Portfolio and Blog | Jeff Henig Photography» Japan

Yurakucho Street Night Scene

Jeff Henig — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 17:54:18 +0000

During the Yurakucho is a business center brimming with suited salarymen and quite a few foreign businesses. At night the traditional old restaurants and street vendors come out and offer yakitori, grilled chicken, ramen (noodles) and anything else that goes well with beer and sake. A city where history and future all comes together in one street is how I describe Yurakucho.

In the Street…Omotesando, Tokyo

Jeff Henig — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 00:49:36 +0000

Omotesando is to Tokyo as 57th street is to New York. Those that have been to NYC know what I mean. Wide streets, designer stores, models and plenty of fashion conscious Tokyoites shop Japan’s best street for high end fashion. The Omotesando area is good to walk around. The expensive brands like Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Prada all have stores there. So do many international brands like The Body Shop and Zara. There are many so-trendy-that-it-hurts coffee shops and cafes dotted along the street. As a result, it’s sometimes known as “Tokyo’s Champs-Élysées”. There is affordable shopping on Omotesando, but you’d be better off darting down the side streets and lanes looking for little boutiques and shops where the locals go. The main Omotesando drag (particularly Omotesando Hills) is for those with plenty of cash to throw around.

Every week there are new photos categorised by the fashion hotspots and stores around Tokyo of Shibuya, Harajuku, Ginza, Omotesando and Daikanyama.

Tokyo Tower

Jeff Henig — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 01:32:48 +0000

Tokyo Tower continues to dominate the Tokyo skyline as the world’s tallest self-supporting steel tower, easily seen from the Imperial Palace and Roppongi. It boasts an antenna that broadcasts all that vital anime that Japanese watch on TV stations in Tokyo like NHK, TBS and Fuji TV. I like this image especially because of the way the foliage frames the tower.

Nikko Toshogu Shrine Grand Festival- New Photoshelter Gallery

Jeff Henig — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 17:38:25 +0000

Photographs from my trip to Nikko Japan. A procession of 100 samurai warriers held at the world heritage site in Nikko City.

Check out my Photoshelter Nikko Toshogu Shrine Grand Festival gallery for all the shots.

Nikko Toshogu Shrine Grand Festival Japan – Images by Jeff Henig

Golden Gai a Dive Bar Paradise in Tokyo

Jeff Henig — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 16:11:27 +0000

The last time I was in Shinjiku I stumbled upon a row of bars each with a unique colorful character. ”Golden Gai” (Golden district) is an area in Shinjuku adjacent to Hanazono Shrine and renowned with its more than 200 small bars as the place where writers, poets, manga artists and directors, actors and staff of film and theater get together, drink and talk all night. Each establishment in Golden Gai tends to have a different theme and caters to a different crowed of the artistic type. The small bars tend to be rather friendly places with a real international feeling attracting people from all over the world and Tokyo to discuss their latest projects.

The origin of Golden Gai was a black market in front of the east entrance of Shinjuku railway station, which opened soon after the end of the WWII on August 15, 1945. The black market gradually turned into a district of outdoor bar stalls, but they were ordered to close by the Occupying Forces in 1949. The stalls then moved to the present Golden Gai area, which was then an empty lot overgrown with weeds and crossed by a street-car line. “Shiki-no-michi” (Four seasons alley), the walkway adjacent to Golden Gai, is the trace of railway.

The bars don’t open their doors till 10pm but stay open till the early am hours. During the day Golden Gai is very photogenic. In fact the area is down right colorful. Looking at these images it’s hard to imagine how raunchy and ramshackle the place is. Golden Gai is a dive bar paradise and is very unique.

About Shitamachi

Jeff Henig — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 19:35:09 +0000

You may think of crowded streets and tall buildings when you hear the name “Tokyo”. But besides all those high-tech areas, there are also many traditional areas in Tokyo. Shitamachi, which can be translated as “Downtown” refers to the traditional shopping, entertainment and residential districts of Tokyo. In these areas you’ll find old Edo culture still alive in the capital city. Edogawa and Katsushika Wards are located along the Edogawa River, the Eastern most point of Tokyo which borders Chiba Prefecture. The best part about Shitamachi is that it’s far away from tall buildings. In Shitamachi, you can understand the personalities of the people living there. The people of Shitamachi are to be seen as representatives of the old order and defenders of traditional cultural forms of Japan.

Heart of Marunouchi: International Forum in Tokyo

Jeff Henig — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 19:20:06 +0000

One of the coolest neighborhoods in Tokyo is Marunouchi, It’s home of the Marunouchi Building, full of expensive shops and plentiful restaurants, and the Tokyo Rail Station. It’s also home of the Tokyo International Forum, Japan’s largest congress center, is situated on the boundary between Marunouchi, Tokyo’s central business area and the Ginza shopping and entertainment district. The Tokyo International Forum is one of the city’s many architectural highlights. The tracks of Japan Railways, the city’s principal system of transportation, bounds the eastern elevation with two of the most heavily used train stations, Tokyo and Yarakucho stations, located to the north and south. The International Forum includes two theaters, one among the largest in the world, over 6,000 square meters of exhibition space, several conference rooms, restaurants, shops and other amenities. The soaring Glass Hall serves as the main reception area for the Forum. By using laminated glass the architects were able to allow sunlight into the below ground Lobby area. Laminated glass was also used for several walkways and bridges giving them the appearance of flying across space.

The plaza at the center of the complex is one of the more interesting aspects of the TIF. It serves not only as the entry point for the complex, but as a public space where one can gain refuge from the impersonal hustle and bustle of the surrounding Marunouchi area.

A list of up coming events can be found here. For example there is the Art Fair Tokyo which is scheduled in April and every first and third sunday of the month is the Oedo Antique Fair.

Shichi-Go-San: Rite of Passage Ceremony

Jeff Henig — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 10:20:36 +0000

Last month while strolling around Omotesando I decided to check out Meiji Shrine and by accident walked into a beautiful Japanese cultural ceremony. The shrine was crowded with people, but mostly with young children. The girlâ€™s were dressed in beautiful kimonos with dangling decorations and flowers. Some boyâ€™s wore traditional Japanese clothes while some wore suits. What was going on? The children stayed close to their families. Many of them took pictures, both with the child alone and together with different family members.

I later found out that Mid-November marks a very special time for children all over Japan: Shichigosan, which means â€œSeven Five and Threeâ€ which is a coming-of-age ceremony for children everywhere, when they dress up in kimono or haori jackets and go visit a Shinto shrine with their families.

On this day, prayers are offered for the healthy and happy futures of the children with large-scale coming-of-age ceremonies being held in all parts of Japan. These ages in particular are celebrated both because these years are seen as important age markers in the stages of a child’s growth and because odd numbers are seen as signs of good luck in Japan.

I spent the better part the afternoon photographing the children who were more than happy to pose. It was their day to shine in their best dress. Â More photos of the Shichi-Go-San festival can be found on Flickr here.

Historic Yanesen in Tokyo, Japan

Jeff Henig — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:49:29 +0000

There are few areas in Tokyo retain their old world charm, but the Yanesen neighborhood is one of them. They have actually succeeded in establishingÂ Yanesen as a “brand” where visitors can experience the atmosphere of an unspoilt, traditional urban quarter.Â Yanaka has not changed in its essence. Many things are changing rapidly in Tokyo; however, Yanaka is one of the constant factors in the changing environment.

The name Yanesen refers to the 3 connected areas of Sendagi, Â Nezu and Yanaka, which can best be reached by JR yamanote-line, nippori-station. The area is rather huge and you can get lost easily. The streets are small and consistent of many back alley shops and cafes. This is the real Tokyo! While you are walking around Yanesen, you will see old temples (over a 100), traditional wooden houses, cozy, small old-styled pubs (Izakaya) with the locals enjoying a meal and a drink, kids playing in the narrow road and many people paying their respects at the temples. Yanesen is also a great place to shop for traditional souvenirs. I picked a tea pot on my last visit.

Tokyo Grand Tea Ceremony

Jeff Henig — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 01:22:54 +0000

All I know about tea is that it is good for you, especiallyÂ green tea. So I decided to check out theÂ Tokyo Grand Tea Ceremony. Â At first glance a Japanese tea ceremony looks like a quite simple proceeding, but in fact it’s an incredibly complex ritual evoking themes with a deep cultural resonance. Â Said to have been introduced to Japan in the 9th century from China, the tea ceremony eventually evolved into a distinctively Japanese rite.Â The Tokyo Grand TeaÂ Ceremony traces its origins to the late 16th century and feudal warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi who held large tea ceremonies to promote and encourage interest in the activity.

The Tokyo Grand Tea Ceremony, held at theÂ Hama Rikyu Gardens, provided participants with the opportunity to casually participate in a cha-kai (tea ceremony). You could choose to either take part in aÂ Cha-seki indoor tea ceremony or theÂ Nodate outdoors Tea Ceremony under the autumn sky (referred to as aÂ Nodate tea ceremony).