JE Labs: 120

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Camera Life in Tokyo

Armed with tips from Japan Camera Hunter and Tokyo Camera Style, here's my camera tour of Tokyo. Our trip was interspersed with sight-seeing, visiting museums and attending classical music concerts.

Camera Box in Shinjuku

While some friends and I were looking for a bar in Shinjuku, I stumbled upon Camera Box but it was already closed. I made sure to go back the following morning.

Got this refurbished Super Fujica 6 medium format 6x6 rangefinder camera from Camera Box. It wasn't a bargain but I've wanted a coupled RF medium format camera for so long ;)

Super Fujica 6 + Fuji Pro160NS colorfilm

Kitamura Camera in Shinjuku

Map Camera - very upscale atmosphere, lots of Leicas, clones and lenses but no bargains here.

Katsumido Camera in Ginza

Happy with the loot ;)

Olympusflex and Ricohflex TLRs + Canon 7s unearthed from the junk camera bin at Katsumido - all for less than $100. The shutters on all three cameras work. Viewfinders in the TLRs need cleaning and I was told by a salesman that the only problem with the Canon 7s was the broken light-meter. Just developed a test roll from the Canon 7s and the negatives look fine.

Lemonsha is found on the 7th floor of this building. Aside from cameras there were also vintage watches and model trains for sale. I saw a Semflex TLR which has been on my wish list for a while now but I decided to pass.

Sukiya in Ginza was closed

Sankyo in Ginza - collector quality Leicas, Rolleiflexes and Hasselblads
One flight above was Japan Camera which had a lot of Japanese Leica copies - Canon, Leotax, Nicca, Tanack, Yashica, etc.

Found the twin brother of my Super Fujica 6 in the Fujifilm Museum in Tokyo Midtown.

Very rare Fujinon 50mm f1.2 and 35mm f2 lenses in LTM mount

Fujifilm Museum

She doesn't seem to be impressed by the Lartigue exhibit at the Fujifilm museum. ;)

Fujifilm headquarters in Tokyo Midtown

Camera Ichiba is above the ABC shoe store in Shinjuku.

Entrance to the stairwell to Camera Ichiba

Just like Camera Box, this place is cramped and filled to the rafters with cameras and accessories.

Classical music being played through their PA system was a definite plus ;)

Got a clean glass user grade Japanese Summicron at Camera Ichiba - the Canon 35mm f2 LTM for less than $200 ;) Good thing I had enough yen because they don't take credit cards.

Akihabara Radio Center - while shopping for my Audio/DIY hobby, I found vintage Japanese folders, Nicca and Canon rangefinders in the 2nd floor flea market.

BIC Camera and...

...Yodobashi Camera are large chain stores that sell digital cameras, camera accessories, bags, audio electronics, cellphones, tablets, household appliances and all sorts of electronic gadgets. They also had a nice selection of reasonably priced Japanese Whiskies and Single Malts from Suntory, Yamazaki, Hibiki, Nikka, etc.

BIC and Yodobashi still carry film as well as darkroom chemicals and equipment. But the selection of film is getting smaller. I was there when they began stocking Japan Camera Hunter's film cases for 35mm and 120 film.

I found a camera repair tool kit and some leatherette at Yodobashi. If you're looking for Japanese magazines which contain really nice pictures that speak for themselves, BIC and Yodobashi have better stock than the bookstores I visited.

There are some bargains to be found in the junk bins for the DIY inclined, especially if you limit your choice to vintage Japanese manufactured cameras and lenses. I just wish I had more time and energy to dig through those bins ;)

I also wanted to visit Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography which was closed for renovation and some galleries including Totem Pole Gallery. That will have to wait till our next visit!