The year is coming finally to a close. It's been a long one. I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving and spent time with loved ones. I had the past week off from work and enjoyed spending time with my family. Last night I packed for my second to last trip of the year.

This morning I got up early and took the long drive to Narita Airport. It's about 80 kilometers, 50 miles, from my house. If you get up early you miss all the traffic and it's a nice drive. I spend most of my time in traffic in Tokyo so it's nice to get the car on the highway and stretch it's legs.

I am headed to Indonesia for four days and then I have one last trip to Taipei next week. It will be the 4th week of January until I travel again. It will be nice to be stationary for a while. I will be taking a few weeks of vacation plus Japan completely shuts down over the new year so I'm looking forward to the extended downtime and spending time with my family.

It's the start of the holiday shopping season. I love Black Friday. I often buy things I have been eyeing and take advantage of them being on sale. I'm running a Holiday Sale with everything in my ShootTokyo Shop is marked down 60%. You can pick up my book for only $23.99 shipped anywhere in the world. I have been overwhelmed by the response so far so I'll keep it going for a few more days. I'm also offering 60% off my prints in my Print Shop. Use the coupon 'blackfriday' to apply the discount.

I came across and took advantage of a few Black Friday sales that I thought were worth highlighting here. I'm not getting paid to mention any of them just think they would be of interest to my readers so if they are for you check them out.

My good friends at SmugMug are offering 40% off subscriptions. I host my Portfolio and Print Shop on SmugMug. I'm a huge fan of their services so if you have been thinking to create a site to showcase your best work or sell prints I suggest you check them out.

I have been eyeing Cub and Company's leather camera straps for a long time. The leather work and stitching looks fantastic. I ordered The Cigar Brown Shooter Camera Strap for my Leica MP. It will be a nice addition to my beloved film camera. They are continuing their sale through Monday with 25% off with the code 'cybermonday'.

Grade Select, the good people who brought us the Buy Film Not Megapixels shirts, have everything in their shop 60% off. They make some very cool film and photography inspired cloths. Their sale is on until Monday EST.

Lastly, I am constantly getting asked about where, what and how to do things in Tokyo. Honestly I'm a pretty bad tourist of Tokyo since I am traveling so much out of the country. Tokyo Cheapo has their Cheapo's Guide to Tokyo for only $9.95. I got myself a copy this weekend and was surprised how much I had to learn about the city I have lived in for 15 years. Well worth checking out.

I'm in a film phase right now and I am going to try to shoot film for the foreseeable future. I have a small wine refrigerator filled with a few hundred rolls of film waiting to be shot. I have a few really cool expired ones in there too. I've parked my M Monochrom and M9 for a while.

A good friend reminded how I used to go out with my camera to clear my head. I have been driving a bit too much lately and not really getting out aside from my work travel. I'm going to be a little more purposeful while out and slowing down and observing the world again.

On the way to pick up some food this weekend I stopped by Ritsugenji Temple which is just a short walk from house...

Today's Configuration: Leica MP with a Summilux 35mm f/1.4 on Porta 400 film

It's a small temple but nice for a short peaceful detour.

I love that this cone owner never gives up...

Preventive measures

I really don't understand the run down buildings in nice parts of Tokyo. This one is in Jiyugaoka which is one of the nicest neighborhoods in Tokyo and this building is falling apart. I assume it's due to Tokyo's crazy inheritance tax that makes this unaffordable to whoever inherited it. It seems like there should be some business model where someone could come take it off their hands and leave them with a nice profit while still getting a good deal for themselves. Anything would be better than the current situation you see all over Tokyo. I wish I better understood Japanese real estate more.

Wrong side of the tracks...

Starbucks Japan seems to be testing a new concept in Tokyo called Coffee and Neighborhood. There is one in Jiyugaoka now. It's basically a premium Starbucks. Better coffee, better tea, better food and they serve beer and wine. The coffee is great by the way. The inside is more like a big living room with nice chairs and couches vs what you might be used to. It's a really good atmosphere.

Sorry old school Starbucks...I still love you. For now.

I love stopping to photograph my neighborhood Yakitori place. Mr Suzuki is always nice and asks how my trips are going. He always remembers my last trip. The place is empty in the morning while they are preparing the chicken but gets long lines late in the day. It's nice to be able to take freshly cooked Yakitori home.

Good cone color coordination. Thoughtful. Purposeful.

I was enjoying watching this couple taking photos of each other with an old film camera. I bumped into them a few times.

Look at this parking job! I don't know how they get in there without smashing the front left corner of their car. I checked and no damage. I would destroy the front of my car.