A Photographer's Notes | When You Re-Explore Old Tokyo with the Nikon ZR, See What Happens

Now that I have had my Nikon ZR for a couple of months, I wanted to take it and re-explore some of my favorite Showa era/retro style places in Tokyo for street photography. There are lots of modern areas of Tokyo, but I tend to enjoy the less polished and somewhat forgotten areas more myself.

The start of my exploration had me going to Ueno Station, and more specifically, the narrow backstreets of Ameyokocho (アメ横丁). This is a busy, bustling area of Uneo with countless shops packed into the narrow streets.

(Photos ©Jason Halayko)

For the brave, this can be a great place to get photos and videos of shopkeepers and visitors sampling the local foods. But I was feeling particularly shy this day, so I focused more on capturing the many older shop fronts and some narrow areas of the shops located under the raised train line.

Charm of Older Shrines

After some time, I noticed I was going to be losing the light soon. So I made my way from Ameyokocho up into Ueno Park to visit a couple of the older shrines located in the park. The one shrine area I particularly like is called Gojō Tenjin Shrine / Hanazono Inari Shrine. Actually, it is two shrines situated together on the same grounds.

What is special about it, though, is that the entrance to the Hanazono Inari Shrine has a small series of Torii gates that look great in the afternoon light. Although it's usually a rather busy spot for obvious reasons, I was able to enjoy my time there, taking many pictures and video clips with relatively few interruptions.

Even luckier, the ume (plum) trees along the path were blooming as well, which always adds to the magic of any spot like this.

Also, moving down into the Gojo Tenjin Shrine area, I noticed the sun was just low enough to provide some amazing late afternoon light. I was able to quickly capture some great backlit shots using the cleansing fountain as a frame in the pictures. Not too bad for not really planning out my day, haha.

(Photos ©Jason Halayko)

Change of Plans

Speaking of my "plan", I was originally hoping to get to Nezu Shrine, also, before the sun set for the day. However, I was having too much fun with the Nikon ZR and filming everything I saw, so I ran out of time. Therefore, I decided to skip Nezu and head for Yanaka Ginza, a small shopping street about 15-20 minutes' walk away from Ueno Park.

I enjoyed the walk and took several snaps along the way. But when I arrived at Yanaka Ginza, I had lost most of the light. And because it is such a small shopping area, there are not so many interesting street lights. So, having only taken a few photos and a video, I made my way to Nippori Station to take the train to my last destination of the night.

(©Jason Halayko)

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Trains and Videos

One quick thing to point out is that when taking photos, I almost never photograph trains in Japan. But when I am focusing on video (something I do a lot more with the Nikon ZR), I find I'm taking a LOT of videos of the trains.

You will have to check out my YouTube video to see the clips, but there is just something about moving trains that fascinates me more than I expected, and I keep finding myself filming them whenever I can.

Back in the Heart of Tokyo

So my final stop of the night was Shimbashi Station. More specifically, it was the area between Shimbashi Station and Yurakucho Station. I have come to this area several times in the daytime, but this was my first time photographing and filming this late at night.

This area is known for being a little more gritty and having bars and restaurants frequented by the local サラリーマン (salaryman). I love the lights, the shops under the train lines, and the little hidden alleyways you find while exploring this area.

One particular spot I love is this motsuyaki shop under the bridge just before you get to Yurakucho Station. Something about the vibe I just love! And the video I took just reminded me so much of the aesthetic of the 1999 The Matrix movie, just amazing!

So that was my trip re-exploring a few of my favorite places in Tokyo for street photography and videography. There are still lots of places to discover and rediscover as the weather warms up in the spring. Look for more ideas then ー I can't wait to get back out again with the Nikon ZR soon.