Q:Must see photo spots in Tokyo, Kyto & Osaka

[wayne_eddy]

I'm off to Japan in mid-May for 2 weeks on a self guided tour and will be visiting the above cities. For Kyoto and Osaka I will be pretty much right near the main train stations (a short walk to the city), Tokyo accommodation is yet to to be finalized. I'll be planning sites to see over the next few weeks and hope to get some good photo opportunities in as I travel about.

Does anyone have any must see places or great photo places I should think about adding to my itinery?

I'm anticipating taking the 40D, 17-70mm and maybe the 10-20mm. I may have to drop the 10-20mm from my lens kit as I really want to travel lightly.

Thanks for your input!

[whoadude]

The rainbow bridge was one of my favorite things to photograph in Tokyo. Do it at night though, youll need a tripod or something to take a long exposure.

[Dorman]

I'm at work and just checking briefly, I'll report back with some must see spots. I lived in Osaka before I was into photography, very jealous.

[poketako808]

hey wayne .. like whoadude said, rainbow bridge at night is great! you can also do the whole 'tourist' thing and hit tokyo tower or mori tower (in roppongi) for night shots. you can check harajuku on sunday mornings for cosplay girls. daikanyama is also a cool place to get some urban stuff. if you head north, ueno park is a good place to stroll or visit some museums.

kyoto is the opposite of tokyo. probably the highest concentration of temples in japan. most look the same or offer similar views, but kiyomizu probably has the best overall. i'd suggest arashiyama for the bamboo forest in northwest kyoto. fushimi in the southeast has fushimi inari with their thousands of torii (gates).

haven't explored osaka as much. osaka castle is ok, but nothing in comparison to himeji castle (60 minutes southwest of osaka). umeda sky building is good to get up high, but not much to see. osaka kaiyukan aquarium is also a nice place to visit.

things of note .. buy your cf cards locally. you'll pay almost double in japan. if you're exploring on your own check out this site to help navigate the train stations/routes you'll be using. http://grace.hyperdia.com/cgi-english/hyperWeb.cgi

hope this helps!

[wayne_eddy]

hey wayne .. like whoadude said, rainbow bridge at night is great! you can also do the whole 'tourist' thing and hit tokyo tower or mori tower (in roppongi) for night shots. you can check harajuku on sunday mornings for cosplay girls. daikanyama is also a cool place to get some urban stuff. if you head north, ueno park is a good place to stroll or visit some museums.

kyoto is the opposite of tokyo. probably the highest concentration of temples in japan. most look the same or offer similar views, but kiyomizu probably has the best overall. i'd suggest arashiyama for the bamboo forest in northwest kyoto. fushimi in the southeast has fushimi inari with their thousands of torii (gates).

haven't explored osaka as much. osaka castle is ok, but nothing in comparison to himeji castle (60 minutes southwest of osaka). umeda sky building is good to get up high, but not much to see. osaka kaiyukan aquarium is also a nice place to visit.

things of note .. buy your cf cards locally. you'll pay almost double in japan. if you're exploring on your own check out this site to help navigate the train stations/routes you'll be using. http://grace.hyperdia.com/cgi-english/hyperWeb.cgi

hope this helps!


I'm hoping to get my cards burned to DVD over there rather than stack up on cards. I expect there will be plenty of oppertunity for that. What do you think?

[poketako808]

burning your images to disc is also a good idea .. if you bring a laptop. most internet cafe's use japanese keyboards and OSs, though key location is the same as english keyboards. some hotels have public computers in english or yahoo! cafes, but you'll need to supply your own discs.

also .. carry a plastic bag to cover your camera as May often has a few showers in tokyo. you should be ok in kyoto and osaka. check the weather so you're prepared.

[wayne_eddy]

burning your images to disc is also a good idea .. if you bring a laptop. most internet cafe's use japanese keyboards and OSs, though key location is the same as english keyboards. some hotels have public computers in english or yahoo! cafes, but you'll need to supply your own discs.

also .. carry a plastic bag to cover your camera as May often has a few showers in tokyo. you should be ok in kyoto and osaka. check the weather so you're prepared.

I was kind of hoping there would be plenty of camera/print shops around that would burn to DVD for a charge. When I was in Northern Thailand (a long way from Nippon!) there were print shops on every block.

[poketako808]

i haven't looked into stores that backup to DVD for a charge, but i'm sure the service is offered. tokyo has a lot of camera stores but it depends on where you are. the big names are yodabashi (shinjuku, akihabara, ueno), bic camera (ikebukuro, shinjuku, shibuya) and sakuraya (shinjuku). *these are also good places to find used lenses!

[Dorman]

Popping back in, I would look at one of several memory solutions:
1. Buy more CF cards to take with you - they are quite inexpensive these days. If you need more room you could consider shooting jpeg as well.
2. Take a portable burner. I had a device called a roadstor when I went to asia for 1.5 years (wasn't intending to have a pc). I could burn to disc directly from my CF cards.
3. Get a portable harddrive viewer like some of the Epsons.

In terms of places to see - you can easily spend a lot of time in Tokyo and Kyoto. Tokyo for the urban sprawl and hustle & bustle, and Kyoto for the temples, shrines, and so fourth. I'll steer away from commenting too much on these unless you have specific questions as the must see places here are pretty well documented. Two places in Kyoto that I do recommend you check out are:

Kinkakuji (http://www.sacred-destinations.com/japan/kyoto-kinkakuji.htm)(the Golden Pavilion)
Fushimi Inari Taisha (http://www.sacred-destinations.com/japan/kyoto-fushimi-inari.htm) this is one of the most famous shrines, and it's a long walk up the hill!

In Osaka the usual culprits are the Umeda Sky Building, Amemura (America Town), The Dotombori bridge, Osaka Castle, and the Osaka Aquarium. You can easily hit all these places in a day or two - I'd actually recommend skipping Osaka castle but definitely recommend the Aquarium - very cool indeed. I'd recommend really exploring the streets of Osaka, the food, and the vibe. It's a very vibrant city with an energy completely different than Tokyo. I lived in Osaka for a year and often miss it.

Two things I would wholeheartedly recommend (and both are day trips from Osaka)
1. Nara - a town full of free roaming "sacred" deer and is a nice change from the concrete of the urban sprawls of osaka/tokyo. I would check out Todaiji (http://www.sacred-destinations.com/japan/nara-todaiji.htm) (Great Eastern Temple) which is located inside of Nara Park - amazing temple that houses a giant buddha.

2. Himeji Castle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himeji_Castle) - this is a much better experience than Osaka castle and isn't too far of a trek.

If you have any questions feel free to ask here or shoot me a pm. Have a great trip!

[sjones]

Wherever you are, take a little time to go into the side streets coursing through the residential areas.