Shinjuku, Tokyo

I got myself a digital camera, and my interest in photography arose anew - I had not done much of it since my teens, when I got a Russian system camera of low cost and solid build, Zenith, taking a lot of black and white pics, installing a darkroom in the closet, and so on.
     Since those days, I have only periodically, temporarily, run around with a camera in my hand. But with this digital camera, I have found photography accessible in a way it never was when developing and printmaking was necessary. I can take a hundred photos and only minutes later see them on my computer screen, play with them in image software - and exhibit them on the internet. Instant picture making.



     So, when this time I went to Japan for the International Aikido Federation congress, I took several days off just to walk the streets of Tokyo, taking some 400 photos, discovering a Japanese life having nothing at all to do with aikido, and loving every minute of it.
     Mainly I spent my time in the Shinjuku area, which is where the Aikido Hombu dojo, the "headquarters" of aikido, is situated. It is also a very intense shopping and amusement center of Tokyo - with many skyscrapers defying the risk of earthquake, as well as narrow alleys with numerous noodle and sushi bars, sleazy quarters offering all kinds of services or performances, et cetera.
     But I stayed mostly on the streets, with their impressive buildings and the continuous flow of people passing, meeting, rushing, resting, working, performing, spending their time. Enjoy.


Shinjuku buildings
The skyscraper celebration of the right angle.

Shinjuku by night
Nocturnal spirit of those same buildings and their habitat.

Shinjuku streets
The constant flow of people, searching for their delights.

Shinjuku scenes
People enjoying themselves. Events taking place on the streets and in the park.