When I was only working from home at the start of COVID and I was spending 10-12 hours a day, 5 days a week on Zoom, my head was in a fog. I was feeling very drained mentally, as many people were. I needed something to challenge myself mentally and inspire professionally. Reading books wasn’t enough. I started looked at various online courses to see if those would fit was I was looking for. After a lot of research, I applied for Stanford’s Graduate School of Business LEAD Program. It’s a 12 month online executive education program focused on leadership, strategy, finance, innovation, negotiation and so much more. I was happy to get in. 12 months and hundreds of hours of study later, I can say it was a very good use of time and a productive way to ride out COVID. Lots of practical learnings that I can apply in work and life.

I haven’t gone out shooting for the past few years as I’m avoiding large crowds but my wife and I have made some trips to some of our favorites getaways outside of Tokyo.

Today’s Configuration: Leica M10-P, Leica M-11 and iPhone.

This is one of our favorite getaways in Gunma prefecture, a few hours north of Tokyo.

This is a beautiful little garden off the back of our room.

This ski resort was converted into a flower garden for the summer. A great way to build an additional revenue stream during the off season. Very clever.

We saw these beautiful summer houses up in Karuizawa while out on a walk. Beautiful and crazy expensive. Another fun getaway about 180 kilometers north of Tokyo. This town became famous as John Lennon lived here with Yoko Ono for a while.

A short walk around Yokohama Bayside

I captured this image on another trip up to Karuizawa. I had to pull over and take this shot. The scene was just too beautiful. There an amazing grocery store in Karuizawa where you can buy all sorts of local fruits, vegetables, meats and more. It’s worth the day trip just for the grocery shopping. I wish I saw the shadow of the torii gates in my framing and I would have taken a few steps back to capture all of it in the image.

Beautiful scenes in early January in Hakone. When Fuji is snow capped and the sky is clear.

We found this beautiful antique shop that always has amazing things. Some of their items are 400 to 500 years old.

On another trip to Gunma, Mayumi and I went for a long drive and pass this apple orchid that had a long row of Cherry Blossoms at the back of the field before the base of the mountain. It was a bit misty and foggy making it a beautiful scene to shoot.

The beautiful Fujiya Hotel in Hakone.

Sadly my hotel closed.

Meet Masa from Acu.place. Someone in my Jiu Jitsu class introduced me to Masa a few years ago. Given I hurt myself all the time in Jiu Jitsu and Cycling, it’s helpful having Masa near by. He offers a mix of physical therapy and acupuncture. I always feel 200% better after spending a bit of time with Masa.

I was lucky enough to catch up with my good friend John for breakfast when he was in town for business a few weeks back. It was good to see him in person.

Thanks for stopping by today!

I’ve been working from home since mid-March. I haven’t ridden a train or subway since then either. For the most part, I’ve been living on Zoom 8-10 hours a day. I have been traveling around 200,000 miles a year, typically several flights a month. It’s quite a change to be home all the time. It’s great to be able to spend more time with my family. The great benefit of working from home is I don’t have a door to door commute of 45 minutes or so. I don’t have the normal distractions in the office. So I get back 1.5 hours of commuting and an hour or two of office interruptions. I have so much time back in my life each day. It’s easier to do things before work and after work before dinner. I find myself super productive during the day and appreciate the extra time for my hobbies and my family.

It’s been a huge change from training in Jiu-Jitsu all the time to doing nothing each day. After a few months of that, I ended up buying a single-speed bicycle with a perk allowance my company provides so i could start exercises again.

Like most things I do, this hobby quickly escalates as you’ll see. I kept calling my good friend John Hall I went deeper down the rabbit hole for advice to keep me balanced. Wait a minute. Come to think of it, he is the same person I called when I thinking of a new camera or lens and his standard response is ‘why not, go for it!’. Maybe he is not the best person to call…

Today’s Configuration: iPhone 11 Pro

I started off by exploring the neighborhoods around me. I found this beautiful Lotus blooming just a few blocks from my house at a temple…

Just 4 short kilometers from my house is Tamagawa Bike Path. You can go for something like 80 kilometers. Beautiful scenery in every direction. Lots of flowers growing along the river. Nice little temples are hidden away. One day I even went through a second where what seemed like 100 black butterflies were born. They were flying everywhere and a few that were waiting for their wings to dry after being born were kind enough to pose for a photograph.

One of my first long rides I made it to Haneda Airport. Only the second time I’ve been to the airport this year. Did you know there were these huge Torii Gates there?

One day I saw this little guy in the middle of the bike path swatting at every bike that was passing him. He had little understanding that he was likely to get crushed. I stopped and helped moved him to the side.

As this hobby began to escalate I decided I needed to start buying some proper cycling gear. I also started to consider a proper street bike after my rides became longer and longer. My good friend Aruna has been giving me so much great information on what I need, what type of bike would suit me, and endless questions I came up with. Aruna is a very interesting guy, he is the CEO of Japan Cloud a SaaS value add VC. We met through a mutual friend.

I’ve also gotten great advice from my friend Sean, an OG reader of ShootTokyo, and from Ben, aka, AussieInJapan. If you are interested in cycling and Tokyo check out Ben’s YouTube channel. Thanks for tolerating my endless questions guys and for teaching me to route rides Ben.

My friend Dave Runacres has also given me awesome tips as he was a professional cyclist earlier in his life.

I learned from my good friend Steve that the brand for great cycling clothes is Rapha. As you’ll see I quickly learn that many of my friends love the 3Cs; Coffee, Cameras, and Cycling. Thanks Steve for taking my calls so I can ask too many questions about cycling clothes.

You need to have very specific technical clothing for cycling that wicks away sweat, avoid any chaffing, and is layer-able. I can’t believe the amount of cycling clothes I have bought. Base layers, Bib Shorts, Long Bib Shorts, Shirts, Winter Jacket, Wind Jacket, Vest, Arm covers for sun, Arm Warmers, Leg Warmers, Helmet, Sun Glasses, Shoes, and many more items.

Rapha has a Club House in Tokyo that is a store and a cafe but you can also be a Rapha Cycling Club member which entitles you to access to rides, discounts, free coffee at their cafe. I can also borrow bikes from them when I am traveling in other cities that have a Rapha Club House.

If you go to Rapha make to ask for Sho. He is fantastic and has given me such good advice on what to get and why to get certain products.

After researching every bike on the market I decided to get a Specialized Tarmac SL7 S-Works. I spoke to the Specialized Store in Shinjuku and they are all sold out of bikes in my size. They thought it would be months until they could get me a bike.

I started calling around to Shops in Tokyo but they were also sold out. I calls shops from Hiroshima to Hokkaido trying to find a bike but no luck. Finally one of the shops I called in Tochigi named Cycle Shop Fun which is about 3 hours out of Tokyo called me back. He said he was able to find one at this friend’s shop and buy it and assemble it for me. I jumped at the chance of picking up this bike as it was just releases and there was limited supply in any size.

I wasn’t thrilled with needing to bringing my bike all the way to Shinjuku whenever I need anything serviced. I was really excited to discover Rx Bike just 4 kilometers or so from my house. They focus on high-performance street bikes. The owner Akihiro Takaoka is an awesome guy. He is an x-equities trader at Golden Sachs who traded in his high flying finance life for running what turns out one of the hottest bike shops in Tokyo. I didn’t realize what a legend he is. He is an extremely high ranked competitive cyclist. He recently set the Guinness World Record for the fastest time for riding Japan end to end. 2,600 kilometers (1,650 miles) in 6 days and 13 hours.

I’ve now gotten in a routine of waking up at 5AM three days a week and trying to ride 50-75 kilometers before I start work. It’s such an amazing way to start the day. I spend 90% of my time down near Tamagawa River pushing further and further way from home. I also have Komazawa Olympic Park about 2 kilometers from my house so I can go there and practice my cadence.

I am not a very mechanical person. Tinkering with things is just not something I’m good at. Cycling is getting me more into it now. The first time I changed a tire took much longer than it should have. It was much harder than I expected but now that I understand it I can change them very easily.

I’ve also started reading a lot more on cycling. This Work Book Series from Rapha is amazing.

After see glimpses of the mountains off in the distance I decided this morning I was going to reach them today. The screenshots below are from my Strava. Feel free to connect with me if you are into cycling. Today’s ride was a killer. I ended up doing 162 kilometers (100 miles). The hills really scared me before I finally completed the ride.

Today was the best day of cycling I have had to date!

My Strava is connected to my Wahoo Bike Computer. This device is amazing. I can track speed, the cadence of pedaling, heart rate, power output, location, and then it all syncs up to my Strava. It sends my family a link when I’m out cycling so they can see where I am planning to go and where I am. Great safety feature and makes it so I don’t need to stop and send updates. There is more technology on my bike than my first computer.

It was a perfect autumn day. Cool crisp air. It’s beautiful to see the leaves changing colors.

Fuji-san!

After a painful 13 kilometer climb and 5 kilometer decent I was pretty tired and cold. I was so happy to see this place. I went in for a coffee but was happy to see they had a fire place. I also ordered butter toast. I don’t know if it was because I was so hungry but this was the best toast I have had in a long time. They make their own bread right now. It’s about 70KM from my house but I want to drive back there and pick up some more bread for home.

Don’t make friends with the bears.

It seems this isn’t only a Tokyo problem…

This was an amazing day of cycling. I started leaving my house in pitch black at 6AM and returned to the sun setting on Fuji-san.

To my American Readers: Regardless of your political affiliation make sure you vote this year. If you’re overseas you can still vote. Many states allow you to get a ballot emailed to you and you can fax it back. Stand up and be heard this year.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Be well

Today’s Configuration: Leica M10 w/ a Summicron 28mm f/2.0, Summilux 35mm f/1.4 and Summilux 50mm f/1.4

My friend Steve came to visit us for a weekend. It’s always good to see Steve.

We took a trip to the Paul Smith Space in Tokyo. I’ve been looking for a murse to add to my Paul Smith bag collection. I hate carrying things in my pocket especially in the summer.

Not my camera. Just trying out Steve’s strap, again.

My local take out Yakitori Shop is slowly being surrounded by empty parking lots. In Japan, this means it will soon fall as well.

Mr Suzuki finally put up a sign that he was closing his shop after 60 years. 60 years! He opened the shop when he was 18. Mayumi gave me the great suggestion to print out one of the photos I took of him and frame it as a memory for him of the shop. He was really happy. I’ve taken many photos of him over the years.

Many of our neighbors stopped by to wish him farewell. It was very touching to see.

Mayumi and I…

Me in the mirror. Mayumi is actually taking a photo of me from the car so it’s actually ‘Mayumi shooting me shooting me in the mirror’…

A new ice cream place in my neighborhood, with a giant cow…

NewsCafe… straight off a tour of restaurants in America. I tried the new avocado hummus. It was pretty awesome.

I can’t believe this cone is still going strong. The owner refuses to let the bullies win. If you need some cone-text: read this.

One of my blog readers James was in Tokyo and reached out to me to lunch. He is a heart surgeon that lives in Hawaii. He also runs a Kona Coffee business called Kona Cloud.

My regular doctor, Kimura-sensei.

One of my favorite baristas from ABC has left and moved to Nagoya to get married. Sad to see her go but happy for the next step in her life.

Tokyo Midtown in Roppongi

My friend Marek came to Tokyo on business and Mayumi and I took the opportunity to take him to dinner. We ended up at the Photographer’s Bar for a night cap.

I’ve been looking for a way to get into shape. I tried the gym but I’m just not a gym person. I find it extremely boring to go to the gym to just lift weights. I started looking for some martial arts near my house or work. I started researching places near my house but could only find a place that has Karate one day a week and a place that does Aikido two days a week. I looked near my office and was able to find a place that does Kendo one day a week. In order for it to stick it needs to be very accessible and easy to get to. When I do things I know I am going to do it 100+% so I really wanted to find a place that offers classes more than once a week.

One afternoon when I was doing the weekly grocery shopping with Mayumi I saw someone with a gym bag over their shoulder that said “Carpe Diem Brazilian Jiu Jitsu”. All I knew about Brazilian Jiu Jitsu I learned watching Ultimate Fighting Championship. I knew it gave fighters a huge advantage when the fight when to the ground. I remember the early UFC fights were dominated by Royce Gracie a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioner and member of the famed Gracie Family.

It caught my eye and I searched on my phone and was surprised there was a gym in Jiyugaoka. I’ve never seen it before. I stopped by Carpe Diem Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Jiyugaoka later in the day and learned it just opened a few months ago.

I was intimidated at first looking at the gym. I had a short chat with the guy behind the counter. I left to think about for a little while but honestly didn’t think I would be going back. I’m not a tough guy. I haven’t wrestled before. I’m not looking to get beat up. I don’t want to go to a gym to get pounded on by 20 year olds. I’m 46 and don’t want to get hurt.

I continued to look to see if I could find a martial art in my neighborhood I could do. I couldn’t find anything but I kept checking the Carpe Diem site. I started to research more and more about Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. It still seemed pretty scary to me but finally decided to stop back in.

There was a class ending and I watched a few people rolling (sparing in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu). When they finished I asked them how long they have been training there and what they thought of it. They were very enthusiastic about their experience at the gym. I said I was worried about my age being 46. One guy laughed and said he was 53 and someone else said they were 42. I figured I’ll give it a try.

I scheduled my first trail lesson the following Saturday. I was scared going in but just figured it was an experience either way. I was really happy with how welcoming everyone was. I didn’t know all of the difference classes offered so I went on Saturday at 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM. It’s an All Belts Colors class which turned out to be the longest of the week. One surprise to me was the class was made up of men and women, all different ages, shapes and sizes. It wasn’t only for the macho guys I had imagined in my head.

The opening of the class the group does a bunch of exercises to get heart rates up and stretch a bit. I was pouring sweat by minute seven. One of the exercises they had everyone do was pushups. 100 of them. I ended up doing 14, but it was better then I expected. I haven’t done push-ups since Coast Guard bootcamp.

The next section they taught some technique. They would demonstrate it then we break off into pairs to practice. I got paired up with a very nice brown belt who kindly shoed me the ropes.

The last part was rolling. You are paired up with someone and practice the technique you know. No one is trying to hurt anyone but it is physically very exhausting. On Saturdays there are 7 or 8 rolling sessions but i barely made it through 2 and half. I don’t really have any technique at this point it mostly me tapping (losing) every 20 or 30 seconds. My brown belt partner was kind enough to put himself in a position to allow me to execute a few of the moves we learned. He also let me sink in my first chock. It felt great. I do realize he ‘let’ me do these. If you want to get a feel for what rolling is watch this.

It was very interesting to roll with a brown belt. You quickly realize he can do whatever he wants to you and there is very little you can do to stop him. Famed Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Master Eddie Bravo described his first experience as something like this ‘I went into a class an was man-handle by a guy who was 50 pounds lighter than me. In the matter of 20 minutes he submitted me 39 times. I couldn’t do anything to him. It was humiliating. Everything told me to leave and never put myself in that situation again…then I realized. I can learn to do this’.

Each class you learn a little more, get a little better, apply what you learn, make new mistakes, correct them. Fast forward 5 weeks later. I am completely addicted. I’m practicing 5 or 6 days a week. Sunday I practice for 2.5 hours and made it through 8 rolling sessions. That’s 40 minutes. It’s hard to describe how exhausted I was at the end of this.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is one of the best things I have done. I couldn’t recommend it more highly. Carpe Diem has gyms in Jiyugaoka, Hiroo, Aoyama, Mita, Kamakura, Nagasaki, Gifu, Karume, Shinjuku, London, Seoul, and Singapore. There is even a school dedicated to females in Hiroo. If none of these locations work for you, check out your local gym. You won’t regret it.

We were lucky enough to have UFC Hall of Famer and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu legend BJ Penn come to the gym to give a seminar to the black belts. I was lucky enough to be allowed to watch and photograph the event. I’ve been watching BJ Penn fights with my dad. You can watch his highlight reel here.

Meet Yuki. He is the man behind Carpe Diem. I have a lot of respect for him and the culture he has built into his gyms. They are very welcoming places. After meeting Yuki I quickly realized we had a lot in common. He is an avid medium format photographer with a great eye. Check out his Instagram which most captures his family.

Now this is an interesting photo. It’s BJ Penn with Caol Uno a very famous Japanese MMA fighter.

I’m in Sydney for a few days on business. I took the opportunity to check out the Sydney Jiu Jitsu Academy on the recommendation of my instructor in Tokyo as he used to teach here. Had a great workout last night. I’m going to be documenting my Jiu Jitsu journey on a new Instagram handle @davecdbjj if you want to follow along.

Thanks for stopping by today

Be well

Dave

I mentioned back in October that I was applying for Global Entry. The most recent government shutdown delayed my getting approval as TSA wasn’t conducting interviews during the shutdown. I finally conducted my interview on arrival in Chicago on my way to Las Vegas. I got approved for Global Entry which included TSA-Pre and APEC Business Travelers Card. I can’t believe I’ve waiting this long to get it. This was easily the best $85 I have spent.

When I land in the US I am pretty fast to customs so I usually don’t get stuck and have to wait in lines. The beauty of Global Entry is you skip the lines all together, you walk up to a machine that is off to the side, swipe your passport, get a ticket, and pass it to the customs agent on your way through. The entire process of passing through customs took about 2 minutes. I could see this being very useful if a few big planes land before me.

Where I really found benefit was in TSA-Pre and the APEC Card. I met a friend at SFO and we were going through customs together. I went through the TSA-Pre line and was through customs in about 3 minutes. There was only one other person going through the TSA-Pre section along with me. We were both surprised and commented to each other that the line was so empty. My friend had access to the premium security line but it still took him 23 additional minutes to get through the security check than it took me with TSA-Pre.

With the APEC Card you get to use the diplomat/airline staff lines at customs. I can see this being very useful when landing at busy airports around Asia. After grabbing my bag after arriving in Narita I was able to whisk through the customs check using the diplomat customs baggage check line. I highly recommend heavy travelers apply for Global Entry, TSA-Pre, APEC pack. I’m kicking myself for waiting this long. It will literally save me hours per month.

Writing a blog like this can be a very solitary experience. I might get a hand full of comments on a post, the occasional reply to the email that automatically delivers new posts via email (sign up here), or the occasional retweet. Things are relatively quite as compared to the level readership on the posts. It’s easy to forget that tens of thousands of people will end up reading a given post so it’s nice when I get to meet readers of my blog in real life.

I had 3 “aren’t you that ShootTokyo guy interactions” in one week a few weeks back. It doesn’t happen all that often but it’s nice when it does. One was on an airplane where someone casually mentioned as we were deplaning “I really enjoy your blog”. It made me think when in the flight did he recognize me.

Another interaction I was in a camera shop in Shinjuku. I walked up and looked at some cameras in a display case and the guy who was standing next to me said “wait, I know you from somewhere'‘. It took him a few minutes but then he figured out it was from my blog. He was visiting from Canada so very random to bump into me, especially since I was out of Tokyo most of January and I don’t go to Shinjuku very often.

The last one was very unexpected and in a business setting in New York City. As I said it’s always nice to meet people who read my blog so don’t be shy about saying Hi.

I’ve had a bunch of inquires if I am going to make more ShootTokyo Shirts. I had enough requests that I have decided to do another run of my black shirts. They are being hand silk screened in Osaka as we speak. They are available for order and they will ship out in a little over a week once they arrive in Tokyo. Grab one before they are gone.

Today’s Configuration: Leica M10 and M10-P with a Summicron 28mm f/2.0 and 35mm f/1.4.

Meet Jason. He is a Creative Director from New York City recently transplanted to Tokyo with his family. Jason runs a few very cool Tokyo based Instagram accounts; @jgarcianyc for Black and White Images. He also has a more in-depth photography focused account @ShutterAdvance where he also announces photowalks he is hosting around Tokyo. He also has a YouTube channel and website packed with great content. Follow these if you are looking for some inspiration on photography in Tokyo.

As Jason and I live fairly close, we have found ourselves posting content from the same place, within a few hours of each other. We have exchanged a few messages on Instagram and have intended to meet up but our busy schedules haven’t allowed. As I was squeezing into an overpacked train early one morning and settling into my 1 foot by 1 foot space I have been able to carve out for myself I looked next to me and it was Jason.

We end up talking for a few stops and realized we have a lot in common. We were heading the same direction but getting off off at different stops. We decided to jump off together at a stop so I could shoot a image of Jason so I could introduce him to all of you. I shot my image of Jason and exited the station to walk the rest of the way to the office and Jason jumped back on the next train and continued on his way.

A perfectly random Tokyo encounter.

Meet Maruli. While grabbing a bit to eat at Haneda before my flight, Maruli and I started chatting after commenting on each others cameras. I was shooting my M10 and he was carrying a Leica SL with M mounted lenses. My camera has helped me meet so many people.

Maruli is a very interesting person. He is a lawyer, singer, actor, and entrepreneur, to name just a few things. Follow along his Instagram to see his fascinating life and beautiful family. I was most impress of his selfie with UFC President Dana White ring side for the Conor McGregor fight. #lifegoals

Another perfectly random Tokyo encounter.

The one moment of daylight I saw during my week in Vegas…

I took the opportunity on my last day to catch up with my brother Mark and explore the other side of Vegas. We headed out to Red Rock Canyon to see all the natural beauty it has to offer. I can see why this is one of his favorite places to visit. I’ll make this a regular place to go when in Vegas. Check out Mark’s Instagram for better photos of Red Rock and Vegas than I took.

I had a very short trip to New York City. I landed in the afternoon before a day of meetings. I had a few hours before a dinner appointment to explore some favorite spots in the city. I started my career working in New York City so lots of memories to revisit.

For those that have seen When Harry Met Sally…this is where the ‘I’ll have what she’s having’ scene was filmed.

Meet Tom. He is a professional photographer living in Brooklyn, New York. I first met Tom a bit more than 8 years ago when I interviewed him for ShootTokyo as part of a series of photographer interviews I was doing. Tom and I have kept in touch and supported each other’s work via Instagram ever since.

I was in New York City for a few days and Tom reached out to me to see if I wanted to meet up one evening. I ended up taking the train out to Brooklyn and we meet up as a small, quiet restaurant that he really likes. We ended up talking for hours about work, life, photography and entrepreneurship. It was a nice relaxing evening. I’m really glad he reached out.

Check out Tom’s commercial portfolio here to see what truly amazing photography looks like. Most of his photos are technically and artistically perfect. Tom is also has an amazing knife collection which his expertly displays on his very cool NotoriousEDC Instagram.

I was in San Francisco for a few days of meetings and through Instagram I realized one of my old co-workers Shigeno-san was visiting near by San Jose. We decided to catch up for dinner on my last night in town. He is one of my favorite people in the world to meet up with so it was fun as always. We met at a very spicy Szechuan restaurant for some mabodofu. He knows me very well.

Check out his Instagram for lots of photos of food, which makes sense if you know him. The first lunch meeting we had he ordered a massive bowl of rice and sashimi. He finished and I was still eating and he said ‘do you mind if I order more’. I said ‘sure’ thinking he was ordering a few more pieces of fish but he order another meal.

In more small world news, as I was walking to the restaurant to meet Shigeno-san, I was taking some photos and I hear “Hey Dave Powell” and in front of my is another previous colleague from Singapore.

The world is really getting small.

Thanks for stopping by today. Have something on your mind? Leave a comment below.

Be well

Dave

One of the things I had on my to-do list was to complete my Furusato Nozei shopping. Furusato Nozei is a unique Japan tax scheme created to help bring additional tax revenue to smaller towns in Japan to support their development. The way this system works is let’s say for example I’m going to owe $5,000 in tax to Tokyo next year. I can decide that rather than paying the money to Tokyo, I can decide to donate the tax to a different province or ward in a different part Japan. As a Thank You, and to encourage donations, the ward I donated to will send me a predetermined Thank You present. My tax bill is then reduced by the amount I donated. There are limits on how much you can donate based on your income but the limits are surprisingly generous making this a pretty beneficial scheme.

Let’s say I donated $4,000 of my $5,000 tax bill. Next year’s tax bill will be reduced by $4,000. The presents are often valued at up to half of the value of what you donated or more. The gifts are all sorts of things from local delicacies such as crafts, meat, fish, or alcohol to travel vouchers or even electronics such as iPads. So rather than paying $5,000 in tax, I pay $1,000 and donate $4,000 to a different part of Japan but I get $2,000 worth of stuff that I may already be buying so really I’ve lowered my tax bill by $2,000 while helping with the development of a small town.

Now $5,000 above was just an example, depending on how much you make your tax bill could be much higher and thus the benefit of the program you can received much greater. Have a look at this popular Furusato Nozei site to get a feel for the kinds of gifts you can get. It’s Japanese but just click around and you’ll get the idea. While the prices look a bit expensive don’t forget everything is basically ‘free’ as that money would have gone to tax with nothing in return vs. the Thank You present you are now getting here. It’s a fantastic system. You can also check this English Furusato Nozei site out for a little more information on the scheme if you are interested.

I was listening to a video of Tim Ferriss the other day that explained the concept of Singular Focus. He talks about it as a super power for getting large volumes of work done. I didn’t realize but it’s what I’m applying when I am working on ShootTokyo and Grown Man Shave. He talks about how everyone is always multitasking and how that’s not actually always a good thing. His suggestion is to block out time to do what he calls “deep work”. His approach is to shut off the TV, put your phone on airplane mode, close the other tabs in your phone and just dig into the task at hand for two, three, or four hours.

Husband Tip: Put your phone on airplane mode when out with your wife and singularly focus on her.

With the singular focus approach you will get far more accomplished than if you were multitasking your way through the tasks. A good example that we are all guilty of. Wake up on Saturday morning. Pour yourself a coffee. Turn on the TV and crack open your laptop and try to clean up some mails. You probably sit on your laptop for an hour or two but probably get very little accomplished. If rather you have 30 or 60 minutes of singular focus on that task you would accomplish much more in a shorter amount of time. When I think about writing blog posts here on ShootTokyo. If I am singularly focused I can pound out a blog post in an hour and a half. If I am watching TV, surfing the web, and distracting myself 5 other ways, the writing of the blog post can drag on over a couple of evenings. Singular focus is a concept I have practiced but not consistently so I’m going to try to be more mindful to apply this approach

Last year I flew 133,009 miles last year. That is actually quite a lot considering I didn’t fly the 1st four months of the year or in December. My travel was a lot more focused with trips mostly between Tokyo, Singapore, Sydney and San Francisco. This year I already have trips scheduled to Las Vegas, New York City and San Francisco by the 1st week of February. I’m excited to see where 2019 brings me.

I have had a few inquires recently asking me if I am going to make more ShootTokyo shirts. If you haven’t purchased one before, the shirts are very high quality, custom silkscreened in Osaka, Japan, made with a heavy 6.1 ounce 100% cotton t-shirt. I need to order in bulk to maintain quality so I wanted to gauge demand and see if it makes sense to do another run of t-shirts. If you would be interested in ordering a Black ShootTokyo shirt for $39.95 w/ free world wide shipping can you please indicate your interest here. If there is enough people interested I’ll do another run of shirts.

Today’s Configuration: Leica M10 with Summilux 35mm f/1.4 and Summicron 28m f/2.0 Leica lenses. On an interesting note, I’ve been shooting my Leica Summilux 35mm f/1.4. for more than 9 years now. This has been the lens that I am most consistent with over the years.

One of my last business trips last year was to Sydney, Australia. My meeting started 1st thing on Monday morning. The only flights to Sydney from Tokyo are red eye flights and given the early start time of the Monday meeting I needed to take the Saturday night red eye arriving around 9AM on Sunday morning. I think many people don’t think about the amount of time it takes to travel around Asia.

Arriving early Sunday left me the day to explore Sydney. I was traveling with a Japanese colleague so I took the opportunity to teach him the phrase ‘bromance’. We explored around the Opera House and then took the ferry and headed over to Manly Beach for a few hours before meeting some other colleagues for dinner.

I try to fly out of Haneda Airport whenever I can given it proximity to Tokyo but there are times I need to fly out of Narita. I’m always torn if I should drive or take the Friendly Bus. I love my car but after 4 years it only has 21,000 kilometers on it. There just aren’t enough driving opportunities for me. The drive from Tokyo to Narita is a night straight shot for 70 kilometers and a good opportunity for my car to stretch her legs. I also enjoy the quiet time on the bus to read or work. When I take the bus I usually get there a bit early pick up a Starbucks for the ride and make sure I have the front seat on the bus. I’m always torn which way to get to the airport.

One thing I love about my Leica camera, aside from the amazing photo quality, is the conversations it starts. I can’t remember this guy’s name but he say my camera and stopped me. I was checking out the area behind him as I realized there is a separate ANA checkin for Diamond members I can now use. He said something like ‘nice camera’. He is also a Leica shooter and was in Tokyo on vacation picking up some cameras. I always arrive to the airport early so I had some extra time and we spend 20 or 30 minutes talking. He was wearing the Rolex Submariner with this special black rubber strap from Germany that I have seen online before so I was asking him about it.

My camera gets me into conversations with strangers at least a few times a week.

The ANA Star Wars themed plane…

Late last year I got to fly to Florida to to spend time with my folks. This is something I’m trying to do once a year. It was a great week. We basically went from restaurant to restaurant and filled the voids in between watching various COPS shows. It’s always great to spend time with them. This is my ideal staycation. I miss them living so far away.

I picked up the Apple HomePod while I was in the US. I really like it. The sound quality is amazing and does exactly what I want; plays music and sounds beautiful. I had Google home but I found it super annoying as it always actives when someone says Google, which is more often than you might imagine. This used to happen to me when I was on calls and it would keep talking to me and I would end up needing to unplug in. I think it’s a fault in the design that will probably turn off more people than just me.

I caught up with my friend Fukuda-san just before the new year. He wanted a new headshot so we met for a bit of shooting and a coffee. The last time I took his headshot was more than 5 years ago. Check out his Instagram if you want another great glimpse into Japan.

I wish I was smiling in this photo as I really need a new headshot for Grown Man Shave’s about page and LinkedIn.

I headed out to Yurakucho as one of my blog readers Matty was in town. He was nice enough to take me out shooting when I was last in LA and I wanted to return the favor. I love this area. I would walk around and shoot here every night. I love the tiny little restaurants all up and down the streets under the train tracks.

Meet Matty…

Quiet year end in Tokyo…

In the latest Tokyo Real Estate things I don’t understand news… This is one of the major intersections in Ginza, arguably one of the most expensive places for real estate in the world. They have torn down a massive 15 story building and replaced it with this small weird garden and an airstream trailer where a local radio station is playing music and there is a small coffee shop. How this can make any financial sense is beyond me. I can only assume they are waiting to tear down another adjacent building so they just needed something to do with the space.

Thanks for stopping by today! Don’t forget to indicate your interest here if you want me to make more ShootTokyo shirts.

Leave a comment below and let me know what’s on your mind.

Be well.

Dave

I’m surprised the traffic that continues to come to the site each day. One trend I find interesting is when I first started I would post and get a good amounts of comments on the post. Now when I post I get only a few comments but then I get a lot of emails, tweets, and direct messages. I guess it speaks to the distribution of the content but interesting to me.

I decided to review some of my photos of recent years. I pulled out my favorite 60+ photos from the past 3.5 years for this post. It’s fun to go back and review and see how I’m evolving as a photographer and what subjects I’m gravitating towards.

I’ve always wanted to go to Dublin so was really happy when I had a trip to Ireland. I was lucky enough to have a few extra days to explore before continuing on to London.

A few hours exploring the markets in Mumbai before a late night flight back to Tokyo…

A beautiful Cherry Blossom tree near my house.

My RS4 during Cherry Blossom season. I think I will have this car for a very long time. I absolutely love it. My only complaint/wish is that it had Apple Car Play in it. I really wish Audi’s MII was upgradable.

My neighbor Fukuda-san the day we went to MAP Camera in Shinjuku so he could pick up his first Leica. He joins my unofficial Leicaphile club. Like so many before him this was just his ‘starter’ Leica and many more have followed since…

A few days exploring NYC while on a business trip. This is the fire station that is located directly next to the World Trade Centers.   These were the first responders on that day.   When the buildings collapsed the fire station was filled with 3 feet of debris.   Sadly 5 firefighters from this Ladder and Engine Company were in the towers when they collapsed and died along with the many others.

Just another scene in NYC…

My favorite sneakers of all time - Paul Smith Rabbit. While they are super white when brand new they last forever and still look pretty good even when worn in and dirtied up a bit.

My niece Emily…

When the Doraemon surrounded my office.

And the night Tokyo surrounded the Diet Building (Japan’s House of Representatives and House of Councillors) to protest Article 9. Here is a good summary of the issue from the US Library of Congress. This demonstration was one of the only times in Tokyo I didn’t feel safe.

My good friend Steve. Make sure to check him out on Instagram and Twitter.

Me too…

This shot and the next two are from the days shooting around Tokyo with SmugMug to make their profile video of me; Point Click, ShootTokyo. This was such a fun couple of days.

The brilliant Anton Lorimer. He travels the world making short movies about photographers. Spend some time reviewing his portfolio. It will be a good use of your time.

The look on this guys face as he played was pure joy. I hope I get my guitar playing to that skill level. For now, scales, scales and more scales.

From a very foggy day shooting around Venice Beach while on a business trip…

Catching up for a coffee while in San Francisco with my good friend Richard Kashnow. We met at Jay Maisel’s workshop in NYC many years ago. Check out some of his amazing photos in this post or this awesome photo of a double rainbow in Hawaii.

An early morning walk on the beach while on a business trip in Laguna Beach.

My favorite Suzuki Yakitori takeout in my neighborhood. I fear for their future as the builds around him go down and the land remains undeveloped. My guess is a bigger building will be put up in this place.

A morning walk in Bali while on a business trip. This lifeguard doesn’t look very happy.

I love shooting the front of windows like this…

I’m so happy with my shift to ANA as my primary airline.

Dr Evil

During a walk on another trip to Mumbai. This cop really wanted his photograph taken.

As the typhoon was approaching there were wind tunnels being formed between the buildings so this one was roped off.

The morning after typhoons the sky is so clear.

I rarely go shooting in Shimbashi but had a good evening shooting here one night. It’s nice to explore new places.

The ever kind Naoki at Leica Ginza who kindly helped me to upgrade my broken M9-P and Monochrom to the new Leica M10. Sadly they came out with a Leica M10-P recently. I’ve spend all of my Leica allowance so i can’t afford to upgrade. If anyone reading is independently wealthy and wants to send one to me please send me a message and I’ll give you a mailing address.

Leica: While I don’t do sponsored posts or accept ‘free photography equipment’ for review I’m willing to make an exception in this case. Either Black or Chrome versions are fine. I’m being very flexible here…

Me with the ever beautiful Mayumi.

Airport Sushi. The only kind I seem to be eating lately.

St Armands Beach in Florida. Taken while visiting my parents. It’s always nice to go down there and spend time with them.

From one of my early morning walks with my mom. While I complain about going so early I really do treasure them. The complaints are the jet lag talking.

I love all of the levels in Tokyo.

I’ve starting taking more portraits of people again. This is something I got away from but as I reviewed this set of images it was the people photos that I really liked the most. Sometimes I don’t want to bother someone by asking to take their photo, or I want to cause a scene by moving them into the right position but it’s always worth it in the end.

One of my favorite photos of Steve. I should have moved the water bottles.

John Hall hand delivering me a copy of his 1st book "4am | Japan". If you want to get a really unique well-made book while supporting a great photographer, check it out. 

John also has an amazing Instagram feed that is worth following.

A familiar scene for me lately…

Following a very long lunch with my friend Denise and her husband German.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this today and for following along my blog for all these years. Leave a comment below and let me know what you have enjoyed the most.

Be well.

Dave

I usually don’t get jet lag but the last few trips to the US have been tough for me. The trip a few weeks ago I just couldn’t sleep. I arrived on a Sunday and left on a Friday and I think I got a total of about ten or twelve hours of sleep. I would go to sleep around 11PM and I would be wide awake at 12:30AM and won’t be able to fall back asleep. I think one night I managed four hours. Last week’s trip I managed one OK night of sleep but the other two I slept only a few hours.

I should only have a few more business trips to close out the year after this. I’m also going take some time to go and visit my parents in Florida. I’m really looking forward to the quiet period at the end of the year in Japan. The country shuts down for about a week to a week and a half at year end. If you put in for a few vacation days you can get two weeks off. I’ll be doing that. I’ll start my year with a business trip to Las Vegas.

I signed up for Global Entry a few years back but could never get an interview appointment for my interview. Some of the interview locations you can’t get appointments unless you book three or four months in advance. I typically don’t know my travel that far in advance. I just reapplied and I’m hoping I can line up an interview on one of my upcoming trips. When I fly to visit my parents I’m transiting through JFK arriving at 5AM with a 5 hour layover. Much to my surprise they start interviews at 7AM and have openings that day. I hope my pre-approval comes in before they fill up. it sounds like I have just enough time to deplane, get through customs, transit over to customs terminal, grab a coffee, get interviewed and transit to my departing termnial. What a productive layover!

I applied for the package that comes with TSA-Pre and the APEC Travel Card. I should have done this years ago as it will save me so much time especially with TSA in the US. Now I’ll be able to leave my shoes, belt and jacket on and leave my electronics in my bag within the US. I wonder if I will be able to use my TSA-Pre right away after the interview.

I made a big decision last year to finally move off of United as my milage program. It’s a big decision as I was a One Million Miler on United and I needed to fly without status until I earned it again on another airline. If you travel a lot status really matters as you get priority on a lot of things such as boarding, upgrades, and seat assignments. It makes your travel a bit better.

I’m now using All Nippon Airways (ANA) as my milage program. In the past I didn’t as United dominated the routes I was flying and it just didn’t make sense. United isn’t dominating these routes anymore and has pulled back on a few of them or always co-share with ANA.

I finally made Diamond status on ANA. The benefits are focused on priority, smoothness of travel and comfort; priority parking, priority check-in, priority bags, priority customs queue, priority reservations, priority upgrades, free upgrades if seats are unoccupied, dedicated Diamond lounge, complimentary valet parking at Narita, waived change fees, extra baggage free, and 130% bonus miles. This is a very well thought out program. Things like this make such a massive difference when you travel.

The tickets you can get with milage are also very reasonable compared to other programs. I got a round trip business class ticket to the US for only 80,000 miles. I used to pay more than 200,000 miles.

I haven’t been pulling my camera out as much as I like but I have continued to post on my Instagram if you want to follow along my travels.

Room with a view… From the Conrad Hotel in Singapore. It’s still amazing to me how much this city changed over the years since I lived there in 2001.

I’ve continued to work on Grown Man Shave in my limited spare time. I keep adding new products and tweaking the way the shop works. I hope I can keep this revenue growth trend. This is more of a toy I tinker with than something I’m actually doing for money but I do get a little jolt of excitement every time I get an order and my Shopify mobile app goes ‘cha-ching’. It is a very smart gamification from Shopify.

If you haven’t been to my shop please check it out and support it.

I seemed to have missed the Jiyugaoka Matsuri the past few years. I finally got to shoot it a bit this year. My favorite year was when I shot it on film back in 2012. I haven’t shot film for a while. I need to dust off my MP and shoot a few rolls.

Mayumi and I caught up with John Hall and his wife as they were passing through Tokyo this month. It’s always good to see them. Don’t forget to check out John’s book "4am | Japan". It’s awesome. He also has an amazing Instagram feed that is worth following.

I’ve only had a few opportunities to get out shooting but it always seems to be raining when I do.

I caught up with Alain again as he was passing through Tokyo again. We decided to go to my favorite place in Yurakucho. I really like going to dinner here. It really good, friendly and very affordable. You will struggle to get much over $100 for two people.

I think my favorite Yakitori place in Jiyugaoka won’t be around much longer. The build next to it and behind it are already flattened. It feels like it’s just a matter of time. This is a scene you see play out all over Tokyo.

The building across the street suffered the same fate already this week. Time to finish packing and head to the airport.

Thanks for stopping by today

Be well

Dave

I have a trip to San Francisco and San Diego in September, then to Orlando in October, then Tampa in November to see my Parents.  I'm fitting in two short trips to Sydney in between those.  I'm hoping that wraps it up for travel for the year but there will probably be a trip to somewhere in December.

Outside of work, I've been consuming my time finalizing an investment.  This took a bit more time than I expected.  I have been continuing to build Grown Man Shave.   I've been adding new products and continuing to refine my advertising approach.  I'm on track to have my best month yet.  If you want to contribute to that, please do!  You'll never regret moving to wet shaving.  Readers of ShootTokyo always get 10% off at Grown Man Shave with the coupon ShootTokyo39.

Japanese Tip: 39 = is pronounced さんきゅう (San Kyu) in Japanese, i.e., Thank You. 

As expected, Leica announced the M10-P.  It's very similar to my M10 but it has a touch screen and a few other minor enhancements.   I prefer the P series to the standard M as I prefer the way they brand this one; Leica script on the top of the camera vs. the red dot.   I prefer it but not enough to upgrade from my M10.  Leica if you are reading this I'm happy to be a sponsored photographer.  I feel like I already am.  Also if any of my insainly rich readers are bothered that I am not shooting with the latest and greatest camera please feel free to gift me the M10-P.  I'll even let you choose black or steel.

Today's Configuration: Leica M10 with Summicron 28mm f/2.0, Summilux 35mm F/1.4, and Summilux 50mm f/1.4

I got a new pair of Tom Ford reading glasses.  I really like the simplicity of this pair.   Mayumi thought my other ones were a bit harsh looking on me.   I find myself using them more and more.   If I wear my glasses while reading or using my computer I'm less tired after.  I guess that is all part of aging. 

This was shot from the 43 floor of SunTec City Tower 4.  Back in 2000 when I was living in Singapore, I was working on the 31st floor of SunTec City Tower 4.  The Singapore skyline has changed so much since then.  I've traveled back to Singapore a few times a year since moving to Japan in 2001 and have enjoyed watching this country transform. 

Those that know me, know I'm a creature of habit. I try to go to Mag's Wine Kitchen on each trip to Singapore.   It's always a great choice for amazing food and quiet enough to have a good conversation.   You can't go wrong with anything you order here.   They changed the menu recently and this time I had Crab Salad and Lobster Risotto.   The food was fantastic, as it always is.  It's a very predictable experience.  I'll be heading there this week while in Singapore.

You can find Mag's Wine Kitchen at: 

86 Circular Rd, Boat Quay Shop Houses

Singapore 049438

+65 6438 3836

I was meeting up with someone for a casual business conversation this week, and we decided to meet up at Sangenjaya Yokocho.   I have always wanted to try here at night, so it was a perfect opportunity.   It's a similar type atmosphere to Shinjuku's Omoide Yokocho, aka Yakitori Alley, or Golden Gai but isn't completely overrun with tourists as those locations are today.  Omoide Yokocho and Golden Gai really aren't enjoyable to go to anymore.  I prefer a bit quieter location.

I shot the same scene as above on my iPhone and put in on Instagram.  I was really happy with how it came out.    It is my most engaged image on Instagram in a long time.

横丁（よこちょう）yokocho - bystreet; side street; back street; alley; lane, place

My local Shrine.   I cut through there on Saturday mornings when I walk into town to grab a coffee.  In summer, it's filled with the sound of cicadas.  It's a small but peaceful place to explore.

蝉 (せみ) semi - cicada; locust

Good luck Minakami-san!  I hope you get into the school you want.

Tokyo's summer has been brutally hot.  Endless heat and endless humidity.   Tokyo has hit highs this summer of 41 degrees (105 for those of you in the US) with humidity in the 80s.  It just makes it miserable to be outside.   I don't agree with this type of weather.  I prefer mid-fall weather.  Cool enough to wear a jacket but not so much that you need one.   Summer isn't for me.  Luckily I have had 3 business trips to Australia in the last few months.  It is still winter in Australia, so the weather agrees with me much more.

蒸し暑（むしあつい）mushi atsui - humid; sultry

My friend Denise and her husband German were in Tokyo, and we decided to catch up for a long lunch at Nobu.   We hadn't caught up for a few years, so it was great to see her again and meet her husband.  We talked for hours.  You may remember I caught up with Denise and her brother when they visited Tokyo in 2013.   You can read her version of events over on her blog.

Denise jokes that she is part of my unofficial and exclusive Leicaphile Club.  There is some truth to that; I have built a pretty amazing network of friends in cities all over the world, and we are connected through this unofficial club.  I have met a lot of people through ShootTokyo, and they have in turn introduced me to other people as I'm traveling.   I can almost always find a fellow Leicaphile to go shooting with in any city in the world.

I was introduced to Denise through my friend Ivan who I met up with in San Franciso for some shooting while I was in town on a business trip.  We were chatting over lunch about work.  At the time, they both worked for the very cool photography company SmugMug, who recently bought Flickr.   I got Ivan into Leica cameras, and in turn, he got Denise into Leica.   It turned out that Denise was speaking at the same conference as me, so we had a chance to meet up.  She told me there were quite a few readers of ShootTokyo working at SmugMug. 

Denise has had a significant impact on ShootTokyo.  First, being the excellent marketer that she is she was telling me I should be hosting my portfolio on SmugMug and leverage their platform to sell prints.   I always focused on my blog and never really gave these areas much consideration.  I had a portfolio site, but I didn't like it or maintain it.  I sold a few prints, but it was an extremely manual process.  

I told Denise I wasn't technical and didn't want to take on this project.  Denise persisted and insisted it was worth it.   She even had one of their designers Tomasz help build out my portfolio site to look and feel like the rest of ShootTokyo.   He also helped me to build out a print shop that is completely automated end to end.  Since then I have been able to sell 100s of prints.

Tomasz and I collaborated and found some cool ways to use SmugMug.   We had added captions below each photo in my portfolio to tell a little bit of a story and link back to my blog.   SmugMug's CEO said to me that he liked it and hadn't seen anyone use SmugMug like that.  After we finished creating my portfolio site I was speaking to Tomasz and he said "David, I need to be honest with you.  I love reading your blog, but honestly, the design of it is shit.  We are going to redesign it.".   I like this approach to constructive criticism - issue followed by action.  We continued to work together and he helped me to make the site you are reading today.   If you ever need a site designed, make sure to reach out to Tomasz.  He will keep it very real and leave you with an amazing site.

What started as a chance meeting turned into a great collaboration with SmugMug that persists to today.  I've been lucky enough to be featured on their home page and the highlight of the last few years was the SmugMug Films feature on me.    Thanks for your friendship and collaboration, Denise!

My wife Mayumi is very sad.  Her favorite shop Laura Ashley is closing after 32 years in Tokyo.  Aeon, which holds the franchise contract in Japan, isn't renewing that contract.   It seems like it was a viable business so this was a bit of a surprise. 

Me in the mirror

Stay cool out there.  Thanks for stopping by today.    Leave me a comment below and let me know what's you thought of today's post or anything that is on your mind. 

Be well

Dave

I'm sure someone will have a technical reason for why the M10 can't fulfill what the Monochrom was offering.  Those who read my Leica M10 Visual Review will know how much detail I like to go into about the technical specifications of my cameras and debate it.  

Leica M10 Technical Summary:

Megapixels: a bunch

Frames per section: enough

Weight: a bit more than my M9

Dimensions: thinner than my M9

Battery life: seems long

ISO: more than my Monochrom

Today's Configuration: Leica M10 with a Summicron 28mm f/2.0

Alain, who I met in Ginza for lunch a few months ago, was back in Tokyo and we took the opportunity to catch up for a coffee at Alpha Beta Coffee Club. 

As I mentioned a few posts ago, I collaborated with Alpha Beta Coffee Club, and I displayed my images in their cafe for a few weeks.  I held an opening reception the day we put the images up.  There was a terrific turnout.  Much more than I expected.  I got to speak to many people I haven't seen in a while. 

For the next few weeks following, it was nice to see people enjoying my photos when I stopped to pick up my coffee.  People didn't know I was the photographer so I could see their natural reactions as they looked at my photos. 

While the pictures have been taken down now, ABC is continuing to sell my book.  If you are in Tokyo and looking to pick up a copy, please stop by ABC.

My friend John Hall was passing through Tokyo and we did our usual catch up over coffee.  I had purchased a copy of John's book "4am | Japan" a few months ago and he hand delivered it to me.

I always admire anyone who undertakes a project as big as creating a book.  There is so much involved in creating a book like this.  If you want to get a really unique well-made book while supporting a great photographer, check it out. 

John also has an amazing Instagram feed that is worth following.

I had a trip to Melbourne and Sydney for a few days about two weeks back.  I love flying out of Haneda.  It's close to Tokyo, quick to get to, affordable to park at and fairly hassle-free.  Unfortunately this time it was anything but.

I planned to arrive at the airport about 3 hours before my flight as I wanted to eat dinner and get a little work done before take off.  I typically pull into the parking garage, find a space and head to departures.   This time as I pulled up towards the airport's garage this time I noticed there were cars everywhere.  Not a few but lots, everywhere.  It was very unusual for Haneda Airport.

There was a massive queue waiting to get into the parking garage.   There were 100s of cars in front of me and it appeared I wasn't going to be parking anytime soon.  After not moving for 20 minutes, I decided not to wait anymore and pulled out of line.   As I passed the front of the line there was a sign that said something to the effect of 'Parking lot is full.  Please wait'.  I've never seen an airport parking lot completely fill up before.  I can't believe someone wasn't walking back and telling everyone so they could make alternative plans.  I imagine many people missed their flights on this day. 

I figured I could just head over to the Domestic Terminal of the airport about 1 kilometer away and park there.  Then I could either take a shuttle or cab back to the International Terminal.  I arrived at a similar scene but this time the sign said '3-hour wait'.   Who arrives at the airport with 3 hours slotted for parking? I start to panic.  Where can I leave my car?  How did my arriving 3 hours early turn into a situation where I could potentially miss my flight?  I quickly jump on Apple Maps on my phone and type in 'hotel' looking for the nearest hotel not attached to the airport.  The Shinagawa Prince Hotel was about a 20-minute drive away.  That's 20 minutes there, 5 or 10 minutes to park and grab a cab, and then 20 minutes back to the airport.  At least I can arrive 1.5 hours before my flight.

I raced back to central Tokyo to drop my car in Shinagawa.  I pulled up to the Prince Hotel and realize it's not a hotel owned parking garage that would typically have a fixed fee of 3,000 yen a day or something like that.   It was a Times Parking lot which, which is run by one of the large commercial operators of parking lots across Japan.  They offered 3,000 yen for hotel guests but for everyone else, it was 100 yen for 10 minutes.  I was going away for a week!  This would be a $1,100 parking bill.  Ugh.

I quickly pull out of the parking lot and now I'm really starting to panic.  I called Mayumi and see if she can help me to find somewhere I can go.  She called back about 5 minutes later with a place about 10 minutes from where I was where I could park.  At the same time, I found a place I could park for $15 a day and I dropped my car and jumped in a cab.   

I got to the airport about 1 hour and 20 minutes before my flight about scheduled to take off.  I was able to get through security fairly quickly and had time to grab some sushi before takeoff.   I really like the sushi at Haneda and it's a good way to start a long trip.

I prefer much smoother arrivals at the airport. 

I booked this trip a bit late and I couldn't get the flights I wanted on a direct flight so I decided to fly Tokyo to Singapore and Singapore to Sydney.  I settled into my seat after the chaos of figuring out where to park.  I love flying on Singapore Airlines.  It makes me not care how long the flight is.

I've got my iPad loaded up with books to keep me busy on my travels.  I'm currently reading Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential.  I have watched his shows for years so I was very sad to hear of his passing.  I have a queue of books on my iPad waiting to be read.   I have a few from Haruki Murakami as well as both of Richard Brandson's books finding my Virginity and Losing my Virginity in my queue.   I'm always willing to take book recommendations as well so please share if you have any.

I was listening to my favorite podcast The Tim Ferris Show the other day.  He had Brandon Stanton from the Humans of New York on.  He talked about photography of course but there were two things he mentioned that stuck with me. 

He talked about mastering the 24 hour period.  This was about not getting caught up in planning big huge projects but rather seeing what you can get done in the next 24 hours.  He wasn't saying don't work on big projects but when you do so make sure it's with a bias for action.  What can you get done to move this project forward in some incremental way in the next 24 hours?   I know personally, I can get caught up in planning projects out and I know when I approach projects with a bias for action I can get so much more accomplished.  ShootTokyo is a good example of this.  It is a culmination of a lot of efforts over 24 hour periods.   If I sat back and tried to plan all this has become, it would have seemed overwhelming but putting a little effort in each day I have been able to achieve a lot.

Brandon also talked about self-education and how he was reading 100 pages a day of non-fiction for a period of 7 or 8 years.  I've self-taught myself a lot of my skills so I can really relate to this.  While I doubt I can read 100 pages a day it's a good reminder that I should be trying to read more.   I would love to get to the pace of reading 2 to 3 books a month.   I think with a few behavior modifications it's very doable. 

If you haven't listened to Tim's podcast I couldn't recommend it more.  It's amazing.  He interviews some of the most amazing people and just such good insights from them.  I always learn something from him. 

One of the things I recently picked up from Tim is how he deals with life's little setbacks.   For example, if you have a flight get delayed it is so easy to get mad, annoyed, frustrated and let it completely change your mood.  In times like this Tim asks himself "What gift did this give me?". 

He is asking himself because of what happened what options do I have now that I didn't have before.  If your flight is delayed 2 hours you aren't going to change that.  Getting angry, annoyed or frustrated will accomplish nothing.  Does he now have time to finish the conversation he started with the guy sitting next to him at the coffee shop?  Does he have a few hours of uninterrupted work time at the airport?  Time to read an additional 100 pages of the book he is deep into before boarding the flight?    What gift was he just given?  

I think it is a great way to think about and work through problems like that.

If you are going to get stuck in an airport for a few hours Changi Airport is always a good choice.  They have good restaurants and bars such as Wolf Gang Puck to grab a quick bite to eat and grab a drink before you flight.  

I finally arrived in Sydney mid-morning the following day.  My hotel room had this beautiful view of Darling Harbor.  It was a beautiful winter afternoon so the sky was clear.  It was Sunday but I had a lot of things I wanted to get done before starting my week.  I ironed my shirts, shined my shoes, emptied my inbox and a few other things that ate up my afternoon. 

I decided to hit the gym for a few hours before meeting an old boss for dinner.   I don't love to exercise but I also don't like being out of shape which is easy to do when you travel heavily.   A good workout is a great way to start a business trip and burn off extra some calories that I know I am going to consume.  I bring my iPad and if you get into reading something it is easy for an hour or more to pass without you noticing it while walking briskly on a treadmill.  Plus I had an amazing view of the sunset on Darling Harbor from my treadmill.

After a few days in Sydney I headed off to Melbourne for a day before heading home.

I enjoy traveling but Tokyo always feels like home when I return.

I recently bought a new briefcase for work.  I need to be able to work on trains, planes, taxis, hotels, and offices other than my own.   Because of this, I spent a lot of time trying to find the perfect bag.  I want it to be big enough to hold everything I need but not too big. I don't want a lot of pockets I am never going to use, or worse, try to find things to put in them.   I want the things I need to be easily accessible when I am on the go. 

I need a bag that can hold my laptop but I don't need a ton of extra padding. I'm not throwing my bag around.  Basic protection is OK.  I need to be able to fit my iPad, reading glasses, sunglasses, and chargers in the main compartment.   I need it to be able to fit my M10 in the main compartment as well when it's not around my neck.   I also need to be able to fit my Japanese study books when I am traveling.

Inside I need pockets that can hold my business card holder, office bag, and a little card holder I use at work to hold my building badge and point card for stores in my building.   Japan has point cards for everything and my office building is no different. 

On the outside, I want a zippered pouch so I can easily access my wallet, keys, passport, coin purse, and mints.   I want to make sure my bag has room to hold exactly what I need and not much else.   I actually empty my bag once a week and make sure I don't have any stowaways in my bag.  It's easy to keep adding things to your bag unintentionally. 

After checking out every bag I could find at Hugo Boss, Tumi and a few other stores, I thought I had found the perfect bag at Dunhill.  It's was beautiful, well made, and holds exactly what I want.  I used it for a few weeks in Tokyo and then took it on it's inaugural business trip to Australia.  On the first day, the metal hook that clips to the side of the bag snapped in half and when it did it ripped the u-ring right off the side of the bag. 

A bag in this price point should never break.   I was really surprised and disappointed.  This was day 1 of a 7-day business trip.  I needed to hand carry the bag the rest of the trip.  While it doesn't sound like a bit deal imagine walking through the airport, bag in one hand, coffee in the other, trying to drag along your suitcase and answering your mobile phone.  You quickly miss the shoulder strap and the extra free hand.

I was very frustrated but then I asked: "What gift did this give me?".   What can I buy now that I couldn't do before as I already bought a bag. 

I took the bag back to Dunhill and they offer to replace it immediately but I decided to look around a bit more and asked them to issue me a refund.   I ended up finding a new bag at Bally.  Somewhere I hadn't looked before and didn't expect to find the perfect bag.  It was simpler, a bit smaller, and best of all on sale for about 60% less than of the cost of the Dunhill bag.  After using it for a few weeks I think it's a much better bag than what I had found at Dunhill.  I like it so much I'm actually considering picking up a second one and hanging on to it for a few years so I have a replacement when my current one wears out. 

Thanks for stopping by today.  I hope you enjoyed this post.

Be well.

Dave

Here on ShootTokyo, I post images almost as they come out of the camera.   I have a minimalist digital workflow that keeps me focused on capturing the best raw image that I can in the camera.  I might occasionally crop something out of an image, sharpen a bit or add some vignetting if my lens didn't add it automatically.   That's really about all I do.  

On my Instagram feed, I'm only posting images captured via my mobile phone's camera.  The exception to this is when I am promoting a new blog post then I use one image from the blog post in my Instagram post.  My Instagram images are edited using the awesome set of available filters.  I tend to up the structure, add vignetting, and then add a filter.  

I have really taken to Instagram lately.  I really enjoy the simplicity of shooting an image on my phone, quickly editing it in the Instagram App and the posting it.  Viewing other people's images is very easy.  I don't need to commit much time.  I don't need to read their text or comment if I don't want to.  I can scroll and double tap the photos I like to show my appreciation. 

I was viewing some of my iPhone images in a larger size on my Mac the other day and was really impressed with the details it captures.  There is an amazing amount detail being captured that is lost in the small form factor in which you typically view Instagram at.   I decided to dedicate this blog post to my favorite Instagram images of this year, in large size.  Enjoy the details.

Today's Configuration: iPhone X

Nakameguro Station

One of my favorite places to eat Mabodofu in Marunochi.

The view of the Tokyo Expressway from the lobby of Credit Suisse in Izumi Gardens.

My favorite spot to shoot Cherry Blossoms in Nakameguro.  I really miss living in Nakameguro.

As I mentioned in my last post, I've been on a bit of a Cheeseburger diet lately.  This is my regular order at Bareburger: beef, American cheddar cheese, tomato, bacon, horseradish mayonnaise, on a brioche roll.   It is as good as it looks.

Crossing at Ginza 4 Chome

Fashion forward street photography.

I have taken 100s of ANA flights but I finally go to ride the ANA Star Wars BB-8 plane.  I love all of the little touches especially the Star Wars music at takeoff. 

I even had a great seat mate for a while.

I found a great sushi place near my office.  I know its good as there are sushi that I typically don't like that I really enjoy in this place.   This is the 'today' set.  It changes a bit each day but it's only $10.  Pretty amazing.

I really enjoy this photo large.  A lot of emotion in these faces.

I hope you enjoyed my favorite Instagram images so far this year, in large size.   Let me know what you think of this post and if this is something you would like to see me repeat in the future. 

Thanks for stopping by today.

Be well.

Dave 

I have gotten away from photographing people I am interacting with.  It is something I have always liked doing.   I've decided to get back into this more as I think people really like the photos and I think it makes my blog posts much more interesting.    I will try to introduce you to some of these people here.

Today's Configuration: Leica M10 w/ Summicron 28mm f/2.0, Summilux 35mm and 50mm f/1.4

Meet Alvin.  He a co-founder and Chief Coffee Officer at Alpha Beta Coffee Company.  He is a self described designer, maker, culture hacker and major coffee nerd.  He is a very interesting guy to sit down and have a chat with. 

Meet Takeshi.  He is the manager of ABC Coffee.   He is the smiling face you see when you come through the door.   I'm very grateful for all his work to make a cool coffee shop in Jiyugaoka.  Arigato Takeshi-san!

As I mentioned in my last post, I have been speaking with Alvin about collaborating with Alpha Beta Coffee Club.   Well, it's happening this April 26th through May 6th.   I'll be exhibiting some of my favorite images throughout Golden Week.   My book will also be available for sale at a special price. 

I'll be hosting an Opening Reception this Thursday, April 26th from 7-9 PM (Facebook Event Page).  If you are in Tokyo, come hang out, say hello and grab a coffee, tea or one of their great craft beers.   I expect a good mix of people so it's a good chance to meet some interesting people.  

Alpha Beta Coffee Club is located 1 minute from Jiyugaoka Station @ Milche Jiyugaoka 3F, 2-10-4 Jiyugaoka, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan 152-0035 (Google Map).

Many of the interesting folks below should be coming on Thursday.

Meet Dino.   He reached out to me on Instagram a few weeks to say he liked my photos and introduce me to his.  We realized that we both drive an Audi RS4.  It's not a very common car so that's quite a coincidence.  After a bit of chatting, we also realized that we lived about 1 kilometer from each other, so we decided to meet up at ABC for a chat and enjoy one of their craft beers

Dino is a 25 year resident of Tokyo.  Like many of us, he has lived all over the world so the accent of his home country of Italy is all but gone.  He is a Motorjournalist, Photographer, and Editor at Large of the widely popular car culture website SpeedHunters.   Dino is deeply emerged in the Japanese car culture and his Instagram is awesome.  Think ShootTokyo but for cool cars. 

You met Gyula previously a few posts ago.   We 1st met when he was living in Ireland and took a business trip to Japan and we spent a great night shooting around Shinjuku.  We worked together for a few years and recently he has moved to Tokyo.  He is living a digital nomad lifestyle.   The freedom is something to be admired.  

Meet Sean.   He is someone I have known online for years now and we have many mutual acquaintances.   Sean recently moved to Tokyo from LA.   Like a lot of my friends explaining what he does isn't so straightforward; He has run hackerspaces and blog networks, an art gallery, design firm and a record label.  He is an Associate Professor at Keio University, a Shuttleworth Fellow, and an MIT researcher.   We finally met up when Sean bought some film I was selling.

Sean is also one of the founders of Safecast.  Safecast is an international, volunteer-centered organization devoted to open citizen science for the environment.  Safecast was established shortly after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in Japan, following the Tōhoku earthquake on 11 March 2011 and manages a global open data network for ionizing radiation monitoring.  The Safecast team, with help of International Medcom, Tokyo Hackerspace, and other volunteers, has designed various devices for radiation mapping.

To put more simply, within hours of the Fukushima disaster the world's supply of Geiger counters were gone.   There was no access to information about what was happening in regards to radiation in Japan.   It was very scary time to be in Japan.  Sean and a few others rather than accepting this situation figured out how to build Geiger counters, how to deploy a network of them across Japan and have become the world's authority on radiation measurement having governments call on them to help to define their strategy and share what they have learned.    They have taken more than 54 million measurements.   You can see all of this data laid over a map to see the power of what they collected. 

The work they are doing is amazing.  You can learn more here and donate here.

It seems we both grew up listening to bands signed to Revelation Records but we still haven't had a chance to catch up on this.   You can find Sean on Twitter and Instagram. 

Meet Pieter.  He has been on ShootTokyo many times as we have been friends for years now.  Pieter and I met when he was running IT for Shinsei Bank which was one of Japan's most progressive banks at the time.   It's hard to describe Pieter in just one role as he does so much.   He is a true polymath.   

He co-founded Safecast.   He is a technology advisor to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).   While MAS sets monetary policies for Singapore they have emerged as a thought leader in how to innovate the financial system for a country and how to work with Fintech companies.   He is a researcher and guest Professor at Keio University.  He is a researcher at MIT Media Lab. 

Go to dinner and drinks with Pieter, it will go on for far too long and you will leave feeling like you need to read more and be doing much more with your time.  I remember the phone call I got from Pieter right after the earthquake in 2011.  "Dave it's Pieter, who do you know that works with Nuclear Power or in that industry?  Also, let me know if you need to use my Satellite phone (as communications were down across Japan)."   This is not an abnormal call to get from Pieter.   I typically smile when my phone is ringing and it's Pieter on the other end. 

He also has the most impressive collection of Leica lenses and cameras.   The dream lens for many Leica shooters is the Summilux 35mm f/1.4.   The unattainable one that many long for is known as the double aspherical which has two aspherical elements in it.   The reason it’s considered so special is that the aspherical lens elements where hand polished, which resulted in only a few that were perfect enough to make it through a lens. Today aspherical lenses are machine polished.  It's virtually impossible to find and if you can it's probably unaffordable.   Pieter shoots with the prototype of that lens and was kind enough to loan it to me for the photo above.

You can watch Pieter speaking about Safecast at TEDx.   It will be easy to see the power of citizen science (and how smart Pieter is).

I dropped my backpack a few months ago.  I was throwing it over my shoulder and somehow the strap completely missed my shoulder.   I have this big ding on the right front corner and some of the metal was a bit sharp and cutting into my bag.  Pieter had the tools to grind it down and smooth it out.  Jon Ivy would die watching us grinding down my Mac but it looks great now. 

Steve has been on here many times.   He is one of favorite people in the world.   Our wives joke that we are dating.   He had some miles to burn so flew to Tokyo for 36 hours and we were able to catch up for a coffee. 

(photo credit: Steve Collins)

I've been looking for new sunglasses forever.   I have such a hard time finding glasses that fit me, feel good and look good on me.   My head is too big and glasses often just look weird on me.  They either look too small, crooked or just off.   I found this blue tinted pair from Tom Ford.  At first I didn't think I would like something so fashionable but I really like them now.   I went to my local glass shop and the optometrist spent a while adjusting them and fitting them to me so they are really comfortable and fit really well now.  Steve tried shooting a lot of pictures and it was hard to capture the actual color with a camera but this is pretty close.  I'm really happy with them.   

I mentioned before when I first moved to Asia 18 years ago, I weight 97 kilos (214 lbs) about 12 years ago I dropped my weight down to 82 kilos (181 lbs) and I've always kept it between 82 kilos and 84.5 (186 lbs).  It is still heavier than I wanted, to give me the figure I wanted, but it's close. 

I've worked myself into a diet of eating twice a day; lunch and dinner.  I didn't realize but when you consume all of your food in an 8 hour period and don't eat the other 16 it's a form of intermittent fasting.   This wasn't really intentional.  I've never been a big breakfast eater and I don't feel good if I eat late in the evening it just worked out that I eat like this. 

I've been watching what I eat lately.    I tend to take an approach like carbon offsetting (i.e. you can fly in a plane but then you need to buy carbon credits).   I apply it to food; if I eat bad things I need to make up for it with good things.   So if I eat a heavy lunch or dinner, I follow it up with a light lunch or dinner.   My go to are boiled eggs and toast or banana and oatmeal.  

I also don't deprive myself of anything.  If there is something I want to eat I do but then I 'offset it'.   If you have been following my Instagram you'll know I've been really into Cheeseburgers lately.   Tokyo has some of the most amazing burgers.   

I joined a gym recently and I weigh myself daily as a way to keep my weight in check so I wasn't too worried about the burgers.   Well, it seems my weird mix of diet, exercise and allowing myself to eat burgers whenever I want has worked.  I weighed in this morning at 77.2 kilos (170 lbs), my lowest weight since high school this morning.   I'm not going to argue with science.  On with the burgers (and exercise I guess)...  #burgerdiet

One of the trends lately in Tokyo are shops that allow you to build your own burger.  This one is beef, American cheddar cheese, tomato, bacon, horseradish mayonnaise, on a brioche roll.

Someone yarnbombed the giant spider. 

Neighbors are moving.

I know many of you have made your way over to Grown Man Shave and have become customers.  Thank You for that.   It means a lot.

Thanks for stopping by today. 

Be well.

Dave

On a serious note for a second, March was suicide awareness month in Japan where the third highest suicide rate in the world exists.  Last year, 21,140 people died by suicide here. Suicide is also the most preventable cause of death in the world.   One of my blog readers Brian reached out to me to see if I could collaborate with TELL, aka Tokyo English Lifeline, to help them to get their message out.  I've spent some time this month connecting them with people who can help them spread their message.

TELL is an NPO that runs Japan's only certified, English-language lifeline. Last year, it fielded more than 7800 calls from people in need!  TELL can be reached at 03-5774-0992 or via chat service on the weekends.   It's 100% confidential, non-judgmental service.  If you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out.  You are not alone.

Check out this video Tokyo Creative made as part of this collaboration. 

Today's Configuration: Leica M10 with a Summicron 28mm f/2.0 and Summilux 35mm and 50mm f/1.4.

I always find the caution sign animations so extreme in Tokyo.

Perfectly in bloom.

I've been speaking with one of the owners at ABC Coffee about printing off some of my pictures and hanging them up in the shop.   I'm thinking four big 12 x 18 inch prints behind the main setting area and then a few smaller 8x12 inch prints around the shop.   The shop is completely black and white so popping with a bit of color I think will look really nice.  I'm meeting up with the owner tomorrow to discuss the details.

I made a few side trips while passing through Nakameguro in the past week to stop and walked under the cherry blossoms and take some photos.  I lived in Nakameguro for about 5 years so this is a familiar area to me.   It's been about 8 years since I lived here and it has changed a lot.   The cherry blossom viewing has really gotten commercialized and with it brought huge crowds, even during the weekdays.   It's still very beautiful to walk around and enjoy the scenes, food and grab a beer.

If you missed the Cherry Blossoms this year don't worry I made a desktop wallpaper size file of my favorite picture of the Cherry Blossoms at Nakameguro River available for download.  Enjoy!

One question I have for business travelers.  How do you travel with your suits?  Do you hand carry in a garment bag?  Do you fold and put in your suitcase?   Do you have an embedded garment bag in your suitcase?   After all these years I still don't have a silver bullet for traveling around with a suit.  Today I hand carry in one of the garment bags the suit comes in but it's not very convenient and doesn't work well if you need more than one suit.   I'm getting a new suitcase and thinking if I should reconsider my approach.  I'm curious what others do.   If you travel with a suit and have tips to share please leave a comment below.

Update: I found this great video from a tailor on how to fold and pack your suit in your suitcase.  Great tip on putting in an oversized ziplock pack and leaving a little air in the bag to reduce pressure.  It looks like a great solution. 

Thanks for stopping by today. 

Be well.

Dave

I've been diving into my Japanese studies a lot lately.  I want to take the Japanese Language Proficiency Exams this year in July and August.  I have never taken them but I figured it's a good way to get me to focus on building a larger Kanji vocabulary and work on more advanced Japanese grammar.   I started taking intensive classes at Meguro Language Center.  They use a lot of the standard books that other schools use but they have built a ton of resources, practice exams, drills to accompany the materials and really drive it in.  If you are in Tokyo I would highly suggest checking them out. 

Today's Configuration: Leica M10 with a Summicron 28mm f/2.0, Summilux 35mm f/1.4 and a Summilux 50mm f/1.4.

Meet Gyula.

We haven't caught up for a while and he was passing through Jiyugaoka so we decided to catch up for lunch.  After lunch, we stopped at one of my favorites places, Alpha Beta Coffee Company.  There is always great music playing and you can have specialty brewed coffee, tea or beer.   They also have some good small sandwiches.

Sweet Home Jiyugaoka... 

I found these awesome Allen Edmond Wingtip shoes in the back of my closet.  I had forgotten I had bought them.  I love when I find things like this.   I think they are very stylish.   If you have never worn Allen Edmonds they are awesome.  Once you wear them out you can send them back to the factory and for $75 they will strip and clean the leather and re-sole the shoes giving you an amazingly comfortable pair of shoes.   I've done this to probably 10 pairs of shoes with them.  All of my dress shoes are Allen Edmond.

This is a proper use of a traffic cone.   There is a clear and present danger and the traffic cone alerts you to this.    Unfortunately, not every traffic cone use case in Tokyo follows the same logic.

I headed over to Daikanyama to meet a friend for coffee and I decided to grab lunch before we met up.  I've been trying out Tokyo's various burger places and this is one I always wanted to try.  It was fantastic.  You can follow along on my Instagram.   If you have never been to Tokyo it might surprise you to learn that Tokyo has so many

Waldo seems a little too easy to find...

Often there are pop-up stores in train stations in Tokyo.  I found this DVD and CD one pretty funny.  Tokyo still has DVD rental shops all over.   Imagine Blockbuster Video still being on every corner and you'll get the idea.

Soon it will be Spring and I look forward to seeing outside here. 

Another example of a business that makes no sense in Tokyo.  This parking lot had maybe 10 spaces so at 100% occupancy they can make $50 an hour.  Rather than have automated parking that locks the cars in until they pay they have an attendant.  This guy must make $15 an hour or so consuming 30% of your hourly revenue.   If that building wasn't there you could probably fit in 3 or 4 more automated spaces.  If you add in all of the costs of running the business paying for the land, taxes, etc it must be very hard to make a viable business.

Thanks for stopping by today.  

Be well

Dave

Throughout the year it's easy to come out of balance and the beginning of the year is a great time to assess what 'balanced' looks like for all that is going on in your life.   During January each year, I look at my investments and on-going projects such as Grown Man Shave, ShootTokyo, learning guitar and my never-ending pursuit of Japanese learning to make sure I'm 'balanced' and making the progress I want against each of these.  It's always a good exercise and yields some adjustments that produce better results for the year ahead.

I've continued to really enjoy shooting with my new Leica M10.   This is a purchase I'm continuing to be very happy with.   It has me shooting a lot more than recent days so that makes me happy. 

I've also been busy on my Instagram so if you don't already follow me there please check it out.  About 95% of the photos there are different than ones you find here.   They are all shot on my mobile phone as well.   Last week I captured the snowstorm that hit Tokyo.  Tokyo doesn't get much snow so it's a big deal when it happens and the city goes into a mild panic.

Today's configuration: Leica M10 with a Summilux 35mm F/1.4 and occasionally a Summicron 28mm f/2.0.

My local Yakitori maker Suzuki-san and I are becoming good friends.   I pass his shop on the way to and front the train station.  If I'm on the other side of the road he calls me over for small talk and asks me if I want to take his photo.   Lately, he has been giving me tsukune, or chicken meatballs, when I come over.   What a good deal!  Someone who wants me to take their photo and to give me free tsukune.   I'm in!

He was in ShootTokyo: The Book so I gave him a copy of the book but I think I'll print one of these images off for him and frame it and give it to him as a gift.

I continued to be amazed by the fine details this camera is able to pick up. 

I recently found the Starbucks Japan Headquarters.  Attached to this Starbucks is the Japan Corporate offices of Starbucks.   The Starbucks Coffee Shop is one of the Starbucks Reserve Shops.  I don't think they have them outside of Japan.  It's a bit more premium.  I think it is also a training shop of sorts for them as everyone behind the counter is a Coffee Master.   

PS - If you work for Starbucks you should consider sponsoring this blog given how much I mention you here.  Unlimited drinks would be acceptable payment.

It has a nice quiet seating area that is great for reading, studying or just taking a break.

So Tired.  One of my favorite places to grab Mabodofu when I worked in Marunochi.  Sadly they didn't have it for lunch the day I was there.

Meet Alain.   We work in similar circles in business and he was visiting Tokyo on business.  He reached out to me on LinkedIn to see if I wanted to meet up for lunch.   It always great to make a new business connection.

Meet Fukunaga-san.  

He has been my accountant in Tokyo for the last 12 years or so.  He is fantastic and very easy to work with.   Tax in Japan and between Japan and US can be very complicated so it's always faster and easier to get someone to help you.  You can you find out his company here.   I like working with him as he is a super simple and straight-forward guy.   He is usually very casually dressed I almost didn't recognize him.  I think this is the first time I have ever seen him in a suit.

We haven't caught up socially for a long time so we decided to grab some sushi.   He invited to this great little out of the way place that he loves.  It was so out of the way we were the only two people there on a Friday night. 

We basically had a private sushi chef for the evening.  The sushi, and sake, was amazing. 

Thanks for stopping by today.  

Be well.

Dave

For those that read ShootTokyo know I am not a technical photographer.  I don't like to debate the technical details of cameras or which camera, lens or settings is better.  My philosophy is simple;  what you choose to shoot and how you decide to shoot it is a personal preference. There is no right or wrong answer but rather what you are comfortable with and what helps you to create the images you desire.   If your camera does that, then you made the right choice.

Leica Cameras are something that I can easily carry with me as I travel around Tokyo and the world, and as I transition from business to my personal life throughout my day.  The size and shooting style fits my lifestyle well.  You can read more about my views on this in my Leica M9 Review.

I always have my camera around my neck as I'm going about my day and shoot what I shoot what I come across.  The images in this post are my 'daily images' over the past few weeks.  Lighting conditions weren't always perfect.  It wasn't always golden hour, but I shot with what light was available at the time.   The scenes are not all optional, so they should give you a reasonable expectation of real-world conditions shooting with the M10. 

The images are all straight out of the camera except for cropping and adjustments to brightness.  Any vignetting is the signature of the Summilux 35mm being shot wide open at f/1.4.   None of the images have had color, saturation or other adjustments made to them.  

I know some people will ask technical specifics regardless of what I said above so here are the technical details as best I could figure them out:

Megapixels: a bunch

Frames per section: enough

Weight: a bit more than my M9

Dimensions: thinner than my M9

Battery life: seems long

ISO: more than my Monochrom

Please enjoy my Leica M10 Visual Review...

Today's Configuration: Leica M10 with a Summilux 35mm f/1.4 and 50mm f/1.4.   Note all but a few images were shot with the 35mm.

Meet Naoki.  He is the customer service genius at Leica Ginza.   He is like a surgeon but focued on Leica cameras. 

I've joined the world of reading glass wearers.  I have come to that age, but they make a difference, and I find I can work for much more extended periods without my eyes getting tired.  I also think they look pretty good. 

Photo Credit: Steve

Meet Steve.   

Steve and I first met in 2011 when he was visiting Tokyo.  We went shooting and to dinner in Yurakucho and Ginza.   We have become good friends since meeting up a bunch of times.   Steve and his wife Laura were in town from Taipei for Thanksgiving.  Mayumi and I always try to find a chance to catch up with them when they are in town.   

Meet Laura...

With the always beautiful Mayumi.   Another great shot by Steve.   I need his focusing skills.   He was letting me try his M9 strap.  I really like how it looked on him and how it hangs the camera low.  I ultimately decided I like my regular around the neck variant.  I think I would constantly be banging my camera or lens against things and that would drive me crazy.

My favorite place in Jiyugaoka, News Cafe, had a turkey plate with pumpkin pie available for takeout on Thanksgiving.   I just checked and it looks like they are having a honey baked ham plate for Christmas for ¥1,300.   If you want very traditional American dishes done really well stop by this place when you are in Jiyugaoka.  You won't be disappointed.  Have a look at their menu.  

I really like how the colors in this one came out.  I have shot this building a few times but always later at night where the light wasn't as balanced. 

Looking at this older post got me started on going through all of my old blog posts and cleaning up links that were no longer valid and doing some general housekeeping.  I've gone through about 400 posts in the archives so far.  It's interesting for me to go back and read old posts.  I can remember some of those days like they were yesterday.

I also made some changes to the image size of on the site as viewers were needing to scroll on 13 inch laptops to see the entire screen.   The images should fill the page on a 13 inch and scale up nicely on larger screens.  If you hit any problems please let me know. Try casting your Google Chrome browser to your TV screen if you have Chromcast.  It is especially nice if you have a 4K TV.

I wanted to make sure I got a few test shots of cones as well given my responsibilities.  Getting the 'orange balance' correct is essential.  

I had a few people ask me if I could shoot some side by side so they could do comparisons between the old and new sensor.  I don't have an M9 anymore so I can't shoot side by side shots.  I did shoot some familiar scenes around Jiyugaoka so if you are interested to explore my older Jiyugaoka posts please feel free.   

I would say this; they are different cameras.  If you like how these look then go for an M10.  If you don't then stick with your M9 or Type 240.   I really like the more simplified M10 design.  The ISO can be accessed via a nob so now you can access aperture, ISO and shutter speed without going into the menus.   The buttons on the back were significantly reduced down to 3. I like that you can connect to the camera via Wifi and transfer images to your phone with the M10 app.  

I headed to the US two weeks ago to see my parents.  I haven't seen them in too long so it was great to spend time with them.  This is one of the challenges living on the other side of the world.

I love my drives to the airport.   First off, I love driving my car.  I think I'm going to drive this car until it dies.  After 2.5 years I only have 18,000 kilometers on it so I'll be driving it for a while.  I also find this a great time to listen to podcasts.  I started listening to Tim Ferriss's new podcast Tribe of Mentors.   

In the intro of the podcast is telling the story of how he came to write the book Tribe of Mentors which the podcast is based upon.   Tim was struggling with some questions in this life and trying to figure out how to get these almost impossible questions answered.  When he finds himself in times like this he steps back and asks himself a deceptively leveraged question "What would this look like if it were easy?".  That is to say, if I approached this differently how could I achieve a similar, or better result, without the same level of effort.   He talks about how we fool ourselves into believing that things need to be hard.  If we are not pushing or redlining, we are not trying hard enough.  This can be especially true for type A personalities who have a high pain tolerance and try to tough things out.  It's a fascinating question which I have used a few times since.

 In Tribe of Mentors, Tim wanted to get 11 life questions answered so he reached out to his wish list of people from world leaders, business leaders, professional athletes, and so many other fascinating people.  It's amazing he gets all of these people to respond to him.  The Tribe of Mentors podcast is a bit different than the long form 2-4 hour interviews on the Tim Ferriss Show podcast as rather than a conversation with Tim it's people talking through their answers to these questions.   Tribe of Mentors is next in the queue on my Kindle.

For the 100s of times I have flown through Narita Airport I have never stopped to have the sushi.  I was a bit early for my flight so I figured I would take the opportunity.  It was pretty good!

I like how this came out.  I wish his pen and paper weren't on the counter. 

The look of dreading a full day in this seat.   I flew Tokyo to Chicago, layover, Chicago to Tampa.  The trip about ~22 hours or so door to door.   I had my kindle loaded up so spend the flight reading and watching a few movies.   I finished reading Wild Ride on all of the craziness that is Uber and Hit Refresh on the rebirth and transformation of Microsoft.  Both were very good reads.  I've moved onto Sapiens which is completely fascinating.  In general I want to read more and this has been a good start. 

Anna Maria Island.  One of the beautiful places near where my parents live.

My mom goes walking before sunrise every morning and she wanted me to go with her.  At first, I was worried if I would be able to. get up that early then I was reminded of jetlag.  I was usually up a few hours before sunrise each day.

I swung by Guitar Center and picked up a few books to bring back with me.

Meet my Mom!   We went to watch the Army vs. Navy game.   My dad went to West Point so he loves watching these games.

My brother Mark flew down to surprise me.  I haven't seen him for even longer than my parents so it was a great surprise.   I took some photos for his LinkedIn profile.  This was one of the runner ups. 

My Mom and Dad.   One of the best things we did while I was down there, other than just spending time together, was we went to see the musical Evita.   It was so great to spend time with them.  I look forward to my next trip.

I'm continuing to build Grown Man Shave slowly.  Creating an online business is hard work.  If you are shopping for someone for the holidays but not sure what to buy?  Give them the gift of choice with a Grown Man Shave Gift Card.  Gift cards are delivered by email, contain instructions to redeem at checkout, and can be stored in Apple Wallet.  They give an excellent gift, and you help your favorite photographer!

Thanks for taking the time to read this very long post today.  I hope you found it interesting, even if you aren't in the market for an M10.  Please leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Happy Holidays

Be well.

Dave

My friend Steve was in town from Taipei.  Whenever he is in town, we always try to meet up.  This time was no different.   We started off in Daikanyama.   A fun place to walk around. 

Today's Configuration: Leica M Monochrom with a Summicron 28mm f/2.0

I often wonder about the viability of some businesses in Japan.   Some of the stores I see I struggle to understand how they can do a profitable business.   This store is another example.  It's a pen and pad store right outside of Daikanyama Station.   They sell thin paper notebooks, post-it notes, and ballpoint pens.   I would think their average sale would be around $10 or so.  

Daikanyama is one of the expensive areas in Tokyo.   How do they afford the rent and to pay for the staff given they are probably making $5 per sale?   Their rent has to be $7,500 a month in that neighborhood which means they need 1,500 sales just to cover rent.   Maybe it's possible but seems unlikely. 

I think many of these are hobby businesses and the people running them are not concerned if they are making or losing money with it.

After a short time, we headed from Daikanyama to Shibuya to drop some things off at Steve's hotel.

Steve's hotel room had this great view overlooking Shibuya. 

Then we headed to Shimbashi.  I haven't shot in Shimbashi in a long time, so I was excited to get to explore Shimbashi a little bit.

Meet Steve... 

The perfect Tokyo cruiser...

The name of this bar is amusing.   The Japanese name is 立ち飲み, pronounced tachinomi, or stand and drink.  The owner has translated the name into English as Touch know me.  It is easy to understand how this happened but the English name might have a different meaning they think they intending.

Meet Shaun and Jeff.   Shaun is working on an interesting project photographing dancers. 

Donald Trump recently visited Tokyo.  I had a bird's eye view of this departure from my desk.   It was pretty interesting to see.  The central highway that goes through Tokyo was closed down.   This precession was 23 black SUVs, Sedans and the two President Limos.   Circling above were 5 Black Hawk helicopters.    I could also see a few military plans flying a bit higher up.   It was all quite a production.

Shake Shack opened up in Roppongi.  I don't mind admitting I visited twice in the first week.  It's really good.   I do like the strategically placed McDonald's sign telling you if you do a u-turn there is a McDonald's 350 meters back.   It's worth a visit. 

Thanks for stopping by today...

Be well

Dave

I have had this problem before and Leica replaced the sensors free of charge.  They offered to replace them again.  Naoki also told me about a new program only at Leica Ginza for upgrading to the Leica SL and Leica M10.  Long story short they gave me a great deal to upgrade from my current M9 and Monochrom to the new Leica M10.  I was the first person to use the new program!  it's only offered at Leica Ginza so if you are in Tokyo and looking to upgrade stop by and see them.

I'm now shooting the Leica M10 and loving it.  More on that in a future post.   I got my Leica M9 in November of 2010 and picked up the Monochrom the same month in 2012.   These cameras have literally traveled the world with me.   I never leave the house without one of these, or my Leica MP, around my neck.  They have been great tools for me to capture the world around me.  My cameras are well cared for but they get worked really hard as well.   I've posted about 5,900 Leica M9 images and 1,500 Leica Monochrom on ShootTokyo.  It's a bit sad for me to retire these cameras.

This will be my final Leica M9 post and my next post will be my final M Monochrom post.

Today's Configuration: Leica M9-P with a Summilux 35mm f/1.4

These images are from the annual Jiyugaoka Masturi a few months.  I have missed it the past few years due to various commitments.   My favorite year I shot the matsuri was in 2012 when I shot it on film.  I love how a few of the images came out.  There are a few I really love from that day.

I never have time to just got shooting anymore and mostly take photos as I go about my day but my friend Steve was in town from Taipei a few days so I couldn't pass up getting a chance to spend some time with him. 

There is this cool little camera shop in Daikanyama T Site which has a Leica corner.  They have a lot of really neat old Russian cameras and lenses.  It's a bit of a weird little shop as they have so many high-end Leica products.   M9 Titanium,  The Leica M60, M10, Kyoto Edition, and many others.  Given it's not a proper Leica shop I always wonder who walks in and drops the kinda of money these cameras command on a whim.  

Mayumi, my favorite subject of my Leica M9 and soon my M10.  

Oh and for the holiday shopping weekend I'm offering 25% off of my Book and Prints with the coupon BLACKFRIDAY25.  

Thank You for being a reader of ShootTokyo.  I appriciate you taking the time to stop by today.   I'll follow up with my final M Monochrom post shortly.  

Be well.

Dave

I do have one last trip for the year.   I'm going to go to Florida to visit my parents in early December.  I haven't seen them in two years so I'm excited to be able to spend a week with them.  I was able to book round trip Business Class Tickets using miles for only 65K miles each way.  Usually I'm booking a bit last minute or I have very strict dates as I'm trying to fit it around other travel that I end up paying 170K mile each way.   Being fairly flexible with the departure and return dates got me a great deal.  If you think about a mile being worth roughly a dollar that's like getting a round trip business class trip to Asia for $1,000 USD.

I haven't picked my guitars up in a few months as I have been focused on a few other priorities.  I decided I want to start playing again even if it's just for 10 or 15 minutes a day.  I figured I can find 15 minutes in my day.  I remembered I have a lifetime subscription at Your Guitar Sage.   The owner Erich gave away lifetime subscriptions to veterans last Veterans Day.  How nice of him!  If you play, or want to, and haven't checked out Your Guitar Sage you should.  It's a no-nonsense site for learning all of the skills you need to play guitar step by step.   Erich is a fantastic teacher and explains things in a really easy to understand way.   He also has an excellent YouTube channel where he teaches a lot of popular songs and guitar techniques.

Next Saturday, November 11th, ShootTokyo turns 7!   Thank You to those of you that have been along for the ride.  I appreciate you sticking with me. 

I occasionally go back and read some old posts.   There is so much content on this site now.  If you haven't checked out the archives - please do.  The site has really grown and changed over the years.  There is 81 months of content.   This is still my favorite blog post ever.   

Today's Configuration: Leica MP with a Summilux 35mm f/1.4 on Portra 400 film

Parts of Tokyo are often greener than people expect.  Most people who haven't been to Tokyo think of Shinjuku or Bladerunner.  I think Tokyo actually does a pretty good job of keeping it green, or at least having a lot of 'green accents'.  I often go for a walk after lunch, or in place of lunch, behind Roppongi Hills down into Azabu.  It's a nice downhill walk and you feel like you are escaping the city. 

It's amazing this is an operational fruit stand.  I couldn't imagine putting that away each day.  Its actually hard to imagine that someone make it this way this morning on purpose. I wanted to stop and straighten it up for them.

Tokyo has had a few typhoons passing through over the past few weeks.  The skies are extremely clear after typhoons but this was it was exceptionally windy.   Something in the design of Roppongi Hills makes a massive wind tunnel on very windy days.  It's sort of a design flaw.  They have the entire center area roped off and guards posted with mega phones warning people about the wind.  It was actually surprisingly strong. 

As I said we get super clear skies after typhoons so got a very nice sunset on Mt Fuji this night. 

Thanks for stopping by today!

Be well

Dave

I just checked my mileage status and I made Gold on United before dropping them as an Airline I use.  I just can't support them anymore.   I was able to make Platinum on ANA in the latter half of the year.   I was flying them anyways most of the time but continuing to collect miles on my United card.  I still have a dream that one year I will make no status on an Airline one year. 

I've continued to grow my shop Grown Man Shave.   It's a lot of fun and I'm enjoying tinkering with it.  This is one of my favorite times of the year.  As the season begins to change I get to wear my favorite clothes; sweaters, scarfs and jackets.   As the air begins to cool and I enjoy early morning walks.  I love the feel of that cold air on my face.  I especially love the feeling of it my face if freshly shaven.   

Today's Configuration: Leica M Monochrome with Summicron 28mm f/2.0.

I spent a few hours at Incheon Airport on the way to and from on a recent trip to London.  

The best way into London by far is the Heathrow Express.   It drops you right at Paddington Station then where ever you are going is a short taxi or subway ride away. 

I finally had time to get out for a few hours this trip and see Buckingham Palace.  I have been to London many times but I have never made it over.  It was worth the tour. 

There are many embassies near my office so there are often protests from the various right wing groups.  This one was protesting near Chinese Embassy and asking Japan to "Beat the communist Chinese and break ties from China".   Most of these groups have huge trucks and are blaring their message from huge speakers on the roof.  Japan really need to pass a noise ordinance law to start to curb these. 

Thanks for stopping by today...

Be well

Dave

I was pretty busy with work in Vietnam.  I got out for a short walk but it was so hot that I didn't stay out that long.   I would struggle to be a street photographer in Vietnam. 

Today's Configuration: Leica M Monochrom with a Summilux 28mm f/2.0

Meet Oh, a friend of mine from Thailand working in Vietnam.  We caught the Conor McGregor fight on Sunday morning before I flew out.  I was surprised how packed the bars were at 8AM for the fight.  

While Conor didn't win it was an impressive show for a non-boxer to fight the best boxer ever.  Overall is was a good fight.   I look forward to his return to MMA. 

It's about 75 Kilometers from my house to Narita.  There is no convenient place to grab coffee leaving my house before getting on the highway.  I usually leave pretty early for the airport so coffee is a must.  I once heard there was a Starbucks on the way to Nartia but I have never been able to find it.   I finally found it on one of my recent trips.  It's at one of the rest stops about half way to Narita.   I've check a few different stops in the past but it was never the right one.   I now have a happy half way point to stop off at now on my way to Narita. 

My view a few times a month.  I look forward to a life with less travel one day.

This is what I looks like when I settle in for 19 hours of travel.  Door to door its about 23 hours if you figure it takes about 2 hours to get to the airport and you arrive 2 hours before your flight takes off.  People always forget how big Asia is.

On my recent trip to Melbourne I couldn't find a reasonably priced direct flight on one of the carries I usually fly.  They were all super expensive and even other carries were super expensive so I ended up flying 7 hours Tokyo to Singapore, laying over for 3 hours, then other 7 hours to Melbourne.   It ended up being a 6 hours longer than a direct flight but ended up saving some money, getting my miles and flying on an airline I like. 

My new favorite beers are Dead Pony and Punk IPA from Brew Dog.   They have a restaurant in Tokyo near my office.  I went there a few months ago when there was a meet up about Real Estate investing.  There is a new 24 hour pub in the Singapore Airport that servers Brew Dog.  A pleasant surprise for my layover. 

Hello Melbourne!   I was here for work and spend most of my time working so just a few shots while I was moving from place to place.   I was super impressed with how automated this airport is.  I made it all the way from my plane to my Uber without needing to speak to a single person.  Complete automation. 

Just for clarity we don't want to simply change the color of the Nazi.  Please spell check your graffiti. 

The construction site was on a day off.  It's quite a difference from the construction sites in Tokyo. 

It was nice to have a weekend back in Tokyo.  I got out to Shibuya to run a few errands that have been building up.  I haven't been there in a long time.   Very crowded.  I think I'm getting old as I don't enjoy these places as much.

I found where they store the cones.   Much to my surprise they are under 24 hour camera surveillance.  No seriously look, they are.

I'm off to London tomorrow for a business trip for a week.  Thankfully I'm flying out of Haneda vs. Narita so it cuts the travel time by 1 hour and 20 minutes each way. I'm loading up my Kindle so if you have any books you recommend, new or old, I'm open to suggestions.  My suggestion for all of you is The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.  It's written by the Editor of French Magazine Elle who suddenly became ill and was left paralyzed and unable to speak.  He ended up dictating the entire book by blinking mostly talking about what his life is like now and what he is thinking about throughout the day.   He let's his imagination take him to where he can't go anymore.  It's a fascinating read.  I think I'll likely read it again.

If you have any suggestions for what to add to my kindle please leave them in the comments below.

Be well

Dave