Sumida Panorama

By on October 30, 2011 in iPhone, iPhone Photo Apps, japan, Travel

We were out for a stroll to Tsukiji market yesterday morning and, as I was crossing the Kachidoki Bridge, I decided to test out the AutoStitch Panorama app that has been sitting unused on my iPhone for months. I’m actually pretty impressed with the results (click on the image for a larger version):

The Sumida River taken from Kachidoki Bridge

 

This is a stitch of five separate shots, which the app processes pretty quickly. If you have not held the phone in exactly the same position, you can then crop off any excess space around the image that did not align.

The actual output is a large image, which you can see here (but it’s 3228 x 1372, so there’s scrolling involved). I cropped it down to 1800 x 765 for on-screen viewing, which is here (or, again, you can click the image above).

In the photo, Tsukiji market is on the right (where the yellow boat is) and, behind Tsukiji, that clump of buildings is the Shiodome area. So that you can visualize the location in the context of central Tokyo, this Google map shows where the shot was taken from (the little “A” marker):

Click on map for the actual Google version

I live about a 5-minute walk from the Sumida river and I love being so close to what is, in many ways, a vital element in the history of Tokyo. The whole city was originally built up around the Sumida and, if you’ve never walked along its banks from Chuo-ku to up to Taito-ku, you are missing a big chunk of what has shaped this city since two brothers dragged a statue of the Kannon out of the river 1,380 years ago:

On 18 March 628, two fishermen hauling their catch from the Sumida river found a golden image trapped in the nets. The Hinokuma brothers, credited with finding the statue of Kannon, goddess of mercy, are remembered in Asakusa Shrine, next to the present Asakusa Kannon temple, also known as Senso-ji. Built to house the statue and dedicated in 635, it is the oldest temple in Japan.
(excerpt from Tokyo: A Cultural History, by Stephen Mansfield – a great read on Tokyo)

At the very least, if you don’t want to walk the banks of the Sumida, you should definitely hop on the Suijo-Bus and cruise up the river from Hinode Pier to Asakusa (despite the name, it is not a “bus”, but, instead, a river boat that cruises up to Asakusa at least once an hour).

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Apple iPhone 4s Launch Tokyo – Ginza

By on October 14, 2011 in iPhone, japan, products

9AM outside the Ginza Apple Store doors - from this angle, all looks almost normal

I had to go to Tokyo station earlier this morning and, because I live nearby, I thought I’d stroll back through Ginza on my way home and see what was happening outside the Apple store at the iPhone 4S launch.

I approached from the back of the line, which started way back – a few blocks from the store:

a tired-looking Apple Store staff-member resting on boxes of water

the line from the front end - looking down towards Ginza 1-chōme

After taking the shot above, I continued walking and literally a few doors down I passed the window of a small book store which really explains quite a bit about the level of Apple obsession in Japan:

magazines in the window a few doors down from the Apple Store in Ginza

Just before 9AM, the line stretched a few blocks, basically from Ginza 1-chōme station to the Apple store. The time says 9:20 because I mapped it out after I’d left the area, and I basically decided to map it out because I’m endlessly intrigued by the fact that people will actually line up overnight for consumer goods in 2011.

approximate length of the line as I strolled by

Obviously, as you can see from the map image, I’m an iPhone user, but NOTHING would motivate me to line up for an electronic device. In fact, it reminds me of the pictures from Russia that fascinated me as a kid: people lining up for scarce goods at GUM, except, as noted, people in the Khrushchev and Brezhnev eras were lining up for things that were scarce. Today, in wealthy so-called developed nations, we have people lining up for items that are essentially commoditized. It’s truly bizarre.

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