Shinjuku | NEX-7 & SEL18200LE | 97mm, 1/8s, f/10.0, ISO100, RAW [Lightroom edited]
Shinjuku is the neo-Tokyo at the forefront of most people's minds. Come here on a rainy day, and you'll think you've stepped into Bladerunner. though we're still waiting for the flying cars. It's not rare to see the horizon, or further than 500 metres... it's nigh on impossible. Skyscraper central. Old and new. Shops going up 10 stories, restaurants going up 11. One can't walk around here as one does back home. One must look up. One must embrace neck ache.
Shinjuku houses the world's busiest train station, but more on that another time. I pass through, or under, Shinjuku each day. Sometimes I'll meet Charlie there for a bite to eat, sometimes I will go and look in electronics shops until 10pm... Shinjuku never sleeps. It's the town of neon. There are some temples, tucked away, in between car-parks and tall buildings, but for the most part, Shinjuku is a life-size Lego city. Stacked to ridiculous proportions, like some kind of Goliath game of Jenga.
It's easy to spot the twin-towered government building (Tocho), which gives generous views to the west. Here, it's in the top left. There's the cocoon:
Shinjuku is an absolute melting pot of activity. I don't think there's any chance that we could eat in every restaurant in Shinjuku in our lifetime... if we ate out for every single meal. There are thousands. Coffee served all through the night, too. Ah, I'll miss this place when I live somewhere without trains. Somewhere without 7-storey camera stores. It's far too easy for me to take it for granted. I guess that happens to all of us, as one point or another. Complacency, a dangerous thing!
P.S. The main shot was inspired by Holger Feroudj. Please check out his fantastic website.
