I have gone through many camera bags. I have used and abused several Lowepro bags and a ThinkTank Photo bag or two. I have finally come to the conclusion there is no one perfect bag. You don't know how hard that is to say. It has been my quest to find that all elusive perfect bag. For trekking with a camera, the Lowepro Vertex 200 AW II is really close. But for international travel and shooting in urban environments I have yet to find the perfect bag. I guess it is because of all the different settings I find myself in, from airports and airplanes to hot and humid crowded streets. But I certainly have found a winning combination for now. It is a combination of a carry-on and a modular belt system.

In the following, I've combined information from various sources I collected before I went, with experiences from my first tour to Japan in 2008. Aimed at the serious railway photographer it will also be of use to the general travel photographer who wants to travel through Japan by train independently.

You most likely will land at Narita airport near Tokyo. The reserved seats only Narita Express will then take you to any of the major stations in Tokyo, well insulated from the world outside. But as soon as you get off you'll experience the real Tokyo, where there are people everywhere.

I finally took advantage of the fact that Icelandair lets you make a free stopover at their transfer point, Reykjavik, on the way to/from another European destination. So on the way home from Paris this Easter, Erica and I spent 4 days in (or is it on?) Iceland! The landscape is spectacular; moss covered lava rocks, no trees, snowy mountainous terrain, and volcanoes. Lying in the 94°F/35°C hot water at the Blue Lagoon Spa was everything it's cracked up to be. We did something that I normally never do - we took a tour. It was actually a convenient and easy way to experience the "Golden Circle".