Going To Japan Around January

[Astro Bear]

Hey guys,

Im going to Japan around january. Hoping to book soon. I want to know if anyone can give me some tips or ideas as to where I can go to see street/mountain drifting, car shows, track action etc. I also want to see the culture and do all the normal touristy stuff. If anone can give me some pointers or recommend some places, please let me know!

[GTR-N1]

You'll need a racing calendar to know when and where all the right stuff is on...

And then build all the sightseeing around that eh?

North of Tokyo is that tremendous road down to Nikko called Irohazaka. Look it up on the web. Sensational!

I was on a bus lolz down that hill of nearly 80 apexes, mostly hairpins.

Also north up further, is Sendai Racetrack.

West of Tokyo at the base of Mt Fuji is the famous HKS factory.

All my 600 slides are from 1976, so I'm sure some other SAUers will help you out with pics.

January is winter in Japan and the northern Island of Hokkaido will be freezing whereas the southern Islands of Kyushu & Shikoku will be a bit more temperate.

[Astro Bear]

You'll need a racing calendar to know when and where all the right stuff is on...

And then build all the sightseeing around that eh?

Exactly! Would you have any idea where I could fund such a calendar. I have trawled through the net, but to no avail, it must be hiding from me.

[Rezz]

All my 600 slides are from 1976

wat...

Any chance you could get a few scanned? (I'm assuning you can scan slides somehow) and post some up? It's be fascinating to see some pics of Japan from around that time.

[akeenan]

terry I too would like to see some of those pics

Rezz , ask your inlaws if you can look at some of their albums... however these would be greatly different to a tourists photo album

[Mr. Keets]

January you say??? mmmm Tokyo Auto Salon is on in January

[Astro Bear]

January you say??? mmmm Tokyo Auto Salon is on in January

Fantastic! Where can I find information as to when events like these will be hapening?

[GTR-N1]

Yes, well...

Right next to me is an Epson CX6500 multifunct'n scanner thingamejig and yeh, I'm one of those oldies that doesn't know how to use it yet. Don't know if slides can be scanned either... Time to get the 'Idiots' book out!

A couple of the slides have pics of the hairpins of IROHAZAKA too eh?

My trip consisted of two weeks in Japan.

Driving from f*kuoka down to Kagoshima on Kyushu. Mt Sakurajima was smoking then too and I couldn't head off to Mt Aso from Kumamoto because of an eruption there.

JNR railway on Honshu took me from Osaka to Nara to Kyoto to Tokyo to Hakone & also up to Nikko via Irohazaka.

Lastly, I drove from Kushiro on Hokkaido I. anti-clockwise to Hakodate before flying back to Tokyo.

Back then I used high quality Rokkor lenses on a Minolta Camera. 16mm fisheye thru to 200mm tele.

Slides are still in perfect cond. I think.

Didn't think you guys would be so interested - I'm a bit chuffed.

Any of you guys in Sydney atm?

To save time, maybe you can teach me how to scan eh? And then there's the problem of posting which I can't do yet either.

Just recently got onto photobucket. Jeez, you guys must think I've got a double digit IQ!

Cheers,

Terry

[akeenan]

hehe no probs, hopefully someone can help you out mate.

travelling in Japan back in those days must have been awesome. certainly not what it would be like now thats for sure

the locals probably wouldnt have known what to do hehehaha

[m3gtr]

Yes, well...

Just recently got onto photobucket. Jeez, you guys must think I've got a double digit IQ!

Cheers,

Terry

Ahaha, well you are into the double digits of life are you not? Well into em, id wager.

A Rokor? Holy cow...you still have it i imagine?

Depending on the lens, they are stratospherically expensive last time i checked. They had a couple of Rokor lenses that would fund a year in many parts of the world in a shop i was checking out recently and that was in Yodobashi camera here in Akihabara!

Go ya halves!

[GTR-N1]

^^^ YES YES YES

That's them Adam!!!

They were very expensive back in 1974 when I bought all the gear - and I still have them.

At least all the lenses are still in their precious covers whilst the body has been replaced a couple of times.

Famous Minolta Photographer fans have included

i) Trent Nathan - fashion photographer

ii) son of rajab Snowdon - the Queen's ex-brother--in-law photographer

My lenses include

Rokkor 1:2.8 16mm Fisheye

Rokkor 1:2.5 18mm Wide-Angle

Rokkor 1:3.5 50mm Macro

Rokkor 1:1.4 50mm Standard (did have a 1:1.2 58mm but I dropped it in Stockholm - bugger)

Rokkor 1:3.5 200mm Tele

Rokkor 1:4.5 300mm Tele

Body = X-700 (Past Bodies = SRT-101, 303, XD-somethingorrather)lol

Interested still in film photography? Why were you enquiring about this gear.

Trent Nathan used to tell people that when negs were blown up, the Rokkor clarity around the periphery was better than the Nikkor stuff. I've never done many posters like he has done though...

My age? Not yet 60 - but even when I do, I can always say that I'm still younger than Jim Richards eh?

I used to have to answer photographic Qs for customers when they walked into a pharmacy.

The digital age has changed all that though... Feel as if I'm on "L" plates now except when framing shots.

Still have to work out on a digital camera how to deliberately underexpose/overexpose for contrast etc etc.

Just use my wife's Panasonic FZ7 these days or maybe my son's Nikkon D whatever if I need a digital.

Used to take some arty shots of my cars in the old days too.

Some guys on SAU are pretty good - esp with photoshop lolz

Cheers,

Terry

[Astro Bear]

Hey! No more hijacking my thread!....

Im only joking. I too would love to see a few slides from back in the day.

[GTR-N1]

Hey! No more hijacking my thread!....

Im only joking. I too would love to see a few slides from back in the day.

GDay Adz!

If any of the guys are in Sydney, an alternative will be that I take the >600 slides across to someone's scanner and I get a free lesson on how to do it!!! 90% of the slides are at least semi-pro std.

Cheers, Terry

[Astro Bear]

GDay Adz!

If any of the guys are in Sydney, an alternative will be that I take the >600 slides across to someone's scanner and I get a free lesson on how to do it!!! 90% of the slides are at least semi-pro std.

Cheers, Terry

Aah Terry, If only I wasn't in Melbourne. I would have taken you up on the offer. Would have loved to see the R34 as well!

[Beer Baron]

hmm, I'm in sydney city. if you have the gear to do it I could almost certainly work the do-hicky and the thingamajig for you.

[GTR-N1]

hmm, I'm in sydney city. if you have the gear to do it I could almost certainly work the do-hicky and the thingamajig for you.

I only have the slides BB.

Alternatively, I have all the slides in 120 slide carouselles and a projector + screen. I am aware though that taking pics off projected slides may hamper photo quality eh?

I haven't a clue how slides can be scanned appropriately - if you do, PM me your address and we'll work out a date and time.

I don't even know how to post up photos yet lol

Cheers, Tez

[Beer Baron]

ok cool. I will have a look around. somewhere I do have a scanner that had a slide scanning attachment. there is a special attachment you need for it.

[Rezz]

The special attachment! I knew there had to be a way!

Terry, can I put in a special request for scans of any Kobe/Osaka slides you might have?

[GTR-N1]

The special attachment! I knew there had to be a way!

Terry, can I put in a special request for scans of any Kobe/Osaka slides you might have?

Yeh if BB can help me out, that's a given!

Took quite a few shots of & in Osaka Castle. That one is a massive sucker. Huge stone ramparts and it's like a massive museum inside.... If there were too many things on display I would start using the fisheye to catch it all.

The only pics of Kobe were from the plane flying over it to Osaka from down south (Kagoshima on Kyushu).

Many more pics of Nara & Kyoto the two old capital cities before Tokyo.

Cheers,

Terry

PS I must have known 32 years ago that these slides might be useful again for someone other than me lolz

[Astro Bear]

I went to osaka castle last time I was there when I was 15 or so. Amazing place.

People! Back on track! Can anyone help me out with ideas?