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miharashi — Background Radiation
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Published: 2018-06-04 12:50:04 +0000 UTC; Views: 1190; Favourites: 87; Downloads: 0
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Tokyo, Mar. 2015Related content
Comments: 31
Awesome! I'm going to Japan in October, photos like this makes me more excited!
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Yay, you are going to Tokyo? I hope you have a lot of fun. There is so much to see and to do, although it will be quite a bit different from your home environment. I see you got quite active again lately. Hope you can get also some nice shots in Japan.
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Yep, 4 nights in Tokyo, Izukogen 1 night, Takayama 2 nights, Kanazawa 2 nights and Kyoto 6 nights! Any cool place in Tokyo you recommend? 
Hmm, yeah, at least I'm tryin to be a bit more active. But yeah, I'm really excited about going to Japan, will be so many new things to photograph (:
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I see. That's quite some trip. I am not sure what you like, so it is a bit difficult to give recommendations. I like the city atmosphere of busy centers, so you would find me between Shibuya/Omotesando/Harajuku or alternatively between Marunouchi (around Tokyo main station) and Ginza. For high rise metropolis go to Shinjuku. The area between Ueno and Akihabara has also lots of great spots. As side spots I also often go to Nippori, Daikanyama or Iidabashi. Honestly, there are so many places to see, I could spend weeks there. I can NOT recommend Asakusa, as this is just cliché and full of tourists (the back streets are somewhat interesting, though). I would say, stay clear of temples and shrines in Tokyo as you will have plenty of that in the other cities. You should definitely go to the Tsukiji fish market before they close the place down for good. I am sure you will have a lot of fun in Tokyo.
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Our hotel in Tokyo will be in Shinjuku, sounds like I will be able to get som cool shots there! Actually we don't have any big plans, we (me and my friends) pretty much agreed about just going there and discover mostly on our own. I mean like, some tourists have detailed plans and activities. But we just want to be there and take it easy, going in our own pace. When I look on Google "What to do in Tokyo" there are so many "Visit Tokyo Skytree". We kinda want to avoid tourist traps like that.
I will definitely look up those places you mentioned, thank you!
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Cool. I think, unlike the other cities on your list, Tokyo has not really that many tourist traps. Even if you happen to end up in Asakusa, exploring the streets and the very old amusement park there can be quite fun. I would recommend to actually walk the city and not rely on trains too much. You can literally walk from Shinjuku to Tokyo main station on the other side of the loop line in less than 2 hours, and you will see much more of the city that way. I would recommend walking from Shibuya over to Omotesando to Roppongi and then ending up at Tokyo Tower. Another nice walk is from Tsukiji market to Marunouchi via Ginza and then continuing either towards Ueno or over the imperial palace to the city center. If you plan your general direction a bit you can see quite a lot in 4 days. Anyway, have fun!
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In a way, that is what modern cities have become...
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Maybe we are getting close ...
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If I rightly understand your comment, in my opinion, the philosophy of 'The Matrix' is highly inspired by Buddhism, by that, I think we are closed by the fact that we are talking right now, just by chance that we joined the same Deviantart, and I saw your photos, etc. That is we are somehow connected (by fate, by 'the Matrix' - I meant 'the Internet')
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There was no deep meaning behind my comment at the time. But if you think about it, there are several topics where we seem get closer. I heard that The Matrix was also heavily inspired by the movie Ghost in the Shell (where this shot could fit in nicely as well ), but probably Buddhism might be in there as well. I have to admit that I haven't seen both films in years, so my comment might be off . One topic is definitely advanced AI, which cannot be discerned from humans anymore. Looking at the developments especially this year, it is actually quite a bit scary what computers can do and imitate today. As you said, the movie(s) is also about 'connection'. While we are still a bit away from everyday brain–computer interfaces, the attachment of the general population to smartphones and the like and a constant stream of information over 'the net' are going in the general direction of an integrated connection. Yeah, here on dA and elsewhere we can discuss across continents. If you would switch off our version of 'the matrix' then civilization would probably end within a month or less and we would live in caves again . Soon all devices may get a wifi antenna and perfectly capable robots are running around with ease. Maybe in another 20 years we are on the level of GitS. I don't think 'The Matrix' is a feasible concept of the future (maybe for games), but we will see .
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Don't worry, I don't think the future (at least, near future) AI could be awful horrible "smart" like the movies have predicted, as we are just "discovered" what the nature invented million years ago.
Ah, BTW, you mentioned 'Ghost in the Shell', I have not watched much animes (I prefer manga 
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Hehe, let's hope things will turn out for the better. Good thing that researchers are already thinking about computer ethics and proper human interaction, before things get out of hand.
Yeah, I guess the inspiration goes both ways. It's a good thing, since the cultural approach to storytelling is rather different. Probably GitS was inspired in part by Blade Runner and earlier works on cyberpunk. Sadly, I feel that such more convoluted and experimental works have become few and far between over time due to the demand for more, let's say, "easy" entertainment nowadays (/*old guy's rant*).
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Holy shit this is good! Damn!
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Yeah, thank you so much! I always greatly appreciate your comments. I am quite happy how it turned out, even though this is a rather old shot. It took me quite some time to get the colors right (or actually wrong ), i.e., not looking like a corrupted file. I am experimenting a bit with color shifts and filters lately. For this shot I got somewhat inspired by Xavier Portela's Glow series ( xavierportela.com/gallery/glow… ). Yes, this is the 丸の内 area as taken from the Sky Tree. I think I got ~120 mm equivalent and a bit of crop, so around 150 mm on FF should do. I would really love to go back up there again.
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I'm starting to think that perhaps I should've gone up Sky Tree after all
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Yeah, I was also not too thrilled initially to go up. After all, the Sky Tree is already very high with nothing around. I thought it might be similar to getting on the airplane. But you can take your time there and have a great view of different structures from above. It is also quite unreal to see the enormous shadow of that thing. Also you can see Mt. Fuji (in winter) with the city in front nicely. I have to say that I like other observation decks better, like Sunshine 60 or even the good ol' Tokyo Tower (which looks really puny from the Sky Tree ).
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I've been to the Tokyo Tower, and that was the moment when I actually understood just how many skyscrapers there are)) Somehow from street level it didn't hit home)) I suppose if I ever go to Japan in winter, I should try Sky Tree as well, maybe I'll have another ridiculous insight))
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Haha, that was the main reason why the Sky Tree was built. The Tokyo Tower just doesn't cut it anymore with all the buildings around blocking the transmission. The Sky Tree is probably a different kind of revelation. After all, it is a ridiculously high tower in the middle of a flat residential area with the average building height of 3-8 stories. It seems like it doesn't belong there at all, and it may be actually more interesting to look at the tower from the streets towering ( ) over this district than climbing up in the end. Just like this:
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Yeah, there is something alien about it)) Reminded me of the final part of The Last Witch Hunter 2015.
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Well done! It looks like a scene out of the original Ghost in the Shell (1995). It could easily fit into the movie. I'll have to get up there with my 200mm.
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Thank you! That was exactly what I was aiming for. I absolutely love the background art of Hiromasa Ogura in the film. I actually look forward to more rain to get some shots with this kind of glow and reflections. Too bad I am not in Tokyo anymore. I will see how Osaka works out for this. Yeah, I will look into making a book sooner or later, but first I want to get a proper website. So much to do...
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So much to do! I feel the same!
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