Sunday, August 12, 2012

"1993 Sendai, Ichinoseki, Iwate; 1992 Sydney; 1990 Ebisu, Hiro; 2012 Natsu-Matsuri, Etc."

Lot's of time traveling in this batch of video clips, from 1990 in a few clips taken on August 3rd, 1990, when I walked from Ebisu over to the other side of the Yamanote Line, to 1992 when I visited Sydney Australia, to 1993 when I drove up to Sendai and Ichinoseki, and of course 2012, which consists of modern Tokyo train scenes and visits to art galleries in Kyobashi and Ginza.  There is such a wide range of material this time, I'll skip attempting to say much of anything at the top here and make some comments underneath titles I feel are deserving of some explanation.

1993 Tokyo to Sendai Drive (Route-4) 930805-06
http://youtu.be/UBKXA0fbv_4

Having heard that there is a famous version of the Tanabata Festival in Sendai, I rented a Honda Civic (just a basic model without frills and with something like a 1400cc engine, but a great car!) and drove up from Tokyo.  The drive was interesting.  One thing that really surprised me along the way was discovering (when I got lost) that there were two parallel highways with exactly the same name!!  Route-4, it turns out, splits at one point, and since it rejoins (eventually, after many kilometers), it was apparently thought a great idea to name both versions of the spit with the exact same name!  (I would think something like Route-4a and Route-4b would have been nice...)

In any event, I eventually arrived in Sendai, found somewhere to park the car, and walked around for awhile to see the festival.  They had impressively large displays hanging from the two-story roofs of roofed shopping malls, which is certainly practical, but the combination of being basically inside a building (enclosed except on the ends - like a tunnel) and the fact that there were hordes of other tourists there (for the same reason as I...), made it a bit stressful, so I didn't stay long and headed up further north.  Later in the day, I arrived at Ichinoseki just before evening (see next video).

1993 Ichinoseki Tanabata-Matsuri 一関七夕祭り (930806g)
http://youtu.be/oeXG1Qtcvs8

After not being happy under a roof and in mainly enclosed spaces in Sendai, once I got to Ichinoseki, parked the car, and found myself on an outdoor street which was set up to celebrate the Tanabata Festival, I found myself quite energized and happy to be out in the open, under the sky, in the wind, walking through the hanging decorations suspended from bamboo poles on either side of the street.  It only partly shows in the video, but the total effect of having direct contact with the sky and wind - and walking through the hanging decorations blowing in the wind - was magical.  As it got dark, they announced that there would be a fireworks display nearby, so I went to that (which is contained in the "Ichinoseki Tanabata-Matsuri" video, and also isolated as an individual clip via the following link).

1993 Ichinoseki Hanabi Fireworks 一関花火 - (930806)
http://youtu.be/9z0ls_mvO88

1993 Iwate Drive, Etc - (930807) 岩手ドライブなど
http://youtu.be/DhuW_SoYtwc

After getting a little sleep in Ichinoseki, I headed up north again - further into Iwate Prefecture (岩手県).

Kanda to Tokyo (Chuo and Yamanote Lines) - (120730)
http://youtu.be/eb-55siJUuo

Night Ride (Yurakucho to Kanda) - Yamanote and Chuo Lines - (120730)
http://youtu.be/3OxESD2lgGI

Night Train Arriving -  (120730)
http://youtu.be/JN1t8sf3cho

Chuo Line - Inside View  (120730)
http://youtu.be/sz9SnWhDkq4

1993 Shinjuku Summer Afternoon (930706)
http://youtu.be/UbCE8rc_7Xw

1993 Shinjuku Late Afternoon (930706)
http://youtu.be/XOAwWD3wlaM

1990 Machida, Ebisu and Hiro (August) - (900803)
http://youtu.be/uyXoyqVYtrk

I was glad to find this material, as I had forgotten that I had ever ventured out from the east side exit of Ebisu Station.  I'd see (in old pictures and video material) the old bridge over the tracks and think "I wish I'd gone over there before this area was developed - while that bridge was still there", and so when I looked at one of my old tapes from August 1990, I was quite happy to suddenly see myself walking over the bridge and out the east side exit!  Much more so than with still photographs, old videos really do sometimes feel just like a time machine - especially when it's material that you've taken yourself!  Since you really have been there, but didn't remember - it's about as close to having a time machine as you can get without actually having a time machine I suppose!

1990 Hiro Azabu Hamamatsucho (August) - (900803)
http://youtu.be/Pa8wGgjkAH4

A big surprise for me in (re)watching/visiting the side of HIro closest to Ebisu in this 1990 material, was discovering/remembering that there were old wooden houses with small metalworks factories in them - the last remnants of the postwar economy that supported so many small parts-makers like this.  It was also surprising, as Hiro is now known as an exclusive area, so seeing old wooden houses very similar to the ones in old shitamachi seemed strange when seen in Hiro.  (Well - more to the point, seemed strange under the brand name "Hiro"!)

1990 Shinjuku Camera Crew  (900713)
http://youtu.be/XjQ5VK6lO8k

1992 Jp-Tour: Brisbane, Surfers Paradise (from Sydney) 920416
http://youtu.be/P3yLt5bAV0A

1992 Sydney and Trip to Katoomba - (920415)
http://youtu.be/1r1_7Bx_lwE

1992 Sydney (Trains, Nighttime Ferry) 920413
http://youtu.be/6hGUApyJzOU

1992 Sydney Trains, Etc.  (920414)
http://youtu.be/8oQCcgyQA7E

Art Space Ginza One アートスペース銀座ワン (Hallway) July 30th, 2012 (A) 120730
http://youtu.be/xKAKLKfIxMI

Art Space Ginza One アートスペース銀座ワン (Hallway) July 30th, 2012 (B) 120730
http://youtu.be/x7q7LXSoS5k

Art Space Ginza One アートスペース銀座ワン (Hallway) July 30th, 2012 (C) 120730
http://youtu.be/P_CrQg1mzfc

Nashimoto Youz 梨本柚子 Amore Ginza Gallery アモーレ銀座ギャラリー (A) 120730
http://youtu.be/AcLNsbc1IZk

Nashimoto Youz 梨本柚子 Amore Ginza Gallery アモーレ銀座ギャラリー (B)  120730
http://youtu.be/nsUjjqM2OUE

Sawada Ken 澤田賢 Art Space Rondo アートスペースロンド (120730)
http://youtu.be/0j-EIESe_xw

Tsuboshima Yuki 坪島悠貴 Exhibition at Gallery Ginza Forest - (120731)
http://youtu.be/XDgecKv6UxY

Ginza-One Tokyo-Ten サロンど東京展 2012年8月 August Exhibition  (120731)
http://youtu.be/vgp4kuLagwo

Double Decker Advertisement Bus (in Tokyo)  120731
http://youtu.be/JddFQmQpP4M

Shinjuku Platform Scene - Outbound Chuo Line - (120731)
http://youtu.be/t8Ps2nGtXsY

Tokyo to Shinjuku - Nighttime Chuo Line - (120731)
http://youtu.be/tr4m1JTnDbE

Shinjuku South Exit - July 31st, 2012  (120731)
http://youtu.be/ISlZA_8IMsM

Natsu-Matsuri Hanabi (A) 120804 花火
http://youtu.be/exyw4C1FqiA

Natsu-Matsuri Hanabi (B) 120804 花火
http://youtu.be/EVGWhyIt6Gw

Natsu-Matsuri Hanabi (C) 120804 花火
http://youtu.be/bVyhN4T4qds

Natsu-Matsuri Hanabi (D) 120804 花火
http://youtu.be/Zk0F16ymtWM

Natsu-Matsuri Hanabi (E) 120804 花火
http://youtu.be/6xP3yBj04GE

Natsu-Matsuri Hanabi (F) 120804g 花火
http://youtu.be/hdvFguiHR7A

Natsu-Matsuri Hanabi (G) 120804g 花火
http://youtu.be/77by3jqECWk

Natsu-Matsuri Hanabi (H) 120804 花火
http://youtu.be/8MIMVg-Efb0

Natsu-Matsuri Hanabi (I) 120804 Convenience Store 花火
http://youtu.be/514XpGnCJ70

Natsu-Matsuri Hanabi (J) 120804 花火
http://youtu.be/Uw9KqmUADwA

Nihonbashi to Kyobashi 120807
http://youtu.be/8OEWX-ftxRA

Long Internal-Combustion Engine Vehicle and Summer Clouds (120807)
http://youtu.be/RMA1pkELIzI

Hot Day Air Conditioner Noise in Kyobashi 120807
http://youtu.be/xrn1l_hMJ7c

Kyobashi Side Street Construction Site 120807
http://youtu.be/150z2VJ0SaA

Summer Evening Clouds 120807
http://youtu.be/ARWztVIytmc

Yurakucho Plaza - August 2012 - (120807)
http://youtu.be/AiWuMQZepII

Yurakucho to Tokyo 120807
http://youtu.be/hKIVkpRgQaI

Shinjuku Chuo Line Platform (Night) - 120807
http://youtu.be/KAPI3XLh-dA

Departing Shinjuku (Outbound Night Train) - 120807
http://youtu.be/nNII71gBQOU

Shinjuku Station (South Exit Area) - 120807
http://youtu.be/Em8KiqY0odQ

Watching Trains Pass by at Night (Shinjuku) - 120807
http://youtu.be/_cvljCqzeKk

Tokyo to Shinjuku (Evening Chuo Line) - 120807g
http://youtu.be/_-r3Yk1n6os

Night Coffee Reflections (Shinjuku) - 120807
http://youtu.be/9FhGReEeae8

Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/

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