Travel: Japan - General

[mckenzy]

krazy:

your pics are lovely! Really nice!!

thanks! Pics are important for any vacation... helps keep the memories alive..

[unflappable_chicken]

thanks a lot for the suggestions(:


did anyone go to the Nara Deer Park? I was just wondering if I would really see deers roaming about there since it’s winter.

[schellen]

unflappable_chicken:

did anyone go to the Nara Deer Park? I was just wondering if I would really see deers roaming about there since it's winter.

We went there before but in autumn. My DD1 was about 5 then and the deer were a bit scary to her, since they are about her height but bigger in size. Also, the deer are quite \"aggressive\" in that they will come up to you when they see that you have their \"food\" in your hands. (Please don't feed the deer anything except the food meant for them that you buy from the vendors.) I never got the chance to ask the vendors how they keep the deer away from their stalls.

I actually bought a nicely roasted sweet potato but was too afraid to eat it as there were deer nearby; I would have had to give it up to them. They even pulled sashimi's map from his hands! (It was a tug-of-war.)

There are signs put up across the park to tell you about the different \"seasons\" for the deer and when to avoid them. For example, when it is mating season, the males will be rather aggressive. When the young are newly born, keep away from them too as they will be very protective. Not all deer in the park are \"tame\" as I read some signs stating that some wild deer do roam the park. They will still have their full antlers as compared to the \"tame\" ones which will have shorn antlers.

We did enjoy the park but do keep an eye on your kids and the deer. Also, watch where you step. The park cleaners work hard but the deer do their business everywhere and anywhere. The smell may be stronger in certain areas. Do remember to shut the main toilet doors firmly or the deer may enter out of curiosity.

[happymom_aa]

mckenzy:

Haha! thanks... have sent you a pm on the camera info...

can I have the camera info too?
am looking for a new camera ... xmas fm DH ... to bring to Japan this weekend

thanks in advance

[mckenzy]

okie... here's what i used, but not advisable if you aren't familiar with photographic terms... if given a new budget and choice, i would go for a Canon S90 IS.


http://www.kenrockwell.com/canon/s90.htm

In my case:

For the shots with subject in focus and lots of nice blur, the setup was a Canon 350D(dslr) with a 135mm L f2. The lens is a fixed focal length lens (i.e. cannot zoom)... this alone will put off alot of people... the reason for this is so that i can produce the nice shots of isolated subjects like people and leaves etc...

For the buildings and family pics my 11yr old son used a Panasonic Lumix G1. The IS (image stabiliser) on the lens helped tremendously to compensate for handshake (the primary cause for blurry subjects in photos)...

my main requirement when shooting is to NEVER use flash. so the Lumix does the job almost 80% of the time with good results. None of the shots on the travel blog made use of the flash

i just threw an 8GB SD card into the camera and told him to shoot away as much as he liked...

...

There's not much point in getting a dslr just before a trip if you aren't familiar with the many buttons and dials... anyways.. the 135mm lens itself will set you back a goodly S$1400... no kidding...

so my best recommendation if you need to get a digital camera at this point before going for the holidays is to just get the Canon S90 IS... get hold of the instructions and set the APERTURE to 'f2'... this camera is one of the rarest to have such an aperture... this 'f2' when used correctly, will get you the nice blurred backgrounds...

hope this helps!

[mckenzy]

okie... aside from Tokyo... since the blog title was changed from Autumn to General...


Who's going next year?

Thinking of planning 6 days in Osaka area... whats the weather and feeling like in Spring?

[smurf]

just want to know: is Disneyland Tokyo recommended for 21 mth old toddler? :?

[ChiefKiasu]

smurf:

just want to know: is Disneyland Tokyo recommended for 21 mth old toddler? :?

IMHO, I think it'd be wasted on the toddler since he/she is probably too young to appreciate it. The toddler will not qualify for most of the rides either.

Then again, if you have money to burn...

[smurf]

not specially bring the toddler there of course...but just wonder if there is any ride suitable, cos got another 5 year old going as well...

[radiantmum]

Hi smurf, most of the fun rides has boarding restriction of 1.2 m and above. Need to check if your 5 year old is eligible for them as well. These rides will be marked * on the map itself. To avoid hassle of height measurement at each ride location, get one done with those disney guides. My kid just passed the restriction then and was given a wristlet which he was so proud of that he refused to take it off during sleeping time back in hotel


Jungle Cruise, It's a Small World, Alice's Tea Party - all these have no height restrictions. Some small kiddy playground in Fantasyland if I'm not wrong - has to check and confirm. There are also railway rides, steamer rides, shows and meet the cartoon characters that your toddler will be able to enjoy. Bring your own pram - save 7000yen and your own toddler food (dont recall anything suitable for them there)

Generally, disneyland is more suitable for toddler than disneysea.