Anybody living in Japan?

Greetings - Fireworks in Kamogawa.
Cheers, John

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Always looking forward to meeting new folks here!
I am in Chiba (Kamogawa).
Photos at: http://kamogawa.smugmu​g.com/
Above photo:
9 second exposure
Tripod IS Off
70mm (70-200 f/2.8L)
f/10
ISO200
Bulb Setting
John

very nice hanabi shot, well done !

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Lovely fireworks shot, John!

We've got several festivals going on down here soon, so I'll get myself in gear and add some shots soon.

Regards,

Simon

Omatsuri!!!!!!!!!
I went to this one. A W E S O M E!
I was on television last week and several people recognized me at the festival. Beer and Chu-Hi were free! Wow!

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What are the Canon prices like in Japan? Worth sending cash with a friend?

Greetings DjTrex -
US$ is very weak and does not buy much yen when converted. Prices of cameras and lenses here are more expensive than B&H in almost all cases even without weak US$. I bought all lenses with one exception from the USA and even with shipping and 5% consumption tax, the lenses were cheaper than Japan prices. I don't have MapCamera prices, but Yodobashi and Bic Camera are very expensive. It always amazes me that Japanese cameras and lenses are more expensive here than abroad. I am paid in Japanese yen, so USA prices are currently very reasonable. I hope others living here will confirm my opinion which is to avoid purchasing here at the moment. I'll post a Yodobashi comparison later.
Cheers,
John

Comparison. Yen to Dollar conversion = 86 (today's rate) yen to US$1
Canon 100-400L at B&H $1589 (imported version) $1610 Regular version
Yodobashi in Japan 196,000 yen = $2279 - A difference of more than $650!
Yes, there are cheaper stores than Yodobashi, but none can beat B&H or other popular camera outlets in the USA.
Cheers,
John

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I'll add to what Jon said:

You can sometimes get bargains in Japan if you're paying cash for several high-end items, you're already on first-name terms with the assistant, the owner of the camera shop is out, and the person you're dealing with is suffering from a hangover from too much nihon-shū!

Other from that, you're probably better off buying in your own country.

The only time I got "bahgins" in Japan was on "sodai-gomi" day...large garbage day that came 2x a year as the country's salary men were uprooted by their company and moved...as it cost too much to move all their belongings they used it as an excuse to 'upgrade' and left all their big stuff by the curb....

Furnished nearly my entire apartment that day...that way, and from "recycle" (thrift) shops where a neighborhood entrepreneur/retiree would fix and sell all sorts of used stuff, a real good will store for locals...

If any good deals on photo gear (and golf gear) are to be found Japan, it would be there.

I had done volunteer work at a social rehabilitation center where I made bento (lunch boxes) and stuffed chopsticks into those paper sleeves, and recommended that they stick up flyers all around town asking people to donate their sodai-gomi for its annual flea market/garage sale, rather than throw it away, and over the next few years they "take" jumped from $500 to $5000....

up here where I am we only have Yodobashi or Yamada denki...not many options, used gear I would only buy from someone I know and trusted...local pawn type places are pretty much out to make as much as they can and I don`t trust em. K`s are a ways out of town but doable by train. Hard Off generally don`t know much about what they sell unless you find a staff member who is a photographer. I buy lots of guitars on line and in those places but not really as delicate as photography equipment. Looked at a bunch of used lenses at a shop run by an old guy and his wife but they all had too much dust in em to consider. So the chain shops are my only choices here and that means new, but on rare occasions they have sales...much of the Tamron stuff right now at Yodobashi so I took advantage this week but the Canon stuff is rarely on sale. They have the 5D II at 220,000 yen...not cheap enough to tempt me just yet, but maybe if something gets released soon they`ll drop the price lower...we`ll see.

kitacanon wrote in post #10687120
The only time I got "bahgins" in Japan was on "sodai-gomi" day...large garbage day that came 2x a year as the country's salary men were uprooted by their company and moved...as it cost too much to move all their belongings they used it as an excuse to 'upgrade' and left all their big stuff by the curb....

I remember those...they were great. All the foreign teachers at the junior college I used to work in would come in and talk about the stuff they`d found the following day...now people have to pay the city to come by and pick things up...just ain`t the same eh.

a few pics taken locally...

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nice pics, it reminds me of Yosakoi matsuri !

here is one from Kyoto :

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