NIKON Z 8 (26mm, f/2.8, 1/250 sec, ISO400)
After a wonderful dinner with a former business partner we were tired and exhausted. And I caught a cold even though it was far too warm so far.
This is going to be a quieter day. A slow stroll through Yodobashi camera Umeda since it is located in the same building followed by Starbucks where we discovered the most delicate dessert we ever had (in a Starbucks). We kept sharing this little delight whenever we had coffee in a Starbucks.
NIKON Z 8 (26mm, f/2.8, 1/250 sec, ISO250)
NIKON Z 8 (26mm, f/2.8, 1/250 sec, ISO1100)
NIKON Z 8 (26mm, f/2.8, 1/250 sec, ISO1100)
After our coffee it was time for lunch which we had at the same Ramen restaurant where we had dinner on our first night. Conveniently also located in the same building. I took an image of the receipt because I just love those. Of course today with Googletranslate on our phones the mystery is lost. They still look cool though.
After lunch it was time to buy some tissues. Even though should never blow your nose in public there is nothing you can do if you have the sniffles.
The nearest pharmacy surprisingly was not in our building but just across the road and it also sold this. The finest selection of Suntory Whisky that you can find. Even with the weak Yen the 18 year old Yamazaki was almost 1.000 USD. Wow! Guess it makes sense to lock those items up.
NIKON Z 8 (26mm, f/2.8, 1/250 sec, ISO220)
Then we went back in the hotel to relax and recover from yesterday. It was just our fourth day in Japan including the day we landed but we already had enough laundry to use our free time efficiently. We decided to use the hotel laundry when I saw the info screen in our hotel room. We never had that level of comfort. A TV screen that tells you how much longer your laundry will take. We had the machines 1 and 2. All machines were washers and dryers so no need to go down to the laundry to switch machines. Just collect your stuff when the complete cycle is done. Excellent. This is how it should be done!
One word regarding the tissues: By far the softest tissues I have ever used in my life. But they were so thin that you had to use two. Something we got used to in our trips in the USA. Nothing beats the strength of German tissues.
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max (5.1mm, f/1.6, 1/120 sec, ISO40)
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max (5.1mm, f/1.6, 1/120 sec, ISO40)
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max (5.1mm, f/1.6, 1/105 sec, ISO125)
NIKON Z 8 (26mm, f/2.8, 1/250 sec, ISO4500)
After rest and laundry we were ready to go out again for sightseeing and dinner. My wife found a street nearby that is specialised in kitchen items for restaurants. Though we didn’t find anything to bring back home it was still very interesting. They had those food models, pans, chopsticks and knives and more knives.
There were knives to cut your fish for sushi or bigger ones to cut up a whole tuna and even katanas in case you have some unfinished business with your enemies.
I especially loved the many small restaurants and peaked inside with my camera. Luckily my Nikon Z8 is so quick to focus that I went unnoticed when I took those images. The Z8 actually focused on the faces/eyes of the people in the restaurants. I think this is a true game changer considering how small those faces are in the frame. And that is on the tiny Z 26mm F2.8 with its special focus mechanism not on one of the super lenses with twin linear motors like the Z 20mm F 1.8S.
The Nikon Z8 is a street shooters dream though it’s not exactly subtle. But as I have stated here many times already. The size of the camera or lens doesn’t mean as much as photographers think. You are a person with a camera in your face taking pictures. If the camera is huge or tiny changes very little for street shooting. If you don’t want to stick out use your smartphones camera. Nobody shoots with a real camera anymore that’s why you are like a unicorn in most places.
There is one scenario where the size of the camera and lens matters: when you take portraits. People are less afraid of smaller cameras and because of that more relaxed. In that case it makes a huge difference.
NIKON Z 8 (26mm, f/2.8, 1/250 sec, ISO3600)
NIKON Z 8 (26mm, f/2.8, 1/250 sec, ISO4500)
NIKON Z 8 (26mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO1600)
NIKON Z 8 (26mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO250)
NIKON Z 8 (26mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO800)
NIKON Z 8 (26mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO360)
NIKON Z 8 (26mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO1000)
NIKON Z 8 (26mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO640)
Finally we ended in a Yakitori restaurant. I really miss Yakitori and I have not found a place in Vienna that serves it so it is something I can only eat when in Japan. The restaurant wasn’t special and the chicken liver was small and slightly overcooked. I was still happy but when we later passed by this sign in the picture above I thought that we could have done better. A Japanese chef that one the world pizza championship in Naples, Italy. Guess we have to come back sometimes.
Then it was time to get back to our hotel and we were not the only ones getting home. Rush hour in Japan is not for the faint-hearted. Of course it is still eerily quiet as nobody speaks but there is far more body contact I’m used to. OK since I moved out of Vienna I stopped riding the underground I’m no longer used to body contact at all. The important thing is to stay cool. On the bright side there is no way to fall down even if you haven’t got hold on a handle. It’s still crazy and the reason why I always refused to use the public transport during peak hours.
When you finally made it out of the train there is still no room to move around freely. You just go with the flow like when you leave a big concert. There are thousands of people and they all seem to go where you go.
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max (5.1mm, f/1.6, 1/60 sec, ISO125)
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max (5.1mm, f/1.6, 1/30 sec, ISO640)
Before we finally made it to our room we witnessed this. A Japanese girl group performed at the train station. The other side of Japan. Never heard of AKB48? They sold more than 60 million CDs. The concept is simple: very young, pretty girls attract middle aged men to buy CDs, posters in oder to meet with them. The big business with loneliness in this country is hard to stomach.
Time to go back to the hotel to get some sleep.
NIKON Z 8 (26mm, f/2.8, 1/250 sec, ISO1600)