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On May 3rd, I arrived in Tokyo, Japan via Narita International Airport from LAX. The goal of the trip: take a lot of pictures, see Tokyo, Kyoto and Takasaki, and get some work done while visiting a friend and his family. Mission: Accomplished.

I’ve taken nearly 1,000 photos, learned how to use Lightroom, visited my buddy Jason Weddington (friend and down-right one of the best photographers… ever), and took in some sights in Tokyo, Takasaki and Kyoto.

Tokyo

For the most part in Tokyo we kicked it around Akihabara, venturing off to Shinjuku, Tochomae, Asakusa and Kabukicho, all by train of subway (or foot)… with the exception of Asakusa, that was a cab ride.

Recommendations:

1. Asakusa Temple, get there pretty early (before 8am), you’ll get the opportunity to check the sights before anyone is there for the most part, and by the time you’re done wandering about – the shops and eating spots will have opened up. If you’re one of “those” travelers, there’s even a Denny’s just across the street from the shops.
2. Akihabara, around a two to three block radius in any (or all) directions from around Akihabara Station is where it’s at if you’re into anime, random shopping, pretty damn good food, side-street bars serving kick ass sake, and just an all around awesome urban-Tokyo experience. It’s easy to get to, Akihabara station is pretty large, and getting there from elsewhere in Tokyo is mindless.
3. Shinjuku was great if you’re into getting to the top of a huge building, and staring at Tokyo from 45 stories up above a completely symmetrical work of architectural accuracy that’s just mind-boggling. If that’s not your thing, skip it, but you shouldn’t. Just sayin’.
4. Kabukicho… If you’re looking for adventure, we found strip clubs, some layer of prostitution, but no niche porn shops or anything of entertaining value other than seedy clubs in back-alleys. I didn’t attempt to photograph anything in this part of town, it didn’t look dangerous by any means, but it wasn’t very tourist-friendly (feeling), and I wasn’t about to upset the order of things by snapping photos of gnarly security people outside of strip joints in a foreign land. We also went at about noon… on a Thursday, not exactly the time to go check out a happening night-life part of town, perhaps.

Kyoto

For about ¥11000 (from Tokyo) you can take the Shinkansen to Kyoto, and get there – not only pretty damn fast – but on one of the most kick ass modes of transportation on the Earth. Average travel velocity, on an express train to Kyoto, is about 164mph when it’s really rolling.

Recommendations:

1. Fushimiinari Taisha Shrine
2. Tōfuku-ji Temple
3. Kyoto Ryozen Gokoku Shrine

… Actually, you know what? Just go to Kyoto. There’s so much amazing history in this city, you just can’t list off enough places, I know I can’t, I’ve only been there once — and it was for a single day of a 2 week trip. I could spend an entire month in Kyoto and just burn through hard drive space with photos… It’s that good.

As for Takasaki, I like it quiet. Stay the heck away, you get no recommendations from me about this city, but I will say — it’s a great city to get a feel for the real Japan, outside of massive cities like Tokyo and Kyoto. I can’t wait to come back to Japan for the third time, but first – a trip to Peru is in order.

05.12.11 • posted in: Travel