shashank uchil | _shank | oslo | level designer

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

This time we are Roppongi hills, Chiba, Nagoya. From Odaiba we headed to Roppongi Hill to check the observatory in Mori Tower. IT WAS AWESOME as you can goto the roof and see the whole city. MUST DO if you goto Tokyo. Next day we took a long train to Chiba, to attend the Tokyo Game Show. It was a BIG let down. This year has been the smallest TGS so far. Too long queues and too few games to see. And the next day…sadly it was time to get back to Oslo. So time to head back to Nagoya to spend a night and take the flight back the next day. SAD

another view from the Fuji dome

took this frame inside the monorail, two europeans saw me and found it amusing. The old lady then slept and one of the two men shot a video of her bobbing her head as she tried to sleep. Very classy

took the train to Roppongi hills, it can be quite confusing at first. But after a few days its a piece of cake (cheese cake!!!)

the Mori Tower at Roppongi Hills

thats the Tokyo Tower to the left of the frame

girl enjoying the view

man enjoying the view

lots of people enjoying the view

couple enjoying the view…i am not terribly creative today

yes olve was there as well, after changing lenses for days (35mm & 28-200mm) he realized the kit lens does 18mm!!!

i was caught…we had a nice talk and even got my photo taken yes i did the V peace sign…kawaii

next day on our way to Chiba

yes…i have a thing for pretty hands

in a coffee shop

the only game i played at TGS was Silent Hill 5 at the Konami booth

yes i like 360 more than the PS3

i dont like or dislike EA

it was not that crazy as we were there during the Business days

this is what happened all over, people taking pics of the Booth Babes

more

and even more…this time the girl caught me…

so i made a nice portrait…

i wish it was more exciting…but it was not

TGS 2008

the view from my hotel room in Nagoya…thats the JR headquarters

i decided to check out the neighborhood

and make some nice frame…

i had to figure out how to get to the airport so i headed to the train station

and she convinced me to eat Indian food, so i had Prawns curry…which was surprisingly good

on my flight back i say next to an elderly jap lady, she had bought a Mac Book Air and was telling me that she has to declare it at the customs…all the while i was planning HOW NOT TO declare my brand new 5D. Got home and unpacked…all the stuff i bought in japan. I will make another post about all the purchases.

shank :: Oct.27.2008 :: digital, japan :: 2 Comments »

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 4

This time we are Kamakura, Tsukiji Fish Market and Odaiba. Not many frames from Kamakura as i forgot to recharge the batteries on the 5d. I even had the battery from the 30d which i could have used…but, damn goldfish. I clearly remember that i had to swap the batteries as i walked out of the shower…then forgot about it. Argh.

Anyways…Kamakura even though touristy is worth a visit…its a nice change from the high energy of Tokyo.

Then the next day we got up at 5, and went to Tsukiji Fish Market, which is the busiest and biggest fish market on the planet. Do you see a pattern here. Strange thing is that the place does not smell of fish at all, have no idea how they do it. Had sushi for breakfast and then we went to Hama-rikyu Gardens. From there we went to Odaiba on the monorail…which was supercool.

as we made our way to the beach we came across this railway crossing

the police pizza delivery service

more old people on bicycles

love…love this frame, i followed them for some time before i got this frame

then i saw this man charging towards us on his bike

finally we goto the beach…and then the battery died

on our way to the fish market…it was early in the morning

the market was nice clean and organized

it was pretty busy

seems the man in the bg could not take it anymore

the skyline from the fishmarket

the supercool electric thingies…you have to be careful not to get in their way

we were supposed to goto this place mentioned in the Lonely Planet, but there was a huge queue

instead we had it here under these lamps

sushi for breakfast…i could get used to this, look mom, dad…i am a fisherman…happy now. We are fishermen…and i am not a big fan of fish…which is not liked by my dad who actually did some fishing before he moved to bombay.

dude having an ice cream and riding at the same time…AWESOME

on aur way to the garden

there was beautiful tea house

it was pretty green…and with lots of SPIDERS!!!

as we left bunch of ladies were making their way to the garden

on our way to Odaiba, saw this cool building

people on their way to work…the clock designed by Miyazaki is above the frame…

on the monorail…it crossed the Rainbow Bridge

in case you were wondering…i was really there

another beach…i love tokyo…

thats the famous rainbow bridge

mother and child at the beach having a nice time…

old folks painting the beautiful scene

youngsters papping each other

for some reason they have the Statue of Liberty here

inside the Fuji Dome observatory…it was ok

shank :: Oct.24.2008 :: Uncategorized, digital, japan :: 2 Comments »

Part 1 | Part 3 | Part 4

This time we are Akihabara, Shibuya, Tokyo Dome City and Ikebukuro.

Akihabara was a disappointment, as it was not all that awesome…lots of shops and stuff. But few good shops. Aso Bit City is one of the better ones. After going to few more shops we decided to end the night at Yodobashi…and as it always happens, i could not resist the temptation and bought the 5D once again (i returned the first one i bought in oslo). I am keeping this one. If you are buying anything from Yodobashi remember to give them your passport as this means you don’t have to pay the 10% tax. Sadly i forgot to buy the EE-S focusing screen and as expected its not available in Oslo, why am i not surprised!!!

Next day we went to Shibuya, saw the famous street crossing. Had coffee at Starbucks and did some more shopping. Bought a pair of Vans from ABC and then went to Mandaraka where i bumped into the guys from 1Up. That night we had dinner at the awesome Ninja restaurant, highly recommended.

The next day we went to Tokyo dome city to take a ride in the 5th tallest roller coaster in the world. IT WAS AWESOME. From there we went to Ikebukuro to check out the Sunshine 60 observation deck.

The first of the many anime/manga shops we went to…this one was really good, from here we went to Yodobashi

this is like being a kid in a candy shop. the best part being that you can try out many cameras(1DsMIII) and lenses(50/1.2)…so i tried the 10-17/4. I even ended buying the 5D once again!!!

all the pics henceforth are shot on the 5D

it was raining the next day, here in Tokyo everyone uses transparent umbrellas

crossing the famous street at Shibuya…the most crowded road crossing on the planet

we just got out of Mandrake and i bumped into the guys from 1UP, like us they were here for the Tokyo Game Show

then it was time to buy some cool new shoes

after buying some awesome shoes…we headed to Starbucks overlooking the famous crossing

its much much more crowded in the evening

then we found the building which was used to film Dark Waters…if you like jap horror movies…this is a must see, this was taken at the back of the building


at night we went to the Ninja Restaurant, this is one of the 10 dishes we had, the food and service was top notch

then back to the hotel

next day…time for the BIG roller coaster, but first we need to take the train…

like everything else…the train service is also…great

the roller coaster is next to the tokyo dome

love parent child moments

the BIG coaster next to the BIG ferries wheel

now that we were all nice and awake…we headed to the sunshine building…but first…yes…train

the japs like indians sleep on the trains…

the city is awesome

we were not the only one appreciating the awesomness of the city

another street crossing

bought a 16GB CF card here…you will find lots of people with signs EVERYWHERE…

did i mention lots of men wear suits…even when its HOT

…and yes another street crossing…

on our way back to the hotel…

thats Olve’s unlucky room no

some nice Ramen noodels

next day we headed out of tokyo to kamakura…a peaceful but touristy place an hour from tokyo…

things were not looking so good…for my battery…

nice streetshot…

more to come…

shank :: Oct.21.2008 :: Uncategorized, digital, japan :: 3 Comments »