blog-LyleInTokyo: June 2013

Another collection of things from this year (2013) and (over) two decades in the past - this time going back to 1990. Comparing my videos of 1990 and 1991, I think a simple way of putting it would be to say that I experienced more interesting times in 1990, but didn't do such a great job of recording them, because I was still getting used to using a motion-picture camera (after a lifetime of using only still cameras). For 1991, the reverse is true. I was experiencing less interesting times in my daily life in Tokyo, but I was much more practiced in recording moving images, so the 1991 material tends to be smoother than the 1990 material. All a long way of making excuses for the roughness of some of the 1990 material in this batch - all from June 1990.

Seibu to Tozai Transfer 西武線-東西線高田馬場駅 (130611)
http://youtu.be/hKXb2R8rNf8

Seibu to Tozai Transfer

Yurakucho Night Walkabout 夜雨有楽町の散策散歩 (130613)
http://youtu.be/HWEdz6iemlM

Walking through the yakitori izakaya area of Yurakucho in a light rain at night around closing time, with the last customers on the verge of going home.

夜雨有楽町の散策散歩

Yurakucho to Tokyo (Yamanote Line) 有楽町駅-東京駅 (山手線) 130613
http://youtu.be/37sVvVxpTxQ

有楽町駅-東京駅

Otemachi to Nihonbashi (Tozai Line) 大手町駅-日本橋駅 (東西線) 130611
http://youtu.be/rGKxLq9Xs6g

Nihonbashi to Kyobashi (Ginza Line) 日本橋駅-京橋駅 (銀座線) 130611
http://youtu.be/XSfJIER12z4

Tokyo to Kanda - Chuo Line at Night 東京駅-神田駅夜の中央線 (130611)
http://youtu.be/Z5_QyrFoYgI

Tokyo to Kanda

Tokyo - June 2001 (Camera Test, Etc) 新宿など (010600)
http://youtu.be/EPqKWxnZXDs

This video falls right between the 1990-93 analog material I took and resuming taking video on a regular basis from around 2007. I had a (rented) company camera for a few days in order to record some company events and I took some footage on the trains, etc. to familiarize myself with the camera. I decided to go ahead and post that as a record of the kind of features a 2001 digital tape camera had. Also, even if the screen effects are distracting in places, the audio track was unaffected by the visual changes, and has value in its own right.

From the 07:59 mark is a view of the many rails visible from the edge of the bridge across the street from the South Exit of Shinjuku Station. Since this was taken, they have built a huge platform over all of the rails and completion of a huge bus terminal (Boo! Hiss! Boo!) is nearing completion. Why am I booing? Because I hate to see them shutting down train lines on the one hand, and moving more and more to diesel engine buses on the other....

From around the 09:50 mark, is a scene inside a taxi. I'm glad I took this, as I (after having bad experiences with several taxi drivers in several countries) am nearly allergic to riding in taxis now, and very rarely do so. An acquaintance whose father is a taxi driver pointed out that their father had to put up with a lot of bad customers, and I don't doubt that that's very true, but I've never done anything rude or improper to taxi drivers myself, but have had way too many bad experiences with dishonest drivers, so even if they got/get that way via bad customers, it's not my fault. (And for the record, I and my two companions on this particular taxi ride didn't have any problems.)

From the 11:42 mark, are a few glimpses inside a Tokyo office.

Zojoji Temple Entrance in Rain 雨の増上寺入口360 (130613)
http://youtu.be/9OnTe18jDko

Hamamatsucho - Walking to Station in Rain 雨の浜松町駅辺り (130613)
http://youtu.be/sqqASUkfO88

Hamamatsucho Station Platform 浜松町駅ホームの雨様子 (130613)
http://youtu.be/Gb_op2MHWbM

Hamamatsucho to Yurakucho - Rain Cab View 浜松町駅-有楽町駅雨の中前向き (130613)
http://youtu.be/Y3LHqLqShvw

Looking out through the front cab at the scene ahead as the train makes its way along the line. The view of the wet railway and other trains passing is interesting (at least to me it is - hopefully it's also interesting for others).

Yurakucho Station - Platform to Exit 有楽町駅ホーム-出口雨の日 (130613)
http://youtu.be/STxeX5Zb6zs

雨の有楽町 Yurakucho in the Rain (130613)
http://youtu.be/8_eJV98nP5o

Yurakucho in the Rain

Yurakucho Plaza in the Rain 美しい夜雨の中の有楽町広場 (130613g)
http://youtu.be/TxZKV5UT51c

Yurakucho Plaza in the Rain

1990 Meguro Station (Morning) 朝の目黒駅辺り (900614)
http://youtu.be/xGZaMongfts

The railroad companies in Tokyo were still in the early stages of installing automatic ticket gates and so there were a mix of magnetic strip tickets and older types without the magnetic strip, so they had people by the new machines telling people to only use brown-backed (magnetic strip) tickets in them. The man with a bullhorn at the 00:29 mark is making just such an explanation about newly installed machines.

This video shows the typical atmosphere of central Tokyo in the morning - as commuters leave stations after their commute into town and march off to work in the surrounding areas.

朝の目黒駅辺り

At the 04:07 mark, is a view of the still above-ground Tokyu Line (Tokyu Meguro Line 東急目黒線 - I think. That's what it's called now). This has been moved underground and connected with the subway system.

朝の目黒駅辺り

After that I walk around the area for a bit - taking in the central Tokyo picture of buildings, cars, trucks, wide roads and narrow roads, etc.

1990 Shibuya Game Center 渋谷ゲームセンター (900614)
http://youtu.be/9Vm4Q-YwVwU

I haven't set foot in a game center for a while, so I'm not sure how much things have changed, but I suppose most (all?) of the games are different now - some 23 years later.

渋谷ゲームセンター

Tokyo to Kanda (Chuo Line) 東京駅-神田駅中央線 (130618)
http://youtu.be/p2ErVwAl430

東京駅-神田駅中央線

Street Musician by Shinjuku Station 新宿駅隣ストリートライブの一見 (130618)
http://youtu.be/J6eLyYHescI

新宿駅隣ストリートライブの一見

(Update) Route to Hotel Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku (130618)
http://youtu.be/cTBWW9KOuJo

Late Night Shinjuku Station - Waiting for a Train 新宿駅夜遅く (130618)
http://youtu.be/gJT2i4lbDeE

1990年六月の田町駅 Tamachi Station (900611)
http://youtu.be/FLUoSphNiAE

A number of changes have taken place to this station. One of the things that stands out to me in this one is the sound of the manual ticket punchers as I walk though the ticket gates.

1990年六月の田町駅

1990年の喫茶店と神田駅 Coffee Shop and Kanda Station (900611)
http://youtu.be/bhxVu39yXyU

The nighttime view of Kanda Station was recorded fairly smoothly - if you can get past the shaky first part at the coffee shop, etc....

1990年西武池袋線急行ひばりヶ丘駅-石神井公園駅 (900612)
http://youtu.be/YzrqMua2JJM

Riding an inbound express train on the Seibu-Ikebukuro Line from Hibarigaoka to Shakujikoen, looking out a left-side window as the train speeds along, and also glancing at the interior. It was past the morning rush, so since the rails weren't crowded with a maximum load of trains, it was moving along at pretty good speed.

1990年の石神井公園駅 Shakujikoen Station (900612)
http://youtu.be/uwynzrXxaWA

A look at the old Shakujikoen Station - with the rails still on the ground. The station has since been completely rebuilt and the rails elevated, so this is quite a time-trip for anyone who experienced the old station and got a bit of future shock when visiting again to find it completely changed. If I had known this version of the station was going to completely disappear, I would have recorded it in more detail, but still - you can see fairly well how it was constructed in this set of views taken on June 12th, 1990.

1990年の石神井公園駅

1990年の石神井町散歩 Shakujimachi (900612)
http://youtu.be/e4oCDSlgWBA

This is a pretty rough view, but I posted it as a record of June 12th, 1990 at this location. If this was a video of 2013, I wouldn't post it, but not everyone was walking around with video cameras in hand in 1990, so I figure there must be some value to it as a record of the time. (The camera I was using was hypersensitive to bright light, which is why so much of it is underexposed.... In later use of this camera I achieved slightly better results under similar conditions with the exposure set to manual.)

1990年の埼京線池袋駅-新宿駅 Ikebukuro to Shinjuku (Saikyo Line) 900612
http://youtu.be/UX8KLbpoDwE

1990年の埼京線池袋駅-新宿駅

1990年の新宿駅南口 Shinjuku Station South Exit Area (900612)
http://youtu.be/OTMOzicMKk0

1990年の新宿駅南口

1990 - Shinjuku at Night (East Side) 夜の新宿 (東口) 900612
http://youtu.be/rO8dhv6U3Lo

Starting near the South Exit of Shinjuku Station and then walking over to the east side of the station, including a quick look at the inside of the Dug Coffee Shop.

夜の新宿 (東口)

Seibu-Shinjuku Line (Right Side View) 西武新宿線右側の眺め (130618)
http://youtu.be/cUJkLa1VrFw

西武新宿線

Central Tokyo Alley 中央東京のある路地 (130618)
http://youtu.be/oUuieXDt39M

Deep Construction Hole in Ginza 銀座工事の深い穴 (130618)
http://youtu.be/3X9pzuau5kA

Something I wonder about when they dig down this deep, is that there must be ground water down there (remember how much rain Tokyo gets), so I guess they pump it out until the (very deep) foundation is completed. In a nearby construction project (also in Ginza) a few years ago, the sidewalk in front of a nearby building dropped about four or five centimeters! Presumably, as they pump out the water over an extended period of time, the ground dries out and collapses downward? In this video, you can see a square at the bottom with moving water in it. I have no idea what that is, but wouldn't be surprised if that is part of whatever system they have in place to drain groundwater away from the construction hole....

Garage Area of Hotel Seiyo Ginza ホテル西洋銀座の閉館 (130618)
http://youtu.be/wR49-OnDv98

1874 Kaleidoscope 1874年の万華鏡カレイドスコープ at Y's Arts Ginza (130618)
http://youtu.be/EPwxEUlmEuE

Yoshimura Sakao Exhibition at Gallery-403 吉村サカオギャラリー403 (130618)
http://youtu.be/6YY3KLfDqic

View of a stone sculpture art exhibition at Gallery-403 in the Ginza Okuno Building.

吉村サカオギャラリー403

Old Building in Kyobashi 京橋にある古い建物 (130618)
http://youtu.be/aNRmWzkTOd0

京橋にある古い建物

Twilight Edge of Kyobashi 夕暮れの京橋散策散歩 (130618)
http://youtu.be/gysoclJDtEI

Twilight Marunouchi-360 夕暮れ丸の内360度 (130618)
http://youtu.be/1_gqLwnC0vQ

夕暮れ丸の内360度

Kitte Marunouchi Walkabout キッテ丸の内夕暮れ散策 (130618)
http://youtu.be/36XQdBlP-aE

キッテ丸の内夕暮れ散策

Starting out on the street beside the former Central Post Office Building (the part remaining that is) and the new JP-Tower office tower that is integrated with the restaurant and shopping area called "Kitte" (which means stamp in Japanese... former post office... get it?). I walk in the main entrance, have a look at the large triangular atrium, and then head to the rooftop garden via the escalators - stopping on each floor to have a look at the atrium.

Up on the roof, I walk around and check out the spectacular view of the Marunouchi district, including an angled view of the old (recently rebuilt/refurbished) Tokyo Station. The view of Tokyo Station is impressive for two significant reasons: 1) The former Central Post Office roof is much closer to the Tokyo Station Building than similar observation areas in the Marunouchi and Shin-Marunouchi buildings, and 2) The angled view of the station building emphasizes its size and gives you an idea of how impressive it must have seemed when it was new - when it was the largest structure in the area.

キッテ丸の内夕暮れ散策

Hamamatsucho to Yurakucho (Yamanote Line) 浜松町駅-有楽町駅山手線 (130620)
http://youtu.be/79xMIZe03Ao

The next three videos are of the band Kiki (from Kumamoto in Kyushu) performing live in Hamamatsucho in an interesting space that is open to the street, but under a building, so it's usable in all weather. (It's basically a section of the first floor of the building - with the section having no outside walls. They promote the event as "live on the street", but it's actually a slightly different category than that. The space belongs to the building, and isn't technically part of the street, although you can walk straight onto it from the street.

Kiki (1-2) Live in Hamamatsucho - Kiki浜松町のライブ (130620)
http://youtu.be/Zr4gDNxzI1c

Kiki (2-2) Live in Hamamatsucho - Kiki浜松町のライブ (130620)
http://youtu.be/W1KzGAiLteI

Kiki (2-5) Live in Hamamatsucho - Kiki浜松町のライブ (Jellyfish) 130620
http://youtu.be/FLRkU6NK7mQ

Nishi-Ogikubo Station Platform 西荻窪駅のホーム (130620)
http://youtu.be/fTy7j3zcWWk

Looking around from a platform at Nishi-Ogikubo Station while waiting for a train to arrive.

西荻窪駅-中野駅 (中央線) Nishi-Ogikubo to Nakano (Chuo Line) 130620
http://youtu.be/3o9v27NNc8M

工事中の神田駅 Kanda Station Under Construction (130620)
http://youtu.be/1zW-L0DBBhI

At one point I had thought the construction work at Kanda was nearing completion, but the only part that appears to be finalized is the one escalator and passageway on the east side of the station. In this video, it's pretty obvious that the ongoing construction is quite extensive. It's hard to imagine what the final shape of the station will be, but that it will be very different than now is for sure!

Hamamatsucho Evening Rain 夕方浜松町の雨 (130620)
http://youtu.be/veOg8aMaIvM

1990 Shibuya to Nagatacho 渋谷駅-永田町駅半蔵門線 (900615)
http://youtu.be/vT5zVHt68js

渋谷駅-永田町駅

Starting at street level in Shibuya and then walking down three levels below ground and getting on a Hanzomon Line (半蔵門線) train and riding to Nagatacho Station (永田町駅), where I go past hundreds of schoolgirls going in the other direction as I exit the station. Either there was some kind of school trip or there's a girl's high school in the area? I'm not sure which or what, but there were a *lot* of high school girls going in the other direction.

Jumping back to the middle of the video, where I'm looking up and down the long escalator; Nagatacho used to be famous for being deep underground (until the Oedo Line was built - which is even deeper in places), and so I found the loooonnng escalator quite interesting....

1990 永田町駅-三越前駅半蔵門線 Nagatacho to Mitsukoshi-mae (900615)
http://youtu.be/xQpzv0vHEH8

The title sounds like this is just a ride from one station to another, but I walk around in the Nagatacho Station area for a while before going back underground and taking a train further down the line. (More views on the long escalator... I'm surprised now that that seemed *that* interesting to me back then...)

1990 Marunouchi Line to Ikebukuro, Etc. 古い丸ノ内線池袋駅へ (900615)
http://youtu.be/fGRmcnLTpyM

A brief view of the inside of an old-type Marunouchi Line train, followed by transferring to the Seibu Line at Ikebukuro Station.

古い丸ノ内線

1990 Shibuya Walkabout 渋谷散策散歩 (900615)
http://youtu.be/H35rqBg4_TU

In brief: Walking about in Shibuya, having a fairly detailed look at the side streets, etc. on both sides of the station.

In a little more detail, let me point out a few more things. At a couple of places in the video, one of the old all-orange Ginza Line trains goes by on the Ginza Line's one overhead section (it's a subway after all). (They were already phasing in the next generation of trains, but several of the old trains were still in use.)

At the 09:56 mark, I walk into a squeaky-new department store and look around for a while, including a fairly long look inside a bookstore - which was a bit more crowded than bookstores are now, what with people reading things on-line and via electronic devices instead of on paper. Back out on the street at 14:42, I head over towards the other side of the station.

At the 15:48 mark, I walk through the first floor area of an old building (which building I'm not sure exactly, but not far from the old Tokyu Building - with the planetarium at the top - that was later torn down to make way for a new high-rise). Looking at this now, that space looks like it was from 50 years ago or something, but it's only been 23 years (which is still a lot I guess...).

From about the 19:52 mark, I go three levels down and board a subway headed further into central Tokyo (see "1990 Shibuya to Nagatacho 渋谷駅-永田町駅半蔵門線 (900615)").

1990 Early Morning Suburbia Walkabout (900616)
http://youtu.be/bu_ItckGyqk

1990 Hibarigaoka to Gaienmae ひばりヶ丘駅-外苑前駅 (900616)
http://youtu.be/wOq4DnOmzAM

This one is a little hard to follow, as I'm on a Seibu-Ikebukuro Line train, and then suddenly I'm on a Yamanote Line train, and after just a few seconds shown on the second train, I get off at Shibuya Station and transfer to a Ginza Line train (one of the old all-orange ones), which I take to Gaienmae Station. After climbing up to street level, I walk around in that area for a while.

ひばりヶ丘駅-外苑前駅

外苑前駅

1990 Tokyo Bubble-Era Party (900616)
http://youtu.be/WEXZG7VUs6k

At the time, I didn't think about it much, but in looking at this now, I can't help but think "Ah... to be young and care-free!", but of course I'm forgetting that I was not "carefree" then - it's just that the things being worried about were different. That it was (overall) a more optimistic time is true enough though.

1990 Taxi - Somewhere - Taxi - Shibuya - 東京バブルの夜 (900616)
http://youtu.be/YHLT5XMK4pA

After a party, I went with a few of the party-goers (by taxi) to another place, spent some time there, and then took a taxi (with the same party-goers) to Shibuya Station. No big deal, but a piece of the bubble years and something of the atmosphere of the time is within the video (mainly in the sound track).