Everything is from 2012 this time. In fact, this whole batch is from Thursday, October 11th, 2012. There are recordings from several locations (I use the term 'recordings' because it seems more accurate than film terms when referring to digital recordings of visual material - which include audio after all), but the main areas I spent some time in are Shibuya, Uguisudani (Negishi), and Nippori. I'll make a few additional comments after some of the video titles/links below, but mainly the titles are fairly self-explanatory.
Twilight Ride - Nippori-Toneri Liner 日暮里舎人ライナー (121011g)
http://youtu.be/Kd68_w4AdbI
A view from the front of this computer-driven (no human driver) train (with rubber tires - not steel wheels) in the twilight. I generally don't like acronyms, but this train probably ought to have one. "Nippori-Toneri Liner" is a bit over the top - "NTL Line" would make more sense, especially since, if you put "Line" into the name, you would end up with "Nippori-Toneri Liner Line", which a bit ridiculous. I think the old system of basing the line on two (and sometimes three) kanji would have been best: 東海道 (Tokaido), 山手 (Yamanote), 東西 (Tozai), 銀座 (Ginza), 東武 (Tobu), 西武 (Seibu), 京王 (Keio), 小田急 (Okakyu), 東急 (Tokyu), 東横 (Toyoko), etc., "日暮里舎人ライナー" is way too long - it's more like a sentence than a name....
Platform Stroll - Nippori-Toneri Line 日暮里_舎人ライナー (121011g)
http://youtu.be/HWJbaXFtBTY
Twilight at Nishi-Nippori (Nippori-Toneri Line) 121011g
http://youtu.be/eFxR8AgSbic
Watching Trains by Nippori Station One Evening (121011g)
http://youtu.be/rNd6mTHv_nI
A lot of trains pass by this area, so it has quite a busy feel to it in the evening.
Shibuya Afternoon Walkabout 渋谷昼散歩 (121011g)
http://youtu.be/5vx5KlgP66I
A look at Shibuya in the early afternoon - which has a bit different feel to it than at night (but of course...). In the plaza were three different amplified sound sources competing for ears....
Tokyo Station (Chuo Line to New Dome Interior) 121011g
http://youtu.be/3FD31ZVdEoE
Nishi-Nippori Station 西日暮里駅 (Boarding Yamanote Line) 121011
http://youtu.be/fEdBn6g_CiM
Nishi-Nippori - Walking Towards Station (121011)
http://youtu.be/v3-lLDf13mQ
Side Street by Nishi-Nippori (121011)
http://youtu.be/EiVYGCrKt0w
Twilight Nishi-Nippori Stroll 夕方西日暮里散歩 (121011)
http://youtu.be/Lc5bWVSo5mc
Twilight at Nippori Station (Walking Towards Nippori-Toneri Line) 121011
http://youtu.be/C9pG9zBU5vk
Side Streets Near Nippori Station (121011)
http://youtu.be/MtyP96PXCsk
Yanaka-Ginza Shotengai Stroll 谷中銀座散歩 (121011)
http://youtu.be/Ydaq9My1iKs
This shotengai has become a tourist draw. This sort of shopping street used to just be the norm, but has become something rather nostalgic as people's shopping habits have changed - putting many small shops out of business.
Walking Towards Yanaka-Ginza Shotengai (121011)
http://youtu.be/HyASThSVHKk
Stone Path - One October Evening (121011)
http://youtu.be/yr9OYmgNMRk
Walking on a stone path that goes through a cemetery.
Shibuya Plaza Afternoon View (121011)
http://youtu.be/htXbmnU9rEA
Afternoon Walk to Shibuya Station (121011)
http://youtu.be/ZXMI2mAKTrQ
Shibuya (Walking Over to New Building) 121011
http://youtu.be/Uc6FIWhEvRE
Riding Escalator in Shibuya Hikarie 渋谷ヒカリエ (121011)
http://youtu.be/T7Uve9ZYhc4
This was my first visit to this new high-rise building in Shibuya. It's actually rather interesting - with a whole range of things inside, from department store and restaurants, to convention center, movie theater, music hall, and sitting atop all that, office space.
Restaurant Floor in Shibuya Hikarie 渋谷ヒカリエ (121011)
http://youtu.be/ixavqaQTuYI
Shibuya Hikarie Elevator and 11F 渋谷ヒカリエ (121011)
http://youtu.be/mnc8Ya9Tw1Y
Shibuya Hikarie 11F and 9F Lookaround 渋谷ヒカリエ (121011)
http://youtu.be/XHKAslDFYfM
Shibuya Station East Side Overhead View (121011)
http://youtu.be/NYtXydmHYtw
Looking at the sea of construction equipment that is between this new building and Shibuya Station. I'm not sure what's going to happen to this area exactly. Either they are going to do major construction on something, or possibly some (or all) of the construction equipment there is related to the large new high-rise?
Shibuya Hikarie 9F and 8F Lookaround 渋谷ヒカリエ (121011)
http://youtu.be/ApYkPEtX-f4
Restaurant Stroll (Shibuya Hikarie 渋谷ヒカリエ) 121011
http://youtu.be/_5c1-xqvNHc
Elevator View (Ascending) Shibuya Hikarie 渋谷ヒカリエ (121011)
http://youtu.be/M2dAA-5w-Vw
These glass-sided elevators are quite visually interesting to ride in, as they provide a view both of outside and of the various cables and counterweights that make up this bank of elevators.
Elevator View (Descending) Shibuya Hikarie 渋谷ヒカリエ (121011)
http://youtu.be/iPzg1IFk3V0
Walkway to Shibuya Station (East Side) 121011
http://youtu.be/B4YfOQc1Qb4
This walkway connects the new high-rise with Shibuya Station.
Shibuya Station (Yamanote Line Platform Etc.) 121011
http://youtu.be/_4QtB8klIms
Shibuya to Shinagawa (Yamanote Line) 渋谷から品川まで (121011)
http://youtu.be/iOxkgA4HxVE
Shinagawa to Uguisudani (Yamanote Line) 品川から鶯谷まで (121011)
http://youtu.be/m1DbAPQcduM
Uguisudani Afternoon Platform North Exit 鶯谷駅北口 (121011)
http://youtu.be/nfgwYcEZZPY
Sort of the back entrance/exit to Uguisudani Station - the main exit is from the opposite end of the platforms.
Uguisudani North Exit Tunnel 鶯谷駅北口トンネル (121011)
http://youtu.be/O3KG7G2Lsn0
Streetcars in Otsuka (121011)
http://youtu.be/-FqMOpGte18
Walking Through Otsuka Station (Outside the Ticket Gates) 121011
http://youtu.be/puceBdRl_p8
Back Street Near Otsuka Station (121011)
http://youtu.be/_FY__y1s3hQ
Otsuka (Walking Towards North Side Shotengai) 121011
http://youtu.be/1Yfs3o9LU2Y
Otsuka to Shinjuku Night Ride 大塚から新宿まで (山手線) 121011
http://youtu.be/TSf2jx5E71w
Shinjuku - Exiting South Exit 新宿駅南口 (121011)
http://youtu.be/vnwQABCTnc4
Shinjuku - From the South Entrance to the Chuo Line (121011)
http://youtu.be/bq3bgKBW18U
Quick Look at Marunouchi Buildings at Night (121011)
http://youtu.be/eENNOygz-_4
Since Tokyo Station was under reconstruction for so long, the area seems transformed with the construction barrier walls finally removed.
Walking Through Tokyo Station at Night (121011)
http://youtu.be/KECx63oXBmY
Uguisudani North Exit Trackside (121011)
http://youtu.be/Lmom_GpDovo
鶯谷/根岸の元三島神社 Shrine near Uguisudani Station (121011)
http://youtu.be/HLvH8H2w3Lk
Negishi Roadside Stroll 根岸道の散歩 (121011)
http://youtu.be/-rDoS-DOIB4
Negishi is the area right next to Uguisudani Station.
Negishi Under-Road Bicycle Parking 根岸 (121011)
http://youtu.be/MIrUuqPil40
Walking Against an Afternoon Sun (Negishi 根岸) 121011
http://youtu.be/iS7tk7PY_qs
Quiet Side Streets in Negishi 根岸 (121011)
http://youtu.be/WdQmHb482YQ
View from Uguisudani Platform 鶯谷駅からのビュー (121011)
http://youtu.be/OaVfToPZlZU
Uguisudani Upper Level Passageways 鶯谷駅上の通路南口 (121011)
http://youtu.be/XKDXl4aGJXY
As this area is under construction, it will probably end up being radically different in the not-too-distant future.
Negishi Bridge View of Railway 根岸橋のビュー (121011)
http://youtu.be/B1yjpxVDPAY
Side Street Stroll (Negishi) 121011
http://youtu.be/LIJTYrV9F3M
Negishi Trackside Street Stroll (121011)
http://youtu.be/5i-nGNlAs_s
Negishi Izakaya Side Street 根岸居酒屋 (121011)
http://youtu.be/3fmKd9sqHBY
Entering Uguisudani Station via South Entrance (121011)
http://youtu.be/bjI1MDtQ7xw
Uguisudani to Nippori 鶯谷から日暮里まで (Yamanote Line) 121011
http://youtu.be/_fm9BnTeNO4
Exiting JR-Nippori Station 日暮里駅 (121011)
http://youtu.be/l6mXrOtO_U4
Walking Away from Nippori Station 日暮里駅 (121011)
http://youtu.be/kwlortLAjSg
Shinjuku Yamanote Platform (Daytime) 121011
http://youtu.be/71aRu3EXzc8
Shinjuku to Shibuya (Yamanote Line) 新宿から渋谷まで山手線 (121011)
http://youtu.be/OoUn9XRP878
Street Next to Cemetery Near Uguisudani Station (121011)
http://youtu.be/W75pzzvYbHg
Front Cab - Waiting to Start (Nippori-Toneri Liner 日暮里舎人ライナー) 121011
http://youtu.be/EIK6pJjtnKk
Since the train is driven by computer, with no human driver, you can sit right in front where (on a regular train) a driver would sit.
Shinjuku - Street Musicians Near South Exit (121011)
http://youtu.be/5X1Uuh5DEzU
Yurakucho Izakaya Tunnel Walk-through (121011)
http://youtu.be/tf18MIlZ5tA
Train Passing Yurakucho-SB at Night (121011)
http://youtu.be/ZkXIe1wYRB4
Izakaya Night Scene (Short) 121011
http://youtu.be/yqGSkQHzm_4
Yurakucho to Tokyo (121011)
http://youtu.be/myJiCITbia4
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
Monday, October 15, 2012
Sunday, October 14, 2012
"Late Morning Shadows" (September 2012)
"Late Morning Shadows" (September 2012)
Copyright 2012 by Lyle H Saxon
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
"1990 Motoyawata, Hibarigaoka, Shakujikoen; 2012 Shinagawa, Etc."
The first batch of clips are from October 1990 - with a trip to Motoyawata and Shakujikoen as excursions, and several other out-and-about clips from central Tokyo. I'll comment after several of the titles/links. Incidentally, the on-camera commentary I recorded for this 1990 material is in Japanese. (Back then, for some tapes I used English, and for others Japanese. This one is in Japanese.)
The main location featured in the 2012 material in this batch is Shinagawa - with several clips featuring a walk to Sengakuji Temple, where the graves of the famous 47-Ronin are. An e-acquaintance requested footage of Sengakuji, and I went out there to get pictures of the temple... and discovered that the 47-Ronin graves were there when I got to talking with a local at the temple. He (and many readers perhaps!) was amazed that I had gone there without knowing about that aspect to the temple. He told me that he often sees people from all over the world visiting the temple specifically to see the graves of the 47-Ronin, so it must have been strange to meet someone who was there without knowing about that. (I know that story very well, but I never thought to look into where their graves were.) Again - I'll make additional comments after several of the titles/links.
1990 Hibarigaoka Shotengai ひばりが丘商店街 (901009)
http://youtu.be/4apk3NRGYnk
There are some detail changes, but the last time I visited this shopping street, it was largely the same. An area near to the station that was in the process of being torn down in November 1990 is now completely rebuilt.
1990 Hibarigaoka to Shinjuku (901009)
http://youtu.be/gjGQ87ao5xs
1990 Midnight Ride - Yutenji to Musashisakai (901006)
http://youtu.be/VEIfLaQDgJE
Nothing particularly exciting, but this shows what some of the last trains of the night are like - taken sometime between 12:00 midnight and 1:00 a.m. The entire train system in Tokyo shuts down every night, so there's typically a rush to get on the last trains that go into the suburbs on the one hand, and a fair number of people taking the first trains from around 5:00 a.m. - who missed the last trains the night before - on the other.
1990 Motoyawata Bookstore 本八幡本屋 (901006)
http://youtu.be/xObcn28w8kU
I didn't spend a lot of time there, but I rode the subway out to the end of the line, which was this station, and then returned to central Tokyo via surface trains (which is what the "Motoyawata to Yutenji" video below shows). In Motoyawata, I just walked around a bit and checked out the inside of a bookstore near the station.
1990 Motoyawata to Yutenji 本八幡から祐天寺まで (901006)
http://youtu.be/aCn-S0kiNoM
Judging from the many details of my life in these old videos that I had forgotten about until seeing the video footage (that I took myself) again - it's truly amazing how much of our lives go missing in our conscious memories. You know how some old people tend to repeat what seems like a rather limited number of stories from their past? It doesn't mean that's all they did - it means those are things that stand out in their memories. I don't know what percentage goes missing, but I would guess it's something like 95%? Don't believe me? Try recalling every single day from your life about two or three decades before. While some people can actually do that, most of us can just recall large events and a set of sharp memories connected with the large events - along with a range of generic memories that consist of remnants of old templates? Or something like that. In any case, had I not seen this video footage again, I don't think I would have ever recalled any event at all from this particular day.
1990 Rainy Day - Hibarigaoka to Tamachi (901008)
http://youtu.be/XxFW0hHZfqE
1990 Typhoon Approaching - Tamachi, Ikebukuro, Etc. (901008)
http://youtu.be/32ulGRUyjTI
The evening produced an ominous-looking sky, and since a typhoon was passing nearby, it seemed as though it might come through Tokyo, but while there were strong winds, things calmed down fairly quickly. Some of the anticipation/worry/excitement of the event is evident in this video.
1990年 - 日本語を話してくれよ (901012)
http://youtu.be/H3e_9XOjCvA
I began taking this video mid-way into trying to order a hamburger in Japanese. As I point out on the video (in Japanese) the shopkeepers seemed to be intensely committed to believing that I couldn't speak Japanese, so they couldn't hear me when I spoke in Japanese. They figure out I can use the national language at the end of the video though.
1990 Visit to Fast Food Place (901009)
http://youtu.be/Gx1gIeRPbBA
This is historically interesting, as this building was torn down not long after I took this and a combination Parco retail store and apartment building was put up in its place (all of the other small buildings on both sides were also torn down to make way for the large building).
1990 Hibarigaoka to Tamachi, Etc. (901011)
http://youtu.be/WtAAyY0GYCM
1990 JR to Seibu Transfer (Ikebukuro) 901009
http://youtu.be/AHugW--JWvc
This was a rather long transfer - forcing people who used the Seibu Line to walk past the Seibu Department Store. I used to look over at the department store with resentment - figuring that someone must have purposely positioned the railway in an inconvenient place that forced people to walk past the department store; no doubt expecting this would generate extra sales. It backfired in my case at least, I resented the location of Seibu-Ikebukuro Station so much that I boycotted the Seibu Department Store.
1990 Machida Afternoon (901012)
http://youtu.be/fKhs1bvEymc
1990 Machida to Hibarigaoka (901012)
http://youtu.be/XOHpoW-Xcig
1990 Nighttime Hibarigaoka (901011)
http://youtu.be/Z3q1Ke84WdU
The views seen in this video have changed a bit with the reconstruction of Hibarigaoka Station and other new construction (after demolition of older structures).
1990 Nighttime Nishi-Shinjuku (901011)
http://youtu.be/ppNRmZnEy2s
1990 Seibu Line from Hibarigaoka (901012)
http://youtu.be/FYqwu0czS3o
1990 Shinjuku to Hibarigaoka (901011)
http://youtu.be/ZDiegU943H4
1990 Shinjuku to Ikebukuro, Etc. (901009)
http://youtu.be/xNeFAi8c_8w
1990 Tamachi to Shinjuku, Etc. (901011)
http://youtu.be/tdiLKBfOYZM
1990 Hibarigaoka to Tanashi via Bus (901013) ひばりが丘 田無
http://youtu.be/VdQsb8U5yOU
The buses used now are different, so this has a nostalgic feel to it.
1990 Tanashi to Kami-igusa 田無から上井草まで (901013)
http://youtu.be/NEL_uLDFfrs
1990 Walk - Kami-igusa to Shakujikoen 石神井公園 (901013)
http://youtu.be/AHLLDiEtiG8
1990 Shakujikoen Park in the Rain 雨の石神井公園 (901013)
http://youtu.be/v_NnMlrWIfA
I had often seen people fishing in this pond, but this was the first time (and the last time) that I saw someone actually catch a fish. This was the same pond that reportedly had an alligator in it, which was either a false rumor, or maybe someone actually did put one in, and it died? Probably it was just a rumor, but for some time after that, whenever visiting this park, there was The Mystery of the Phantom Alligator in the air and you would scan the pond for any sign of protruding eyes. The rumor(?) was taken seriously enough that they actually organized a search of the pond to determine if there was something like that in there or not. They didn't find anything.
1990 Walk to Shakujikoen Station 石神井公園駅 (901013)
http://youtu.be/7Xcm673n6OE
1990 Shakujikoen Station 石神井公園駅 (901013)
http://youtu.be/hUg3VbWVq7g
More history - this station has been completely rebuilt since this was taken, so this is pure history (architecturally speaking). The old wooden stations had a completely different feel to them than the modern stations do.
Majima Hidenori Exhibition 間島秀徳展 (121009)
http://youtu.be/-u9F8szDURc
Takanawa Side Street 高輪横道 (121009)
http://youtu.be/tOSSRVK6v28
Shinagawa Main Road (R15) 品川 (121009)
http://youtu.be/4PyQA4ibvVQ
Entering Sengakuji Temple 泉岳寺 (121009)
http://youtu.be/I9SGSZoaxDU
Front of Sengakuji Temple Building (121009)
http://youtu.be/4Pgiqtt4Q9A
Incense and Sky (121009)
http://youtu.be/-wjlYdww8zc
Sengakuji Temple (Looking Around) 泉岳寺 Path to 47R (121009)
http://youtu.be/SqrJDxml1kM
An e-acquaintance suggested I might want to check out this temple, and so I walked around inside, taking the above video, including (towards the end of this clip) the graves of the 47-Ronin. The thing was though, I didn't realize what I was recording until I ended up talking with an older local (near the exit gate) who filled me in on the history of the place. He was surprised/amazed that I had come there without knowing that historical connection (I knew the story of the 47-Ronin of course, but didn't know where they were buried. After finding out about the history, I went back and recorded the following video.
47-Samurai/Ronin Graves at Sengakuji (121009)
http://youtu.be/VpEDdLUhuV8
Hamamatsucho to Tokyo 浜松町から東京まで (121009)
http://youtu.be/J06pl5FRzUg
Yurakucho to Tokyo 有楽町から東京まで (121009)
http://youtu.be/YnwWNrkkcNA
Street Down Below (121009)
http://youtu.be/lGLdnTXZG9Y
Looking down at a typical street. How much more interesting would Tokyo be without all the lifeless black asphalt choking off the earth for the sake of fire-breathing machinery?
Exiting Chuo Line at Tokyo Station (Walk to Exit) 121009
http://youtu.be/iXwHKhDbRC8
Post Office by Tokyo Station (Newly Reopened) 121009
http://youtu.be/3BnUKEkrbjU
The very front of what used to be the Tokyo Central Post Office is once again open as a post office, but is - since they demolished most of the building in order to put up a steel and glass office tower - apparently just a typical post office now. I was at least happy to see the old familiar high-ceiling space again (I used to often buy stamps here).
360-View (Front of Tokyo Station) 121009
http://youtu.be/z0fBPxmDIPg
There used to be a kind of small park in front of Tokyo Station, but now it's just one huge sea of black asphalt. Presumably this is temporary and they'll put something nice into this space. Until very recently, it was a kind of a parking lot for construction equipment and materials while Tokyo Station was undergoing reconstruction.
People Photographing Tokyo Station (121009)
http://youtu.be/me0ijkKofhE
People all seem to be impressed with the rebirth of the 1914 design. It really is a welcome contrast to 21st century glass and steel towers.
Tokyo Station Renovated Dome Interior (121009)
http://youtu.be/_QdZNpVrdFg
The original domes were apparently very ornamental, but were destroyed in the fire-bombing raids on Tokyo in 1945, and then rebuilt (for the first rebuild - this current rebuild is the second time) in a simpler, plainer design following the war. Reportedly, this second rebuild (2012) restores the two domes to their original 1914 design.
Back Side of Renovated Tokyo Station (121009)
http://youtu.be/Owb17l-0PaA
Ginza 4-Chome Intersection (121009)
http://youtu.be/kM6rSAp6WYA
Chuo Line Platform (Tokyo Station) 121009
http://youtu.be/t10qbuODcH0
Takanawa Small Temple (121009)
http://youtu.be/VlGIzON4qvc
Mysterious Old House in Shinagawa (121009)
http://youtu.be/dbFClgJpaRk
While there are still some old wooden houses (like the one in this video) here and there, this particular one is in Shinagawa - not far from the station! It's about the most expensive real estate in the entire country. Probably the main reason the owner of this house has been able to hold out, is the house is in the center at the end of the street. Taking a close look, it's clear that the property was trimmed on both sides (bought for a substantial sum of money no doubt), and as it now stands, with the newer development there on both sides of the house, it isn't really in the way of anything. Personally, I think it transforms an otherwise boring street into something with character. It's not even a fire hazard, since if it burns down, it won't cause anything else to burn with it. I stood there for a little while, looking at that old house with its history and character, and thinking how it would be great to live in one of the upscale apartments on the side *and* to own that house - and use it as a party house.
But speaking of people not wanting to move as neighborhoods are developed (and they are always relentlessly developed in Tokyo!), what was done in a lot of cases, was developers offered homeowners the top floor (or two for smaller properties) of buildings - essentially penthouse apartments - to live in if they agreed to sell, and so there are a fair number of office buildings in Tokyo with an old couple living on the top floor.
Shinagawa - Walking Along the Main Street (121009)
http://youtu.be/a-KyMbiOxKc
Entering Shinagawa Station (Afternoon) 121009
http://youtu.be/HAicg0a1dJs
Shinagawa (Yamanote and Keihin-Tohoku Line Platforms) 121009
http://youtu.be/zjCs8nPPLyU
Shinagawa to Hamamatsucho (Afternoon Yamanote Line) 121009
http://youtu.be/TZUJN21ZIhE
Tokaido Line Platform (Tokyo Station) 121009
http://youtu.be/mJrzKyuJxxU
Tokyo to Shinagawa (Tokaido Line - Left Side) 121009
http://youtu.be/XQlBGWrHQfw
Shinagawa Station and West Side (121009)
http://youtu.be/fi-lunOnWyQ
Kyu-Shiba Rikyu Garden 旧芝離宮恩賜庭園 (121009g)
http://youtu.be/Xg8IUW8_Fug
This is a very nice traditional garden - dating back to the Edo Era. It's on landfill, but over three-century-old landfill, so it has a settled feel to it. According to Wikipedia [full article here]:
"The land was reclaimed between 1655 and 1658. In 1678 the site was used for the official samurai style residence of Ōkubo Tadamoto (1604–1670), member of the Ōkubo clan and an official of the Tokugawa shogunate. The residence garden was designed by garden designers from the Odawara Domain, until 1614 under the rule of Daimyo from the Ōkubo clan. The garden was then known as Rakujuen."
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
The main location featured in the 2012 material in this batch is Shinagawa - with several clips featuring a walk to Sengakuji Temple, where the graves of the famous 47-Ronin are. An e-acquaintance requested footage of Sengakuji, and I went out there to get pictures of the temple... and discovered that the 47-Ronin graves were there when I got to talking with a local at the temple. He (and many readers perhaps!) was amazed that I had gone there without knowing about that aspect to the temple. He told me that he often sees people from all over the world visiting the temple specifically to see the graves of the 47-Ronin, so it must have been strange to meet someone who was there without knowing about that. (I know that story very well, but I never thought to look into where their graves were.) Again - I'll make additional comments after several of the titles/links.
1990 Hibarigaoka Shotengai ひばりが丘商店街 (901009)
http://youtu.be/4apk3NRGYnk
There are some detail changes, but the last time I visited this shopping street, it was largely the same. An area near to the station that was in the process of being torn down in November 1990 is now completely rebuilt.
1990 Hibarigaoka to Shinjuku (901009)
http://youtu.be/gjGQ87ao5xs
1990 Midnight Ride - Yutenji to Musashisakai (901006)
http://youtu.be/VEIfLaQDgJE
Nothing particularly exciting, but this shows what some of the last trains of the night are like - taken sometime between 12:00 midnight and 1:00 a.m. The entire train system in Tokyo shuts down every night, so there's typically a rush to get on the last trains that go into the suburbs on the one hand, and a fair number of people taking the first trains from around 5:00 a.m. - who missed the last trains the night before - on the other.
1990 Motoyawata Bookstore 本八幡本屋 (901006)
http://youtu.be/xObcn28w8kU
I didn't spend a lot of time there, but I rode the subway out to the end of the line, which was this station, and then returned to central Tokyo via surface trains (which is what the "Motoyawata to Yutenji" video below shows). In Motoyawata, I just walked around a bit and checked out the inside of a bookstore near the station.
1990 Motoyawata to Yutenji 本八幡から祐天寺まで (901006)
http://youtu.be/aCn-S0kiNoM
Judging from the many details of my life in these old videos that I had forgotten about until seeing the video footage (that I took myself) again - it's truly amazing how much of our lives go missing in our conscious memories. You know how some old people tend to repeat what seems like a rather limited number of stories from their past? It doesn't mean that's all they did - it means those are things that stand out in their memories. I don't know what percentage goes missing, but I would guess it's something like 95%? Don't believe me? Try recalling every single day from your life about two or three decades before. While some people can actually do that, most of us can just recall large events and a set of sharp memories connected with the large events - along with a range of generic memories that consist of remnants of old templates? Or something like that. In any case, had I not seen this video footage again, I don't think I would have ever recalled any event at all from this particular day.
1990 Rainy Day - Hibarigaoka to Tamachi (901008)
http://youtu.be/XxFW0hHZfqE
1990 Typhoon Approaching - Tamachi, Ikebukuro, Etc. (901008)
http://youtu.be/32ulGRUyjTI
The evening produced an ominous-looking sky, and since a typhoon was passing nearby, it seemed as though it might come through Tokyo, but while there were strong winds, things calmed down fairly quickly. Some of the anticipation/worry/excitement of the event is evident in this video.
1990年 - 日本語を話してくれよ (901012)
http://youtu.be/H3e_9XOjCvA
I began taking this video mid-way into trying to order a hamburger in Japanese. As I point out on the video (in Japanese) the shopkeepers seemed to be intensely committed to believing that I couldn't speak Japanese, so they couldn't hear me when I spoke in Japanese. They figure out I can use the national language at the end of the video though.
1990 Visit to Fast Food Place (901009)
http://youtu.be/Gx1gIeRPbBA
This is historically interesting, as this building was torn down not long after I took this and a combination Parco retail store and apartment building was put up in its place (all of the other small buildings on both sides were also torn down to make way for the large building).
1990 Hibarigaoka to Tamachi, Etc. (901011)
http://youtu.be/WtAAyY0GYCM
1990 JR to Seibu Transfer (Ikebukuro) 901009
http://youtu.be/AHugW--JWvc
This was a rather long transfer - forcing people who used the Seibu Line to walk past the Seibu Department Store. I used to look over at the department store with resentment - figuring that someone must have purposely positioned the railway in an inconvenient place that forced people to walk past the department store; no doubt expecting this would generate extra sales. It backfired in my case at least, I resented the location of Seibu-Ikebukuro Station so much that I boycotted the Seibu Department Store.
1990 Machida Afternoon (901012)
http://youtu.be/fKhs1bvEymc
1990 Machida to Hibarigaoka (901012)
http://youtu.be/XOHpoW-Xcig
1990 Nighttime Hibarigaoka (901011)
http://youtu.be/Z3q1Ke84WdU
The views seen in this video have changed a bit with the reconstruction of Hibarigaoka Station and other new construction (after demolition of older structures).
1990 Nighttime Nishi-Shinjuku (901011)
http://youtu.be/ppNRmZnEy2s
1990 Seibu Line from Hibarigaoka (901012)
http://youtu.be/FYqwu0czS3o
1990 Shinjuku to Hibarigaoka (901011)
http://youtu.be/ZDiegU943H4
1990 Shinjuku to Ikebukuro, Etc. (901009)
http://youtu.be/xNeFAi8c_8w
1990 Tamachi to Shinjuku, Etc. (901011)
http://youtu.be/tdiLKBfOYZM
1990 Hibarigaoka to Tanashi via Bus (901013) ひばりが丘 田無
http://youtu.be/VdQsb8U5yOU
The buses used now are different, so this has a nostalgic feel to it.
1990 Tanashi to Kami-igusa 田無から上井草まで (901013)
http://youtu.be/NEL_uLDFfrs
1990 Walk - Kami-igusa to Shakujikoen 石神井公園 (901013)
http://youtu.be/AHLLDiEtiG8
1990 Shakujikoen Park in the Rain 雨の石神井公園 (901013)
http://youtu.be/v_NnMlrWIfA
I had often seen people fishing in this pond, but this was the first time (and the last time) that I saw someone actually catch a fish. This was the same pond that reportedly had an alligator in it, which was either a false rumor, or maybe someone actually did put one in, and it died? Probably it was just a rumor, but for some time after that, whenever visiting this park, there was The Mystery of the Phantom Alligator in the air and you would scan the pond for any sign of protruding eyes. The rumor(?) was taken seriously enough that they actually organized a search of the pond to determine if there was something like that in there or not. They didn't find anything.
1990 Walk to Shakujikoen Station 石神井公園駅 (901013)
http://youtu.be/7Xcm673n6OE
1990 Shakujikoen Station 石神井公園駅 (901013)
http://youtu.be/hUg3VbWVq7g
More history - this station has been completely rebuilt since this was taken, so this is pure history (architecturally speaking). The old wooden stations had a completely different feel to them than the modern stations do.
Majima Hidenori Exhibition 間島秀徳展 (121009)
http://youtu.be/-u9F8szDURc
Takanawa Side Street 高輪横道 (121009)
http://youtu.be/tOSSRVK6v28
Shinagawa Main Road (R15) 品川 (121009)
http://youtu.be/4PyQA4ibvVQ
Entering Sengakuji Temple 泉岳寺 (121009)
http://youtu.be/I9SGSZoaxDU
Front of Sengakuji Temple Building (121009)
http://youtu.be/4Pgiqtt4Q9A
Incense and Sky (121009)
http://youtu.be/-wjlYdww8zc
Sengakuji Temple (Looking Around) 泉岳寺 Path to 47R (121009)
http://youtu.be/SqrJDxml1kM
An e-acquaintance suggested I might want to check out this temple, and so I walked around inside, taking the above video, including (towards the end of this clip) the graves of the 47-Ronin. The thing was though, I didn't realize what I was recording until I ended up talking with an older local (near the exit gate) who filled me in on the history of the place. He was surprised/amazed that I had come there without knowing that historical connection (I knew the story of the 47-Ronin of course, but didn't know where they were buried. After finding out about the history, I went back and recorded the following video.
47-Samurai/Ronin Graves at Sengakuji (121009)
http://youtu.be/VpEDdLUhuV8
Hamamatsucho to Tokyo 浜松町から東京まで (121009)
http://youtu.be/J06pl5FRzUg
Yurakucho to Tokyo 有楽町から東京まで (121009)
http://youtu.be/YnwWNrkkcNA
Street Down Below (121009)
http://youtu.be/lGLdnTXZG9Y
Looking down at a typical street. How much more interesting would Tokyo be without all the lifeless black asphalt choking off the earth for the sake of fire-breathing machinery?
Exiting Chuo Line at Tokyo Station (Walk to Exit) 121009
http://youtu.be/iXwHKhDbRC8
Post Office by Tokyo Station (Newly Reopened) 121009
http://youtu.be/3BnUKEkrbjU
The very front of what used to be the Tokyo Central Post Office is once again open as a post office, but is - since they demolished most of the building in order to put up a steel and glass office tower - apparently just a typical post office now. I was at least happy to see the old familiar high-ceiling space again (I used to often buy stamps here).
360-View (Front of Tokyo Station) 121009
http://youtu.be/z0fBPxmDIPg
There used to be a kind of small park in front of Tokyo Station, but now it's just one huge sea of black asphalt. Presumably this is temporary and they'll put something nice into this space. Until very recently, it was a kind of a parking lot for construction equipment and materials while Tokyo Station was undergoing reconstruction.
People Photographing Tokyo Station (121009)
http://youtu.be/me0ijkKofhE
People all seem to be impressed with the rebirth of the 1914 design. It really is a welcome contrast to 21st century glass and steel towers.
Tokyo Station Renovated Dome Interior (121009)
http://youtu.be/_QdZNpVrdFg
The original domes were apparently very ornamental, but were destroyed in the fire-bombing raids on Tokyo in 1945, and then rebuilt (for the first rebuild - this current rebuild is the second time) in a simpler, plainer design following the war. Reportedly, this second rebuild (2012) restores the two domes to their original 1914 design.
Back Side of Renovated Tokyo Station (121009)
http://youtu.be/Owb17l-0PaA
Ginza 4-Chome Intersection (121009)
http://youtu.be/kM6rSAp6WYA
Chuo Line Platform (Tokyo Station) 121009
http://youtu.be/t10qbuODcH0
Takanawa Small Temple (121009)
http://youtu.be/VlGIzON4qvc
Mysterious Old House in Shinagawa (121009)
http://youtu.be/dbFClgJpaRk
While there are still some old wooden houses (like the one in this video) here and there, this particular one is in Shinagawa - not far from the station! It's about the most expensive real estate in the entire country. Probably the main reason the owner of this house has been able to hold out, is the house is in the center at the end of the street. Taking a close look, it's clear that the property was trimmed on both sides (bought for a substantial sum of money no doubt), and as it now stands, with the newer development there on both sides of the house, it isn't really in the way of anything. Personally, I think it transforms an otherwise boring street into something with character. It's not even a fire hazard, since if it burns down, it won't cause anything else to burn with it. I stood there for a little while, looking at that old house with its history and character, and thinking how it would be great to live in one of the upscale apartments on the side *and* to own that house - and use it as a party house.
But speaking of people not wanting to move as neighborhoods are developed (and they are always relentlessly developed in Tokyo!), what was done in a lot of cases, was developers offered homeowners the top floor (or two for smaller properties) of buildings - essentially penthouse apartments - to live in if they agreed to sell, and so there are a fair number of office buildings in Tokyo with an old couple living on the top floor.
Shinagawa - Walking Along the Main Street (121009)
http://youtu.be/a-KyMbiOxKc
Entering Shinagawa Station (Afternoon) 121009
http://youtu.be/HAicg0a1dJs
Shinagawa (Yamanote and Keihin-Tohoku Line Platforms) 121009
http://youtu.be/zjCs8nPPLyU
Shinagawa to Hamamatsucho (Afternoon Yamanote Line) 121009
http://youtu.be/TZUJN21ZIhE
Tokaido Line Platform (Tokyo Station) 121009
http://youtu.be/mJrzKyuJxxU
Tokyo to Shinagawa (Tokaido Line - Left Side) 121009
http://youtu.be/XQlBGWrHQfw
Shinagawa Station and West Side (121009)
http://youtu.be/fi-lunOnWyQ
Kyu-Shiba Rikyu Garden 旧芝離宮恩賜庭園 (121009g)
http://youtu.be/Xg8IUW8_Fug
This is a very nice traditional garden - dating back to the Edo Era. It's on landfill, but over three-century-old landfill, so it has a settled feel to it. According to Wikipedia [full article here]:
"The land was reclaimed between 1655 and 1658. In 1678 the site was used for the official samurai style residence of Ōkubo Tadamoto (1604–1670), member of the Ōkubo clan and an official of the Tokugawa shogunate. The residence garden was designed by garden designers from the Odawara Domain, until 1614 under the rule of Daimyo from the Ōkubo clan. The garden was then known as Rakujuen."
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
Saturday, October 06, 2012
"Kawagoe - September 2012"
"Kawagoe - September 2012"
Copyright 2012 by Lyle H Saxon
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
"Impressions From June 1997"
[2012/10/06]: Back in 1997, an e-mail acquaintance sent me this: "[Can you write about] more impressions of your environment - what it looks/sounds/smells/tastes/feels like? Any particular favorite places? What is the layout of the land like? (Hilly? Flat? Crowded with buildings? Tenements? Factories? All mixed up?) Where are the gardens, and what do they look like? What does it feel like going from point-A to point-B?" - and in answer I wrote this:
With the above in mind, I wrote down the following by hand while out and about a few days ago:
97/06/10 - 21:29: I'm now on a commuter line train, leaving the city center, but not escaping it's grasp. I'm sitting between a woman with her eyes closed (not asleep) on my right, and a man on my left. Two men standing to my right seem to be enjoying an alcohol afterglow as they talk and laugh. A stern-faced man standing off to my left gives me the evil eye. The man seated on my left gets off the train... 'evil-eye' sits next to me. There's that vampire aspect.., whatever it is, I don't like it, so I'm standing up, moving.
Now I'm standing in the middle of the train. In the old days, I wouldn't have moved as a matter of principle, but it just drains your energy, and what's the point?
I'm on a local train to escape the purgatory of the express trains.., at another of the frequent stops, a seated man gets off, enabling me to sit down again, and I'm away from the vampire. I'm only happy to be in a different space, and don't feel 'run out'. What is this abandonment of principle? I think there are just too many battles, so you get to a point where you realize that saving energy is the most important thing.
21:42 - Now the train is half-empty, as it's nearing the end of the line. I'll have to change trains to get where I'm going, but when I imagine everyone smashed together on the express train right now, I don't care when I get home. Now the train is waiting for an express to pass... there it is, rushing past with everyone all smashed together. If you spend a couple of hours in one of those sardine trains every day, it affects you... and not in a good way. Never mind the rest of the day, you're tired before you even start work for the day.
I don't know, if I could transport myself from this train and these people to other trains in other countries to compare, I could say something more meaningful. I only know, as I sit beneath the glaring florescent lights on this punctual, functional, but not very attractive train, that I want to live a different way than this.
21:56 - Second train (after transferring). There's a seat... The young woman on my right is showing her boyfriend her new passport. How will she (they?) view the world from outside Japan?
97/06/12 - 20:57: Shibuya. In a building by an open window on the fourth floor. Looking out the window, as the Yamanote Line trains rumble by through the trees... in the middle of the busy four lane road below, there are five people on a traffic island arranging flowers and food - one man is trying to light a candle... I can only imagine that a friend of theirs died in a traffic accident near there. Yes... no mistake - they are praying now.
Just as I wrote that, work called and soon thereafter the manager of the place came over and shut the window, which wouldn't have been much of a problem, but he has a row of air fresheners in the bathroom on the window sill, and their chemical smell is overpowering. It's a small thing, but it shows what I'm always battling in Tokyo. The unfortunate scene below notwithstanding, this building in Shibuya is next to a park, so there are leaves - green leaves to see and hear (when the wind blows) through the open window. The man shuts the window, cutting me off from that to which I want a connection, and then there's that horrible chemical smell that I don't want invading my lungs. Don't other people miss a connection to live plants, to the open sky?
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
With the above in mind, I wrote down the following by hand while out and about a few days ago:
97/06/10 - 21:29: I'm now on a commuter line train, leaving the city center, but not escaping it's grasp. I'm sitting between a woman with her eyes closed (not asleep) on my right, and a man on my left. Two men standing to my right seem to be enjoying an alcohol afterglow as they talk and laugh. A stern-faced man standing off to my left gives me the evil eye. The man seated on my left gets off the train... 'evil-eye' sits next to me. There's that vampire aspect.., whatever it is, I don't like it, so I'm standing up, moving.
Now I'm standing in the middle of the train. In the old days, I wouldn't have moved as a matter of principle, but it just drains your energy, and what's the point?
I'm on a local train to escape the purgatory of the express trains.., at another of the frequent stops, a seated man gets off, enabling me to sit down again, and I'm away from the vampire. I'm only happy to be in a different space, and don't feel 'run out'. What is this abandonment of principle? I think there are just too many battles, so you get to a point where you realize that saving energy is the most important thing.
21:42 - Now the train is half-empty, as it's nearing the end of the line. I'll have to change trains to get where I'm going, but when I imagine everyone smashed together on the express train right now, I don't care when I get home. Now the train is waiting for an express to pass... there it is, rushing past with everyone all smashed together. If you spend a couple of hours in one of those sardine trains every day, it affects you... and not in a good way. Never mind the rest of the day, you're tired before you even start work for the day.
I don't know, if I could transport myself from this train and these people to other trains in other countries to compare, I could say something more meaningful. I only know, as I sit beneath the glaring florescent lights on this punctual, functional, but not very attractive train, that I want to live a different way than this.
21:56 - Second train (after transferring). There's a seat... The young woman on my right is showing her boyfriend her new passport. How will she (they?) view the world from outside Japan?
97/06/12 - 20:57: Shibuya. In a building by an open window on the fourth floor. Looking out the window, as the Yamanote Line trains rumble by through the trees... in the middle of the busy four lane road below, there are five people on a traffic island arranging flowers and food - one man is trying to light a candle... I can only imagine that a friend of theirs died in a traffic accident near there. Yes... no mistake - they are praying now.
Just as I wrote that, work called and soon thereafter the manager of the place came over and shut the window, which wouldn't have been much of a problem, but he has a row of air fresheners in the bathroom on the window sill, and their chemical smell is overpowering. It's a small thing, but it shows what I'm always battling in Tokyo. The unfortunate scene below notwithstanding, this building in Shibuya is next to a park, so there are leaves - green leaves to see and hear (when the wind blows) through the open window. The man shuts the window, cutting me off from that to which I want a connection, and then there's that horrible chemical smell that I don't want invading my lungs. Don't other people miss a connection to live plants, to the open sky?
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
"Kawagoe Mystery Zone September 2012"
"Kawagoe Mystery Zone"
Copyright 2012 by Lyle H Saxon
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
"1990 Hibarigaoka; 1991 Tokyo Station; 2012 Tabata, Nishi-Nippori, Oimachi, Etc."
The first 1990 video of Hibarigaoka is interesting in that it shows the old Hibarigaoka Station and the old pre-Parco area. Compared to today's Hibarigaoka, it's basically "Showa Hibarigaoka" versus "Heisei Hibarigaoka". (By year, 1990 is the second year of Heisei, but there was a lot of carryover culture-wise several years into the Heisei era.)
In the Hibarigaoka to Toshimaen video, views of the old style Seibu Line stations are nostalgic to see now, since the old wooden structures in the video have vanished - replaced with new modern buildings.
The three main areas I visited in this batch of 2012 views are Tabata, Nishi-Nippori, and (again) Oimachi. Putting previous views of Oimachi together with this evening view, there are three times of day - morning, lunchtime, and evening.
1990 Nighttime Hibarigaoka (900914)
http://youtu.be/Plf4EGqxFZM
1990 Night Trains, Etc. (900914)
http://youtu.be/IAXOH0ezewg
1990 Hibarigaoka to Toshimaen (900925)
http://youtu.be/NexGCQvylhw
1991 Tokyo Station Before Reconstruction (910330g) 1991年の東京駅と東京駅ホテル
http://youtu.be/9f0iWAYbNrw
On March 30th, 1991, I devoted a full day to videoing Tokyo Station and the area immediately around it (including the old Marunouchi Building and the old Central Post Office building (which was 95% destroyed, with only the front facade remaining, which has been integrated with a new high-rise office building). In this clip, I also recorded views of the Tokyo Station Hotel and Tokyo Station Art Gallery.
Insect Noises (Early October) 121003h
http://youtu.be/zXbK6ATCy_4
Trains Passing Oimachi Train Yard (120925h)
http://youtu.be/FETJr1oLGG8
Beside Yamanote Line Train Yard (Oimachi) 120925h
http://youtu.be/WpuPPIHvK8E
Parking Yamanote Line Train (Oimachi Train Yard) 120925h
http://youtu.be/ztwkKfYrfnk
All these years where I've had to get off of Yamanote Line trains that had Osaki as the last stop, and I never realized there was a big train yard for Yamanote Line trains by Oimachi - which is just a short distance from Osaki.
Bus Ride (Front View) 121003h
http://youtu.be/lVYGvCjHxjw
Tabata Walkway (121002h)
http://youtu.be/Z7chQoWB9gs
Trains by Tabata Side Entrance (121002h)
http://youtu.be/UZBGuBR8EVw
Passing Trains (Tabata) 121002h
http://youtu.be/c_P1ogRRztw
Tabata Walkway (121002h)
http://youtu.be/Z7chQoWB9gs
Nishi-Nippori Street View (121002h)
http://youtu.be/u0KJT6inYO0
Trains in Nishi-Nippori (121002h)
http://youtu.be/4l4n56A-pyg
Nishi-Nippori Platform (Seen from Distance) 121002h
http://youtu.be/FZHnL1msH40
What's a 62 Galaxie Doing on that Sign? (121002)
http://youtu.be/NYzWkt-CDS0
It was used because it looks good I guess. I looked up and... "Wait... I know that car! That's a 1962 Galaxie!". The big round taillights are easily recognizable. (The 61-64 Galaxies all have them, but each year is a little different.)
Exiting Morning Chuo Line (Shinjuku) 121002
http://youtu.be/kzJ9vebS-oo
Shinjuku Morning Rush Walkabout (121002)
http://youtu.be/ZDgs4ZudSn8
In this video, I walk through the four main concourses of Shinjuku Station during the morning rush - beginning at around 8:30 a.m.
Shinjuku Morning Rush (West Exit) 121002g
http://youtu.be/2DulQGlVUoA
Shinjuku West Side Tunnel Walk (Morning Rush) 121002
http://youtu.be/Wn5UR2NIl_Q
This is the main path to most of the high-rise office buildings on Shinjuku Station's west side.
Platform... Number... Five (and Unused Telephones) 121002
http://youtu.be/6sTnY9Q7NII
About the title - the English announcement you can hear midway through the clip has so much space between some of the words, that it sounds like a parody of itself. The long row of public telephones are apparently maintained in case there's an emergency in which people can't use their cell phones.
Shinjuku to Ikebukuro (Yamanote Line) Morning (121002)
http://youtu.be/4dWBMQM-79c
Ikebukuro to Tabata (Yamanote Line) 121002
http://youtu.be/EO6Ke7B3Zk0
Meiji-Dori (Tabata Shin-Machi) 田端新町明治通り (121002)
http://youtu.be/Es0U2lDMlD8
Just a quick look at a main street. Main streets aren't all bad, but the traffic noise, along with wide expanses of dead dark gray asphalt, and the pollution of the fire-breathing machinery it carries, make them a place to avoid whenever possible.
Train Departing Tabata (Yamanote Line) 田端駅山手線 (121002)
http://youtu.be/EdlfjnBmbek
Tabata Platform Walkabout 田端駅 (121002)
http://youtu.be/IyVY2tz_658
Tabata Platform to Main Exit (田端駅) 121002
http://youtu.be/xc8MkRRsEbQ
Blue Train Passing (Higashi-Tabata) 東田端 (121002)
http://youtu.be/RSMwtxjSS1I
Higashi-Tabata Small Shrine 東田端 (121002g)
http://youtu.be/RdZlCBruVbA
Higashi-Tabata Street Scene (Actor on Ground) 121002
http://youtu.be/I7_Gide2E5k
Meaning a *picture* of an actor on the ground.
Under Rail Bridge Culvert Paintings (121002)
http://youtu.be/WJHAaFQW9Bk
Flowers Beside Railway (Higashi-Tabata) 121002
http://youtu.be/Uqv8aYp1znA
At first I thought these plants were growing in planters, but they turned out to be growing on the track side of the fence - with the branches poking through the fence. Probably they were trimmed back by the railway and so the only part remaining is the part growing through the fence.
Oimachi Izakaya Street 大井町駅居酒屋通り (121002)
http://youtu.be/U9L5GtqG5Xc
大井町駅居酒屋通り Oimachi Izakaya Street (121002)
http://youtu.be/2as82p-2wXY
大井町赤提灯 Red Lanterns in Oimachi (121002)
http://youtu.be/x1eyJ7DJkWM
Warm Evening After Cold Passageway (121002)
http://youtu.be/cpoDnd3lheo
Yakitori by Oimachi Station 大井町焼き鳥 (121002)
http://youtu.be/1tFYQVwO05M
夕方大井町電車 Oimachi Evening Trains (121002)
http://youtu.be/B1JCIIhDgmM
Entering Oimachi Station (Evening) 121002
http://youtu.be/7jtarD78RYQ
Yurakucho Evening (Beside Station) 121002
http://youtu.be/jf8I5awri0Y
Platform... Number... Ten (Shinjuku Station) 121002
http://youtu.be/9fc7BoKwp2Y
Another verrrrry sloooow English announcement at Shinjuku Station.
Stairs Beside Passing Train (121002)
http://youtu.be/h4O6sGSJ0Rg
Trains Below Shrine (Nishi-Nippori) 121002
http://youtu.be/rGYYE8xI0iw
Nishi-Nippori to Ueno (Yamanote Line) 西日暮里から上野まで山手線 (121002)
http://youtu.be/9ipITZ6jVgk
Ueno to Yurakucho (Yamanote Line) 上野から有楽町まで山手線 (121002)
http://youtu.be/SUyLtLWqUZs
Yurakucho Trains Passing (121002)
http://youtu.be/DurN9JS6Bts
Tokyo Station Walk to Tokaido Line (121002)
http://youtu.be/WNRKYneXev4
Tokyo to Shinagawa (Tokaido Line) 東京から品川まで東海道線 (121002)
http://youtu.be/1pS6M0Xx5YY
Evening Keihin-Tohoku Line 品川から大井町まで (121002)
http://youtu.be/oXSPCzhwVQ0
Going from Shinagawa to Oimachi on the Keihin-Tohoku Line.
Evening Oimachi Station Area 夕方大井町駅あたり (121002)
http://youtu.be/c-2I0-Q715c
Tabata - Platform to South Exit 田端駅南口 (121002)
http://youtu.be/kmg8Yhcgxzs
Tabata 1-Chome 田端一丁目 Residential Area (121002)
http://youtu.be/WEwyfaKSQaY
Oasis in the City 都市のオアシス (121002)
http://youtu.be/1RlSw7xlyx0
A small oasis of green in a residential area within a short walk of the Yamanote Line.
Quiet Residential Walkway (121002)
http://youtu.be/1wdCvcvsLkA
Overlooking Tabata Station (121002)
http://youtu.be/tF18JMN4s7M
Overlooking Tabata Main Entrance (121002)
http://youtu.be/5fMxbYnZalY
Walkway Above Tabata Station (121002)
http://youtu.be/kYB_x88KTb4
Tabata 1-Chome to Tabata South Entrance (121002)
http://youtu.be/5A0bKiq5z14
Entering Tabata Station - Tabata to Nishi-Nippori (121002)
http://youtu.be/jbatUHSOsYY
Nishi-Nippori Platform 西日暮里駅ホーム (121002)
http://youtu.be/F4Zl92LLAG4
Nishi-Nippori Trains 西日暮里駅電車 (121002)
http://youtu.be/m3ETggyoIm0
Nishi-Nippori Station Walkabout 西日暮里駅 (121002)
http://youtu.be/Q9prcYdrCOc
Nishi-Nippori Walkabout 西日暮里散歩 (121002)
http://youtu.be/0Oqiv-hRayM
Coming Upon Railway Crossing (121002)
http://youtu.be/neq17QM28RQ
Train Watching (Nishi-Nippori RR-Crossing) 121002
http://youtu.be/apoRqCo_k0E
Entering Nishi-Nippori Station (Outside the Gates) 121002
http://youtu.be/20imXosjrl8
Exploring Shrine in Nishi-Nippori 諏訪神社 (121002)
http://youtu.be/vojtmDDymM8
Windy Day by the Tracks (121002)
http://youtu.be/opPqt5i37hU
西日暮里第二自転車駐車場 (121002)
http://youtu.be/3yFA-ebNugI
A bicycle parking area in a tunnel under the railway.
Lone Cricket in Bicycle Tunnel (121002)
http://youtu.be/Yn-T8XgRoTs
Train Under September Sky (121002)
http://youtu.be/GI768rewDF8
Shinjuku Evening Sidewalk 新宿夜の横断歩道 (121002g)
http://youtu.be/cGLxrwKmsN4
Watching RS-Express Train In Nishi-Nippori 西日暮里特急踏切 (121002g)
http://youtu.be/L0ScWjiuTfU
By "RS-Express", I mean reserved-seat express. The problem with translating terms here is that 特急 (tokkyu) is kind of hard to translate into English. If you use British English, it's "Limited Express", with "limited" meaning "limited stops", but "limited express" in American English means "limited speed compared to a regular express (more stops)", so that leaves something like "super express", but then people probably start imagining the Shinkansen trains... - and so I've decided to use reserved-seat express train, and shortened it to RS-Express for YouTube titles. (JR - by the way - uses "Limited Express" for its English translation.)
Evening Shinagawa Station 夕方品川駅 (121002g)
http://youtu.be/SmFTS_YxtqM
Yurakucho Side Street Lights 有楽町夜の光 (121002g)
http://youtu.be/mtr1TevAwsU
Oimachi to Yurakucho 大井町から有楽町まで (夜) 121002g
http://youtu.be/kDgfojTPoik
Twilight Lookaround in Oimachi 大井町夕方見回り (121002g)
http://youtu.be/ehPlAgX_J3U
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
In the Hibarigaoka to Toshimaen video, views of the old style Seibu Line stations are nostalgic to see now, since the old wooden structures in the video have vanished - replaced with new modern buildings.
The three main areas I visited in this batch of 2012 views are Tabata, Nishi-Nippori, and (again) Oimachi. Putting previous views of Oimachi together with this evening view, there are three times of day - morning, lunchtime, and evening.
1990 Nighttime Hibarigaoka (900914)
http://youtu.be/Plf4EGqxFZM
1990 Night Trains, Etc. (900914)
http://youtu.be/IAXOH0ezewg
1990 Hibarigaoka to Toshimaen (900925)
http://youtu.be/NexGCQvylhw
1991 Tokyo Station Before Reconstruction (910330g) 1991年の東京駅と東京駅ホテル
http://youtu.be/9f0iWAYbNrw
On March 30th, 1991, I devoted a full day to videoing Tokyo Station and the area immediately around it (including the old Marunouchi Building and the old Central Post Office building (which was 95% destroyed, with only the front facade remaining, which has been integrated with a new high-rise office building). In this clip, I also recorded views of the Tokyo Station Hotel and Tokyo Station Art Gallery.
Insect Noises (Early October) 121003h
http://youtu.be/zXbK6ATCy_4
Trains Passing Oimachi Train Yard (120925h)
http://youtu.be/FETJr1oLGG8
Beside Yamanote Line Train Yard (Oimachi) 120925h
http://youtu.be/WpuPPIHvK8E
Parking Yamanote Line Train (Oimachi Train Yard) 120925h
http://youtu.be/ztwkKfYrfnk
All these years where I've had to get off of Yamanote Line trains that had Osaki as the last stop, and I never realized there was a big train yard for Yamanote Line trains by Oimachi - which is just a short distance from Osaki.
Bus Ride (Front View) 121003h
http://youtu.be/lVYGvCjHxjw
Tabata Walkway (121002h)
http://youtu.be/Z7chQoWB9gs
Trains by Tabata Side Entrance (121002h)
http://youtu.be/UZBGuBR8EVw
Passing Trains (Tabata) 121002h
http://youtu.be/c_P1ogRRztw
Tabata Walkway (121002h)
http://youtu.be/Z7chQoWB9gs
Nishi-Nippori Street View (121002h)
http://youtu.be/u0KJT6inYO0
Trains in Nishi-Nippori (121002h)
http://youtu.be/4l4n56A-pyg
Nishi-Nippori Platform (Seen from Distance) 121002h
http://youtu.be/FZHnL1msH40
What's a 62 Galaxie Doing on that Sign? (121002)
http://youtu.be/NYzWkt-CDS0
It was used because it looks good I guess. I looked up and... "Wait... I know that car! That's a 1962 Galaxie!". The big round taillights are easily recognizable. (The 61-64 Galaxies all have them, but each year is a little different.)
Exiting Morning Chuo Line (Shinjuku) 121002
http://youtu.be/kzJ9vebS-oo
Shinjuku Morning Rush Walkabout (121002)
http://youtu.be/ZDgs4ZudSn8
In this video, I walk through the four main concourses of Shinjuku Station during the morning rush - beginning at around 8:30 a.m.
Shinjuku Morning Rush (West Exit) 121002g
http://youtu.be/2DulQGlVUoA
Shinjuku West Side Tunnel Walk (Morning Rush) 121002
http://youtu.be/Wn5UR2NIl_Q
This is the main path to most of the high-rise office buildings on Shinjuku Station's west side.
Platform... Number... Five (and Unused Telephones) 121002
http://youtu.be/6sTnY9Q7NII
About the title - the English announcement you can hear midway through the clip has so much space between some of the words, that it sounds like a parody of itself. The long row of public telephones are apparently maintained in case there's an emergency in which people can't use their cell phones.
Shinjuku to Ikebukuro (Yamanote Line) Morning (121002)
http://youtu.be/4dWBMQM-79c
Ikebukuro to Tabata (Yamanote Line) 121002
http://youtu.be/EO6Ke7B3Zk0
Meiji-Dori (Tabata Shin-Machi) 田端新町明治通り (121002)
http://youtu.be/Es0U2lDMlD8
Just a quick look at a main street. Main streets aren't all bad, but the traffic noise, along with wide expanses of dead dark gray asphalt, and the pollution of the fire-breathing machinery it carries, make them a place to avoid whenever possible.
Train Departing Tabata (Yamanote Line) 田端駅山手線 (121002)
http://youtu.be/EdlfjnBmbek
Tabata Platform Walkabout 田端駅 (121002)
http://youtu.be/IyVY2tz_658
Tabata Platform to Main Exit (田端駅) 121002
http://youtu.be/xc8MkRRsEbQ
Blue Train Passing (Higashi-Tabata) 東田端 (121002)
http://youtu.be/RSMwtxjSS1I
Higashi-Tabata Small Shrine 東田端 (121002g)
http://youtu.be/RdZlCBruVbA
Higashi-Tabata Street Scene (Actor on Ground) 121002
http://youtu.be/I7_Gide2E5k
Meaning a *picture* of an actor on the ground.
Under Rail Bridge Culvert Paintings (121002)
http://youtu.be/WJHAaFQW9Bk
Flowers Beside Railway (Higashi-Tabata) 121002
http://youtu.be/Uqv8aYp1znA
At first I thought these plants were growing in planters, but they turned out to be growing on the track side of the fence - with the branches poking through the fence. Probably they were trimmed back by the railway and so the only part remaining is the part growing through the fence.
Oimachi Izakaya Street 大井町駅居酒屋通り (121002)
http://youtu.be/U9L5GtqG5Xc
大井町駅居酒屋通り Oimachi Izakaya Street (121002)
http://youtu.be/2as82p-2wXY
大井町赤提灯 Red Lanterns in Oimachi (121002)
http://youtu.be/x1eyJ7DJkWM
Warm Evening After Cold Passageway (121002)
http://youtu.be/cpoDnd3lheo
Yakitori by Oimachi Station 大井町焼き鳥 (121002)
http://youtu.be/1tFYQVwO05M
夕方大井町電車 Oimachi Evening Trains (121002)
http://youtu.be/B1JCIIhDgmM
Entering Oimachi Station (Evening) 121002
http://youtu.be/7jtarD78RYQ
Yurakucho Evening (Beside Station) 121002
http://youtu.be/jf8I5awri0Y
Platform... Number... Ten (Shinjuku Station) 121002
http://youtu.be/9fc7BoKwp2Y
Another verrrrry sloooow English announcement at Shinjuku Station.
Stairs Beside Passing Train (121002)
http://youtu.be/h4O6sGSJ0Rg
Trains Below Shrine (Nishi-Nippori) 121002
http://youtu.be/rGYYE8xI0iw
Nishi-Nippori to Ueno (Yamanote Line) 西日暮里から上野まで山手線 (121002)
http://youtu.be/9ipITZ6jVgk
Ueno to Yurakucho (Yamanote Line) 上野から有楽町まで山手線 (121002)
http://youtu.be/SUyLtLWqUZs
Yurakucho Trains Passing (121002)
http://youtu.be/DurN9JS6Bts
Tokyo Station Walk to Tokaido Line (121002)
http://youtu.be/WNRKYneXev4
Tokyo to Shinagawa (Tokaido Line) 東京から品川まで東海道線 (121002)
http://youtu.be/1pS6M0Xx5YY
Evening Keihin-Tohoku Line 品川から大井町まで (121002)
http://youtu.be/oXSPCzhwVQ0
Going from Shinagawa to Oimachi on the Keihin-Tohoku Line.
Evening Oimachi Station Area 夕方大井町駅あたり (121002)
http://youtu.be/c-2I0-Q715c
Tabata - Platform to South Exit 田端駅南口 (121002)
http://youtu.be/kmg8Yhcgxzs
Tabata 1-Chome 田端一丁目 Residential Area (121002)
http://youtu.be/WEwyfaKSQaY
Oasis in the City 都市のオアシス (121002)
http://youtu.be/1RlSw7xlyx0
A small oasis of green in a residential area within a short walk of the Yamanote Line.
Quiet Residential Walkway (121002)
http://youtu.be/1wdCvcvsLkA
Overlooking Tabata Station (121002)
http://youtu.be/tF18JMN4s7M
Overlooking Tabata Main Entrance (121002)
http://youtu.be/5fMxbYnZalY
Walkway Above Tabata Station (121002)
http://youtu.be/kYB_x88KTb4
Tabata 1-Chome to Tabata South Entrance (121002)
http://youtu.be/5A0bKiq5z14
Entering Tabata Station - Tabata to Nishi-Nippori (121002)
http://youtu.be/jbatUHSOsYY
Nishi-Nippori Platform 西日暮里駅ホーム (121002)
http://youtu.be/F4Zl92LLAG4
Nishi-Nippori Trains 西日暮里駅電車 (121002)
http://youtu.be/m3ETggyoIm0
Nishi-Nippori Station Walkabout 西日暮里駅 (121002)
http://youtu.be/Q9prcYdrCOc
Nishi-Nippori Walkabout 西日暮里散歩 (121002)
http://youtu.be/0Oqiv-hRayM
Coming Upon Railway Crossing (121002)
http://youtu.be/neq17QM28RQ
Train Watching (Nishi-Nippori RR-Crossing) 121002
http://youtu.be/apoRqCo_k0E
Entering Nishi-Nippori Station (Outside the Gates) 121002
http://youtu.be/20imXosjrl8
Exploring Shrine in Nishi-Nippori 諏訪神社 (121002)
http://youtu.be/vojtmDDymM8
Windy Day by the Tracks (121002)
http://youtu.be/opPqt5i37hU
西日暮里第二自転車駐車場 (121002)
http://youtu.be/3yFA-ebNugI
A bicycle parking area in a tunnel under the railway.
Lone Cricket in Bicycle Tunnel (121002)
http://youtu.be/Yn-T8XgRoTs
Train Under September Sky (121002)
http://youtu.be/GI768rewDF8
Shinjuku Evening Sidewalk 新宿夜の横断歩道 (121002g)
http://youtu.be/cGLxrwKmsN4
Watching RS-Express Train In Nishi-Nippori 西日暮里特急踏切 (121002g)
http://youtu.be/L0ScWjiuTfU
By "RS-Express", I mean reserved-seat express. The problem with translating terms here is that 特急 (tokkyu) is kind of hard to translate into English. If you use British English, it's "Limited Express", with "limited" meaning "limited stops", but "limited express" in American English means "limited speed compared to a regular express (more stops)", so that leaves something like "super express", but then people probably start imagining the Shinkansen trains... - and so I've decided to use reserved-seat express train, and shortened it to RS-Express for YouTube titles. (JR - by the way - uses "Limited Express" for its English translation.)
Evening Shinagawa Station 夕方品川駅 (121002g)
http://youtu.be/SmFTS_YxtqM
Yurakucho Side Street Lights 有楽町夜の光 (121002g)
http://youtu.be/mtr1TevAwsU
Oimachi to Yurakucho 大井町から有楽町まで (夜) 121002g
http://youtu.be/kDgfojTPoik
Twilight Lookaround in Oimachi 大井町夕方見回り (121002g)
http://youtu.be/ehPlAgX_J3U
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
Friday, October 05, 2012
"Early September Green - (September 2012)"
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"Early September Green"
Copyright 2012 by Lyle H Saxon
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
"The Sky - (June 12th, 1997)"
(1997/06/12) - 17:57 Ginza - I'm sitting in an empty corner room with the windows open. The sky out the windows is beautiful, the noise from the busy street eight stories below doesn't bother me (or rather, I'm even glad it's there, for in a concrete jungle, no noise means no life. I just got here from the contract job in Kashiwa.
To get to Ginza from Kashiwa, you have to use the Joban Line, which, more often than not, uses fairly old train cars, but they're fazing in the new ones bit by bit. The new ones are like new high rise buildings, with mostly sealed windows that can't be opened (for the sake of cheaper construction, cheaper maintenance, energy efficiency and safety).... Luckily, the train I rode on today was not only an old one, but a mostly empty one, as in the afternoon, not many people are headed into central Tokyo on the Joban Line. I sat in the back left corner of the second from the rearmost car of the fifteen car train and opened the two sectioned window up into the window frame, so the entire window frame area was completely open, both the larger window on the side of the train and the smaller one on the end of the train car. (This particular window design was made before air conditioning was on all the trains in order to get the maximum amount of air into the train. When it's truly hot, I appreciate air
conditioning, but often it's a nice temperature outside, and when you get on the train, all the windows are shut and it's freezing cold with air conditioning, you could say it's too much of a bad thing.) [Note from 2012: Air conditioning used has been scaled back, and now things tend to be too hot rather than too cold.]
As I looked out the window at the sky, with the wind rushing in, the sound of the train's electric motors whining, and the screech of the steel wheels on the steel rails - smelling that same hot tar smell I remember from railway lines as a child - it occurred to me that people need to have some connection to the world, to the sky. Living in Tokyo, I have come to really appreciate being able to see the sky directly with no glass in the way. People living day after day after day cut off from the sky are drifting away from solid ground I think.
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
To get to Ginza from Kashiwa, you have to use the Joban Line, which, more often than not, uses fairly old train cars, but they're fazing in the new ones bit by bit. The new ones are like new high rise buildings, with mostly sealed windows that can't be opened (for the sake of cheaper construction, cheaper maintenance, energy efficiency and safety).... Luckily, the train I rode on today was not only an old one, but a mostly empty one, as in the afternoon, not many people are headed into central Tokyo on the Joban Line. I sat in the back left corner of the second from the rearmost car of the fifteen car train and opened the two sectioned window up into the window frame, so the entire window frame area was completely open, both the larger window on the side of the train and the smaller one on the end of the train car. (This particular window design was made before air conditioning was on all the trains in order to get the maximum amount of air into the train. When it's truly hot, I appreciate air
conditioning, but often it's a nice temperature outside, and when you get on the train, all the windows are shut and it's freezing cold with air conditioning, you could say it's too much of a bad thing.) [Note from 2012: Air conditioning used has been scaled back, and now things tend to be too hot rather than too cold.]
As I looked out the window at the sky, with the wind rushing in, the sound of the train's electric motors whining, and the screech of the steel wheels on the steel rails - smelling that same hot tar smell I remember from railway lines as a child - it occurred to me that people need to have some connection to the world, to the sky. Living in Tokyo, I have come to really appreciate being able to see the sky directly with no glass in the way. People living day after day after day cut off from the sky are drifting away from solid ground I think.
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
Thursday, October 04, 2012
"Yurakucho Afternoon (September 2012a)"
"Yurakucho Afternoon (September 2012a)"
Copyright 2012 by Lyle H Saxon
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
"A Glance at the Cherry Blossoms - (March 31st, 1999)"
(1999/03/31) - Last night, to take care of the dual need to run the engine in my car (a Honda Prelude) which hadn't been started in over two weeks, and also to get a look at some of the cherry blossoms, I fired up the engine, put it in gear, and drove over to the nearby public apartments where there are a lot of cherry blossom trees.
Two and a half weeks since I'd been in the car... almost too long, as the battery isn't in really good shape, and after sitting for so long, it seemed as though I might not be able to get the engine running before the voltage fell too low to turn the starter motor anymore. Fortunately however, the engine finally did get started... and after making the short drive, I sat in the car for a bit looking at the overheard cherry blossoms through the open sun roof as the 125 horsepower engine did nothing more than warm itself, the interior of the car, and spin the alternator to charge the battery. A waste of technology to be sure, but an enjoyable time under the trees that I wouldn't have experienced without the car, so....
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
Two and a half weeks since I'd been in the car... almost too long, as the battery isn't in really good shape, and after sitting for so long, it seemed as though I might not be able to get the engine running before the voltage fell too low to turn the starter motor anymore. Fortunately however, the engine finally did get started... and after making the short drive, I sat in the car for a bit looking at the overheard cherry blossoms through the open sun roof as the 125 horsepower engine did nothing more than warm itself, the interior of the car, and spin the alternator to charge the battery. A waste of technology to be sure, but an enjoyable time under the trees that I wouldn't have experienced without the car, so....
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
Monday, October 01, 2012
"Nakano - September 2012a"
"Nakano - September 2012a"
Copyright 2012 by Lyle H Saxon
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
"Tokyo Station, Oimachi, Omori, Ginza, Shinagawa Station, Etc"
This batch of views is primarily of Oimachi and Omori, both on the Keihin-Tohoku Line, with station area views of Tokyo, Shinagawa, and Hamamatsucho, as well as a few views of Ginza.
Morning Tokyo Station Walkabout 東京駅朝散歩 (120925g)
http://youtu.be/EoImzg00eok
Tokyo Station was once the proud hub of Japan's train system, with the 1914 (really huge for its day) brick station building, a landmark modern (again, for its time) structure. In WW-II, the building was damaged in the fire-bombing of Tokyo and the reconstructed roofs put on the building in the post war years were much less decorative than the originals. In the decades after the war, Tokyo Station didn't change much while other hub stations like Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, Shibuya, etc. changed pretty radically. By the early eighties, when I first experienced Tokyo Station, it was interesting in a sleepy way, but it didn't seem particularly remarkable as a central station (other than its historical role).
Then with the bubble economy in the late eighties, things began to change. With the addition of the Keiyo Line (which goes out to Tokyo Disneyland), the Narita Express (which is taken for granted now, but was a big deal when it began running - making it much easier to get to Narita Airport from central Tokyo), and the extension of the northern route Shinkansen lines (which used to terminate at Omiya Station in Saitama), the station took on new life and once again felt like a huge, exciting, central station.
Maybe too much background, but the atmosphere has really changed since the early eighties. I took some video in the station in 1991, after the Keiyo Line had already opened, but before the Chuo Line had been moved over and the northern Shinkansen lines extended, so it shows part of the transition zone between the sleepy version of the station and the current version. Here are two videos from 1991 which show the contrast between 21 years ago and now:
"Tokyo Station - March 1991 #1"
http://youtu.be/Nq4MHxh2K5M
"Tokyo Station - March 1991 #2"
http://youtu.be/iqcLpQ10wssRR
Hamamatsucho to Yurakucho 浜松町から有楽町まで (山手線) 120925g
http://youtu.be/cYOahooZFc4
Omori Tonkatsu Restaurant Entrance (120925)
http://youtu.be/sx3uDlTyJPg
A very short clip - I found this place (and a couple of other similar places) interesting in that people lined up in front of the restaurant before it opened for lunch and then it filled up right away. A combination of (I'm guessing) good food at reasonable prices in a nostalgic atmosphere (in this age of steel and glass, old wooden buildings seem very nice) makes this type of place very popular with the locals. (I would have gone in and had lunch there myself, but my travel budget that day didn't include lunch, however reasonably priced it may have been.)
Omori Hilltop Shrine (A) 120925
http://youtu.be/ayqu-8XgYH8
Omori Hilltop Shrine (B) 120925
http://youtu.be/bz_3FZZacMI
Oimachi Main Street Stroll (120925)
http://youtu.be/7REBojFEVV0
Ginza Side Street Balcony View (120925)
http://youtu.be/arF2i_0y_0M
For central Ginza, this balcony has an amazing amount of sky....
Ginza Passageway to Chuo-Dori (120925)
http://youtu.be/sjb5-s9thD0
No special significance, but it's fun to walk down this very narrow passageway and then suddenly pop out onto the wide sidewalk of fashionable Chuo-Dori.
Maruyama Norio 丸山則夫 Exhibition at Art Space Rondo (120925)
http://youtu.be/Wq3gRyF58jw
This was an interesting photography exhibition with each picture depicting two worlds....
Yurakucho to Tokyo (Keihin-Tohoku Line) 有楽町から東京まで (120925)
http://youtu.be/jDXT-tjSfOQ
Listening to Insects (120926)
http://youtu.be/hGqx4yBdXuY
Not nearly as obvious in the video as it was in person, are the insects of summer - still making their various musical noises in late September.
Exiting Tokyo Station (Rebuilt Post Office Bldg., Etc.) 120925
http://youtu.be/yR1ucd_w7c0
Tokyo to Shinagawa (Tokaido Line) 東京から品川まで (120925)
http://youtu.be/YfBevDbqDgc
Morning Shinagawa Station Walkabout 品川駅朝散歩 (120925)
http://youtu.be/Qe-i9P-41VI
Shinagawa East Side Lookaround 品川駅東口見回り (120925)
http://youtu.be/bQKBILsKADg
Shinagawa Station Walk-through (East to West) 120925
http://youtu.be/Z_lssKxqMMs
Shinagawa West Side (Wing Complex) 120925
http://youtu.be/l-XVvj9CC1E
Shinagawa Pedestrian Overpass (West Side) 120925
http://youtu.be/-8u_lQ3_fMs
Walking to Shinagawa Station (West Side) 120925
http://youtu.be/867q-2prtxA
Shinagawa to Oimachi via Keihin-Tohoku Line (Including Station Views) 120925
http://youtu.be/StgH-c1GBzk
Oimachi Back Streets (120925)
http://youtu.be/MAWf-8qus6k
Oimachi Izakaya Alley (Morning) 大井町東小路飲食店街 (朝) 120925
http://youtu.be/HDTUXuQhAo4
Very little activity in the morning, before lunch.
Oimachi Walkabout (A) 120925
http://youtu.be/DhLo7Q2vZ3M
Oimachi Trackside Sleepy Morning Street (120925)
http://youtu.be/Dl2DzvTCvtE
Oimachi Trackside Walk (Entering Minami-Shinagawa) 120925
http://youtu.be/c6qfaYQ_O8k
Oimachi to Omori _大井町から大森まで (京浜東北線) 120925
http://youtu.be/tMch9X6QDR8
Exiting Omori Station (120925)
http://youtu.be/EKhOQxSmf6w
Omori Walkabout (A) 大森散歩 (120925)
http://youtu.be/10Tgmf-NR2o
Omori Walkabout (B) Underground Bicycle Parking (120925)
http://youtu.be/DB-sEdVUlEM
Walking into Ginza 銀座に入る_有楽町から (120925)
http://youtu.be/fu2d8d614vE
Ginza Chuo-Dori Stroll 銀座中央通散歩 (120925)
http://youtu.be/PAWq-ByYf-w
Yurakucho Walk Towards SB (120925)
http://youtu.be/iz2Ryw1pZj4
Both Sides of Omori Station (120925)
http://youtu.be/EkCsOrIxBf8
Entering Omori Station (120925)
http://youtu.be/aoQDqQNelrQ
Omori to Oimachi 大森から大井町まで (京浜東北線) 120925
http://youtu.be/e7nN6EXeq-E
Exiting Oimachi Station at Lunchtime (120925)
http://youtu.be/8fcD0SNOcww
Oimachi Izakaya Alley Lunch (A) 大井町東小路飲食店街 (昼) 120925g
http://youtu.be/4yICqyu_7Qw
Much more activity at lunch than in the morning, but this area is geared more towards the evening crowd.
Oimachi Izakaya Alley Lunch (B) 大井町東小路飲食店街 (昼) 120925
http://youtu.be/hpD4tvFt_fQ
Oimachi to Tamachi 大井町から田町まで (京浜東北線) 120925
http://youtu.be/LbK4NVS_VAs
Tamachi to Hamamatsucho 田町から浜松町まで (京浜東北線) 120925
http://youtu.be/K2hJApEfxo4
Hamamatsucho (East Side, Near North Exit) 浜松町 (120925)
http://youtu.be/e7ioY23qBbM
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
Morning Tokyo Station Walkabout 東京駅朝散歩 (120925g)
http://youtu.be/EoImzg00eok
Tokyo Station was once the proud hub of Japan's train system, with the 1914 (really huge for its day) brick station building, a landmark modern (again, for its time) structure. In WW-II, the building was damaged in the fire-bombing of Tokyo and the reconstructed roofs put on the building in the post war years were much less decorative than the originals. In the decades after the war, Tokyo Station didn't change much while other hub stations like Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, Shibuya, etc. changed pretty radically. By the early eighties, when I first experienced Tokyo Station, it was interesting in a sleepy way, but it didn't seem particularly remarkable as a central station (other than its historical role).
Then with the bubble economy in the late eighties, things began to change. With the addition of the Keiyo Line (which goes out to Tokyo Disneyland), the Narita Express (which is taken for granted now, but was a big deal when it began running - making it much easier to get to Narita Airport from central Tokyo), and the extension of the northern route Shinkansen lines (which used to terminate at Omiya Station in Saitama), the station took on new life and once again felt like a huge, exciting, central station.
Maybe too much background, but the atmosphere has really changed since the early eighties. I took some video in the station in 1991, after the Keiyo Line had already opened, but before the Chuo Line had been moved over and the northern Shinkansen lines extended, so it shows part of the transition zone between the sleepy version of the station and the current version. Here are two videos from 1991 which show the contrast between 21 years ago and now:
"Tokyo Station - March 1991 #1"
http://youtu.be/Nq4MHxh2K5M
"Tokyo Station - March 1991 #2"
http://youtu.be/iqcLpQ10wssRR
Hamamatsucho to Yurakucho 浜松町から有楽町まで (山手線) 120925g
http://youtu.be/cYOahooZFc4
Omori Tonkatsu Restaurant Entrance (120925)
http://youtu.be/sx3uDlTyJPg
A very short clip - I found this place (and a couple of other similar places) interesting in that people lined up in front of the restaurant before it opened for lunch and then it filled up right away. A combination of (I'm guessing) good food at reasonable prices in a nostalgic atmosphere (in this age of steel and glass, old wooden buildings seem very nice) makes this type of place very popular with the locals. (I would have gone in and had lunch there myself, but my travel budget that day didn't include lunch, however reasonably priced it may have been.)
Omori Hilltop Shrine (A) 120925
http://youtu.be/ayqu-8XgYH8
Omori Hilltop Shrine (B) 120925
http://youtu.be/bz_3FZZacMI
Oimachi Main Street Stroll (120925)
http://youtu.be/7REBojFEVV0
Ginza Side Street Balcony View (120925)
http://youtu.be/arF2i_0y_0M
For central Ginza, this balcony has an amazing amount of sky....
Ginza Passageway to Chuo-Dori (120925)
http://youtu.be/sjb5-s9thD0
No special significance, but it's fun to walk down this very narrow passageway and then suddenly pop out onto the wide sidewalk of fashionable Chuo-Dori.
Maruyama Norio 丸山則夫 Exhibition at Art Space Rondo (120925)
http://youtu.be/Wq3gRyF58jw
This was an interesting photography exhibition with each picture depicting two worlds....
Yurakucho to Tokyo (Keihin-Tohoku Line) 有楽町から東京まで (120925)
http://youtu.be/jDXT-tjSfOQ
Listening to Insects (120926)
http://youtu.be/hGqx4yBdXuY
Not nearly as obvious in the video as it was in person, are the insects of summer - still making their various musical noises in late September.
Exiting Tokyo Station (Rebuilt Post Office Bldg., Etc.) 120925
http://youtu.be/yR1ucd_w7c0
Tokyo to Shinagawa (Tokaido Line) 東京から品川まで (120925)
http://youtu.be/YfBevDbqDgc
Morning Shinagawa Station Walkabout 品川駅朝散歩 (120925)
http://youtu.be/Qe-i9P-41VI
Shinagawa East Side Lookaround 品川駅東口見回り (120925)
http://youtu.be/bQKBILsKADg
Shinagawa Station Walk-through (East to West) 120925
http://youtu.be/Z_lssKxqMMs
Shinagawa West Side (Wing Complex) 120925
http://youtu.be/l-XVvj9CC1E
Shinagawa Pedestrian Overpass (West Side) 120925
http://youtu.be/-8u_lQ3_fMs
Walking to Shinagawa Station (West Side) 120925
http://youtu.be/867q-2prtxA
Shinagawa to Oimachi via Keihin-Tohoku Line (Including Station Views) 120925
http://youtu.be/StgH-c1GBzk
Oimachi Back Streets (120925)
http://youtu.be/MAWf-8qus6k
Oimachi Izakaya Alley (Morning) 大井町東小路飲食店街 (朝) 120925
http://youtu.be/HDTUXuQhAo4
Very little activity in the morning, before lunch.
Oimachi Walkabout (A) 120925
http://youtu.be/DhLo7Q2vZ3M
Oimachi Trackside Sleepy Morning Street (120925)
http://youtu.be/Dl2DzvTCvtE
Oimachi Trackside Walk (Entering Minami-Shinagawa) 120925
http://youtu.be/c6qfaYQ_O8k
Oimachi to Omori _大井町から大森まで (京浜東北線) 120925
http://youtu.be/tMch9X6QDR8
Exiting Omori Station (120925)
http://youtu.be/EKhOQxSmf6w
Omori Walkabout (A) 大森散歩 (120925)
http://youtu.be/10Tgmf-NR2o
Omori Walkabout (B) Underground Bicycle Parking (120925)
http://youtu.be/DB-sEdVUlEM
Walking into Ginza 銀座に入る_有楽町から (120925)
http://youtu.be/fu2d8d614vE
Ginza Chuo-Dori Stroll 銀座中央通散歩 (120925)
http://youtu.be/PAWq-ByYf-w
Yurakucho Walk Towards SB (120925)
http://youtu.be/iz2Ryw1pZj4
Both Sides of Omori Station (120925)
http://youtu.be/EkCsOrIxBf8
Entering Omori Station (120925)
http://youtu.be/aoQDqQNelrQ
Omori to Oimachi 大森から大井町まで (京浜東北線) 120925
http://youtu.be/e7nN6EXeq-E
Exiting Oimachi Station at Lunchtime (120925)
http://youtu.be/8fcD0SNOcww
Oimachi Izakaya Alley Lunch (A) 大井町東小路飲食店街 (昼) 120925g
http://youtu.be/4yICqyu_7Qw
Much more activity at lunch than in the morning, but this area is geared more towards the evening crowd.
Oimachi Izakaya Alley Lunch (B) 大井町東小路飲食店街 (昼) 120925
http://youtu.be/hpD4tvFt_fQ
Oimachi to Tamachi 大井町から田町まで (京浜東北線) 120925
http://youtu.be/LbK4NVS_VAs
Tamachi to Hamamatsucho 田町から浜松町まで (京浜東北線) 120925
http://youtu.be/K2hJApEfxo4
Hamamatsucho (East Side, Near North Exit) 浜松町 (120925)
http://youtu.be/e7ioY23qBbM
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
Sunday, September 30, 2012
"Shinjuku Gyoen (新宿御苑) - June 2012"
"Shinjuku Gyoen (新宿御苑) - June 2012"
Copyright 2012 by Lyle H Saxon
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
"Knowing From Afar... - (April 29th, 1999)"
(1999/04/29) - For only the second time, I met someone in person on Monday that I initially met on the Internet back in... January (I think). We exchanged a few letters, and then I didn't hear from her for awhile... until a few weeks ago, when after a few more letters, we decided to meet. We met in Shinjuku, and had a good time talking about one thing and another, as two people are wont to do (and is no big deal), but a couple of aspects to the meeting are begging comment.
One is the situation of either meeting someone that you feel you know, who doesn't actually know you very well (or at all), or meeting someone who seems to know you, even though you don't know nearly as much about them. I get this feeling from time to time with some of the people I send the newsletter to, when they'll suddenly ask me about something that I wrote. My first reaction is often "Why do you know that? I didn't tell you!"... and then it sinks in that I wrote about it.... On Monday I felt that in a stronger way, as it was the first time for us to meet. True, we've exchanged letters, but the volume has been heavy on my side with the inclusion of the newsletters, so she knew much more about me than I about her.
It's quite an interesting feeling - a feeling of both wonder and relief. Wonder at how someone you've never met can already know you, and relief at not having to explain yourself. Just at the point where you would usually be feeling either a growing familiarity or a growing discomfort, you realize that the person in front of you already knows... and wouldn't be there if it were a complete mismatch... which leads me to the other thing I want to write about.
I asked her how the reality of me sitting there in front of her compared to the mental picture she had before meeting me, and her answer was perceptive... and enlightening. She said that from reading the newsletter, she had pictured me as being an observer of the places I visit without being a part of them... more of a moody loner than I seemed to be in person.
"Ah... there it is!" thought I. From what some of my e-mail pals write, I get the feeling at times that I'm coming across as being an unhappy loner. Like everyone, I have my good and bad moments, but I'm not fundamentally unhappy.., just frustrated at times, and at those times, I often write about the experience, so....
The sense of not being a part of things... when I go out on one of my expeditions - while I'm standing somewhere and writing about my surroundings, certainly I am not of the place at the moment, not in an active sense in any case. If I were, then I wouldn't have time for writing! In any case, from someone who spent a couple of non-electronic hours with me, I'm not as "lost and alone" as I seem to be sometimes on the electronic screen.
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
One is the situation of either meeting someone that you feel you know, who doesn't actually know you very well (or at all), or meeting someone who seems to know you, even though you don't know nearly as much about them. I get this feeling from time to time with some of the people I send the newsletter to, when they'll suddenly ask me about something that I wrote. My first reaction is often "Why do you know that? I didn't tell you!"... and then it sinks in that I wrote about it.... On Monday I felt that in a stronger way, as it was the first time for us to meet. True, we've exchanged letters, but the volume has been heavy on my side with the inclusion of the newsletters, so she knew much more about me than I about her.
It's quite an interesting feeling - a feeling of both wonder and relief. Wonder at how someone you've never met can already know you, and relief at not having to explain yourself. Just at the point where you would usually be feeling either a growing familiarity or a growing discomfort, you realize that the person in front of you already knows... and wouldn't be there if it were a complete mismatch... which leads me to the other thing I want to write about.
I asked her how the reality of me sitting there in front of her compared to the mental picture she had before meeting me, and her answer was perceptive... and enlightening. She said that from reading the newsletter, she had pictured me as being an observer of the places I visit without being a part of them... more of a moody loner than I seemed to be in person.
"Ah... there it is!" thought I. From what some of my e-mail pals write, I get the feeling at times that I'm coming across as being an unhappy loner. Like everyone, I have my good and bad moments, but I'm not fundamentally unhappy.., just frustrated at times, and at those times, I often write about the experience, so....
The sense of not being a part of things... when I go out on one of my expeditions - while I'm standing somewhere and writing about my surroundings, certainly I am not of the place at the moment, not in an active sense in any case. If I were, then I wouldn't have time for writing! In any case, from someone who spent a couple of non-electronic hours with me, I'm not as "lost and alone" as I seem to be sometimes on the electronic screen.
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
Saturday, September 29, 2012
"Shinjuku Gyoen (June 2012)"
"Shinjuku Gyoen (June 2012"
Copyright 2012 by Lyle H Saxon
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
"1990 Komagome, Kagurazaka, Machida, Etc; 2012 Kawagoe, Komagome, Ochanomizu, Etc."
There are both 1990 and 2012 views from Komagome in this batch, although the 2012 views only show the area very near to the station. In 1990 however, I spent most of September 14th, 1990 in the area, recording several areas (Nishigahara, Nakazato, Kaminakazato, etc.), including an interesting old shotengai shopping street. Other 1990 views include Kagurazaka, Shinjuku, Machida, Takadanobaba, Ikebukuro, and of course various train views.
There are a lot (and I do mean *a lot*) of separate views of Kawagoe - primarily in the old section of town with it's Edo style buildings. Then there are morning views of Shinjuku and Ochanomizu; and various views of Ginza, Yurakucho, Kanda, Etc.
1990 Shimofuri-Ginza Shotengai 霜降銀座商店街 (900914)
http://youtu.be/NFkzeC63zNE
This is a good example of how the old shotengai shopping streets used to look. I say "used to" because even the ones that remain are not quite the same as when this was taken in 1990. Even in 1990 - as I note on-tape (in the longer version below) after walking into a fairly large (by shotengai standards) grocery store - the grocery store had a lot of customers, but many of the shotengai stores just down the street had very few. I wondered at the time what would become of the shotengai shopping street, and over the years, a new term has come up, "shutter-gai" meaning not a street of open shops, but a street of closed shutters of former shops. Many shotengai shopping streets soldier on, but business doesn't appear to be very good for them now.
1990 Komagome, Nishigahara, Etc. (900914) 駒込, 中里, 上中里, 西ヶ原
http://youtu.be/7UeYgI-VVho
This is a long video - just over an hour and a half, and it includes a fairly detailed look at the area on one side of Komagome Station. (The shotengai clip above this one is a new edit - from the source tape - of part of this longer video.) Time-wise, this includes views from the daytime, the evening, and at night - part of the time walking in the rain.
1990 Night Rain Walk Kagurazaka 神楽坂 (900907)
http://youtu.be/ujmxKyERdO0
1990 Shinjuku, Machida, Etc. (Here and There) 900914
http://youtu.be/orBq5lAKJT4
1990 Takadanobaba to Ikebukuro Rush Rides (900907)
http://youtu.be/oAonOOdS6s4
Trains in Ueno at Night (120905)
http://youtu.be/MPJM-2ENbKY
A lot of 15-car trains come into Ueno and dead-end there, since most platforms in central Tokyo can only accommodate 10-car trains. The Chuo Line is the only major JR line that runs right through central Tokyo (via Shinjuku), and one consequence of that is Chuo Line trains are only 10-cars in length.
Kawagoe Bell Tower Area (120919) 川越 小江戸
http://youtu.be/Ri8GccVFpPI
Kawagoe Lookaround (while Bell Tolls) 120919 川越 小江戸
http://youtu.be/lM9mzkadJvU
At the time I took this, I didn't realize how close I was to where the bell was being rung, or I would hurried around the corner and recorded it being rung by hand (it's not automated).
Kawagoe Side Street Stroll (A) 120919 川越 小江戸
http://youtu.be/I0gNns0dNh0
Kawagoe Main Old Street (120919g) 川越 小江戸
http://youtu.be/4MPBKOgp9lc
Ginza 1-Chome Lookaround (120918)
http://youtu.be/eghP9IQ-mwk
Ginza Chuo-Dori Lookaround (120918)
http://youtu.be/_Byeaq2fNwY
Ginza Side Street (120918)
http://youtu.be/NSz7SCXn1VA
Komagome Trains (A) 駒込駅電車 (120918)
http://youtu.be/KGswx4XR5rE
Komagome Trains (B) 駒込駅電車 (120918)
http://youtu.be/YDk6InIOoFc
Kyobashi Lookaround (120918)
http://youtu.be/AtkKmHjpCxQ
Ochanomizu Bridge Scene (Morning Rush) 御茶ノ水 (120918)
http://youtu.be/HEOHaBfs_zA
Ochanomizu Morning Rush 御茶ノ水 (120918)
http://youtu.be/SHp811Xd5R4
Shinjuku Trains (A) 新宿電車 (120918)
http://youtu.be/-kuHObycGHQ
Shinjuku Trains (B) 新宿電車 (120918)
http://youtu.be/VBxgcPXGLTo
Tokyo Station - Newly Rebuilt (Evening) 120918
http://youtu.be/ekiFJiVReXU
The 1914 Tokyo Station building has been renovated/rebuilt - with (from appearances) more reconstruction work than renovation. It looks pretty much like a squeaky-new building, which is slightly disappointing. I think they could have kept a little more of the original structure, but that's just my opinion. In any case, it looks pretty cool and it's styling from another era provides very welcome contrast in the Marunouchi area, which has been almost completely rebuilt with glass and steel high-rise office towers.
Three Door Seibu Train Departing Station (120911)
http://youtu.be/zEUl4kcfKU4
The more crowded the trains get, the more doors they put in them (to provide quicker loading and unloading). I think this type of Seibu Line train is the last type in Tokyo to have three-doors (per side of each train car) - the standard is four, although there were some six-door train cars on the Yamanote Line before they decided it make it into a kind of horizontal elevator and needed all the train cars to have the same number of doors in order to match them up with platform wall doors (currently only at Ebisu, but platform construction for additional platform walls is evident at several other stations).
Chuo Line Train Departs Station (120912)
http://youtu.be/Fo5jg9UrOWs
Cicada Still at it in Mid-September (120918)
http://youtu.be/ViOBfHU_8cE
Morning Shinjuku Station (Central West Exit) 朝の新宿駅中央西口 (120918)
http://youtu.be/MSzigCozXVc
Shinjuku Morning - West Side Stroll (Odakyu Etc) 新宿朝の散歩小田急 (120918)
http://youtu.be/uyeB8dEF8_M
Shinjuku Station Morning Rush Etc 新宿朝の小田急線電車到着西口など (120918)
http://youtu.be/RaIZYdU9g74
Platform End at Shinjuku Station (120918)
http://youtu.be/LGO6242Spf4
Shinjuku to Ochanomizu (Morning) 120918
http://youtu.be/mIXztfh4j1o
Ochanomizu Magazine Handout (120918)
http://youtu.be/OoqKBbYNg5M
Ochanomizu Morning Stroll (A) 御茶ノ水朝散歩 (120918)
http://youtu.be/Y0lN-k2bSLc
Ochanomizu Side Street Stroll 御茶ノ水朝散歩 (120918)
http://youtu.be/D1BqWMKd0IY
Ochanomizu Morning Stroll (B) 御茶ノ水横道散歩 (120918)
http://youtu.be/z_JnHciZT0I
Ochanomizu Morning Exit 御茶ノ水駅朝出口 (120918)
http://youtu.be/QPKdg8IFIV4
Ochanomizu Side Exit Views (120918)
http://youtu.be/EWYzQNxxKCI
Ochanomizu Bridge View from Station (120918)
http://youtu.be/CBNaYCst2ok
Ochanomizu Side Exit Lookaround and Exit (120918)
http://youtu.be/wDzjJeMjhYg
Ochanomizu Stroll Past Construction Site (120918)
http://youtu.be/90vRTzm7Vnk
Ochanomizu Tissue Pack Advertising Handout (120918)
http://youtu.be/OVBs3nIp2oY
Shinjuku West Side Stroll (120911g)
http://youtu.be/yN8kHMoE-uQ
Ochanomizu to Shinjuku (Morning Chuo Line) 御茶ノ水から新宿までの朝中央線 120918
http://youtu.be/HPZ9cqtPucM
Shinjuku Station Chuo Line Platform Walk (120918)
http://youtu.be/z1Znraiakig
Shinjuku Morning Chuo Line Platform View (120918)
http://youtu.be/kq55X9qtMgM
Shinjuku - Waiting for Yamanote Line 新宿山手線を乗る (120918)
http://youtu.be/H3L__jEYJTI
Shinjuku to Komagome (Yamanote Line) 新宿から駒込まで (山手線で) 120918
http://youtu.be/RTVg2HZrFKQ
Komagome Platform Walk 駒込駅ホームからの見回り 120918
http://youtu.be/dDWHHiHSi24
Komagome Station - Hot September Day 駒込駅暑い九月の日 120918
http://youtu.be/Y-bdUH9PHKA
Exiting Komagome Station 駒込駅 120918
http://youtu.be/Bt6ObfoQICU
Bicycles Beside Komagome Station 駒込駅隣の自転車 120918
http://youtu.be/3l_aztKIxo0
They have people watch over bicycle parking areas like this and very neatly align the bicycles after people have hurriedly parked them in the morning. This one seemed especially neatly aligned to me.
Komagome Shotengai (A) 駒込商店街 120918
http://youtu.be/ZbmEddsAYBk
Komagome Shotengai (B) 駒込商店街 120918
http://youtu.be/h_-6_7uq_Hk
Komagome Station Old Type Ticket Price Board (120918)
http://youtu.be/auR-IyXviZM
Entering Komagome Station 駒込駅を入る 120918
http://youtu.be/io3aTbPFfIA
Komagome to Nippori (Yamanote Line) 駒込から日暮里まで_山手線 120918
http://youtu.be/2bqmm2isGXk
Ikeda Tatsuo Exhibition 池田龍雄展 Gallery Kazuki 画廊香月 2012年9月 (120918)
http://youtu.be/ivEKxo3ybhI
Shibuya Eiichi Exhibition at Lixil Gallery 渋谷英一展 (120918)
http://youtu.be/2UM-oMbq7Jk
Nippori to Ueno (Yamanote Line) 日暮里から上野まで (山手線) 120918
http://youtu.be/3aU82yn4nuc
Ueno to Tokyo (Yamanote Line) 上野から東京まで (山手線) 120918
http://youtu.be/MYMDAQ1MsCU
Tokyo Station Afternoon Platform 東京駅お昼のホーム (120918)
http://youtu.be/LOBot6bJWx8
Short Glimpse of Rebuilt Tokyo Station (120918)
http://youtu.be/K6haPaoV9KA
Tokyo to Yurakucho (Yamanote Line) 東京から有楽町まで (山手線) 120918
http://youtu.be/N7l3I8VQ9hg
Yurakucho Walking Towards Ginza (120918)
http://youtu.be/tL84Cq1k-ms
Ginza Pomegranate Tree 銀座柘榴木 (120918)
http://youtu.be/tN7zGbLPUYM
This is probably the only pomegranate tree in all of Ginza....
Yaesu Construction Cranes by Tokyo Station 八重洲 (120918)
http://youtu.be/HhsL82Uk1rE
This view of the Yaesu side of Tokyo Station will likely be radically different when they finish the construction project the large cranes are there for.
Tokyo Station Newly Reconstructed (Ground Level View) 120918
http://youtu.be/hZxC-LI6NWY
Tokyo Station Twilight View (Newly Reconstructed) 120918
http://youtu.be/5jEc-iWYyRA
Marunouchi Night Terrace (120918)
http://youtu.be/Jbt-zVha-DE
Tokyo Station Night View (Marunouchi Side) 東京駅丸の内側 (120918)
http://youtu.be/3VrvIB86QZw
Marunouchi Evening Beautiful Lights 丸の内夜の美光 (120918)
http://youtu.be/U7Z1cxs-RMg
Marunouchi Night Street View 丸の内夜道ビュー (120918)
http://youtu.be/Vl3Y6B3IH9M
Entering Tokyo Station (Marunouchi Side) 120918
http://youtu.be/zFs0jsW5Bco
Tokyo Station Platform View (120918)
http://youtu.be/HgcrLnud1MM
Tokyo to Kanda - Keihin-Tohoku Line 東京から神田まで (京浜東北線) 120918
http://youtu.be/a6HxYPkVH9g
Kanda Night Stroll 神田夜散歩 (120918)
http://youtu.be/8Sj8c8V6DfU
Entering Kanda Station (Under Construction) 工事中神田駅を入る 120918
http://youtu.be/bDyVQVKfoac
Tokyo to Kanda (Chuo Line) 東京から神田まで (中央線) 120918
http://youtu.be/Pdbi_sH9O-Q
Lights and Reflections (Departing Kanda via Chuo Line) 120918
http://youtu.be/MuqCfp-x6Lo
Tree Walk (Shinjuku Southern Terrace) 120918
http://youtu.be/q3yTYNW-1Ek
White Three-Door Seibu Line Train Departs Station (120919)
http://youtu.be/GeMPTbuk7go
This is not the usual color scheme for Seibu Line trains - so it really stands out.
Countryside Side Window View (120919)
http://youtu.be/dEMhNSd_1ec
Kawagoe Station 川越駅 (120919)
http://youtu.be/gAchNKyaitY
Kawagoe Shotengai 川越商店街 (120919)
http://youtu.be/AySvsC3jhoY
Temple in Kawagoe (120919)
http://youtu.be/bFw99mYfazk
Ramen Place in Kawagoe (120919)
http://youtu.be/WteYAJFZBHw
Kawagoe Mystery Zone (120919)
http://youtu.be/-_BKBZ9GI2I
A space I stumbled upon accidentally.
Tea Machine (Three Types) 120919
http://youtu.be/Dfnov7V4wIY
This is a pretty cool machine. It offers three types of tea, each either hot or cold (thus the twin buttons) and also plain hot water or plain cold water.
Kawagoe Lookaround (A) 120919
http://youtu.be/98gNFHwf1Yw
Kawagoe Lookaround (B) 120919
http://youtu.be/GOXwM0ia40Q
Kawagoe Museum (A) Cool Stairs (120919)
http://youtu.be/Mgx6uYl3kxo
Kawagoe Museum (B) Old Fire Fighting Equipment (120919)
http://youtu.be/O5DCpPWzZKc
Kawagoe Museum (C) Old Fire Fighting Equipment (120919)
http://youtu.be/YBCSID-yx6E
Kawagoe Museum (D) Secret Staircase (120919)
http://youtu.be/aLzpABdh2QQ
Kawagoe Museum (E) Old House (1st Floor) 120919
http://youtu.be/3XAGJMaVObU
Kawagoe Museum (F) Old House (Exterior) 120919
http://youtu.be/dvxYbsmM68s
Kawagoe Museum (G) Old House (1st to 2nd Floor) 120919
http://youtu.be/xB5wazr79LI
Kawagoe Museum (H) Old House (2nd Floor) 120919
http://youtu.be/gZRGyloTI7U
Kawagoe Museum (I) Old House (2nd to 1st Floor) 120919
http://youtu.be/GmT2GFYmfys
Kawagoe Museum (J) Street Side Store (2nd Floor-A) 120919
http://youtu.be/Frn1FBnjz-U
Kawagoe Museum (K) Street Side Store (2nd Floor-B) 120919
http://youtu.be/maCvQ3W4mGs
Old Kawagoe Street Scene (120919)
http://youtu.be/YVML4UWeub4
Old Kawagoe Side Street Scene 川越市横道 120919
http://youtu.be/e37t7SQWHSU
Walk to Back of Temple in Kawagoe (120919)
http://youtu.be/HJB4dw1V2_A
Kawagoe Lookaround (C) 120919
http://youtu.be/0GSStewr6vw
Kawagoe Evening Lookaround (A) 120919
http://youtu.be/Lkbvrv85fyA
Kawagoe Evening Lookaround (B) 120919
http://youtu.be/i2-xV29FGFE
Kawagoe Retro Style Tourist Bus (120919)
http://youtu.be/2hRafta3Yi4
Kawagoe Evening Lookaround (C) 120919
http://youtu.be/g0t8dE6kqZ0
Kawagoe Department Store Near Station (120919)
http://youtu.be/PbnWwhukgbU
Kawagoe Bookstore and Street Outside 川越市本屋さん 120919
http://youtu.be/I6fPge0h2_o
Cars and a Temple (Kawagoe) 120919
http://youtu.be/kTdgMfKjt1k
Kawagoe Temple in the Evening (120919)
http://youtu.be/fST1J_RG38s
Kawagoe Evening Window Reflections (120919)
http://youtu.be/oDPRz2BZoH0
Kawagoe Evening (Shop Closing for the Day) 120919
http://youtu.be/Q-mPegvo1gA
Kawagoe Twilight (Cars Drifting By) 120919
http://youtu.be/Ia9f0FvLT94
Kawagoe Night Walk to Station (120919)
http://youtu.be/X2dIwAfm5Ss
Kawagoe Temple Lookaround (September) 120919g
http://youtu.be/Ge-UFSF6dvY
Kawagoe Side Street Details (120919g)
http://youtu.be/R20lk38D-48
Kawagoe Side Street Diving 川越横道探検 (120919g)
http://youtu.be/4-aGepPH8Qw
Kawagoe Twilight 川越夕方 (120919g)
http://youtu.be/uOC8tay9OMY
Kawagoe Temple Lookaround (September) 120919g
http://youtu.be/Ge-UFSF6dvY
Kawagoe Side Street Details (120919g)
http://youtu.be/R20lk38D-48
Kawagoe Side Street Diving 川越横道探検 (120919g)
http://youtu.be/4-aGepPH8Qw
Kawagoe Twilight 川越夕方 (120919g)
http://youtu.be/uOC8tay9OMY
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/Lyle
There are a lot (and I do mean *a lot*) of separate views of Kawagoe - primarily in the old section of town with it's Edo style buildings. Then there are morning views of Shinjuku and Ochanomizu; and various views of Ginza, Yurakucho, Kanda, Etc.
1990 Shimofuri-Ginza Shotengai 霜降銀座商店街 (900914)
http://youtu.be/NFkzeC63zNE
This is a good example of how the old shotengai shopping streets used to look. I say "used to" because even the ones that remain are not quite the same as when this was taken in 1990. Even in 1990 - as I note on-tape (in the longer version below) after walking into a fairly large (by shotengai standards) grocery store - the grocery store had a lot of customers, but many of the shotengai stores just down the street had very few. I wondered at the time what would become of the shotengai shopping street, and over the years, a new term has come up, "shutter-gai" meaning not a street of open shops, but a street of closed shutters of former shops. Many shotengai shopping streets soldier on, but business doesn't appear to be very good for them now.
1990 Komagome, Nishigahara, Etc. (900914) 駒込, 中里, 上中里, 西ヶ原
http://youtu.be/7UeYgI-VVho
This is a long video - just over an hour and a half, and it includes a fairly detailed look at the area on one side of Komagome Station. (The shotengai clip above this one is a new edit - from the source tape - of part of this longer video.) Time-wise, this includes views from the daytime, the evening, and at night - part of the time walking in the rain.
1990 Night Rain Walk Kagurazaka 神楽坂 (900907)
http://youtu.be/ujmxKyERdO0
1990 Shinjuku, Machida, Etc. (Here and There) 900914
http://youtu.be/orBq5lAKJT4
1990 Takadanobaba to Ikebukuro Rush Rides (900907)
http://youtu.be/oAonOOdS6s4
Trains in Ueno at Night (120905)
http://youtu.be/MPJM-2ENbKY
A lot of 15-car trains come into Ueno and dead-end there, since most platforms in central Tokyo can only accommodate 10-car trains. The Chuo Line is the only major JR line that runs right through central Tokyo (via Shinjuku), and one consequence of that is Chuo Line trains are only 10-cars in length.
Kawagoe Bell Tower Area (120919) 川越 小江戸
http://youtu.be/Ri8GccVFpPI
Kawagoe Lookaround (while Bell Tolls) 120919 川越 小江戸
http://youtu.be/lM9mzkadJvU
At the time I took this, I didn't realize how close I was to where the bell was being rung, or I would hurried around the corner and recorded it being rung by hand (it's not automated).
Kawagoe Side Street Stroll (A) 120919 川越 小江戸
http://youtu.be/I0gNns0dNh0
Kawagoe Main Old Street (120919g) 川越 小江戸
http://youtu.be/4MPBKOgp9lc
Ginza 1-Chome Lookaround (120918)
http://youtu.be/eghP9IQ-mwk
Ginza Chuo-Dori Lookaround (120918)
http://youtu.be/_Byeaq2fNwY
Ginza Side Street (120918)
http://youtu.be/NSz7SCXn1VA
Komagome Trains (A) 駒込駅電車 (120918)
http://youtu.be/KGswx4XR5rE
Komagome Trains (B) 駒込駅電車 (120918)
http://youtu.be/YDk6InIOoFc
Kyobashi Lookaround (120918)
http://youtu.be/AtkKmHjpCxQ
Ochanomizu Bridge Scene (Morning Rush) 御茶ノ水 (120918)
http://youtu.be/HEOHaBfs_zA
Ochanomizu Morning Rush 御茶ノ水 (120918)
http://youtu.be/SHp811Xd5R4
Shinjuku Trains (A) 新宿電車 (120918)
http://youtu.be/-kuHObycGHQ
Shinjuku Trains (B) 新宿電車 (120918)
http://youtu.be/VBxgcPXGLTo
Tokyo Station - Newly Rebuilt (Evening) 120918
http://youtu.be/ekiFJiVReXU
The 1914 Tokyo Station building has been renovated/rebuilt - with (from appearances) more reconstruction work than renovation. It looks pretty much like a squeaky-new building, which is slightly disappointing. I think they could have kept a little more of the original structure, but that's just my opinion. In any case, it looks pretty cool and it's styling from another era provides very welcome contrast in the Marunouchi area, which has been almost completely rebuilt with glass and steel high-rise office towers.
Three Door Seibu Train Departing Station (120911)
http://youtu.be/zEUl4kcfKU4
The more crowded the trains get, the more doors they put in them (to provide quicker loading and unloading). I think this type of Seibu Line train is the last type in Tokyo to have three-doors (per side of each train car) - the standard is four, although there were some six-door train cars on the Yamanote Line before they decided it make it into a kind of horizontal elevator and needed all the train cars to have the same number of doors in order to match them up with platform wall doors (currently only at Ebisu, but platform construction for additional platform walls is evident at several other stations).
Chuo Line Train Departs Station (120912)
http://youtu.be/Fo5jg9UrOWs
Cicada Still at it in Mid-September (120918)
http://youtu.be/ViOBfHU_8cE
Morning Shinjuku Station (Central West Exit) 朝の新宿駅中央西口 (120918)
http://youtu.be/MSzigCozXVc
Shinjuku Morning - West Side Stroll (Odakyu Etc) 新宿朝の散歩小田急 (120918)
http://youtu.be/uyeB8dEF8_M
Shinjuku Station Morning Rush Etc 新宿朝の小田急線電車到着西口など (120918)
http://youtu.be/RaIZYdU9g74
Platform End at Shinjuku Station (120918)
http://youtu.be/LGO6242Spf4
Shinjuku to Ochanomizu (Morning) 120918
http://youtu.be/mIXztfh4j1o
Ochanomizu Magazine Handout (120918)
http://youtu.be/OoqKBbYNg5M
Ochanomizu Morning Stroll (A) 御茶ノ水朝散歩 (120918)
http://youtu.be/Y0lN-k2bSLc
Ochanomizu Side Street Stroll 御茶ノ水朝散歩 (120918)
http://youtu.be/D1BqWMKd0IY
Ochanomizu Morning Stroll (B) 御茶ノ水横道散歩 (120918)
http://youtu.be/z_JnHciZT0I
Ochanomizu Morning Exit 御茶ノ水駅朝出口 (120918)
http://youtu.be/QPKdg8IFIV4
Ochanomizu Side Exit Views (120918)
http://youtu.be/EWYzQNxxKCI
Ochanomizu Bridge View from Station (120918)
http://youtu.be/CBNaYCst2ok
Ochanomizu Side Exit Lookaround and Exit (120918)
http://youtu.be/wDzjJeMjhYg
Ochanomizu Stroll Past Construction Site (120918)
http://youtu.be/90vRTzm7Vnk
Ochanomizu Tissue Pack Advertising Handout (120918)
http://youtu.be/OVBs3nIp2oY
Shinjuku West Side Stroll (120911g)
http://youtu.be/yN8kHMoE-uQ
Ochanomizu to Shinjuku (Morning Chuo Line) 御茶ノ水から新宿までの朝中央線 120918
http://youtu.be/HPZ9cqtPucM
Shinjuku Station Chuo Line Platform Walk (120918)
http://youtu.be/z1Znraiakig
Shinjuku Morning Chuo Line Platform View (120918)
http://youtu.be/kq55X9qtMgM
Shinjuku - Waiting for Yamanote Line 新宿山手線を乗る (120918)
http://youtu.be/H3L__jEYJTI
Shinjuku to Komagome (Yamanote Line) 新宿から駒込まで (山手線で) 120918
http://youtu.be/RTVg2HZrFKQ
Komagome Platform Walk 駒込駅ホームからの見回り 120918
http://youtu.be/dDWHHiHSi24
Komagome Station - Hot September Day 駒込駅暑い九月の日 120918
http://youtu.be/Y-bdUH9PHKA
Exiting Komagome Station 駒込駅 120918
http://youtu.be/Bt6ObfoQICU
Bicycles Beside Komagome Station 駒込駅隣の自転車 120918
http://youtu.be/3l_aztKIxo0
They have people watch over bicycle parking areas like this and very neatly align the bicycles after people have hurriedly parked them in the morning. This one seemed especially neatly aligned to me.
Komagome Shotengai (A) 駒込商店街 120918
http://youtu.be/ZbmEddsAYBk
Komagome Shotengai (B) 駒込商店街 120918
http://youtu.be/h_-6_7uq_Hk
Komagome Station Old Type Ticket Price Board (120918)
http://youtu.be/auR-IyXviZM
Entering Komagome Station 駒込駅を入る 120918
http://youtu.be/io3aTbPFfIA
Komagome to Nippori (Yamanote Line) 駒込から日暮里まで_山手線 120918
http://youtu.be/2bqmm2isGXk
Ikeda Tatsuo Exhibition 池田龍雄展 Gallery Kazuki 画廊香月 2012年9月 (120918)
http://youtu.be/ivEKxo3ybhI
Shibuya Eiichi Exhibition at Lixil Gallery 渋谷英一展 (120918)
http://youtu.be/2UM-oMbq7Jk
Nippori to Ueno (Yamanote Line) 日暮里から上野まで (山手線) 120918
http://youtu.be/3aU82yn4nuc
Ueno to Tokyo (Yamanote Line) 上野から東京まで (山手線) 120918
http://youtu.be/MYMDAQ1MsCU
Tokyo Station Afternoon Platform 東京駅お昼のホーム (120918)
http://youtu.be/LOBot6bJWx8
Short Glimpse of Rebuilt Tokyo Station (120918)
http://youtu.be/K6haPaoV9KA
Tokyo to Yurakucho (Yamanote Line) 東京から有楽町まで (山手線) 120918
http://youtu.be/N7l3I8VQ9hg
Yurakucho Walking Towards Ginza (120918)
http://youtu.be/tL84Cq1k-ms
Ginza Pomegranate Tree 銀座柘榴木 (120918)
http://youtu.be/tN7zGbLPUYM
This is probably the only pomegranate tree in all of Ginza....
Yaesu Construction Cranes by Tokyo Station 八重洲 (120918)
http://youtu.be/HhsL82Uk1rE
This view of the Yaesu side of Tokyo Station will likely be radically different when they finish the construction project the large cranes are there for.
Tokyo Station Newly Reconstructed (Ground Level View) 120918
http://youtu.be/hZxC-LI6NWY
Tokyo Station Twilight View (Newly Reconstructed) 120918
http://youtu.be/5jEc-iWYyRA
Marunouchi Night Terrace (120918)
http://youtu.be/Jbt-zVha-DE
Tokyo Station Night View (Marunouchi Side) 東京駅丸の内側 (120918)
http://youtu.be/3VrvIB86QZw
Marunouchi Evening Beautiful Lights 丸の内夜の美光 (120918)
http://youtu.be/U7Z1cxs-RMg
Marunouchi Night Street View 丸の内夜道ビュー (120918)
http://youtu.be/Vl3Y6B3IH9M
Entering Tokyo Station (Marunouchi Side) 120918
http://youtu.be/zFs0jsW5Bco
Tokyo Station Platform View (120918)
http://youtu.be/HgcrLnud1MM
Tokyo to Kanda - Keihin-Tohoku Line 東京から神田まで (京浜東北線) 120918
http://youtu.be/a6HxYPkVH9g
Kanda Night Stroll 神田夜散歩 (120918)
http://youtu.be/8Sj8c8V6DfU
Entering Kanda Station (Under Construction) 工事中神田駅を入る 120918
http://youtu.be/bDyVQVKfoac
Tokyo to Kanda (Chuo Line) 東京から神田まで (中央線) 120918
http://youtu.be/Pdbi_sH9O-Q
Lights and Reflections (Departing Kanda via Chuo Line) 120918
http://youtu.be/MuqCfp-x6Lo
Tree Walk (Shinjuku Southern Terrace) 120918
http://youtu.be/q3yTYNW-1Ek
White Three-Door Seibu Line Train Departs Station (120919)
http://youtu.be/GeMPTbuk7go
This is not the usual color scheme for Seibu Line trains - so it really stands out.
Countryside Side Window View (120919)
http://youtu.be/dEMhNSd_1ec
Kawagoe Station 川越駅 (120919)
http://youtu.be/gAchNKyaitY
Kawagoe Shotengai 川越商店街 (120919)
http://youtu.be/AySvsC3jhoY
Temple in Kawagoe (120919)
http://youtu.be/bFw99mYfazk
Ramen Place in Kawagoe (120919)
http://youtu.be/WteYAJFZBHw
Kawagoe Mystery Zone (120919)
http://youtu.be/-_BKBZ9GI2I
A space I stumbled upon accidentally.
Tea Machine (Three Types) 120919
http://youtu.be/Dfnov7V4wIY
This is a pretty cool machine. It offers three types of tea, each either hot or cold (thus the twin buttons) and also plain hot water or plain cold water.
Kawagoe Lookaround (A) 120919
http://youtu.be/98gNFHwf1Yw
Kawagoe Lookaround (B) 120919
http://youtu.be/GOXwM0ia40Q
Kawagoe Museum (A) Cool Stairs (120919)
http://youtu.be/Mgx6uYl3kxo
Kawagoe Museum (B) Old Fire Fighting Equipment (120919)
http://youtu.be/O5DCpPWzZKc
Kawagoe Museum (C) Old Fire Fighting Equipment (120919)
http://youtu.be/YBCSID-yx6E
Kawagoe Museum (D) Secret Staircase (120919)
http://youtu.be/aLzpABdh2QQ
Kawagoe Museum (E) Old House (1st Floor) 120919
http://youtu.be/3XAGJMaVObU
Kawagoe Museum (F) Old House (Exterior) 120919
http://youtu.be/dvxYbsmM68s
Kawagoe Museum (G) Old House (1st to 2nd Floor) 120919
http://youtu.be/xB5wazr79LI
Kawagoe Museum (H) Old House (2nd Floor) 120919
http://youtu.be/gZRGyloTI7U
Kawagoe Museum (I) Old House (2nd to 1st Floor) 120919
http://youtu.be/GmT2GFYmfys
Kawagoe Museum (J) Street Side Store (2nd Floor-A) 120919
http://youtu.be/Frn1FBnjz-U
Kawagoe Museum (K) Street Side Store (2nd Floor-B) 120919
http://youtu.be/maCvQ3W4mGs
Old Kawagoe Street Scene (120919)
http://youtu.be/YVML4UWeub4
Old Kawagoe Side Street Scene 川越市横道 120919
http://youtu.be/e37t7SQWHSU
Walk to Back of Temple in Kawagoe (120919)
http://youtu.be/HJB4dw1V2_A
Kawagoe Lookaround (C) 120919
http://youtu.be/0GSStewr6vw
Kawagoe Evening Lookaround (A) 120919
http://youtu.be/Lkbvrv85fyA
Kawagoe Evening Lookaround (B) 120919
http://youtu.be/i2-xV29FGFE
Kawagoe Retro Style Tourist Bus (120919)
http://youtu.be/2hRafta3Yi4
Kawagoe Evening Lookaround (C) 120919
http://youtu.be/g0t8dE6kqZ0
Kawagoe Department Store Near Station (120919)
http://youtu.be/PbnWwhukgbU
Kawagoe Bookstore and Street Outside 川越市本屋さん 120919
http://youtu.be/I6fPge0h2_o
Cars and a Temple (Kawagoe) 120919
http://youtu.be/kTdgMfKjt1k
Kawagoe Temple in the Evening (120919)
http://youtu.be/fST1J_RG38s
Kawagoe Evening Window Reflections (120919)
http://youtu.be/oDPRz2BZoH0
Kawagoe Evening (Shop Closing for the Day) 120919
http://youtu.be/Q-mPegvo1gA
Kawagoe Twilight (Cars Drifting By) 120919
http://youtu.be/Ia9f0FvLT94
Kawagoe Night Walk to Station (120919)
http://youtu.be/X2dIwAfm5Ss
Kawagoe Temple Lookaround (September) 120919g
http://youtu.be/Ge-UFSF6dvY
Kawagoe Side Street Details (120919g)
http://youtu.be/R20lk38D-48
Kawagoe Side Street Diving 川越横道探検 (120919g)
http://youtu.be/4-aGepPH8Qw
Kawagoe Twilight 川越夕方 (120919g)
http://youtu.be/uOC8tay9OMY
Kawagoe Temple Lookaround (September) 120919g
http://youtu.be/Ge-UFSF6dvY
Kawagoe Side Street Details (120919g)
http://youtu.be/R20lk38D-48
Kawagoe Side Street Diving 川越横道探検 (120919g)
http://youtu.be/4-aGepPH8Qw
Kawagoe Twilight 川越夕方 (120919g)
http://youtu.be/uOC8tay9OMY
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/Lyle
Monday, September 17, 2012
View From Mt. Takao - Strange Clouds (2012/08)
View From Mt. Takao - Strange Clouds (2012/08)
Copyright 2012 by Lyle H Saxon
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
"1990: Trip to Tateyama on the Boso Peninsula, Sobu Line, Shinjuku, Parade, Etc."
If you want to know what it's like riding out into the countryside via regular (not reserved seat, special express) trains, then the first video below has some good scenes/sounds of a trip I took in November 1990, part of the time with the window open, so you can hear all the noises of the old type train I was in very well. From the clack-clack of the segmented rails (they've since gone to long seamless rails) to the high-RPM whine of the motors (newer trains are quieter and sound quite different).
To really get the full effect of what it felt like at the time to ride these trains, try listening with headphones and with the sound loud enough to simulate the level it was at at the time (which you'll just have to guess at of course, but the point is, not too low a sound level, or you'll miss both details and the overall effect). It's a long video at almost 90 minutes, but regarding the sounds I mentioned, the part where I was by an open window is towards the beginning of the video, so that's easy to experience just by starting from the beginning (and if you have time, maybe even take the whole trip with me).
I started off saying "If you want to know what it's like...", but maybe I should have made that past tense. The newer trains only have a few windows that open, and those only open at the top, not the bottom; and people appear to be afraid of fresh air now, so they are almost never opened. There's a world of difference between riding in a sealed box and riding in a cool old train with the windows open. There are still a number of older trains running, but fewer and fewer, and hardly any in central Tokyo.
1990 Trip to Tateyama (Boso Hanto) 館山 (901110)
http://youtu.be/a-c2MAFBN4Y
1990 Shinjuku Station Live (901108)
http://youtu.be/59F3CRS4yxQ
I've had several people currently in their early twenties who have said they wish they could have experienced the bubble economy years, and I generally tell them that they probably have an overrated image of the era from modern movies/dramas that glamorize the time. I mention how the plans of the time resulted in the current Tokyo with its many new (since that time) high-rise buildings, expanded train system, etc., but it wasn't all sparkling lights and fun at the time.
But in (re)watching this short clip from 1990, I remember the optimism of the time. A lot of new construction was beginning then, and newer things were not just utilitarian, as they had tended to be in the past, but were... I'm not sure "extravagant" is the correct term, but certainly it would apply in some cases. But new things are just new things - the feeling of the country moving steadily forward was powerful and people were optimistic about the future.
Contrasting that with now, there are so many very worrying trends and incidents in the world, it's increasingly difficult to feel very optimistic about the future. And in that regard, the young people I've met who wish they had experienced the late eighties are actually right to feel they missed out on something - although I still think they have a rather different idea in mind than what it was really like.
1990 Sobu Line (Central Tokyo, Etc.) 総武線 (901110)
http://youtu.be/Cl_1Lk1uVqw
Looking out a window on a local Sobu Line train as it goes through central Tokyo.
1990 Nishi-Shinjuku at Night (Here and There) 901108
http://youtu.be/4O7XHZPoNM4
1990 Old Tateyama Station (901110)
http://youtu.be/vNrkB26z7pk
For anyone who has been to Tateyama Station, this might be interesting - either in a nostalgic way if you have experienced the old station, or in a historical sense if you only know the current rebuilt version of the station. Speaking of the bubble era again though - this is the type of thing I mean when I tell the current twenties crowd that *during* the bubble, there was a lot of old stuff still. It was during the bubble that *plans* for all the new stuff they have now were put in place, but the bubble years themselves were really more the old Showa Era than the new Heisei Era.
1990 Yakimo Truck やきいもトラック (901108)
http://youtu.be/d9DXb4AAUNs
1990 Shinjuku Station at Night (901108)
http://youtu.be/FpqMUgnBQS4
1990 Suburban Bookstore (901108)
http://youtu.be/3a-URsp-rlI
1990 Ikebukuro to Shinjuku 池袋-新宿 (901108)
http://youtu.be/K2WqNVT6iOI
1990 Ikebukuro Station 池袋駅 (901108)
http://youtu.be/63wCa37fors
1990 Restaurants in Shinjuku Station (West Side) 901108
http://youtu.be/vAxPh7T09Ck
This is the underground passageway lined with shops and restaurants that leads to the underground entrance to both the Keio Line and the JR lines.
1990 Hibarigaoka to Ikebukuro ひばりヶ丘-池袋 (901108)
http://youtu.be/GXmUh8vWEqU
1990 Newspapers, not Cell Phones (901108)
http://youtu.be/nfOCaqCX8tk
This is a very short clip, but it shows (at the beginning) people in a train looking at - no, not cell phone screens - but newspapers. The only people who had cell phones in 1990 were businesses and rich people. The phones themselves were very expensive, and it was very expensive to use them.
1990 Hibarigaoka-kita ひばりが丘北 (901110)
http://youtu.be/tvYbfPPNUds
1990 Exiting Burbs Station (901108)
http://youtu.be/p2oXxnRjSN8
1990 - Emperor Akihito Parade Day (901112)
http://youtu.be/v8rePgUyWjk
This might be of some historical interest. This was the day that Crown Prince Akihito officially became Emperor Akihito, and I walked around on the parade route recording the event. There were just a few seconds when he could be seen, but my purpose in going to the parade route was to see the event of people going to see the event, more than the central focus of it. Looking at it now, the various cameras are interesting to see. Film cameras, large video cameras (which I was using myself), etc. No digital cameras.
I started out in in the suburbs, and took a few trains to the center of Tokyo, and then after the event, took a few trains back to the suburbs. I included the trip there and back to show that it was - by and large - an average day for most of the city. The problem with news reports is that you get only the central issue, and as time passes, it's easy to get the mistaken impression that the entire city was involved in something; but you can't have 30,000,000 people in one part of the city! So, it was a big event of course, but everything didn't stop that day because of it.
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
To really get the full effect of what it felt like at the time to ride these trains, try listening with headphones and with the sound loud enough to simulate the level it was at at the time (which you'll just have to guess at of course, but the point is, not too low a sound level, or you'll miss both details and the overall effect). It's a long video at almost 90 minutes, but regarding the sounds I mentioned, the part where I was by an open window is towards the beginning of the video, so that's easy to experience just by starting from the beginning (and if you have time, maybe even take the whole trip with me).
I started off saying "If you want to know what it's like...", but maybe I should have made that past tense. The newer trains only have a few windows that open, and those only open at the top, not the bottom; and people appear to be afraid of fresh air now, so they are almost never opened. There's a world of difference between riding in a sealed box and riding in a cool old train with the windows open. There are still a number of older trains running, but fewer and fewer, and hardly any in central Tokyo.
1990 Trip to Tateyama (Boso Hanto) 館山 (901110)
http://youtu.be/a-c2MAFBN4Y
1990 Shinjuku Station Live (901108)
http://youtu.be/59F3CRS4yxQ
I've had several people currently in their early twenties who have said they wish they could have experienced the bubble economy years, and I generally tell them that they probably have an overrated image of the era from modern movies/dramas that glamorize the time. I mention how the plans of the time resulted in the current Tokyo with its many new (since that time) high-rise buildings, expanded train system, etc., but it wasn't all sparkling lights and fun at the time.
But in (re)watching this short clip from 1990, I remember the optimism of the time. A lot of new construction was beginning then, and newer things were not just utilitarian, as they had tended to be in the past, but were... I'm not sure "extravagant" is the correct term, but certainly it would apply in some cases. But new things are just new things - the feeling of the country moving steadily forward was powerful and people were optimistic about the future.
Contrasting that with now, there are so many very worrying trends and incidents in the world, it's increasingly difficult to feel very optimistic about the future. And in that regard, the young people I've met who wish they had experienced the late eighties are actually right to feel they missed out on something - although I still think they have a rather different idea in mind than what it was really like.
1990 Sobu Line (Central Tokyo, Etc.) 総武線 (901110)
http://youtu.be/Cl_1Lk1uVqw
Looking out a window on a local Sobu Line train as it goes through central Tokyo.
1990 Nishi-Shinjuku at Night (Here and There) 901108
http://youtu.be/4O7XHZPoNM4
1990 Old Tateyama Station (901110)
http://youtu.be/vNrkB26z7pk
For anyone who has been to Tateyama Station, this might be interesting - either in a nostalgic way if you have experienced the old station, or in a historical sense if you only know the current rebuilt version of the station. Speaking of the bubble era again though - this is the type of thing I mean when I tell the current twenties crowd that *during* the bubble, there was a lot of old stuff still. It was during the bubble that *plans* for all the new stuff they have now were put in place, but the bubble years themselves were really more the old Showa Era than the new Heisei Era.
1990 Yakimo Truck やきいもトラック (901108)
http://youtu.be/d9DXb4AAUNs
1990 Shinjuku Station at Night (901108)
http://youtu.be/FpqMUgnBQS4
1990 Suburban Bookstore (901108)
http://youtu.be/3a-URsp-rlI
1990 Ikebukuro to Shinjuku 池袋-新宿 (901108)
http://youtu.be/K2WqNVT6iOI
1990 Ikebukuro Station 池袋駅 (901108)
http://youtu.be/63wCa37fors
1990 Restaurants in Shinjuku Station (West Side) 901108
http://youtu.be/vAxPh7T09Ck
This is the underground passageway lined with shops and restaurants that leads to the underground entrance to both the Keio Line and the JR lines.
1990 Hibarigaoka to Ikebukuro ひばりヶ丘-池袋 (901108)
http://youtu.be/GXmUh8vWEqU
1990 Newspapers, not Cell Phones (901108)
http://youtu.be/nfOCaqCX8tk
This is a very short clip, but it shows (at the beginning) people in a train looking at - no, not cell phone screens - but newspapers. The only people who had cell phones in 1990 were businesses and rich people. The phones themselves were very expensive, and it was very expensive to use them.
1990 Hibarigaoka-kita ひばりが丘北 (901110)
http://youtu.be/tvYbfPPNUds
1990 Exiting Burbs Station (901108)
http://youtu.be/p2oXxnRjSN8
1990 - Emperor Akihito Parade Day (901112)
http://youtu.be/v8rePgUyWjk
This might be of some historical interest. This was the day that Crown Prince Akihito officially became Emperor Akihito, and I walked around on the parade route recording the event. There were just a few seconds when he could be seen, but my purpose in going to the parade route was to see the event of people going to see the event, more than the central focus of it. Looking at it now, the various cameras are interesting to see. Film cameras, large video cameras (which I was using myself), etc. No digital cameras.
I started out in in the suburbs, and took a few trains to the center of Tokyo, and then after the event, took a few trains back to the suburbs. I included the trip there and back to show that it was - by and large - an average day for most of the city. The problem with news reports is that you get only the central issue, and as time passes, it's easy to get the mistaken impression that the entire city was involved in something; but you can't have 30,000,000 people in one part of the city! So, it was a big event of course, but everything didn't stop that day because of it.
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
Saturday, September 15, 2012
"Shinjuku-Gyoen 新宿御苑 (June 2012)"
"Shinjuku-Gyoen 新宿御苑 (June 2012)"
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
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