Off to Japan again soon if I recover from a bout of Swine flu/Pneumonia in time. Two weeks in hospital (1 week in a coma) really strips the body of muscle and endurance, but I have 3 weeks to get myself at least strong enough.
As usual gear is on my mind, especially with my strength down a lot at the moment. My wife and I went twice last year, so I know what to expect and I also know that I can make do with what ever I take (nothing beats actually doing something to get over "pre game jitters").
Last trip I had 2 OMD bodies. One with a short lens (17mm) on a Gordy 60" strap (one of the best things I bought this decade) and one in the hand (45 or 75mm lens) on a left hand wrist strap.
This setup worked well for me, especially in Harajuku where the hand camera/75mm allowed candid portraits and the strap camera/pre focussed 17mm combo grabbed the passers by. I tried the same thing in Melbourne recently, but with a shorter strap and it was awkward, so switching back to the longer strap should work better.
EPM2 and the 17mm from a recent trip to Melbourne
To add to the confusion I just purchased a Pen F for its silent shutter (street and landscape applicable). It looks like at this stage much the same combo as above, but an EPM2 as the strap camera and the Pen F as the hand camera. The Pen F mostly for its very slight speed advantage over the OMD's (not AF, but general functions like screen to eye piece switch over) and the EPM because of its top on/off button, no eye cup to loose, quiet shutter and it's less serious look. It also gives me 2 extra batteries (8 total).
For lenses, probably the 25/75 combo for the Pen F and always the 17 for the EPM.
Bags are always a pleasant problem as I have far too many. The main priority this trip will be comfort and weight, so maybe a light weight, waxed Domke F3 (purchased in Japan) or a little Kata Nimble 3? My most comfortable strap is on a camera converted leather satchel, but the bag itself is quite heavy. To get there a Pro Tactic 350 back pack which is rigid enough to rest my feet on, on the plane and great for getting fragile things home with.
Updated before posting. The 75 will be replaced by the 75-300 as the 45 does much the same job, but is much smaller. The bag will be the Nimble as it is the most practical if the least lovely.
So; Pen F and EPM2 with the 17mm, 25mm, 45mm, 75-300mm