Project X: Leica, Tokyo, Pictures, November

Taken with Panasonic LX-3. 1/30th sec F2.8 @ ISO 400. Ikebukuro Shopping District, Tokyo.

I'm finally going to Tokyo! I've confirmed all my dates and appointments for my upcoming trip in November, and Leica Canada has generously offered to loan me a camera for the month while I'm there. Because of this, I thought it would be fun to do a special photo project on my blog with Leica. I won't say which camera I'm taking with me, but if you go to my Instagram account, you'll see which one it is.

Upcoming Trip: Bigheadtaco Back in Tokyo!

Checking out apartments in Tokyo with my wife. Taken in 2010 with Panasonic LX-3. 1/320th sec F/2.8 @ ISO125 24mm wide equiv. Scene Mode: Pinhole

It's been a while since I've been in Tokyo. Between 2008 and 2010, I had been back to Japan 7 times: for vacation, for work, for family obligations. But since 2010, I haven't been back, again for different reasons and obligations. An opportunity has recently come up where I'll be 'stuck' in Tokyo for a few weeks, so I thought I would make the best of it. With my wife tagging along to keep an eye on me, I think I'll have a few moments a day to take pictures.

What cameras am I going to bring with me? I haven't decided yet, but I'm going to see if some of my contacts will loan me a camera for a month so I could do an in-depth review in Tokyo...my dream? Leica M Monochrom with a 28mm. Or how about a Fuji X-Pro 1 with the 14mm? Ricoh GR? I'll let you know once I figure out what I'm going to bring, or what I can borrow for the trip. One thing is for sure, I'm not dragging my DSLR kit. More on this point later. For now, let's just say I wanna travel light and compact. 

More information coming up in a few days. I'll be finished my Fuji X-20 vs Ricoh GRD4 soon, and also my Leica M Type 240 with Minolta M Rokkor lenses review. Keep checking back for more pictures and reviews. Thanks for viewing.

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Cool 3-D Letter Storefront Signage in Tokyo

If this sign was in Canada, someone would definitely try and steal a letter, or knock it off just to be stupid........ but if one were to fall off by accident, then no problem. The letter from behind will take it's place.

Emergency Button in Toilet Stall

I'm not sure if I've ever posted a emergency button picture from within a toilet stall before? If so, here's another one. I've always wondered what happens when you press the button? Does the entire staff run into the stall to make sure you haven't fallen in? Do they send in a robot with a try of toilet related items? Does the entire bathroom lights go red and a buzzer goes off as the toilet starts to drop into the floor and converts into an emergency bomb shelter? And if you press it accidentily or on purpose, would you be fined or arrested for putting the scare on the staff? I'm so curious...... yes, another iPhone picture.......

Waiting for the Train along the Yamanote Line

My wife and I waiting for the train at the Otsuka Station along the Yamanote Line in Tokyo. I loved the 70's feel to the colours of the seats and the billboards behind us.... Yes, taken with the iPhone but adjusted in Photoscape on my laptop........

Necessity is the Mother of Invention....Phone Booths in Japan

So far we can see how far advanced the pop machines are in Japan. I still think there should be a pop machine museum don't you? Wouldn't you pay to go and see that? Anyway, since people like convenience here, and because Japanese love variety, you can see how pop machines have advanced here over the years. Light years ahead of N.America for sure.

But how have phone booths fared in this land of cell phones? Well, take a look. Not so good..... I almost laugh when I see a public phone in Japan...... you know, many of them aren't even bolted down. Anyone could steal a public phone as easily as stealing a garbage can. Pretty sad isn't it? Look at the colour of the machines, look at the colour of the walls. Nobody wants to advertise near these things. I took this shot in the 3rd busiest station in Tokyo during rush hour, and still, this is how it looks over here in this corner......

Kamen Rider Drink!!

What's that between the Kilimanjaro ice coffee drink and Dydo's Energy Gym drink with Royal Jelly? For serious? A Kamen Rider drink?!?! Why didn't I buy it and drink it? What was I thinking?

What is Kamen Rider? It was a TV show that was still airing in Japan before I even left for Canada. The night before we left for Canada (I was only 3 but this memory is still very vivid in my mind) we all went out to eat and my grandma bought me and my other two brothers Kamen Rider action figures....... good times..... and now it's a drink! Want to know more about Kamen Rider? Check out this link

Vending Machines in Girl's Anime District

As mentioned on earlier entries, vending machines in Japan can be very specialized, appealing to a specific market in a specific area. You go from Ginza to Otsuka, the same company will sell different drinks (and at different prices) based on the neighbourhood. Makes sense. Well, in Sunshine City district, there is this one block stretch of shops that specialize in girl anime and manga, and guess what the pop machines look like, only on this block? You got it, girl anime themed pop machines!! Amazing!! And it's not just the outside of the machine that's decorated anime style, but the drinks themselves are different!!

Jinglish Signs in Tokyo

Some Jinglish signs.......

Sign Shops in Japan

You would assume that since Japan has a plethora of unique signs on everthing and everywhere, that the sign shops themselves must look spectacular right? Huge floating neon signs, colour changing 3D spinning letters. Something awesome looking right? A sign shop should showcase what they can do, what they can build. It should attract attention? No? I've attached a picture of the sign shop I work at in Vancouver (well, North Vancouver actually).....



And here's a sign shop in Tokyo.....



I don't know. I'm a bit confused. The sign shop I work at is reasonably humble compared to some sign shops I've seen, but compared to this place in Tokyo, our shop looks loud and gaudy, while the shop in Tokyo looks so plain...... like a pair of disposable chopsticks...... hmmmm

What Does Bike Riding Have to Do with Smoking?

Unlike North America, Japan can still explicitly advertise and promote smoking products, including selling cigarettes in vending machines and attaching silly pictures like this. Most of the advertising consists either of a sexy girl, or a cool guy. This one has a guy riding a bike, as if smoking and riding a bicycle have something in common. I can understand a guy smoking while on a motorcycle, but on a bicycle? Only in Japan I guess......

Haagen-Dazs in Japan

I think I've mentioned Haagen-Dazs in an older post, but they are really awesome in Japan. They actually have retail locations and make really good parfaits and other treats, just like Dairy Queen. My favorite is green tea with azuki beans and mochi!! You can't get that in Canada!! I noticed that even their standard flavours are different than the ones you can get over here. This one is my favorite: Milk Classic. How can I describe it? It's milky..... it's like those Japanese milk candies, you know that flavour? Well, they've managed to capture that flavour and put it into an icecream. My wife's favorite flavour in Canada is chocolate covered almonds in vanilla icecream (aka Vanilla Swiss Almond), but in Japan, they have the exact same thing, but with salty Macedamia nuts!! So good..... and do you notice they have the small individual sizes? In Canada, we only have the one size, 500 ml. It's too big for one person to finish in a single sitting, but not enough for 2. The single serving size is just perfect. In fact, big enough so you can try more than a single flavour!! Me likes!!

Cartier in Ginza

My wife and I were sitting in Ito-ya in Ginza (largest stationary store in Tokyo I think, and one of the coolest as well) and looking across at the Cartier store. Not only did they have a door man, but they had another person just inside the door. His only job was to bow and greet every guest as they walked in. My wife just had to go check it out so we did walk in. Unlike many high end stores, they were very nice and genuine (you can sort of tell by the way they smile not only with their mouth, but with their eyes.....). As we walked away from the store, I just noticed how gorgeous the building was!! Ginza is such a nice place to just walk around, people watch, building watch.......I love the wavy building behind Cartier. It's De Beers. Of course it is!!

Corn Soup in a Can?

I did finally try corn soup in a can from a vending machine......it definitely wasn't the best corn soup I've had (nobody makes corn soup like a good Chinese restaurant though.......) but considering it came from a can, it was acceptable. I appreciated the twist-off cap as well, so that I can shake the soup to get more of the corn that's settled to the bottom as I drink it down. I had a red bean pudding in a can and it didn't have a twist-off cap, so I lost much of the red bean at the very bottom once all the soup was gone!! What a waste!! Would I drink it again? In a bind I might. Maybe it's really cold, late, I'm walking back to the apartment, and I just need a little pick-me-up, and a can of hot tea won't do, I'd say a can of warm corn soup may just hit the spot!!

Wood-Grain Vending Machine?

If we haven't seen it all, I found a wood grained patterned vending machine......how cool is that? If only the recycling bin was similarly patterned and coloured........

Animated Picture

I thought just for fun that I'd convert one of my Tokyo pics into a cartoon, sort of an 'ode to manga' since I grew up reading (well, it was more about looking at the pictures for me!!) manga. The image just seemed so orchestrated: a cyclist going one way, a jogger going the other, contrast between an old rusted out building and perfectly Japanese looking trees and foilage......

15 Vending Machines in a Row?

It's not uncommon to see 4-5 machines lined up in a row in Japan. I don't know the logic of it, except that maybe when there's more machines, there's more choice, so more people tend to gravitate towards it, versus having a solitary machine by itself offering less choice?

Anyway, in Sunshine City, there's this alley that has 15 vending machines in a row. There are so many that I can't really take a singular shot of it, but here's the link on Google Maps. Just scroll across and see all the machines!! Insane or what?

You can see also that most vending machines have their own recycling units, so you don't have pop cans littered everywhere. Also, in Japan, it's considered rude to eat and drink in public, especially if you're walking, so many will buy a drink in front of a machine, drink quickly, and then immediately recycle the can....... very honourable...... but 15 machines in a row? Really?

Proactiv Vending Machine?

In Japan, they sell more than just drinks in vending machines. Some odd machines are known for selling jeans and used underwear, but these are not the norm. However, specialized vending machines are common, as you will soon see with my upcoming posts. Unlike N.America, where machines across the continent basically sell the exact same thing and look pretty much exactly the same, in Japan, there are one-off machines selling just one type of thing.

This huge monster was dedicated to selling Proactiv skin care products..... I found it at the Tokyo Dome City shopping centre (I don't think that's the official name, but you can't miss it.... it has a huge roller-coaster wrapped around the parameter of the complex!!). I know these machines are not only in Japan, but most places have them at airports and other busy transportation hubs where people are travelling and can buy the products 24hrs a day, no salesperson needed. This was at a theme park shopping centre where they could have just put up a Proactiv Kiosk with an actual salesperson... it was kind of out of place for me......

Mega Jidohanbaiki!!

I'm going to do a series on vending machines (jidohanbaiki), and I'll start with the biggest, baddest, and probably the most expensive vending machine I've seen in Japan thus far. It's a walk-in machine made by Mediacure. I assume it's some sort of famous singers theme machine? TVs all along the outside and inside, and full sound. It's bigger than most platform mini convenience stores at the train stations!

This one was located at the Ikebukuro Station along the counterclockwise direction Yamanote-sen (so going towards Shinjuku Sta.). Will this machine ever make it's money back? I don't think so, but clearly this is some sort of marketing campaign, intending to do more than just sell drinks......any ideas? I'm thirsty though.......I feel like a Royal Milk Tea.......

4ft Screen Laptop in Your Trunk?

I just had to take a picture of this..... if only Intel advertised like this in Canada.....to be honest, it'll probably get stolen or vandalized.......parked at the bottom entrance into Times Square just outside Takashimaya in Shinjuku......