Archive for the ‘photography’ Category
Typically. Tokyo.
There is only one place in the world, the stations get like this. One chance to guess.
Something I took a few weeks ago, just in case you complain I don’t blog!
♥
Your infrequent blogger.
ju
Day 3 meant Tsukiji.
(Warning: LOTS of photos.)
A cold morning, waking up at 5am to get to Tsukiji market before the Tuna auction ended. Took the first few trains heading toward Tsukiji and then it started drizzling and got really wet. Maybe that’s why there was no smell at all in the market, cos of the cold! Best fish market ever. I hate the smell of wet markets in Singapore, I think I never breathe through my nose when I’m there.
We weren’t sure where to go when we arrived at the station. So we just followed people. We assumed they were going to the right place. And we did end up at the right place. So all was good. (:
- First views of the fish in Tsukiji Market
- Roe – lots!
- Unagi! They look kind of scary and gross swimming in there. But… just think of the taste!
- Tuna sold at the auction (I’m assuming). They are huge! Its just so amazing seeing the whole huge tuna go pass by you, and then another one over there, and there. And then being cut up, being sliced, apportioned. Its just so amazing seeing it as a whole instead of being in my food alone.
- Here are my parents with the tuna!
- Fishy fishy, all in a row.
- Tuna being mistreated and hauled around, and cut up. They are so big, and heavy! They just chop off bits of it and its like all over the floor – okay not all over, but you know what I mean! – and there was a tail on the ground, then fins were coming off too.
After checking out the fish market, we then found the auction room, where the tuna auction was being carried out.
- Its all busy busy in the auction room. Bells will be ringing where the tuna to be sold will be. They will be shouting all sort of numbers to the crowd, hands will be raised, and then the tuna will be sold. So exciting.
- Look at the rows and rows of tuna.
- Dragging away the ones that have been sold.
- So much going on at 6am in the early morning. All the tuna to be sold, all the buyers busy calculating their worths and their ability to purchase.
- Dragging the tuna about.
After the auction was over, for us at least because tourists were only allowed in during a fixed time period, we headed back out and checked out the rest of the market!
- Here I am in the middle of the huge huge super cool Tsukiji fish market.
- And here are my parents in the cool Tsukiji Fish Market.
- Here is the anago man! Slicing the anago. I thought it was unagi, but he corrected me. And he also warned us when those crazy car things were zooming around next to us, how nice. (:
- Check out the cool octopus!
- Here is Pa with the man cutting up the fish
- And now Pa & Me
- Here I am.. somewhere in the middle of Tsukiji
- Slicing up the fish. With full concentration.
- Check out the long knife. I’m just imagining the sounds of swords slicing through the air. *shing-shwhing*
- Slicing up the tuna with precision.
- Tsukiji. Wow.
- Here I am with a whole fridge full of tuna pieces!
- And my parents with same fridge of tuna.
- Then whilst trying to get out of the fish market, we ended up in the fruit & vegetable market. Those are people buying the veges/fruit. It was quite amazing.
- Here we are in the fruit/vege section
After finding our way out of the market, and finding out where the other market with all the food was. We made our way there, and went to find breakfast! And I got to choose unagi! 
My parents love me.
- Then we went to eat unagi. Because I’m pathetic and don’t enjoy sashimi.
- Here is Pa with his unagi-don!
- And Mum with hers!
- And happy me with mine! YAY!
After this, we went back to the hotel to sleep. I wonder why.
After waking up too soon, forced to by my parents, we went to get my apartment stuff done. And check out awesome ramen we had for lunch!
That night we dumped all my stuff in my apartment. And I had Takopachi! LOVE!!
ebi
UNIQLO is in Singapore! I’m super excited. (: I want new jeans!! Although it may be cheaper.. a little.. in Japan. New stores are always exciting! I can’t wait for H&M to get to our shores, but they better not only hold insanely expensive pieces, because I cherish my dear little affordable H&M I saw in Sweden/Denmark/Norway/France/UK. The HongKong one didn’t live up to expectations, mainly due to the lack of range, and prices were well, not that great.
An hour more before I’ve got to drag my feet to Negotiation class, although I think it’ll be a fun lesson again today, with more presentations about differnt cultures’ negotiation styles. It was fairly hilarious last week, when we did a lot of Asian countries, and we had funny stories about bargaining, corruption, bribes, “gifts”, losing face etc.
I’m still kind of exhausted from one nights’ lack of rest, due to my brother bluffing me that our prawning session will last only 3 hours max, and telling me, “At most 2am ok!”
Nicole prawning!
Yummy barbecued prawns (:
Prawn lover
It was real fun though. Caught 16 prawns, paid $30 for 3 hours of renting the fishing rod. And it was damn yums, especially bizarre for me because I don’t like to eat prawns!
I only got to bed past 4am, because the 3 hours did not include driving there, cooking prawns, eating, and extra time to prawn because they aren’t that “ngiao”. I had to wake up for work at 7am, and had class at 7pm till 1015. I think I totally shut down halfway through class. I even overslept when I got home in the afternoon, and didn’t go for the talk in the afternoon. Heh.
Resistance is FUTILE.
*long post warning*
Its raining in my room, and I can’t survive the humidity without my aircon. So.. pitter patter goes my airconditioning unit into big pails that will fill up by morning.
MY EXAMS ARE OVER. I am extremely delighted. (: I think I’ll feel even better tomorrow morning, or afternoon, when I wake up from a stressless sleep. No more dreaming of missing exams! No more sudden jerking self awake to check the time and double checking that the alarm is set to go off at the correct time. I hate those stressful, fitful nights before exams, even when I was studying. Its so freaking scary to think about actually missing exams, because, I’d have studied so hard for naught! But its all over! I took all 5 exams, forgot none, and I just sit trying to not to think about lost causes and hope for the best. (:
Today. And yesterday. Were days of sinful indulgences. Super sinful, I am still quite shocked at the amount I bought. No more shopping, for a while, hopefully. Turning up at Sitex2008 tomorrow is likely to happen, but that’s not really indulgence, right? Who am I kidding, I love electronics! I’m so going to go gaga over Apple gadgets, jealous over the new macs (I still prefer the look of the blackmacbook though. I hate it that the new macbooks remind me of SonyVaios, stupid sonycopycats), Apple Ipods, Iphones, SonyEricsson phones – Xperia X1(!!! Its freaking hell S$1200+!! Who can afford that?? Its close to getting a new mac! And weighing the options, what would I do if I had that amount of money??), digital cameras I don’t need but still want, check out if they are selling dslr lenses and go weak in the knees if they do, search for my GuitarHeroWT(Wii) for discounts and special offers for other wii games if there are, digital harddrives. Lalala, I need to be there tomorrow!
Okay, I shouldn’t list my shopping over the past two days, it makes me feel super bad. Basically, I went for the Charles&Keith Warehouse Sale that Michcher told me about, which I subsequently told Michsng about, which we both got super super excited about going for. (: It was an experience, never went for warehouse sales like that. Its addictive because of the amount you save, seriously, its amazing. If only I got invited to club21 sales and things like that. So here’s some eyecandy for people who want to see what I bought! (:
How do you resist these?
My room turned into a mini-makeshift studio so I could play with my d60 and photograph all my buys. (: loveloveloves. And this was all bought before I took my last exam, oh wells, I needed the break, seriously. And the opportunity was too good to pass up.
Today, after the paper, Yenzhi, Monica, Jeremy, Douglas and I went for lunch, because Monica is flying off on Monday, for exchange, but of course with many plans prior to landing in Canada for studies. Douglas left earlier for Spanish class, in preparation for exchange to Spain next Spring. The rest of us then made our way to the neoprint machine in the middle of Shokudo and started to play with it! It was hilarious, and super fun! The machine managed to instantly photoshop us to have amazing complexion and super pretty eyes. Haha, it was fun playing with the decorations for the photos. Yenzhi’s going to scan the print and send it out to us, can’t wait. (: Neoprint machines are addictive, and expensive. Terrible. If only I could make the effects as instantly and in as fun a manner as the machines with my mac. Its probably possible, but…. where’s the fun in not having the machine speak to us in Japanese, which we do not understand, trying to decipher which buttons to press by luck, where to stand/sit/pose in time for the camera, rush about trying to change the poses etc, clicking on all sorts of things and screaming at the machine when we don’t understand it and our time runs out. That’s the fun. (:
After our neoprint adventure, Jason & Sylvia joined Jeremy, Yenzhi and I to walk around and ogle expensive bags, shoes, accessories and covet them. Syl left for a wedding preparation thing, and the rest of us made our way to shop some more – well me – at Suntec. I got a lot more things… Most important buy: the Topshop Asymmetric Trench which I couldn’t resist:
Got it on discount. Its super out of date in terms of it being a very very old piece season-wise.. its still gorgeous and irresistible, and I’m not so crazily a fashion-nazi, so screw you if you think I’m unfashionable, especially since I’m only going to wear it 2 years post season(approx). Shall not divulge details about price, but with a couple of basic tanks I bought, I got to be a member! Whoopdeedoo. 10% discounts, birthday specials etc here I come! Lifetime membership, beat that! Mayj don’t you love me. Its transferable too! (:
Post shopping, especially after checking out loads of sunglasses, and falling in love with several.. and Jeremy succumbing to the evils of a very very good discount and good fashion, bought RayBans, whilst I looked covetously at the Guccis and thought of GuitarHero (didn’t work for the trench..). Why don’t I let you drool with me over the Guccis:
The worst part is that I look nice in them. But of course, its a waste of money to get them, I could so buy many many many more clothes, wii games, wii, guitarhero..
So then, we went to watch Madagascar 2 – I love Madagascar. Its superbly funny. (: Teehee.
Ok. Time for bed. Sitex tomorrow. Toodles! (:
Sweet Sweet Love.
I think I’m high on cameras.
Got the Nikon D60, DSLR, today!! (ok yesterday since its already 230am) I’m so excited about it, its amazing. I want to bring it everywhere, if only it could be flat packed. I LOVE IT. I’ve been dreaming of the day I’ll get my hands on a digital SLR since forever and ever. Its so unbelievable, it still hasn’t sunk in.. I LOVE MY D60!! OMG.
Holga from Nartz and Huis for my birthday, I’m loving it too. Its a 35mm, much more convenient. Its a new model, so there aren’t any light leaks or things like that, losing the essence of the toy camera-ness, but heck, its 35mm, saves me truckloads of trouble! Screwed up my first roll of film though, used an ISO400 film, causing a lot of over-exposure when I though I had to use the Night-mode. The bloody guide told me to! Obviously they have different amount of light where it was written!
The Vintage Kodak Brownie Six-16, is in the mail.. somewhere. I got it for USD$0.99. But of course shipping is a multiple of that, many many times over. Its cool though, saw photos taken through it, very interesting. Just got to figure out how to use film for it. The internet is my best friend!
I need to stop overindulging. Time to save money. (Hah, who am I kidding. Still got so many things to buy for my Scandinavian trip.)
