by jad

Japan Trip: The Tokyo Tower Inside Don Quixote

Extremely online people sometimes joke that zoomers are just young boomers, and sometimes that’s unfair, though it does name a certain drift to social and political conservativism among some in that demographic. But even if that’s wildly generalized, every meme carries a kernel of truth, and I can’t unsee this horseshoe as more from this age bracket become my colleagues. There are chaotic tendencies at work that can’t simply be explained by lack of experience: confused communication, sloppy reasoning, and the kind of cavalier attitude to technology that I’ve only ever seen among the olds. It’s baffling. Do they seriously … Continue reading “Japan Trip: The Tokyo Tower Inside Don Quixote” →

by jad

Japan Trip: Gundam, Malls, and the Ghost of Empire

After a couple of days in Tokyo, I started to realize that a lot of time can be wasted transferring between stations on subway trips across more than one line, and I didn’t want to spend all day underground in the name of “efficiency.” So, we started treating transfer stations as destinations in themselves, adding extra sites to our itineraries. These gardens were one such bonus visit. x I’m a sucker for a good frame within a frame. x It’s weird how brains work. When I was in Japan eleven years ago, Christine had googled a shinkansen themed kaitenzushi place … Continue reading “Japan Trip: Gundam, Malls, and the Ghost of Empire” →

by jad

Japan Trip: St. Mary’s Cathedral, Tokyo

This is St. Mary’s Cathedral, built in 1964 to commemorate 100 years of Christianity in Japan. This was also two decades after the first cathedral had been destroyed in WWII. The building was designed by Kenzo Tange in the shape of a cross, with eight hyperbolic parabolas opening upwards to form a cross of light, which continues vertically along the length of the four facades. The design would later inspire San Franscisco’s own St Mary’s. I found the building breathtaking, with the brut concrete interior even more effective than the outside. But apparently, the clerical authorities were lukewarm about it, … Continue reading “Japan Trip: St. Mary’s Cathedral, Tokyo” →

by jad

Japan Trip: Cringestagram in Shinjuku and Shibuya

Don’t believe Google or Instagram because the @ginzavampire cafe is, in fact, open on Mondays, and, let me tell you: 10/10, would do again. They are so committed to the bit from the moment you walk in to the moment you walk out—our server gave us the deepest bow in the whole of Japan as the elevator doors shut—that you can’t help but be swept up in the pageantry. And the food is actually good! It’s not just a bit of food coloring and some skull stencils. Another equally goofy and dead serious experience in Japan ✔️ x Bringing back … Continue reading “Japan Trip: Cringestagram in Shinjuku and Shibuya” →

by jad

Japan Trip: The New Vacation Slide Deck

Instagram is the new vacation slide deck. We actually screen mirrored Christine’s phone on a friend’s TV the other day and talked through our posts just like a bunch of boomers. Our excuse was that they’re planning a trip to Japan soon. This deck features Japanese Denny’s, @pigment_tokyo, and more from inside the Yumenoshima Tropical Greenhouse Dome. x We watched Fellini’s 8½ last night, technically a re-watch for me, but, apparently, I could only remember the very last sequence after all these years. It’s a film about filmmaking that I watched in film school, so I’ll forgive the formalism that … Continue reading “Japan Trip: The New Vacation Slide Deck” →

by jad

Japan Trip: Fujifilm on Fujifilm

More from Electric Town: This bus, so ideogrammatic in my mind of Beirut, as seen in its natural habitat; Lebanon often gets these second-hand. That train—I actually waited several minutes for it to come back around so I could catch it in that reflection like a real photographer or something. This street featuring the Beastie Boys in their hi-viz jackets with the built-in air condition. x Fujifilm on Fujifilm. Back when I first started daydreaming about this trip to Japan, I entertained fantasies about going camera hunting here, but to be honest, the bargains aren’t so ubiquitous to make that … Continue reading “Japan Trip: Fujifilm on Fujifilm” →

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Japan Trip: Book Town and Electric Town

Jinbocho is known as Tokyo’s famed “book town,” a historic district lined with hundreds of bookstores, ranging from tiny secondhand shops stacked floor to ceiling with rare volumes to major multi-story retailers offering new releases, academic texts, and foreign-language titles. But we were there for one bookstore in particular: Anegawa Nyankodō, or the Cat Bookstore. I’d thought that having a destination like that was a good way to explore a unique neighborhood, but we actually found two books we wanted! And the process of purchasing them was probably one of my favorite experiences on the trip. The elderly gentleman was … Continue reading “Japan Trip: Book Town and Electric Town” →

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Japan Trip: The Dragon of Enoshima

I hadn’t intended on syncing up the cadence of my Japan postings with my life back here in Seattle when I first started, but when I saw that it was possible, I really wanted to talk about Enoshima today for reasons that will soon become clearer. Christine had asked for a day trip out of Tokyo, and Suzi suggested Kamakura as a popular destination, so we added that to our list. As the time got closer to plan our itinerary in more detail, I noticed an island a little bit outside of town that seemed dedicated to all things dragonic; … Continue reading “Japan Trip: The Dragon of Enoshima” →

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Japan Trip: Tokyo, Grey Skies, and the Lucky Dragon

By the time we got to Tokyo, the weather had shifted, and I started to regret my decision to load Fujicolor 100 in my camera. That first weekend ended up being very grey and rainy, and I figured the whole roll would be trashed. That influenced the sort of shots I went for. But no! It seems my trusty Nikon Lite-Touch with the dinky little flash could handle it, and it even took some really good artistic liberties like with this first shot. I did switch back to Kodak Color Plus after this roll, but I’m glad I was tempted … Continue reading “Japan Trip: Tokyo, Grey Skies, and the Lucky Dragon” →

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Japan Trip: Kyoto in Abstraction, Bound for Tokyo

This is the moment after walking for about 30 minutes and realizing that the Chaos Gallery had, indeed, recently closed and been cleared; so recently, in fact, there were still people in the space finalizing the process. So, in honor of that moment, here are my most chaotic shots from Kyoto. x Kyoto in abstraction. x This gentleman smiled at me after seeing me taking pictures of the Shinkansen. Train dork recognizes train dork. We were going to Tokyo next. There was a train just like this heading there every 5 minutes. The next day was Mountain Day, so everyone … Continue reading “Japan Trip: Kyoto in Abstraction, Bound for Tokyo” →