Japan. It’s a country that’s almost always been on the top of my to-visit list, but until recently the closest I came to journeying to the island nation was a poorly timed trip that was derailed by the start of the pandemic. Since then, I hadn’t prioritized a vacation to Asia and my travels over the past few years have largely been in and around Europe.
That all changed earlier this year when I decided to try my hand at planning another trip to Japan and hoped we could avoid more global emergencies for at least a couple of weeks. That was also inspired in part by my pal Steve having booked an August/September trip to Tokyo during a sabbatical from work. As someone who had already been to the city more than once, timing my trip to overlap with his had the added benefit of a built-in tour guide for me! A virtue of patience (ahem), I knew Steve wouldn’t mind giving me some pointers. And of course you can find his amazing photos from Tokyo here.
Despite my research and all the advice I received from friends and family who had already visited Japan, I knew the experience was still going to be overwhelming and that there wasn’t really much preparing I could do. That mindset helped me to just let go and take everything as it came. It also meant that the prep I did do could be focused primarily on deciding which camera gear to bring along!
Earlier in the year I had finally gotten my hands on a Leica M2 film camera, and it was a given that it’d be coming with me on this trip. Despite instantly becoming my favorite camera shortly after I picked it up, there’s just something that felt right about shooting on film while in Japan. It’s still somewhat new to me, however, so I stocked up on a variety of film to be ready for every situation—color at various ISO’s, black and white, and (at Steve’s suggestion) CineStill 800 for the nighttime shooting I’d knew I’d be doing.
Ultimately I brought about 15 rolls of film with me which I incorrectly assumed would be enough for the 10 full days I’d be in Tokyo. When I ran out—and when lighting conditions were just too tricky—I also had my digital Leica M 240. As ever, I also brought my Voigtlander 35mm f/1.4 and Cannon 50mm f/1.4 lenses, though I mostly stuck with 35mm. My only regret is not bringing my Cannon 50mm f/0.95 “dream lens”. Next time.
Speaking of which, this first batch of photos—a combo of film and digital—are some of my favorites. But in all I took hundreds of photos around the city so will need to publish at least 1 or 2 more posts. I’ll also use that excuse to explain why it’s taken me a few months to sort through, edit, and finally publish some of these!
As for the cultural experience of being in Tokyo, it honestly feels like I’m still processing everything all of these months later. So many of the common things people tell visitors were certainly true for me—everything is so clean, everyone is so nice, the food is incredible, and there’s generally very little English to be found—but there’s also an indescribable element that has stayed with me. The vibe of Tokyo is just unlike anything else I’ve experienced in my travels or even here in New York. And of course, having only been in a handful of neighborhoods for less than two weeks, I feel like I’ve barely explored 2% of what Tokyo has to offer, never mind Japan as a whole.
Anything I say here will fall miserably short of doing the experience justice, so I’ll leave you with the photos below, a recommendation to visit for yourself, and the promise that I’m definitely going back as soon as I can!
david.watkis.blog 