This batch of views is primarily of Oimachi and Omori, both on the Keihin-Tohoku Line, with station area views of Tokyo, Shinagawa, and Hamamatsucho, as well as a few views of Ginza.
Morning Tokyo Station Walkabout 東京駅朝散歩 (120925g)
http://youtu.be/EoImzg00eok
Tokyo Station was once the proud hub of Japan's train system, with the 1914 (really huge for its day) brick station building, a landmark modern (again, for its time) structure. In WW-II, the building was damaged in the fire-bombing of Tokyo and the reconstructed roofs put on the building in the post war years were much less decorative than the originals. In the decades after the war, Tokyo Station didn't change much while other hub stations like Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, Shibuya, etc. changed pretty radically. By the early eighties, when I first experienced Tokyo Station, it was interesting in a sleepy way, but it didn't seem particularly remarkable as a central station (other than its historical role).
Then with the bubble economy in the late eighties, things began to change. With the addition of the Keiyo Line (which goes out to Tokyo Disneyland), the Narita Express (which is taken for granted now, but was a big deal when it began running - making it much easier to get to Narita Airport from central Tokyo), and the extension of the northern route Shinkansen lines (which used to terminate at Omiya Station in Saitama), the station took on new life and once again felt like a huge, exciting, central station.
Maybe too much background, but the atmosphere has really changed since the early eighties. I took some video in the station in 1991, after the Keiyo Line had already opened, but before the Chuo Line had been moved over and the northern Shinkansen lines extended, so it shows part of the transition zone between the sleepy version of the station and the current version. Here are two videos from 1991 which show the contrast between 21 years ago and now:
"Tokyo Station - March 1991 #1"
http://youtu.be/Nq4MHxh2K5M
"Tokyo Station - March 1991 #2"
http://youtu.be/iqcLpQ10wssRR
Hamamatsucho to Yurakucho 浜松町から有楽町まで (山手線) 120925g
http://youtu.be/cYOahooZFc4
Omori Tonkatsu Restaurant Entrance (120925)
http://youtu.be/sx3uDlTyJPg
A very short clip - I found this place (and a couple of other similar places) interesting in that people lined up in front of the restaurant before it opened for lunch and then it filled up right away. A combination of (I'm guessing) good food at reasonable prices in a nostalgic atmosphere (in this age of steel and glass, old wooden buildings seem very nice) makes this type of place very popular with the locals. (I would have gone in and had lunch there myself, but my travel budget that day didn't include lunch, however reasonably priced it may have been.)
Omori Hilltop Shrine (A) 120925
http://youtu.be/ayqu-8XgYH8
Omori Hilltop Shrine (B) 120925
http://youtu.be/bz_3FZZacMI
Oimachi Main Street Stroll (120925)
http://youtu.be/7REBojFEVV0
Ginza Side Street Balcony View (120925)
http://youtu.be/arF2i_0y_0M
For central Ginza, this balcony has an amazing amount of sky....
Ginza Passageway to Chuo-Dori (120925)
http://youtu.be/sjb5-s9thD0
No special significance, but it's fun to walk down this very narrow passageway and then suddenly pop out onto the wide sidewalk of fashionable Chuo-Dori.
Maruyama Norio 丸山則夫 Exhibition at Art Space Rondo (120925)
http://youtu.be/Wq3gRyF58jw
This was an interesting photography exhibition with each picture depicting two worlds....
Yurakucho to Tokyo (Keihin-Tohoku Line) 有楽町から東京まで (120925)
http://youtu.be/jDXT-tjSfOQ
Listening to Insects (120926)
http://youtu.be/hGqx4yBdXuY
Not nearly as obvious in the video as it was in person, are the insects of summer - still making their various musical noises in late September.
Exiting Tokyo Station (Rebuilt Post Office Bldg., Etc.) 120925
http://youtu.be/yR1ucd_w7c0
Tokyo to Shinagawa (Tokaido Line) 東京から品川まで (120925)
http://youtu.be/YfBevDbqDgc
Morning Shinagawa Station Walkabout 品川駅朝散歩 (120925)
http://youtu.be/Qe-i9P-41VI
Shinagawa East Side Lookaround 品川駅東口見回り (120925)
http://youtu.be/bQKBILsKADg
Shinagawa Station Walk-through (East to West) 120925
http://youtu.be/Z_lssKxqMMs
Shinagawa West Side (Wing Complex) 120925
http://youtu.be/l-XVvj9CC1E
Shinagawa Pedestrian Overpass (West Side) 120925
http://youtu.be/-8u_lQ3_fMs
Walking to Shinagawa Station (West Side) 120925
http://youtu.be/867q-2prtxA
Shinagawa to Oimachi via Keihin-Tohoku Line (Including Station Views) 120925
http://youtu.be/StgH-c1GBzk
Oimachi Back Streets (120925)
http://youtu.be/MAWf-8qus6k
Oimachi Izakaya Alley (Morning) 大井町東小路飲食店街 (朝) 120925
http://youtu.be/HDTUXuQhAo4
Very little activity in the morning, before lunch.
Oimachi Walkabout (A) 120925
http://youtu.be/DhLo7Q2vZ3M
Oimachi Trackside Sleepy Morning Street (120925)
http://youtu.be/Dl2DzvTCvtE
Oimachi Trackside Walk (Entering Minami-Shinagawa) 120925
http://youtu.be/c6qfaYQ_O8k
Oimachi to Omori _大井町から大森まで (京浜東北線) 120925
http://youtu.be/tMch9X6QDR8
Exiting Omori Station (120925)
http://youtu.be/EKhOQxSmf6w
Omori Walkabout (A) 大森散歩 (120925)
http://youtu.be/10Tgmf-NR2o
Omori Walkabout (B) Underground Bicycle Parking (120925)
http://youtu.be/DB-sEdVUlEM
Walking into Ginza 銀座に入る_有楽町から (120925)
http://youtu.be/fu2d8d614vE
Ginza Chuo-Dori Stroll 銀座中央通散歩 (120925)
http://youtu.be/PAWq-ByYf-w
Yurakucho Walk Towards SB (120925)
http://youtu.be/iz2Ryw1pZj4
Both Sides of Omori Station (120925)
http://youtu.be/EkCsOrIxBf8
Entering Omori Station (120925)
http://youtu.be/aoQDqQNelrQ
Omori to Oimachi 大森から大井町まで (京浜東北線) 120925
http://youtu.be/e7nN6EXeq-E
Exiting Oimachi Station at Lunchtime (120925)
http://youtu.be/8fcD0SNOcww
Oimachi Izakaya Alley Lunch (A) 大井町東小路飲食店街 (昼) 120925g
http://youtu.be/4yICqyu_7Qw
Much more activity at lunch than in the morning, but this area is geared more towards the evening crowd.
Oimachi Izakaya Alley Lunch (B) 大井町東小路飲食店街 (昼) 120925
http://youtu.be/hpD4tvFt_fQ
Oimachi to Tamachi 大井町から田町まで (京浜東北線) 120925
http://youtu.be/LbK4NVS_VAs
Tamachi to Hamamatsucho 田町から浜松町まで (京浜東北線) 120925
http://youtu.be/K2hJApEfxo4
Hamamatsucho (East Side, Near North Exit) 浜松町 (120925)
http://youtu.be/e7ioY23qBbM
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
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