"Ginza Okuno Building Details (July 20th 2010)"

There are a lot of details to the Okuno Building (奥野ビル), and I'm still working on fitting the pieces together.  In the meantime, here are some details I've learned about the building that I've decided to go ahead and put on-line, in case someone is interested in learning about this interesting building in Ginza 1-chome.  (The date in the title for this post is unfortunate, as I keep updating this, but it can't be changed unless I delete this post and repost it as a new post, and I don't want to break links, etc., so I'm leaving it as it is.) - LHS

Built in two stages, construction of the left half of the building was from April 3rd, 1931, until April 15th, 1932, and construction of the right half of the building was from February 2nd, 1933, until January 22nd, 1934.  It is internally joined and not immediately identifiable as two buildings joined to become one - although one sinking slightly relative to the other has made it easier to tell with the telltale crack that identifies everywhere the two buildings were originally (seamlessly) joined.

The building began life as 銀座アパートメント (Ginza Apartments), a luxury apartment building with steam heat and a telephone in every room, a sento in the basement, beds that folded down from the walls, a "danwashitsu" (lounge) on the 6th floor, an elevator (still with manually operated doors today) and by one report I've heard, a club on the 7th floor (but a more plausible explanation I've heard of that old room - now used as an office - is that it was a laundry room).  From different sources, I've heard it said that two different rooms on the 7th floor were the lounge, but I think neither.  One was the laundry room, and I think the other was used by the owner of the building as a place to stay in Ginza - a kind of second house.

The man who had the building constructed lived and worked on the land until the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, when the buildings in the area were destroyed by fire.  He moved his residence and business down to Oimachi and then - several years later - had the Ginza Apartments building (current Okuno Building) constructed.  So - while I haven't found any strong evidence to prove the idea, I think he kept the rooms at the back of the seventh floor in the 1932 building for family use.  Certainly that's what I would have done.  When (if?) I find solid evidence to prove this theory, I'll post it here.  In the meantime, one piece of evidence is the old piping (on the seventh floor).  While all of the rooms had running water, none of them had bathrooms, which that piping seems to suggest the rear seventh floor room did have.

There's a lot of history in that building, so it's difficult to pick a starting place.  But since the 7th floor is controversial, I'll start with that.

Having had several very close looks at the seventh floor (from both inside and outside), I think it's very clear that the elevator tower and a section at the back of the building were part of the original structure.  This is an issue, because there is a new section on the front side of the building that was obviously added later, and most people I've talked with seem to see the new 7th floor section sitting on top of the sixth floor (as seen from the front of the building), and assume that the entire seventh floor was added later.  If you closely observe the details of the structure however, you can see that this is highly unlikely (I'll go further and say it's impossible).  The rear part was seven-stories high, and you could take the elevator up to the seventh floor and then - after opening a door next to the elevator - walk out onto the roof of the sixth floor, where there was a kind of rooftop garden.  (There is obvious physical evidence for this from both inside the building and outside, when looking at the building from the rear - which is nearly impossible now due to new construction on that side, but there are photographs).

In fact, there's a ladder that leads up to what is effectively the 8th floor, where the water tanks (both the rusted out and no-longer-used original pair, and a newer pair) and (now disused) TV antennas are.

Dropping down to the basement, another unique aspect of the building must be explained.  The building is striking with two internal staircases with (now always open) windows between them.  The current building was built in two halves, with (from the standpoint of facing the building) the left side built first (1931-32), and then the right half built afterward (1933-34).  The internal hallway is joined, so it's not overly obvious that the structure is in fact two buildings, but once you understand that it is, and pay attention to details, it's fairly obvious.

(And it's becoming more obvious since the foundation was damaged by construction of the large building to the side and behind the Okuno Building, with the two halves of the Okuno Building now separating - creating very obvious cracks all the way through the building where the two halves were joined some 78 years ago and have begun to come apart in conjunction with the very deep and very large hole that was dug for the construction of the new building next door.)

I bring all of this up, because there are two separate basements.  And again there is controversy regarding the sento (bath), with some people thinking that there was a sento in each of the basements, and some thinking it was only in the right side basement.  To ponder this, let's look at what can be observed in the current state of the building.

The left side building, which is where the single elevator is, has a well.  This well had fresh-looking, clear water up to the top of a 1.2-meter-deep square hole (in the floor of the well room) up until a construction company working on a site immediately behind and on the left side of the Okuno Building, dug out a huge three-story deep foundation for the monstrosity being put up (still under construction as I write this in May of 2010 - [Completed as I edit this in early 2011]).  As the gigantic and very deep hole in the ground sat there in the open air, I think they pumped out ground water - so much so in fact, that the sidewalk in front of the Okuno Building and the building on the corner (with a Doutor Coffee Shop on the first floor) sank about two centimeters, many new cracks appeared within the Okuno Building, and the well water level began to drop.

There are three motors with pumps in the well room [2012 update: All three old pumps were removed and a new one installed at the end of 2011], so it appears water was pumped out of the well and then used... how?  Originally possibly for all the water use in the building, but more recently... for the toilets maybe?  Or maybe not used, but just maintained since it was functional equipment?  In any case, the construction of the monster new building behind the Okuno Building not only partially dried out the well, but damaged the foundation of the Okuno Building.  [2011/04/01 - Further investigation indicates that the water level is natural and is self-filling - to be (formerly) pumped out for whatever use.  On March 12th, 2011, the day after the 9.0 earthquake (around 5 in Tokyo apparently, which still seemed rather strong), the water level dropped way down, and a few days after that, I observed water trickling back into the well and it's now back to the level it was at before the March 11th, 2011 earthquake.]

But that irritating recent history aside - looking back at the original function of the left side basement, it's likely that the well water was used at least for the building's sento and its steam heat.  Drinking water (each room had/has its own sink with running water) I'm not so sure about.  Probably that came from the city water mains?

The rooms themselves are not very large - most have what would be maybe six tatami mats?  (I'll try to bring a tape measure and measure one of the rooms sometime for a precise figure.)  Looking at the front of the building, the original left-side building had (per floor) four rooms across (several of which have had the side walls knocked out to make double-sized rooms, or a door put in-between, with one side an art gallery, and the other an office for the art gallery), and the right-side building had two of the front rooms made the same size as the left-side building, and one double-sized room, so there were three rooms across at the front of the building.

The left-side building has a slightly longer depth than the right, and had/has three rooms along the left side (as seen after entering the building), with a restroom at the very back.  The right-side building had/has two rooms along the right side of the building (as seen from inside the building), and had (not has) a restroom at the end of the hall on the right.  They have since smashed out the walls between the right-side building restroom, removed all the plumbing, and made the room at the rear larger.

So - as far as I can tell, there were seven rooms per floor in the left-side building, and five per floor in the right-side building.  With the danwashitsu (lounge) on the sixth floor taking up the space of two rooms, I think there were 58 rooms from the 2nd to the 6th floors.  The first floor appears to have been used by businesses, and didn't have residents (although I imagine a building manager probably lived in one of the rooms at the back of the first floor, in the left-side building).  A large commercial space at the front of the 1934 building has an internal connecting door that led (since blocked off) to a room that may have been lived in - which was a popular way for many small businesses to operate - living either behind or over the work space.

The rooms on the far ends of the connected hallway have angled hinged doors, and the doors of the rooms in the middle are sliding doors.  All original doors (many have unfortunately been changed) are of solid, heavy wood, with glass panes and open-able air vents.

The last tenant to live in the building was named Yoshiko/Yoshi Suda (some of the official certificates the 306-Project have found indicate her first name as "Yoshi" and then - in later documents - as "Yoshiko"), who lived in room 306 (where I am typing this sentence) until the beginning of 2009, when she died at the age of 100.  Apparently, she was one of the original tenants when the building was new in 1932 [2011/04/01 - Actually 1934, since room 306 is in the 1934 building], and she rented three rooms - one (306) for her business (a beauty salon), one to live in, and one for guests.  When she quit working in the 1980's, she gave up the other two rooms and moved into room 306, where she lived the rest of her life.

One story I heard that I'm fairly certain is not true, was from a current gallery owner who said the man who was renting the space next to her used to live there.  Apparently he told her that the river that used to run in front of the Okuno Building was so close, that he could fish in it from his fifth story window.  Assuming that the river was right in front of the building, this would almost be possible, but from talking with another former tenant (directly) and hearing other accounts, it seems that there was a street in front of the building, with two-story wooden izakaya on the other side of the street, and with the river on the other side of the izakaya.

[2010/07/20]: I have since discovered an old postcard with an aerial view of Ginza that very clearly shows the river.  The buildings on the other side of the street from the Okuno Building were quite narrow, so it just might have been possible, although it still seems unlikely.

During WW-II, when Tokyo was fire-bombed, there was some fire damage to the rear of the building, but not the front, with internal steel fire doors apparently helping to protect the side away from the fire-damaged side.

Originally the building was an exclusive ultra-modern building, and (according to what Ms. Suda told one of the third-floor gallery owners), when she moved into the building, only about half the rooms were occupied (since they were fairly expensive to rent).

During the war, most of Tokyo was fire-bombed and burned to the ground, at which time the tenants of the Okuno Building must have felt very lucky - living in a solid concrete building.

Speaking with a tenant who moved into the building in 1952 when she married (a time when housing was still in short supply and the building was completely full), she said that there was one family of four she knew of living in one of the rooms.  In her case, she and her husband were renting three rooms for their family and business.  It's a little hard to imagine a family of four living in one of those small rooms now, but looking at pictures of Tokyo from that time frame, and reading accounts of how things were, it isn't hard to imagine even the family of four living in one room feeling fortunate to have a room at all, and in Ginza, the most fashionable area of the city (and with more concrete buildings that survived the fire-bombing of Tokyo than other areas).

I haven't found anyone who knows at exactly what point the building owners stopping allowing new residence tenants in and only allowed in commercial renters (first as office space and recently as gallery space), but in any case, that transition is complete, now that the final tenant, Ms. Suda, has died.  As I sit here writing this in the space she used for some 77 years, there is a definitely a feeling of history in the air, and - once again - I find myself wishing I could talk to Ms. Suda about the full history of this building, which she alone experienced.  (And - naturally - it would be very interesting to hear about the eras she lived in/through; WW-I, WW-II, the immediate post-war period, the booming economy years, etc. etc.)

In talking with the former residence-tenant (and current gallery-tenant, who I'll refer to as FT2 - Former-Tenant-2) who moved into the building in 1952, several interesting details surfaced [June 2011 Note: Ms. Ishii died in spring, 2011, but her son is carrying on with Ishii Gallery (Room 206), although the office (Room-208) was closed and is now a French antique shop.]

[From interview I had with Ms. Ishii.]:
There was no meter for the electricity!  Electricity was just part of the monthly rent.  Thinking of electric heaters and whatnot, this might seem strange, but remember that the building had steam heat in all the rooms when it was new, and non-heat use probably didn't burn all that much power.  By the 1950's though, when FT2 moved in, electricity use was up and the fuses often blew.

Another issue in the immediate postwar period was the plumbing.  There were some issues with water leaking from one apartment to another (every room had/has its own sink with running water), and the restroom that FT2's family used (communal per building, per floor) didn't flush on its own, so they had to take a bucket of water from their apartment to flush it each time.

As there began to be fewer resident tenants in the building, and more businesses, it was decided to remove the restroom in the right-side building, and have everyone use the communal restrooms on each floor of the the left-side building (remember that - functionally, the Okuno Building is one building, but structurally, the left side was built as an independent building first, and then the right side, and then they were internally joined).  This suddenly explained something I'd been puzzling over for about 18 months!

Every time I visited a gallery in RSB (Right Side Building) that was located at the rear of the building, I had puzzled over the ceiling, which had cut off pipes and the remains of a smashed out concrete wall.  After talking with FT2, I immediately rushed upstairs to the 5th floor gallery and took another look at the ceiling.  Suddenly I could see what those pipes were about!  Taking a new look at the removed walls, and noting that the door frame to the room was different from the other rooms (as was each rear room door frame in the building), and this evening (June 16th, 2010), I spoke with a man who has had an exhibition in the 5th floor RB and was helping out there today, and he told me that a few weeks ago, while he was there, an old man visited the gallery who used to live there.

As I had suspected, the restroom door was right on the hallway, and the door to the room next to the restroom was recessed about a meter, with a hallway that led back to the room which was behind the RB restroom.

Now that the RB restrooms are no more, their former space has been added to the room at the back to make for a larger room.

That's fine, except that, while the restrooms were co-use (for male and female) until only  few months ago, now that they've made half of them men's restrooms and half women's, if your gender is on the wrong floor, you find yourself forever having to hike up and down the stairs.  Too bad they didn't keep both the LB and RB restrooms and make one a men's room and the other a women's room....

There was a row of two-story wooden izakaya across the street from the Okuno Building, and just behind the izakaya, a river (the river has since either been put underground or rerouted).  FT2 said that it was sometimes interesting to watch the goings on across the street from her family's apartment window.

There used to be a row of nice trees on the street, giving it a nicer atmosphere than now (there are currently some small trees on the the other side of the street, but not on the side of the street the Okuno Building is on.  Apparently it was known as "Ginza no Matsushima" (a term I wasn't aware of, but have been told means "The nicest area of something" - in this case Ginza).


Notes: 

There was a laundry service in the building?  Or someone on the roof who was in change of... of... how clothing was hung to dry, etc.(?)

The current antique shop was a pearl shop before (as one space, not two).

The far right ground floor space was used by a lawyer.

The boiler lost parts in the war and the sento was not used post-war.  Tenants used a public bath in another part of Ginza.

FT has no recollection of steam heat or radiators.  Probably the building's radiators and boiler were requisitioned during the war for scrap metal.

FT's husband had lived in the building since it was new, and in the postwar era, referred to how the building had become as a slum.

Laundry was hung on poles from the fire escape and the up on the roof.

Ice-based refrigerator.  FT's husband liked to drink cool beer, so they had an ice box with a delivery of ice once a week, that would be left in the hallway outside their door if they weren't home when the delivery came.

Other tenants:

 - Typing service.  Taking hand-written material from offices and typing it up (English? Japanese? Both?)

 - Shamisen teacher.  Tenants enjoyed hearing the music.

 - [Boston Shoes?]

The current Doutor coffee shop was a glass shop (as in window glass).

The stairs used to have red carpeting.  Possibly also the hallways, although that's not certain.

Visual evidence and building usage contemplation would suggest that the original owner of the building lived in (as a second residence I think) the left-side building on the 7th floor, which occupied the rear half of the first building (the current configuration includes a newly added second half on the 7th floor on the front of the building).

     Due to damage to the foundation caused by construction of the new building next to the Okuno Building, there is a water leak problem with the left-side basement room at the front of the building, next to the well/pump room.
     It appears that the contractors of the new building next door are shirking their rightful responsibility to repair the damage they caused, so that room may become unusable (unless the tenant doesn't mind water leaking into the room from time to time...).
     A photo exhibit at Shashin Ginko (the current tenant [July 2010]) was ruined by a recent water leak, as you can see here:
Polaroid Exhibit in Water (水の中のポラロイド) at Shashin Ginko (写真銀行)

I started a new (Japanese language) blog devoted to the Okuno Building, entitled: 奥野ビル.  The website for it is here:
http://ginzaokuno.blogspot.com/

[2011/01/28] - I knew that old buildings from around the era that the Okuno Building was built had telephone switchboards, but that detail had not jumped out of my memory until I met a tenant who told me that his room in the Okuno Building used to be the telephone switchboard room for the Okuno Building.  I had a look inside and it's quite a nice room now - with no trace of its former function as a switchboard room that I could see.

Other details... I've found what appear to be original cupboards in two rooms; one of the rooms having cupboards with wooden doors that pull out (with no glass), and the other with glass paned sliding doors that look a bit nicer.

What else - the confusion continues regarding whether the seventh floor existed or not until a couple of decades ago.  Unfortunately, a large number of people I talk to don't understand that the rear part of the building had a seventh floor from the very beginning.  I'm searching for photos of the building when it was new - does anyone have some or know where I can find them?

[2012/03/03] - I walked through each of the buildings narrating a video as I walked - making a simple tour of the entire structure (if you put the two together):

Okuno Building Tour - 1932 Building - (120207)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwKjktbtbLU

Okuno Building Tour - 1934 Building - (120207)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxMste12d38

I also did a walk-through in the building recording the historical and fascinating time-worn floors:

Historical Floors - Ginza Okuno Building - (120214)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qOPUnRNhRQ

Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon

http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/

http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon

http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/

Buildings in Ginza (Sealed Boxes vs. Fully Ventilated)

Modern buildings can look interesting from outside - slick, polished-looking boxes sitting neatly reaching skyward.  Being able to see out is definitely nice, but when you can't upon the windows, it's kind of like being in a fishbowl.

This strangely shaped (built around other buildings) structure is to be a furniture showroom I hear... which is why there seem to be few windows I guess.  Sunlight isn't good for furniture and why put in windows if you don't need them(?)...?

And here is the 1932 Okuno Building, built with every single window open-able - and it shows.  The building looks more like a living, breathing thing.

Can't we get back to building structures that are comfortable to be in, that allow for air flow and don't require people to be like goldfish in someone's fish bowl?

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

"Takadanobaba, Yurakucho, Chuo Line, Sobu Line, Yotsuya, etc."

Scenes from on and around several trains lines - including the Seibu-Shinjuku, Tozai, Ginza, Chuo, Yamanote, and Sobu Lines.  Places visited include Takadanobaba, Ginza, Yurakucho, Shinjuku, Ebisu and Yotsuya.  A good batch for train and in-motion fans.  There are street scenes in Yurakucho and Shinjuku, and one view of an art exhibition/installation (in Ginza).

"Takadanobaba - Seibu to Tozai" (100713Tu-1442)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9CfpF0yhfw

Riding into Takadanobaba Station on a Seibu-Shinjuku Line train, and then transferring to a Tozai (subway) line train.

高田馬場駅で、西武新宿線から地下鉄東西線までの乗り換え  東京

"Tozai Line Arriving at Takadanobaba Station" (100713Tu-1448)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0n2LTKY1tPo

Watching a Tozai Line subway train arrive at Takadanobaba Station and then climbing aboard.  (Some of these trains seamlessly connect with the Chuo Line at Nakano.)

高田馬場駅で、地下鉄東西線が遣って来る  東京

"Boarding Ginza Line at Nihonbashi" (100713Tu-1505)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHLl5wNgjnM

Watching a Ginza Line train arrive at Nihonbashi Station, and then boarding the train.

日本橋駅で銀座線を乗ります  東京

"Under-Stairs Vibrations..." (100713Tu-1718)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8jlrFSmWU0

Humming at vibration-producing frequencies in space under staircase.

階段下の音響く  東京

"Mogi Tatsuji (茂木達二展) Exhibit at Nabis Gallery (なびす画廊) - Video" (100713Tu-1802)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTy7hL28-DI

Walking around and exploring various angles at Mogi Tatsuji's exhibition in Ginza at Nabis Gallery.

なびす画廊で、茂木達二の展示会  東京

"Evening Yurakucho Plaza - July 2010" (100713Tu-1816)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TudzO2ulIWU

Watching passing Shinkansen trains and people in the plaza in front of Yurakucho Station.

夕方有楽町広場、2010年7月  東京

"Sidewalk Stroll in Yurakucho" (100713Tu-1817)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmu3aGyrjzc

As trains rumble into overhead Yurakucho Station, I stroll down an evening sidewalk near the Denki Building.

夕方有楽町の散歩、2010年7月  東京

"Evening Yamanote Line - Yurakucho to Tokyo" (100713Tu-1835)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfokvK--jkY

Riding an evening Yamanote Line train from Yurakucho to Tokyo Station, where I get off for a transfer.

夕方山手線 - 有楽町駅から、東京駅まで  東京

"Evening Chuo Line - Tokyo to Kanda" (100713Tu-1840)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yEoStz1G7c

Riding an evening Chuo Line train from Tokyo Station to Kanda Station.  As this stretch is parallel to several other lines, there are views of other trains going by - including the Yamanote Line and a Shinkansen train.

夕方中央線の窓ビュー、東京駅から、神田駅まで  東京

"Evening Chuo Line - Kanda to Ochanomizu" (100713Tu-1842)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mn7NajzKqJI

Riding an evening Chuo Line train from Kanda Station to Ochanomizu Station - while looking out a right side window at the passing scenery.

夕方中央線の窓ビュー、神田駅から、御茶ノ水駅まで  東京

"Evening Chuo Line - Partway to Yotsuya (from Ochanomizu)" (100713Tu-1844)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27PhJKF_rB0

Riding an evening Chuo Line train most of the way towards Yotsuya from Ochanomizu.

The train stopped before arriving at Yotsuya Station.  Apparently someone pushed a platform emergency stop button in Shinjuku - which threw all the trains off schedule.  From what I've seen - 999 times out a 1000 - when someone presses one of the emergency stop buttons, it's for some frivolous reason and not for an actual emergency.  It could be said that one single instance of the button being pushed in an emergency is worth 999 frivolous pushes, but it could also be said that everyone staying home and off the trains and roads altogether would save lives....

夕方中央線の窓ビュー、御茶ノ水駅から、四谷駅の近くまで  東京

"Shinjuku Station Chuo Line Platform Walk" (100713Tu-1856)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAaxk79hz00

Beginning just as the Chuo Line train I'm on pulls into Shinjuku Station, and ending after walking down the platform as it unloads, loads, and proceeds on its outbound run.

新宿駅中央線プラットフォーム散歩  東京

"Shinjuku Station Doutor Coffee Shop" (100713Tu-1859)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNNGzw2RFME

A brief look inside the Doutor Coffee Shop that's within Shinjuku Station on the upper lever near the South Exit.

新宿駅の中のドトールコーヒー店の中  東京

"Exiting Shinjuku Station Via South Exit" (100713Tu-1911)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umcBo4Vcyow

Walking through Shinjuku Station, exiting via the South Exit ticket gates and then heading downhill towards Nishi-Shinjuku.

新宿駅の南口から駅を出る  東京

"Crossing Street in Shinjuku - Nishi-Shinjuku Bound" (100713Tu-1913)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-l0FHsSi-JA

As a pedestrian walk signal turns green, I walk across the crosswalk and into a group of people going the other way - likely to Shinjuku Station.

新宿駅南口の近くの横断歩道を渉る  東京

"Shinjuku - Waiting for Yamanote Line" (100713Tu-2143)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNvFyi5MKUY

Looking around on a platform in Shinjuku Station while waiting for the next Yamanote Line train to arrive.

You get spoiled with the Yamanote Line - so even one minute feels like a long time to wait.  What seems normal is that the train is there as you arrive on the platform - seemingly waiting for you.  Having to wait for the train to arrive seems strange.

新宿駅の山手線プラットフォームで次の山手線電車を待つ  東京

"Inside Uchimawari Yamanote Line (Approaching Yoyogi)" (100713Tu-2145)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7sW6eiw0OM

A short inside view of an "uchimawari" (inside track of the one-hour circle that the Yamanote Line consists of) Yamanote Line train - running between Shinjuku and Yoyogi Stations.

山手線の中 (内回り - 代々木駅の近く)  東京

"Ebisu Station - Ticket Gates, New Platform Doors, Etc." (100713Tu-2235)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8b11J0O1y64

Walking through the upper ticket gates of Ebisu Station, then going down the escalator to the Yamanote Line platform, where there is a view of the new platform wall doors opening, followed by the train doors.

恵比寿駅 - 改札口、プラットフォームの新しいドアなど  東京

"Departing Ebisu Station on Yamanote Line" (100713Tu-2236)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRBGZes8ysk

Night view from inside a Yamanote Line train of the Ebisu Station platform going by the window as the train heads towards Shibuya.

山手線が恵比寿駅からの出発  東京

"Departing Shibuya Station on Yamanote Line" (20100713Tu-2239)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYD70PCLC0Y

Night view from inside Yamanote Line train of Shibuya Station platform as train heads towards Harajuku.

山手線が渋谷駅からの出発  東京

"Arriving at Harajuku - On to Yoyogi" (100713Tu-2240)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cz7yh0BvQoA

Beginning inside a sotomawari (outside track) Yamanote Line train as it approaches Harajuku.  Then watching the train (from inside) arrive at and depart from Harajuku Station, and make the run to Yoyogi Station.

外回りの山手線を乗って、原宿駅に到着、出発、代々木駅に到着  東京

"Watching Yamanote Line Depart Yoyogi Station" (20100713Tu-2244)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cqb-LSwtwtU

View from a Yoyogi Station platform of a Yamanote Line train departing Yoyogi Station for Shinjuku.

山手線が代々木駅からの出発 (プラットフォームの見方)  東京

"Yoyogi Transfer - Yamanote Line to Sobu Line" (100713Tu-2245)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyjkHpUsqh8

Transferring from the Yamanote Line to the Sobu Line (local Chuo Line) at Yoyogi Station.

代々木駅で山手線から、総武線までの乗り換え  東京

"Yoyogi Station - Waiting for a Train" (100713Tu-2245)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e57z-hr7YGA

Waiting at Yoyogi Station for a Sobu Line train to arrive from Shinjuku Station.

代々木駅で総武線電車が来るのを待っている  東京

"Walking Down Platform at Yoyogi Station" (100713Tu-2246)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljbGeB2scec

Walking down the rather narrow platform for the inbound Sobu Line (while waiting for my train to arrive).

代々木駅細いプラットフォームの散歩  東京

"Yoyogi Platform Train Watching" (100713Tu-2248)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LH7F68klfk

Watching trains running between Yoyogi and Shinjuku just before an inbound Sobu Line train arrives.  As it arrives, I step back from the end of the platform (to keep the camera dry - it was raining), watch the train come in, and then board it.

代々木駅のプラットフォームから電車ウオッチング  東京

"Sobu Line - Sendagaya to Shinanomachi (Late at Night)" (100713Tu-2251)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUdbPgvsadE

Rear cab view of a late night Sobu Line train as it runs from Sendagaya to Shinanomachi Stations.

夜の総武線 - 千駄ヶ谷駅から、信濃町駅まで  東京

"Sobu Line - Shinanomachi to Yotsuya (Late at Night)" (100713Tu-2253)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_Tn7iffrHc

Rear cab view of a late night Sobu Line train as it runs from Shinanomachi to Yotsuya Stations.

夜の総武線 - 信濃町駅から、四谷駅まで  東京

"Yotsuya Station Ticket Gates (Chuo and Marunouchi Lines)" (100713Tu-2257)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVHm8GTf30k

After exiting the JR ticket gates, walking from there to the nearby Marunouchi Line (subway) ticket gates.  (Incidentally, the Marunouchi Line subway is above ground at Yotsuya.)

夜の四谷駅の改札口 (JR線と丸の内線)  東京

"Rain Walk in Late Night Yotsuya" (100713Tu-2258)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Q66OUQCkKU

Walking through the rain near Yotsuya Station at around 11:00 p.m.

夜の四谷駅近くの散歩  東京

"Yotsuya Station - Outbound Chuo Line Arrival" (100713Tu-2321)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDOce-bxEoQ

Watching an outbound Chuo Line train arrive at Yotsuya Station.  (The clip ends just before I climb aboard.)

夜の四谷駅 - 下り中央線が遣って来る  東京

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

"Chuo Line, Yamanote Line, and Tokyo-1990 Exhibition on June 12th, 2010"

Beginning with a view of Chuo Line trains leaving and arriving at Kokubunji Station, and then showing rear-cab Yamanote Line views between Kanda and Yurakucho stations.  Finally, a couple of clips from the Saturday, June 12th day of my exhibit/installation "Tokyo 1990" (「20年前の東京」).

"Chuo Line Trains at Kokubunji Station- June 2010" (100612Sa-1142)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFyj8hKP2bw

While watching an outbound Chuo Line train depart, an inbound train approaches and stops at Kokubunji Station (that I then board).

国分寺駅のプラットフォームで待っている時の出発や到着中央線  東京

"From Kanda Platform to Tokyo Station" (100612Sa-1217)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiXAoJI5sis

Watching a Yamanote Line train arrive at Kanda Station and then boarding it for the ride to Tokyo Station.  On the way, watching the scenery go by through the rear cab.

神田駅のプラットフォームから、山手線の電車が遣って来るのを見て、乗って、東京駅まで後の風景を見る  東京

"Tokyo to Yurakucho - Rear Cab View" (100612Sa-1220)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jwamnj-1CGE

Looking out the rear cab of a Yamanote Line train as it runs from Tokyo Station to Yurakucho Station.  At Yurakucho Station, just after I get off the train, a special type inbound train (not used for regularly scheduled runs I don't think) goes by as an outbound Shinkansen is going in the other direction.

東京駅から有楽町駅まで、山手線の後向き風景  東京

"Kaisoku Keihin-Tohoku Line Train Passing Yurakucho Station" (100612Sa-1222)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjy3697f88s

Watching a kaisoku Keihin-Tohoku Line train pass by Yurakucho Station (from the Yurakucho Station platform).

快速京浜東北線電車が、有楽町駅を通過する  東京

"'Tokyo-1990 Exhibition' June 12th, 2010 (A-1/2)" (100612Sa-1850)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqTfrPZtg4g

A late Saturday evening (June 12th, 2010) view of the June 2010 exhibition/installation "Tokyo 1990" (A-1/2).  This clip also shows the two internal staircases in the Okuno Building.

「20年前の東京」展示会/インスタレーション 2010年6月12日 (A-1/2)  東京

"'Tokyo-1990 Exhibition' June 12th, 2010 (B-2/2)" (100612Sa-1851)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTMdIqASDp0

A late Saturday evening (June 12th, 2010) view of the June 2010 exhibition/installation "Tokyo 1990" (B-2/2).

「20年前の東京」展示会/インスタレーション 2010年6月12日 (B-2/2)  東京

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

"The Okuno Building - Summer 2010"

The 1932 Okuno Building - or buildings really.  The left side was constructed first, and then the right.  Since they are internally connected with a hallway seamlessly running the length of both buildings, it's effectively a single building.

Some details.  The left side has a well in the basement (the pump system falling into disrepair in conjunction with the early-construction-phase digging (three-stories deep!) for the new large building to the side and behind it.  They apparently pumped so much water out of the ground that the sidewalk sank by about three centimeters in places, the well pump system was ruined, and the foundation to the left half of the Okuno Building was damaged (the two buildings are beginning to separate after over 70 years of sitting seamlessly together...).

The stairwell of the right side building.  The left side curves around in stages to accommodate the elevator shaft.

And that's the big beast (behind and to the side) that has damaged the Okuno Building.  In this picture, the new big beast looks like more than one building, but the structure on the left *and* behind the left side of the Okuno Building is one building (which is much wider on the other side of the block than this side).  Considering how they dug down three stories and then left the gaping hole open for several months, this level of excavation was too close to the Okuno Building.  Hopefully they'll be responsible and repair the damage they've done to the foundation - which won't be easy, but isn't impossible.

Lyle

"Several Views of 'Tokyo-1990' Exhibition/Installation, Etc."

Opening with a view at Kokubunji Station of a tokkyu special express train passing, then showing a walk under a rail bridge in Yurakucho.  After that, several walk around views of the 'Tokyo-1990' exhibition/installation - probably more than most people have an interest in viewing, but I wanted to show the atmosphere of the room.  And the last couple of clips are of an outgoing old orange 201-type Chuo Line train.

"Tokkyu Express Train Passing Kokubunji Station" (100610Th-1224)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mfQT-QfR3g

A Tokkyu (Special Express) train zooms through Kokubunji Station.

特急電車が国分寺駅を通過する  東京

"Yurakucho Rail Bridge Sounds" (100610Th-1317)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lh570MjcHPA

Listening to the sound of trains passing overhead as I walk under a train bridge in Yurakucho.

有楽町鉄道橋の音  東京

"'Tokyo-1990 Exhibition' June 10th, 2010 (A-1/2)" (100610Th-1352)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mu_m-aSizCA

An early afternoon view from June 10th (the 2nd day) of my June 2010 exhibition/installation "Tokyo 1990".

「20年前の東京」展示会/インスタレーション 2010年6月10日 (A-1/2)  東京

"'Tokyo-1990 Exhibition' June 10th, 2010 (B-2/2)" (100610Th-1356)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqiyycJTh5g

Another early afternoon view from the exhibition/installation, featuring scenes from a Hibarigaoka Natsu-Matsuri (on the wall).

「20年前の東京」展示会/インスタレーション 2010年6月10日 (B-2/2)  東京

"Morning Sun on the Ginza Okuno Building" (100611Fr-1033)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCg6B3cq50Y

The morning sun hits the Okuno Building.  Sitting among taller buildings, the sun only hits the building directly for two or three hours in the morning, and (briefly) via reflections from the windows of the building on the opposite side of the street in the afternoon.

朝日が銀座奥野ビルに当たる  東京

"'Tokyo-1990 Exhibition' June 11th, 2010 (A-1/6)" (100611Fr_1727)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-Cbl-bCdKU

An afternoon view from June 11th (the 3rd day) of my June 2010 exhibition/installation "Tokyo 1990", featuring (again) scenes from a Hibarigaoka Natsu-Matsuri.

「20年前の東京」展示会/インスタレーション 2010年6月11日 (A-1/6)  東京

Several more views of the exhibition:

"'Tokyo-1990 Exhibition' June 11th, 2010 (B-2/6)" (100611Fr-1729)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr3FhaNDSA0

"'Tokyo-1990 Exhibition' June 11th, 2010 (C-3/6)" (100611Fr-1732)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8gAonZZIwQ

"'Tokyo-1990 Exhibition' June 11th, 2010 (D-4/6)" (100611Fr-1830)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAIaD4KO138

"'Tokyo-1990 Exhibition' June 11th, 2010 (E-5/6)" (100611Fr-1839)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJZ8W5OLF5c

"'Tokyo-1990 Exhibition' June 11th, 2010 (F-6/6)" (100611Fr-1840)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Lvfb_sr4kQ


"Ginza Asahi Beer Extra Cold -2.0C Place" (100611Fr-2151)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9t4a2uMzO8

Walking by the new Asahi Beer Extra Cold -2.0 shop in Ginza.

銀座の新しい朝日ビール-2.0店  東京

"Late Night Chuo Line Train" (100611Fr-2248)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gOjwwC7W2Y

Looking out a left-side door window of a late night Chuo Line Train.

夜遅く乗った中央線  東京

"Old Chuo Line Night Train" (100611Fr-2254)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POmhTm4nttY

Riding an old 201-type orange Chuo Line train into Kokubunji.  As I'm looking outside from the inside of the train, the main clues it's an old type Chuo Line train (until the end of the clip, where I get off the train) are the noises it makes - principally (in this clip anyway) the air conditioning system.  Also there is an announcement by (gasp!) a real live human being, instead of the really horrible E-recordings they use on the new Chuo Line trains.

夜遅く乗った古い201型中央線  東京

"Old Type 201 Chuo Line Train Departs Kokubunji" (100611Fr-2257)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwD1iwlu_Hc

And old type 201 orange Chuo Line outbound train leaves Kokubunji Station just before 11:00 p.m.

夜遅く乗った古い201型中央線が国分寺駅から出発  東京

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

"Ginza, Yurakucho, Shinjuku, Ginza 'Tokyo-1990' Exhibition"

This batch gets into the beginning of the "Tokyo-1990" Exhibition, so there are a number of clips of the Yurakucho-Ginza area, as well as a couple of clips from/of the exhibition itself, in Room-306 of the Okuno Building.  And - by request - there's a quick stroll through the first floor of the Yurakucho Bic Camera and a view of a Yamanote Line train coming into Yurakucho Station - not a sight to take for granted, since they have begun walling off the Yamanote Line platforms - good for safety and cheaper labor costs (they generally ax the conductors once they get all the platforms on a line walled in, like on the Marunouchi Line), but bad for speed and photography.

"Nihonbashi Station - Waiting for the Ginza Line" (100608Tu-1436)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tp0ynHFgo6c

Looking around on the platform at Nihonbashi Station while waiting for the Ginza Line to arrive.

"Ginza Chuo-Dori - Midday Stroll" (100608Tu-1441)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTHbQ6GbI4o

Walking down Ginza's Chuo-Dori in the afternoon (on June 8th, 2010).

銀座中央通りの昼散歩  東京

"Ginza Side Street Stroll" (100608Tu-1443)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InXfSYar-Bo

Turning right and walking away from Ginza's Chuo-Dori - heading down one of the more pleasant side streets.

銀座中央通りから離れて、横道を散歩にする  東京

"Yurakucho Plaza Political Speaker Truck" (100608Tu-1824)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0CfhJaVGHc

Walking through the plaza in front of Yurakucho Station while a politician makes a speech from a speaker truck.

有楽町駅前広場で、政治家が、どんじゃらこんじゃら  東京

"Yamanote Line Train Arrives at Yurakucho - 6:33 p.m." (100608Tu-1833)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Do_RYFHFA0

Watching a Yamanote Line train arrive at Yurakucho Station at 6:33 p.m., and getting ready to board it.

有楽町駅で山手線が遣って来る  東京

"Yurakucho to Tokyo - Yamanote Left-Side Evening View" (100608Tu-1834)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4ReY_i6oI8

Riding a Yamanote Line train from Yurakucho to Tokyo - watching the evening skyline roll by from the left side of the train.

山手線を乗って、有楽町駅から、東京駅までに行く 左側の風景  東京

"Waiting for Chuo Line at Tokyo Station" (100608Tu-1838)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHjXwuM1-tg

Waiting on the platform at Tokyo Station for the next Chuo Line train to arrive, and then waiting while they clear everyone off the train (to discourage people from Kanda and Ochanomizu from backtracking for a seat).

東京駅で次の中央線電車を乗る前に待つ時間  東京

"Disembarking from Chuo Line at Shinjuku" (100608Tu-1853)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Px9tp4e08M

Getting off of a Chuo Line train at Shinjuku Station and then looking around a little at the scene on the platform.

中央線から新宿駅で降りて、プラットフォームの様子を見る  東京

"Evening Shinjuku Station South Exit" (100608Tu-1856)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bt04eLALerY

Exiting Shinjuku Station via the south exit, and looking around at the evening scene there.

夕方新宿駅の南口風景  東京

"Shinjuku Omoide-Yokocho (and Entrance Street)" (100608Tu-2158)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwtyJVvGbRE

Walking along a main street in Shinjuku; turning down a side street, and then walking into the izakaya alley, Omoide-Yokocho.

新宿思い出横丁居酒屋の夜風景  東京

"Green Area Near Ochanomizu Station (Chuo Line View)" (100609We-1242)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cKv1molPKA

Looking out a left-side window of an inbound Chuo Line train at the green next to the water of Kanda River as the train approaches and pulls into Ochanomizu Station.

中央線からの御茶ノ水駅あたりの神田川隣緑風景  東京

"Yamanote Line Arriving at Noontime Kanda Station" (100609We-1248)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrjxmTvj-So

While waiting for a Yamanote Line train to stop, a Shinkansen train passes by to the side and above.  As the doors-about-to-close melody plays, I head for the Yamanote Line.

お昼の神田駅プラットフォームから見て、山手線が遣って来る  東京

"Kanda to Tokyo (Yamanote Left-Rear View)" (100609We-1249)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oW9aWbFMdJE

Looking towards the rear from the left side of a Yamanote Line train as it runs from Kanda Station to Tokyo Station.

山手線で、神田駅から、東京駅まで (左後見方)  東京

"Under the Tracks in Yurakucho" (100609We-1255)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sn6VbziJ6l0

Walking under the railway in Yurakucho as trains pass overhead.  This sort of thing is what gives Yurakucho its atmosphere.

有楽町のガード下で歩く  東京

"Stroll Through Yurakucho Bic Camera (1st Floor)" (100609We-1301)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVT1mR-TodY

A quick stroll through the first floor of Yurakucho Bic Camera (formerly a Sogo Department Store building).

有楽町ビックカメラ内の散歩  東京

"'Tokyo-1990 Exhibition' June 9th, 2010 (A-1/2)" (100609We-1416)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPKNRWcAT0w

A view of the first day of my June 2010 exhibition/installation "Tokyo 1990".  (A-1/2)

「20年前の東京」展示会/インスタレーション 2010年6月9日 (A-1/2)  東京

"'Tokyo-1990 Exhibition' June 9th, 2010 (B-2/2)" (100609We-1741)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENJwoKoonm0

Another view of the first day of my June 2010 exhibition/installation "Tokyo 1990".  (B-2/2)

「20年前の東京」展示会/インスタレーション 2010年6月9日 (B-2/2)  東京

"Watching Yamanote Line Train Arrive at Yurakucho" (100609We-2159)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6M3nG-PML8

Standing on the elevated platform at Yurakucho Station - watching a Yamanote Line train come in.

The sounds of the train are not interfered with by announcements, loud talking, or other noises, so this is a good clip for listening to the sounds a Yamanote Line train makes as it pulls into a station.

有楽町駅で山手線が遣って来る (この動画の音が良く電車の音が記録しました)  東京

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

"Akihabara, Keihin-Tohoku Line, Yurakucho, Etc."

Beginning with a look down the inside of an inbound Chuo Line train late in the morning, when it wasn't very crowded.  Then a trackside walk in Ochanomizu towards Akihabara, and a few Akihabara (aka Akiba) scenes, including a couple of "maid" women handing out flyers. And then wrapping up this bunch with some train views from the Keihin-Tohoku Line and a couple of walking views in Yurakucho.

"Inside Late Morning Chuo Line Train" (100602We-1045)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xd2UHcRMgfI

A brief look inside an inbound Chuo Line train during a weekday late morning ride.

朝と昼の間の上り中央線内  東京

"Ochanomizu Trackside Walk by Former Hitachi Building Site" (100602We-1115)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vmf1FqxDGz4

Walking above (drifting downward to below) and to the side of the railway near Ochanomizu Station, with the tracks on my left and the site of a former Hitachi building on my right.

線路隣と元日立建物の間の散歩  東京

"Electronic Component-Stalls Cruise" (100602We-1121)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYuycinqCIs

Walking past a collection of electrical-component stalls near Akihabara Station.

秋葉原電気部品の小店の散歩  東京

"Tokyo to Kanda - Keihin-Tohoku Line, Right Side" (100602We-1748)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgNvSYdNrY4

View out right side of Keihin-Tohoku Line train as it runs from Tokyo Station to Kanda Station.

(Good view of new construction over Shinkansen tracks.)

京浜東北線の右側風景 - 東京駅から、神田駅まで  東京

"Kanda to Akihabara - Keihin-Tohoku Line, Right Side" (100602We-1750)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AC2Ulfao7c

View out right side of Keihin-Tohoku Line train as it runs from Kanda Station to Akihabara Station.

京浜東北線の右側風景 - 神田駅から秋葉原駅まで  東京

"Akihabara Used Computer Street (360)" (100602We-1812)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31MxE6n2-OA

This street has a number of shops that sell used computers and used computer parts.  It used to have a lot more such shops, but they've been disappearing one by one.  One reason may be that leasing companies are working with corporations to sell former lease machines (which used to land on the street via used shops) within the companies, so they don't make it to the street any more.  There are many possible reasons for this type of change - but this is not the place to discuss them.  (Over a beer in Yurakucho perhaps?)

秋葉原中古コンピューター通り  東京

"Akihabara Evening Stroll (Maid Women)-A" (100602We-1816)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUTgQr8J254

(1/2) An evening stroll through Akihabara - including a view of some "maid" women handing out flyers.

秋葉原夕方散歩 (メード女たち)  東京

"Akihabara Evening Stroll (Maid Women)-B" (100602We-1820)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3vzUDPU9n0

(2/2) An evening stroll through Akihabara - including a view of some "maid" women handing out flyers.

秋葉原夕方散歩 (メード女たち)  東京

"Akihabara to Kanda (Keihin-Tohoku Line Cab-View)" (100602We-1828)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGPo9Ik8Ts8

Climbing aboard the first car of a Keihin-Tohoku Line train at Akihabara Station, and looking through the cab window during the ride to Kanda (the next station).

秋葉原駅から、神田駅まで、京浜東北線の前風景  東京

"Kanda to Tokyo (Keihin-Tohoku Line Cab-View)" (100602We-1831)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0SwilDGHwg

Looking through the front cab of a Keihin-Tohoku Line train while riding from Kanda to Tokyo.

神田駅から、東京駅まで、京浜東北線の前風景  東京

"Tokyo to Yurakucho (Keihin-Tohoku Line Cab-View)" (100602We-1833)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3W54rCvncQE

Looking through the front cab of a Keihin-Tohoku Line train while riding from Tokyo to Yurakucho.

東京駅から、有楽町駅まで、京浜東北線の前風景  東京

"Yurakucho Evening Stroll (Near Bic Camera)" (100602We-1845)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvMqi7wi2qY

Walking away from the Bic Camera in front of Yurakucho Station in the evening.

有楽町駅近くの夕方散歩  東京

"Petal Cab in Yurakucho" (100602We-1850)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p91H2H1k0Ww

A petal cab rolls by in Yurakucho....

有楽町自転車タクシー  東京

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

"Tokyo Station Construction, Chuo Line, Old Seibu Train Motor Noise, Etc."

Beginning with views out the window of an inbound Chuo Line train running in central Tokyo.  The Chuo Line is unique in that it's the only surface line (along with its local version running in parallel) that runs within the Yamanote Line.  Other lines stop when they reach the Yamanote Line or go underground there.  The subway system is extensive enough that a visiting friend joked the ground might collapse - since there are so many tunnels running underground.

After that there are some views in and around Tokyo Station (including construction in Kyobashi), then more central-area Chuo Line window views - this time through an open window, followed by watching one of the old type Chuo Line trains arriving and departing Shinjuku Station, and then a Shinjuku street view, and - finally - a night window view (and listen) on one of the old three-door Seibu Line trains, which produces rather prominent engine noises, making for a more interesting ride (I almost said "exciting", but that's probably overstating it a little).

"Chuo Line Window View Between Yotsuya and Ochanomizu" (100601Tu-1439)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVXPx2WEkPg

Watching central Tokyo flow by from a left side window of an early afternoon Chuo Line train.

中央線左側窓の風景 - 四谷駅と御茶ノ水駅の間  東京


"Chuo Line Window View Between Ochanomizu and Tokyo" (100601Tu-1443)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVfSGkYk62I

Looking out a left-side window of a Chuo Line train as it goes from Ochanomizu to Kanda, and then from Kanda to Tokyo.  As the tracks curve to the right, the line pulls alongside and runs in parallel with Yamanote, Keihin-Tohoku and Shinkansen Line tracks - above which there is construction for... more Shinkansen Line tracks?

中央線左側窓の風景 - 御茶ノ水駅と神田駅と東京駅の間  東京


"Tokyo Station - Chuo Line Platform to Lower Transit Area" (100601Tu-1447)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYNSnT-LZh0

Riding one of the long escalators at Tokyo Station from the Chuo Line platform, down to the transit area beneath the tracks, and then walking over towards the Yaesu Exit.

東京駅中央線から、長いエスカレーターを下りて、線路下の乗り換え所を通って、八重洲口の近くまで歩く  東京


"Tokyo Station Yaesu Exit - June 1st, 2010" (100601Tu-1449)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bie1ZkuhCeg

Exiting Tokyo Station via the Yaesu Exit, turning right, and walking (towards Ginza) in front of the ongoing construction on the Yaesu side.

東京駅八重洲口から駅を出て、工事の前を歩く  東京


"Crossing Street to Yaesu 2-Chome" (100601Tu-1451)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnSE2ylnE1E

Crossing the main street (405) that runs in front of Tokyo Station, and then turning right and walking along the edge of Yaesu 2-Chome.

東京駅から道を渉って、八重洲二丁目まで  東京


"Yaesu 2-Chome Edge Walk" (100601Tu-1453)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6d-XgKd8bvk

Continuing walking along the edge of Yaesu 2-Chome (on the way to Ginza).

銀座に向かって、八重洲二丁目散歩  東京


"Walking Into Yaesu 2-Chome" (100601Tu-1454)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aginp3ALVh4

Turning away from the main street and walking into Yaesu 2-Chome.

八重洲二丁目に入る  東京


"Construction in Kyobashi" (100601Tu-1456)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmVtXuxak_Y

Walking between Yaesu 2-Chome and Kyobashi 3-Chome, with construction on the Kyobashi side.  The construction industry never sleeps in Tokyo - always tearing things down on the one hand, and building something new on the other.  There are far too many hideous parking lots in Kyobashi and Ginza now - temporarily vacant land that the owners are waiting to augment by tearing down nearby buildings so they can build large, sealed air, hideous boxes....  Someone should explain to the Godzilla construction industry that bigger and newer are not always better.  Very often, they are worse - much worse.

八重洲二丁目と京橋三丁目の間の散歩 (京橋側に工事がある)  東京


"Tokyo Station - Bus and Construction Area" (100601Tu-1831)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IX1_7RXWgFA

Walking by the highway-bus area in front of the construction zone at the Yaesu Entrance to Tokyo Station, and then entering the station and heading towards the ticket gates.

夕方東京駅の八重洲口と工事  東京


"Tokyo Station Evening Transit Area" (100601Tu-1833)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw7EW0bnRkA

Walking through the below-tracks transit area at Tokyo Station in the evening (in the early part of the evening rush).

夕方東京駅の乗り換え所  東京


"Ochanomizu to Yotsuya (Open Window)" (100601Tu-1839)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpez-u1wSYk

Looking out through an open right-side window of a Chuo Line train as it runs from Ochanomizu Station to Yotsuya Station.

中央線の右側開いている窓からの風景 - 御茶ノ水駅から四谷駅まで  東京


"Yotsuya to Shinjuku (Open Window)" (100601Tu-1844)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7Cpv3GqEhA

Looking out through an open right-side window of a Chuo Line train as it runs from Yotsuya Station to Shinjuku Station.

中央線の右側開いている窓からの風景 - 四谷駅から新宿駅まで  東京


"Shinjuku Station Chuo Line Platform Walk" (100601Tu-1851)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyRlMoH9pxM

Walking down the Chuo Line platform at Shinjuku Station.  I knew one of the old type orange Chuo Line trains was behind the train I got on, so I walked down to the end of the platform to watch it come in.

新宿駅の中央線プラットフォーム散歩  東京


"Old 201 Chuo Line Train at Shinjuku Station" (100601Tu-1852)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8cl-wzl5fs

As photographers get busy with their cameras, an (outbound) old type orange Chuo Line train (201-Series) arrives at Shinjuku Station, unloads, loads, and departs.

Quick note: Some (apparently) color-blind people seem to think the train is red, but it's not - it's a dark orange.  Not that it matters so much, but I used to drive a similarly colored car, and it always irritated me when people called it "red".  It wasn't - and neither are the old Chuo Line trains!

新宿駅の中央線プラットフォームで古いタイプの電車が到着  東京


"West Side of Shinjuku Station - Short Stroll" (100601Tu-1901)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2d9bCcItw4

A short evening stroll down the sidewalk on the west side of Shinjuku Station.

新宿駅の西側短い散歩  東京


"Seibu-Shinjuku Line Night Express - Motor Tunes-A" (100601Tu-2205)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCmnhGaZFqE

(1/3) Looking out the window of an old type 3-door Seibu-Shinjuku Line express as it heads out into suburbia.  The sound of the motors is quite prominent in this type of train, and so you get a heightened sense of speed with the howling of the motors at speed.

夜西武新宿線３ドア急行のモーターシンフォニー  東京


"Seibu-Shinjuku Line Night Express - Motor Tunes-B" (100601Tu-2209)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9hxJGI7wLU

(2/3) Looking out the window of an old type 3-door Seibu-Shinjuku Line express as it heads out into suburbia.  The sound of the motors is quite prominent in this type of train, and so you get a heightened sense of speed with the howling of the motors at speed.

The human announcements are also greatly appreciated!  Much better than the typically horrible recordings used for announcements recently.

Right at the end of the clip are also some typical air conditioning noises (distinct, but very short).

夜西武新宿線３ドア急行のモーターシンフォニー  東京


"Seibu-Shinjuku Line Night Express - Motor Tunes-C" (100601Tu-2215)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1t_cUoFXXQ

(3/3) Looking out the window of an old type 3-door Seibu-Shinjuku Line express as it heads out into suburbia.  The sound of the motors is quite prominent in this type of train, and so you get a heightened sense of speed with the howling of the motors at speed.  (You can hear the air compressor in the first part of this clip as well.)

夜西武新宿線３ドア急行のモーターシンフォニー  東京

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

"Yurakucho 'Shokuan' Stand Bar - June 2010"

I dropped by the Shokuan Stand Bar last week and talked with the owner,  Ozawa Kiyoshige (小澤聖茂), whereupon he told me about his place being featured in a magazine (see second photo below).

The photo above is from the vantage-point of standing across the street from the Shokuan Stand Bar, looking down the street towards Yurakucho Station (with the shop outside the frame on the right).

Ozawa Kiyoshige (小澤聖茂), holding up the magazine featuring his shop (opened to the article).  The photo in the magazine on the right is his place - with the photographer looking straight at it from across the street.

Regarding the term "stand bar" - this is also translated as "standing bar".  Both can sound odd in English, but could be used in the following sentences:

a) "It's a bar where everyone stands, so it's called a 'stand bar'."

b) "All the people are standing in this type of bar, so it's a fundamentally a standing-room-only bar, thus 'standing bar'."

Aside from the Japanese pronunciation being "stand bar", I think 'a' above makes more sense, so that's what I use.  Also, as non-English English, using the term verbatim is treating it like an imported (into English that is) foreign word/term, which it basically is.

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

Photos on this page by Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon, all rights reserved. Copyright 2010

"Ogikubo, Shinjuku, Ginza, and the Chuo Line"

Beginning with a few looks at Ogikubo, focusing on old-style shotengai streets (first Kyokai-Dori, and then a section of old streets near the station), followed by looks at Shinjuku and Ginza, and wrapping up this set of video clips with midnight views of the Chuo Line out at Hino Station.

"Ogikubo Kyokai-Dori (Late Morning)" (100528Fr-1122)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdUnIMrAjA8

Walking down most of Ogikubo's Kyokai Dori just before lunch - probably the least crowded time of the day; after the morning rush and before lunch.  Also looking down a few side-streets as I walk along.

お昼ちょっと前の荻窪協会通り  東京

"Ogikubo Old Shotengai Walkabout" (100528Fr-1205)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaVtm3Jb_lM

Walking through a small network of shotengai shopping streets near Ogikubo Station.  Notice that there are some empty gaps and there is a mix of old and new shops.

The fact that most of the shops are fairly old makes it an interesting area.  When shops are independently run, they have some character - once they become chain clones, they may be nice stores, but chain stores never have much character of their own (not that I've seen anyway).

荻窪古い商店街のお昼散歩  東京

"Ogikubo Station - Boarding Inbound Chuo Line" (100528Fr-1216)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8e0C0ivU5o

Boarding an inbound Chuo Line train at Ogikubo Station.  (Notice the recorded bird sounds.)

荻窪駅で上り中央線電車を乗るところ  東京

"Ogikubo to Asagaya (Inbound Chuo Line)" (100528Fr-1217)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLqyV8_M5p0

Looking out a right side window of an inbound Chuo Line train as it departs Ogikubo Station, and watching the scenery flow past during the ride to Asagaya Station (the next station).

荻窪駅から阿佐ヶ谷駅まで - 中央線の右側ビュー  東京

"Exiting Shinjuku Station via South Exit" (100528Fr-1229)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFis__95AV8

Exiting Shinjuku Station via the south exit.

新宿駅の南口から駅を出ます  東京

"Shinjuku - Walking Downhill from South Exit" (100528Fr-1231)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJio53k0MEI

Walking downhill towards Nishi-Shinjuku (after exiting Shinjuku Station from the South Exit) - walking past a political speech group and a wild-paint-job bus.

新宿駅の南口から坂を下りる  東京

"Nishi-Shinjuku Stroll (Near Yodobashi Camera)" (100528Fr-1232)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKaz7Fg3O-I

Walking through a section of Nishi-Shinjuku near Yodobashi Camera.

西新宿散歩 - ヨドバシカメラの近く  東京

"In Front of Yodobashi Camera in Nishi-Shinjuku" (100528Fr_1234)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BL6g7oHv2k

Looking around while standing in front of the main Nishi-Shinjuku Yodobashi Camera store.

西新宿のヨドバシカメラの前  東京

"Kanda Station - Inbound Chuo Line" (100528Fr-1421)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjC-Cu06Vjc

Inbound Chuo Line train at Kanda Station.

神田駅 - 上り中央線  東京

"Kanda to Tokyo to Yurakucho (Train Typhoon in Yurakucho)" (100528Fr-1422)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SxoMrj5OwQ

Getting on a Yamanote Line train in Kanda, riding it to Tokyo with a Keihin-Tohoku Line train running in parallel - continuing on to Yurakucho, where I watch a number of trains go by - including an outbound Tokaido Line train and an inbound Shinkansen.

山手線で、神田駅から東京駅まで、そして東京駅から、有楽町駅まで。 有楽町駅で、電車台風  東京

"Yurakucho Station - Yamanote and Keihin-Tohoku Lines" (100528Fr-1430)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ynnep1_RDE

Watching a Yamanote Line train arrive and depart, a Shinkansen go by, and a Keihin-Tohoku Line train fly-by.

有楽町駅から山手線と京浜東北線の電車を見る  東京

"Ginza - Crossing Chuo-Dori" (100528Fr-1451)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dX00ZmqAEWI

Looking in a shop window, and then walking to a corner and beginning to cross Chuo-Dori in Ginza.

銀座中央通りを渡るところ  東京

"Ginza Chuo Dori Stroll" (100528Fr-1452)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6a5vfWqSXA

Walking along Chuo-Dori in Ginza - looking up, etc.

銀座中央通り散歩  東京

"Midnight Hino Station - Outbound Chuo Line" (100529Sa_0044)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Rj_3Z_2o4M

Standing at the leading edge of the Hino Station platform as a midnight outbound Chuo Line train whooshes into the station.

夜中の日野駅で下り中央線が遣って来る  東京

"Tachikawa Station - Last Inbound Chuo Line Train" (100529Sa-0050)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLWbx_vHdmI

Looking out the front cab of the last inbound train as it pulls into Tachikawa Station, and then looking out on the platform about ten before one in the morning.  The station guy who runs down the platform is making sure there isn't anyone milling about or asleep on the platform before they close the doors on the last train.

夜中の立川駅で、最終上り中央線電車  東京

"Midnight Chuo Line Front Cab View" (100529Sa-0052)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPOlU_BFdGM

Looking through the front cab of a midnight Chuo Line train as it nears Kunitachi Station.  Also a few looks in the other direction at the interior of the train.  This was the last inbound train of the day.

夜中の最終上り中央線  中と前のビュー  国立駅の近く  東京

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

"Chuo Line, Tachikawa, and Tamagawa-Josui"

Views on the Chuo Line west of Kokubunji, and then a few views of the elevated walkways on both sides of Tachikawa Station.  After that, a view inside a coffee shop and a look at the walkway along the Tamagawa-Josui Canal - wrapping up with a quick look in a park on a fine late-spring day.

"Kokubunji Line Running Parallel with Seibu-Kokubunji Line" (100526We-0904)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9I_7MALYdOQ

Riding a Chuo Line train out of Kokubunji Station while a Seibu-Kokubunji Line train simultaneously departs from its platform parallel to the Chuo Line, runs alongside, and then veers off to the right.

中央線と西武国分寺線が平行線で走っている  東京

"Chuo Line - Construction at Kunitachi Station" (100526We-0907)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3baRXxSXQaw

View of both rail construction and station construction through the front cab window of a Chuo Line train as it pulls into Kunitachi Station.  This is part of a fairly extensive construction project on the Chuo Line between Mitaka and Tachikawa, with the rails being elevated and new platforms being built with parallel tracks where express trains can get around local train - a very important improvement, especially during the morning rush, since there are so many trains on the rails.

中央線が工事中の国立駅に入るところ  東京

"Late Morning Tachikawa Station Platform Walk" (100526We-0912)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6lLE3-LK6o

Walking up the platform in Tachikawa after getting off a train about ten past nine in the morning.  (One hour earlier would have been considerably more crowded.)  Rather than wait for the narrow escalator, I walked around to a wide (and mostly empty) staircase.

立川駅の午前プラットフォーム散歩  東京

"Tachikawa Station South Side Elevated Walkway" (100526We-0913)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5kdM-KvkOI

Exiting Tachikawa Station on the south side and walking across the elevated walkway there.

立川駅の南口二階横断歩道  東京

"Tachikawa North Elevated Walkway" (100526We-1021)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhZLUEyj6VI

Exiting Tachikawa-Kita Station and riding an escalator down to the elevated walkway on the north side of Tachikawa Station.  (Tachikawa-Kita Station is one of the monorail stations that is up above the already elevated walkway.)

立川駅の北口二階横断歩道  東京

"Tachikawa - North Side to Chuo Line" (100526We-1026)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDWRmz8bULo

Beginning with a look down a main street in Tachikawa (facing away from the station), and then walking from the elevated walkway on the north side of Tachikawa Station, through the ticket gates, and down to the Chuo Line Platform and onto a Chuo Line Train.

立川駅の北口から、中央線の電車まで  東京

"Chuo Line Live Announcement" (100526We-1029)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFIZr8uivEs

Looking around on the inside of an inbound Chuo Line train at Tachikawa Station before departing, listening to a live announcement from the conductor.  (No big deal, but when you're blasted with horrible recorded voices all the time, hearing a real human being making a live announcement sounds quite nice sometimes.  Of course - if the recordings were better, it would be less of an issue...)

立川駅の出発前中央線内の生アナウンス  東京

"Coffee Shop Near Takanodai Station" (100526We-1108)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKoAD9F8saw

This type of coffee shop used to be everywhere, but now are are becoming fairly rare, so it's a bit of a nostalgia trip to go to one these days.  ("Rare" might not be the best term, but there used to be many more coffee shops of this type, so by comparison....)

鷹の台駅近くの喫茶店  東京

"Tamagawa Josui Walk (May 26th)" (100526We-1127)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5Qi3KMPRN8

Walking down the footpath that runs alongside the Tamagawa-josui Canal in late May - listening to the sound of birds overhead in the trees.  Living in mega-city Tokyo, this type of thing within the city is very much appreciated!

玉川上水の散歩  東京

"Light and Shadows in a Tokyo Park" (100528Fr-1045)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XweN6T3WVcA

Walking through light and shadows in a Tokyo park in late May of 2010.  The contrast of mega-city life makes moments like this pure pleasure....

公園の五月光と影  東京

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

"'Tokyo 1990' Friends - Thank you!"

Yesterday was the final day of my "Tokyo 1990" video exhibition/installation.  A couple of friends came by and we stayed there late talking about things while I displayed the video on the ceiling (making it visible on the street to passers by).  By the time I noticed the time, it was just before the last train, so I missed it while cleaning up and spent the night there - sleeping on a row of chairs, using my backpack for a pillow, and getting up in time for the first train at around 5:00 a.m. (which is a story in its own right - especially the crowd of Kabukicho nightclub women who pour onto the train (the first outbound one in the morning) at Shinjuku Station).

It's been an interesting week - meeting people, showing them the hour-long collection of 1990 views of Tokyo (with some parts from 1991), explaining some scenes and seeing how people reacted to the video; which parts were interesting to different people and how different people reacted quite differently to some sections.

On Friday evening, one man noticed the changing light coming from the third floor window as he passed, and went into the building to investigate.  He sat down and watched the video intently for two and a half run-throughs (two-and-a-half hours), making comments about details such as maps for sale in front of a bookstore (what with Internet access from cell phones, no one buys maps anymore), and benches, bicycles and various junk under a rail bridge in Shibuya (now all strictly forbidden - with pedestrian traffic only), etc.  I'm sure he would have commented on many more things, but a friend from the UK came by, and since we were yakking away in English, he probably held off on saying anything more.

In general, people were (not surprisingly) interested in seeing areas that they are (or were) familiar with.  One regret I have now is that I probably put in too many scenes of the Seibu-Ikebukuro Line and Hibarigaoka, which are out of central Tokyo.  For this type of exhibit, it would have been better to have focused more on the areas most Tokyo residents are already familiar with, and kept scenes of fringe areas of Tokyo to a minimum.

Through it all, the backdrop of Room-306 in the Okuno Building made the experience a pleasant and interesting one for me.  I enjoyed sitting in a historical room in a comfortable old building with the windows and door open, allowing a breeze to blow through (passing through the building via a window in the back by the stairs, and also through an open door to the emergency staircase), and with no artificial lighting (save for the light of the video being projected onto the wall).  One of my big complaints in this life, has been suffering in stuffy airless sealed box-like buildings with 100 times more light (of the worst, most glaring type) than necessary.  So it was pure pleasure to sense the slight changes in lighting from the sun through the open windows as I sat in florescent-light-free bliss.  I can only envy pre-air-conditioning and pre-florescent light people their complete freedom from these modern forms of (slight, but long-lasting and persistent) torture.

What's next?  Good question!  I have plenty of material for more videos from the same time period, and hopefully can have more exhibits once I get more material edited.

A big thank you to my friends (new and old) who visited, as well as all the other visitors who spent some of their time in Room-306 watching my video and discussing it and ever-changing Tokyo.  And... maybe this sounds strange, but I would also like to thank the people who designed and built the Okuno Building (originally called "Ginza Apartment[s]", and all the tenants who lived there, giving the building its warm and settled atmosphere - especially Yoshi Suda, who used Room-306 for nearly the entire history of the 1932 building, being the room's first tenant and staying there until her death at 100 years of age in early 2009.

Oh - I almost forgot - during my exhibit, I took a break on June 16th and made a quick tour of the building, which I recorded and posted as follows:

"Okuno Building - Quick Tour (June 16th, 2010)" (100616-1444)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuya-4IF4Y0

A quick tour of the Okuno Building, from the 7th floor down to each of the two basements (the building is actually two buildings internally joined, but the basements are separate).

奥野ビルのクイックツアー - 2010年6月16日  東京

Referring back to an earlier post - this is where I introduced the exhibit:

Tokyo 2010 (20年前の東京) / Lyle (宏) Saxon
http://lylehsaxon.blogspot.com/2010/06/tokyo-2010-20-lyle-saxon.html

There are some more stills from the video on this page:

Tokyo 1990 (20年前の東京) Video Exhibition by Lyle (宏) Saxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/2010/06/tokyo-2010-20-video-exhibition-by-lyle.html

(This link is at the top of this post as well, but - for convenience - I'm putting it here at the bottom with the other links as well.)  The short video clip I took showing a little of the inside of the Okuno Building and of the exhibit itself, can be seen here:

"Tokyo-1990" (2010 Video Exhibit - Saturday-A) (100612-1902)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3skqwUvMVk

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

"20-78 - A Look Back in the Okuno Building"

The Okuno Building in Ginza was constructed about 78 years ago and I have a video exhibition/installation there now showing views of Tokyo 20 years ago (until the 19th).  Sitting in room 306, where the last tenant, Ms. Suda, lived until her death at 100 years of age in 2009, time and the passage of it are very much on my mind.  Just the past 20 years have brought about more change in Tokyo than you might think, but once you take a close look at pictures taken in 1990 (with some in 1991), it becomes apparent that you're looking at a different generation.

Analyzing that, it begins to make sense when you realize that someone 25 years old in 1990 is 45 now, and a baby in 1990 is 20 now.  It's a new set of young human beings walking around on the streets, and the previous young generation,  now middle-aged, are changed with life experience and aging, so everyone is different.  Add in Tokyo's Godzilla construction industry which never, ever, tires of tearing down anything older than two or three decades, and Tokyo 2010 is not the same city as Tokyo 1990.

That said, how about 1932, when the Okuno Building was built?  The 306-Project team is currently diligently looking into Ms. Suda's past, but almost all traces of former addresses (where she ran a chain a beauty parlors) have vanished beneath name changes, road building, etc., and when someone lives to be 100 years old, and died over a year ago, it's highly unlikely any of their friends are still alive.  If 20 years ago is one generation back, then 78 is nearly four generations back, and that's pretty much a whole different world.

One last comment.  Japan is currently in the "Heisei" era, which began in 1989.  An older woman yesterday, while watching my video from 1990, commented that it looked to her like a look back at the Showa era.  I hadn't thought of it that way until she told me that, but I think I agree.  No time to explain exactly why right now, but I agree.

And... here's a video I took on the 3rd floor of the Okuno Building, which shows the hallways and stairwells there, and then has a look into room 306:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3skqwUvMVk

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

Tokyo 1990 (20年前の東京) / Lyle (宏) Saxon

This exhibit/installation by Lyle (宏) Saxon, entitled "Tokyo 1990 (20年前の東京)" runs from June 9th, 2010 through to June 19th.  This consists of an edit of some of the video material I took 20 years ago in Tokyo.  For those with the time to watch the entire video, it runs for an hour, but if you only have time for two minutes, or five, or ten, that's fine too!

20年前の東京 / ライル宏サクソン

Harajuku 原宿 (1990)

Near Harajuku 原宿の近く (1990)

There are some additional still images from the video on this page:

Tokyo 1990 (20年前の東京) Video Exhibition by Lyle (宏) Saxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/2010/06/tokyo-2010-20-video-exhibition-by-lyle.html

I took a short video clip showing a little of the inside of the Okuno Building and of the exhibit itself, which can be seen here:

"Tokyo-1990" (2010 Video Exhibit - Saturday-A) (100612-1902)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3skqwUvMVk

Some comments I wrote after the exhibit are here:

"'Tokyo 1990' Friends - Thank you!"
http://lylehsaxon.blogspot.com/2010/06/tokyo-1990-friends-thank-you.html

Some photos of the Ginza Okuno Building:

奥野ビル - http://ginzaokuno.blogspot.com/

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

"Kanda to Yurakucho and Hibiya Park Octoberfest (in May)"

Beginning this batch with typical train scenes - riding from Kanda to Tokyo and then from Tokyo to Yurakucho, looking out a right side window of a Keihin-Tohoku Line train.

After that are three clips from this year's Hibiya Park (May) Octoberfest, featuring German beer and music in Hibiya Park.  The weather was a bit rainy this year, but it was a nice (and dry) night when I dropped by and took these videos.

"Kanda to Tokyo, Keihin-Tohoku Line, Right Side View" (100525Tu-1713)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAIdaIEaYcc

Keihin-Tohoku Line train from Kanda to Tokyo, looking out a right side window, facing rearward.

京浜東北線で、神田駅から、東京駅まで (右側風景)  東京

"Tokyo to Yurakucho, Keihin-Tohoku Line, Right Side View" (100525Tu-1715)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djuSGJo8y5o

Keihin-Tohoku Line train from Tokyo to Yurakucho, looking out a right side window, showing the track-side view of Kokusai Forum as the train passes it.

京浜東北線で、東京駅から、有楽町駅まで (右側風景) 国際フォーラム  東京

"Yurakucho Station, Platform to Exit" (100525Tu-1717)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=say8z0lbrL4

At Yurakucho Station, starting on the platform and then walking down the stairs and towards the ticket gates.

有楽町駅で、プラットフォームから、出口まで  東京

"Hibiya Park May Octoberfest (1/3)" (100525Tu-1914)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3G-vLcBbpqs

Hibiya Park's annual May Octoberfest, which I suppose could be called "Mayfest", since it's held every spring here.  Taken right after I arrived.  (First of three clips.)

日比谷公園五月のオクトーバーフェスト  東京

"Hibiya Park May Octoberfest (2/3)" (100525Tu-2055)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBGHyDQzNjs

Hibiya Park's annual May Octoberfest, which I suppose could be called "Mayfest", since it's held every spring here.  (Second of three clips.)

日比谷公園五月のオクトーバーフェスト  東京

"Hibiya Park May Octoberfest (3/3)" (100525Tu-2106)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5v_K6lb6iVo

Hibiya Park's annual May Octoberfest, which I suppose could be called "Mayfest", since it's held every spring here.  Walking past some of the tables set up around the fountain.  (Third of three clips.)

日比谷公園五月のオクトーバーフェスト  東京

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

"Trains, Yurakucho, Ginza, and Trains"

Starting with a rare clip from the inside of a morning rush hour(s) Chuo Line train ("rare" because usually it would be rude to record video in morning rush conditions, but one morning, no one was facing me, so I was able to take a quick clip without showing anyone's face), then train clips from a ride to Yurakucho, followed by views of Yurakucho and Ginza, and wrapping up with more train views.

"Inside Rush Hour Chuo Line Train" (100524Mo-0931)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jX-SSpLzSuo

Normally I don't take pictures of the inside of trains during rush hour, but I looked over and noticed that no one was directly facing the camera, so I figured it wouldn't be rude to take a quick clip.  It was also easy to take due to it getting a little late (just past 9:30 a.m.), so the people density wasn't particularly high.

朝通勤ラッシュ中央線の中  東京

"Kanda to Tokyo (Left Side Forward View)" (100524Mo-1005)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlayWhBvb7c

Riding the Yamanote Line from Kanda to Tokyo, looking out a left-side window - looking ahead (at about a 45-degree angle).  Reaching Tokyo Station, I get off and observe the unloading and loading ritual.

山手線 - 神田駅から東京駅まで、左側前向き風景  東京

"Tokyo to Yurakucho (Left-Side Rearward View)" (100524Mo-1007)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BNc5AiBLDE

Riding a Yamanote Line train from Tokyo Station to Yurakucho Station, looking out a left window, facing rearward (for most of the ride anyway).

山手線 - 東京駅から有楽町駅まで、左側後向き風景  東京

"Yurakucho - Various Passing Trains" (100524Mo-1009)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTm_BTm9ouI

First, watching the Yamanote Line train I rode into Yurakucho on depart, and then watching a few trains (Yamanote and Keihin-Tohoku) coming and going - after which I descend the stairs and head towards the exit.

有楽町駅のプラットフォームから見て、あっちこっち通る電車  東京

"Walking Down Rainy Street in Yurakucho" (100524Mo-1011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7JSYUlmaMs

Walking down a street (away from Yurakucho Station) in the rain.

有楽町道 - 雨中の散歩  東京

"Yurakucho Rain - Nearing Ginza" (100524Mo-1013)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUUKhm5qO80

Continuing towards Ginza - still within Yurakucho, but with the central Ginza area straight ahead.  At this point, it was raining fairly hard, but the amount of water falling from the sky lessened soon after this was taken.

有楽町道、銀座に近くなる - 雨中の散歩  東京

"Walking in the Rain..." (100524Mo-1026)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6qbhrokd0w

Walking down a side street in the rain.  I walked into Tsukiji from Ginza that day, so I'm not sure if this street was in Ginza, or in Tsukiji.  Maybe... Tsukiji?

雨中の散歩 - ここは、銀座だったのか、築地だったのか、ちょっと分からないですが、すみません！  東京

"Exiting Typical Tokyo Building" (100524Mo-1112)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yS1-EYK_Lhs

Walking down and out to the street from a typical building in Tokyo - this particular one in Tsukiji - near to Ginza.

オフィスから、道までの階段散歩  東京

"Walking Over Highway in Ginza" (100524Mo-1115)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ptoh_neGQ4

Walking over the highway that runs through Ginza.  Since it runs down in a culvert, it's not noticeable once you're a little way from it.

銀座の高速道路を渉る  東京

"Chuo-dori Stroll to 4-Chome Intersection" (100524Mo-1153)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlOcGN_s2g0

Walking down Chuo-dori in Ginza - up to the 4-Chome crossing, waiting for the light to change while standing across from the Nissan Showroom.

銀座中央通散歩 - 銀座四丁目交差点まで  東京

"Crossing Ginza 4-Chome Intersection in Rain" (100524Mo-1156)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iMW3ocpIKI

Crossing the street at the 4-chome intersection - walking towards the Nissan Showroom.

銀座四丁目交差点の横断歩道を渉る  東京

"Ginza Clock Tower Building Bells Ringing" (100524Mo-1203)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8Nb2QUEkTs

Listening to the old clock tower building bells ringing out twelve noon, and then heading down Chuo-dori for a stroll.

銀座四丁目交差点の古い時計ビルのベルが鳴る  東京

May 2010 Tokyo-ten / サロンと東京展五月 - オープニングパーティ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Bo6es7u3FU

At the opening party for the May group-exhibition of the Tokyo-ten art group at Gallery Ginza-One, the artists sang a few lines from an old song for the camera.

銀座の奥濃ビルアートスペース銀座ワン - サロンと東京展五月 - オープニングパーティ  東京

"Boarding Late-Night Chuo Line at Tokyo Station" (100524Mo-2332)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rs2eW7Z7Eu4

Watching a late night Chuo Line train come in and then boarding it.

東京駅で、夜遅く中央線電車に乗る  東京

"Orange 201-Series Chuo Line - May 25th, 2010" (100525Tu-0010)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rA3-pSl7k6o

I noticed several posts to YouTube of "Sayonara 201-Series" Chuo Line clips dated April 17th, so I was a little surprised to see an orange 201-Series Chuo Line train early morning May 25th, 2010 (or late night May 24th, 2010, since it was just past 12:00 midnight).  I was in a hurry, so I didn't stop and take a close look, but in any case, you can see the train in this clip, still on the rails, stopped at the platform, and with people aboard.

オレンジ201-シリーズ中央線電車、2010年5月25日、国分寺駅  東京

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