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One nice thing about taking pictures everywhere you go, is that you can play around with composition of your photos. Japan definitely has tons of content to capture on film, but its all about capturing it in the right way that makes photography so fun. Here I list my 10 favorite pictures that I took on my own camera. A few are touched up in photoshop to compensate for camera inadequacies (noise, constrast, etc), but compositionally these were my top favorites.
In descending order of favoritism (who needs suspense?):

1) Waiting Conductor - this is by far my favorite picture, although it came out kind of fuzzy. It captures the irony of a train operator waiting for a train to operate. Also the strong lines and subtle colors make for one awesome picture.

2) Sunset at Kiyomizu - This picture just came out spectacularly. Using the panoramic feature on my camera is always a hit or miss ordeal, but the lighting and sweeping perspective on this picture just blow my mind. The beautifully red sunset is contrasted with the dull shapes and colors from the temple on the right, with the city and forest filling the rest of the scene. Kyoto Tower can be seen directly in the center.

3) Window Washing - This picture was taken in Kyoto, as I looked down an alley. There was another similar photo I got with a rickshaw in the center, but it was too blurred to be really nice. The bright color of the lady and her posture really accentuate the traditional feel of the photo. also there is some contrasts between the old traditional buildings (all wood) and the bright blue arrow street sign, bringing together the old and the new.

4) Fuji on the Docks - In Hakone, we had a great view of Mt Fuji as the clouds cleared off of it. We took literally hundreds of identical photos of Mt Fuji. In this photo, your eyes follow the path of the docks into the waning sky. In the distance you see the great and mighty Mt Fuji, with wisps of clouds rising off its surface. The jagged path of the docks contrasts an otherwise smooth and rolling landscape.

5) Pagoda in Light - Its pretty rare to see such sharp light beams in the sky, let alone over a cityscape with a pagoda neatly tucked to the side. This picture was taken in Kyoto around the same time as #2. The fact that the light seems to want to explode out of the clouds I think is captured well. Kyoto Tower is seen off in the distance, again contrasting the old and the new that is so ubiquitous in Japan. The subtle redness of the distant sky gives just enough color to highlight an otherwise dark (and rather dreary) picture.

The last five will be continued in a post later on. Stay tuned!