Naives - My Blog

Tamiya Showroom in Shizuoka

sfsjkid — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 13:26:55 +0000

Two years ago and then again last year, I was in Japan and had the opportunity to visit Tamiya’s main office in Shizuoka along with their R/C car track. The latter looks a lot bigger on TV. Anyways, I’m not going to add a lot of text right now, but putting this online since it is worth the visit and little seems available on the web. BTW the last time I went, apparently one needs an appointment contrary to the info on Tamiya’s web site. The showroom is a must go especially if you do the model show.

Old shots here

Nikon Tumbler

sfsjkid — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 08:36:24 +0000

You’d think getting an NC Nikon filter would be easy in Japan, but came up empty handed after visiting 3 stores. Guess 77mm is not generally needed, or the profit margin on third party filters? Suppose it is also a bother to stock every manufacturer’s version. In any case it was easy enough to order directly through Nikon. Pretty amazed that I could specify the time of day for delivery on standard shipping which was free! Ended up ordering the mug everyone is talking about(?), since I needed some kind of cup at work. I’ll keep it short for there seems to be plenty of info about this already. I’ll just add a few pics, say that it is really realistic though a bit shiny and that while the cap does work well enough to prevent spills! Can’t wait for to see the reaction at work.

The Last Thing to Buy in Japan are Cameras!

sfsjkid — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:24:46 +0000

And of course lenses, for the simple reason that prices are ridiculously high for some reason. I was once again in the mood for a wide angle lens for my DSLR and thought I’d make note of it here.

Currently the price for Nikon’s 10-24mm f/3.5/4.5G ED-IF AF-S DX is $849.95 (Click for price today). Now at Bic Camera, one of many reputable stores here in Japan, it’s 83,100 Yen (Current link). At today’s exchange rate of 76.6 Yen, the price comes out to be $1061.29. Adorama’s highest priced shipping option is FedEx International Priority at $88.80 to Japan, so one still comes out ahead. The differential is worse if you consider a gray market lens, and the fact that a 5 year warranty is extra cost here. As another example the AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm F2.8G ED is currently 182,200 Yen, or $2,378.43, which Adorama is offering for $1,886.95! These are all street prices of course.

This is nothing new as I hear custom officials in the US don’t even bother looking at camera equipment, and have noticed this personally on trips there previously. But it is a sad state of affairs!

Misc shots at 18mm and 24mm

sfsjkid — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:22:48 +0000

Totally random shots. Just shot to make a point on DX.

Tokyu Hands

sfsjkid — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 11:29:24 +0000

It’s hard to describe this store but definitely worth a visit if one is nearby. I’d describe it as a Home Depot, combined with a Micheals, REI, Sharper Image, Walmart, Sears, Halmark, and a half a dozen other specialty stores Japanese style. The last time I was there I noticed they had snake skins for use to make a wallet, etc.

Link to the company site…
http://www.tokyu-hands.co.jp/en/index.html
Link to my photo site with some random pics…

http://public.fotki.com/sfsjkid/place-holder/tokyu-hands/

Adventure for the day

sfsjkid — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 07:26:28 +0000

I needed to get a present for the company year end party so I decided to go by bus. As I tried dutifully to get on using the rear door as customary in this part of the country, the driver stopped short, opened the front door and said he was running a short route due to the marathon that was being run. I was going to walk to the train station to take the long way around when he mentioned I could transfer to another bus at the hospital. Passenger behind him said that she was doing exactly that. I got on the bus and told the passenger I was going to follow her. Since there was no bus for a while we ended up calling a cab and sharing it with 2 others, splitting the fare at the end.

This is a Refrigerator?

sfsjkid — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 10:12:48 +0000

Digital TV in the US a Crock?

sfsjkid — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 12:50:49 +0000

I think we got the short end of the stick here in the States regarding digital TV. Here’s a typical screen in Japan after hitting the data button. You have access to weather, some news and ad’s, find it much more easy to access this every morning to check the weather at least than my computer. This info is provided by that particular channel. What’s more, 2 weeks of channel info is available in a table format, which can be used to program your DVR. You may say ho-hum I have this via cable or satellite, however this is over off the air digital broadcasts…

The Postal Service

sfsjkid — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 12:01:11 +0000

One of the things I needed to do now that I was living in Japan, was get a bank account of course. Some how they are able to get by without a social security number, perhaps this will be a subject of a future comment. The most disconcerting aspect of this transaction was the fact that my ATM card, or more correctly cashu (not cashew, more like cache!) card would be delivered by registered mail, meaning I would have to be home during the day or pick the card up at the post office during regular hours. Taking a day off in Japan is extremely daunting, especially even before I completed a full month.

Today is Sunday, I found a notice that the post office tried to deliver my card at 11AM. Obviously coming from the US, this was a complete surprise. As reality set, thoughts about how I was going to get the card started to materialize. This was all for naught. As I read the attempted delivery notice, I saw that I could set up a time for re-delivery in 5 time slots until 9PM via touch-tone phone. In fact I could do this the same day, with an hours notice. Reading further, I found I could also do this via the internet, fax, or through a call center via a real live person until 10PM. English is also available.

I wonder how much this costs but definitely USPS could learn from this!

Jim Russell Kart “Race”

sfsjkid — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 20:36:25 +0000

Ok, so since the last entry, I decided to do a go-kart “camp”, which is Jim Russell’s Techniques of Karting and Advanced class combined for a couple hundred less than when you take them individually. The very last exercise was a mock race with qualifying. I ended up 2nd fastest but blew the start and found myself 4th in the begining. I messed up even further for a few laps trying too hard to catch up. After everything I ended up fourth. It was a lot of fun but trouble is I’m hooked, and I’m going to do the Advanced class at least one more time. Here’s video from the race, and graphic of the course, the National Track.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJc3h6Y_tDo