Japan Photo Guide

Ikebukuro is yet another large entertainment and commercial district of Tokyo. Ikebukuro JR Station is the 2nd busiest in Tokyo (1st is Shinjuku Station) and it’s subway station is the busiest in Tokyo. It is estimated that about 1 million people pass through Ikebukuro on a normal day. There are what seem to be an endless amount of shops and restaurants in Ikebukuro and while it is an interesting place, I recommend checking out Shibuya and/or Shinjuku first. If you still need more of an urban fix and have time, then you should head over to Ikebukuro. To be honest, it doesn’t feel too different from those places except for maybe a little older; however, there is another reason why you might want to go to Ikebukuro….

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There are some things that everyone knows Japan is famous for. For example, cars, sushi, robots and of course video games. Once a year Tokyo hold the Tokyo Game Show, a convetion for companies to show off their latest games and things related to the video game industry. This was the 10th year of the TGS and it drew a record crowd of over 190,000 people.

Above is the crowd outside Sony’s Play Station 3 booth and Capcom’s booth where it was like a Tokyo subway during rush hour. It was so crowded you couldn’t really decide which way you were walking you just had to go with the flow of the crowd as if you were a leaf in the water.

This year the big things were Sony and Nintendo’s next generation consoles, the Play Station 3 (ps3) and the Wii. I admit that I have enjoyed my fair share of video games in the past and still do from time to time, but I will don’t see myself going back to the Tokyo Game Show again. The PS3 looks amazing and Wii looks like it would be great to play with a group of friends and especially if it could somehow be used as drinking game. Above these girls are paying the Wii, making their characters run on a track by shaking their arms.  Booth babes and maid cafe after the jump. See more photos and read the rest of this entry »

Akihabara, aka Akiba aka “Electric Town,” is the electronic district of Tokyo. If you are looking for some new camera gear, video games, video camera, mp3 player, media player or whatever gadget you are looking for, you can find it in Akihabara. You can find duty free shopping (don’t forget you passport if you plan to buy duty free) and while you use to be able to find really good deals here but they are starting to become harder to find. If you look around, you can still find some good deals but I highly recommend going to a few different places before you buy something.

Akihabara is also undergoing some changes. While it use to be just “Electric Town,” it has morphed into that and also a place associated with manga (Japanese Comics), cosplay (shot for costume play) and maid cafes (cafes where you are served by a girl wearing a french maid outfit).

One store I need to specifically recommend is Yodobashi Camera in Akihabara, you can see the entrance to the store on the right. Yodobashi Camera is a chain for electronic stores all over Japan and this is the largest. This place has 7 floors of electronic goodness from everything to cell phones, cameras, video games, heated toilet seats, washers, fridges, massage chairs and pretty much anything else you can think of. For those of you Americans out there, picture a Bust Buy store and then give that store 7 floors. This place is huge and if you are into electronics is a must see!

For more information about Akihabara see the officail Akihabara home page or the Japan-Guide.com.

Harajuku, recently made even more famous by the Gwen Steffani song, “Harajuku Girls,” is the famous young, hip and sometimes gothic, shopping district of Tokyo. Harajuku can easily be accesed by the Yamanote Train Line and is close to Shibuya and Shinjuku, but each place has a different feeling to it. This place is known for style (good and bad depending on who you are asking). As a photographer, the best time to go is on Sundays when Harajuku is most crowded with all types of people but especially the goth society or “lolita” style comes out in full force.

Above is the entrance to the main shopping street across from Harajuku Station. As you can see, this place gets a little crowded. Also Harajuku is within walking distance of the famous, upscale and designer shopping area Omontesando. For more information, check out the Japan-Guide.com.

Tokyo has pretty much everything you can imagine, including beautiful temples, shrines, museums, gardens, parks, sky scrappers, and much more. For a city as dense and urban as Tokyo there is a fair amount of nature and parks, such as Ueno Park and Yoyogi Park. There is so much to see and do and even if you live there for a year you will not be able to see and do it all.

Here is a short list of places you shouldn’t miss (in no order):

• Roppongi Hills–modern shopping and business district, the tower has a great 360 degree view and art musem at the top. I reccomend going just before sunset.
• Yoyogi and Ueno Park–Both really nice parks on opposite sides of Tokyo.
• Harajuku on a Sunday–This is when and where all the goth and cosplay people gather.
• Shinjuku and Shibuya–Two of the very urban areas of Tokyo. Great for neon lights, buildings, and people photographs.
• Ginza–This is the expensive shopping district
• Asakusa–This is where the famous big latern is you have seen in photographs.
• Akihabara–Electric Town but is kind of turning into Anime/Cosplay Town.
• Tsukiji–The largest fish markets in the world, go early and don’t dress up!