More Travel Photos

NFG

(Administrator) 2008-04-26, 00:17 #1

User title: Top Chaos Wrangler
Member since Sep 2007 · 1656 posts · Location: Brisbane, AU
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Subject: More Travel Photos

Here's some more pics from Japan. They're divided into two chunks: Akihabara and Trains. Mostly blurry trains.

First, Trains!

This is the view from the front. Watching the driver is interesting - as part of their procedure they physically point to all the things they're paying attention to. He'll move his gloved index finger across the screen showing the status of the car doors, he'll point to specific posts/markers on the line he's following, etc.

Interestingly, though his display shows a time for arrival and departure at each station, it doesn't have a current time clock. Instead there's a pocket-watch-shaped depression in his dash where his own watch sits. It's analogue, and he's gotta match its time with the times he's supposed to be in the stations. Seems cumbersome, but obviously Japan's train system runs just fine, so what do I know?

[Image: http://nfggames.com/grafx/index.php?op=1&path=Japan08&file=Train%203.jpg]

And I dunno why, but I love taking pictures of speeding trains and the signals in front of them. The 18-250mm Tamron lens I borrowed from my dad is fantastic, far better contrast and clarity than the shitty 18-200mm VR Nikon I was using.

[Image: http://nfggames.com/grafx/index.php?op=1&path=Japan08&file=Train%201.jpg]

[Image: http://nfggames.com/grafx/index.php?op=1&path=Japan08&file=Train%202.jpg]

And now, Akihabara.

Not much to report, we spent the day shopping for computer parts and only really found a UPS. A bit of a wasted day, but I did get a handful of interesting pics.

First off, this poor girl:

[Image: http://nfggames.com/grafx/index.php?op=1&path=Japan08&file=DSC_6553.jpg]

was being hassled by this cop (And associates)

[Image: http://nfggames.com/grafx/index.php?op=1&path=Japan08&file=DSC_6551.jpg]

and it drew a rather large crowd (panorama shot!)

[Image: http://nfggames.com/grafx/index.php?op=1&path=Japan08&file=crowd.jpg]

Here's another crowd shot. Akihabara's VERY busy on a Sunday:

[Image: http://nfggames.com/grafx/index.php?op=1&path=Japan08&file=Akihabara%204.jpg]

We also saw this weirdo, who just parked it in the middle of the street and started posing:

[Image: http://nfggames.com/grafx/index.php?op=1&path=Japan08&file=Akihabara%201.jpg]

And these two hotties, who couldn't sing or dance for shit, but who managed to escape the cop's wrath:

[Image: http://nfggames.com/grafx/index.php?op=1&path=Japan08&file=Akihabara%202.jpg]

[Image: http://nfggames.com/grafx/index.php?op=1&path=Japan08&file=Akihabara%203.jpg]

Then there was this other chick who, like the guy in the street, just sat her cute bum down on the side of the road and started attracting photographers. She wasn't exceptionally attractive, but she loved the attention. I was a millisecond too slow to get a nice thigh shot as she bent over away from me for another photographer:

[Image: http://nfggames.com/grafx/index.php?op=1&path=Japan08&file=DSC_6548.jpg]

This led to this shot, which I think is really Japan in a nutshell:

[Image: http://nfggames.com/grafx/index.php?op=1&path=Japan08&file=JapanInANutshell.jpg]

And finally, our favourite Ramen shop. It seats about 20 people, and includes a kitchen and 5 staff, all in a space about as large as my dad's Pajero:

[Image: http://nfggames.com/grafx/index.php?op=1&path=Japan08&file=jyangara.jpg]

[Image: http://nfggames.com/system/arcade/special.php/b-d/bp-5/y-kof97/z-10/x-What?/.png]