Travel: Japan - General

[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.

[schellen]

radiantmum:

Jungle Cruise, It's a Small World, Alice's Tea Party - all these have no height restrictions.

For Alice's Tea Party, make sure you can tahan spinning. I can't so usually after 1 round, I give up. DD1 loves it so much she'll ride again and again and.... cos the queue moves very fast. sashimi is the one who accompanies her every time.

There's also a carousel (merry-go-round) with horses. Your 5 yo can ride a horse on his own. (There are seat belts.) sashimi says that some parents stand next to the horses to hold on to their younger children as the carousel spins. Note that this spinning is at a slow speed, not the same as the teacups. I think this ride is near the teacups.

There's also a Dumbo ride that goes round and round in the air. I think this is also okay for a 5 yo but an adult must ride with him. The queue also moves quite fast.

I remember my DD1 going for the go-kart or something like that but I can't remember if she went for it when she was 5 or only when she turned 7. Sorry. Again, sashimi went with her since I'm not very good with fast (and up-in-the-air) rides.

I did go for the Jungle Cruise (is that the one where we board a boat that is on rails?) with DD1 when sashimi left early to go elsewhere. It was interesting (but the commentary will be in Japanese) and DD1 was only a bit scared when we entered a dark tunnel with statues. Maybe boys will find it thrilling?

[smurf]

Thanks Radiantmum and Schellen.


in your opinion, do u think 1 day is enough since toddler can't sit in most ride cos I heard Disneyland is quite big?

I think he is around 1.2m cos he needs to pay busfare.

[radiantmum]

smurf:

Thanks Radiantmum and Schellen.


in your opinion, do u think 1 day is enough since toddler can't sit in most ride cos I heard Disneyland is quite big?

I think he is around 1.2m cos he needs to pay busfare.

Your toddler is 1.2M tall ??!! Think you meant your older boy issit? Yay I think 1 day is enough for those with younger kids, not to forget that they close pretty late around 10pm I think. In fact, the younger ones I would have expect them to knock out sooner. :lol: