Taichung, Taiwan, 2014

Apologies for the messed up colors, you can't turn off Blogger's Auto-Enhance without a Google+ account and I don't want to upgrade this one.  It's supposed to be black and white, not washed out sepia.

Taichung, Taiwan, 2014

Stencils haven't really caught on in Taiwan, at least not near me, so it's always a nice surprise when you do see one.

Taichung, Taiwan, 2014

More graffiti near the Yingze Street night market. 

Taichung, Taiwan, 2014

Taiwan isn't really known for graffiti, but areas near universities and large night markets usually have plenty, especially in alleyways and other out of the way places. It's weird how graffiti in Asia is almost always in English, it's rare to see anything on a wall in Chinese characters.

Tokyo, Japan, 2014

Apologies for the messed up colors, you can't turn off Blogger's Auto-Enhance without a Google+ account and I don't want to upgrade this one.  It's supposed to be black and white, not washed out sepia.

Tokyo, Japan, 2014

I go to observation decks as often as possible when I travel.  There's something about seeing the world from so high up that always pleases me.  I especially liked the Sky Tree, where I could see the Tokyo Dome where I spent most evenings of my trip, and also just make out Mt. Fuji on the horizon.

Tokyo, Japan, 2014

I'm sure everybody who goes to Tokyo takes a shot just like this.  This one is mine.  It would almost be rude not to.

Tokyo, Japan, 2014

Japan has the most vending machines per person of any country in the world.  Probably because people actually use them, rather than assuming they'll steal your money and going to the newsagent instead.

Tokyo, Japan, 2014

Another day, another arcade hunt - this time in Shibuya.  According to my cousin, who knows a lot more about graffiti and stickers than I ever will, there's five or six world famous taggers' work in this one little alleyway.  I had no idea at the time, but it's nice to be able to accidentally impress people now and then.

Tokyo, 2014

This was probably the best match I saw the whole week.  I'd heard of KENTA before, but I don't think I'd ever seen a full match of his.  He had one chance to impress me, and he knocked it out of the park.  Here you see him posing before a double foot stomp balcony dive.  There were a few unforgettable moments on that trip, and this was one of them.

Tokyo, 2014

This is TRF - Tokyo Ranking Fighters - a fighting-game-only arcade located in a mall in Nakano.  Supposedly this was, at one point, the prime Street Fighter 4 arcade in Tokyo, but now it has a range of various old and new machines.

Tokyo, 2014

Another shot from the Higashinakano-Nakano alleyways.

Tokyo, 2014

I decided to take a walk from Higashinakano station to Nakano station on a whim - I was heading to Nakano to go arcade hunting, but decided to walk rather than transfer trains for just one stop.  It was a good decision, I found dozens of pieces of wonderful street art and graffiti in the quiet residential alleys along the tracks.  Spontaneity pays off, sometimes.

Tokyo, 2014

Another balcony shot from Korakuen.  Wrestlers in Japan often have elaborate entrance gear, I particularly liked this red-and-rainbow number.

Tokyo, 2014

My first night at Korakuen Hall.  Up on the balcony is probably the best view in the house, other than the distance from the ring.  I only had an 18-55mm lens with me so I wasn't able to get every shot I wanted, but I had a great night even without being able to shoot the action the way I wanted to.