TRAVEL 67 : Chris Willson Photography

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Cosplay in Tokyo

Published by travel67

Young man sketching on the street in Shibuya

I’m in Shibuya when I see a young man sketching outside the 109 building. I ask if he is a fashion design student (they sometimes come to Shibuya for inspiration) but it turns out he is American and he’s in Tokyo for a manga convention. The convention is taking place over at Odaiba on the other side of the city. I ask if there will be people dressed up as anime and manga characters (Cosplay). He says yes, and I know exactly where I need to go next.

There's a strange symbiosis between the cosplay dresser and cosplay photographer.

I arrive in Odaiba and it’s all a little surreal. I don’t go into the exhibition hall, but wander around outside through a sea of fake eyelashes, colored contact lenses and little rolling suitcases. There are plenty of other people taking photographs but being a gaijin and holding a camera the size of Texas does mean you get eye contact.

Tokyo Cosplay

Cosplay in Tokyo

Digital Discovery #7

If you are not trying to do self portraits in the pupil of the model, best not to wear a bright yellow T-shirt.

Yellow t-shirt self portrait ( Pentax 645D crop)

Digital Discovery #8

The shutter sound of the 645D is not even close to that of the 67II. Similar to a police siren, the 67II has the ability to make people move out the way simply by the amount of noise it makes. Comparatively the 645D is like a ninja on thick carpet.

Switch 3 in Tokyo

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Switch 3 are an Australian rock band that visited Japan a couple of weeks ago for a mini tour. I used to snowboard with the bass guitarist Mick Hoorweg so when I found out I would be in Tokyo at the same time as the band I met up with them to take some photos.

In these shots they’re playing at The Eggman in Shibuya.

Switch 3 lead singer Maf Davis

Switch 3: Ben Davis, Maff Davis, Mick Hoorweg, Evan Dorrian,

Switch 3: Ben Davis, Maff Davis, Mick Hoorweg, Luke Pammenton.

Switch 3's Maf Davis

Switch 3 bass guitarist Mick Hoorweg

Switch 3 entertaining Japanese fans

Great band, and above all fantastic to see people following their passion and really loving what they do. Please check out their website to learn more.

Digital Discovery #5

You can use medium format digital to shoot a rock concert. Whether this is sensible is another matter.

Digital Discovery #6

Weather sealing on the 645D body and lens prevents flying beads of sweat from damaging the camera.

Hirosaki to Tokyo

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Pop quiz, hotshot…

It’s late in the evening and you’re in Hirosaki, northern Japan. You need to be in Shinjuku, Tokyo the following afternoon.

You could A) Check into the Hirosaki Toyoko Inn (¥4,700), then the following morning catch the 9.09 train to Aomori, the shinkansen bullet train to Omiya and the local to Shinjuku (¥17,500). You would arrive in Shinjuku at 2.25PM at a total cost of ¥22,200.

or B) Catch the 10.30 overnight bus from Hirosaki Station to Shinjuku Station. Arrive 7.30AM for a total cost of ¥8,000

And the answer is…

Willer Express Bus - 6AM at a rest stop somewhere near Tokyo (iPhone)

Unfortunately an overnight bus trip does mean you look (and feel) something like this

Not getting enough sleep? (Photo by Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert)

But, no rest for the wicked. I needed to head over to Yodobashi Camera to buy a small camera case. I couldn’t take my big Lowepro rucksack and a tripod where I was heading later that night. I found that the 645D and lens just fit into a Lowepro Toploader Zoom 55 AW, so with a slimmed down set of gear I set off to rock.

Lowepro Toploader Zoom 55 AW (Image by Lowepro)

Hirosaki City, Aomori

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Hirosaki City’s Neputa Matsuri is similar to Nebuta Matsuri, but with smaller floats. Some of these floats use dolls to recreate scenes from Noh plays, others are more similar to those of Nebuta Matsuri.

Neputa Matsuri, Hirosaki City, Aomori

I checked out Hirosaki’s five-storied pagoda, the castle, and Choshoji Temple. The temple was having some reconstruction done but you could still wander around. These wooden statues were a little disturbing. They certainly gave the impression that you were being watched.

Wooden statues at Choshoji Temple, Hirosaki City, Aomori

Close up of wooden statue at Choshoji Temple, Hirosaki City, Aomori

Hakodate, Hokkaido (Day 2)

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Hakodate is also famous for its warehouses made of red brick. This is of great interest if you live in a country where most buildings are concrete. If you’re from England, it’s a little strange to see people oohing and aahing over a brick wall. ( I shall resist starting a rant about the ugliness of most modern Japanese buildings.)

Brick wall in a sea of concrete

Another building of note in Hakodate is the Goryokaku Tower. Constructing a new tower in Hakodate had seemed to me a little redundant as there is a mountain if you want night views of the city. However, the reason for the tower, and it’s pentagonal design is that it overlooks the Goryokaku Park and Fort. The fort is surrounded by a moat in the shape of a five pointed star (although it does have an extra mini point at the entry).

Goryokaku Tower, Hakodate, Hokkaido

The building at the centre of the star is a reconstruction of the Hakodate Magistrate’s Office.

Goryokaku Park, Hakodate, Hokkaido

After visiting Goryokaku Park I decided to head up Hakodate mountain again to see if I could get the classic night view shot. The sky was reasonably clear when I set off, but it wasn’t long until the clouds started rolling in.

Above the clouds on Mt. Hakodate

I never got the classic night view photograph, but I’m pretty happy with this out of the mist shot. Always a good idea to try and work with the weather rather than against it.

Hakodate, Hokkaido

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From Aomori I took the train north to Hakodate on the island of Hokkaido. The train goes through the Seikan Tunnel, the longest (and deepest) undersea tunnel in the world.

Hakodate is famous as one of the first international trading ports in Japan. Like Nagasaki and Kobe it is home to a wide range of religious buildings.

Russian Orthadox Church, Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan

Perhaps the most famous attraction in Hakodate is the “million dollar” night view from the summit of Mt Hakodate. On my first day it was a little cloudy so I didn’t attempt the standard night shot and got some shots of others admiring the view.

View from the summit of Mt. Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan

It was crowded from the traditional viewpoint looking over the city, but if you just went around the corner you could get some nice shots looking west over the ocean.

Looking west from the summit of Mt. Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan

And for those interested in the 645D. Here’s a crop from the above image of the bottom right ship.

Crop of the above image.

Aomori, Nebuta Matsuri – Pushing the floats

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The giants floats of Nebuta Matsuri are pulled through the city by teams of exhausted looking men. On the final day of the festival the parade took place in the middle of the day, and as you might expect at 1pm on a sunny August afternoon it was blisteringly hot.

Nebuta Matsuri Floats, Aomori City, Japan

Musicians accompanied the floats and were likewise melting in the sun. I got a few shots and then retreated to the shade, and air conditioning, of a museum.

Nebuta Matsuri Musician, Aomori City, Japan

Aomori – Nebuta Matsuri

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From Aktia I took the train north to Aomori. Nebuta Matsuri is one of Japan’s most famous festivals. Giant floats depicting scenes from ancient fables are dragged along the streets of Aomori City.

Before the parade started I got some shots of the participants, then I turned my attention to the floats.

Nebuta Matsuri Portrait, Aomori City, Japan

Nebuta Matsuri, Aomori City, Japan

Digital Discovery #3

It is very easy to fool yourself into thinking an image is badly exposed by quickly reviewing the image on the rear monitor. What looks completely underexposed when standing in bright sunlight may actually be accurate. Better to use the histogram to check exposure. I often used my Sekonic light meter to get an accurate incident light reading.

Digital Discovery #4

I hardly used the auto focus on my new 55mm lens. Auto focus worked fine, just used to doing it by myself. When shooting portraits at F2.8 the depth of field is shallow so you need to be very accurate with the focusing. If you don’t focus perfectly on the eyes, the larger files really show your mistakes.

Akita – A few final images

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Akita Kanto Matsuri Portrait (645D 55mm lens)

Akita Castle

Lotus Flower, Akita Castle Moat

When I looked at the full res file of the lotus image I was impressed by the amount of detail. I thought others might like to check it out so I uploaded a full sized JPEG to Flickr which you can check out here.

Another place of note in Akita was the Masakichi Hirano Museum of Fine Art. It is worth checking out just to see the huge “Annual Events in Akita” wall painting which at just over 20 meters in width is one of the largest canvas paintings of the 20th Century.

Akita Kanto Matsuri – Competitive lantern balancing

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There’s something amazing about the fact that the people of Akita have taken the simple act of carrying a paper lantern and made it into a competitive event.

Carrying one lantern. Easy.

Carrying fifty. Tricky.

Balancing those fifty lanterns on your head. Unbelievable.

Doing it at night. Ridiculous.

Akita Kanto Matsuri - Lantern balancing judges

Akita Kanto Matsuri - Lantern balancing

Akita Kanto Matsuri - Lantern balancing at night

A big thanks to Anton, a great kiwi guy I met on the street and press-ganged into holding my off-camera flash for the night shots. Couldn’t have got this last shot without you mate.

Another big thanks to Ian who let me crash on his floor when all the hotels were full. (If you want to see a Japanese festival, book accommodation early or you’ll be begging for floor space!)