My friend Amo invited me to his office to meet his chief producer to talk about the opportunity to go to Japan and filming for their tv program called Kokoronotomo, I said yes without any hesitation because it's Japan! I was curious how it'd go, the filming and the trip as well. I'll be going there with two hosts and four other crews. Hosts are Amanda Zevannya and Elfin Pertiwi Rappa while the crews are Jaya as chief producer, Angga as director, Bagoes is the other cameraman and Amo as our sound guy. My first impression; they're nice people, I think it would be a great trip!
I have been to many places in Indonesia for filming as a cameraman/journalist on land, underwater and also aerial filming using drone but I haven't been to much of other countries. I've only been to East Timor right after the assassination attempt of their President and Prime Minister, Malaysia to give training, Hongkong and Shenzhen for war and conflict photography/coverage training and now Japan.
The plan was to film four episodes of Kokoronotomo and we will be around Tokyo all along the trip. We will be using Canon 5D Mark III and some other gear and we keep things simple and effective. I also bring my Sony A6300 for my personal use.
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| Flying with Garuda Indonesia is always nice |
This is my friend Amo, the one who introduced me to his chief producer and invited me to join this trip to Japan.
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Amo, our sound guy and video editor as well
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As usual, we need to fill a form before entering another country. I was asleep and the flight attendant slipped the form on the video screen and the form was in Japan language! I can't speak and I do not understand Japan language so I asked for the other form in English. I assume that flight attendant is Japanese girl because of her accent and when I ask using Indonesian language she didn't understand so I have to ask her again in English. The funny thing is, she thought that I am a Japanese! That's why she slipped me a Japanese form haha. Never thought that someone would say that to me! lol.
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| One of the view from Haneda's arrival alley |
I love how clean and tidy the Haneda International Airport is. You don't feel bothered to be there, so much different from our Airports in Jakarta, I think our government need to be more clean, detailed and artsy when designing our airport.
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| People quequeing for toilet |
Later I found out that, almost everyone that I see while on this trip, uses their cellphone most of their time in the train, in public places etc. They're like super silent, listening to music or something with their earphones on and barely talking to each other. And also, you are encouraged to put your cellphones in silent mode and not to talk on the phone while you're on the train. can you imagine? It's a new experience for me and it kind of cool because you can enjoy your trip on the train without unnecessary noise.
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| Clearer look of Amo's face |
My first impression of Japan; the sky is very clear and blue. So much interesting as photo object, I love it!
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| Taking the train from Haneda airport to the apartment |
From Haneda we need to take the train to Hamamatsucho train station because we rented apartment near that station. The train from the airport is very clean, the seats are comfortable and the train is smooth and also you can see a higher from of some parts of the city, you can see the highways, buildings being built, etc.
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| Amanda and Elfin; we need to walk for a while to get to the apartment from Hamamatsucho train station |
Arriving at the apartment, we put our luggage and headed out for lunch. It was winter and for me it was cold, I have to put on my two jackets on.
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| Maid of the apartment |
According to my friends who have been traveling to Japan quite a lot, places to eat with "Ya" behind its name is considered as stalls, in Jakarta is like the "Warteg" but with proper place and food. Well, that is according to my friends, but I think it's more than just small stalls.
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That's it for now, my first day in Japan. More to come later. Don't forget to go to my website www.ottoferdinand.com to see my reels and click on the link to my youtube channel on my website and subscribe!
Cheers!
