jdhilger's photostream  

Senso-ji (Asakusa Kannon Temple)
Tokyo, Japan

One year ago I was falling in love with Tokyo when tragedy struck Japan. Despite this I have nothing but fond memories of Japan from that trip, but I recognize that much of the country was going through an infinitely more difficult time than I. It's difficult to talk about as its obviously always sensitive to discuss a tragedy, but I still admire Japan for pulling through the way it did. Tokyo was more ancillary to the true devastation, but you could still see the country's heavy heart on each of its people's sleeves. Having gone back to Tokyo since, I think the resiliency of the people (in Tokyo at least) was proven out: they've adapted and bounced back remarkably in less than a year.

I have to once again thank the absolutely fantastic employees of the Studio Ghibli Museum for going above and beyond to make my friends and I feel safe.

Twitter: photojames
Instagram: jdhilger

Regal Cinemas
Los Angeles, CA

[Here's a bonus shot since this film opens Friday]

This is a shot from the John Carter movie premiere a few weeks ago. I had a chance to attend it and since it was a) free and b) a few blocks from my apartment, I figured I'd go for the full red carpet experience. It was interesting to see the process, the interaction between stars and press, and to grab glimpses of people like John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton.

As for the film itself: it's both okay and pretty bad. It reminded me a lot of watching the Phantom Menace, really. I know Phantom Menace is supposed to be the poster child for snarky film kids to complain about, but normal people realize the movie isn't simply "bad" so much as it's terribly uneven. The same held for John Carter. I wanted to like it, but parts of it were just almost unbelievably bad. At the same time there were sequences that nobody can deny were anything but outstanding. The film tries to hit that child-friendly yet whimsical and dangerous 8-year old boy's fantasy zone like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea or similar films, but it just never quite pulls it off. Perhaps ironically, I thought the source material would have made an excellent basis for a theme park attraction much more so than it did a film as the plot is almost irrelevant and the point is the world/visuals/experience.

Shibuya
Tokyo, Japan

[This week: images from Shibuya in Tokyo, Japan]

I found this small shrine (temple?) while walking around southern Shibuya in search of a particular ramen joint. Finding a place without a data connection on your phone always involves a bit of wandering, and in this case I stumbled upon this this shrine while on my journey. There seemed to be some sort of activity out front creating a smoky haze on the grounds. That haze combined with this natural framing was something I couldn't resist taking a photo of, but I didn't walk on the grounds as I didn't want to accidentally disrespect whatever was going on (plus I was hungry for my ramen).

One of the best things about Tokyo is that you don't have to go very far before you stumble on something interesting.

Twitter: photojames
Instagram: jdhilger

Shibuya
Tokyo, Japan

[This week: images from Shibuya in Tokyo, Japan]

This is another shot of Shibuya Crossing, the world's busiest pedestrian intersection. This was taken pretty late at night on a weekday and showcases what is probably the least amount of crowd you can possibly ever see crossing the intersection. At peak hours this thing is just a sea of people.

The staircase in the front of the frame is a subway entrance to Shibuya Station, which also takes up the huge building across the street (and even more that isn't visible in this shot).

Twitter: photojames
Instagram: jdhilger

Shibuya
Tokyo, Japan

[This week: images from Shibuya in Tokyo, Japan]

The only city I've been to that's more expansive and overwhelming than New York is Tokyo. In particular the Shibuya ward is bustling and full of energy. This shot is just a random slice of the area near Shibuya crossing as we walked to a Shabu Shabu restaurant for dinner.

Twitter: photojames
Instagram: jdhilger