Sunday, July 13, 2014

1991 Ikebukuro, Asakusa Hozuki-ichi Festival, Hibarigaoka, Etc.; 2014 Shinjuku と Shibuya, etc.

This batch of videos starts off with an hour-long visit to July 10th, 1991 Sensoji Temple in Asakusa, which was a festival day and very crowded.  Other 1991 views are of Ueno, Ikebukuro, and Hibarigaoka, with an interesting (I think) walk through a popular (and very crowded) stand-as-you-eat place within Ikebukuro Station (but on the outside of the ticket gates, not the inside, as is the current development model).
Coming back to the present year, 2014, are just a few videos - all Tokyo rail system views.  Personally, I think the view (and sounds) of the construction project taking place right next to the Saikyo Line platform is interesting, particularly the combination of sounds from the construction site mixed with typical Tokyo train station sounds.

1991年 浅草寺のほおずき市 Asakusa Hozuki-ichi Matsuri 910710
http://youtu.be/gQmttlLR8t4
This is just over an hour long, so I imagine most people won't even get to the interesting parts.  Okay - I better explain something related to that comment.  I personally find it really irritating when books are written with opening lines like "I paused before opening the door - wondering if the assassin would be waiting on the other side..." with the intent of getting you interested, and then jump back to ordinary times - leaving you with the "Yeah?!  Yeah?!  And *then* what happened?!!" feeling which was put there to, a) make you buy the book and, b) keep you reading.  Part of that irritation is that it conditions people to have zero patience.  If they're not excited in ten seconds, off they go in search of cheap thrills elsewhere....
Okay - rant over!  I bring that up, because there are historically interesting elements to this hour-long video.  And - if nothing else - the (fairly lengthy) part within the temple is interesting since they they didn't have at the time, but have now, a strict "no photography" rule.  I and others were taking video in 1991 and there didn't seem to be any problem with that.  In any event, it's something you can't do now, so it might be interesting to see (and hear) for that reason alone.  The sound is very important, and I strongly recommend watching it with a good pair of headphones with the sound at a properly loud level (to simulate the volume of the original sound), so you can get the (in digital stereo by the way) full effect of the money raining into the collection box as an endless river of thousands flowed through the temple, throwing the money over other people's heads.  It was quite an experience, and that is conveyed almost exclusively through the sound.
A technical note - you may be wondering about the sound being digital since the video was analog.  The video was indeed analog, but the sound was digital, called by Sony (at the time) "PCM audio", with the "PCM" standing for "Pulse Code Modulated".  Looking up "PCM audio" on-line, I find this definition (from Wikipedia):
   "Pulse-code modulation (PCM) is a method used to digitally represent sampled analog signals. It is the standard form of digital audio in computers, Compact Discs, digital telephony and other digital audio applications."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulse-code_modulation
Asakusa / 1991年の浅草
Asakusa / 1991年の浅草
Asakusa / 1991年の浅草
Asakusa / 1991年の浅草
Asakusa / 1991年の浅草
Asakusa / 1991年の浅草
Asakusa / 1991年の浅草
Asakusa / 1991年の浅草
Asakusa / 1991年の浅草
Asakusa / 1991年の浅草
1991 池袋駅-ひばりヶ丘駅 西武池袋線 Ikebukuro to Hibarigaoka - Seibu Line 910710
http://youtu.be/KKDQbYDH79U

1991 ひばりが丘工事など Construction Zone in Hibarigaoka Etc 910710
http://youtu.be/pAeIsCVMOIU
This includes a good look at the empty ground under construction that was to became the Parco (department store) and an apartment building (on the side of the building by the railway).

1991 Walking to Hibarigaoka Station ひばりヶ丘駅までの散歩 910711
http://youtu.be/eyHSwu9bex4

1991 五反田駅-池袋駅 山手線 Gotanda to Ikebukuro - Yamanote Line 910708
http://youtu.be/-UBzwX6TEhA
1991 池袋東口散歩 Ikebukuro East Side Walkabout 910708
http://youtu.be/_RaQSc0ho1w
Ikebukuro / 池袋
Ikebukuro / 池袋
Ikebukuro Bungeiza / 池袋 文芸坐
Ikebukuro / 池袋
1991 池袋駅-ひばりヶ丘駅 西武池袋線 Ikebukuro to Hibarigaoka - Seibu Line 910708
http://youtu.be/s42O7vS-evM
1991 ひばりヶ丘駅辺りの散歩 Hibarigaoka Station Area 910708
http://youtu.be/7kYNdLfu_nA
1991年のひばりヶ丘駅辺り
1991年のひばりヶ丘駅辺り
1991 ひばりヶ丘駅-池袋駅 西武池袋線 Hibarigaoka to Ikebukuro - Seibu Line 910710
http://youtu.be/Sronixt6gjA
Hibarigaoka / ひばりヶ丘駅
Hibarigaoka / ひばりヶ丘駅
Hibarigaoka / ひばりヶ丘駅
1991 池袋散策散歩 Ikebukuro Short Walkabout 910710
http://youtu.be/aXmqskb7gKU

1991 池袋駅の平日お昼 Lunchtime in Ikebukuro 910710
http://youtu.be/CUHadoJ3HkQ
A fairly detailed look at some side streets in Ikebukuro during the peak of the lunch hour.

1991 池袋駅-上野駅 山手線 Ikebukuro to Ueno - Yamanote Line 910710
http://youtu.be/ixleLdNP0Is

1991 上野駅の平日お昼 Lunchtime in Ueno Station 910710
http://youtu.be/LP866QSlpy0
A little off-peak, but still this captures some of the lunchtime atmosphere of Ueno Station.
1991 上野駅-浅草駅 銀座線 Ueno to Asakusa - Ginza Line 910710
http://youtu.be/b-tc3Q1ZB78

1991 浅草駅-池袋駅 銀座線と山手線 Asakusa to Ikebukuro 910710
http://youtu.be/4tQ4KSqbc3M

1991 池袋東口午後散歩 Ikebukuro Evening East Side Short Walkabout 910710n
http://youtu.be/KJ5X_o1gC2c

新宿駅隣工事現場 Construction by Shinjuku Station 140703
http://youtu.be/jyE-1t8HUxo

Walking around on the Saikyo Line platform while waiting for a train - looking at the ongoing construction next to the station, as well as trains coming and going, and listening to the various sounds of everything.

新宿駅-渋谷駅 埼京線-臨海線直通 Shinjuku to Shibuya - Saikyo-Rinkai Line 140703
http://youtu.be/C0O59sE_bIU
Watch this closely as the train comes into Shibuya Station and you can see the last remains of the Tokyu Department Store they have demolished on the east side of the station.  A little past that, you can see the last remnants of the bridge over the roadway that used to support the overhead platforms of Tokyu-Shibuya Station.... which is kind of depressing to see, as I always liked that station.
渋谷駅-大崎駅 埼京線-臨海線直通 Shibuya to Osaki - FC View - Rinkai Line 140703
http://youtu.be/E-Y7iDpDssg
Untitled-00001 140703
http://youtu.be/OJ-mF_6W8nA

I couldn't decide what to call this one, so I just called it "Untitled".  It shows the situation near one of the ticket gates at Osaki Station when the Yamanote Line was delayed.

大崎駅の夜ホームの様子 Osaki Station - Waiting for a Train 140703
http://youtu.be/7XhU6eld1vE

Departing Osaki Station 大崎駅から出発 140703
http://youtu.be/OJLobJRDlnY

Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://lylehsaxon.blogspot.jp/
http://lookback1997.blogspot.jp/
http://tokyoht.blogspot.jp/

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