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How do the Shuto canyons look at night? With the right lighting (and no cars around), seems like a cool location for shoots.
This is my friend's M3 in downtown LA. Pics would be more interesting when they still had the sodium vapor lights instead of new LEDs but hey, now the city saves $7 million a year with lower electricity costs.
That M3 shot is nice, reminds me of Lower Wacker in Chicago, with less grit and danger.
Just getting out a night with the gear is fun, and the Shuto indeed makes a good location.
As well as the second shot on page 1 above (in the Ohashi Loop in Shibuya), we've done a few similar shoots, as indeed it makes a great location.
This is a still from a vid, shot at 02:00.
I was piloting the camera bike, with the cameraman hanging off the back with a Ronin.
You can imagine my terror, with him yelling to get closer, as he leans over and I can feel the bike self-steer into the path of a multi-million dollar car at expressway speeds...
Less stressful, was my stationary S800.
Or, a handheld shot out the window in a Wangan tunnel.
I need to get the Cayman out one night when back in town then...
Last days of winter, the snow has gone, but its still coldish...
The minka lawn is still dead, but the days are getting warmer.
After a Honda Joker for daily commuting, a CR-V for exploring, and an S800 for weekend fun, I seriously looked at an NSX.
But, though it has a large trunk, it cannot fit toyu jerrycans.
They fit horizontally, but the Cayman takes 60L vertically, with room to spare.
The Japanese countryside still burns toyu (a type of low-sulfur kerosene), for home heating.
It burns clean, without smoke, in vaporizing heaters as a near gas.
One day, Japan might get with the global program on fossil fuels, but for now we're stuck in the early 1900s.
My wife was working one recent weekend, and the only chore I had was to get the next few weeks' supply of toyu.
How to fill four or five hours with a nice day, and a Cayman S in the driveway?
Leaving our valley, I went exploring some back roads, off into the local hills.
This minka, kura, and naya, is a matched set to ours, and would have been built around the same time - late 1800s.
The back roads are relatively quiet, even on nice weekends.
After tanking up the toyu, I stopped for a coffee at a kobini, and was quickly joined by a range of drivers from across Kanto.
All similarly out for some touge fun.
One or two Boxster, a few Cayman, and some Type-R Honda.
None seriously modified, and all off into the mountains hunting for twisty bits...
Would you be willing to share your camera/film/processing information again? I know it's buried in one of the 589 posts above this one, but I can't seem to locate it.
Here's another lazy Sunday morning vid of the same commute above.
It's chopped up, but essentially Harajuku to Hibiya, via Omotesando, Place du Canada, the Imperial Palace, R246, and the Mainichi Shimbun.
Makes me want an Aubergine 2.4!
Would you be willing to share your camera/film/processing information again? I know it's buried in one of the 589 posts above this one, but I can't seem to locate it.
Sure! I mostly use a Cosina-made Voigtlander Bessa R3A, with a f1.4 40mm Nokton S.C, on Kodak Portra 400 or Ektar 100.
I get the films developed and scanned as a one-step process, straight to CD in 45 mins. No prints.
The single-coated lens gives a bit of a period feel sometimes, and overall the rangefinder is easier to use, lighter, and more quiet than a big and bulky SLR.
Thank you so much! No questions...Just trying to get back to my photographical roots (Minolta SRT 101)...My greatest failing was following the trendsters and going digital.
Thank you so much! No questions...Just trying to get back to my photographical roots (Minolta SRT 101)...My greatest failing was following the trendsters and going digital.
NP!
I dropped out of the megapixel race, when I sold my Sony F717 and picked up the then new Bessa, as like heavy post work (HDR, fake borders, 'film' filters, etc), gear wars rarely result in betterphotographs.
Not sure I've said this here before, but as digital cameras all approach maximum efficiency, they all approach the same look - perfectly exposed, no feeling, just the same dry brightness.
I still use digital, but for digital things.
That Minolta is well-known as one of the better period SLRs too, so enjoy the slow process of each frame, and the anticipation of development...
I forget where we were going, but we took the back roads...
Rice-field cisterns are common across Japan.
Sometime in the past - we assume after kids falling in became no longer appropriate - fences were built around many.
Either that, or drunk locals falling in walking home after too many nihonshu...
They are also used for fire fighting, but with real hydrants available, less so these days.
We are lucky to have so many good driving roads in the area.
Depending on the need, we take either the CX-5 or the Cayman.
Too often though, even with the CX in Sport-mode and manual shifting (duh), I end up getting told to slow down with 'you're not in the Cayman now...'
Chasing the same colored Roadster (Miata in some markets) through some twisties was fun though, at least the second gear corners.
Between the first two World Wars (not the pending one), Japan embarked on a program of irrigation and built many waterways and tunnels for irrigation.
Boso Hanto has a number of portals like this for some reason, connecting adjacent water flows.
Any trip in Japan, requires a stop at a konbini, and this Jimny was one of many we saw exploring on the day.
Sometimes, we get a squadron of ten or more, zing-zing-zinging down our road.
Bamboo grows abundantly in our area, and is still used for a wide range of uses.
Not scaffolding, but for other non-structural work like fences, sun-shades, furniture, and similar.
Fire is used to heat and straighten, and the natural oils in the bamboo bubble off and can be rubbed in to provide reasonable weather protection.
Here, a local works makes lengths for fences and weaves sun-shades.
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Man having been to Japan several times to visit or for car shows I absolute love this tread. I've only experienced driving in Japan a couple times as a passenger in a friends car and I don't know why it was such a blast but it was. Probably because it was so different
Man having been to Japan several times to visit or for car shows I absolute love this tread. I've only experienced driving in Japan a couple times as a passenger in a friends car and I don't know why it was such a blast but it was. Probably because it was so different
Neat! Shows in Japan can be epic...
Driving in Japan is indeed a blast - with planning, it's some of the best in the world.
We're planning another tour, and hope to squeeze in a few more high country touge, and maybe the beach highway on Noto Hanto again too.
The first time we drove it, we were merely looking at getting as close as possible to the sea, a following the National Route signs, it went up over a hill and straight onto the beach.
What the heck, and we just kept driving onto the sand...
Post-Covid, I am looking forward to getting back into shooting some commercial stuff too, informal drives with friends, shows, meets, and of course, classic race events.
Here though, we have a straight up collection of the wabi-sabi.
Stuck in the middle of nowhere, we liked the extensive topiary of this house.
Utilitarian bridges abound across Japan.
Spotting this collection of Sad Jags, I took a closer look.
Those 2+2 E-Type are really ungainly...
Based on the wabi-sabi shop truck, this Mk II looks a viable daily.
XJR S at the front of the queue.
With a 6.0L V12, and less than 100 built I think, this is some car...
Scraping away at a hill to make truck loads of ugly for construction sites.
Remove the extension and paint in original colors, this Taisho-era bath house would claim back its beauty, from the modern age's imposed wabi-sabi.
Those wheels on the Honda though...
Ah yes, the Noto Hanto beach drive. Years ago, I was lucky enough to be taken by my newfound friends in the Kanazawa Roadster Club on a group tour of the Noto Peninsula, a wonderful all day drive, all around the Peninsula. When we got to that beach, my new buddy turned to me and said “OK, you drive.” I guess he figured this is where we can let the unlicensed Gaijin drive without getting into trouble. I had a blast driving his “Miata” (what the Roadster is called in the US) up and down the sands. The KRC members are absolutely BONKER NUTS about their cars, as are most other Japanese car enthusiasts.
Ah yes, the Noto Hanto beach drive. Years ago, I was lucky enough to be taken by my newfound friends in the Kanazawa Roadster Club on a group tour of the Noto Peninsula, a wonderful all day drive, all around the Peninsula. When we got to that beach, my new buddy turned to me and said “OK, you drive.” I guess he figured this is where we can let the unlicensed Gaijin drive without getting into trouble. I had a blast driving his “Miata” (what the Roadster is called in the US) up and down the sands. The KRC members are absolutely BONKER NUTS about their cars, as are most other Japanese car enthusiasts.
That's a great intro to driving in Japan!
Here's some memories for you then?
Your photo of the konbini,made me think about how significant convenience stores are in urban and rural Japan. Oddly, three of the most popular: 7/11, Lawson and Family Mart are not native to Japan. Most of us are familiar with 7/11 and know its origins in the US. Family Mart started in Korea and is popular all over Asia. Lawson came from an obscure Ohio-based chain of dairy stores centered around Cleveland and western PA. From what I can tell, Lawson vanished in the '80 in the US, but the Japanese seemed fascinated by the company's name and signage. In fact, they purchased both and transported, without change, to Japan. I remember living in Japan in the mid '90s and seeing Lawson and thinking where have I've seen that store before? It turns out that there had been several stores in my small city in PA. A former Lawson storefront is located near my house and it evokes thoughts of Japan every time I drive pass it.
As I've remarked in the past, your road tours feature the true nature of Japan. Frequently, any mention of Japan always centers on Tokyo and, more often than not, that stock footage of Shibuya crossing. Keep up the good work.
03-08-2022, 05:01 AM
