Japan Trip 2024 - Part 1: Tokyo Mainland

So, here's the first part of the detailed post for our 2024 Japan holiday.  This time we started our trip from Tokyo and made our way to snow country Hokkaido.  The trip was full of new experiences, just as how our 2023 holiday was.

Let's Go! - Galaxy S23+

Dreamy December

December has been somewhat peaceful, considering I spent more than half of the month away from work.  And boy.... how I wish I could just win the lottery so that I can quit my friggin' job (I really hate my senseless workaholic team mates, shifty global service department and self serving product owner).  Travelling made me realize there are so many wonderful things out there to see and experience, instead of just being desk bound and work to fulfil someone else's agenda.  A true leader is someone who makes people working under him/her feel empowered and become prosperous, instead of just having them execute the boss' own designs.

The highlight of the month is of course, my Japan trip.  This year we started from Tokyo, then made our way through 4 cities in Hokkaido (Hakodate, Otaru, Furano & Sapporo).  I'll be writing on that trip in a separate post.

Checking Out Shimbashi On Our 1st Night - Galaxy S23+

Delightful December

In less than half an hour, 2023 will come to an end.  This December has been delightful for a number of reasons, the main one being that I spent the first 2 weeks of the month on my Japan vacation.  It is a long overdue vacation since 2019, so I made sure to make this trip well it's worth.  We travelled across Tokyo, Kawaguchiko, Kyoto, Osaka & Karuizawa before finally ending the trip with a bang in Tokyo Disneyland & Tokyo Disneysea. 

Waiting to Board Our Flight - Galaxy S23+

Tokyo Biz Trip October 2017

In October I had a chance to visit Tokyo to attend training with my company's vendor.  It was a great 7 days trip to Tokyo after 8 years.  Yes, that's how long it had been since I last visited Japan.  This time I flew by ANA and took a day time flight to Haneda which is much nearer than Narita.

For this trip I went with my Fujifilm X-T2 + XF10-24mm F4R OIS.  I bought that XF10-24 from a friend who wants to upgrade to the XF16-55, not sure if he got it already or not...  Anyway, that 10-24 was a great buy which I really loved from the moment I got it.  I really missed shooting at such a wide angle!

ANA for a change from the usual SIA

Fujifilm Finepix F40fd Diaries

So I'm mad about Fujifilm.  Yep I do...  I don't have the photos from my first Finepix anymore.  But I still have those from the Finepix F40fd and now I have plenty from my previous X-E2 and current X-T1.    

I went on a short trip to Japan with my wife to Fujinomiya sometime in April 2009 for about 4 days.  It was a religious pilgrimage trip for my wife and since it was an important trip for her, I accompanied her.  I was already DSLR-less at that time so we only brought the Finepix F40fd with us.

Under good lighting conditions, the outdoor shots never disappoint, but perhaps where ergonomics and build quality are concerned, they still have a lot of catching up to do with Canon's Powershot series.  This is where the dilemma comes: I want good photos, but I also want a camera that is hardy with good ergonomics and these qualities are evenly split between Fuji and Canon.   

Top: Garden outside a temple in Fujinomiya, Bottom: Close up of a flower

Hands-on With a Rented 5D Mark II

So I sold my D90 to my colleague and good friend.  I was "DSLR-less" for a while, pondering which full frame camera I want to get, or more importantly which system I want to commit to.

The D700 is good in ISO performance, dynamic range & 51 AF points.  I also love the cooler colours of the photos and built-in flash BUT only 12 MP.

The 5D Mark II boasts 22 MP which was really quite something at that time.  But only 9 AF points which were slow compared to D700 and no built-in flash.  However the colour depth was there and the ISO performance is remarkable given the resolution.  More importantly, the full frame lenses in the Canon camp are not as expensive as Nikon's (oh yes, this is a very important consideration too...  I don't want the missus to kill me for spending so much on photography stuffs!).

So based on the considerations above I decided to go with Canon 5D Mark II.  Not wanting to regret the choice, I decided to rent a 5D Mark II first, and what better opportunity to use it than when my company sent me on a business trip to Tokyo. My gear for that trip was a Canon 5D Mark II and the EF 17-40mm F4L.

This charming lady is my colleague who bought my D90 and this photo was taken with the 5D Mark II. That was my D90 she's holding there!  ;)