Trip to Japan

  1. 1 Friday 2023-12-29: Shinjuku
  2. 2 Saturday 2023-12-30: Shibuya and Shinjuku
    1. 2.1 First lunch: Shio ramen
    2. 2.2 Extreme camera shopping
    3. 2.3 Second lunch: Unaju
    4. 2.4 Dinner: Omakase
  3. 3 Sunday, 2023-12-31: Ginza
    1. 3.1 Rainy breakfast
    2. 3.2 Extreme shopping in Ginza
    3. 3.3 Train photography at Ochanomizu
    4. 3.4 Dinner: Yakiniku
  4. 4 Monday, 2024-01-01: Train to Kyoto
    1. 4.1 First lunch: Ekiben
    2. 4.2 Second Lunch: Kyoto cuisine
    3. 4.3 Kyoto strolling
    4. 4.4 Dinner: Kaiseki
  5. 5 Tuesday, 2024-01-02: Kyoto and Uji
    1. 5.1 Kiyomizu-dera
    2. 5.2 Uji
    3. 5.3 Train photography at Kyoto Station
    4. 5.4 Dinner: Normal sushi
  6. 6 Wednesday, 2024-01-03: Pontocho and train back to Tokyo
    1. 6.1 Breakfast: Japanese breakfast
    2. 6.2 Train ride to Tokyo
    3. 6.3 Dinner: Unitora Tsukiji
  7. 7 Thursday, 2024-01-04: Flight to Hong Kong

In December 2023 to January 2024, Joanne and I went to Japan! We went to Tokyo and Kyoto. Right afterwards, we went to Macau and Zhuhai, which will be covered in a next blog post.

As always, these pictures are available in full resolution and are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 4.0 license.

FIGURE 1 Trains at Ochanomizu.

1 Friday 2023-12-29: Shinjuku

In the afternoon we arrived in Tokyo Narita airport via Zipair flight ZG029. We took the Keisei Skyliner and then the Yamanote line to the Hotel Washington in Shinjuku. The hotel room was really small.

FIGURE 2 View from the hotel room. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF23mmF4 R LM WR, 23.0 mm, F5.7, 1/12 s, ISO 100.

At night we had dinner with Andrew, a good friend of mine who lives in Japan! We had various types of food at an izakaya.

FIGURE 3 Sashimi boat. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F1.7, 1/44 s, ISO 400.
FIGURE 4 A corridor on the way back to the hotel. Feels like a liminal space. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F4, 1/44 s, ISO 1000.

2 Saturday 2023-12-30: Shibuya and Shinjuku

FIGURE 5 Morning view of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building from our hotel room. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF23mmF4 R LM WR, 23.0 mm, F4, 1/37 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 6 Waiting for the bus to Yoyogi. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF23mmF4 R LM WR, 23.0 mm, F5.7, 1/29 s, ISO 100.

We went to Yoyogi for breakfast and then Shibuya for strolling around. We got some delicious pastries at 365 days.

FIGURE 7 Pastries! LEICA Q2 with SUMMILUX 1:1.7/28 ASPH., 28.0 mm, ISO 100.
FIGURE 8 An adorable shiba inu. FUJIFILM GFX100S with 180, 180.0 mm, (0/0), 1/269 s, ISO 400.
FIGURE 9 The dense streets. FUJIFILM GFX100S with 180, 180.0 mm, (0/0), 1/269 s, ISO 2000.

Then we went to Shibuya!

FIGURE 10 FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF23mmF4 R LM WR, 23.0 mm, F5.7, 1/144 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 11 Mitsuoka Buddy, a strange Japanese phenomenon. Sorry the photo is out of focus but the car is too weird not to share. FUJIFILM GFX100S with 180, 180.0 mm, (0/0), 1/269 s, ISO 800.

We went to Kitamura, a camera store, but didn’t buy anything. I got to try out the Sigma 105mm f/1.4 though, which is amazing. I have to save up money and work out my muscles to get that lens sometime in the future…

FIGURE 12 FUJIFILM GFX100S with V105mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art 018, 105.0 mm, F1.4, 1/247 s, ISO 100.

Afterwards, we went back to Shinjuku, where I went to MapCamera for extreme camera shopping, but first, lunch!

2.1 First lunch: Shio ramen

We had lunch at Menya Kaijin. It’s Tokyo-style shio ramen. Despite the name meaning “salt ramen”, the broth is seafood-based and extremely flavorful. It was served with a couple of chicken meatballs.

FIGURE 13 Lunch at Menya Kaijin. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F1.7, 1/44 s, ISO 500.

2.2 Extreme camera shopping

Due to the weak yen and lack of sales tax, it is advantageous to buy certain kinds of camera gear in Japan. Therefore, I went to MapCamera in Shinjuku!

There, I bought a Sigma Art 70mm f/2.8 and a Fringer EF-GFX adapter. This lens is suitable for taking pictures of sushi for dinner, while covering the medium format sensor adequately for general use.

FIGURE 14 Test shot with the lens. What better way to test it out than taking a picture of another camera store? FUJIFILM GFX100S with SIGMA 70mm F2.8 DG MACRO A018, 70.0 mm, F4.9, 1/71 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 15 Another test shot. FUJIFILM GFX100S with SIGMA 70mm F2.8 DG MACRO A018, 70.0 mm, F5.7, 1/290 s, ISO 100.

2.3 Second lunch: Unaju

Equipped with the new lens, we had second lunch at Shinjuku Unatetsu with Shiro, another good friend! This was grilled eel over rice (unaju). It was extremely delicious and vastly superior to unagi you can get in the US. Unlike American restaurants that drench it in overly sweet sauce, the charcoal-grilled unagi here was minimally seasoned, allowing you to taste the deliciousness of the fish itself and the smoky flavor of the grill. The eel was very fatty and melted in my mouth.

FIGURE 16 Unaju. FUJIFILM GFX100S with SIGMA 70mm F2.8 DG MACRO A018, 70.0 mm, F2.8, 1/70 s, ISO 1250.

Then we had a coffee and walked around randomly in the Shinjuku area.

FIGURE 17 FUJIFILM GFX100S with SIGMA 70mm F2.8 DG MACRO A018, 70.0 mm, F6.3, 1/70 s, ISO 250.

Well, it’s back to the 55mm lens which is sharper overall and better at night.

FIGURE 18 FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F2, 1/44 s, ISO 125.
FIGURE 19 FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F2, 1/44 s, ISO 250.
FIGURE 20 FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F1.7, 1/44 s, ISO 640.

2.4 Dinner: Omakase

We had dinner at Shinjuku Sushi Tsumogi. Its tabelog rating wasn’t the highest but the food quality was still excellent. However, the chef, an old man, was rather carefree in his approach and often threw stuff around. Overall, we were very satisfied.

FIGURE 21 Katsuo. FUJIFILM GFX100S with SIGMA 70mm F2.8 DG MACRO A018, 70.0 mm, F2.8, 1/70 s, ISO 640.
FIGURE 22 Kinmedai. FUJIFILM GFX100S with SIGMA 70mm F2.8 DG MACRO A018, 70.0 mm, F3.5, 1/70 s, ISO 1600.
FIGURE 23 Anago. For some reason, anago is ubiquitous and cheap in Japan but rare in the US. FUJIFILM GFX100S with SIGMA 70mm F2.8 DG MACRO A018, 70.0 mm, F3.5, 1/70 s, ISO 1600.
FIGURE 24 Otoro. FUJIFILM GFX100S with SIGMA 70mm F2.8 DG MACRO A018, 70.0 mm, F3.5, 1/70 s, ISO 1600.

3 Sunday, 2023-12-31: Ginza

3.1 Rainy breakfast

FIGURE 25 Rainy morning. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF23mmF4 R LM WR, 23.0 mm, F5.7, 1/63 s, ISO 100.

We woke up to a rainy morning and had a hankering for traditional Japanese breakfast but all the places were closed for new year’s. So we ended up getting ramen at Zundou-ya. It was decent and quite affordable.

FIGURE 26 Ramen. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF23mmF4 R LM WR, 23.0 mm, F4, 1/18 s, ISO 500.

For second breakfast, we went to Renoir and got a mille crepe along with some coffee. The mille crepe was pretty bad.

FIGURE 27 Mille crepe at Renoir. FUJIFILM GFX100S with SIGMA 70mm F2.8 DG MACRO A018, 70.0 mm, F2.8, 1/70 s, ISO 500.

3.2 Extreme shopping in Ginza

FIGURE 28 FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF23mmF4 R LM WR, 23.0 mm, F5.7, 1/58 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 29 FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF23mmF4 R LM WR, 23.0 mm, F5.7, 1/162 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 30 FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF23mmF4 R LM WR, 23.0 mm, F4, 1/168 s, ISO 100.

In the end we just went to Itoya and Muji and got some small items. Apparently, the Muji flagship store in Ginza sells groceries! So we bought some tomatoes. It’s hard to get vegetables in Japan.

For lunch we went to shabu shabu Kisoji. It was really hard to find an open restaurant for some reason due to the time of day and the fact that it’s new year’s eve. But it ended up tasting decent anyway.

3.3 Train photography at Ochanomizu

While Joanne was shopping, I took a train to Ochanomizu to take pictures.

FIGURE 31 The E353 series of the Chuo Main Line. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F1.7, 1/209 s, ISO 6400.
FIGURE 32 The Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F1.7, 1/300 s, ISO 6400.

In theory, three trains could show up at the same time, but I didn’t manage to see that happen.

In order to freeze the train motion I had to bump the ISO up to 6400 which caused the photos to be grainy. Modern deep learning denoising algorithms can probably fix that but I’m faffing around with Darktable, which currently doesn’t have advanced denoising yet. To make matters worse, the lighting changed significantly between the shots and I shifted the camera a bit accidentally, so it’s hard to composite them.

3.4 Dinner: Yakiniku

For dinner we went back to Shinjuku.

FIGURE 33 Random postal van. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F1.7, 1/37 s, ISO 1600.

We had the set menu at 29 Terrace Shinjuku Gyoen. It was a lot of meat and we couldn’t finish all of it, but it was pretty good.

FIGURE 34 Meats expectations. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F3.2, 1/44 s, ISO 160.

4 Monday, 2024-01-01: Train to Kyoto

We took the shinkansen to Kyoto! It’s a two and a half hour ride from Tokyo Station to Kyoto Station via the Nozomi Shinkansen. Almost all the trains on this route are some variant of the N700 series.

FIGURE 35 N700A series. FUJIFILM GFX100S with 180, 180.0 mm, (0/0), 1/1287 s, ISO 800.

4.1 First lunch: Ekiben

FIGURE 36 Ekiben FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F4.4, 1/91 s, ISO 1600.

4.2 Second Lunch: Kyoto cuisine

FIGURE 37 Kyoto station. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF23mmF4 R LM WR, 23.0 mm, F5.7, 1/18 s, ISO 100.

Kyoto cuisine is characterized by greater emphasis on vegetables and tofu. Hungry, we went into a random restaurant — Ichifuji in Kyoto Station. It was not bad.

FIGURE 38 FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F2.8, 1/55 s, ISO 400.

For tea time we went to one of the Tsujiri locations near Kyoto Station. As you know, the Kyoto region (particularly Uji, which is right next to Kyoto) produces lots of matcha. In recent years there has been an explosion in popularity of matcha-based desserts and drinks, so various matcha shops, taking advantage of this popularity, have set up locations everywhere in Kyoto.

FIGURE 39 Hot vs cold matcha drinks. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F1.7, 1/44 s, ISO 125.

4.3 Kyoto strolling

FIGURE 40 This clam noodle shop had a long line so we didn’t go. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F5.7, 1/86 s, ISO 100.

We checked into our charming hotel: Tanimachi-kun (谷町君 ホテルひとめぼれ). It was amazing! Vastly more comfortable and spacious than our Tokyo one. Vastly.

FIGURE 41 FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF23mmF4 R LM WR, 23.0 mm, F4, 1/20 s, ISO 800.

Right after I took a shower, we experienced an earthquake. There was some prolonged strong shaking but nothing fell.

FIGURE 42 Pizza hut next to our hotel. We didn’t eat there but I just thought it looks cool. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF23mmF4 R LM WR, 23.0 mm, F4, 1/18 s, ISO 400.
FIGURE 43 River views. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F1.7, 1/44 s, ISO 1250.
FIGURE 44 A taxi blocked my view of this nice gate. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F2.8, 1/44 s, ISO 800.

4.4 Dinner: Kaiseki

We went to Yamahei for new year’s kaiseki. The theme is the fusion of French and Japanese cooking. I’ll save you the scrolling through a huge amount of courses but here are some highlights.

FIGURE 45 Osechi. FUJIFILM GFX100S with SIGMA 70mm F2.8 DG MACRO A018, 70.0 mm, F2.8, 1/70 s, ISO 2500.
FIGURE 46 Seasonal matsuba crab legs poached in crab broth in crab shell. FUJIFILM GFX100S with SIGMA 70mm F2.8 DG MACRO A018, 70.0 mm, F2.8, 1/70 s, ISO 1600.
FIGURE 47 Omi beef. FUJIFILM GFX100S with SIGMA 70mm F2.8 DG MACRO A018, 70.0 mm, F2.8, 1/70 s, ISO 3200.
FIGURE 48 Dessert. FUJIFILM GFX100S with SIGMA 70mm F2.8 DG MACRO A018, 70.0 mm, F2.8, 1/70 s, ISO 2000.

5 Tuesday, 2024-01-02: Kyoto and Uji

5.1 Kiyomizu-dera

In the morning we went to Kiyomizu-dera. Even in the early morning it was already crowded.

FIGURE 49 FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF23mmF4 R LM WR, 23.0 mm, F4.9, 1/137 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 50 And with this obligatory shot, the Leica Apo-Telyt-R 180mm f/3.4 has fulfilled its purpose on this trip. FUJIFILM GFX100S with 180, 180.0 mm, (0/0), 1/362 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 51 Geisha district on the walk back. FUJIFILM GFX100S with 180, 180.0 mm, (0/0), 1/269 s, ISO 1600.

5.2 Uji

FIGURE 52 At the station taking the train to Uji. We took the faster train on the right. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F1.7, 1/537 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 53 Uji river. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F5.7, 1/478 s, ISO 100.

We got a quick lunch at Uji Washokuya.

FIGURE 54 Curry. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F2.8, 1/44 s, ISO 200.

Then we went to Tokichi Nakamura Uji Honten and got a Maruto parfait, only available in their main store. There was a huge line so we had to wait a while to get in. In fact, we had put our names down on the waitlist as soon as we arrived in Uji. The parfait was okay.

FIGURE 55 Maruto parfait. FUJIFILM GFX100S with SIGMA 70mm F2.8 DG MACRO A018, 70.0 mm, F2.8, 1/39 s, ISO 3200.

5.3 Train photography at Kyoto Station

FIGURE 56 Kyoto Tower. FUJIFILM GFX100S with SIGMA 70mm F2.8 DG MACRO A018, 70.0 mm, F5.7, 1/709 s, ISO 100.

While Joanne was shopping, I took some photos of trains. The lighting was bad but I still got some pictures.

FIGURE 57 Trains!!! FUJIFILM GFX100S with 180, 180.0 mm, (0/0), 1/1226 s, ISO 800.
FIGURE 58 Trains!!! FUJIFILM GFX100S with 180, 180.0 mm, (0/0), 1/1820 s, ISO 800.
FIGURE 59 Houses. FUJIFILM GFX100S with 180, 180.0 mm, (0/0), 1/269 s, ISO 2500.
FIGURE 60 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia. FUJIFILM GFX100S with 180, 180.0 mm, (0/0), 1/269 s, ISO 800.

5.4 Dinner: Normal sushi

We got some sushi at Izugen, a highly acclaimed local cheap sushi spot known for its authentic Kyoto-style sushi. Kyoto-style sushi includes oshizushi and vegetable-based sushi. However, after all, we prefer raw fish.

FIGURE 61 Sushi moriawase. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F2.8, 1/44 s, ISO 2000.

We also got another plate focusing on Kyoto-style sushi but I didn’t get a good picture due to bad skills leading to an overexposed and out of focus shot.

We tried to get second dinner of yakitori but all the places were closed due to new year’s, or full. After walking around for a very long time, we couldn’t find any. So we ended up having only instant noodles from Lawson — very sad.

6 Wednesday, 2024-01-03: Pontocho and train back to Tokyo

6.1 Breakfast: Japanese breakfast

We had traditional Japanese breakfast at Sanga Ono. It was quite good.

FIGURE 62 Ochazuke set. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F4, 1/44 s, ISO 125.

Then we walked around and did some sightseeing.

FIGURE 63 I thought the cranes were mythical creatures but there really is a real one in this shot. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F5.7, 1/92 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 64 There’s another crane in this shot. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F5.7, 1/198 s, ISO 100.

6.2 Train ride to Tokyo

FIGURE 65 Wagyu ekiben. I stole a crab limb from Joanne’s kani meshi. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F4.4, 1/89 s, ISO 1600.
FIGURE 66 Obligatory Fuji Mountain photography from the train. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F3.6, 1/2048 s, ISO 400.

We checked into Tokyo Dome Hotel.

FIGURE 67 View from hotel. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F5.7, 1/158 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 68 Also view from hotel, but at night. This was actually taken later but I figured I should put it next to the daytime shot. I’m also honestly amazed at the quality of the Fuji GF 55mm f/1.7 which is super sharp even wide open. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F1.7, 1/13 s, ISO 800.

Then, while Joanne did shopping in Omotesando, I went to Shibuya for some train photography at Miyashita Park.

FIGURE 69 Train photography. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F4, 1/64 s, ISO 800.

I got some really amazing line scan photos but I will have to process them later.

FIGURE 70 Grainy unprocessed preview of line scan photo of E234 series.

After that, I went to find Joanne and took some pics along the way.

FIGURE 71 Pair of Ferraris. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F2, 1/84 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 72 Random building. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F2.8, 1/44 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 73 Food truck. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F1.7, 1/44 s, ISO 500.

6.3 Dinner: Unitora Tsukiji

We had Tsukiji Itadora Unitora Nakadori for dinner. It was extremely delicious! We had five kinds of delicious uni from different parts of Hokkaido, along with otoro sashimi and ikura.

Tsukiji market was pretty barren in the evening but this spot was still open with available seats, no reservation needed! Some other sketchy stores were trying to trick us into going to other restaurants by telling us that everything else was closed, but fortunately, Unitora was still open albeit very hidden.

FIGURE 74 Emperor bowl. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F4, 1/44 s, ISO 1000.

7 Thursday, 2024-01-04: Flight to Hong Kong

In the morning we flew to Hong Kong for the next leg of the trip: Macau and Zhuhai!