New York City Noir

Photo Shoot with Miyu -- Ebisu

 
I met Miyu for the first time when I was in Japan after originally setting up the shoot through Model Mayhem.  We emailed each other back and forth to set up the details, and the shoot went really well.  Miyu was not only beautiful, but also extremely professional and was just as interested in getting good photos as I was.

The shoot itself was in Yebis Gardens, a relaxed outdoor mall.  It had originally been the site of the Sapporo brewery, and there were still many signs of the plant's former presence.  Not only was there a Sapporo Beer Garden and a Beer Museum, but every single advertisement was for beer.  Naturally, I felt completely at home!!

 

Friday Night Party -- Ebisu

 
After not having seen one another for three years, I finally got together with my best friend Chiemi at Com'inn, a cool English language cafe located a few blocks from the JR station at Ebisu.  The cafe gives parties twice a month, and I was invited to one by Chiemi who was working behind the bar.  If you happen to be in Tokyo, these parties are great places to network and meet with English speaking Japanese.  There were also a handful of Americans present.  Everyone there went out of their way to be welcoming and helpful to me. 

Ebisu is a also a great place to do night photography.  As the Wikipedia article mentions, it is near the entrance to both the JR and Hibiya lines and so has a lot of commuter bars of all types in the immediate vicinity.  On a Friday night, the area was packed.  I took the photos below on the way back to the subway after the party.

 

 

 

 

Hie Jinja Shrine -- Akasaka

 
 
The Hie Jinja Shrine is a Shinto shrine located beside a busy throughway in Akasaka.  The shrine is a modern reconstruction of an earlier set of buildings destroyed during WW II bombings.  To those, such as myself, with limited knowledge of Japanese culture, there is something alien and impenetrable in the Shinto iconography on display here.  But there was no attempt to prohibit photography, and I noticed Japanese beside me taking photos as well.

 

 

 

Photo Shoot with Lira -- Asakusa

 
My first photo shoot on this trip to Tokyo was with model Lira whom I had last seen at NYC Fashion Week in February.  Lira brought her cute Yorkie with her to the Asakusa shrine.  We met at Kaminarimon Gate and did a short casual shoot while sightseeing around the shrine.  Afterwards, we went for lunch to Lira's favorite restaurant which was right to the side of the main strip of tourist shops.  The restaurant did not cater to Westerners -- the menu was written entirely in kana -- but the food was excellent.  We had yakitori and steaming pots filled with rice and fish.

 

Inari Shrine -- Akasaka

 
 
Before my first visit to Japan, I had never heard of Inari.  Even now, I don't completely understand its relationship to Shinto and Buddhism.  The shrines themselves are fascinating, though, complete with statues of fox messengers wearing red ceremonial dress.  The shrine where I took these photos is in Akasaka at one corner of the Imperial Residence grounds.  Eventhough located right beside a busy highway,  it is -- like most shrines in Tokyo -- an oasis of tranquility.
 
 
 

Tokyo

 
 
 
Everyone who travels has a favorite city he or she longs to return to again and again, a home away from home.  For me it's Tokyo.  Clean, safe and the epicenter of Japanese culture, it also has to be the friendliest city in the world.  I've found that Japanese people try harder than anyone else to show hospitality to visitors and appreciation to those who respect their culture.  Above all else, I've formed more close friendships on my brief visits to Tokyo than I have in all my years in my hometown NYC.

Over the next week or two, I'll be doing a series of posts to share the experiences I enjoyed in Tokyo -- more or less in chronological order -- while visiting several different friends.