"Shinjuku Gyoen (新宿御苑) - June 2012"
Copyright 2012 by Lyle H Saxon
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
Sunday, September 30, 2012
"Shinjuku Gyoen (新宿御苑) - June 2012"
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
"Knowing From Afar... - (April 29th, 1999)"
(1999/04/29) - For only the second time, I met someone in person on Monday that I initially met on the Internet back in... January (I think). We exchanged a few letters, and then I didn't hear from her for awhile... until a few weeks ago, when after a few more letters, we decided to meet. We met in Shinjuku, and had a good time talking about one thing and another, as two people are wont to do (and is no big deal), but a couple of aspects to the meeting are begging comment.
One is the situation of either meeting someone that you feel you know, who doesn't actually know you very well (or at all), or meeting someone who seems to know you, even though you don't know nearly as much about them. I get this feeling from time to time with some of the people I send the newsletter to, when they'll suddenly ask me about something that I wrote. My first reaction is often "Why do you know that? I didn't tell you!"... and then it sinks in that I wrote about it.... On Monday I felt that in a stronger way, as it was the first time for us to meet. True, we've exchanged letters, but the volume has been heavy on my side with the inclusion of the newsletters, so she knew much more about me than I about her.
It's quite an interesting feeling - a feeling of both wonder and relief. Wonder at how someone you've never met can already know you, and relief at not having to explain yourself. Just at the point where you would usually be feeling either a growing familiarity or a growing discomfort, you realize that the person in front of you already knows... and wouldn't be there if it were a complete mismatch... which leads me to the other thing I want to write about.
I asked her how the reality of me sitting there in front of her compared to the mental picture she had before meeting me, and her answer was perceptive... and enlightening. She said that from reading the newsletter, she had pictured me as being an observer of the places I visit without being a part of them... more of a moody loner than I seemed to be in person.
"Ah... there it is!" thought I. From what some of my e-mail pals write, I get the feeling at times that I'm coming across as being an unhappy loner. Like everyone, I have my good and bad moments, but I'm not fundamentally unhappy.., just frustrated at times, and at those times, I often write about the experience, so....
The sense of not being a part of things... when I go out on one of my expeditions - while I'm standing somewhere and writing about my surroundings, certainly I am not of the place at the moment, not in an active sense in any case. If I were, then I wouldn't have time for writing! In any case, from someone who spent a couple of non-electronic hours with me, I'm not as "lost and alone" as I seem to be sometimes on the electronic screen.
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
One is the situation of either meeting someone that you feel you know, who doesn't actually know you very well (or at all), or meeting someone who seems to know you, even though you don't know nearly as much about them. I get this feeling from time to time with some of the people I send the newsletter to, when they'll suddenly ask me about something that I wrote. My first reaction is often "Why do you know that? I didn't tell you!"... and then it sinks in that I wrote about it.... On Monday I felt that in a stronger way, as it was the first time for us to meet. True, we've exchanged letters, but the volume has been heavy on my side with the inclusion of the newsletters, so she knew much more about me than I about her.
It's quite an interesting feeling - a feeling of both wonder and relief. Wonder at how someone you've never met can already know you, and relief at not having to explain yourself. Just at the point where you would usually be feeling either a growing familiarity or a growing discomfort, you realize that the person in front of you already knows... and wouldn't be there if it were a complete mismatch... which leads me to the other thing I want to write about.
I asked her how the reality of me sitting there in front of her compared to the mental picture she had before meeting me, and her answer was perceptive... and enlightening. She said that from reading the newsletter, she had pictured me as being an observer of the places I visit without being a part of them... more of a moody loner than I seemed to be in person.
"Ah... there it is!" thought I. From what some of my e-mail pals write, I get the feeling at times that I'm coming across as being an unhappy loner. Like everyone, I have my good and bad moments, but I'm not fundamentally unhappy.., just frustrated at times, and at those times, I often write about the experience, so....
The sense of not being a part of things... when I go out on one of my expeditions - while I'm standing somewhere and writing about my surroundings, certainly I am not of the place at the moment, not in an active sense in any case. If I were, then I wouldn't have time for writing! In any case, from someone who spent a couple of non-electronic hours with me, I'm not as "lost and alone" as I seem to be sometimes on the electronic screen.
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
Saturday, September 29, 2012
"Shinjuku Gyoen (June 2012)"
"Shinjuku Gyoen (June 2012"
Copyright 2012 by Lyle H Saxon
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
"1990 Komagome, Kagurazaka, Machida, Etc; 2012 Kawagoe, Komagome, Ochanomizu, Etc."
There are both 1990 and 2012 views from Komagome in this batch, although the 2012 views only show the area very near to the station. In 1990 however, I spent most of September 14th, 1990 in the area, recording several areas (Nishigahara, Nakazato, Kaminakazato, etc.), including an interesting old shotengai shopping street. Other 1990 views include Kagurazaka, Shinjuku, Machida, Takadanobaba, Ikebukuro, and of course various train views.
There are a lot (and I do mean *a lot*) of separate views of Kawagoe - primarily in the old section of town with it's Edo style buildings. Then there are morning views of Shinjuku and Ochanomizu; and various views of Ginza, Yurakucho, Kanda, Etc.
1990 Shimofuri-Ginza Shotengai 霜降銀座商店街 (900914)
http://youtu.be/NFkzeC63zNE
This is a good example of how the old shotengai shopping streets used to look. I say "used to" because even the ones that remain are not quite the same as when this was taken in 1990. Even in 1990 - as I note on-tape (in the longer version below) after walking into a fairly large (by shotengai standards) grocery store - the grocery store had a lot of customers, but many of the shotengai stores just down the street had very few. I wondered at the time what would become of the shotengai shopping street, and over the years, a new term has come up, "shutter-gai" meaning not a street of open shops, but a street of closed shutters of former shops. Many shotengai shopping streets soldier on, but business doesn't appear to be very good for them now.
1990 Komagome, Nishigahara, Etc. (900914) 駒込, 中里, 上中里, 西ヶ原
http://youtu.be/7UeYgI-VVho
This is a long video - just over an hour and a half, and it includes a fairly detailed look at the area on one side of Komagome Station. (The shotengai clip above this one is a new edit - from the source tape - of part of this longer video.) Time-wise, this includes views from the daytime, the evening, and at night - part of the time walking in the rain.
1990 Night Rain Walk Kagurazaka 神楽坂 (900907)
http://youtu.be/ujmxKyERdO0
1990 Shinjuku, Machida, Etc. (Here and There) 900914
http://youtu.be/orBq5lAKJT4
1990 Takadanobaba to Ikebukuro Rush Rides (900907)
http://youtu.be/oAonOOdS6s4
Trains in Ueno at Night (120905)
http://youtu.be/MPJM-2ENbKY
A lot of 15-car trains come into Ueno and dead-end there, since most platforms in central Tokyo can only accommodate 10-car trains. The Chuo Line is the only major JR line that runs right through central Tokyo (via Shinjuku), and one consequence of that is Chuo Line trains are only 10-cars in length.
Kawagoe Bell Tower Area (120919) 川越 小江戸
http://youtu.be/Ri8GccVFpPI
Kawagoe Lookaround (while Bell Tolls) 120919 川越 小江戸
http://youtu.be/lM9mzkadJvU
At the time I took this, I didn't realize how close I was to where the bell was being rung, or I would hurried around the corner and recorded it being rung by hand (it's not automated).
Kawagoe Side Street Stroll (A) 120919 川越 小江戸
http://youtu.be/I0gNns0dNh0
Kawagoe Main Old Street (120919g) 川越 小江戸
http://youtu.be/4MPBKOgp9lc
Ginza 1-Chome Lookaround (120918)
http://youtu.be/eghP9IQ-mwk
Ginza Chuo-Dori Lookaround (120918)
http://youtu.be/_Byeaq2fNwY
Ginza Side Street (120918)
http://youtu.be/NSz7SCXn1VA
Komagome Trains (A) 駒込駅電車 (120918)
http://youtu.be/KGswx4XR5rE
Komagome Trains (B) 駒込駅電車 (120918)
http://youtu.be/YDk6InIOoFc
Kyobashi Lookaround (120918)
http://youtu.be/AtkKmHjpCxQ
Ochanomizu Bridge Scene (Morning Rush) 御茶ノ水 (120918)
http://youtu.be/HEOHaBfs_zA
Ochanomizu Morning Rush 御茶ノ水 (120918)
http://youtu.be/SHp811Xd5R4
Shinjuku Trains (A) 新宿電車 (120918)
http://youtu.be/-kuHObycGHQ
Shinjuku Trains (B) 新宿電車 (120918)
http://youtu.be/VBxgcPXGLTo
Tokyo Station - Newly Rebuilt (Evening) 120918
http://youtu.be/ekiFJiVReXU
The 1914 Tokyo Station building has been renovated/rebuilt - with (from appearances) more reconstruction work than renovation. It looks pretty much like a squeaky-new building, which is slightly disappointing. I think they could have kept a little more of the original structure, but that's just my opinion. In any case, it looks pretty cool and it's styling from another era provides very welcome contrast in the Marunouchi area, which has been almost completely rebuilt with glass and steel high-rise office towers.
Three Door Seibu Train Departing Station (120911)
http://youtu.be/zEUl4kcfKU4
The more crowded the trains get, the more doors they put in them (to provide quicker loading and unloading). I think this type of Seibu Line train is the last type in Tokyo to have three-doors (per side of each train car) - the standard is four, although there were some six-door train cars on the Yamanote Line before they decided it make it into a kind of horizontal elevator and needed all the train cars to have the same number of doors in order to match them up with platform wall doors (currently only at Ebisu, but platform construction for additional platform walls is evident at several other stations).
Chuo Line Train Departs Station (120912)
http://youtu.be/Fo5jg9UrOWs
Cicada Still at it in Mid-September (120918)
http://youtu.be/ViOBfHU_8cE
Morning Shinjuku Station (Central West Exit) 朝の新宿駅中央西口 (120918)
http://youtu.be/MSzigCozXVc
Shinjuku Morning - West Side Stroll (Odakyu Etc) 新宿朝の散歩小田急 (120918)
http://youtu.be/uyeB8dEF8_M
Shinjuku Station Morning Rush Etc 新宿朝の小田急線電車到着西口など (120918)
http://youtu.be/RaIZYdU9g74
Platform End at Shinjuku Station (120918)
http://youtu.be/LGO6242Spf4
Shinjuku to Ochanomizu (Morning) 120918
http://youtu.be/mIXztfh4j1o
Ochanomizu Magazine Handout (120918)
http://youtu.be/OoqKBbYNg5M
Ochanomizu Morning Stroll (A) 御茶ノ水朝散歩 (120918)
http://youtu.be/Y0lN-k2bSLc
Ochanomizu Side Street Stroll 御茶ノ水朝散歩 (120918)
http://youtu.be/D1BqWMKd0IY
Ochanomizu Morning Stroll (B) 御茶ノ水横道散歩 (120918)
http://youtu.be/z_JnHciZT0I
Ochanomizu Morning Exit 御茶ノ水駅朝出口 (120918)
http://youtu.be/QPKdg8IFIV4
Ochanomizu Side Exit Views (120918)
http://youtu.be/EWYzQNxxKCI
Ochanomizu Bridge View from Station (120918)
http://youtu.be/CBNaYCst2ok
Ochanomizu Side Exit Lookaround and Exit (120918)
http://youtu.be/wDzjJeMjhYg
Ochanomizu Stroll Past Construction Site (120918)
http://youtu.be/90vRTzm7Vnk
Ochanomizu Tissue Pack Advertising Handout (120918)
http://youtu.be/OVBs3nIp2oY
Shinjuku West Side Stroll (120911g)
http://youtu.be/yN8kHMoE-uQ
Ochanomizu to Shinjuku (Morning Chuo Line) 御茶ノ水から新宿までの朝中央線 120918
http://youtu.be/HPZ9cqtPucM
Shinjuku Station Chuo Line Platform Walk (120918)
http://youtu.be/z1Znraiakig
Shinjuku Morning Chuo Line Platform View (120918)
http://youtu.be/kq55X9qtMgM
Shinjuku - Waiting for Yamanote Line 新宿山手線を乗る (120918)
http://youtu.be/H3L__jEYJTI
Shinjuku to Komagome (Yamanote Line) 新宿から駒込まで (山手線で) 120918
http://youtu.be/RTVg2HZrFKQ
Komagome Platform Walk 駒込駅ホームからの見回り 120918
http://youtu.be/dDWHHiHSi24
Komagome Station - Hot September Day 駒込駅暑い九月の日 120918
http://youtu.be/Y-bdUH9PHKA
Exiting Komagome Station 駒込駅 120918
http://youtu.be/Bt6ObfoQICU
Bicycles Beside Komagome Station 駒込駅隣の自転車 120918
http://youtu.be/3l_aztKIxo0
They have people watch over bicycle parking areas like this and very neatly align the bicycles after people have hurriedly parked them in the morning. This one seemed especially neatly aligned to me.
Komagome Shotengai (A) 駒込商店街 120918
http://youtu.be/ZbmEddsAYBk
Komagome Shotengai (B) 駒込商店街 120918
http://youtu.be/h_-6_7uq_Hk
Komagome Station Old Type Ticket Price Board (120918)
http://youtu.be/auR-IyXviZM
Entering Komagome Station 駒込駅を入る 120918
http://youtu.be/io3aTbPFfIA
Komagome to Nippori (Yamanote Line) 駒込から日暮里まで_山手線 120918
http://youtu.be/2bqmm2isGXk
Ikeda Tatsuo Exhibition 池田龍雄展 Gallery Kazuki 画廊香月 2012年9月 (120918)
http://youtu.be/ivEKxo3ybhI
Shibuya Eiichi Exhibition at Lixil Gallery 渋谷英一展 (120918)
http://youtu.be/2UM-oMbq7Jk
Nippori to Ueno (Yamanote Line) 日暮里から上野まで (山手線) 120918
http://youtu.be/3aU82yn4nuc
Ueno to Tokyo (Yamanote Line) 上野から東京まで (山手線) 120918
http://youtu.be/MYMDAQ1MsCU
Tokyo Station Afternoon Platform 東京駅お昼のホーム (120918)
http://youtu.be/LOBot6bJWx8
Short Glimpse of Rebuilt Tokyo Station (120918)
http://youtu.be/K6haPaoV9KA
Tokyo to Yurakucho (Yamanote Line) 東京から有楽町まで (山手線) 120918
http://youtu.be/N7l3I8VQ9hg
Yurakucho Walking Towards Ginza (120918)
http://youtu.be/tL84Cq1k-ms
Ginza Pomegranate Tree 銀座柘榴木 (120918)
http://youtu.be/tN7zGbLPUYM
This is probably the only pomegranate tree in all of Ginza....
Yaesu Construction Cranes by Tokyo Station 八重洲 (120918)
http://youtu.be/HhsL82Uk1rE
This view of the Yaesu side of Tokyo Station will likely be radically different when they finish the construction project the large cranes are there for.
Tokyo Station Newly Reconstructed (Ground Level View) 120918
http://youtu.be/hZxC-LI6NWY
Tokyo Station Twilight View (Newly Reconstructed) 120918
http://youtu.be/5jEc-iWYyRA
Marunouchi Night Terrace (120918)
http://youtu.be/Jbt-zVha-DE
Tokyo Station Night View (Marunouchi Side) 東京駅丸の内側 (120918)
http://youtu.be/3VrvIB86QZw
Marunouchi Evening Beautiful Lights 丸の内夜の美光 (120918)
http://youtu.be/U7Z1cxs-RMg
Marunouchi Night Street View 丸の内夜道ビュー (120918)
http://youtu.be/Vl3Y6B3IH9M
Entering Tokyo Station (Marunouchi Side) 120918
http://youtu.be/zFs0jsW5Bco
Tokyo Station Platform View (120918)
http://youtu.be/HgcrLnud1MM
Tokyo to Kanda - Keihin-Tohoku Line 東京から神田まで (京浜東北線) 120918
http://youtu.be/a6HxYPkVH9g
Kanda Night Stroll 神田夜散歩 (120918)
http://youtu.be/8Sj8c8V6DfU
Entering Kanda Station (Under Construction) 工事中神田駅を入る 120918
http://youtu.be/bDyVQVKfoac
Tokyo to Kanda (Chuo Line) 東京から神田まで (中央線) 120918
http://youtu.be/Pdbi_sH9O-Q
Lights and Reflections (Departing Kanda via Chuo Line) 120918
http://youtu.be/MuqCfp-x6Lo
Tree Walk (Shinjuku Southern Terrace) 120918
http://youtu.be/q3yTYNW-1Ek
White Three-Door Seibu Line Train Departs Station (120919)
http://youtu.be/GeMPTbuk7go
This is not the usual color scheme for Seibu Line trains - so it really stands out.
Countryside Side Window View (120919)
http://youtu.be/dEMhNSd_1ec
Kawagoe Station 川越駅 (120919)
http://youtu.be/gAchNKyaitY
Kawagoe Shotengai 川越商店街 (120919)
http://youtu.be/AySvsC3jhoY
Temple in Kawagoe (120919)
http://youtu.be/bFw99mYfazk
Ramen Place in Kawagoe (120919)
http://youtu.be/WteYAJFZBHw
Kawagoe Mystery Zone (120919)
http://youtu.be/-_BKBZ9GI2I
A space I stumbled upon accidentally.
Tea Machine (Three Types) 120919
http://youtu.be/Dfnov7V4wIY
This is a pretty cool machine. It offers three types of tea, each either hot or cold (thus the twin buttons) and also plain hot water or plain cold water.
Kawagoe Lookaround (A) 120919
http://youtu.be/98gNFHwf1Yw
Kawagoe Lookaround (B) 120919
http://youtu.be/GOXwM0ia40Q
Kawagoe Museum (A) Cool Stairs (120919)
http://youtu.be/Mgx6uYl3kxo
Kawagoe Museum (B) Old Fire Fighting Equipment (120919)
http://youtu.be/O5DCpPWzZKc
Kawagoe Museum (C) Old Fire Fighting Equipment (120919)
http://youtu.be/YBCSID-yx6E
Kawagoe Museum (D) Secret Staircase (120919)
http://youtu.be/aLzpABdh2QQ
Kawagoe Museum (E) Old House (1st Floor) 120919
http://youtu.be/3XAGJMaVObU
Kawagoe Museum (F) Old House (Exterior) 120919
http://youtu.be/dvxYbsmM68s
Kawagoe Museum (G) Old House (1st to 2nd Floor) 120919
http://youtu.be/xB5wazr79LI
Kawagoe Museum (H) Old House (2nd Floor) 120919
http://youtu.be/gZRGyloTI7U
Kawagoe Museum (I) Old House (2nd to 1st Floor) 120919
http://youtu.be/GmT2GFYmfys
Kawagoe Museum (J) Street Side Store (2nd Floor-A) 120919
http://youtu.be/Frn1FBnjz-U
Kawagoe Museum (K) Street Side Store (2nd Floor-B) 120919
http://youtu.be/maCvQ3W4mGs
Old Kawagoe Street Scene (120919)
http://youtu.be/YVML4UWeub4
Old Kawagoe Side Street Scene 川越市横道 120919
http://youtu.be/e37t7SQWHSU
Walk to Back of Temple in Kawagoe (120919)
http://youtu.be/HJB4dw1V2_A
Kawagoe Lookaround (C) 120919
http://youtu.be/0GSStewr6vw
Kawagoe Evening Lookaround (A) 120919
http://youtu.be/Lkbvrv85fyA
Kawagoe Evening Lookaround (B) 120919
http://youtu.be/i2-xV29FGFE
Kawagoe Retro Style Tourist Bus (120919)
http://youtu.be/2hRafta3Yi4
Kawagoe Evening Lookaround (C) 120919
http://youtu.be/g0t8dE6kqZ0
Kawagoe Department Store Near Station (120919)
http://youtu.be/PbnWwhukgbU
Kawagoe Bookstore and Street Outside 川越市本屋さん 120919
http://youtu.be/I6fPge0h2_o
Cars and a Temple (Kawagoe) 120919
http://youtu.be/kTdgMfKjt1k
Kawagoe Temple in the Evening (120919)
http://youtu.be/fST1J_RG38s
Kawagoe Evening Window Reflections (120919)
http://youtu.be/oDPRz2BZoH0
Kawagoe Evening (Shop Closing for the Day) 120919
http://youtu.be/Q-mPegvo1gA
Kawagoe Twilight (Cars Drifting By) 120919
http://youtu.be/Ia9f0FvLT94
Kawagoe Night Walk to Station (120919)
http://youtu.be/X2dIwAfm5Ss
Kawagoe Temple Lookaround (September) 120919g
http://youtu.be/Ge-UFSF6dvY
Kawagoe Side Street Details (120919g)
http://youtu.be/R20lk38D-48
Kawagoe Side Street Diving 川越横道探検 (120919g)
http://youtu.be/4-aGepPH8Qw
Kawagoe Twilight 川越夕方 (120919g)
http://youtu.be/uOC8tay9OMY
Kawagoe Temple Lookaround (September) 120919g
http://youtu.be/Ge-UFSF6dvY
Kawagoe Side Street Details (120919g)
http://youtu.be/R20lk38D-48
Kawagoe Side Street Diving 川越横道探検 (120919g)
http://youtu.be/4-aGepPH8Qw
Kawagoe Twilight 川越夕方 (120919g)
http://youtu.be/uOC8tay9OMY
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/Lyle
There are a lot (and I do mean *a lot*) of separate views of Kawagoe - primarily in the old section of town with it's Edo style buildings. Then there are morning views of Shinjuku and Ochanomizu; and various views of Ginza, Yurakucho, Kanda, Etc.
1990 Shimofuri-Ginza Shotengai 霜降銀座商店街 (900914)
http://youtu.be/NFkzeC63zNE
This is a good example of how the old shotengai shopping streets used to look. I say "used to" because even the ones that remain are not quite the same as when this was taken in 1990. Even in 1990 - as I note on-tape (in the longer version below) after walking into a fairly large (by shotengai standards) grocery store - the grocery store had a lot of customers, but many of the shotengai stores just down the street had very few. I wondered at the time what would become of the shotengai shopping street, and over the years, a new term has come up, "shutter-gai" meaning not a street of open shops, but a street of closed shutters of former shops. Many shotengai shopping streets soldier on, but business doesn't appear to be very good for them now.
1990 Komagome, Nishigahara, Etc. (900914) 駒込, 中里, 上中里, 西ヶ原
http://youtu.be/7UeYgI-VVho
This is a long video - just over an hour and a half, and it includes a fairly detailed look at the area on one side of Komagome Station. (The shotengai clip above this one is a new edit - from the source tape - of part of this longer video.) Time-wise, this includes views from the daytime, the evening, and at night - part of the time walking in the rain.
1990 Night Rain Walk Kagurazaka 神楽坂 (900907)
http://youtu.be/ujmxKyERdO0
1990 Shinjuku, Machida, Etc. (Here and There) 900914
http://youtu.be/orBq5lAKJT4
1990 Takadanobaba to Ikebukuro Rush Rides (900907)
http://youtu.be/oAonOOdS6s4
Trains in Ueno at Night (120905)
http://youtu.be/MPJM-2ENbKY
A lot of 15-car trains come into Ueno and dead-end there, since most platforms in central Tokyo can only accommodate 10-car trains. The Chuo Line is the only major JR line that runs right through central Tokyo (via Shinjuku), and one consequence of that is Chuo Line trains are only 10-cars in length.
Kawagoe Bell Tower Area (120919) 川越 小江戸
http://youtu.be/Ri8GccVFpPI
Kawagoe Lookaround (while Bell Tolls) 120919 川越 小江戸
http://youtu.be/lM9mzkadJvU
At the time I took this, I didn't realize how close I was to where the bell was being rung, or I would hurried around the corner and recorded it being rung by hand (it's not automated).
Kawagoe Side Street Stroll (A) 120919 川越 小江戸
http://youtu.be/I0gNns0dNh0
Kawagoe Main Old Street (120919g) 川越 小江戸
http://youtu.be/4MPBKOgp9lc
Ginza 1-Chome Lookaround (120918)
http://youtu.be/eghP9IQ-mwk
Ginza Chuo-Dori Lookaround (120918)
http://youtu.be/_Byeaq2fNwY
Ginza Side Street (120918)
http://youtu.be/NSz7SCXn1VA
Komagome Trains (A) 駒込駅電車 (120918)
http://youtu.be/KGswx4XR5rE
Komagome Trains (B) 駒込駅電車 (120918)
http://youtu.be/YDk6InIOoFc
Kyobashi Lookaround (120918)
http://youtu.be/AtkKmHjpCxQ
Ochanomizu Bridge Scene (Morning Rush) 御茶ノ水 (120918)
http://youtu.be/HEOHaBfs_zA
Ochanomizu Morning Rush 御茶ノ水 (120918)
http://youtu.be/SHp811Xd5R4
Shinjuku Trains (A) 新宿電車 (120918)
http://youtu.be/-kuHObycGHQ
Shinjuku Trains (B) 新宿電車 (120918)
http://youtu.be/VBxgcPXGLTo
Tokyo Station - Newly Rebuilt (Evening) 120918
http://youtu.be/ekiFJiVReXU
The 1914 Tokyo Station building has been renovated/rebuilt - with (from appearances) more reconstruction work than renovation. It looks pretty much like a squeaky-new building, which is slightly disappointing. I think they could have kept a little more of the original structure, but that's just my opinion. In any case, it looks pretty cool and it's styling from another era provides very welcome contrast in the Marunouchi area, which has been almost completely rebuilt with glass and steel high-rise office towers.
Three Door Seibu Train Departing Station (120911)
http://youtu.be/zEUl4kcfKU4
The more crowded the trains get, the more doors they put in them (to provide quicker loading and unloading). I think this type of Seibu Line train is the last type in Tokyo to have three-doors (per side of each train car) - the standard is four, although there were some six-door train cars on the Yamanote Line before they decided it make it into a kind of horizontal elevator and needed all the train cars to have the same number of doors in order to match them up with platform wall doors (currently only at Ebisu, but platform construction for additional platform walls is evident at several other stations).
Chuo Line Train Departs Station (120912)
http://youtu.be/Fo5jg9UrOWs
Cicada Still at it in Mid-September (120918)
http://youtu.be/ViOBfHU_8cE
Morning Shinjuku Station (Central West Exit) 朝の新宿駅中央西口 (120918)
http://youtu.be/MSzigCozXVc
Shinjuku Morning - West Side Stroll (Odakyu Etc) 新宿朝の散歩小田急 (120918)
http://youtu.be/uyeB8dEF8_M
Shinjuku Station Morning Rush Etc 新宿朝の小田急線電車到着西口など (120918)
http://youtu.be/RaIZYdU9g74
Platform End at Shinjuku Station (120918)
http://youtu.be/LGO6242Spf4
Shinjuku to Ochanomizu (Morning) 120918
http://youtu.be/mIXztfh4j1o
Ochanomizu Magazine Handout (120918)
http://youtu.be/OoqKBbYNg5M
Ochanomizu Morning Stroll (A) 御茶ノ水朝散歩 (120918)
http://youtu.be/Y0lN-k2bSLc
Ochanomizu Side Street Stroll 御茶ノ水朝散歩 (120918)
http://youtu.be/D1BqWMKd0IY
Ochanomizu Morning Stroll (B) 御茶ノ水横道散歩 (120918)
http://youtu.be/z_JnHciZT0I
Ochanomizu Morning Exit 御茶ノ水駅朝出口 (120918)
http://youtu.be/QPKdg8IFIV4
Ochanomizu Side Exit Views (120918)
http://youtu.be/EWYzQNxxKCI
Ochanomizu Bridge View from Station (120918)
http://youtu.be/CBNaYCst2ok
Ochanomizu Side Exit Lookaround and Exit (120918)
http://youtu.be/wDzjJeMjhYg
Ochanomizu Stroll Past Construction Site (120918)
http://youtu.be/90vRTzm7Vnk
Ochanomizu Tissue Pack Advertising Handout (120918)
http://youtu.be/OVBs3nIp2oY
Shinjuku West Side Stroll (120911g)
http://youtu.be/yN8kHMoE-uQ
Ochanomizu to Shinjuku (Morning Chuo Line) 御茶ノ水から新宿までの朝中央線 120918
http://youtu.be/HPZ9cqtPucM
Shinjuku Station Chuo Line Platform Walk (120918)
http://youtu.be/z1Znraiakig
Shinjuku Morning Chuo Line Platform View (120918)
http://youtu.be/kq55X9qtMgM
Shinjuku - Waiting for Yamanote Line 新宿山手線を乗る (120918)
http://youtu.be/H3L__jEYJTI
Shinjuku to Komagome (Yamanote Line) 新宿から駒込まで (山手線で) 120918
http://youtu.be/RTVg2HZrFKQ
Komagome Platform Walk 駒込駅ホームからの見回り 120918
http://youtu.be/dDWHHiHSi24
Komagome Station - Hot September Day 駒込駅暑い九月の日 120918
http://youtu.be/Y-bdUH9PHKA
Exiting Komagome Station 駒込駅 120918
http://youtu.be/Bt6ObfoQICU
Bicycles Beside Komagome Station 駒込駅隣の自転車 120918
http://youtu.be/3l_aztKIxo0
They have people watch over bicycle parking areas like this and very neatly align the bicycles after people have hurriedly parked them in the morning. This one seemed especially neatly aligned to me.
Komagome Shotengai (A) 駒込商店街 120918
http://youtu.be/ZbmEddsAYBk
Komagome Shotengai (B) 駒込商店街 120918
http://youtu.be/h_-6_7uq_Hk
Komagome Station Old Type Ticket Price Board (120918)
http://youtu.be/auR-IyXviZM
Entering Komagome Station 駒込駅を入る 120918
http://youtu.be/io3aTbPFfIA
Komagome to Nippori (Yamanote Line) 駒込から日暮里まで_山手線 120918
http://youtu.be/2bqmm2isGXk
Ikeda Tatsuo Exhibition 池田龍雄展 Gallery Kazuki 画廊香月 2012年9月 (120918)
http://youtu.be/ivEKxo3ybhI
Shibuya Eiichi Exhibition at Lixil Gallery 渋谷英一展 (120918)
http://youtu.be/2UM-oMbq7Jk
Nippori to Ueno (Yamanote Line) 日暮里から上野まで (山手線) 120918
http://youtu.be/3aU82yn4nuc
Ueno to Tokyo (Yamanote Line) 上野から東京まで (山手線) 120918
http://youtu.be/MYMDAQ1MsCU
Tokyo Station Afternoon Platform 東京駅お昼のホーム (120918)
http://youtu.be/LOBot6bJWx8
Short Glimpse of Rebuilt Tokyo Station (120918)
http://youtu.be/K6haPaoV9KA
Tokyo to Yurakucho (Yamanote Line) 東京から有楽町まで (山手線) 120918
http://youtu.be/N7l3I8VQ9hg
Yurakucho Walking Towards Ginza (120918)
http://youtu.be/tL84Cq1k-ms
Ginza Pomegranate Tree 銀座柘榴木 (120918)
http://youtu.be/tN7zGbLPUYM
This is probably the only pomegranate tree in all of Ginza....
Yaesu Construction Cranes by Tokyo Station 八重洲 (120918)
http://youtu.be/HhsL82Uk1rE
This view of the Yaesu side of Tokyo Station will likely be radically different when they finish the construction project the large cranes are there for.
Tokyo Station Newly Reconstructed (Ground Level View) 120918
http://youtu.be/hZxC-LI6NWY
Tokyo Station Twilight View (Newly Reconstructed) 120918
http://youtu.be/5jEc-iWYyRA
Marunouchi Night Terrace (120918)
http://youtu.be/Jbt-zVha-DE
Tokyo Station Night View (Marunouchi Side) 東京駅丸の内側 (120918)
http://youtu.be/3VrvIB86QZw
Marunouchi Evening Beautiful Lights 丸の内夜の美光 (120918)
http://youtu.be/U7Z1cxs-RMg
Marunouchi Night Street View 丸の内夜道ビュー (120918)
http://youtu.be/Vl3Y6B3IH9M
Entering Tokyo Station (Marunouchi Side) 120918
http://youtu.be/zFs0jsW5Bco
Tokyo Station Platform View (120918)
http://youtu.be/HgcrLnud1MM
Tokyo to Kanda - Keihin-Tohoku Line 東京から神田まで (京浜東北線) 120918
http://youtu.be/a6HxYPkVH9g
Kanda Night Stroll 神田夜散歩 (120918)
http://youtu.be/8Sj8c8V6DfU
Entering Kanda Station (Under Construction) 工事中神田駅を入る 120918
http://youtu.be/bDyVQVKfoac
Tokyo to Kanda (Chuo Line) 東京から神田まで (中央線) 120918
http://youtu.be/Pdbi_sH9O-Q
Lights and Reflections (Departing Kanda via Chuo Line) 120918
http://youtu.be/MuqCfp-x6Lo
Tree Walk (Shinjuku Southern Terrace) 120918
http://youtu.be/q3yTYNW-1Ek
White Three-Door Seibu Line Train Departs Station (120919)
http://youtu.be/GeMPTbuk7go
This is not the usual color scheme for Seibu Line trains - so it really stands out.
Countryside Side Window View (120919)
http://youtu.be/dEMhNSd_1ec
Kawagoe Station 川越駅 (120919)
http://youtu.be/gAchNKyaitY
Kawagoe Shotengai 川越商店街 (120919)
http://youtu.be/AySvsC3jhoY
Temple in Kawagoe (120919)
http://youtu.be/bFw99mYfazk
Ramen Place in Kawagoe (120919)
http://youtu.be/WteYAJFZBHw
Kawagoe Mystery Zone (120919)
http://youtu.be/-_BKBZ9GI2I
A space I stumbled upon accidentally.
Tea Machine (Three Types) 120919
http://youtu.be/Dfnov7V4wIY
This is a pretty cool machine. It offers three types of tea, each either hot or cold (thus the twin buttons) and also plain hot water or plain cold water.
Kawagoe Lookaround (A) 120919
http://youtu.be/98gNFHwf1Yw
Kawagoe Lookaround (B) 120919
http://youtu.be/GOXwM0ia40Q
Kawagoe Museum (A) Cool Stairs (120919)
http://youtu.be/Mgx6uYl3kxo
Kawagoe Museum (B) Old Fire Fighting Equipment (120919)
http://youtu.be/O5DCpPWzZKc
Kawagoe Museum (C) Old Fire Fighting Equipment (120919)
http://youtu.be/YBCSID-yx6E
Kawagoe Museum (D) Secret Staircase (120919)
http://youtu.be/aLzpABdh2QQ
Kawagoe Museum (E) Old House (1st Floor) 120919
http://youtu.be/3XAGJMaVObU
Kawagoe Museum (F) Old House (Exterior) 120919
http://youtu.be/dvxYbsmM68s
Kawagoe Museum (G) Old House (1st to 2nd Floor) 120919
http://youtu.be/xB5wazr79LI
Kawagoe Museum (H) Old House (2nd Floor) 120919
http://youtu.be/gZRGyloTI7U
Kawagoe Museum (I) Old House (2nd to 1st Floor) 120919
http://youtu.be/GmT2GFYmfys
Kawagoe Museum (J) Street Side Store (2nd Floor-A) 120919
http://youtu.be/Frn1FBnjz-U
Kawagoe Museum (K) Street Side Store (2nd Floor-B) 120919
http://youtu.be/maCvQ3W4mGs
Old Kawagoe Street Scene (120919)
http://youtu.be/YVML4UWeub4
Old Kawagoe Side Street Scene 川越市横道 120919
http://youtu.be/e37t7SQWHSU
Walk to Back of Temple in Kawagoe (120919)
http://youtu.be/HJB4dw1V2_A
Kawagoe Lookaround (C) 120919
http://youtu.be/0GSStewr6vw
Kawagoe Evening Lookaround (A) 120919
http://youtu.be/Lkbvrv85fyA
Kawagoe Evening Lookaround (B) 120919
http://youtu.be/i2-xV29FGFE
Kawagoe Retro Style Tourist Bus (120919)
http://youtu.be/2hRafta3Yi4
Kawagoe Evening Lookaround (C) 120919
http://youtu.be/g0t8dE6kqZ0
Kawagoe Department Store Near Station (120919)
http://youtu.be/PbnWwhukgbU
Kawagoe Bookstore and Street Outside 川越市本屋さん 120919
http://youtu.be/I6fPge0h2_o
Cars and a Temple (Kawagoe) 120919
http://youtu.be/kTdgMfKjt1k
Kawagoe Temple in the Evening (120919)
http://youtu.be/fST1J_RG38s
Kawagoe Evening Window Reflections (120919)
http://youtu.be/oDPRz2BZoH0
Kawagoe Evening (Shop Closing for the Day) 120919
http://youtu.be/Q-mPegvo1gA
Kawagoe Twilight (Cars Drifting By) 120919
http://youtu.be/Ia9f0FvLT94
Kawagoe Night Walk to Station (120919)
http://youtu.be/X2dIwAfm5Ss
Kawagoe Temple Lookaround (September) 120919g
http://youtu.be/Ge-UFSF6dvY
Kawagoe Side Street Details (120919g)
http://youtu.be/R20lk38D-48
Kawagoe Side Street Diving 川越横道探検 (120919g)
http://youtu.be/4-aGepPH8Qw
Kawagoe Twilight 川越夕方 (120919g)
http://youtu.be/uOC8tay9OMY
Kawagoe Temple Lookaround (September) 120919g
http://youtu.be/Ge-UFSF6dvY
Kawagoe Side Street Details (120919g)
http://youtu.be/R20lk38D-48
Kawagoe Side Street Diving 川越横道探検 (120919g)
http://youtu.be/4-aGepPH8Qw
Kawagoe Twilight 川越夕方 (120919g)
http://youtu.be/uOC8tay9OMY
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/Lyle
Monday, September 17, 2012
View From Mt. Takao - Strange Clouds (2012/08)
View From Mt. Takao - Strange Clouds (2012/08)
Copyright 2012 by Lyle H Saxon
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
"1990: Trip to Tateyama on the Boso Peninsula, Sobu Line, Shinjuku, Parade, Etc."
If you want to know what it's like riding out into the countryside via regular (not reserved seat, special express) trains, then the first video below has some good scenes/sounds of a trip I took in November 1990, part of the time with the window open, so you can hear all the noises of the old type train I was in very well. From the clack-clack of the segmented rails (they've since gone to long seamless rails) to the high-RPM whine of the motors (newer trains are quieter and sound quite different).
To really get the full effect of what it felt like at the time to ride these trains, try listening with headphones and with the sound loud enough to simulate the level it was at at the time (which you'll just have to guess at of course, but the point is, not too low a sound level, or you'll miss both details and the overall effect). It's a long video at almost 90 minutes, but regarding the sounds I mentioned, the part where I was by an open window is towards the beginning of the video, so that's easy to experience just by starting from the beginning (and if you have time, maybe even take the whole trip with me).
I started off saying "If you want to know what it's like...", but maybe I should have made that past tense. The newer trains only have a few windows that open, and those only open at the top, not the bottom; and people appear to be afraid of fresh air now, so they are almost never opened. There's a world of difference between riding in a sealed box and riding in a cool old train with the windows open. There are still a number of older trains running, but fewer and fewer, and hardly any in central Tokyo.
1990 Trip to Tateyama (Boso Hanto) 館山 (901110)
http://youtu.be/a-c2MAFBN4Y
1990 Shinjuku Station Live (901108)
http://youtu.be/59F3CRS4yxQ
I've had several people currently in their early twenties who have said they wish they could have experienced the bubble economy years, and I generally tell them that they probably have an overrated image of the era from modern movies/dramas that glamorize the time. I mention how the plans of the time resulted in the current Tokyo with its many new (since that time) high-rise buildings, expanded train system, etc., but it wasn't all sparkling lights and fun at the time.
But in (re)watching this short clip from 1990, I remember the optimism of the time. A lot of new construction was beginning then, and newer things were not just utilitarian, as they had tended to be in the past, but were... I'm not sure "extravagant" is the correct term, but certainly it would apply in some cases. But new things are just new things - the feeling of the country moving steadily forward was powerful and people were optimistic about the future.
Contrasting that with now, there are so many very worrying trends and incidents in the world, it's increasingly difficult to feel very optimistic about the future. And in that regard, the young people I've met who wish they had experienced the late eighties are actually right to feel they missed out on something - although I still think they have a rather different idea in mind than what it was really like.
1990 Sobu Line (Central Tokyo, Etc.) 総武線 (901110)
http://youtu.be/Cl_1Lk1uVqw
Looking out a window on a local Sobu Line train as it goes through central Tokyo.
1990 Nishi-Shinjuku at Night (Here and There) 901108
http://youtu.be/4O7XHZPoNM4
1990 Old Tateyama Station (901110)
http://youtu.be/vNrkB26z7pk
For anyone who has been to Tateyama Station, this might be interesting - either in a nostalgic way if you have experienced the old station, or in a historical sense if you only know the current rebuilt version of the station. Speaking of the bubble era again though - this is the type of thing I mean when I tell the current twenties crowd that *during* the bubble, there was a lot of old stuff still. It was during the bubble that *plans* for all the new stuff they have now were put in place, but the bubble years themselves were really more the old Showa Era than the new Heisei Era.
1990 Yakimo Truck やきいもトラック (901108)
http://youtu.be/d9DXb4AAUNs
1990 Shinjuku Station at Night (901108)
http://youtu.be/FpqMUgnBQS4
1990 Suburban Bookstore (901108)
http://youtu.be/3a-URsp-rlI
1990 Ikebukuro to Shinjuku 池袋-新宿 (901108)
http://youtu.be/K2WqNVT6iOI
1990 Ikebukuro Station 池袋駅 (901108)
http://youtu.be/63wCa37fors
1990 Restaurants in Shinjuku Station (West Side) 901108
http://youtu.be/vAxPh7T09Ck
This is the underground passageway lined with shops and restaurants that leads to the underground entrance to both the Keio Line and the JR lines.
1990 Hibarigaoka to Ikebukuro ひばりヶ丘-池袋 (901108)
http://youtu.be/GXmUh8vWEqU
1990 Newspapers, not Cell Phones (901108)
http://youtu.be/nfOCaqCX8tk
This is a very short clip, but it shows (at the beginning) people in a train looking at - no, not cell phone screens - but newspapers. The only people who had cell phones in 1990 were businesses and rich people. The phones themselves were very expensive, and it was very expensive to use them.
1990 Hibarigaoka-kita ひばりが丘北 (901110)
http://youtu.be/tvYbfPPNUds
1990 Exiting Burbs Station (901108)
http://youtu.be/p2oXxnRjSN8
1990 - Emperor Akihito Parade Day (901112)
http://youtu.be/v8rePgUyWjk
This might be of some historical interest. This was the day that Crown Prince Akihito officially became Emperor Akihito, and I walked around on the parade route recording the event. There were just a few seconds when he could be seen, but my purpose in going to the parade route was to see the event of people going to see the event, more than the central focus of it. Looking at it now, the various cameras are interesting to see. Film cameras, large video cameras (which I was using myself), etc. No digital cameras.
I started out in in the suburbs, and took a few trains to the center of Tokyo, and then after the event, took a few trains back to the suburbs. I included the trip there and back to show that it was - by and large - an average day for most of the city. The problem with news reports is that you get only the central issue, and as time passes, it's easy to get the mistaken impression that the entire city was involved in something; but you can't have 30,000,000 people in one part of the city! So, it was a big event of course, but everything didn't stop that day because of it.
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
To really get the full effect of what it felt like at the time to ride these trains, try listening with headphones and with the sound loud enough to simulate the level it was at at the time (which you'll just have to guess at of course, but the point is, not too low a sound level, or you'll miss both details and the overall effect). It's a long video at almost 90 minutes, but regarding the sounds I mentioned, the part where I was by an open window is towards the beginning of the video, so that's easy to experience just by starting from the beginning (and if you have time, maybe even take the whole trip with me).
I started off saying "If you want to know what it's like...", but maybe I should have made that past tense. The newer trains only have a few windows that open, and those only open at the top, not the bottom; and people appear to be afraid of fresh air now, so they are almost never opened. There's a world of difference between riding in a sealed box and riding in a cool old train with the windows open. There are still a number of older trains running, but fewer and fewer, and hardly any in central Tokyo.
1990 Trip to Tateyama (Boso Hanto) 館山 (901110)
http://youtu.be/a-c2MAFBN4Y
1990 Shinjuku Station Live (901108)
http://youtu.be/59F3CRS4yxQ
I've had several people currently in their early twenties who have said they wish they could have experienced the bubble economy years, and I generally tell them that they probably have an overrated image of the era from modern movies/dramas that glamorize the time. I mention how the plans of the time resulted in the current Tokyo with its many new (since that time) high-rise buildings, expanded train system, etc., but it wasn't all sparkling lights and fun at the time.
But in (re)watching this short clip from 1990, I remember the optimism of the time. A lot of new construction was beginning then, and newer things were not just utilitarian, as they had tended to be in the past, but were... I'm not sure "extravagant" is the correct term, but certainly it would apply in some cases. But new things are just new things - the feeling of the country moving steadily forward was powerful and people were optimistic about the future.
Contrasting that with now, there are so many very worrying trends and incidents in the world, it's increasingly difficult to feel very optimistic about the future. And in that regard, the young people I've met who wish they had experienced the late eighties are actually right to feel they missed out on something - although I still think they have a rather different idea in mind than what it was really like.
1990 Sobu Line (Central Tokyo, Etc.) 総武線 (901110)
http://youtu.be/Cl_1Lk1uVqw
Looking out a window on a local Sobu Line train as it goes through central Tokyo.
1990 Nishi-Shinjuku at Night (Here and There) 901108
http://youtu.be/4O7XHZPoNM4
1990 Old Tateyama Station (901110)
http://youtu.be/vNrkB26z7pk
For anyone who has been to Tateyama Station, this might be interesting - either in a nostalgic way if you have experienced the old station, or in a historical sense if you only know the current rebuilt version of the station. Speaking of the bubble era again though - this is the type of thing I mean when I tell the current twenties crowd that *during* the bubble, there was a lot of old stuff still. It was during the bubble that *plans* for all the new stuff they have now were put in place, but the bubble years themselves were really more the old Showa Era than the new Heisei Era.
1990 Yakimo Truck やきいもトラック (901108)
http://youtu.be/d9DXb4AAUNs
1990 Shinjuku Station at Night (901108)
http://youtu.be/FpqMUgnBQS4
1990 Suburban Bookstore (901108)
http://youtu.be/3a-URsp-rlI
1990 Ikebukuro to Shinjuku 池袋-新宿 (901108)
http://youtu.be/K2WqNVT6iOI
1990 Ikebukuro Station 池袋駅 (901108)
http://youtu.be/63wCa37fors
1990 Restaurants in Shinjuku Station (West Side) 901108
http://youtu.be/vAxPh7T09Ck
This is the underground passageway lined with shops and restaurants that leads to the underground entrance to both the Keio Line and the JR lines.
1990 Hibarigaoka to Ikebukuro ひばりヶ丘-池袋 (901108)
http://youtu.be/GXmUh8vWEqU
1990 Newspapers, not Cell Phones (901108)
http://youtu.be/nfOCaqCX8tk
This is a very short clip, but it shows (at the beginning) people in a train looking at - no, not cell phone screens - but newspapers. The only people who had cell phones in 1990 were businesses and rich people. The phones themselves were very expensive, and it was very expensive to use them.
1990 Hibarigaoka-kita ひばりが丘北 (901110)
http://youtu.be/tvYbfPPNUds
1990 Exiting Burbs Station (901108)
http://youtu.be/p2oXxnRjSN8
1990 - Emperor Akihito Parade Day (901112)
http://youtu.be/v8rePgUyWjk
This might be of some historical interest. This was the day that Crown Prince Akihito officially became Emperor Akihito, and I walked around on the parade route recording the event. There were just a few seconds when he could be seen, but my purpose in going to the parade route was to see the event of people going to see the event, more than the central focus of it. Looking at it now, the various cameras are interesting to see. Film cameras, large video cameras (which I was using myself), etc. No digital cameras.
I started out in in the suburbs, and took a few trains to the center of Tokyo, and then after the event, took a few trains back to the suburbs. I included the trip there and back to show that it was - by and large - an average day for most of the city. The problem with news reports is that you get only the central issue, and as time passes, it's easy to get the mistaken impression that the entire city was involved in something; but you can't have 30,000,000 people in one part of the city! So, it was a big event of course, but everything didn't stop that day because of it.
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
Saturday, September 15, 2012
"Shinjuku-Gyoen 新宿御苑 (June 2012)"
"Shinjuku-Gyoen 新宿御苑 (June 2012)"
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
"Nakano, Koenji, Sugamo, Hamamatsucho, Tamachi, Shinbashi, Ginza, Etc. (12/09/10)"
This batch of around 80 clips were all taken on September 10th, 2012 - starting with early morning train scenes, and then the morning rush of people walking to work from Shinjuku Station. After that, I visited Nakano, Koenji, Sugamo, Ginza, Hamamatsucho, Tamachi, Shinbashi, and Ginza again. (I had work to do in Ginza in the afternoon and by getting up very early was able to go around to several places.) Incidentally, the first part of the batch below was taken in full-size HD.
Shinjuku - Looking West Down Koshu-kaido 新宿の甲州街道ビュー (120910)
http://youtu.be/bZbmEf92RdI
Shinjuku Army of People Marching to Work (120910)
http://youtu.be/g2Wr7tTshdk
White Collar Army Marches to Work (Shinjuku) 120910
http://youtu.be/VGsMnTH16CU
Morning Nakano Sun Mall (120910)
http://youtu.be/vyEkW2eZw4s
Yurakucho Platform View (120910)
http://youtu.be/3iPP9M806gE
Ginza 3-Chome 銀座三丁目 (120910)
http://youtu.be/BqrkZeTcuPs
Ginza Chuo-Dori 銀座中央通 (120910)
http://youtu.be/ApCcfgF4_54
Hamamatsucho-360 浜松町見回る (120910)
http://youtu.be/0UYXaVm-wno
Hamamatsucho Evening Long View 浜松町夕方帰る人々 (120910)
http://youtu.be/Tsw3-_j22l4
Homeward Bound Hamamatsucho People 浜松町夕方帰る時間 (120910)
http://youtu.be/xZhrfy7mcPQ
Hamamatsucho (Heading for Home) 120910
http://youtu.be/sD34zQ6syCM
Tamachi-360 田町見回る (120910)
http://youtu.be/oCBWnAFn5gU
Trains Passing Hamamatsucho 浜松町電車 (120910)
http://youtu.be/G351MLJ8jk4
Early Morning Outbound Chuo Line (120910)
http://youtu.be/L_auzzjgxXQ
Arriving in Shinjuku via Morning Chuo Line (120910)
http://youtu.be/16W_kKutawQ
Shinjuku Morning South Exit (120910)
http://youtu.be/nX1FmwYSulQ
Morning Shinjuku (A) South Side (120910)
http://youtu.be/qPNCkhw0Cs4
Marching to Work (Morning Shinjuku) 120910
http://youtu.be/7nleoOJzGVE
Morning Shinjuku (B) Walking Against the Flow (120910)
http://youtu.be/FFzY8zf3Ga0
Morning Shinjuku (C) Bridge Shadows (120910)
http://youtu.be/fmbO2BAO2Kg
South Exit to Platform 3-4 (Shinjuku Morning) 120910
http://youtu.be/MLGae4V6RIA
Platform 3-4 to South Exit (Shinjuku Morning) 120910
http://youtu.be/QcbHaVwlhd4
Arriving at Nakano Station via Chuo Line (120910)
http://youtu.be/RcQMibr7FhE
Koenji Narrow Walkways (120910)
http://youtu.be/z2A4hcaovJQ
Ticket Gate Error - Retry at Different Gate OK (120910)
http://youtu.be/Z4EBr_cn970
Nearly everyone is using IC type cards to ride the train system, so there are fewer and fewer of the ticket gates that take magnetic tickets. I was using a magnetic ticket this day, so I had to use the older type machines. For some reason, the first machine I tired didn't like my ticket, but when I tried again with another machine, it worked okay.
Walking Under Rail Bridge in Nakano (120910)
http://youtu.be/nWrFWRguXzg
Man on Crutches Boards Bus in Nakano (120910)
http://youtu.be/ESoKDdSy-DM
Ah... this one. I got a comment complaining about the theme and I realized the title could be read as one of those (unfortunately) popular videos that poke fun of someone attempting to do something. Actually I began taking the video just to show the bus, and then a man on crutches came up and - with just the first low step - got on board, so I thought "Ah! Here we go! This is the whole point of the low-rider buses - that they are easy to board for people who would have had trouble with the steps!". So - to avoid confusion, I changed the name at YouTube to: "Low-Rider Bus Easy to Board with Crutches (120910)".
Speaking of this type of bus - which is low to the ground and doesn't have any steps in the front section - is the same type design being used for buses in other countries as well?
Mysterious Old Building (120910)
http://youtu.be/nf1yMKumYz0
Tree Shadows on Sidewalk (120910)
http://youtu.be/XcoE0npbJ8U
Morning Side Street in Nakano (120910)
http://youtu.be/VZzzWn4muy0
Walking Towards Nakano Station (120910)
http://youtu.be/uPnP4WYkVzg
Nakano to Koenji (Chuo Line) 120910
http://youtu.be/RMKc3kivyYY
Koenji Morning Walkabout (A) 120910
http://youtu.be/FgVwgaPCe0M
Koenji Morning Walkabout (B) 120910
http://youtu.be/loWlSvPdgHg
Koenji Morning Walkabout (C) 120910
http://youtu.be/7yzkRzsn45s
Koenji Temple Area (120910)
http://youtu.be/TRwb4gONXOk
Koenji Temple 高円寺 (120910)
http://youtu.be/wi8LxmhY4SE
Sun Through Green Branches (Koenji) 120910
http://youtu.be/d0M-5by2ze8
Hot Summer Street (Koenji) 120910
http://youtu.be/FJaSpApjhPg
Lonely Streets (Koenji) 120910
http://youtu.be/Kv535zLrbMM
Koenji Station 高円寺駅 (120910)
http://youtu.be/15Cd4z6-Flo
Shinjuku Yamanote Line Platform (120910)
http://youtu.be/i1jVgo7HKow
Shinjuku to Sugamo (Yamanote Line Left Side) 120910g
http://youtu.be/MJUXQoZoIfY
Kaneko Nao 金子奈緒展 Exhibition at Gallery Ginza Forest (120910)
http://youtu.be/ZirY4wgwX4E
LHS Sketch at G-403 (120910)
http://youtu.be/ITRO3mlSRl8
Tamachi Back Street (A) 田町 120910
http://youtu.be/UOHYILpQ8X0
Tamachi Back Street (B) 田町 120910
http://youtu.be/FzrPMLlzEuY
Ginza Evening Side Streets (120910)
http://youtu.be/nLzZmQxtTaQ
Beams Group Exhibition-V4 at Key Gallery (120910)
http://youtu.be/BAioHQP8TVE
Looking around during the opening party for this exhibition.
Looking Through Old Glass (120910)
http://youtu.be/WMUgphJvXUs
Looking through old glass towards an exhibition room.
Exiting Old Building (Looking Down) 120910
http://youtu.be/8J8YdcyEXPA
While walking down the stairs from an exhibition, it occurred to me that the old steps looked kind of cool, so I recorded the lower part of the staircase while walking down.
Entering Nighttime Yurakucho Plaza (120910)
http://youtu.be/Y6S-vho0wR8
Singer Playing in the Distance (120910)
http://youtu.be/8dGAqVUTTUY
Hamamatsucho to Tamachi (120910)
http://youtu.be/ZvnZ6GWcxk8
Exiting Tamachi Station (120910)
http://youtu.be/MGSfU81hGb8
Tamachi Station (Both Sides) 田町駅 (120910)
http://youtu.be/1BNoEZoSzeM
Entering Tamachi Station 田町駅 (120910)
http://youtu.be/FrZXnWorT3Q
Tamachi to Shinbashi - Keihin-Tohoku Line (120910)
http://youtu.be/i3StMLg4AzQ
Shinbashi SL-Plaza (120910)
http://youtu.be/k1EcK8siW-Y
Shinbashi SL-Plaza Smokers Area, Etc. (120910)
http://youtu.be/ucJoTRoJbnQ
Shinbashi Izakaya Basement (120910)
http://youtu.be/aLzOFVnUmsM
New-Shinbashi-Building 1F (ニュー新橋ビル １F) 120910
http://youtu.be/46Oqba4gkqE
Yurakucho Station Platform Walk (120910)
http://youtu.be/A1n5dyeFdbI
Yurakucho to Tokyo (120910)
http://youtu.be/x7zbEc2be7E
Tokyo to Kanda (Chuo Line) 120910
http://youtu.be/xWxH6WtIp1w
Sugamo Station 巣鴨駅 - Exiting into the Summer Heat (120910)
http://youtu.be/KsW7mKiCQSw
Sugamo Main Shotengai Street 巣鴨 (120910)
http://youtu.be/1u6rBGbooWo
Shops in Sugamo (120910)
http://youtu.be/WApKGMH3yus
Near Sugamo Station 巣鴨駅の近く (120910)
http://youtu.be/tDnumOjaEvw
Sugamo Station 巣鴨駅 (120910)
http://youtu.be/cHMiuzZERDc
Yurakucho Plaza 360 - Helicopter Day (120910)
http://youtu.be/EI-MOeC5RlM
They were publicizing the helicopter (medical) rescue service and they actually brought a helicopter to the plaza for the event. I asked a guard at the site later that night if they had actually flown it there, and he told me no, it had been brought there by truck.
Shinkansen Passing Helicopter - Yurakucho Plaza (120910)
http://youtu.be/ntCnyEmOoRI
Helicopter in Yurakucho Plaza (120910g)
http://youtu.be/DGqBvfgzHOs
Trains Passing by Yurakucho Station (120910g)
http://youtu.be/xE_mhCL7J5w
Ginza Lunchtime Side Street (120910)
http://youtu.be/_0CFE5TS_nQ
Front Exterior of Okuno Building (120910)
http://youtu.be/kbdgvYbi0Oc
Ginza Shadows - Side Street View (120910)
http://youtu.be/4fxM1jq5KyU
Walking into Yurakucho from Ginza (120910)
http://youtu.be/XDBMsa7oo1k
Yurakucho to Hamamatsucho (Yamanote Line) 120910
http://youtu.be/9Tjd0zLmLYs
Hamamatsucho Station 浜松町駅 (and Restaurants Etc) 120910
http://youtu.be/7ofMiqXJ60Y
Beside Hamamatsucho Station 浜松町 (120910)
http://youtu.be/u5toyTb62kA
Hamamatsucho Station Walkabout 浜松町駅 (120910)
http://youtu.be/iaWLA8OxTgs
Trains, Etc. Near Hamamatsucho Station (120910)
http://youtu.be/r9Wif_dLfnM
Entering Hamamatsucho Station (120910)
http://youtu.be/ttPxbKVeXNI
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
Shinjuku - Looking West Down Koshu-kaido 新宿の甲州街道ビュー (120910)
http://youtu.be/bZbmEf92RdI
Shinjuku Army of People Marching to Work (120910)
http://youtu.be/g2Wr7tTshdk
White Collar Army Marches to Work (Shinjuku) 120910
http://youtu.be/VGsMnTH16CU
Morning Nakano Sun Mall (120910)
http://youtu.be/vyEkW2eZw4s
Yurakucho Platform View (120910)
http://youtu.be/3iPP9M806gE
Ginza 3-Chome 銀座三丁目 (120910)
http://youtu.be/BqrkZeTcuPs
Ginza Chuo-Dori 銀座中央通 (120910)
http://youtu.be/ApCcfgF4_54
Hamamatsucho-360 浜松町見回る (120910)
http://youtu.be/0UYXaVm-wno
Hamamatsucho Evening Long View 浜松町夕方帰る人々 (120910)
http://youtu.be/Tsw3-_j22l4
Homeward Bound Hamamatsucho People 浜松町夕方帰る時間 (120910)
http://youtu.be/xZhrfy7mcPQ
Hamamatsucho (Heading for Home) 120910
http://youtu.be/sD34zQ6syCM
Tamachi-360 田町見回る (120910)
http://youtu.be/oCBWnAFn5gU
Trains Passing Hamamatsucho 浜松町電車 (120910)
http://youtu.be/G351MLJ8jk4
Early Morning Outbound Chuo Line (120910)
http://youtu.be/L_auzzjgxXQ
Arriving in Shinjuku via Morning Chuo Line (120910)
http://youtu.be/16W_kKutawQ
Shinjuku Morning South Exit (120910)
http://youtu.be/nX1FmwYSulQ
Morning Shinjuku (A) South Side (120910)
http://youtu.be/qPNCkhw0Cs4
Marching to Work (Morning Shinjuku) 120910
http://youtu.be/7nleoOJzGVE
Morning Shinjuku (B) Walking Against the Flow (120910)
http://youtu.be/FFzY8zf3Ga0
Morning Shinjuku (C) Bridge Shadows (120910)
http://youtu.be/fmbO2BAO2Kg
South Exit to Platform 3-4 (Shinjuku Morning) 120910
http://youtu.be/MLGae4V6RIA
Platform 3-4 to South Exit (Shinjuku Morning) 120910
http://youtu.be/QcbHaVwlhd4
Arriving at Nakano Station via Chuo Line (120910)
http://youtu.be/RcQMibr7FhE
Koenji Narrow Walkways (120910)
http://youtu.be/z2A4hcaovJQ
Ticket Gate Error - Retry at Different Gate OK (120910)
http://youtu.be/Z4EBr_cn970
Nearly everyone is using IC type cards to ride the train system, so there are fewer and fewer of the ticket gates that take magnetic tickets. I was using a magnetic ticket this day, so I had to use the older type machines. For some reason, the first machine I tired didn't like my ticket, but when I tried again with another machine, it worked okay.
Walking Under Rail Bridge in Nakano (120910)
http://youtu.be/nWrFWRguXzg
Man on Crutches Boards Bus in Nakano (120910)
http://youtu.be/ESoKDdSy-DM
Ah... this one. I got a comment complaining about the theme and I realized the title could be read as one of those (unfortunately) popular videos that poke fun of someone attempting to do something. Actually I began taking the video just to show the bus, and then a man on crutches came up and - with just the first low step - got on board, so I thought "Ah! Here we go! This is the whole point of the low-rider buses - that they are easy to board for people who would have had trouble with the steps!". So - to avoid confusion, I changed the name at YouTube to: "Low-Rider Bus Easy to Board with Crutches (120910)".
Speaking of this type of bus - which is low to the ground and doesn't have any steps in the front section - is the same type design being used for buses in other countries as well?
Mysterious Old Building (120910)
http://youtu.be/nf1yMKumYz0
Tree Shadows on Sidewalk (120910)
http://youtu.be/XcoE0npbJ8U
Morning Side Street in Nakano (120910)
http://youtu.be/VZzzWn4muy0
Walking Towards Nakano Station (120910)
http://youtu.be/uPnP4WYkVzg
Nakano to Koenji (Chuo Line) 120910
http://youtu.be/RMKc3kivyYY
Koenji Morning Walkabout (A) 120910
http://youtu.be/FgVwgaPCe0M
Koenji Morning Walkabout (B) 120910
http://youtu.be/loWlSvPdgHg
Koenji Morning Walkabout (C) 120910
http://youtu.be/7yzkRzsn45s
Koenji Temple Area (120910)
http://youtu.be/TRwb4gONXOk
Koenji Temple 高円寺 (120910)
http://youtu.be/wi8LxmhY4SE
Sun Through Green Branches (Koenji) 120910
http://youtu.be/d0M-5by2ze8
Hot Summer Street (Koenji) 120910
http://youtu.be/FJaSpApjhPg
Lonely Streets (Koenji) 120910
http://youtu.be/Kv535zLrbMM
Koenji Station 高円寺駅 (120910)
http://youtu.be/15Cd4z6-Flo
Shinjuku Yamanote Line Platform (120910)
http://youtu.be/i1jVgo7HKow
Shinjuku to Sugamo (Yamanote Line Left Side) 120910g
http://youtu.be/MJUXQoZoIfY
Kaneko Nao 金子奈緒展 Exhibition at Gallery Ginza Forest (120910)
http://youtu.be/ZirY4wgwX4E
LHS Sketch at G-403 (120910)
http://youtu.be/ITRO3mlSRl8
Tamachi Back Street (A) 田町 120910
http://youtu.be/UOHYILpQ8X0
Tamachi Back Street (B) 田町 120910
http://youtu.be/FzrPMLlzEuY
Ginza Evening Side Streets (120910)
http://youtu.be/nLzZmQxtTaQ
Beams Group Exhibition-V4 at Key Gallery (120910)
http://youtu.be/BAioHQP8TVE
Looking around during the opening party for this exhibition.
Looking Through Old Glass (120910)
http://youtu.be/WMUgphJvXUs
Looking through old glass towards an exhibition room.
Exiting Old Building (Looking Down) 120910
http://youtu.be/8J8YdcyEXPA
While walking down the stairs from an exhibition, it occurred to me that the old steps looked kind of cool, so I recorded the lower part of the staircase while walking down.
Entering Nighttime Yurakucho Plaza (120910)
http://youtu.be/Y6S-vho0wR8
Singer Playing in the Distance (120910)
http://youtu.be/8dGAqVUTTUY
Hamamatsucho to Tamachi (120910)
http://youtu.be/ZvnZ6GWcxk8
Exiting Tamachi Station (120910)
http://youtu.be/MGSfU81hGb8
Tamachi Station (Both Sides) 田町駅 (120910)
http://youtu.be/1BNoEZoSzeM
Entering Tamachi Station 田町駅 (120910)
http://youtu.be/FrZXnWorT3Q
Tamachi to Shinbashi - Keihin-Tohoku Line (120910)
http://youtu.be/i3StMLg4AzQ
Shinbashi SL-Plaza (120910)
http://youtu.be/k1EcK8siW-Y
Shinbashi SL-Plaza Smokers Area, Etc. (120910)
http://youtu.be/ucJoTRoJbnQ
Shinbashi Izakaya Basement (120910)
http://youtu.be/aLzOFVnUmsM
New-Shinbashi-Building 1F (ニュー新橋ビル １F) 120910
http://youtu.be/46Oqba4gkqE
Yurakucho Station Platform Walk (120910)
http://youtu.be/A1n5dyeFdbI
Yurakucho to Tokyo (120910)
http://youtu.be/x7zbEc2be7E
Tokyo to Kanda (Chuo Line) 120910
http://youtu.be/xWxH6WtIp1w
Sugamo Station 巣鴨駅 - Exiting into the Summer Heat (120910)
http://youtu.be/KsW7mKiCQSw
Sugamo Main Shotengai Street 巣鴨 (120910)
http://youtu.be/1u6rBGbooWo
Shops in Sugamo (120910)
http://youtu.be/WApKGMH3yus
Near Sugamo Station 巣鴨駅の近く (120910)
http://youtu.be/tDnumOjaEvw
Sugamo Station 巣鴨駅 (120910)
http://youtu.be/cHMiuzZERDc
Yurakucho Plaza 360 - Helicopter Day (120910)
http://youtu.be/EI-MOeC5RlM
They were publicizing the helicopter (medical) rescue service and they actually brought a helicopter to the plaza for the event. I asked a guard at the site later that night if they had actually flown it there, and he told me no, it had been brought there by truck.
Shinkansen Passing Helicopter - Yurakucho Plaza (120910)
http://youtu.be/ntCnyEmOoRI
Helicopter in Yurakucho Plaza (120910g)
http://youtu.be/DGqBvfgzHOs
Trains Passing by Yurakucho Station (120910g)
http://youtu.be/xE_mhCL7J5w
Ginza Lunchtime Side Street (120910)
http://youtu.be/_0CFE5TS_nQ
Front Exterior of Okuno Building (120910)
http://youtu.be/kbdgvYbi0Oc
Ginza Shadows - Side Street View (120910)
http://youtu.be/4fxM1jq5KyU
Walking into Yurakucho from Ginza (120910)
http://youtu.be/XDBMsa7oo1k
Yurakucho to Hamamatsucho (Yamanote Line) 120910
http://youtu.be/9Tjd0zLmLYs
Hamamatsucho Station 浜松町駅 (and Restaurants Etc) 120910
http://youtu.be/7ofMiqXJ60Y
Beside Hamamatsucho Station 浜松町 (120910)
http://youtu.be/u5toyTb62kA
Hamamatsucho Station Walkabout 浜松町駅 (120910)
http://youtu.be/iaWLA8OxTgs
Trains, Etc. Near Hamamatsucho Station (120910)
http://youtu.be/r9Wif_dLfnM
Entering Hamamatsucho Station (120910)
http://youtu.be/ttPxbKVeXNI
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
Sunday, September 09, 2012
"Shinjuku Station" (August 2012)
"Shinjuku Station" (August 2012)
Copyright 2012 by Lyle H Saxon
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
"1990 Ueno, Ginza Line, Etc; 1991 East-Shinagawa; 2012 Kamata, Akabane, Ueno, Etc."
This batch of clips begins with a couple of trips back to 1990; one showing a ride on the Ginza Line and the other a look at a few of some very popular (at the time) pachinko parlors. Then there are a a few views from 1991, all taken in the East-Shinagawa area - one featuring a walk down an overgrown sidewalk that seemed to be almost completely unused; another a look at a shipping container-handling monster machine that I found very interesting at the time (and still think is fascinating, but only if you like machines I guess). The third clip is a (nearly) hour-long video of my wanderings in East-Shinagawa on that August 24th, 1991 summer day (including the overgrown street and the shipping container footage).
From this year - 2012 - feeling a bit nostalgic about it as I walked around - I did what I used to do back in my 1990-93 video days: I went to places specifically to record the moving sights and sounds of the area as I walked around. I spent most of the time in Kamata and in Akabane, but also spent some time in Ueno - in and around Ueno Station. Both Kamata Station and Akabane Station have changed radically (been almost completely rebuilt basically) - the rail platforms haven't changed much, but now the upper part of Kamata (and the lower part of elevated Akabane) are basically shopping malls.
1990 Old Type Ginza Line Train 1990年昔の銀座線 (900723)
http://youtu.be/jl9oE6akz0A
In 1990, they had mostly replaced the old fully orange trains on the Ginza Line (maybe the 2000 Series?) with the newer aluminum type (with an orange stripe), but there were still a few of the old trains on the rails. For some reason, in spite of their rarity, I didn't feel a particular need to document them as I went about Tokyo taking video. Nonetheless, I did get some video footage of the old type - one example being this clip.
Pachinko Mania 1990 パチンコ フィーバー1990年 (900723)
http://youtu.be/jeMeYb_dsow
I had gotten the impression that the number of pachinko parlors in Japan had been decreasing since 1990, but according to a statistics site I checked on-line, they went on increasing until 2000 and have been decreasing since then. Looking at a graph, it looks as though the total number is about the same now as when this video was taken. However, I don't seem to see them as often - maybe the ones that remain are in more out-of-the-way places than before?
1991 Shipping Container Handling Machine in Shinagawa (910824)
http://youtu.be/71lDm4CjwxA
1991 East Shinagawa Jungle Walk 東品川ジャンゲル散歩 (910824)
http://youtu.be/Hl90SZlERqE
1991 East Shinagawa Walkabout 東品川散歩１９９１年 (910824)
http://youtu.be/BZQEqGGw0Xs
Kamata_BR-SB (A) 蒲田バーボンロード (120905)
http://youtu.be/65_YblzbiQU
Kamata_BR-SB (B) 蒲田バーボンロード (120905)
http://youtu.be/9xrnCTfjQUY
Kamata_BR-SB (C) 蒲田バーボンロード (120905)
http://youtu.be/GSdEKw1NWwc
Kamata Bourbon Road (A) 蒲田バーボンロード (120905)
http://youtu.be/5dEIIbiFYps
Kamata Bourbon Road (B) 蒲田バーボンロード (120905)
http://youtu.be/OyESjTVnWRY
Kamata Tokyu Trackside 120905
http://youtu.be/Loxu3YJy4s0
Kamata Rooftop Amusement Park (A) 120905 (For Children)
http://youtu.be/44AMalaQEnA
Kamata Rooftop Amusement Park (B) 120905 (For Children)
http://youtu.be/PZx6Mmw8YG4
Kamata (A) East Side Walkabout (120905)
http://youtu.be/ZvRLgkJQo98
Kamata (B) East Side Walkabout (120905)
http://youtu.be/cHzOt_V0y6Y
Kamata (C) East Side Walkabout (120905)
http://youtu.be/jOvfBOstl64
Kamata Station Platform 蒲田駅ホーム 120905
http://youtu.be/IiKS8Uk2j1k
Old Type Platform Seats (Kamata Station) 120905
http://youtu.be/POK1-aadKjk
As these get old and are replaced with a new type, this old type is getting rare at most of the stations I use in Tokyo.
Kamata Station 蒲田駅 120905
http://youtu.be/V_kdgtLHCCo
Kamata In-Station Shopping Mall (120905)
http://youtu.be/b5iOWxG8iAs
Old Photographs of Kamata Station Area (120905)
http://youtu.be/VbmoP5YnR5w
Exiting Kamata Station (120905)
http://youtu.be/M2CL53EvbSQ
Kamata West Side Plaza and Shotengai (120905)
http://youtu.be/g77qYFiNTjs
Kamata Back Streets (120905)
http://youtu.be/RJgO2GvHS_8
Ochanomizu to Tokyo (Chuo Line) 御茶ノ水東京中央線 (120905)
http://youtu.be/L4dickDF_LI
Escalator and Concourse (Tokyo Station) 120905
http://youtu.be/FVPKrNn5APk
Tokyo Station Platform (Daytime Yamanote) 120905
http://youtu.be/yWQdf1AkgHo
Tokyo to Tamachi (Daytime Keihin-Tohoku Line) 東京田町京浜東北線 (120905)
http://youtu.be/-ZJ5TwQrhkk
Tamachi to Kamata (Keihin-Tohoku Line) 田町蒲田京浜東北線 (120905)
http://youtu.be/gHOZ5oL8SgE
Akabane Station 赤羽駅 (120905)
http://youtu.be/EgKvMSOZooY
Akabane Walkabout - Mostly East Side (120905)
http://youtu.be/N1V2JT8riXg
Akabane - Large Empty Lot on East Side (120905)
http://youtu.be/FqvvalyTzMc
Akabane Quiet Back Streets (East Side) 120905
http://youtu.be/ubAOjpFUyxA
Kamata (D) East Side Walkabout (120905)
http://youtu.be/fxgU4aFeK-M
Akabane Ticket Gates to Train - Evening Inbound (120905)
http://youtu.be/pEOBugWLj6Q
Train Passes by in the Night 120905
http://youtu.be/iXFLzwPg23U
Between Ueno Park and Ueno Station at Night (120905)
http://youtu.be/YaSUpDsp-UE
Ueno Walkabout 120905
http://youtu.be/AZYDrYx5sUg
Ameyokocho Night Stroll 120905
http://youtu.be/3njVmc7mPAI
Approaching Ueno Station (120905)
http://youtu.be/SVVWO5BnwVM
Ueno Lower Level Ticket Gates (120905)
http://youtu.be/9QNL32nWQwU
Ueno Yamanote Line Platform (120905)
http://youtu.be/2Bb8HjDKKl4
Boarding Keihin-Tohoku Line at Ueno (120905)
http://youtu.be/tlD9NxptWqg
Ueno Platform Walk - New Train (120905)
http://youtu.be/i_jhihOHG2E
New Train Departs Ueno Station (120905)
http://youtu.be/3Wj9FDB8cIw
Ueno Station Platform Walk, Etc. (120905)
http://youtu.be/iz7GHGituY0
Ueno Station Retail Area (120905)
http://youtu.be/_dRKoAsF5qs
Ueno Train Watch (B) 120905
http://youtu.be/T8HcN6frX7A
Trains in the Night (Ueno) 120905
http://youtu.be/sgRiGlBU84o
Lonely Street at Night (120905)
http://youtu.be/d8EA5CnmwfY
Ueno Train Watch (A) 120905g
http://youtu.be/Spso3CafrFM
Akabane to Ueno - Evening New Train (120905g)
http://youtu.be/U0-a4cWwWPw
Kamata Station Plaza - East Side Evening (120905g)
http://youtu.be/g3U-3lSYcs0
Ueno Night Walkabout 120905g
http://youtu.be/7k2CamUHLOw
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
From this year - 2012 - feeling a bit nostalgic about it as I walked around - I did what I used to do back in my 1990-93 video days: I went to places specifically to record the moving sights and sounds of the area as I walked around. I spent most of the time in Kamata and in Akabane, but also spent some time in Ueno - in and around Ueno Station. Both Kamata Station and Akabane Station have changed radically (been almost completely rebuilt basically) - the rail platforms haven't changed much, but now the upper part of Kamata (and the lower part of elevated Akabane) are basically shopping malls.
1990 Old Type Ginza Line Train 1990年昔の銀座線 (900723)
http://youtu.be/jl9oE6akz0A
In 1990, they had mostly replaced the old fully orange trains on the Ginza Line (maybe the 2000 Series?) with the newer aluminum type (with an orange stripe), but there were still a few of the old trains on the rails. For some reason, in spite of their rarity, I didn't feel a particular need to document them as I went about Tokyo taking video. Nonetheless, I did get some video footage of the old type - one example being this clip.
Pachinko Mania 1990 パチンコ フィーバー1990年 (900723)
http://youtu.be/jeMeYb_dsow
I had gotten the impression that the number of pachinko parlors in Japan had been decreasing since 1990, but according to a statistics site I checked on-line, they went on increasing until 2000 and have been decreasing since then. Looking at a graph, it looks as though the total number is about the same now as when this video was taken. However, I don't seem to see them as often - maybe the ones that remain are in more out-of-the-way places than before?
1991 Shipping Container Handling Machine in Shinagawa (910824)
http://youtu.be/71lDm4CjwxA
1991 East Shinagawa Jungle Walk 東品川ジャンゲル散歩 (910824)
http://youtu.be/Hl90SZlERqE
1991 East Shinagawa Walkabout 東品川散歩１９９１年 (910824)
http://youtu.be/BZQEqGGw0Xs
Kamata_BR-SB (A) 蒲田バーボンロード (120905)
http://youtu.be/65_YblzbiQU
Kamata_BR-SB (B) 蒲田バーボンロード (120905)
http://youtu.be/9xrnCTfjQUY
Kamata_BR-SB (C) 蒲田バーボンロード (120905)
http://youtu.be/GSdEKw1NWwc
Kamata Bourbon Road (A) 蒲田バーボンロード (120905)
http://youtu.be/5dEIIbiFYps
Kamata Bourbon Road (B) 蒲田バーボンロード (120905)
http://youtu.be/OyESjTVnWRY
Kamata Tokyu Trackside 120905
http://youtu.be/Loxu3YJy4s0
Kamata Rooftop Amusement Park (A) 120905 (For Children)
http://youtu.be/44AMalaQEnA
Kamata Rooftop Amusement Park (B) 120905 (For Children)
http://youtu.be/PZx6Mmw8YG4
Kamata (A) East Side Walkabout (120905)
http://youtu.be/ZvRLgkJQo98
Kamata (B) East Side Walkabout (120905)
http://youtu.be/cHzOt_V0y6Y
Kamata (C) East Side Walkabout (120905)
http://youtu.be/jOvfBOstl64
Kamata Station Platform 蒲田駅ホーム 120905
http://youtu.be/IiKS8Uk2j1k
Old Type Platform Seats (Kamata Station) 120905
http://youtu.be/POK1-aadKjk
As these get old and are replaced with a new type, this old type is getting rare at most of the stations I use in Tokyo.
Kamata Station 蒲田駅 120905
http://youtu.be/V_kdgtLHCCo
Kamata In-Station Shopping Mall (120905)
http://youtu.be/b5iOWxG8iAs
Old Photographs of Kamata Station Area (120905)
http://youtu.be/VbmoP5YnR5w
Exiting Kamata Station (120905)
http://youtu.be/M2CL53EvbSQ
Kamata West Side Plaza and Shotengai (120905)
http://youtu.be/g77qYFiNTjs
Kamata Back Streets (120905)
http://youtu.be/RJgO2GvHS_8
Ochanomizu to Tokyo (Chuo Line) 御茶ノ水東京中央線 (120905)
http://youtu.be/L4dickDF_LI
Escalator and Concourse (Tokyo Station) 120905
http://youtu.be/FVPKrNn5APk
Tokyo Station Platform (Daytime Yamanote) 120905
http://youtu.be/yWQdf1AkgHo
Tokyo to Tamachi (Daytime Keihin-Tohoku Line) 東京田町京浜東北線 (120905)
http://youtu.be/-ZJ5TwQrhkk
Tamachi to Kamata (Keihin-Tohoku Line) 田町蒲田京浜東北線 (120905)
http://youtu.be/gHOZ5oL8SgE
Akabane Station 赤羽駅 (120905)
http://youtu.be/EgKvMSOZooY
Akabane Walkabout - Mostly East Side (120905)
http://youtu.be/N1V2JT8riXg
Akabane - Large Empty Lot on East Side (120905)
http://youtu.be/FqvvalyTzMc
Akabane Quiet Back Streets (East Side) 120905
http://youtu.be/ubAOjpFUyxA
Kamata (D) East Side Walkabout (120905)
http://youtu.be/fxgU4aFeK-M
Akabane Ticket Gates to Train - Evening Inbound (120905)
http://youtu.be/pEOBugWLj6Q
Train Passes by in the Night 120905
http://youtu.be/iXFLzwPg23U
Between Ueno Park and Ueno Station at Night (120905)
http://youtu.be/YaSUpDsp-UE
Ueno Walkabout 120905
http://youtu.be/AZYDrYx5sUg
Ameyokocho Night Stroll 120905
http://youtu.be/3njVmc7mPAI
Approaching Ueno Station (120905)
http://youtu.be/SVVWO5BnwVM
Ueno Lower Level Ticket Gates (120905)
http://youtu.be/9QNL32nWQwU
Ueno Yamanote Line Platform (120905)
http://youtu.be/2Bb8HjDKKl4
Boarding Keihin-Tohoku Line at Ueno (120905)
http://youtu.be/tlD9NxptWqg
Ueno Platform Walk - New Train (120905)
http://youtu.be/i_jhihOHG2E
New Train Departs Ueno Station (120905)
http://youtu.be/3Wj9FDB8cIw
Ueno Station Platform Walk, Etc. (120905)
http://youtu.be/iz7GHGituY0
Ueno Station Retail Area (120905)
http://youtu.be/_dRKoAsF5qs
Ueno Train Watch (B) 120905
http://youtu.be/T8HcN6frX7A
Trains in the Night (Ueno) 120905
http://youtu.be/sgRiGlBU84o
Lonely Street at Night (120905)
http://youtu.be/d8EA5CnmwfY
Ueno Train Watch (A) 120905g
http://youtu.be/Spso3CafrFM
Akabane to Ueno - Evening New Train (120905g)
http://youtu.be/U0-a4cWwWPw
Kamata Station Plaza - East Side Evening (120905g)
http://youtu.be/g3U-3lSYcs0
Ueno Night Walkabout 120905g
http://youtu.be/7k2CamUHLOw
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
Friday, September 07, 2012
"Shinjuku Bound" (August 2012)
"Shinjuku Bound" (August 2012)
Copyright 2012 by Lyle H Saxon
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
Thursday, September 06, 2012
"Shin-Okubo, Takadanobaba, Mejiro, Ikebukuro, Otsuka, Yurakucho, Shinjuku, Etc."
I've been venturing off my usual beaten paths and visiting a few places I haven't been to in awhile. The biggest surprises have been how radically some train stations have been changed/rebuilt. Someone recently told me that the JR railway company makes most of its money from renting out retail space - not from running its trains (which I didn't believe at first, but I do now!), so it stands to reason that former utilitarian train stations (with a shop or two in a few of them) have been converted into retail shopping malls that also have ("What's that noise?") trains running through them ("Oh yeah! This is actually a train station!").
Shin-Okubo hasn't changed much - and it was reassuring in a way to see it the way I remember it from the early eighties. The first shock was Otsuka. I came down the stairs and thought I had gotten off at the wrong station! Since then (at places not in this batch of video clips) I've had similar feelings of shock/disorientation at a few other stations. But that's the charm/hazard of living in Tokyo. If you stay away from any area for awhile that you used to know well, chances are that when you go back, it will have changed. You get used to gradual change, but the shock comes when the change has come about by eradicating 100% of what was there before and building something entirely different in its place. (If you don't live in Tokyo, you probably think that's an exaggeration - long-term Tokyo residents know better!) You would think it couldn't be 100% changed and maybe it isn't actually (there must be *something* left from before?!), but I've been to areas and looked around and not discovered anything at all of what was there before. With some redevelopment, they bulldoze over an area and build the entire area anew, so I think 100% is probably accurate.
Anyway - in addition to typical scenes of Shinjuku, Ginza, Kyobashi, Yurakucho, etc., there are views of Shin-Okubo, Takadanobaba, Mejiro, Ikebukuro, and Otsuka.
Shin-Okubo Main Street Stroll (120831g)
http://youtu.be/42Gtav-LId8
This area is home to the most well-know "Koreatown" (or "Little Korea") in Tokyo. According to a Wikipedia page regarding Koreatowns in the world:
"Unlike other Japanese Koreatowns, the Korean-oriented commercial district around Shin-Okubo Station in Shinjuku Ward developed after World War II, and is dominated by "new-comers" - recent immigrants from South Korea who have retained their ethnic and cultural identity, as can be seen from the ubiquitous signs written in Hangul. Other immigrants from China, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, and various other nationalities makes this one of the most colorful and multicultural areas in Tokyo."
What I remember about Shin-Okubo is the multicultural (from various countries in Southeast Asia) aspect to it, but when I went there last week, it seemed like it was overwhelmingly Korean. I didn't really think of it as "Koreatown" before, but after walking around on both sides of the main street there on August 31st, I do now!
Takadanobaba Sanpo (120831g)
http://youtu.be/HLmhIvE9JCU
Takadanobaba hasn't changed much - come to think of it. Naturally, the tenants and (especially restaurants) in buildings have changed a bit, but there hasn't been much construction there and it feels pretty much as I remember it from the past few decades.
Ikebukuro Sanpo (D) Summer Late Afternoon Crowds (120831g)
http://youtu.be/OAt9d6FTcMo
Maybe I just didn't appreciate it because I passed though it nearly every day, but Ikebukuro seems like it's become a more popular place with the young crowd than I remember. But... I suspect that memory is wrong. When I was in my twenties and walking around with other people in their twenties, I didn't think about it - it was just... Ikebukuro. Now that I'm three decades past my twenties, the crowds of young people really stand out to me? I'm not sure. In any case, my perception of Ikebukuro is that it's become a more hip place, but it was probably just as hip - for its time - in the early eighties as now?
Zebra CW (A) 120831g
http://youtu.be/Og58tvcC0Co
The zebra crosswalks have always seemed visually interesting to me (CW = Cross Walk).
Evening Ikebukuro East Side (120831g)
http://youtu.be/3ywm2XNTf7U
The east side of Ikebukuro Station has movie theaters (or had - I noticed a large empty lot where a couple of movie theaters were before), restaurants, shopping, the Sunshine City complex, etc. The west side has Nakayama, clubs, and whatnot. The east side is where you see all the students and couples.
Ikebukuro Station (Evening Entrance) 120831g
http://youtu.be/wZE7r_08OZY
Minami-Otsuka Sanpo (A) 120831g
http://youtu.be/IAtcSTNmLt4
Flute and Dance Practice for Festival (Minami-Otsuka 南大塚) 120831g
http://youtu.be/hn-1sTeAkdw
There was a large festival scheduled for the next day, so this group - in normal clothing - appeared to be practicing the day before. The following day (September 1st) there were a lot of short, but heavy rainstorms. Actually, that's a topic all its own - the rain would suddenly pour down really hard, then there would be no rain, it would pour down hard again, etc. Naturally I've seen on-again and off-again rain before, but never such heavy rain on and off so suddenly and for such a prolonged period. Every time it rained, I wondered if this group would get to perform on the festival day or not. Hopefully they were able to do so between the many sudden downpours.
About the strange way it rained - in talking with various people about that later, everyone told me that they also thought it was very strange and that they didn't remember it ever raining quite like that before....
Tokyo Twilight (120831g)
http://youtu.be/echk4sIey-Y
Looking out over a part of mega-city Tokyo. The city is so huge, there's no one defining image for the cityscape. This is just one of an almost infinite variety of views/compositions.
Shinjuku to Shin-Okubo (Yamanote Line) 120831
http://youtu.be/K4_Z2KvyuB4
Shin-Okubo Sanpo (A) 120831
http://youtu.be/qPUBWlUKSYI
Shin-Okubo Sanpo (B) 120831
http://youtu.be/GyXQ_LwBSQY
Waiting at Intersection (Near Shin-Okubo) 120831
http://youtu.be/qrrc_Jf6N_A
Shin-Okubo Sanpo (C) 120831
http://youtu.be/u5LX2OnT1Co
Shin-Okubo Sanpo (D) 120831
http://youtu.be/YxLttwzlhdI
Entering Shin-Okubo Station (120831)
http://youtu.be/W2sk5nm4mS0
This is as it was before, although I don't remember quite so many people standing about in front of the station. That's either just a timing issue (a large number of people just happened to be waiting to meet someone there) or it's become a popular place to meet. Different places in Tokyo tend to end up as kind of official meeting spots: Hachiko in Shinjuku, Studio Alta in Shinjuku, etc.
Shin-Okubo to Takadanobaba (120831)
http://youtu.be/EYNRLexhTuo
Entering Takadanobaba Station (120831)
http://youtu.be/Dt2vqWQV4OM
Takadanobaba to Mejiro (Yamanote Line) 120831
http://youtu.be/BPLf7CGNDT0
Mejiro Station Interior (120831)
http://youtu.be/qw-AICtNmvA
Mejiro Station has also changed pretty radically, but it's never been a station I went to often, so I had before, and still have, neutral feelings about it. Never having gotten used to it, it's not in the least disturbing that it has changed.
In walking around there for bit (on the west side of the station only), I was struck with how high-price the suburbs off of the main street appear to be (see following several clips - most of which are on the main street, but at least one shows a little of an expensive area).
Mejiro Sanpo (A) 120831
http://youtu.be/FlBBPdprZsI
Mejiro Sanpo (B) 120831
http://youtu.be/Z9jF-81935M
Mejiro Sanpo (C) 120831
http://youtu.be/UZEqgAGJmuk
Mejiro Suburb (120831)
http://youtu.be/WYlc0uKytxs
Mejiro Sanpo (D) 120831
http://youtu.be/F8abLNeAKRE
Mejiro Afternoon Platform Walk (120831)
http://youtu.be/UbV_cDPoS7k
Narita Express Train Passing Mejiro (120831)
http://youtu.be/ftDI9r8_tw8
Mejiro to Ikebukuro (Yamanote Line) 120831
http://youtu.be/nVrGrsFY11A
Afternoon Ikebukuro Station (120831)
http://youtu.be/_IQG0BM6gBw
Shinjuku Station now has the largest number of people passing through it every day, but apparently that distinction used to belong to Ikebukuro (probably before they extended the Akabane Line [renamed the Saikyo Line when they did] to Shinjuku, and then on to Ebisu), but Ikebukuro still has a very large number of people using it every day.
Ikebukuro West-Side Stroll (120831)
http://youtu.be/EbG2HiKu0kw
Not extensive at all, but this shows a little of the izakaya area on the west side of Ikebukuro.
Ikebukuro Pedestrian Tunnel (Afternoon) - 120831
http://youtu.be/ni0WxMX6usc
Ikebukuro Sanpo (A) 120831
http://youtu.be/b1-VNJIDzrw
Ikebukuro Sanpo (B) Long Shadow Side Streets (120831)
http://youtu.be/cUhdIUCnB3c
Ikebukuro Sanpo (C) Late Afternoon Crowds (120831)
http://youtu.be/5GoouylUXCg
Ikebukuro - Man Stocking a Toy Machine (120831)
http://youtu.be/22YGizXR9P4
Ikebukuro Sanpo (E) Verbal Advertising (120831)
http://youtu.be/-242oX_1tNA
Zebra CW (B) 120831
http://youtu.be/dwTwz0TaLd4
Ikebukuro Sanpo (F) Evening Side Streets (120831)
http://youtu.be/k9y-32er5H4
Ikebukuro Underground Shopping Mall (A) 120831
http://youtu.be/ljCduxBodms
Evening Ikebukuro Station (120831)
http://youtu.be/zPbfRWsZuJY
Ikebukuro Tunnel to East Side (Evening) 120831
http://youtu.be/EjmMd6Cp0Vs
Ikebukuro to Otsuka (Twilight Yamanote Line) 120831
http://youtu.be/DhVi0cVSFMg
Otsuka Station (Summer 2012 - Twilight) 120831
http://youtu.be/LA7LRl5Tzyw
Kita-Otsuka Sanpo (A) 120831
http://youtu.be/Yk1PLnL1rDQ
Kita-Otsuka Sanpo (B) Lonely Streets (120831)
http://youtu.be/D_hAabcYnt8
Kita-Otsuka Sanpo (C) Shops at Night (120831)
http://youtu.be/fcy5SYXtXqQ
Otsuka Platform Walk, Etc. (120831)
http://youtu.be/m9gknndJ4Tk
Yurakucho Platform (Nighttime-360) 120831
http://youtu.be/M21Utf-0_NA
Yurakucho-SB Sanpo (120831)
http://youtu.be/J7MjLUzrxKI
Yurakucho New Underground Stand-Bar (120831)
http://youtu.be/VFAZUmebgUg
"Stand bars" (also translated as "standing bars") seem to be coming back into favor big time. The prolonged bad economy means people are cutting back on expenses, and one way to profitably run an izakaya with lower prices is to have everyone stand (more people fit into a small space and tend to linger less since they're standing the whole time).
Maybe "coming back into favor big time" is an overstatement, but I'm seeing more and more of them as the months roll past....
Yurakucho Outside Izakaya Stroll (120831)
http://youtu.be/spotECTrfkU
It's only when the weather is warm that there are so many tables out in the open like this. Spring is the best time - when visiting one of these izakayas is a kind of celebration of the warming weather.
Yurakucho Night Sanpo (120831)
http://youtu.be/bWv_BYqCsSk
Entering Yurakucho Station (10:30 p.m.) 120831
http://youtu.be/6RamnZi52zw
Yurakucho Station - Waiting for a Train at Night (120831)
http://youtu.be/lgbUFyGZy84
Yurakucho to Tokyo (120831)
http://youtu.be/ZJt-hPfG7jI
Yurakucho Platform Walk (Before Night Rush) 120831g
http://youtu.be/ECLKOgBOCxw
Yurakucho Izakaya Stroll - Summer 2012 (120831g)
http://youtu.be/6qTKQweEH0A
Yurakucho-SB Bound (120831g)
http://youtu.be/6oDOjaueKrg
Night View (Otsuka to Ueno - Yamanote Line) 120831g 山手線 夜ビュー
http://youtu.be/w4Jh9F9g68Y
Night View (Ueno to Yurakucho - Yamanote Line) 120831g 山手線 夜ビュー
http://youtu.be/Rsrn1CkSvjg
Surface train travel in Tokyo is almost never boring - since you get constantly changing scenery, and and since Tokyo is constantly being rebuilt, you look out and kind of idly watch for new things you haven't seen before (either because you didn't notice them, or because they weren't there).
Departing Yurakucho Station (120829)
http://youtu.be/0Prg9jJvHQA
Seibu Line Train Arriving at Station (120829)
http://youtu.be/JsnI0lXPwzk
Summer Ginza Stroll (120829)
http://youtu.be/kRmtsZ-unPs
Clouds in Kyobashi 120904
http://youtu.be/aFUnJeRZTAY
Tokyo Station Escalator Under Construction (Chuo Line) 120904
http://youtu.be/84OmBUJbk-Q
Rolling by East Side of Shinjuku 120904
http://youtu.be/hW9KPHBkQoE
Ota Yumiko 太田喩美子 Exhibition Ginza Ono Gallery-2 小野画廊-2 (A) 120904
http://youtu.be/-C5dfoyQy5Y
Ota Yumiko 太田喩美子 Exhibition Ginza Ono Gallery-2 小野画廊-2 (B) 120904
http://youtu.be/PCzRUQpoUE4
Ota Yumiko 太田喩美子 Exhibition Ginza Ono Gallery-2 小野画廊-2 (C) 120904
http://youtu.be/Csn0BrQjuxk
Project-306 Installation Sept 2012 - 306号室プロジェクト 九月 (120904)
http://youtu.be/nubukXDDOto
Kyobashi to Tokyo Station Night Walk (120904)
http://youtu.be/b5QF_yUIoy0
Speaking of "stand bars", there's one in this clip towards the beginning. I walk past it, and then look back (vertically) into the open door. I think this a new one, but I'm not sure. After passing a couple of asphalt deserts (for the internal combustion machines), I walk into Tokyo Station....
Kanda to Ochanomizu - Outgoing Chuo Line (120904)
http://youtu.be/k_gOFJBkG2I
Evening Shinjuku Station 120904
http://youtu.be/r5ea22DXP88
Shinjuku Southeast Exit 新宿駅東南口 (120904)
http://youtu.be/S55aHpLmhzQ
Shinjuku South Side Night Walk (A) 120904
http://youtu.be/VA4OT5RuW5c
Shinjuku South Side Night Walk (B) 120904
http://youtu.be/e4j_q_oKj3Y
Watching Night Trains on South Side (120904)
http://youtu.be/UYYdmBARK4Y
A good place to contemplate things and feel... a wide range of feelings.
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
Shin-Okubo hasn't changed much - and it was reassuring in a way to see it the way I remember it from the early eighties. The first shock was Otsuka. I came down the stairs and thought I had gotten off at the wrong station! Since then (at places not in this batch of video clips) I've had similar feelings of shock/disorientation at a few other stations. But that's the charm/hazard of living in Tokyo. If you stay away from any area for awhile that you used to know well, chances are that when you go back, it will have changed. You get used to gradual change, but the shock comes when the change has come about by eradicating 100% of what was there before and building something entirely different in its place. (If you don't live in Tokyo, you probably think that's an exaggeration - long-term Tokyo residents know better!) You would think it couldn't be 100% changed and maybe it isn't actually (there must be *something* left from before?!), but I've been to areas and looked around and not discovered anything at all of what was there before. With some redevelopment, they bulldoze over an area and build the entire area anew, so I think 100% is probably accurate.
Anyway - in addition to typical scenes of Shinjuku, Ginza, Kyobashi, Yurakucho, etc., there are views of Shin-Okubo, Takadanobaba, Mejiro, Ikebukuro, and Otsuka.
Shin-Okubo Main Street Stroll (120831g)
http://youtu.be/42Gtav-LId8
This area is home to the most well-know "Koreatown" (or "Little Korea") in Tokyo. According to a Wikipedia page regarding Koreatowns in the world:
"Unlike other Japanese Koreatowns, the Korean-oriented commercial district around Shin-Okubo Station in Shinjuku Ward developed after World War II, and is dominated by "new-comers" - recent immigrants from South Korea who have retained their ethnic and cultural identity, as can be seen from the ubiquitous signs written in Hangul. Other immigrants from China, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, and various other nationalities makes this one of the most colorful and multicultural areas in Tokyo."
What I remember about Shin-Okubo is the multicultural (from various countries in Southeast Asia) aspect to it, but when I went there last week, it seemed like it was overwhelmingly Korean. I didn't really think of it as "Koreatown" before, but after walking around on both sides of the main street there on August 31st, I do now!
Takadanobaba Sanpo (120831g)
http://youtu.be/HLmhIvE9JCU
Takadanobaba hasn't changed much - come to think of it. Naturally, the tenants and (especially restaurants) in buildings have changed a bit, but there hasn't been much construction there and it feels pretty much as I remember it from the past few decades.
Ikebukuro Sanpo (D) Summer Late Afternoon Crowds (120831g)
http://youtu.be/OAt9d6FTcMo
Maybe I just didn't appreciate it because I passed though it nearly every day, but Ikebukuro seems like it's become a more popular place with the young crowd than I remember. But... I suspect that memory is wrong. When I was in my twenties and walking around with other people in their twenties, I didn't think about it - it was just... Ikebukuro. Now that I'm three decades past my twenties, the crowds of young people really stand out to me? I'm not sure. In any case, my perception of Ikebukuro is that it's become a more hip place, but it was probably just as hip - for its time - in the early eighties as now?
Zebra CW (A) 120831g
http://youtu.be/Og58tvcC0Co
The zebra crosswalks have always seemed visually interesting to me (CW = Cross Walk).
Evening Ikebukuro East Side (120831g)
http://youtu.be/3ywm2XNTf7U
The east side of Ikebukuro Station has movie theaters (or had - I noticed a large empty lot where a couple of movie theaters were before), restaurants, shopping, the Sunshine City complex, etc. The west side has Nakayama, clubs, and whatnot. The east side is where you see all the students and couples.
Ikebukuro Station (Evening Entrance) 120831g
http://youtu.be/wZE7r_08OZY
Minami-Otsuka Sanpo (A) 120831g
http://youtu.be/IAtcSTNmLt4
Flute and Dance Practice for Festival (Minami-Otsuka 南大塚) 120831g
http://youtu.be/hn-1sTeAkdw
There was a large festival scheduled for the next day, so this group - in normal clothing - appeared to be practicing the day before. The following day (September 1st) there were a lot of short, but heavy rainstorms. Actually, that's a topic all its own - the rain would suddenly pour down really hard, then there would be no rain, it would pour down hard again, etc. Naturally I've seen on-again and off-again rain before, but never such heavy rain on and off so suddenly and for such a prolonged period. Every time it rained, I wondered if this group would get to perform on the festival day or not. Hopefully they were able to do so between the many sudden downpours.
About the strange way it rained - in talking with various people about that later, everyone told me that they also thought it was very strange and that they didn't remember it ever raining quite like that before....
Tokyo Twilight (120831g)
http://youtu.be/echk4sIey-Y
Looking out over a part of mega-city Tokyo. The city is so huge, there's no one defining image for the cityscape. This is just one of an almost infinite variety of views/compositions.
Shinjuku to Shin-Okubo (Yamanote Line) 120831
http://youtu.be/K4_Z2KvyuB4
Shin-Okubo Sanpo (A) 120831
http://youtu.be/qPUBWlUKSYI
Shin-Okubo Sanpo (B) 120831
http://youtu.be/GyXQ_LwBSQY
Waiting at Intersection (Near Shin-Okubo) 120831
http://youtu.be/qrrc_Jf6N_A
Shin-Okubo Sanpo (C) 120831
http://youtu.be/u5LX2OnT1Co
Shin-Okubo Sanpo (D) 120831
http://youtu.be/YxLttwzlhdI
Entering Shin-Okubo Station (120831)
http://youtu.be/W2sk5nm4mS0
This is as it was before, although I don't remember quite so many people standing about in front of the station. That's either just a timing issue (a large number of people just happened to be waiting to meet someone there) or it's become a popular place to meet. Different places in Tokyo tend to end up as kind of official meeting spots: Hachiko in Shinjuku, Studio Alta in Shinjuku, etc.
Shin-Okubo to Takadanobaba (120831)
http://youtu.be/EYNRLexhTuo
Entering Takadanobaba Station (120831)
http://youtu.be/Dt2vqWQV4OM
Takadanobaba to Mejiro (Yamanote Line) 120831
http://youtu.be/BPLf7CGNDT0
Mejiro Station Interior (120831)
http://youtu.be/qw-AICtNmvA
Mejiro Station has also changed pretty radically, but it's never been a station I went to often, so I had before, and still have, neutral feelings about it. Never having gotten used to it, it's not in the least disturbing that it has changed.
In walking around there for bit (on the west side of the station only), I was struck with how high-price the suburbs off of the main street appear to be (see following several clips - most of which are on the main street, but at least one shows a little of an expensive area).
Mejiro Sanpo (A) 120831
http://youtu.be/FlBBPdprZsI
Mejiro Sanpo (B) 120831
http://youtu.be/Z9jF-81935M
Mejiro Sanpo (C) 120831
http://youtu.be/UZEqgAGJmuk
Mejiro Suburb (120831)
http://youtu.be/WYlc0uKytxs
Mejiro Sanpo (D) 120831
http://youtu.be/F8abLNeAKRE
Mejiro Afternoon Platform Walk (120831)
http://youtu.be/UbV_cDPoS7k
Narita Express Train Passing Mejiro (120831)
http://youtu.be/ftDI9r8_tw8
Mejiro to Ikebukuro (Yamanote Line) 120831
http://youtu.be/nVrGrsFY11A
Afternoon Ikebukuro Station (120831)
http://youtu.be/_IQG0BM6gBw
Shinjuku Station now has the largest number of people passing through it every day, but apparently that distinction used to belong to Ikebukuro (probably before they extended the Akabane Line [renamed the Saikyo Line when they did] to Shinjuku, and then on to Ebisu), but Ikebukuro still has a very large number of people using it every day.
Ikebukuro West-Side Stroll (120831)
http://youtu.be/EbG2HiKu0kw
Not extensive at all, but this shows a little of the izakaya area on the west side of Ikebukuro.
Ikebukuro Pedestrian Tunnel (Afternoon) - 120831
http://youtu.be/ni0WxMX6usc
Ikebukuro Sanpo (A) 120831
http://youtu.be/b1-VNJIDzrw
Ikebukuro Sanpo (B) Long Shadow Side Streets (120831)
http://youtu.be/cUhdIUCnB3c
Ikebukuro Sanpo (C) Late Afternoon Crowds (120831)
http://youtu.be/5GoouylUXCg
Ikebukuro - Man Stocking a Toy Machine (120831)
http://youtu.be/22YGizXR9P4
Ikebukuro Sanpo (E) Verbal Advertising (120831)
http://youtu.be/-242oX_1tNA
Zebra CW (B) 120831
http://youtu.be/dwTwz0TaLd4
Ikebukuro Sanpo (F) Evening Side Streets (120831)
http://youtu.be/k9y-32er5H4
Ikebukuro Underground Shopping Mall (A) 120831
http://youtu.be/ljCduxBodms
Evening Ikebukuro Station (120831)
http://youtu.be/zPbfRWsZuJY
Ikebukuro Tunnel to East Side (Evening) 120831
http://youtu.be/EjmMd6Cp0Vs
Ikebukuro to Otsuka (Twilight Yamanote Line) 120831
http://youtu.be/DhVi0cVSFMg
Otsuka Station (Summer 2012 - Twilight) 120831
http://youtu.be/LA7LRl5Tzyw
Kita-Otsuka Sanpo (A) 120831
http://youtu.be/Yk1PLnL1rDQ
Kita-Otsuka Sanpo (B) Lonely Streets (120831)
http://youtu.be/D_hAabcYnt8
Kita-Otsuka Sanpo (C) Shops at Night (120831)
http://youtu.be/fcy5SYXtXqQ
Otsuka Platform Walk, Etc. (120831)
http://youtu.be/m9gknndJ4Tk
Yurakucho Platform (Nighttime-360) 120831
http://youtu.be/M21Utf-0_NA
Yurakucho-SB Sanpo (120831)
http://youtu.be/J7MjLUzrxKI
Yurakucho New Underground Stand-Bar (120831)
http://youtu.be/VFAZUmebgUg
"Stand bars" (also translated as "standing bars") seem to be coming back into favor big time. The prolonged bad economy means people are cutting back on expenses, and one way to profitably run an izakaya with lower prices is to have everyone stand (more people fit into a small space and tend to linger less since they're standing the whole time).
Maybe "coming back into favor big time" is an overstatement, but I'm seeing more and more of them as the months roll past....
Yurakucho Outside Izakaya Stroll (120831)
http://youtu.be/spotECTrfkU
It's only when the weather is warm that there are so many tables out in the open like this. Spring is the best time - when visiting one of these izakayas is a kind of celebration of the warming weather.
Yurakucho Night Sanpo (120831)
http://youtu.be/bWv_BYqCsSk
Entering Yurakucho Station (10:30 p.m.) 120831
http://youtu.be/6RamnZi52zw
Yurakucho Station - Waiting for a Train at Night (120831)
http://youtu.be/lgbUFyGZy84
Yurakucho to Tokyo (120831)
http://youtu.be/ZJt-hPfG7jI
Yurakucho Platform Walk (Before Night Rush) 120831g
http://youtu.be/ECLKOgBOCxw
Yurakucho Izakaya Stroll - Summer 2012 (120831g)
http://youtu.be/6qTKQweEH0A
Yurakucho-SB Bound (120831g)
http://youtu.be/6oDOjaueKrg
Night View (Otsuka to Ueno - Yamanote Line) 120831g 山手線 夜ビュー
http://youtu.be/w4Jh9F9g68Y
Night View (Ueno to Yurakucho - Yamanote Line) 120831g 山手線 夜ビュー
http://youtu.be/Rsrn1CkSvjg
Surface train travel in Tokyo is almost never boring - since you get constantly changing scenery, and and since Tokyo is constantly being rebuilt, you look out and kind of idly watch for new things you haven't seen before (either because you didn't notice them, or because they weren't there).
Departing Yurakucho Station (120829)
http://youtu.be/0Prg9jJvHQA
Seibu Line Train Arriving at Station (120829)
http://youtu.be/JsnI0lXPwzk
Summer Ginza Stroll (120829)
http://youtu.be/kRmtsZ-unPs
Clouds in Kyobashi 120904
http://youtu.be/aFUnJeRZTAY
Tokyo Station Escalator Under Construction (Chuo Line) 120904
http://youtu.be/84OmBUJbk-Q
Rolling by East Side of Shinjuku 120904
http://youtu.be/hW9KPHBkQoE
Ota Yumiko 太田喩美子 Exhibition Ginza Ono Gallery-2 小野画廊-2 (A) 120904
http://youtu.be/-C5dfoyQy5Y
Ota Yumiko 太田喩美子 Exhibition Ginza Ono Gallery-2 小野画廊-2 (B) 120904
http://youtu.be/PCzRUQpoUE4
Ota Yumiko 太田喩美子 Exhibition Ginza Ono Gallery-2 小野画廊-2 (C) 120904
http://youtu.be/Csn0BrQjuxk
Project-306 Installation Sept 2012 - 306号室プロジェクト 九月 (120904)
http://youtu.be/nubukXDDOto
Kyobashi to Tokyo Station Night Walk (120904)
http://youtu.be/b5QF_yUIoy0
Speaking of "stand bars", there's one in this clip towards the beginning. I walk past it, and then look back (vertically) into the open door. I think this a new one, but I'm not sure. After passing a couple of asphalt deserts (for the internal combustion machines), I walk into Tokyo Station....
Kanda to Ochanomizu - Outgoing Chuo Line (120904)
http://youtu.be/k_gOFJBkG2I
Evening Shinjuku Station 120904
http://youtu.be/r5ea22DXP88
Shinjuku Southeast Exit 新宿駅東南口 (120904)
http://youtu.be/S55aHpLmhzQ
Shinjuku South Side Night Walk (A) 120904
http://youtu.be/VA4OT5RuW5c
Shinjuku South Side Night Walk (B) 120904
http://youtu.be/e4j_q_oKj3Y
Watching Night Trains on South Side (120904)
http://youtu.be/UYYdmBARK4Y
A good place to contemplate things and feel... a wide range of feelings.
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
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