Don't miss that photo! (Japan pt. 1)
Jan 10, 04:46 pm
When you go on holiday, you take photos, right? With the tiny size of digital cameras these days, and the massive amounts of storage on them, it’s hard to find a single person that doesn’t throw a camera in their bag whenever they travel. So once you’ve read up on what kind of equipment to take, what are some of the best opportunities for photos?
Reader Sushifairy writes in with some tips on Photo opportunities not to be missed when travelling in Japan:
Harajuku on a Sunday (Tokyo)
To see the cos-play (costume play) people in their full goth/manga/just plain unusual regalia, turn right as you leave the train station at Harajuku in Tokyo. Sunday afternoon is the best time to see groups of young people looking like they’ve just walked out of the pages of a comic book or stepped off the movie set for ‘Blade Runner’.
The Flickr group on Harajuku is a wealth of information.
Kiyomizudera temple, Kyoto (Kyoto)
A beautiful temple at any time, but Autumn really brings out the ‘wow’ factor as the grounds are literally covered with trees that turn all shades of yellow, red, orange and brown.
The climb up / the summit of Mt Fuji (Japan)
Most people aim to reach the top of Fuji by sunrise. Not being in top physical condition, my group had about 1 ½ hours of stunning views (clouds, glittering lakes, smaller peaks) after sun-up to help us get through our pains and reach the summit.
Shibuya walkway (Tokyo)
Famed by countless movies (think ‘Lost in Translation’ for one), the multi-angled zebra crossing in the front of Shibuya station is a must-see on a trip to Tokyo. Photos taken from above or at street level both show the busy chaos that accompanies the green man walking.
Here’s some photos of the crossing.
Ferris wheel on top of Hep 5 building, Osaka (Osaka)
As well as boasting countless shops, the Hep 5 building near Umeda station in Osaka has a big red ferris wheel plopped right on top of it. Operating day and night, you can check out Japan’s third largest city in all its sprawling glory.
A window in any high building in Tokyo (Tokyo)
To get an idea of the sheer vastness that is the metropolis of Tokyo, one can either pay to visit a viewing platform, or, for the financially embarrassed, take a ride in a hotel elevator and look out a bathroom window. Buildings stretch to the horizon in all directions – the city seems to never stop, both in life and in distance.
Snow festival, Sapporo (Sapporo)
As an Australian who had never seen snow until she was 27, a whole festival devoted to the white stuff was fun. From snow sculptures to ice carvings, to marvelling at huge piles of snow on the side of the roads and then making my very first snow man, the snow festival took up the whole memory card of my digital camera.
TBE Travel Tip: If you do want to get up a high building in Tokyo on the cheap, you can’t do much better than the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building which is also commonly referred to as the Tokyo Tochou (City Hall) for short. Both of the massive towers for this building feature observation decks and from the 45th floor (202 metres up) they offer an awesome view of the city, on a clear day you can even make out Mt. Fuji. Best of all, they’re totally free. It’s an easy 10-minute walk from the West exit of Shinjuku Sta. on the JR Yamanote line, just head towards the big buildings in a cluster and the biggest of them all is the Tochou. If you’re coming by subway, it’s directly connected to Tochomae Sta. on the Toei subway Oedo Line.
The best time to visit is in the early morning in winter or right before they close the gates in Summer. If you’re lucky you can have almost the entire floor to yourself. The observatories are generally open between 9:30-17:30 and they stop taking admissions around 30 minutes before closing time. The North Observatory is closed on Monday and the South Observatory is closed on Tuesday and both are closed over the New year period (Des. 30-Jan. 3). Also located in this building is one of the three branches of the Tokyo Metropolitan Tourist Office which features a wealth of free advice and maps for tourists and visitors to Tokyo should definitely stop by and grab a list of things to do, after all – it’s free.
Jan 10, 04:46 pm | Digg this!
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