gardens were very beautiful as well. I do not mind even just to spend a whole day in the city just roaming around aimlessly and shooting the street scenes, and attacking random beautiful strangers. People in Japan were warm and very friendly. Language might be an issue but out of so many people around chances are you might find a few who speak fluent English if you look hard enough. 

My only wish was that my stay was longer, and I had more time to myself, and spending most of those time just to shoot and shoot. That would be a dream come true. I have always heard how beautiful Japan is, and have seen many photographs my friends have shown, but seeing it with my own eyes I have a new sense of appreciation for Japanese culture and art. Those of us from other countries know Japan from their sub-cultures such as manga/anime, food, festival celebrations (think Bon-Odori), and at some degree movie and music, so there really was not surprises since we were basically exposed to the basic culture and tradition. I guess I must be speaking too soon, as what I have just experienced was only the tip of the iceberg. I look forward to see more and definitely, shoot more in the future. 

Anime Central. Akihabara

Portrait of a Japanese. Akihabara

Yodobashi Akiba. Akihabara

Rainy Streets in Akihabara

Speed Limit. Akibahara

  

backalley. Akihabara

Wet and Cheers. Akihabara

Neon Lights in Day. Akihabara

Warm Lights. Akihabara

Gigantic Ramen. Akihabara

Connecting Tunnels. Ebisu. 

Umbrella Wars. Shibuya

Elevated Pedestrian Crossing. Shibuya

Human Traffic Congestion. Shibuya

Transparent Umbrellas. Shibuya

Bright Streets. Shibuya

A Walk in the Rain. Shibuya

Food in Japan is incredible! You know I have always complained how Japanese food in Malaysia sucks (generally) because they were never prepared by real Japanese cook, but lousily done by locals or worse, some unqualified foreign workers who knows nothing about Japanese food or culture. Yet the price for Japanese food in Malaysia is not cheap. Now I have first hand tasting at Japan, I must say I really love their food there. 

Ramen was everywhere! Soba and Udon were also popular and I love all of them. There were quite a few variations (but ultimately most food were served with either rice, udon, soba or ramen) and then there were restaurant food with more fancy selections. Unfortunately I do not read Japanese, so all I did was simply looking at photographs in menu, went to the vending machine, let the machine eat my money and selected the food that I solely decided based on the menu photo. Then the ticket was made by the machine and I handed the ticket over to the eatery staff. 5-10 minutes later, food was served. A lot of guessing game here but hey, every meal has turned out great and I thoroughly enjoyed all Japanese food I have come across. 

Sushi was cheap after hours! Ming Thein was right, he told me that sushi would have huge price slash during the evening (after 9pm) and I bought some for myself for supper. Even the supermarket packed sushi in Japan tasted way better than most sushis made in restaurants in Malaysia. 

My 2013 has been a roller coaster ride. I think I have gone through some drastic changes this year, and been through more than I have had in the past many years. Nonetheless, I am still here alive and kicking, and many of that, I must thank you beautiful readers for being here for me (especially during my difficult times, my mum's surgery) and I will not be here without your help, support and encouraging words all this while. 

I believe I am at the point of life where change is the only constant, and I will do my best to adapt and move on. Everything turned out great so far. 

I will be home in Kuching to celebrate Christmas with beloved mum. Hence, I will not have time to shoot and update this blog until the new year. 

Wishing all of you beautiful people Merry Christmas and a Joyous New Year 2014!