w00kie’s ramblings

I'm not sure if they have Cribs on MTV Japan, but this guy would have a spot on the show for sure.

From left to right: a Maserati Quattroporte, a Lamborghini Gallardo and an unknown Ferrari... More pics here and here.

3rd year in Japan and each year I was on a busines trip somewhere for early April: the time of the 花見 parties. This time I was home and got to drink myself silly on a tarp under the cherry blossoms.

On the border of the 目黒川, I got to take some nice photos with the president of the 写真倶楽部.

Still haven't decided if I'm going to get me a new GRD or not, my finances look bleak so it's probably going to be a no-no. But according to the sales ranking of cameras in Japan for the month of November, many people don't have the same qualms as me:

It shot straight to 1st rank right out of the drawing board. Impressive for such a special camera, definitely not aimed at the basic consumer. But as a friend of mine always tells me: "Don't under-estimate the power of the Japanese otaku..."

After my post 2 weeks ago about rumors of a new GR Digital coming out, Ricoh has now officially announced the GR Digital II for Christmas 2007.

It looks like a nice evolution over the older model: the same body with the addition of just one button on the side for manually popping up the flash, the same focus on lens quality over anything else, much faster RAW capture, a better screen and a ton of little features to make your life easier (horizontal/vertical level meter, fast shortcut buttons, focus helper, etc.) while keeping the full control of manual mode and no hand-holding.

In these conditions, I think I might be forced to buy it when it comes out... :)

This weekend I went to the Kawagoe Matsuri, one of the biggest in this part of Saitama, and I ate 鮎塩焼き.

They are little fresh-water fish, stuck on a skewer, dipped in salt and fried around a fire. You eat the whole thing, except the head, bones and scales included.

According to the official Ricoh website, the GR Digital is now out of production. It had a good life, now it's over.

As you may know, I bought this camera last year after reading raving reviews and a friend of mine recommended it. A lot of photography enthusiasts own this camera in Japan and you can see that from the GR Digital photos on Flickr.

Its killer points were, among others:

• a wide angle 28mm lens (convertible to 21mm with an extra adapter)
• old school film-like grain with higher ISO
• full manual mode
• double clicker wheels for ultra-fast, one-handed option settings

All in a snazzy black magnesium body for a professional look&feel.

Now from the different rumors running around photography forums and camera shops of Shinjuku, it seems there might be a new version coming to replace my favorite camera in November/December of this year. I can't wait...

Since my girlfriend is in town and I have tons of vacations to take before the end of my contract, I organized a special night out in Tokyo with her last week. I'm such a romantic guy...

First we went for drinks and dinner at her favorite restaurant: T.Y. Harbor Brewery in 天王洲アイル. It's a Californian cuisine restaurant in a sort of hangar (not the old crummy ones, the cool ones that they transform in loft apartments and hype designer offices) right on the canals of Shinagawa. The place also brews it's own beer in big vats behind the bar. Dinner is a bit expensive at 5-8,000￥ per person but the food is really delicious and the portions are big.

Then we headed to our hotel: the Park Hotel Tokyo in 汐留メディアタワー. I had booked a room with a special plan guaranteeing a window facing straight on the Tokyo Tower. We had a little scare as we came in the room at 12:05am and as I opened the curtains I couldn't find the tower: they had turned off the lights! I was really pissed... As my girlfriend had forgotten some cosmectics at home, we headed down to the combini at B2 level and as we came back we had the good surprise to see the Tokyo Tower had been lit back on. I took some cool shots of the view, check them out on my flickr page.

Last weekend I went to 熊谷, the bigger town close to where I live, to watch the city's 花火大会 from my friend's roof.

Firework shows in Japan last very very long compared to anything I knew in France, over 2 hours. That's because in between every 2 minutes sets they make a 3 minutes break. Why, you ask? My theory is that it's all to encourage consumerism, so that you have time to get up and go buy a beer or some たこ焼き from the closest 屋台... What do you think?

On my way to Hiroshima, I flew on one of ANA's Pokemon colored 747.

I didn't get any toys though, I guess they don't give them out to bearded gaijins...

I've got a new hobby. One of my friends with whom I went snowboarding in Hokkaido this winter lives in 湘南 in a cool house 300m from the beach, right in front of 江ノ島.

Since the last month I go surfing there almost every weekend. I can check the weather / wave size on Yahoo! Weather and hop on a train. I got my mother to send me my wetsuit from France by mail, so all I have to pay is the ¥3,150 daily rental fee for a longboard and off I go riding the Pacific's waves.