should I get one after all? is the camera really the reason I cannot get good pictures or is it my non-existent photography capabilities? I would say the second. I have to train my photography skill with the camera I currently have before buying a better one. camera buying is officially postponed...
today I had a great time going to Shinjuku. my friend Ichi-san was playing the trombone in the Amadeus Society Orchestra, which is closely related with Keio University. all of the band played perfectly works from Carl Nielsen (Aladdin Suite), Joaquin Rodrigo (Concierto de Aranjuez) and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (Symphonic suite "Scheherazade"). the music was amazing, and I was really impressed by the introduction of classical guitar in the Rodrigo's work. actually, the Adagio part I already knew as "Follow Me" by Kimiko Itoh in Ghost in the Shell: Innocence (which by the way is an excellent movie). the guitarist was Shin-ichi Fukuda who was applauded heartly from the audience.
of course, it wasn't only the concert that made the day great. I had a great company with me, Kumiko and Yukata with me. we had a really nice time in a tempura restaurant in Shinjuku that (ironically) I suggested.
a memorable day.
According to Hollywood.com, "Friends" will return next year with four one-hour episodes! Read the details here. Also another spin-off is in the discussion process! I liked Joey by the way.
Christos insisted to go somewhere with the Nozomi Shinkansen (300+km/h). we was actually whining on this since before he came to japan... so what's the best place to go with the shinkansen other than Kyoto?! ofcourse, when we got in the, fairly expensive, train he complained because the train was TOO fast for him to get photos...
when we got there, we followed the "path of wisdom" along the old canals of Kyoto. it was a fantastic walking path. actually it would be great if we didn't actually walked there in the night... later on we returned to Gion, the district with the geishas. we actually spoted one or two! we had dinner and then we found our hotel which was again japanese! of course, with a high-tech toilet ;) late at night, we ended up in a hotel in Kyoto station sipping some really aged whisky!
next day, we started walking from kiyomizu-dera towards heiyan-jingu the place in which Scarlet walked in Lost in Translation one of favourites. we went to many temples along the way until we reached our final destination. unfortunately, my camera card was full and Christos would not take the images I wanted... so what better to do than transfer the images from the card to the laptop... in the garden... while it was raining... and it was closing time... and the guard was waiting... ok, not the best of ideas....
even though I wasn't thinking about it seriously, I now am. i will buy a new camera. I'm torn between these two
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canons2is/
and
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonicfz5/
they both belong on the super-zoom category. the advantage of the canon is that it is a hybrid camera-videocamera with improved video capabilities. because of that it is slightly expensive. the panasonic is a straight camera with minor video capabilities. still, less expensive but with a special battery which I don't like...
let me know what you think, even though I'll probably go for the canon...
ο δικός μου was sleepy so he slept all of Sunday and all of Monday. I had to wake him up and the only thing we could do was go to Yokohama which actually turned out to be a great idea. we went on the Landmark Tower, the tallest building in Japan with the fastest elevator in Japan (at a whooping 45km/h!). my sensei told me that a fellow professor in our department was involved in the designing of the egg-shaped elevator. we went on the 69th floor where tha amazing observatory was! one of the best views I have ever seen! after that, we went to chinatown in Yokohama. great stuff.
Christos came. πιτσούλα ο Άλκης Στέας. we went to the imperial palace gardens and a had a very unsuccessful visit to the children-oriented science museum...
after that we went to the Sony Building in Ginza, with a special exhibition for the new Walkman
oshogatsu is the traditional japanese festivities and customs surrounding the New Year's Eve celebration. i spent the first day of 2006 in Kawagoe, one of the regions in tokyo that still remind of the Edo era. during the first three days of January, all japanese people have to go to a temple or shrine and pray for good luck for the new year. as you can understand, people flood in temples and it really needs patience that period. this results of course in a large density of shops around and inside the temples selling all kinds of foods, drinks and luck charms. as for me, I was invited by a friend to spend the first day of the year by going to a shrine in Kawagoe and then have dinner with her family. I actually had a great time, her family are very very sweet and kind people and I honestly had fun. on the 3rd, I went with my friend and his brother to the Meiji-shrine which was very very crowded. we had a great time!
