Greenery Day

• Thursday, May 5, 2011
• Posted in Roppongi
• 26 Comments

Yesterday was Greenery Day but spend most of it walking around concrete jungle of Tokyo.    I stopped by my favorite shop Gooz in the morning for a cup of coffee.   I love the American Gas Station pour it yourself coffee.    Its a nice mix of my old and new home…

きのうはみどりの日です。東京をさんぽしました。中目黒のグーズでコーヒーをかいました。アメリカのガソリンスタンドのコーヒーやさんみたいです。おもしろいです。懐かしい（なつかしい）です。

Japanese Word of the Day: 双子（ふたご）futago – twins, a twin.  for example:  Papa those dogs wearing sunglasses look like twins!   パパ、この犬サングラスかけてる。ふたごみたい。

Today’s configuration: Today I shot my Leica M9 and I shot all of my lens: Summilux 21mm f/1.4, Summilux 35mm f/1.4, Noctilux 50mm f/0.95.

今日のカメラ：私のライカM９をつかいます。レンズをずんぶつかいきりました。

Sweet Home Nakameguro…I’m coming home to you!

They also have a great bakery.  I highly recommend their Hamburger… yummy.　　グーズにおいしいハンバーガーがあります。おいしかったです。

日本はかえません！

I love all of the cool cars I find in Tokyo.   This is a London Taxi!　　東京にたくさんかっこいい車があります。

Mayumi and I had time for a nice date in Nakameguro.   We went to Bonnie Butterfly.   We had the most delicious pizza and probably the most unhealthy;  lots of cheese, sausage, mayonnaise and french fries.   God it was good.    I have been in the evening as well and this place is great.   Good crowd but not too noisy.

私は真由美と中目黒でデートしました。　すごいピザたべました。チーズとマヨネーズとソーセージとフライドポテトがのっていました。すごいおいしかったです。私はマヨラーです。。。でもヘルシーじゃないですね。

I am going to miss Nakameguro when we move.   We are going to finalize our contract tomorrow.    We are heading to the new place tomorrow to do some measuring.

Tokyo Mid Town.   A massive structure.　東京ミッドタウン。　大きいですね。

The National Art Center in Roppongi.   This building is so cool.  I need to come back on a nice blue sky day and reshoot this.

 

I love this chicken…　　このとりおもしろいです。

This is cool.   You never see brick buildings in Tokyo.

Sanno Hospital…this is where Kai was born.

Now this is how to treat a ‘homeless’ cat…　　このねこのうちおもしろいです。

I found this great little old general’s house and small temple on the way back to Roppongi.   I couldn’t decide which photo I liked better so you get both today.

Wooden prayer boards hold the wishes of visitors.

A real general’s real sword… cool!

Cat on a leash…　　かわいそうなねこです。

Hanging out drawing in the park along side Tokyo Midtown.

Dogs in sunglasses.　犬がサングラスをかけています。おもしろいです。

The one thing I love about Japan is everything has a cute little character or macot…This is the Tokyo Police’s Pipo-kun.   Pipo-kun even has his own theme song.   You can hear it HERE.　　ピポくんです。東京警察のマスコットです。ピポくんのうたはここです。

This dog was playing soccer!　　この犬はサッカーをあそんでいました。

Day 4 with my blogging in Japanese.   What does everyone think so far?   I am really glad I started doing this.    It takes about an extra 30 or 45 minutes but it is really making me much more confident in my Japanese.   Each day it gets a little faster.    Is anyone following along or studying their Japanese with it?    Are any Japanese people following along in Japanese now?   Please leave a comment as I would love to know what people think.

日本語をかくのはたいへんです。　３０分から４０分ぐらいかかります。　だんだんなれてきました。どうおもいますか？　日本人は日本語だけよみますか？　コメントをしてください。かんたんな日本語でよろしくおねがいします。

真由美ちゃんーいつもチェックサンキュベリマッチです。。。

As a reminder you can stay connected with ShootTokyo via Facebook, Flicker, LinkedIn, Daily Email and my weekly newsletter via the ‘Stay Connect’ tab on the left side of the screen.    See you tomorrow when I show you Tokyo from 800 feet and my dinner at the restaurant that was the scene of Uma Thurmond’s big sword fight in Kill Bill.

あしたね！

• tweet
• like
• share
• email

• Show comments (26)
  • May 07, 2011 at 4:36 pm, Dave said:

    Thanks Janelle for the comments and thanks for sharing the site. I am glad you like it.

  • May 07, 2011 at 3:41 pm, Jenelle said:

    Hi Dave
    I’ve been following your blog for a few months now. I love it! Makes me very なつかしい for Japan. It’s like getting a small fix of Japan until I can manage my next visit! I teach Japanese at an Australian high school so now that you have started adding your comments in 日本語 I’m going to be recommending they follow your blog!

  • May 07, 2011 at 2:27 pm, Dave said:

    Charlotte – She was cute and posed nicely for me!

  • May 07, 2011 at 12:43 am, Charlotte Thompson said:

    Dave, I love the photo of the little girl.

  • May 07, 2011 at 12:40 am, Dave said:

    Hi AJ – Thanks for visiting and glad you like the site. I am adding romanji to the Japanese Word of the Day. I don’t think I can add romanji to all of the post comments as well. It is a little complicated with two languages already. I think a third would be too confusing for readers. If you are trying to learn Japanese, I suggest you learn Hiragana and Katakana. Your pronunciation will improve very quickly. I taught myself those in a few days of study. It can easily be done with a little practice.

  • May 07, 2011 at 12:32 am, AJ said:

    Dave,

    Thanks for doing this. I visit your blog at least 3-4 times a week – all the way from Canada.
    I was wondering if it would be possible for you add to the Romanji version of the sentences?

    Thanks!

  • May 06, 2011 at 10:47 pm, Dave said:

    Hi Cameron – Glad you like the Japanese addition. がんばんれましょう！

  • May 06, 2011 at 10:05 pm, Cameron said:

    Hi Dave,

    I’ve enjoyed your blog daily　for a little while now, more so since you’ve added Japanese. Great reading practice, as well as inspiration for me to practice my writing some more. がんばろう。

  • May 06, 2011 at 5:39 pm, Dave said:

    Thanks Anderson for the feedback. I’ll make sure to put the Japanese on a different line. Glad I can combine the two passions for you.

  • May 06, 2011 at 5:39 pm, Dave said:

    Easy my 50mm Noctilux f/0.95… I have learnt to love shooting all of them but this one is my favorite by far right now. I love bokeh and nothing can deliver it like this can.

  • May 06, 2011 at 5:37 pm, Dave said:

    Hi Marco – We are going to move to Jiyugaoka. It is another neighborhood in Tokyo. Very fashionable and popular on the weekends.

  • May 06, 2011 at 5:35 pm, Dave said:

    Hi Mart – Thanks. I think the exact same way…skip the 30 minutes of waste on the web or with TV and trade it for studying. I’ll try to put some (hiragana) when I use Kanji that isn’t common. Good luck!

  • May 06, 2011 at 5:34 pm, Dave said:

    Hi Patty – Thanks. I like the first one as well. I think there are mixed feelings on it as a lot of people like the second. Good on your for studying Japanese. I tried Rosetta and it just didn’t work for me. I do Minna No Nihongo (everyone’s Japanese). It works well for me. I probably won’t be posting images of my new place on here as I need to keep a little privacy. Maybe when I get my office set up I can post a photo of ShootTokyo HQ. You will see tons of neighborhood shots…

  • May 06, 2011 at 5:31 pm, Dave said:

    Thanks Matthew… Hopefully it reduces to 20 minutes soon…

  • May 06, 2011 at 5:30 pm, Dave said:

    Gretchen – Glad it is useful for you. I am surprised how useful it actually is for me and it is really helping my Japanese after only a few days. I am glad I did this. I can do with 1 less hour of sleep a day…

  • May 06, 2011 at 5:29 pm, Dave said:

    Galina – The dogs were actually wearing sunglasses as they walk around (believe it or not)

  • May 06, 2011 at 12:00 pm, Warren said:

    Wow, that National Art Center building looks very cool indeed!

  • May 06, 2011 at 11:56 am, Anderson Godoy said:

    Greetings from Colombia. I am really enjoying your Japanese. My two great passions are Japan and photography, so you’re giving me both.
    My only suggestion is for you to write the Japanese lines below the English ones instead of next to them.

    Thanks Dave.

  • May 06, 2011 at 10:19 am, Jim said:

    OK, gotta ask, IF you had only one of those 3 lenses and shooting these scenes as you do, which one would you have. And thank you so very much for all these wonderful images.

  • May 06, 2011 at 7:35 am, marco barsotti said:

    to me,photo n.2 of the temple is by far the best.

    ….

    did you mention where are you moving to ? (i mean, home…or even took some photos of it?)

  • May 06, 2011 at 4:36 am, Gretchen said:

    I’m a post-bacc student in Japanese, so I’m enjoying reading your Japanese comments. It helps me with grammar and sentence structure, so I very much appreciate its addition to your lovely photos. どうもありがとう！　

  • May 06, 2011 at 2:52 am, Galina said:

    interesting pictures!
    how come cafe logo reminds me of Starbucks?
    and these dogs .. do they walk in the sunglasses, or they just posed for you? )

    I don’t understand what you write in Japanese, but it sure adds flavor and visually connects to Japan

  • May 06, 2011 at 1:26 am, Mart said:

    Your photos always make my day Dave!
    Bokeh rules! I like the second shot at the hand washing station better. In the first shot, the sunlight filtered through the gate/doorway and reflecting off the right side of the washing station interrupts the “bokeh-nized” lines of the washing station.
    But of today’s lot, I like the wooden prayer wall the best.
    I also like the Japanese word of the day and can read along with the hiragana/katakana. I’m at a loss with the kanji but it gives me a reason to look it up and learn how to read/speak it.
    Taking an extra 30-40 mins in composing the page isn’t that bad. It is much easier to lose half a day “click-surfing” through Youtube and learn nothing at all.

  • May 06, 2011 at 12:13 am, Patty said:

    I love the first shot of the temple’s washing area. Love those verticals in the background!

    Studying Japanese with Rosetta Stone, but only listening and speaking, not the reading part. Not yet…

    Can’t wait to see the images of the new place!

  • May 06, 2011 at 12:06 am, Kat said:

    I’m sharing your site with my friend. He’s studying Japanese now and he needs all the help he can get to be better at it!

    The animals are cute. It’s quite unusual for a cat to be on a leash, but doggies that wear clothes are pretty much normal.

    Have you ever been to the Ghibli Museum in Inokashira Park in Mitaka? It’s a lovely place (or so I hear) especially if you like the movies by Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. No pictures allowed inside though, but I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.

  • May 05, 2011 at 10:55 pm, matthew l. said:

    ４０分！（*o*) 日本語を書くことはたいへんですね。でも、がんばって！