The Elusive 124

I went to Rikugien this past Sunday to see the special autumn illumination event. Twice a year, the botanical garden Rikugien holds a special event where they keep the park open late and illuminate some of the trees in the park (in the spring for cherryblossoms and in the fall for fall foliage). 

We arrived around 6pm and the lights were already on.. and the park was super packed! Granted, it was only the second day of the event, so that may also have been why. Some of the footpaths are really narrow, so it was difficult to get some pictures since everyone wants a good vantage point of the lights. There were security guards everywhere trying to usher people along. 

The park only costs 300 yen for adults, and the special event does not cost any extra. I’d recommend it to see some nice fall colours in the middle of Tokyo, but be prepared for tight crowds. The event runs from Nov. 19 to Dec. 7. Click here for more information. 

An example of some of the crazy illumination.

Crowded!

There were a couple of rest stops along the way to get tea, snacks, little hot meals, etc. 

Saw quite a few people playing Pokemon Go, including the couple above. 

After 8 years with my trusty d90, I’ve finally bought a new camera. Decided to go with a Fuji XT-2 after reading rave reviews and hearing great feedback from people I know shooting Fuji. I’ve only had it for a couple of days but I couldn’t be happier! 

I moved to Tokyo in September 2015, and though I’ve wanted to take a lot of photos since then, work/moving/adjusting to a new life plus my aging dSLR and damaged lens made it so that I never took my camera out. I’m happy to have something much smaller that I can carry with me even when I’m going to work.  

These are a couple of shots from my first few days with it! 

Our neighborhood!