Zichar
Senior Member
A city dominated by smartphones
But nobody's talking
Lemonade
But nobody's talking
Lemonade
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Went Wandering - From Tokyo to Hakata
- Thread starter Zichar
- Start date
Zichar
Senior Member
When the blindfolds were torn off
A country bumpkin transformed by city lights
Tokyo Station and Marunouchi Square from the new-ish mall
Atop the refurbished Central Post Office
Kitte for postage stamp
I closed my eyes tight against the wind
And wished for my 14-24mm to appear in my bag... I really did
Just me holding on to the leveling base
Keeping it tight against, balanced atop the railing
Then me slowly counting and squeezing off mirror-up shots
Against the cold, praying hard none of the jostling crowd would actually come near
Bump off my foursec exposures
A country bumpkin transformed by city lights
Tokyo Station and Marunouchi Square from the new-ish mall
Atop the refurbished Central Post Office
Kitte for postage stamp
I closed my eyes tight against the wind
And wished for my 14-24mm to appear in my bag... I really did
Just me holding on to the leveling base
Keeping it tight against, balanced atop the railing
Then me slowly counting and squeezing off mirror-up shots
Against the cold, praying hard none of the jostling crowd would actually come near
Bump off my foursec exposures
Zichar
Senior Member
Zichar
Senior Member
Armed with only a pocket mifi device
I asked Whatsapp? He asked Line?
We communicated only via Gmail
Stubbed my toe some on those communication rocks
To finally meet outside busy Yurakucho
Turned down a playful invite to Seafood Republic, aghast
Give us beef, a steak dinner we chimed
Threaded hands, led on to Steak Ann
what I’m guessing is a play on the gairaigo of steak, sutekina?
His Kyushu-preference betraying his choice for divine Kagoshima bovine
The promise of eatery joint-hopping was pinky-sworn at the table
Ordering small three-bites-it’s-done meal
Then a greasy nostalgia-tinged yakisoba takeaway of dubious quality
The oft-repeated phrase ‘spent many a night here in my university days’
A red flag if ever there was one
Chased it down with a staunch refusal to return to the room
It’s a holiday don’t let the night end
Aimless wandering amongst the streets of Ginza
Getting lost amidst fellow dinner then supper hunters
These words they screamed out to me
And the sign flashed out its warning
Tower of Karaoke my memory gasps out to me
Its rival rising out just across the street in height and brightness
I asked Whatsapp? He asked Line?
We communicated only via Gmail
Stubbed my toe some on those communication rocks
To finally meet outside busy Yurakucho
Turned down a playful invite to Seafood Republic, aghast
Give us beef, a steak dinner we chimed
Threaded hands, led on to Steak Ann
what I’m guessing is a play on the gairaigo of steak, sutekina?
His Kyushu-preference betraying his choice for divine Kagoshima bovine
The promise of eatery joint-hopping was pinky-sworn at the table
Ordering small three-bites-it’s-done meal
Then a greasy nostalgia-tinged yakisoba takeaway of dubious quality
The oft-repeated phrase ‘spent many a night here in my university days’
A red flag if ever there was one
Chased it down with a staunch refusal to return to the room
It’s a holiday don’t let the night end
Aimless wandering amongst the streets of Ginza
Getting lost amidst fellow dinner then supper hunters
These words they screamed out to me
And the sign flashed out its warning
Tower of Karaoke my memory gasps out to me
Its rival rising out just across the street in height and brightness
Zichar
Senior Member
Thanks Kennyrobert!
>>
Doing the after-office crawl
They were too stylish not to take a snap of
Plus they always remind me of my friend’s excellent laconic reply
Delivered with a deadpan face
As to why he became a doctor
So I don’t become a salaryman
>>
Doing the after-office crawl
They were too stylish not to take a snap of
Plus they always remind me of my friend’s excellent laconic reply
Delivered with a deadpan face
As to why he became a doctor
So I don’t become a salaryman
Zichar
Senior Member
Found this amusing as I walked past
Rewound my steps one by one by one
Until dead center so I could still myself in a crouch
It's always disorienting
For after the shot concentration
The surroundings seem so foreign
My companions no where in sight
Turned the corner without me
Heartbeats pick up
Rewound my steps one by one by one
Until dead center so I could still myself in a crouch
It's always disorienting
For after the shot concentration
The surroundings seem so foreign
My companions no where in sight
Turned the corner without me
Heartbeats pick up
Zichar
Senior Member
We arrived, our flight way past bedtime, sleepy and incredibly hungry
The wind blew hard, boring deep into my knees
Food I growled and my friend obliged
Dragging us into perhaps the only establishment open in his corner of the suburbs
A small izakaya, a pub with their brand of usual grub, open only because the owner
Was entertaining his own friends, the kind who only leave when it's no longer possible
To stay awake
Raucous laughter greeted us from beneath the noren
That blast of warm air, like my grandmother's embrace exaggeration demands
The polite exchange from my friend to server
A quick look at the owner who answered in machine gun staccato
Stay as long as you want my friend translated
And we scrambled in to the private room
Suitcases hastily deposited along the narrow corridor
Fingers wildly pointing at every picture in the menu
Simple meals - salty almost instant-like ramen, plain rice and bottled mentaiko
We lapped it all up, hunger the ultimate decider of quality
That final back of hand to mouth in satisfaction
The wind blew hard, boring deep into my knees
Food I growled and my friend obliged
Dragging us into perhaps the only establishment open in his corner of the suburbs
A small izakaya, a pub with their brand of usual grub, open only because the owner
Was entertaining his own friends, the kind who only leave when it's no longer possible
To stay awake
Raucous laughter greeted us from beneath the noren
That blast of warm air, like my grandmother's embrace exaggeration demands
The polite exchange from my friend to server
A quick look at the owner who answered in machine gun staccato
Stay as long as you want my friend translated
And we scrambled in to the private room
Suitcases hastily deposited along the narrow corridor
Fingers wildly pointing at every picture in the menu
Simple meals - salty almost instant-like ramen, plain rice and bottled mentaiko
We lapped it all up, hunger the ultimate decider of quality
That final back of hand to mouth in satisfaction
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Zichar
Senior Member
I love supermarkets
A function of being a half-decent cook
The Japanese have got it down pat
To the soo-pah I whispered
Such a pleasant roll off the tongue
Right across our place
Oddly pronounced as Sun live instead of Sun life
Fresh fish and vegetables, fruits and meat galore
A 6-image hip-shot surreptitious pano that didn't really stitch well
No idea why I'd be so audacious
Tried this 5 times actually
And I'm pretty sure the fella at the meat counter got suspicious
My mistake?
Pretended to browse the tofu section one time too many
A function of being a half-decent cook
The Japanese have got it down pat
To the soo-pah I whispered
Such a pleasant roll off the tongue
Right across our place
Oddly pronounced as Sun live instead of Sun life
Fresh fish and vegetables, fruits and meat galore
A 6-image hip-shot surreptitious pano that didn't really stitch well
No idea why I'd be so audacious
Tried this 5 times actually
And I'm pretty sure the fella at the meat counter got suspicious
My mistake?
Pretended to browse the tofu section one time too many
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Zichar
Senior Member
Lucky is how I describe it lol
Not sure why but it happens at times, where the shot just looks so good out of the cam
The kind where you think about it the whole trip, can't wait to get back and load it on the 'puter
Perhaps there are just so many lights, the entire scene was evenly lit
Didn't do much to it
*I penciled in a trip to Shiodome, but we were so tired, gave up walking the streets at night
Not sure why but it happens at times, where the shot just looks so good out of the cam
The kind where you think about it the whole trip, can't wait to get back and load it on the 'puter
Perhaps there are just so many lights, the entire scene was evenly lit
Didn't do much to it
*I penciled in a trip to Shiodome, but we were so tired, gave up walking the streets at night
Zichar
Senior Member
Here's one from the balcony of my friend's apartment
For 'safety', the building has netting over all the units
Held tight by metal rings driven into the concrete rails
The setting sun, disgustingly cold winds
My teeth were chattering, fingers freezing as I tried
Praying and hoping the front of the 28 would thread
through one of the openings, and still allow me that chance to pivot
Behind me, in the warm apartment
My wife and my friend's wife chattering away
Over steaming mugs of tea, broken English and Japanese giving way to hilarity
Rice fields, the expressway; trains, bullet or otherwise
Were simply irresistible
My mind argued this would probably be
The last opportunity I'd have for a sunset shot
Turns out I've a future telling fortunes
For 'safety', the building has netting over all the units
Held tight by metal rings driven into the concrete rails
The setting sun, disgustingly cold winds
My teeth were chattering, fingers freezing as I tried
Praying and hoping the front of the 28 would thread
through one of the openings, and still allow me that chance to pivot
Behind me, in the warm apartment
My wife and my friend's wife chattering away
Over steaming mugs of tea, broken English and Japanese giving way to hilarity
Rice fields, the expressway; trains, bullet or otherwise
Were simply irresistible
My mind argued this would probably be
The last opportunity I'd have for a sunset shot
Turns out I've a future telling fortunes
Zichar
Senior Member
We regaled our hosts with tales of squidding
As with fishermen stories, the jetty became the high seas
The foot-long? An arm's length, we cried
It did help him with our nightly dilemma
What's for dinner? he'd ask
What do you recommend? we chorused
Bundled up against the cold we traveled to the nearby coast
Pulling up into the gravel driveway
All dark and empty, signboard flapping in the wind
It wasn't open we gasped
The one down the road was but not on the list
The first rule in the dark dark countryside
Being choosy wasn't an option for the hungry
So we sat down and pored over the menu
Slightly disappointed for we've been told
Squids swimming in large tanks the other restaurant had
You point, they caught, then served
Couldn't we here perhaps if we asked
The matronly waitress, she said no
It just wasn't allowed, strictly underlined
But then we played the tourist card
Once in a lifetime, from distant lands
Far far away Singapore our eyes like plates
She frowned and disappeared behind the curtain
Returned with a short nod and a quick smile
Meet you out back she disappeared
Grabbing our shoes we followed
As with fishermen stories, the jetty became the high seas
The foot-long? An arm's length, we cried
It did help him with our nightly dilemma
What's for dinner? he'd ask
What do you recommend? we chorused
Bundled up against the cold we traveled to the nearby coast
Pulling up into the gravel driveway
All dark and empty, signboard flapping in the wind
It wasn't open we gasped
The one down the road was but not on the list
The first rule in the dark dark countryside
Being choosy wasn't an option for the hungry
So we sat down and pored over the menu
Slightly disappointed for we've been told
Squids swimming in large tanks the other restaurant had
You point, they caught, then served
Couldn't we here perhaps if we asked
The matronly waitress, she said no
It just wasn't allowed, strictly underlined
But then we played the tourist card
Once in a lifetime, from distant lands
Far far away Singapore our eyes like plates
She frowned and disappeared behind the curtain
Returned with a short nod and a quick smile
Meet you out back she disappeared
Grabbing our shoes we followed
Zichar
Senior Member
Large fiberglass tanks greeted us from within
That electric hum of motors and coolers
And the bubbly aeration stones not cristal
Squids swam in one, colours a-changing with every propulsion
Less enamoured with the one with reef fish and sharks
The young fellas told me to step back
He gestured to the ceiling and walls
An ink spatter analyst's nightmare
That electric hum of motors and coolers
And the bubbly aeration stones not cristal
Squids swam in one, colours a-changing with every propulsion
Less enamoured with the one with reef fish and sharks
The young fellas told me to step back
He gestured to the ceiling and walls
An ink spatter analyst's nightmare
Zichar
Senior Member
He cleaned it quicker than I could have imagined
The sharp yanagi-ba moving with trained precision
Short pulls and angled drives
A quick press and wipe with the tea towel
And off he went creating slices a quarter inch thin
I'd have needed a ruler I shook my head in amazement
I rarely take photos of my food pooh-poohing at that sub-genre
But this I felt obliged - sashimi served on a twig mat
Fins and tentacles for tempura right after we were done
The sharp yanagi-ba moving with trained precision
Short pulls and angled drives
A quick press and wipe with the tea towel
And off he went creating slices a quarter inch thin
I'd have needed a ruler I shook my head in amazement
I rarely take photos of my food pooh-poohing at that sub-genre
But this I felt obliged - sashimi served on a twig mat
Fins and tentacles for tempura right after we were done
Zichar
Senior Member
It's just spinal I told myself
Colours that change in every pulse
Colours that change in every pulse
Empty streets! Super cool shot! Thanks for the writeup. You've given life and meaning to them.
Zichar
Senior Member
Thanks jellies, I try I try 
>>
The backwater stations always invoke
Sadness, loneliness, mellon collie
As the wind whips up dust
And tiny bits of paper, shredded confetti
The echo of sporadic announcements
Station master’s santoku slicing through
The echo of still air yet coursing past the cavernous
Who knows which is aboral
>>
The backwater stations always invoke
Sadness, loneliness, mellon collie
As the wind whips up dust
And tiny bits of paper, shredded confetti
The echo of sporadic announcements
Station master’s santoku slicing through
The echo of still air yet coursing past the cavernous
Who knows which is aboral
Zichar
Senior Member
Here's one of what's a very typical outdoor Japanese train station
It doesn't quite matter where in Japan, they look pretty much the same
It's like they came out from a mould, fabricated somewhere else and plonked in
Transported by probably giant mechas...
It doesn't quite matter where in Japan, they look pretty much the same
It's like they came out from a mould, fabricated somewhere else and plonked in
Transported by probably giant mechas...
Supersimon27
Senior Member
Nice series Bro
Zichar
Senior Member
Thanks for dropping by Simon Glad you like 'em
>>
I do love the precision of trains in Japan, they stick to their schedules so fastidiously.
We were in for a treat at the other end of our journey though.
Reaching the city of Hakata, we were amazed at the number of people crowding around the terminal, an unusual occurrence.
Everyone and their mothers (honest, saw three grannies worm their way to the front of the crowd) whipped out their smartphones, some with DSLRs and started snapping away at this purplish train; uniformed men with white gloves were ushering people in, waving, looking important
We peered in, the interiors looked real posh. Until we reached the one with a grand piano.
And private chefs? Backs to us but we could check out the one busy dipping his hand into the rice bucket, making sushi like an automaton.
Turns out the Seven Stars in Kyushu's the attraction, a cruise train that costs a bomb, upwards of USD2000 per person
Kinda figures all the passengers were umm old; at least 70 I figured
Like mini celebrities they waved to us as the train pulled out of its berth
Oh and it's booked up all the way until next year April
Here's an article on the train service:
http://www.gizmag.com/japans-seven-stars-cruise-train/29408/
Glad you like 'em>>
I do love the precision of trains in Japan, they stick to their schedules so fastidiously.
We were in for a treat at the other end of our journey though.
Reaching the city of Hakata, we were amazed at the number of people crowding around the terminal, an unusual occurrence.
Everyone and their mothers (honest, saw three grannies worm their way to the front of the crowd) whipped out their smartphones, some with DSLRs and started snapping away at this purplish train; uniformed men with white gloves were ushering people in, waving, looking important
We peered in, the interiors looked real posh. Until we reached the one with a grand piano.
And private chefs? Backs to us but we could check out the one busy dipping his hand into the rice bucket, making sushi like an automaton.
Turns out the Seven Stars in Kyushu's the attraction, a cruise train that costs a bomb, upwards of USD2000 per person
Kinda figures all the passengers were umm old; at least 70 I figured
Like mini celebrities they waved to us as the train pulled out of its berth
Oh and it's booked up all the way until next year April
Here's an article on the train service:
http://www.gizmag.com/japans-seven-stars-cruise-train/29408/
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