My first stop in Japan was Tokyo, to run the 2015 Tokyo Marathon. Miho and I had originally entered the marathon registration lottery months before, however unfortunately, only I won an entry. I still had a good run without her – although not nearly as much fun or motivation to kick ass!
Running through the streets of Tokyo was an energizing experience. I ran the full marathon without really much training since I was in Antarctica beforehand. However, the energy of the cheering crowd lining all 26 miles of the course kept me going. Here a few pics from the run.
The Tokyo Marathon expo was held at the Tokyo Big Sight event hall – a giant conference hall with lots of spaces. The strucutre itself is quite epic to begin with.
Walking through the registration expo, everybody gets lots of promo items. Although this looks like I was receiving a magical free beer.. it was in fact a nonalcoholic “malt drink”. Hmmm.Lots and lots of vendors at the expo.The next morning at the starting area – there were three snacks to have before the race. Tomatoes, bananas, and an apple flavored energy gel, which came out of a foil “capri-sun”-like packet. I had all three, and then packed up my pre-race gear into my baggage bag, and gave it to the appropriate baggage truck. Typical marathon procedure, almost exaclly the same as before the NYC Marathon.Lots of marathon volunteers were all excited to be there. Japanese people have good energy.Photo courtesy of Photocreate Co.,Ltd at https://tm15eng.allsports.jp/photo/photo_list_tag_search.php?page_id=238626&tag=81479&tag_code=zekkenPhoto courtesy of Photocreate Co.,Ltd at https://tm15eng.allsports.jp/photo/photo_list_tag_search.php?page_id=238626&tag=81479&tag_code=zekkenPhoto courtesy of Photocreate Co.,Ltd at https://tm15eng.allsports.jp/photo/photo_list_tag_search.php?page_id=238626&tag=81479&tag_code=zekkenPhoto courtesy of Photocreate Co.,Ltd at https://tm15eng.allsports.jp/photo/photo_list_tag_search.php?page_id=238626&tag=81479&tag_code=zekkenPhoto courtesy of Photocreate Co.,Ltd at https://tm15eng.allsports.jp/photo/photo_list_tag_search.php?page_id=238626&tag=81479&tag_code=zekkenPhoto courtesy of Photocreate Co.,Ltd at https://tm15eng.allsports.jp/photo/photo_list_tag_search.php?page_id=238626&tag=81479&tag_code=zekkenI finished in 4:31. It wasn’t my best marathon time, but it felt great to run, and was fun to see lots of neighborhoods of Tokyo.Photo courtesy of Photocreate Co.,Ltd at https://tm15eng.allsports.jp/photo/photo_list_tag_search.php?page_id=238626&tag=81479&tag_code=zekkenAfter the race, naturally I sampled lots of street food from the cutest food trucks I’ve ever seen.
My friend Taeko was nice enough to come meet me in Tokyo, and after spending a few days there, her and I met up with another friend and the three of us set off by car down to Yokohama.
More vending machines for ordering at fast food joints!
Chinatown in Yokohama
My favourite drink!
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A quintissential activity for any traveler visiting Tokyo for the first time is a pre-dawn visit to the tuna auction at the Tsujiki Fish Market – and I did just that.
About 4 in the morning, trucks full of flash frozen tuna start arriving and offloading the fish into the auction house. Small forklifts zip around everywhere, and the area is full of activity from every angle.
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The group of 40 tourists who were allowed in every day wear green vests. We were then escorted from the main office building to the tuna auction floor. On the auctionhouse floor, tuna buyers walk around with small hooks and flashlights, peeling back a pre-cut piece of tuna flesh and inspecting the quality of the meat. This happens for about 20 minutes, and then the auctioning begins. It’s all very hectic and fast, and seems to accomplish its purpose. Before long, we were being ushered out again.
After the tuna auction, I met a few other travelers, and the four of us sat down at one of the Sushi Bars inside the fish market. It was obviously the freshest sushi I’ve ever had.
Surrounding the fish market are all sorts of accessory dealers, including lots of custom knife shops.
Japan, at long last. It was the #1 country on my to-do list for many years, and I was glad to finally make it there. Although Japan is obviously not part of the traditional Southeast Asia travelers route, I was able to get a 10 day stopover there as part of my USAP return ticket, and so it didn’t cost me anything to spend some time there. I also had a number of friends in Japan, so it was good opportunity to reconnect! My time was limited, but I tried to make the most of it.
Tokyo is a massive city, and space is at an incredible premium. My first few days in Tokyo, I stayed at the Khaosan Capsule Hostel, which was great! A comfy common area, super cool staff, and cozy pods for everybody to sleep in. Although my pod was small, it was very clean and nice, and I loved staying there. That’s actually the vibe I got from Japan in general – everything is small, precisely engineered, clean, and nice. What a great combination.
One of the first stops I made was Akihabara, which is filled with electronics, video games, manga, and maid cafes. Certainly an interesting mix. I loved that each neighborhood in Tokyo had a unique flavor to it. Retail shops in Akihabara are filled to the max with whatever they’re selling. Ads are everywhere, and inventory is stacked as high as possible. In the electronics store Yodobashi, i spent hours playing with every single piece of camera gear imaginable. Paradise!
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I was fortunate to meet up with two friends in Tokyo – Toshi and Taeko. It was great reconnecting with them, and exploring the city with two super cool Japanese people! We had a great time.
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Making Takoyaki!
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Vending machines are everywhere, and sell anything you could ever want. This vending machine worked off one giant TV-sized touchscreen, and sold about 100 products.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jamfan2/9527238088/in/set-72157635097383917
There are entire arcades willed with photobooths, which make all sorts of photos for people. Huge packs of girls show up together with full makeup on, and spend entire evenings takings glamour shots.
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Shibuya Crossing – very busy indeed!
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Checking out an expat bar with friends.
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Lunch counters in Japan are very very efficient. You order and pay from a vending machine, and then give your ticket to a cook who makes the food for you. No sitting, only standing for rapid turnover!
Japanese apartments are cozy and very nice. Perfect for hanging out with friends.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jamfan2/9524489771/in/set-72157635097383897
The yet to be released Canon EOS 5DmkII, in addition to 21 Megapixel stills, also takes full 1080P 30FPS video, Akihabara News just posted another stunning, unofficial Canon EOS 5DmkII HD video, taken with presumably a pre-production sample of the camera. It goes on sale at the end of the month, at which point expect some self-shot HD goodness. Until then, enjoy these shots from Japan. Watch full screen for full effect…in full HD!
One of the most exciting aspects for me, in terms of being able to shoot HD video with a DSLR, is playing with aperture for interesting DOF effects and control. That, and having the ability to capture the scene, whether in high res stills, or high def video – definitely a game changer. Finally, that last track in the video is “Poupées Russes” by Kraked Unit, a French group. Great beat – found it also used in this car commercial, as well as appearing in a French movie soundtrack. The track starts around 2:46. Reminds me of the days of Pelican City (Danger Mouse’s early college work) which was definitely frequent Acid Lounge material.
A few months ago I was interviewed about electronics, and consumer brands for a news program called “Houtoku” (Translated to English), which broadcasts on the Tokyo Broadcast System’s network. They didn’t tell me at the time, but the interview was for a piece on Panasonic’s brand consolidation name change. Now, finally after a little waiting, here’s the video of the news segment. This is cut out of a bigger block of programming. In all, the interviewed me for about an hour, and shot a lot of other footage around my apartment – zooming in on my electronics, panning around, and taking a lot of random shots of me and Elsye just standing there wondering what to do. Out of all that footage, they used about 30 seconds of it. Be sure to start watching at around 9 minutes into the video, for the part in my apartment. Finally, if you speak Japanese, please let me know what they dubbed me over as saying.
One final note – YouTube recently enabled deep linking within videos, so the embedded video should have been already cued to 9 minutes. Thanks TechCrunch and ReelSEO for tips on how to implement this feature.
**Update 2008-11-13 – I was just contacted by the producer at TBS who set this thing up with me, and asked to take the video off of my site, sighting copyright restrictions. I’ve complied with their request, but find it unfortunate that a large media outlet like TBS would ask a blogger giving them positive international exposure to remove media, without offering an alternative. TBS, I understand your copyright concerns with me putting the video online myself – and I support your decision to defend your copyright. However, might I suggest that you make video segments of your content available to the web yourself, on your own site and on your own terms, so that people like me and other fans of Houtoku can more fully and respectfully engage your brand in the online world. Thanks!
