Kyoto | Availability of analogue materials

Dear All,

I am planning to apply for a three month residency in Kyoto.

Can anyone advise me as to the availability of analogue materials:

Delta 400 | 120
Fibre-based multigrade paper | 30 x 40cm
Tetenal chemicals
Other chemicals.

If not in Kyoto is there availability in Tokyo?

Just to repeat, I am not interested in analogue equipment (I shall be taking that with me) but rather consumables.

Many thanks in advance for your advice.

Bests,

David
www.dsallen.de

Hi David,

I'm in Kyoto and there's a Yodobashi Camera right in front of the station that carries a lot of film -- not nearly as much as in the Osaka and Tokyo stores -- but they do carry Ilford Delta in 120 and 35mm, so that shouldn't be a problem. Even if they are out of stock, Osaka is only a 30-minute train ride away, and the Yodobashi Camera (and BIC Camera for that matter) are much stocked much better than in Kyoto. Same goes for paper. In Kyoto there is fiber paper, mostly Fujifilm, Ilford, Foma, Bergger, and Oriental, and I think they carry it in 30x40 (not all brands though). There tends to be more variety in the smaller sizes here. Again, Osaka will have a better selection, especially for non-Fujifilm paper and larger sizes. I've never seen Tetenal chemicals in Japan, although they do carry Kodak and Ilford chemicals (for paper and film), and a larger comparable selection of Fujifilm chemicals (which work just as well but don't have English translations). It is possible to buy some raw chemicals in the store as well, like potassium ferricyanide, borax, potassium bromide, etc. (most of them come with an English translation of the Japanese characters so you know what you're buying).

Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any more questions.

Thanks very much for the information. The residency is at the Goethe Institutes Villa Kamogawa in 2015 (if I am selected!! as they seem to generally choose people who have already received lots of other residencies and grants) but I wanted to be sure that I would be able to work there without shipping everything over.

One additional question: are there any rental darkrooms there?

Once again, thanks for the information.

Bests,

David.
www.dsallen.de

Hi David,

Looks like a great program! I just moved to Kyoto so I'm not sure about rental darkrooms, but a colleague at work is going to introduce me to a local photography group, once I meet them I may be able to find out for you. That being said, I'm not sure there will be any (although it may be possible some universities still have a working darkroom on campus, but I don't know if they would allow non-students or staff to use it). I've looked into darkrooms in the past, in both Kyoto and Osaka, but haven't found any. Tokyo has a great one (Place M) but even there I had to use their chemicals and not my own (the Japanese seem to prefer using fix with hardener, I'm not sure why).

As it is, I have my own darkroom in my apartment so it's not something I've had to worry about in recent years.

3 months in Kyoto......what a dream..............