Japan 1983 -- Fujichrome 400

[cooltouch]

I visited Japan in late 1983, and had the opportunity to travel around the main island of Honshu quite a bit. I bought a Canon A-1 in Osaka, adding it to my outfit, which back then consisted of an AE-1, an FD 50mm f/1.8, an Albinar 80-200mm f/3.9 and an Albinar 28mm f/2.8. I didn't know beans about photography back then, but I still managed to get some good photos. Following is a small selection. These photos were taken with the A-1 and Fujichrome 400, scanned with an Epson 3170 at 3200 ppi. I may have done some post processing to them, but if I did, it wasn't much.

The original Shinkansen. It was impressive to me. You folks who live in regions where high-speed rail exists have probably grown used to the experience, but for me riding the Shinkansen was like flying on an airplane that never left the ground. Heh. And here it is, 26 years later, and the US still doesn't have high-speed rail. Canon A-1, FD 50mm f/1.8.



The Kamakura Buddha, located in Kamakura which is just a short trip from Tokyo. Canon A-1, FD 50mm f/1.8.



Kinkakuji -- the Golden Pavilion, in Kyoto. The grounds were just as beautiful as the pavilion. Canon A-1, FD 50mm f/1.8.



Himeji Jo -- Himeji Castle, outside of the city of Himeji in southern Honshu. Canon A-1, Albinar 28mm f/2.8.



And of course, a McDonalds in Tokyo. In kanji, its sign reads: Makudonarudo Hambaagaa. Canon A-1, 50mm f/1.8.



I have lots more slide scans from my trip, if anybody's interested.

[koji]

Yes, yes, yes.

[poilu]

yes, send more, very interesting

[Esox lucius]

Yes please, show more if you can. Many familiar spots here already.

[tuananhmap]

please share more, your seri is so interested

[marty]

Nice set of travel photography. I really enjoyed the virtual trip to Japan.
Would be really interesting to see more pictures of this series.

Cheers, Marty.

[hexi]

Nice serie, great trip thanx.

3rd image is simply amazing, but the McDo one is alos tempting ... hard times ^.^

[cooltouch]

Okay -- thanks for all the positive feedback, guys. It's been quite a while since I've looked through my slide archive on Japan. The above images are part of my portfolio, which I keep on file separately. So, I had to dig out the Japan slides and record some fresh duplicates. As it turns out, I have over 200 images on file from my trip to Japan, so I've picked through them for some of the best.

I was in Japan during November and December, 1983. Fall arrived late that year, and when I arrived the trees were in their peak color. The Fujichrome 400 I shot during this trip was purchased and processed in Japan. I've often wondered if this is why the slides have exhibited almost no color shift in the 26 years since they were developed. In the following photos, I had to do no color correction, although I did apply some exposure correction and saturation enhancement to a few.

I will restrict this message to slides I shot visiting the famous Ryoanji Temple, in Kyoto. Ryoanji is world famous for its rock garden, but the garden is just a very small part of the temple grounds. The entire place was simply spectacular.

[cooltouch]

A few more shots of Kinkakuji, the Golden Temple, and its grounds:

I was told, more than once, that this bird atop the temple is the "Imaginary Chicken" (in English, of course). I suspect that there was some loss in translation, however, and that a better adjective would be 'mythical.' Nonetheless, to me, this is The Imaginary Chicken atop the Golden Pavilion.



More scenery from the Kinkakuji grounds:

[koji]

Ohhh amazing, no one is there.

[cooltouch]

I probably went to these two shrines on weekdays. I don't remember anymore, but I'm reasonably sure that's what it was. I do remember, however, waiting for the Ryoanji entrance to clear, so I could photograph it with no people in the frame.

[cooltouch]

While I was in Japan, I stayed mostly in ryokans, which are traditional Japanese hotels. Ryokans can range from very elegant, private, and traditional (and expensive), to something closer to the youth hostels of Europe. The ones I stayed in were closer to the latter. They were very reasonably priced, and had spacious, comfortable rooms.

A look at the ryokan room I stayed in while I was in Kyoto:



A look out the window of the room I stayed in:

[cooltouch]

I bought a rail pass which allowed me to ride anywhere in Japan on JNR (Japan National Railway) trains, which included the Shinkansen. I rode the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Osaka, and from Osaka to Kyoto, and then from Kyoto to Himeji, then back to Tokyo. As I mentioned before, it was like flying on the ground.

I tried taking some photos of the passing scenery during these excursions, and a few of them came out okay. Here's one:



What I found interesting about this scene was how rural and urban Japan abut each other. Here in the US, I'm used to seeing a gradual increase or decrease in population density or urban sprawl. The demarkations I saw in Japan were much sharper.

I was in Osaka for the 400th birthday celebration of Osaka Castle, one of the finest examples of feudal architecture in Japan. It was crowded! and because of this, all my photos of Osaka Castle have people in them. Lots of people. Like this one:



Himeji Castle was also very impressive. When I visited it, it was almost deserted. Eveybody was probably up in Osaka for Osaka Castle's big 400th birthday bash.



Not too far from Himeji is Okayama. I learned that it had an interesting castle, too, so I hopped a train over to Okayama and had a look. It was quite a bit smaller than the giants in Himeji and Osaka, but had its own interesting personality.





After returning to Tokyo, I also managed to visit a castle there, too, but not what you might think:

[koji]

I did not know there was already "Tokyo Disney World" at 1983. Hahaha
We are a kind of Hackleberry Finn in Canada now.

[marty]

Another great set. Awesome fall colors, among the other things.

Cheers, Marty.

[cooltouch]

A few more.

The Akihabara District at night. Akihabara is the place to go in Tokyo when shopping for anything electronic.



I'm a guitarist, so when I was there, of course I had to hit a few music stores. A Tokyo area guitar shop:



A Tokyo area fish market:

[Minolfan]

Very nice series, I am really impressed!