Kappa Bashi - Home of kitchen goods & Food Samples!

 I have been in a hectic situation because school started in Japan and was unable to update my blog. My overall goal is to become a professional photographer one day so while I continue going to photography school,  I will try to update my blog with contents on specific locations in Tokyo/Japan with photos, hopefully giving you guys info and also continue reviews on Camera goods for those who are interested. ^^

   Ok so over the weekend, I visited a downtown street called "Kappa Bashi" located near Tawara Machi Station (Ginza Line), Tokyo. This street has been long known for selling goods such as kitchen goods/crafts/glassware etc. and also...FOOD SAMPLES!?.

For some people this may be new info but this street has been famous for creating the 元祖(Ganso)-Original food samples. The food samples are actually made out of polymer material and the majority of restaurants in Japan typically have a showcase of food samples, replicating what they serve in restaurants.

A cold sweet desert sample :P

 
   Although its plastic, they are actually really well built, high chance to mistake for the real one. I have added some photos during my trip to show you guys what they are.
      These are actually one of famous souvenirs many people buy as a gift just because they looks soO real! I actually bought a salmon sushi key chain to attach to my camera bag and it looks good.

Old fashioned Coffee shop selling kettles

     
     The town feels being time slipped in the past by the way the streets are formed. Like traditional Japanese stores, these stores are actually small and you never know what kind of store is beside each other.
   So if your interested on visiting, Kappa Bashi is located on the next station to the Asakusa station (Ginza line) so for people visiting Asakusa it might be a good idea to visit this place as sort of an adventure.

 I actually favored the less rowdiness  during the weekend compared to Asakusa temple.

UV Filters: Are They Essential?

Kenko Zeta Protector (W) 52mm

  So what are these "UV filters and what are these for?" lots of people ask this question when they first step into the world of photography and I have to admit I really didnt know about it. Simply put, a "UV filter" is a filter/glass you put in front of your dslr lens to prevent it from scratches and dirt coming into the lens. It can also block UV light coming to the camera itself, but nowadays UV light doesnt affect much in terms of optics of lens. 

  People who argue against using this point out an extra piece of glass will cripple the photo quality, while people support the use say its better to scratch the filter then scratching a $1,000 lens. 

 I actually support the latter, since once the lens is scratched once, there is a possibility of it being unusable in future. I always ask myself, "would you want to walk bare naked in a bush?" NO! Same thing applies to taking photo's in wild, higher chances you might scratch the expensive lens outside. 

For those who are considering a new lens, it might be a worth to consider buying a UV filter. Not just for protection but for investing for the future. The higher end lens tend to be used relatively long period so it would be wise to know there is some form of protection. As always, these UV filters range from cheap to expensive, (in my experience about 15-100USD) and I wont advise buying the most expensive ones. I have been using a 20-30$ for my Nikon 35mm  1.8G and 55-200mm 4-5.6G lens and it has actually held up quite well. 

I hope this clears up some questions for many of you. 

55mm-200mm 4-5.6G ED (Nikon) lens

Shot using 55-200mm outside found a cute Mejiro bird 

   Lots of people online criticize this lens as `cheapo lens` (cheaply built) since its mostly accompanied when buying a W kit zoom lens (dslr+ 18-55mm and this 55-200mm) It is true that its a lens meant for beginner in terms of quality, but I think lots of people neglect the true fact of how this is a zoom lens should be used.The aperture is 4-5.6G meaning that compared to prime lens like the 35mm 1.8G, this lens cannot open wide as much as the 35mm. Thus not making it a indoor lens. 

  

Also used 35mm lens to compare the difference with 55-200mm lens

  I actually never bought this in w zoom lens kit because it wasnt worth an extra $200USD (the price difference between dslr+18-55mm+ 55-200mm and normal kit lens was about 2万円 in Japan=200USD). So I bought this in a used new shop for about 7,000yen=70 dollars and I would really say this lens is worth that price range 50-100 dollars at max. 
  
     




         In terms of speed in focusing, Yes it is slow but as a startup photographer patience is essential to taking good photo the Mejiro bird I took above took me 1hr to find one, not to mention it MOVES sooo darn fast! Overall I am happy I bought this lens since now I have one prime and one zoom lens so it gives me an idea of what each type of lens are for and what they are mainly used for, and I believe from this point on it is the photographer`s choice of whether to take close still shots or far-away pictures. It boils down to the photographer`s preference so good luck!
   

Jindaiji & Jindai Botanical Garden

I recently visited Jindaiji a famous temple located in Chofu prefecture (Tokyo). According to historical facts the temple itself was created in AD733 by a monk who studied buddhism in India. It is also said to be the next oldest temple to the Asakusa Temple that I visited earlier this year. Besides the Jindaiji, there is a Jindai Botonical Garden located right next to the temple itself and I looked to see if any cherry blossom blossomed.

Unfortunately I wasnt able to get good macro shots. I might consider buying a Nikon Micro/Macro lens. 

Nikon Photo Contest International

   Forgot to mention there is a Nikon Photo contest International 2012-2013 going on (http://www.nikon-photocontest.com/en/) From 2012, Dec 1st -2013 Feb 28. This contest has been going on for a lonnng time ever since 1969 and the prizes are will shock most photography enthusiast such as grand prize of 100 thousand yen worth of goodies along with    participation in photo gallery a chance to become a professional photographer. 

Asakusa Revisited!

Photo using Lightroom 4 "Kamen" (Mask)

    Today I visited my grandfather, and I also revisited Asakusa, in Taito Ku (District) in Tokyo a really well known sightseeing location for both the locals and tourists. In the early 20th century Asakusa was known for entertainments, along with the most famous buddhist temple Sensouji. 

   It was a nice day-weekday, I took some nice photo's of the alley and shops nearby but was shocked with soo many people walking around.

Soo many people >.<

   I also forgot I am starting to get used to Lightroom 4 by Adobe when editing photos. Its becoming a nice program, adding finishing touches + "watermarks" effect/method of adding a copyright to your photographs A MUST for aspiring photographers. 

Lots of cute gifts  

New Camera Strap

Walked around Asakusa for the entire day, using the Nikon Camera strap on my D5100,(came with kit lens) I felt really disappointed in the quality of the strap. By looks its a 10/10 but in terms of functionality, it did not exceed my expectation. 
When using the kit lens-18-55mm which becomes about total  800g  the 3cm wide strap gives pain in neck after wearing it for a long time. I actually wondered what would happen if I used a telephoto lens...not to mention Japanese people look at you when you take photos-they get lured to the yellow NIKON letters. woot fancy photographer....
  
So..I went to a local camera shop called Yodobashi Camera (Japanese version of Best Buy/ Canada Futureshop) and bought a new camera strap by Swimmingfly & Gevaert not sure if they sell these in the US but it caught my eye. With 4cm width slightly wider than the Nikon's, I got lured by the words on the box  "Material from Belgium, Made in Japan" :P. I actually threw away my top choices, OP/Tech USA, and another by Outdoors inc. I will highly do a review on this soon after using this for a while And update my photos at Asakusa Raimon, One of the top places foreigners should check when visiting Japan. Neat cool place with shops and foooood.