The last time I boarded a flight out of Japan was January 2020. This was a much welcomed change from the previous 20 years of traveling out of Japan every few weeks on business trips. I’ve secretly had a goal to not make my airline status each year for the past many years.

It’s been a huge change from training in Jiu-Jitsu all the time to doing nothing each day. After a few months of that, I ended up buying a single-speed bicycle with a perk allowance my company provides so i could start exercises again.

I scheduled my first trail lesson the following Saturday. I was scared going in but just figured it was an experience either way. I was really happy with how welcoming everyone was. I didn’t know all of the difference classes offered so I went on Saturday at 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM

It’s been a fast start to 2019. I started with a trip to Las Vegas, followed by the trip to New York City then a trip to San Francisco. I’ve spent most of February in Tokyo but I’ve already logged 43,000 miles flown year to date. Thankfully I plan to be in Tokyo for a while now.

Welcome to 2019! I hope everyone had a restful year end. I really appreciate that Japan shuts down at year end and everyone has time to take a break and spend at home with their family. I was able to take off from just after Christmas until January 7th. It was nice to have 9 straight days at home.

My blog turned 8 years old a few weeks back. I’m really happy I started this site. While I can’t always maintain the pace I did when I first started ShootTokyo, it’s something I always love to return to and update.

I feel like I’ve been in a constant state of transit for the past few months. I’ve been to Sydney three times, Singapore twice and Melbourne once. I was in the US three weeks ago. I was there again last week only landing at 5AM yesterday but I’m off to Sydney night. That will make three red eye flights in a week.

Tokyo's summer has been brutally hot.  Endless heat and endless humidity.   Tokyo has hit highs this summer of 41 degrees (105 for those of you in the US).  I don't agree with this type of weather.  I prefer mid-fall weather.  Cool enough to wear a jacket but not so much that you need one.   Summer isn't for me. 

I decided to shoot M10 for a few weeks with the intention of converting the images to black and white to see if this is a suitable replacement for my Leica Monochrom.   I left my display in color which was probably a mistake I realized later.  When I was shooting my Monochrom I often found myself searching for shadows, textures, and contrast. 

A big part of what got me started with photography was the desire to slow down and explore the world around me.   It was this desire that got me interested in photography initially, then carrying a camera with me everywhere I go.   It helped me to slow down and really enjoy the places I am traveling to.

I have the pleasure of knowing and meeting a lot of interesting people in my life.   The international community in Tokyo is full of fascinating people.   I'm lucky enough to meet many more as I travel around the world. I have also gotten away from photographing people I am interacting with.  it is something I have always liked doing. 

This is one of my favorite times of the year.  Spring has finally arrived in Tokyo.  The cherry blossoms bloomed about a week early with peak bloom hitting last weekend.    Pink trees popping up everywhere and now it's snowing pink leaves across Tokyo.  Spring made a few attempts of arriving but then it turned cold again.  The weather has been weird.  It was snowing less than 2 weeks ago in Tokyo and many parts of the world. 

I love the turn of the year.  It's a great moment to pause and take stock of what's working well and what needs adjustment.   Last year I wrote a post called  Staying Balanced and think it's a good time of year to bring up this conversation again.  I had a good conversation with my friend John about the post.   We are all busy and sometimes one of these projects needs to take a much bigger priority.  

As I mentioned, my Leica M9 and Leica Monochrom have finally met their maker, quite literally since I traded them back in at Leica Ginza.  Those cameras have treated me extremely well over the past 7 and 5 years, respectively, and will be missed.  I've been shooting with the Leica M10 for a few weeks now.  The short answer: I love it.