February - when thoughts begin turning to spring, and there have even been a couple of warm days, but today the temperatures dropped, and with a strong wind, it was the coldest I've felt this winter. I was thinking of going out to take pictures, but ended up staying home... it would have been really unpleasant walking around outside taking pictures on a day like this!
This batch of videos is primarily of Hamamatsucho, Shinbashi, Ginza, and with train scenes from the Chuo Line, the Odakyu Line, and the Yamanote Line.
Hamamatsucho to Shinbashi (Twilight View) 浜松町駅-新橋駅 (黄昏風景) 130214g
http://youtu.be/UePZwsAh9iY
Looking west out the left side of the train into the twilight, you can see Tokyo Tower off in the distance between the buildings (00:08, 00:15, 00:19, etc.). I didn't used to think about Tokyo Tower much, but after finding myself right beside it this year while in the Hamamatsucho area, I suddenly realized just how large it is. Of course, I've always known it was a large tower, but I've mainly seen it from a distance, so when I looked up and saw it - right there - when I was in the area for other reasons, it suddenly impressed me.
The video ends with a platform view of the Yamanote Line train I had been on, and then a Keihin-Tohoku Line train leaving Shinbashi Station.
Yurakucho Evening 夕方の有楽町 (130214)
http://youtu.be/jkFbf4Kh_eI
The old steel bridges are much appreciated (by me, and others too I hope) for their style, history, and wonderful noises as trains pass by overhead. In this video, it's pretty quiet, but even without the industrial music of the train-generated sounds, somehow it's comforting to have *something* from the past close at hand while walking through everything-old-must-be-destroyed Tokyo. (Slight exaggeration? I'm not so sure... that's pretty much how it is.)
At the 01:00 mark - something I didn't notice at the time but stands out to me in the video, is the sign that says "1F Loft", meaning that the Loft store is on the first floor. "Hmm... on the 1st floor? That doesn't sound like a 'loft'..." you might think.
Shinbashi to Yurakucho (Night Ride) 新橋駅-有楽町駅 (夜山手線) 130214
http://youtu.be/eCUMM0OQA8U
Starting in SL-Plaza in front of Shinbashi Station, after walking around on the plaza a little, I enter the station and take a Keihin-Tohoku Line train to Yurakucho.
At the 02:13 point in the video, you can see a man in all-yellow clothing. A few weeks back, I asked either that very man, or someone doing that same job, what they were doing, and they explained they were there to make sure no one fell into the gap between the platform and the train. Safety is always a good thing, but it's a little depressing sometimes how paranoid people are about not-very-likely-to-occur problems.
In the case of trains, there are very few accidents, but as soon as one, single, solitary person dies in some mishap on the railways, it's pumped into all the news outlets - generating this ridiculous image of the railways being dangerous. Meanwhile, the daily carnage on the bloody dead-black asphalt roads continues with almost no comment at all. It's insane. Looking on-line, I see the figure 4,914 dead for the year 2009:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-related_death_rate
So you have this ratio of thousands of road dead for every single death on the railways, and the media generates this image of the railways as being dangerous if any one individual has an accident on them. It's crazy. Ongoing carnage on the roads? No problem! An isolated incident on the railways? "Terrible! Something must be done! Put guards on the platforms! Put up platform walls! Lower the speed! There must be zero accidents!"
Looking on-line, I see this:
"Transport Ministry says 2011 worst on record for passengers falling onto train tracks
NATIONAL DEC. 10, 2011 - 04:15PM JST ( 48 )TOKYO ―
"The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport this week released figures indicating that 2011 has seen the highest ever number of deaths and injuries due to passengers falling onto train tracks in Japan.
"The ministry said that between April and September of 2011, 119 people were injured or killed after being hit by trains in such incidents, TBS reported. ................."
http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/transport-ministry-says-2011-worst-on-record-for-passengers-falling-onto-train-tracks
Hmm... I wasn't aware of that. But still, it's an unfair comparison with road carnage - since they only list deaths on the road, but also list injuries on the train system. What about all the people injured (but not killed) in traffic accidents on the roads? For the railways, instead of lumping dead and injured together, they should list the number of dead versus injured - there's a big difference between falling down and breaking an arm, and being dead. One could get the impression they're cheating by lumping injured in with the dead to inflate the figure and make it seem more serious. But still, even with the figure 119 for one year, that still means over 30-times as many deaths on the roads. I wouldn't bother to comment on this, except it's really depressing to see ever more people traveling about Japan via buses instead of trains; and depressing to see ever more dead-black asphalt burying the city. They talk of aiming for "zero accidents" on the railways, but much greater carnage on the roads isn't worth commenting on? If people are serious about wanting to reduce the number of accident-related deaths each year, they should be pushing to get people out of cars and buses and onto trains.
Hamamatsucho Side Streets to Station 浜松町黄昏道 (駅まで) 130214
http://youtu.be/xlapn_w5tEQ
Walking down a nondescript side street towards Hamamatsucho Station, and then crossing a main street.... Speaking of main streets, have a look at the one at 00:55. It looks neat enough. Orderly buildings lined up next to the asphalt, and with a sidewalk on each side for pedestrians. The thing is though, roads are good for internal combustion machinery, but horrible for the quality of life for pedestrians. They're ugly, noisy, polluted with exhaust fumes, and inconvenient. I hope oil runs out quickly so frivolous burning of it in personal automobiles is outlawed. Basing everything around personal automobiles is a huge mistake I think.
The old bicycle at 01:55 is of a very sturdy design, with rod linkage for the brakes (instead of more fragile cable). The penalty is extra weight, but these old bicycles last forever.
Further along the walk, on a side street with very little traffic, the city seems more people-friendly again. The big main roads are considered "modern" and "progress", but they ruin the quality of life in the city for anyone not inside a fire-breathing machine (which is the majority of people in Tokyo).
Looking down the road at 03:21, you can see one of the Haneda monorail trains approaching Hamamatsucho Station. The proper name for it is "Tokyo Monorail" (東京モノレール), but since it's not the only monorail in Tokyo, the name isn't really accurate any more. Typically I've heard people calling it "Haneda Monorail" which makes a lot more sense, as its main purpose is to provide access to Haneda Airport. The English version of the line's website is here:
http://www.tokyo-monorail.co.jp/english/
Getting closer to the station, I was happy to see that an old building I remember from 1990 is still there (from about 04:18). Generally old buildings become victims of the Godzilla construction industry, so finding an old one that has somehow managed to survive is always nice to see.
Hamamatsucho Station - Ticket Gates to Platform 黄昏の浜松町駅 (130214)
http://youtu.be/pcqW2etAOuE
This was during the early part of the evening rush zone (it's not "rush *hour*" - trust me), so the station was pretty busy.
Shinbashi Twilight Stroll 新橋黄昏散策散歩 (130214)
http://youtu.be/lfReGh58HBg
Exiting Shinbashi Station and walking through the area in front of the station on the Shiodome side.
Rush Hour Shinbashi Station 新橋駅の夕方ラッシュー (130214hd)
http://youtu.be/7Hn2KJhcDII
Starting by ticket machines, then going through the ticket gates, up to a platform, down the platform, and out the Hibiya Exit (which leads into SL-Plaza).
Shinbashi Evening SL-Plaza 新橋夕方SL広場 (130214hd)
http://youtu.be/df8aPRZml9c
Walking around in SL-Plaza in front of Shinbashi Station. Lights, noise, reflections, action, people walking everywhere....
Shinjuku Station Chuo Line Platform Walk 新宿駅中央線ホームの様子 (130212)
http://youtu.be/XErUy8IzFa4
Departing Shinjuku Station via Chuo Line (130212)
http://youtu.be/Zrle6K4OKHk
Nighttime window view on an outbound train.
Rattling Door Glass (130212)
http://youtu.be/PWxmctyQV9g
Just to record something that was common before, but is becoming very rare. The old way of installing glass in window panes was to have it sit within a wooden frame, without using any kind of putty. This facilitated easy replacement of broken glass panes, but led to rattling noises, since the glass was just sitting in the frame. Pushing on an old door as I do in this video illustrates what I'm talking about, but the noise I'd really like to capture is how it sounds when the window panes are being rattled by wind. It was a sound I heard for the first time after moving to Japan, and it has become a nostalgic sound for me, since I stayed in places with those types of windows; so hearing that sound now reminds me of a very specific time in my life. There is also a feeling of the sound being an echo from the past.
Chuo Line Side Window View (to Mitaka) 中央線三鷹まで (130212hdc)
http://youtu.be/dv3SllIL988
Looking out a side window at the winter landscape flowing by. I took a video of this same stretch a couple of days after the big snowstorm we had, but this is the more typical view. Tokyo is generally dry, cold, and windy in the winter.
Mitaka to Koenji (Chuo Line) 三鷹から高円寺まで (中央線) 130212hdc
http://youtu.be/ci4rhokZFls
Watching the unbroken flow of houses and apartment buildings, I think you can probably imagine why the Chuo Line is so crowded! A *lot* of people live along this line!
Nakano Station Walkabout 中野駅散歩 (130212hdc)
http://youtu.be/3JnJEYi0420
The left side view as the train comes into Nakano Station, and then platform scenes at (elevated) Nakano Station, including a walk through a platform transfer tunnel that isn't connected to an exit. The brick (tile-brick?, tile?) of the lower part of the tunnel is a nice design touch from the past. Seeing this design element in a lot of older buildings (what's left of them that is!), I suppose the idea was to have something durable (and easy to wash) that didn't need to be painted on the lower half of the wall.
At 04:43 - the old buildings just beyond the old railway sidings are the Nakano Ekimae Jutaku Apartments 中野駅前住宅that I have a look at after exiting Nakano Station (see next video below).
Nakano Ekimae Jutaku 中野駅前住宅 (130212)
http://youtu.be/vVGlrvabOAE
I'm still trying to find a good history of this set of seven apartment buildings, but one site I found says they were built in 1951 and 1952, which seems about right. That the buildings have had maintenance upgrades over the years is clear - from new steel edges on some of the stair steps, to new mailboxes, and probably (not visible) new plumbing. The concrete buildings are very clearly old, but they appear to be in sound condition and would probably be safe to continue using for decades to come, but apparently a decision has been made to tear them down, and they are not letting in any new tenants. On the other hand, they aren't (to the best of my knowledge) evicting tenants either, so they're waiting as the number of tenants dwindles year by year. It appears that they stopped letting in new tenants about... five years ago or so? I imagine the current tenants are happy to stay and in no hurry to leave (living within a three-minute walk of Nakano Station is one of the choicer places to live in Tokyo), so it may be some time before the Godzilla construction monster can destroy yet more of Tokyo's historical buildings.
One more detail - and I hope this one is not true. I was told by a someone who lived in Nakano as a child that they heard the plan is to tear down the apartments and make the area into a bus terminal. Bloody buses again! It seems that the primary form of what the Godzilla construction industry considers progress for Tokyo now is bus terminals! They're building huge new ones beside Shinjuku and Tokyo Stations, and there seem to be ever more buses. Great idea! Let's increase the number of internal combustion engined vehicles so we can destroy the planet that much faster!
Don't get me wrong, I understand that buses are great in many applications, but not when there are good existing train lines that could be used instead. I'm so sick of the attitude in the world of "Who cares if we burn down the future! Nothing is more important than Short-Term Profits!". It's crazy.
Back to these seven apartments - it appears to me that the main thing they need is a new coat of paint. I can't believe they want to tear down solidly built apartment buildings so they can make a bloody bus terminal... in Nakano! With the traffic around there being how it is, I'm sure that's just what everyone wants to do - sit in traffic jams inside buses. Meanwhile, they shut down the convenient bus stops on the other side of the station for no apparent reason. Political decision to *generate* a problem in order to create increased pressure to tear down the apartment buildings? I hope not.
Nakano Shotengai on Hill Near South Exit 中野丘上商店街 (130212hd)
http://youtu.be/AdiG6nlatVo
A brief look at a shop-lined street a short walk from the South Exit of Nakano Station.
Nakano Station (South Side View) 南側から中野駅の姿 (130212hd)
http://youtu.be/XUv3aojTc5s
Looking over Nakano Station from the south side.
Nakano - from Station to Sun Mall (130212hdc)
http://youtu.be/_jF-HSEl5sc
Nakano Sun Mall Stroll 中野サンモール散策散歩 (130212hdc)
http://youtu.be/XlmW9mhbO2Q
Walking the full length of Sun Mall in Nakano.
Nakano Side Street Stroll 中野横道散策散歩 (130212hdc)
http://youtu.be/Nzzpnaurxus
Walking down a narrow pedestrian back street with restaurants and izakaya places... and coming upon a gap where they've torn down whatever was there and bare dirt awaits the next construction project. The number of old small buildings on Nakano's back streets decreases continually. Tokyo - always renewing itself.
Nakano Backstreet Stroll 中野裏道散策散歩 (130212hdg)
http://youtu.be/5o2Zwndb0n0
More mysterious old buildings, restaurants, and izakaya places on Nakano's back streets.
Entering Nakano Station 中野駅に入る (130212hdc)
http://youtu.be/facOsdZkjuM
Nakano to Shinjuku (Chuo Line) 中野駅から新宿駅まで (中央線) 130212hdc
http://youtu.be/Hwb-yz_c6H4
Rushing up a flight of stairs to catch an inbound Chuo Line train and then riding to Shinjuku - looking out a right side window while some high school students talk up a storm behind me. As the train speeds along, the high-rise office towers of Shinjuku get closer and closer.
Shinjuku to Kanda (Chuo Line) 新宿から神田まで (中央線) 130212g
http://youtu.be/zXmzZr4Jgzs
Looking out a right side window on an inbound Chuo Line train as it runs from Shinjuku to Kanda.
Kanda to Ochanomizu (Chuo Line) 神田から御茶ノ水まで (中央線) 130212
http://youtu.be/f9DVW1EMdSA
Ochanomizu to Kanda (Chuo Line) 御茶ノ水から神田まで (中央線) 130212
http://youtu.be/W6xdtORJZKY
Some of the new construction for overhead Shinkansen tracks can be seen from 01:48, and around 02:00 the temporarily all-green Yamanote Line train goes by. (Is it just one, or are there a few?) Having ridden in the old ones myself, the new type Yamanote Line is quite different in details, but seeing the old solid color going by at speed really does bring back memories of the old type (to see a Saikyo Line version of that from 1990, see the next video). Transferring at Kanda Station, I walk through the construction zone that the station is now and over to one of the Yamanote Line platforms.
1990 - Old Saikyo Line Train (Non-Air-Conditioned Car) 900300
http://youtu.be/r4pcq8C1Wrs
Kanda to Tokyo (Yamanote Line) 神田駅から東京駅まで (山手線) 130212A
http://youtu.be/P6HjEh_nA1s
As the title says - and at around 01:04 I look out the rear cab as the train departs from Kanda Station. After pulling away from Kanda, I look out a left side window at the new Shinkansen track construction next to (and above) the Yamanote Line. Regarding the construction at 02:26, I'm not sure what that is, but I'm beginning to wonder if it's a passageway they're making to connect the newly reconstructed Tokyo Station Building with whatever it is that is rising on the Yaesu side.
Tokyo Station Yamanote Line Platform View-360 東京駅山手線ホーム (130212hdc)
http://youtu.be/spgjFYFLODc
A quick HD 306-degree look from the Yamanote Line platform. I like this particular platform, since it's the last one with part of the platform still covered by an old wooden roof.
Tokyo Station Concourse Stroll 東京駅通路散策散歩 (130212)
http://youtu.be/YIaxpTet7NQ
Starting on the Shinagawa-bound Yamanote Line platform, I go downstairs to one of the main concourses in Tokyo Station and head towards the Yaesu Exit.
Tokyo Station Yaesu Construction 東京駅八重洲側の工事 (130212)
http://youtu.be/b2Q-lfMDXLQ
After a long time spend on the foundation, a new structure is rising on the Yaesu side of Tokyo Station.
Kyobashi Stand-Bar 京橋スタンドバー (130212)
http://youtu.be/oylA30jyJo0
Just a quick look from the street, but this is one of the many "stand-bars" in the city. The prolonged bad economy has made them popular and I keep seeing new ones appearing where there were none before.
Night Chuo Line - Tokyo to Yotsuya 夜の中央線 (130212)
http://youtu.be/cbCiZcLG8E0
The night trains can be quite visually interesting when you're next to a window - looking outside and seeing a constant double image of the electrically illuminated world outside flowing by combined with bits and pieces of the inside of the train. This was such a ride - the world being one of electric illumination and double images. Regarding the upside-down images... I sometimes envision how people are all around the round planet we live on, and in that sense, who's to say we aren't upside-down?
Chuo Line - Arriving at Shinjuku via Outbound Train 中央線新宿駅 (130212)
http://youtu.be/nn2sxLBLDAg
Arriving at Shinjuku Station - reportedly the busiest station in all of Japan - "transfer city" you might say, although Tokyo Station has certainly gotten a lot more complicated over the past twenty years! In any case, Shinjuku is a busy place!
Street Musician by Shinjuku Station South Exit (130212)
http://youtu.be/hje2oCORyiA
A quick look at a street musician in Shinjuku (near the south entrance/exit).
Odakyu Shinjuku Station Platform 小田急線新宿駅ホーム (130212)
http://youtu.be/7lBqxlL15cc
Shinjuku to Yoyogi-Uehara (Odakyu Line) 新宿-代々木上原 (小田急線) 130212g
http://youtu.be/J6ZrJsRmocY
Another double-exposure effect while looking out the window of a nighttime train - this time an outbound Odakyu Line train. When I get off at Yoyogi-Uehara, I look around on the platform while the train I was on continues down the line.
Yoyogi-Uehara - Chiyoda Line Train Interior and Platform 代々木上原駅 (130212hd)
http://youtu.be/mg0yeMP4F4w
I needed to take an Odakyu Line train to Shinjuku, so when a Chiyoda Line train came in that then waited until the train I was waiting for arrived, I had time to walk through the (mostly empty) train a little before getting on my train. I think this may be the oldest type of Chiyoda subway train currently in use. This type of train car has (I think) been in use the whole time I've been in Japan, so it's getting a little old. Both trains were scheduled to depart at the same time (so people would have a chance to transfer from one to the other by walking across the platform).
Yoyogi-Uehara to Shinjuku 代々木上原-新宿 (夜の小田急線) 130212
http://youtu.be/byrRPozUST4
At the beginning of the video - the train beside and below the train I'm on is the Chiyoda Subway train that departed from Yoyogi-Uehara at the same time as my train. It's below my train as it's about to enter a tunnel and begin it's subterranean journey across town.
This was another of those rides on a nearly empty inbound train, so I walked around inside the train carriage a bit - exploring different camera angles. Then, when I got off the train in Shinjuku, I walked up one level and took a look at the express train platforms.
Late Night Inbound Chuo Line Interior 夜遅く中央線車内 (130215)
http://youtu.be/0qarStgRERs
A late night ride on an inbound Chuo Line train - watching the lights and reflections in the windows, as usual.
Ashimotoni Gochui Kudasai 足元にご注意下さい (Tachikawa 立川) 130215hd
http://youtu.be/oKfoTi3eJKg
Considering how obnoxious the endlessly repeating message to "Watch your step please!" is, presumably someone must have fallen down here once. There's this really weird thing where if one person gets hurt on the train system, there's a tremendous over-reaction regarding an isolated incident as though the survival of the nation depends on it, with talk of aiming for "zero accidents!". Meanwhile, the ongoing carnage on the highways continues killing scores of people all the time, but that's just considered normal it seems.
Midnight Chuo Line Train Going Out of Service for the Night (130215)
http://youtu.be/R6lKkQIDVgQ
The station guy thoughtfully helps a couple of people get on the last (for Nakano anyway) inbound train on one side of the platform while another train is going out of service on the other side of the platform.
Ginza One Tokyo-Ten February Exhibition (A) サロンど東京展2013年2月 (130212)
http://youtu.be/R5P3OmAKMAg
Ginza One Tokyo-Ten February Exhibition (B) サロンど東京展2013年2月 (130212)
http://youtu.be/Y2yPjrFgR_k
Ishii Kakuko Exhibition at Gallery Kobo 石井香久子作品展 (巷房) 130212
http://youtu.be/wpXx-467LfA
Group Exhibition - Art Gallery Ishi アートギャラリー石 (2013年2月展示会) 130214
http://youtu.be/zWIuHHJwqWE
Ginza Nighttime Chuo-Dori 銀座夜の中央通り (130214hd)
http://youtu.be/BavErfVkLeE
Above and below - the colorful lights of Ginza's Chuo-Dori.
Ginza Lights 銀座光 (130214hd)
http://youtu.be/ZPcVdPw-f9s
Chuo Line Mostly Empty Interior (130213hd)
http://youtu.be/VTSGAyN1fFc
Sometimes train rides are quite relaxing and enjoyable. This ride was like that.
Yotsuya to Kanda (Chuo Line) 四谷駅から神田駅まで (中央線) 130214
http://youtu.be/21FbSV9rvEA
Kanda to Hamamatsucho (Yamanote Line) 神田駅-浜松町駅 (山手線) 130214
http://youtu.be/JBJ9Xl0IP4U
I spend most of this ride looking out the right side of the train, which is a change from my (for some reason) usual habit of looking out the left side (on this stretch of rails). At 01:17 is the construction hole at the end of the Yamanote Line platform at Tokyo Station (on the left side of the train), and at 01:27 I look out the right side at another large construction hole - which is a continuation of the construction on the left side it seems. On the right side (at 01:36, but difficult to see in the video) I could see old red brick of the type the original Tokyo Station building was constructed of... I wish I could go down there for a closer look! In the background (under the elevated Chuo Line tracks up out of sight at the top of the frame) you can see the rear of the Tokyo Station building.
First Scent of Spring 春の匂い (130214)
http://youtu.be/awNTRi3JFJ4
It's since gotten quite cold again, but this day was fairly warm, and the flowering tree looked and smelled like spring (as a woman (out of frame) comments.
Tokyo Tower (130214hdc)
http://youtu.be/cDoV0dhsqMo
A short look at the tower from the ground - as light clouds drift by overhead.
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://lylehsaxon.blogspot.jp/
Monday, February 18, 2013
Friday, February 15, 2013
"Waiting for a Train - November 2012"
"Waiting for a Train - November 2012"
Copyright 2012 by Lyle H Saxon
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://lylehsaxon.blogspot.jp/
Thursday, February 14, 2013
"LSDS - Laptop Sudden Death Syndrome"
The first time it happened, I just assumed something... *something* had gone catastrophically wrong with the machine. One day the laptop computer was running normally, and then - after sleeping in the closet for a couple of months - it was completely dead. Not even the power indicator light would come on. Initially, I assumed the power supply had burned out, but a multimeter indicated it was working... still, I bought a new/used power supply just in case, and... no go.
Then the same thing happened with a second machine, and the common denominator to both machines was that they had sat in a closet unused for at least two months. (Quick note about these machines. With very old laptop computers, I use them as off-line word processors, which is why they tend not to be in constant use.) I wondered if there was something about the battery going completely dead that was a factor, but that didn't really make sense. The BIOS was held by the small on-board battery....
Ah! The small on-board battery! That seemed to make sense. The laptops were around ten years old, so that on-board battery could very well be completely dead. No BIOS, no computer, right? After laptops number three and four experienced LSDS (Laptop Sudden Death Syndrome), I thought I'd try to confirm my suspicion that the on-board battery going dead was killing the BIOS and thus the whole computer. (All of these machines I bought used, by the way, so they were old machines from the beginning from my standpoint.)
I ran that hypothesis by some computer friends (on-line) and the ones who responded said losing that battery shouldn't kill the BIOS - that I would just lose the time with the internal clock. I was skeptical, because I couldn't think of anything else.... Wait. While typing this, it suddenly occurs to me that this could be a delayed Y2K bug effect? Is that possible?
Well, in any case, it happened again today! And this time, it was a machine that I was using fairly regularly (once or twice a week, although it sat for a couple of weeks between when I last used it (with no problems) and today, when it became the latest in a string of different laptops from different manufactures to have LSDS. I plugged it in, and... no power light. I trusted the machine enough to first suspect the outlet at my desk had been disconnected, so I carried the laptop over to a wall outlet that was obviously live (running machines plugged into it) and tried again. Nothing. No power light indication and no response from the power switch.
And that's about it. As for the machines, the first one I remember that happening to was a Dell laptop. Then a second Dell laptop (one with a 486 processor and one with a P-I), then a couple of Toshiba machines (both with 486 processors), and now a Panasonic (P-I) machine that I rather liked (nice clear display, which was not to be taken for granted with that generation of laptop; and with a trackball instead of those horrible touch pads).
The next question in my mind is whether this is some kind of unavoidable thing that happens to all laptops? Are they manufactured with timers in them that make the machine self-destruct after ten years or so? The Panasonic was about 15 years old, so it lasted a good long while I suppose, but considering the light usage it experienced over the past ten years, I would have thought it would keep working for a longer period of time. Or is this something peculiar to the early generation of laptops?
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://lylehsaxon.blogspot.jp/
Then the same thing happened with a second machine, and the common denominator to both machines was that they had sat in a closet unused for at least two months. (Quick note about these machines. With very old laptop computers, I use them as off-line word processors, which is why they tend not to be in constant use.) I wondered if there was something about the battery going completely dead that was a factor, but that didn't really make sense. The BIOS was held by the small on-board battery....
Ah! The small on-board battery! That seemed to make sense. The laptops were around ten years old, so that on-board battery could very well be completely dead. No BIOS, no computer, right? After laptops number three and four experienced LSDS (Laptop Sudden Death Syndrome), I thought I'd try to confirm my suspicion that the on-board battery going dead was killing the BIOS and thus the whole computer. (All of these machines I bought used, by the way, so they were old machines from the beginning from my standpoint.)
I ran that hypothesis by some computer friends (on-line) and the ones who responded said losing that battery shouldn't kill the BIOS - that I would just lose the time with the internal clock. I was skeptical, because I couldn't think of anything else.... Wait. While typing this, it suddenly occurs to me that this could be a delayed Y2K bug effect? Is that possible?
Well, in any case, it happened again today! And this time, it was a machine that I was using fairly regularly (once or twice a week, although it sat for a couple of weeks between when I last used it (with no problems) and today, when it became the latest in a string of different laptops from different manufactures to have LSDS. I plugged it in, and... no power light. I trusted the machine enough to first suspect the outlet at my desk had been disconnected, so I carried the laptop over to a wall outlet that was obviously live (running machines plugged into it) and tried again. Nothing. No power light indication and no response from the power switch.
And that's about it. As for the machines, the first one I remember that happening to was a Dell laptop. Then a second Dell laptop (one with a 486 processor and one with a P-I), then a couple of Toshiba machines (both with 486 processors), and now a Panasonic (P-I) machine that I rather liked (nice clear display, which was not to be taken for granted with that generation of laptop; and with a trackball instead of those horrible touch pads).
The next question in my mind is whether this is some kind of unavoidable thing that happens to all laptops? Are they manufactured with timers in them that make the machine self-destruct after ten years or so? The Panasonic was about 15 years old, so it lasted a good long while I suppose, but considering the light usage it experienced over the past ten years, I would have thought it would keep working for a longer period of time. Or is this something peculiar to the early generation of laptops?
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://lylehsaxon.blogspot.jp/
"Autumn 2012"
"Autumn 2012"
Copyright 2012 by Lyle H Saxon
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://lylehsaxon.blogspot.jp/
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
"1990 Drive, Tokaido Line, Bus; 1991 Kiyose Walkabout; 2013 Hamamatsucho, Shinbashi, Etc."
Time tripping to 1990 and 1991, as well typical modern (2013) stuff taken in Tokyo. The interesting thing about going back in time via my videos taken 22-23 years ago, is that typically a lot of related things I haven't thought about for a very long time come to mind as I'm watching and remembering the scenes recorded with my camera back in the early nineties. Some of the old memories are welcome and some are the reality version of nightmares. When you come upon a long forgotten good memory, it's a great thing, but for the bad stuff, the expression "Some things are best forgotten" comes to mind. In any case, good and bad, so much of our life goes missing as we get older. When the bad memories come back, I find myself pondering "So this is probably the mechanism through which people experience PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder)..." Which brings up a thought - how about the opposite? Is it PFFAO (Post-Fun, Fun Again Order)?
1990 - Bus Ride to Chigasaki Station (Kanagawa-ken) 900324
http://youtu.be/WlYhPDmZLRc
It's interesting to see this type of bus again (in the video), new buses have a very low floor at the front (for easy access), along with a low roof, but to accommodate the rear engine and wheels, the rear of the bus has a higher floor. The seats over the front wheels are also rather high, so the whole interior is a kind of complicated multilevel arrangement. Since the roof is also lower at the back (in spite of the higher floor there), you can't stand back there without bending your head down if you're taller than about 160cm.
The announcement has probably been rerecorded for this too, although maybe not. They use bus stop announcement recordings for a pretty long time. What else... from the sound of it, it's a manual transmission. Some bus lines still use a lot of manual transmission buses, but automatic transmissions seem to be the norm now (in most of the buses I've ridden in recently in any case).
1990 - Inbound Tokaido Line Left-Side View 上り東海道線 (900324)
http://youtu.be/Xbefj6WloZw
Starting at Chigasaki Station on the Tokaido Line (notice the "JRちがさき" (JR-Chigasaki) sign written with plants at the beginning of the video). I lived down that way for a little while back in the eighties, so the ride in the old type Tokaido Line train makes me nostalgic for that time. The sound of the motors, the announcements, etc., bring back a lot of memories. For whatever reason, those old heavy all steel trains had a lot more atmosphere than the newer more lightweight ones. My favorite Tokaido Line rides were when it was an off-peak time and I had one of the seating booths to myself (when you had to share the space with three other people, leg room was an issue, but for the most part, they were a nice design, and comfortable enough - so long as the person opposite you wasn't too tall!).
One reason for the better atmosphere in the trains then comes to mind... less blindingly bright florescent lighting! These old trains also used florescent lighting, but it wasn't as overdone and unpleasant as on the newer trains.
In these old videos, also notice how the station names are written on metal plaques. Now they're soulless plastic. The plastic signs are functional, but soulless.
1991 - Kiyose Walkabout 清瀬散歩 (910202)
http://youtu.be/5ZfIraZOJoY
Kiyose. It wasn't an area I needed to go to - then or now - but I went there on February 2nd, 1991 to walk around and see what was there, and it turned out to be more interesting than I might have expected. Watching this now makes me want to go back and see how much it's changed in 22 years. The residential areas probably haven't changed all that much (or have they?), but I imagine the area immediately around the station has changed a bit.
At the 02:51 mark I'm on camera saying "Because of the war in the Gulf..." referring to the first gulf war. It's kind of strange to see myself mentioning that via the time-slip window on my computer screen. I didn't imagine the world would be in the mess it is now back then....
Incidentally, Kiyose Station is in Tokyo, but an arm of Saitama comes near there as well, and the sign at 03:54 (新堀 - Shinbori) is from within that arm of Saitama. Just from memory, I had been thinking of Kiyose as being all in Tokyo, but this video turns out to be a mix of Tokyo and Saitama. This was before the Internet, so I didn't look up this kind of detail at the time - rather just walked around and recorded address signs from time-to-time (which is why I know where I was now - watching this in the future).
Around 07:38, I look at some foreign cars. The yen had only been strong for a few years at this point, so foreign cars stood out a bit then (although they were beginning to be seen more frequently). Back when the yen was really weak, foreign cars were really expensive and hardly ever seen in Japan.
At 11:14 - a look at an old style shop. You hardly every seen this kind of shop these days. Convenience stores have really taken over. They're - as the name suggests - convenient, but not very interesting culturally, and really incredibly over-illuminated (presumably as an anti-theft/anti-robbery measure).
The various small shops on the shotengai shopping street near the station. The rarer they become, the more nostalgic I feel about them (17:54, etc.).
1990 - On the Road in Tokyo and Kanagawa 東京と神奈川ドライブ (900324)
http://youtu.be/myhXjvvOduE
First off, I should mention that since I began living in Tokyo, I'm not a great fan of automobiles. Not within Tokyo in any case. Tokyo was - naturally - originally a no-automobile city, and as they have forced through strips of dead black asphalt throughout the city, quite often the fire-breathing, noxious-gas-emitting vehicles are running right next to narrow sidewalks, people's homes, etc. I really think they should have outlawed personal car ownership in Tokyo right at the start. A city needs commercial vehicles for commerce, deliveries, taxis, etc., but not personal automobiles (other than occasional use of rent-a-cars). I'm not sure what you perceive/think/etc. when you watch this video, but for me it represents what a noisy and unpleasant place main roads in Tokyo are - one example being 12:15 - have a good look at that. Would you like to live right next to that? Later on, after getting on an expressway it doesn't seem so bad - but within Tokyo, the city would be so much nicer without so much internal combustion machinery. Would that the internal combustion engine had never been invented!
1990 - Old Saikyo Line Train (Non-Air-Conditioned Car) 900300
http://youtu.be/r4pcq8C1Wrs
I'm really glad I took this video, because I'd been thinking that I wish I had had a video camera back in the early eighties in order to take the pre-1985 version of the Yamanote Line, but this old Saikyo Line train is exactly that type of train. In fact, this might even be a former Yamanote Line train - they could easily have shifted some (or all?) of the Yamanote Line trains over to the newly expanded Saikyo Line when they introduced the new type of Yamanote Line trains. Anyway, on to some details about the train:
At around 00:20, you can seen the central air conditioning unit on the roof of the number-two train carriage I'm walking by. This type of air conditioning unit was retrofitted to originally non-air-conditioned carriages. During my first summer in Japan, that's one of my more durable memories - watching Yamanote Line trains coming in, and there were a few trains that didn't have air conditioning, and also some trains that had a few non-air-conditioned carriages within the train, which was easy to tell, because on a hot August day, the windows would all be closed with the air conditioning on, and then suddenly there would be a couple of carriages with all the windows open (and if you stepped back and looked up at the roof, there was no air conditioning unit there - just the round air intakes for the ceiling fans). And the train in this video is of that type. At the time, I'm not sure I even noticed (it was winter, so the air conditioning wasn't running, naturally), but the carriage I boarded (carriage number seven or eight I think - which I was prompted to board by the "doors about to close" warning sound) turned out to be one of the rare non-air-conditioned ones. Look at the ceiling at 01:50 - the ceiling ads are much higher up than on the air-conditioned carriages, and you can see the curvature of the roof. Once they designed air-conditioning into the carriages, the roofs became completely flat. One advantage of the high ceiling, by the way, is that the florescent tubes are further away and less irritating.
Ochanomizu to Kanda (Chuo Line) 御茶ノ水から神田まで (山手線) 130207
http://youtu.be/fy9R1_JOeqQ
Passing by the remains of Manseibashi Station (万世橋) again. Recently, every time I pass by, they've destroyed a little more of the old platform... I hope they're not going to completely destroy it.
Kanda Station Construction Tunnel, Etc 工事中の神田駅 (130207)
http://youtu.be/I3mN5kgmJ1U
Walking through the fairly long construction tunnel at Kanda Station in order to get to a Yamanote Line train headed towards Tokyo and Shinagawa.
Kanda to Hamamatsucho (Yamanote Line) 神田から浜松町まで (山手線) 130207
http://youtu.be/5MlI7cYX05A
At about the 00:27 mark, there's a building with what looks like empty scaffolding on the top - that's an example of something that's increasingly common - unsold advertising space. Spaces like that used to never be empty, but companies are obviously making less use of this type of advertising now, as building-top advertising space like this is often empty now.
A look up at the wooden roof (from the open door of a Yamanote Line train) - the last one at Tokyo Station I think - is at 02:02. This might even be prewar? I'm basing that on a September 1945 aerial photo I saw of Tokyo Station that showed some of the platform roofs destroyed, but not all.
Exiting Hamamatsucho Station 浜松町駅を出る (130207)
http://youtu.be/C0niW85h1BU
Walking Towards Zojoji Temple 増上寺に向かう (130207)
http://youtu.be/q6yMM-203pU
The flowering tree you can see at the start of this video (behind the old white wall) is the first thing I've noticed that's reminded me of spring this year.
Hamamatsucho Evening Walkabout 浜松町夕方散歩 (130207)
http://youtu.be/qnlFWkmjOME
Winter walk down a main street heading towards Hamamatsucho Station.
Entering Hamamatsucho Station 浜松町駅に入る (130207)
http://youtu.be/pTRphmVLvbA
Shinbashi Station - Platform and Stairwell Stroll 新橋駅夕方散歩 (130207)
http://youtu.be/HBMyiBbG320
Shinbashi Tokaido Line Platform Stroll 新橋駅の東海道線散歩 (130207)
http://youtu.be/kZDdE3E39Nw
Old Type Reserved Seat Express Train (130207)
http://youtu.be/ZckaKq1QlNQ
Back when I lived on the Tokaido Line, they sometimes ran this type of train as a regular train, so if you lined up early, you could go home in style with a standard ticket (first-come, first-grab).
Tokaido Line Platform at Shinbashi Station 新橋駅の東海道線ホーム (130207)
http://youtu.be/Dt3tJGN4_W8
Actually, this one is more than just the platform that I mention in the title. I also head downstairs and exit the station.
Shinbashi Old Building Stroll 新橋古いビルの散歩 (130207)
http://youtu.be/G1X7wwWX7RI
Beginning outside the building and then walking through it - including part of the first floor and the B1 basement floor.
Shinbashi Plaza and Station 新橋広場と駅 (130207)
http://youtu.be/fiV1BOp7O_4
Starting on Shinbashi SL-Plaza, and then entering Shinbashi Station and going up to the platform. At about 02:28, the railway employee is helping a woman retrieve her cell phone from beside the rails, where she apparently dropped it.
Shinbashi to Yurakucho 新橋から有楽町まで (京浜東北線) 130207
http://youtu.be/RPCdAuAIhgU
Walking from Yurakucho to Ginza 有楽町から銀座への散歩 (130207)
http://youtu.be/NlZkRxw6gno
Walking from Yurakucho Station to Ginza (with a look under a rail bridge along the way).
JD on the Ginza 銀座のJD (130207)
http://youtu.be/s26twsENhBw
A quick look in the window at the Jack Daniel's shop on Ginza's Chuo-Dori before continuing down the boulevard.
Yurakucho SB-Area 有楽町SBエリア (130207)
http://youtu.be/0dqF8i9qM6k
A winter view of the SB area near Yurakucho Station in central Tokyo.
Entering Yurakucho Station 有楽町駅に入る (130207)
http://youtu.be/mHHrZnhOZyY
A bit more than the title suggests - this starts with a walk down the street heading towards Yurakucho Station, then goes through the ticket gates, up the stairs to the elevated platform, and onto a Keihin-Tohoku Line train. Finally it ends midway to Tokyo Station.
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://lylehsaxon.blogspot.jp/
1990 - Bus Ride to Chigasaki Station (Kanagawa-ken) 900324
http://youtu.be/WlYhPDmZLRc
It's interesting to see this type of bus again (in the video), new buses have a very low floor at the front (for easy access), along with a low roof, but to accommodate the rear engine and wheels, the rear of the bus has a higher floor. The seats over the front wheels are also rather high, so the whole interior is a kind of complicated multilevel arrangement. Since the roof is also lower at the back (in spite of the higher floor there), you can't stand back there without bending your head down if you're taller than about 160cm.
The announcement has probably been rerecorded for this too, although maybe not. They use bus stop announcement recordings for a pretty long time. What else... from the sound of it, it's a manual transmission. Some bus lines still use a lot of manual transmission buses, but automatic transmissions seem to be the norm now (in most of the buses I've ridden in recently in any case).
1990 - Inbound Tokaido Line Left-Side View 上り東海道線 (900324)
http://youtu.be/Xbefj6WloZw
Starting at Chigasaki Station on the Tokaido Line (notice the "JRちがさき" (JR-Chigasaki) sign written with plants at the beginning of the video). I lived down that way for a little while back in the eighties, so the ride in the old type Tokaido Line train makes me nostalgic for that time. The sound of the motors, the announcements, etc., bring back a lot of memories. For whatever reason, those old heavy all steel trains had a lot more atmosphere than the newer more lightweight ones. My favorite Tokaido Line rides were when it was an off-peak time and I had one of the seating booths to myself (when you had to share the space with three other people, leg room was an issue, but for the most part, they were a nice design, and comfortable enough - so long as the person opposite you wasn't too tall!).
One reason for the better atmosphere in the trains then comes to mind... less blindingly bright florescent lighting! These old trains also used florescent lighting, but it wasn't as overdone and unpleasant as on the newer trains.
In these old videos, also notice how the station names are written on metal plaques. Now they're soulless plastic. The plastic signs are functional, but soulless.
1991 - Kiyose Walkabout 清瀬散歩 (910202)
http://youtu.be/5ZfIraZOJoY
Kiyose. It wasn't an area I needed to go to - then or now - but I went there on February 2nd, 1991 to walk around and see what was there, and it turned out to be more interesting than I might have expected. Watching this now makes me want to go back and see how much it's changed in 22 years. The residential areas probably haven't changed all that much (or have they?), but I imagine the area immediately around the station has changed a bit.
At the 02:51 mark I'm on camera saying "Because of the war in the Gulf..." referring to the first gulf war. It's kind of strange to see myself mentioning that via the time-slip window on my computer screen. I didn't imagine the world would be in the mess it is now back then....
Incidentally, Kiyose Station is in Tokyo, but an arm of Saitama comes near there as well, and the sign at 03:54 (新堀 - Shinbori) is from within that arm of Saitama. Just from memory, I had been thinking of Kiyose as being all in Tokyo, but this video turns out to be a mix of Tokyo and Saitama. This was before the Internet, so I didn't look up this kind of detail at the time - rather just walked around and recorded address signs from time-to-time (which is why I know where I was now - watching this in the future).
Around 07:38, I look at some foreign cars. The yen had only been strong for a few years at this point, so foreign cars stood out a bit then (although they were beginning to be seen more frequently). Back when the yen was really weak, foreign cars were really expensive and hardly ever seen in Japan.
At 11:14 - a look at an old style shop. You hardly every seen this kind of shop these days. Convenience stores have really taken over. They're - as the name suggests - convenient, but not very interesting culturally, and really incredibly over-illuminated (presumably as an anti-theft/anti-robbery measure).
The various small shops on the shotengai shopping street near the station. The rarer they become, the more nostalgic I feel about them (17:54, etc.).
1990 - On the Road in Tokyo and Kanagawa 東京と神奈川ドライブ (900324)
http://youtu.be/myhXjvvOduE
First off, I should mention that since I began living in Tokyo, I'm not a great fan of automobiles. Not within Tokyo in any case. Tokyo was - naturally - originally a no-automobile city, and as they have forced through strips of dead black asphalt throughout the city, quite often the fire-breathing, noxious-gas-emitting vehicles are running right next to narrow sidewalks, people's homes, etc. I really think they should have outlawed personal car ownership in Tokyo right at the start. A city needs commercial vehicles for commerce, deliveries, taxis, etc., but not personal automobiles (other than occasional use of rent-a-cars). I'm not sure what you perceive/think/etc. when you watch this video, but for me it represents what a noisy and unpleasant place main roads in Tokyo are - one example being 12:15 - have a good look at that. Would you like to live right next to that? Later on, after getting on an expressway it doesn't seem so bad - but within Tokyo, the city would be so much nicer without so much internal combustion machinery. Would that the internal combustion engine had never been invented!
1990 - Old Saikyo Line Train (Non-Air-Conditioned Car) 900300
http://youtu.be/r4pcq8C1Wrs
I'm really glad I took this video, because I'd been thinking that I wish I had had a video camera back in the early eighties in order to take the pre-1985 version of the Yamanote Line, but this old Saikyo Line train is exactly that type of train. In fact, this might even be a former Yamanote Line train - they could easily have shifted some (or all?) of the Yamanote Line trains over to the newly expanded Saikyo Line when they introduced the new type of Yamanote Line trains. Anyway, on to some details about the train:
At around 00:20, you can seen the central air conditioning unit on the roof of the number-two train carriage I'm walking by. This type of air conditioning unit was retrofitted to originally non-air-conditioned carriages. During my first summer in Japan, that's one of my more durable memories - watching Yamanote Line trains coming in, and there were a few trains that didn't have air conditioning, and also some trains that had a few non-air-conditioned carriages within the train, which was easy to tell, because on a hot August day, the windows would all be closed with the air conditioning on, and then suddenly there would be a couple of carriages with all the windows open (and if you stepped back and looked up at the roof, there was no air conditioning unit there - just the round air intakes for the ceiling fans). And the train in this video is of that type. At the time, I'm not sure I even noticed (it was winter, so the air conditioning wasn't running, naturally), but the carriage I boarded (carriage number seven or eight I think - which I was prompted to board by the "doors about to close" warning sound) turned out to be one of the rare non-air-conditioned ones. Look at the ceiling at 01:50 - the ceiling ads are much higher up than on the air-conditioned carriages, and you can see the curvature of the roof. Once they designed air-conditioning into the carriages, the roofs became completely flat. One advantage of the high ceiling, by the way, is that the florescent tubes are further away and less irritating.
Ochanomizu to Kanda (Chuo Line) 御茶ノ水から神田まで (山手線) 130207
http://youtu.be/fy9R1_JOeqQ
Passing by the remains of Manseibashi Station (万世橋) again. Recently, every time I pass by, they've destroyed a little more of the old platform... I hope they're not going to completely destroy it.
Kanda Station Construction Tunnel, Etc 工事中の神田駅 (130207)
http://youtu.be/I3mN5kgmJ1U
Walking through the fairly long construction tunnel at Kanda Station in order to get to a Yamanote Line train headed towards Tokyo and Shinagawa.
Kanda to Hamamatsucho (Yamanote Line) 神田から浜松町まで (山手線) 130207
http://youtu.be/5MlI7cYX05A
At about the 00:27 mark, there's a building with what looks like empty scaffolding on the top - that's an example of something that's increasingly common - unsold advertising space. Spaces like that used to never be empty, but companies are obviously making less use of this type of advertising now, as building-top advertising space like this is often empty now.
A look up at the wooden roof (from the open door of a Yamanote Line train) - the last one at Tokyo Station I think - is at 02:02. This might even be prewar? I'm basing that on a September 1945 aerial photo I saw of Tokyo Station that showed some of the platform roofs destroyed, but not all.
Exiting Hamamatsucho Station 浜松町駅を出る (130207)
http://youtu.be/C0niW85h1BU
Walking Towards Zojoji Temple 増上寺に向かう (130207)
http://youtu.be/q6yMM-203pU
The flowering tree you can see at the start of this video (behind the old white wall) is the first thing I've noticed that's reminded me of spring this year.
Hamamatsucho Evening Walkabout 浜松町夕方散歩 (130207)
http://youtu.be/qnlFWkmjOME
Winter walk down a main street heading towards Hamamatsucho Station.
Entering Hamamatsucho Station 浜松町駅に入る (130207)
http://youtu.be/pTRphmVLvbA
Shinbashi Station - Platform and Stairwell Stroll 新橋駅夕方散歩 (130207)
http://youtu.be/HBMyiBbG320
Shinbashi Tokaido Line Platform Stroll 新橋駅の東海道線散歩 (130207)
http://youtu.be/kZDdE3E39Nw
Old Type Reserved Seat Express Train (130207)
http://youtu.be/ZckaKq1QlNQ
Back when I lived on the Tokaido Line, they sometimes ran this type of train as a regular train, so if you lined up early, you could go home in style with a standard ticket (first-come, first-grab).
Tokaido Line Platform at Shinbashi Station 新橋駅の東海道線ホーム (130207)
http://youtu.be/Dt3tJGN4_W8
Actually, this one is more than just the platform that I mention in the title. I also head downstairs and exit the station.
Shinbashi Old Building Stroll 新橋古いビルの散歩 (130207)
http://youtu.be/G1X7wwWX7RI
Beginning outside the building and then walking through it - including part of the first floor and the B1 basement floor.
Shinbashi Plaza and Station 新橋広場と駅 (130207)
http://youtu.be/fiV1BOp7O_4
Starting on Shinbashi SL-Plaza, and then entering Shinbashi Station and going up to the platform. At about 02:28, the railway employee is helping a woman retrieve her cell phone from beside the rails, where she apparently dropped it.
Shinbashi to Yurakucho 新橋から有楽町まで (京浜東北線) 130207
http://youtu.be/RPCdAuAIhgU
Walking from Yurakucho to Ginza 有楽町から銀座への散歩 (130207)
http://youtu.be/NlZkRxw6gno
Walking from Yurakucho Station to Ginza (with a look under a rail bridge along the way).
JD on the Ginza 銀座のJD (130207)
http://youtu.be/s26twsENhBw
A quick look in the window at the Jack Daniel's shop on Ginza's Chuo-Dori before continuing down the boulevard.
Yurakucho SB-Area 有楽町SBエリア (130207)
http://youtu.be/0dqF8i9qM6k
A winter view of the SB area near Yurakucho Station in central Tokyo.
Entering Yurakucho Station 有楽町駅に入る (130207)
http://youtu.be/mHHrZnhOZyY
A bit more than the title suggests - this starts with a walk down the street heading towards Yurakucho Station, then goes through the ticket gates, up the stairs to the elevated platform, and onto a Keihin-Tohoku Line train. Finally it ends midway to Tokyo Station.
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://lylehsaxon.blogspot.jp/
Monday, February 11, 2013
"Sleeping Camera - Olympus C-5050"
How quickly the latest thing becomes a forgotten sleeping object in a drawer! This Olympus C-5050 camera was my main around-town camera for... how long? It seemed like a long time at the time, but was probably only two or three years (I'll have to look it up). One day, the power switch contacts stopped connecting properly and I had to stop using it as the condition rapidly worsened.
And that's the thing with complicated electronic cameras - only one thing, one contact, wears out, and suddenly it's useless (without repairs). Anyway, I liked this camera a lot, so it's a great paper weight, if nothing else. Maybe I'll try to get it repaired some day, but I probably wouldn't use it much now. A five-megapixel image sensor was nice at the time, but now....
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://lylehsaxon.blogspot.jp/
"Sleeping Camera - Olympus C-5050"
Copyright 2012 by Lyle H Saxon
And that's the thing with complicated electronic cameras - only one thing, one contact, wears out, and suddenly it's useless (without repairs). Anyway, I liked this camera a lot, so it's a great paper weight, if nothing else. Maybe I'll try to get it repaired some day, but I probably wouldn't use it much now. A five-megapixel image sensor was nice at the time, but now....
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://lylehsaxon.blogspot.jp/
Saturday, February 09, 2013
"1990 Ueno; 2013 Ueno Station, Ameyokocho, Haijima Line, Kanda Station, Etc."
It wasn't so long ago that I last went to Ueno, but this time around, I had a closer look at the old station building. I ran into an old postcard of the station from the early 1930's (below) and comparing the old postcard with today's station, an amazing (for Tokyo) amount of the original building is still there.
And then, while previewing the videos I took of Ueno this week, I began thinking "It's changed so much since 1990... wait... I think I have video of 1990 Ueno!", and it turns out I did, so I added a video of March 1990 Ueno to this batch as well.
Ameyokocho Walkabout (Ueno) アメ横丁魚市場など (上野) 130205g
http://youtu.be/XycHPOdRCc0
This clip shows a fair amount of the Ameyokocho area, starting with the fish market near the entrance to the area, walking through that part and then down to where they're selling clothing, followed by walking through an under-tracks tunnel-like passageway full of various small shops. When this area is overly crowded or under-crowded, it's hard to take pictures, but the balance was almost perfect on the day I took this (above video).
Pre-war postcard looking towards what became the famous Ameyokocho area after the war.
Ueno - Near Entrance to Ueno Park 上野 - 上野公園入り口 (130205hdg)
http://youtu.be/k-Dngl1EOOA
Looking towards Ueno Station and then up the stairs (near Keisei-Ueno Station) that lead up to Ueno Park. As is pretty obvious in this video, the rail bridge is rusting away... I don't understand why they aren't repainting bridges in this condition. There are many bridges rusting like this. I presume they've decided to replace the bridge with something new - it's the only thing that makes sense. The more the bridge rusts, the weaker it becomes... they must know what they're doing, but it's alarming to see the bridges deteriorating all the same.
1990 - Ueno Walkabout (Cherry Blossoms, Station, Etc) 上野駅など (900323)
http://youtu.be/WytK0IyenBc
This starts out on a train as it approaches Ueno Station, and then shows inside-the-station scenes, the train yards near the station, and then the crowds enjoying hanami parties in Ueno Park. Towards the end of the video, you can see the same station area shown in my videos from this week. Comparing the two, it's apparent that much has changed in 23 years!
Ueno Station - Open Concourse Area 上野駅中央コンコース (130205hdg)
http://youtu.be/TTDLzKAHOow
A relaxed scene of people walking through the main plaza-like roofed area leading to the Central Entrance to Ueno Station. This was taken in a kind of twilight zone between the very relaxed afternoon, and the pressures and speed of the evening rush.
Ueno Central Entrance to Yamanote Platform 上野駅中央改札からホームまで (130205g)
http://youtu.be/pVvrizMo1-s
Looking around while walking to the Yamanote Line from the Central Entrance of Ueno Station, including views of the old type roof just inside the ticket gates, etc.
Akihabara to Yurakucho (Yamanote Line) 秋葉原から有楽町まで (山手線) 130205g
http://youtu.be/2dIxHiLSjf8
Looking out a left-side window of a Yamanote Line train as it rolls from Akihabara to Yurakucho. (The ongoing construction of new Shinkansen tracks can be seen in places.)
Suburban Side Streets (A) 130203
http://youtu.be/0gcWn1iie5Y
(Above and below) Typical Tokyo winter suburbia street scenes as seen from a bicycle... I'm looking forward to the weather getting warmer and things becoming greener again!
Suburban Side Streets (B) 130203
http://youtu.be/AMik4CqNuuY
Road Widening Construction (130203)
http://youtu.be/u6ac_-aZSAY
This street is being widened to convert it into a four-lane main road for trucks, etc... there used to be a row of big beautiful trees here, but they were cut down to make way for dead black asphalt. I think that within mega-cities, it would be a good idea to make personal car use illegal. Nothing ruins the quality of life in a big city like vast numbers of internal combustion engined machines running around on dead black asphalt, pumping noxious gases into the air all the while.
Sunday Ride Along a Main Street (With Unusually Little Traffic) 130203
http://youtu.be/8dgRrwV6vK0
Back in the very old days, roads were usually just dirt, and I guess compared to that, black asphalt is nice, but it's so lifeless! And there's so much of it! If you're walking on a street like this, generally the first thing you do after turning down a side street and walking a block, is to heave a big sigh of relief that you've (temporarily) escaped the noise, vibration, and noxious gases of the bloody automobiles and trucks. When I took this, there was very little traffic, which just accentuated the desolation of the vast expanse of dead black asphalt. Presumably people in the future will be (relatively) free of this form of self-destructive behavior. You have to envy them that. I wish the internal combustion engine had never been invented.
At the Grocery Store (130203)
http://youtu.be/ic8mY9_MlOc
Typical grocery store scene....
Power-Off Chuo Line Train 停電中央線 (130130)
http://youtu.be/ZC8cUvjwO58
It's not every day that you walk up to a train and find that the power is off and the doors half-ajar! In fact, in about 30 years, I think this is the first time I've seen this. What happened is that there was an accident where construction scaffolding fell onto the overhead power cables and onto a train (which had one of its pantographs torn off). So they shut off the power to deal with that, which is why this train was sitting at the station with the power off - with only the emergency lighting on (one light per car if I remember correctly).
Not long after this they had (in this train) power on for the doors, which were set for manual operation via open and close buttons (electrically and pneumatically operated, [electro-pneumatic]) . This type of train car has the manual option for the doors, but they almost never use it on the Chuo Line. When it's particularly cold or there is some special reason, they can activate it (see video below). [Note about the term "manually operated": It's a bit confusing in this case, since the term could refer to both manually operated by directly sliding the doors open and closed with your hands, or by pushing an open or close button. I experienced both on the same train within about ten minutes on this particular day.]
Manually Operated Doors (Chuo Line) 中央線の手動ドア (130130)
http://youtu.be/Slsn3dJPkTM
Incidentally, there are some pictures of the fallen scaffolding that caused all the trouble on the Chuo Line - here (text in Japanese):
(画像) JR中央線・国分寺-西国分寺駅間で火事！鉄柱落ちてきてバーン！
http://matome.naver.jp/odai/2135951901238647101
Haijima Line Cab View (to Higashi-Yamato-shi) 東大和市駅まで (拝島線) 130130hd
http://youtu.be/waIbH2cytTw
This batch of "Haijima" videos are mainly front cab views taken on the Seibu-Haijima Line. The "thunk-thunk-thunk" sound that almost sounds similar to the type of sounds that old steam engine trains made is apparently due to a flat spot on a wheel, so with each rotation of the wheel, there's that "thunk" sound, and (naturally) the frequency of the sound increases as the train runs faster. I seem to remember hearing this noise a little more frequently back in the mid-eighties, and then it seemed to become very rare; and now, maybe it's just a coincidence with the particular trains I've been taking, but I've been hearing it more frequently recently. Hopefully it doesn't signify less stringent maintenance of the trains.
Higashi-Yamato-shi to Tamagawa-Josui 東大和市から玉川上水まで (130130hd)
http://youtu.be/ioCPx_b5OaM
Haijima Front Cab View (to Musashi-Sunagawa) 武蔵砂川まで (拝島線) 130130hd
http://youtu.be/DhYIl_dN0DY
Haijima - Front Cab View - Haijima Line 拝島線で拝島駅まで (130130)
http://youtu.be/HUlEhoZb1RM
After getting off of the Seibu-Haijima Line train at the end of the line at Haijima Station (above video), I transfer to a Hachiko Line train (following videos).
Haijima Station Transfer 西武拝島線からJRまでの乗り換え (130130)
http://youtu.be/MhKTMb6k5-E
Haijima Station - Waiting for Hachiko Line Train 拝島駅で見回る (130130)
http://youtu.be/kBnayf_N6-E
Departing Haijima Station - Winter Afternoon 拝島駅から出発 (130130)
http://youtu.be/2RJHtUYEQ6o
Hachiko Line Side Window View (Winter Afternoon) 冬の八高線景色 (130130)
http://youtu.be/DO5d_Jh3WLg
Hachiko Line to Hachioji Station 八王子駅までの八高線 (130130)
http://youtu.be/2qsZmfjd6G4
Above and (several) below - after taking the Hachiko Line to Hachioji, I transfer to the Keio Line.
Keio-Hachioji Station 京王八王子駅 見回りと出発 (130130)
http://youtu.be/XMRBJZQAO5o
Keio Line to Kitano Station 京王線で北野駅まで (130130)
http://youtu.be/RU6LofgKZLY
This includes a transfer (between different Keio Line trains) at Kitano Station.
Kitano to Hazama (Keio Line) 北野から狭間まで (京王線) 130130
http://youtu.be/sODailewhPg
Arriving at Takao Station via Keio Line 高尾駅到着 (京王線) 130130
http://youtu.be/HtuZ-gG2Y3g
1991 - Hibarigaoka and Kiyose - Seibu Ikebukuro Line (910202)
http://youtu.be/1A6-0XNSdOU
I didn't have much time for time-tripping this week, so there are just two clips - one this look back at 1991 - showing two stations on the Seibu-Ikebukuro Line (西武池袋線) - Hibarigaoka (ひばりヶ丘駅) and Kiyose (清瀬駅). The other is a 1990 look at Ueno (further up the page).
Shinjuku - Chuo Line Platform to Upper Concourse 新宿駅の忙しい夜 (130205)
http://youtu.be/uZJEvCox-XI
Shinjuku Chuo Line Night Platform Walk (130205hdc)
http://youtu.be/7r-_Pv5cspc
Nighttime Chuo Line Platform (130205hd)
http://youtu.be/RCGEJmqKu0g
Gallery Kazuki 画廊香月 - February Group Exhibition (130205)
http://youtu.be/4AxmUpg4eWQ
Matsuda Shizumune 松田靜心 Exhibition at Gallery-58 (Ginza 銀座) 130205
http://youtu.be/oepg6x9BA9A
Ochanomizu to Kanda (Yamanote Line) 御茶ノ水から神田まで (山手線) 130205
http://youtu.be/vdc0KsyEwPM
Construction continues on the former Manseibashi Station (万世橋駅) - with more and more of its old platform being ripped out. I hope they don't completely remove it... there's such interesting history there. Here's what the original building looked like:
Kanda Station Under Construction 工事中の神田駅 (130205)
http://youtu.be/osI98EWmWW8
Walking through the construction zone that Kanda is right now.
Kanda Station Middle Platform 神田駅真ん中のホーム (130205)
http://youtu.be/gIZACO8QaXo
(Above and below) Looking around from Kanda Station's middle platform while waiting for a train (on my way to Ueno).
Kanda Station Middle Platform (Waiting for a Train) 神田駅ホーム景色 (130205hd)
http://youtu.be/A8f2Q3SV5ks
Kanda to Ueno (Yamanote Line) 神田から上野まで (山手線) 130205
http://youtu.be/PDoK5EEoAxU
Looking out a left side window of a Yamanote Line train as it rolls from Kanda Station to Ueno Station.
Ueno Trackside Side Street 上野横道ガードの下 (130205hd)
http://youtu.be/p5ib6IF6xTo
Walking along the elevated tracks in Ueno - on the opposite side from the famous Ameyokocho street (written on a huge sign over the street as "Ameyayokocho アメヤ横丁", but I've always heard the locals call it "Ameyokocho"). You can't really plan for mood, but when I went here, things seemed very calm and relaxed. On weekends and during more crowded periods, the atmosphere is quite different.
Ueno Side Street to Main Ameyokocho Area (130205hdc)
http://youtu.be/1nVEO2x2N-E
Ueno Ameyokocho Stroll 上野アメ横丁散歩 (130205hd)
http://youtu.be/Ieag8yQpqpw
The stereo soundtrack of this one captures some of the ambiance provided by background sounds.
Ueno - Old Style Corner Store (Ameyokocho) 上野昔風の角店 (アメ横丁) 130205
http://youtu.be/EePqOxb2Eo8
Ueno Streetside Market Stroll 上野アメ横丁散歩 (130205hd)
http://youtu.be/NmcTmrTsVSo
Walking back over to the clothing stores on the opposite side of the tracks from the main part of Ameyokocho.
Ueno Side Street Izakaya Places, Etc 上野横道居酒屋など (130205hd)
http://youtu.be/rrbqe3xXvH8
This area is a lot more active when the weather is a bit warmer.
Ueno Park Saigo Takamori Square (Under Construction) 130205
http://youtu.be/ANfB8Kp1TZw
Part of this section of the park is actually the roof of a building, but it's seamlessly integrated into the park, so you wouldn't notice if you didn't look hard at the design and size of the building that's there. They tore down the building that used to be there, and reconstructed a new one (of a similar size), and they're still in the process of putting everything back together on top. At around the 03:20 mark, I enter the building and head down the stairs - walking past the many restaurants in the building. There was a restaurant in this building that I rather liked before - I'm not sure if they're back in the building or not - I don't remember the name of it.
Restaurant Building Near Ueno Station (130205)
http://youtu.be/RqmzGdLyK6A
Walking around in, and in front of, the new restaurant building next to Ueno Station (and near to Ameyokocho). The front of the building as seen at the end of this clip used to be where a row of souvenir shops were. They thrived when the yen was weak in the old days, but once the yen shot up in value, people had so much more buying power of things from overseas, that they started shopping in different ways and business fell off for the old souvenir shops. Now that they are completely gone, it feels like something from very long ago, and it's hard to believe how busy they used to be how different the atmosphere was on this street.
After writing the above, I checked my old material and found some video of the area taken in March 1990 - the old souvenir shops can be seen towards the end of the video (which is also listed further up the page):
1990 - Ueno Walkabout (Cherry Blossoms, Station, Etc) 上野駅など (900323)
http://youtu.be/WytK0IyenBc
Ueno Rail Bridge-360 上野駅の橋下 (130205)
http://youtu.be/wE_gdPaUWj4
Ueno Station Original Building Side Entrance 上野駅オリジナルビル (130205)
http://youtu.be/9uOHffEfb9E
Walking in the side entrance of the old original Ueno Station building. It's very unusual for a 1930's building to still exist in its original form (aside from interior changes) in Tokyo, so this building has come to have a special historical significance for Tokyo I think.
Ueno Station Original Building Side Staircase (130205)
http://youtu.be/iRNXAXCL8m0
At 00:02, it looks as thought the handrail has been cut. I suspect the staircase used to continue down into the basement, and when they made it into a first-to-second floor only staircase, they cut it then... I imagine. It looks that way anyway. Up on the second floor are a bunch of restaurants. I imagine the upstairs area was originally used for station office space? I need to look into this. An old building is that much more interesting when you know how it was originally used.
Ueno Original Station Building (Upper Area) 130205hd
http://youtu.be/7gMCsOD-VNY
Ueno Station - Original Station Building Area (130205hdc)
http://youtu.be/Y3O56ua8ULY
Looking at this again - I end up pondering why I've (until recently) had so little interest in the Ueno area and this station. I've come through this area on and off from time to time, but the station never seemed as interesting to me before as it does now. Of course, they've made it nicer. The huge skylight effect with the translucent material used over the central concourse used to be a standard opaque material. Making it into one huge skylight while preserving the original metal structure was a great idea! It's quite a nice space now.
Ueno Station - Underground Walkabout 上野駅地下散歩 (130205)
http://youtu.be/oEY5e3rvTI8
Walking down the long ramp into the subway and basement to the station. Watching this, I get a flashback. In the eighties, there were homeless people sitting all along this stretch, and they weren't exactly friendly, so I stopped using this ramp to avoid their hostile stares, comments, etc., until... now basically. Come to think of it, that might be a large part of why I ended up not having an interest in Ueno. It always seemed like the almost official campground for the city, and the atmosphere generally seemed hostile to me (due to not very friendly campers), so it was unpleasant to be there. Well, there it is. No wonder I haven't spent much time in Ueno over the years.
Ueno to Akihabara (Yamanote Line) 上野から秋葉原まで (山手線) 130205hdc
http://youtu.be/D5KBED2eW20
Looking back out a left-side window as the train rolls from Ueno to Akihabara. Watching this now, it occurs to me that the new walls on the edge of the railway might be to stop the noise of Shinkansen trains? Presently the Shinkansen trains are run underground here, but they are expanding the Shinjuku tracks, so maybe some of the Shinkansen trains will be running up at this level? Pure speculation, but the new elevated rails near Kanda Station would certainly suggest that they will be running more Shinkansen trains overhead.
Yurakucho Plaza - Passing Shinkansen, Etc 有楽町広場など (130205hdc)
http://youtu.be/rnXrmvzolKU
Watching a Shinkansen train passing Yurakucho Plaza and then walking towards Ginza.
Building with Fujiya Gallery in Central Ginza (130205)
http://youtu.be/GvO-igacDaU
Ginza - Building Shortcut from Chuo-Dori to Back Street 銀座 (130205)
http://youtu.be/kjFI_9PbRrY
Trying out a building shortcut one evening.
Ginza Twilight Alley (130205)
http://youtu.be/KO9kXfl46ZI
Something quite rare in Ginza - an empty bit of land that you can actually access.
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://lylehsaxon.blogspot.jp/
Ameyokocho Walkabout (Ueno) アメ横丁魚市場など (上野) 130205g
http://youtu.be/XycHPOdRCc0
This clip shows a fair amount of the Ameyokocho area, starting with the fish market near the entrance to the area, walking through that part and then down to where they're selling clothing, followed by walking through an under-tracks tunnel-like passageway full of various small shops. When this area is overly crowded or under-crowded, it's hard to take pictures, but the balance was almost perfect on the day I took this (above video).
Ueno - Near Entrance to Ueno Park 上野 - 上野公園入り口 (130205hdg)
http://youtu.be/k-Dngl1EOOA
Looking towards Ueno Station and then up the stairs (near Keisei-Ueno Station) that lead up to Ueno Park. As is pretty obvious in this video, the rail bridge is rusting away... I don't understand why they aren't repainting bridges in this condition. There are many bridges rusting like this. I presume they've decided to replace the bridge with something new - it's the only thing that makes sense. The more the bridge rusts, the weaker it becomes... they must know what they're doing, but it's alarming to see the bridges deteriorating all the same.
1990 - Ueno Walkabout (Cherry Blossoms, Station, Etc) 上野駅など (900323)
http://youtu.be/WytK0IyenBc
This starts out on a train as it approaches Ueno Station, and then shows inside-the-station scenes, the train yards near the station, and then the crowds enjoying hanami parties in Ueno Park. Towards the end of the video, you can see the same station area shown in my videos from this week. Comparing the two, it's apparent that much has changed in 23 years!
Ueno Station - Open Concourse Area 上野駅中央コンコース (130205hdg)
http://youtu.be/TTDLzKAHOow
A relaxed scene of people walking through the main plaza-like roofed area leading to the Central Entrance to Ueno Station. This was taken in a kind of twilight zone between the very relaxed afternoon, and the pressures and speed of the evening rush.
Ueno Central Entrance to Yamanote Platform 上野駅中央改札からホームまで (130205g)
http://youtu.be/pVvrizMo1-s
Looking around while walking to the Yamanote Line from the Central Entrance of Ueno Station, including views of the old type roof just inside the ticket gates, etc.
Akihabara to Yurakucho (Yamanote Line) 秋葉原から有楽町まで (山手線) 130205g
http://youtu.be/2dIxHiLSjf8
Looking out a left-side window of a Yamanote Line train as it rolls from Akihabara to Yurakucho. (The ongoing construction of new Shinkansen tracks can be seen in places.)
Suburban Side Streets (A) 130203
http://youtu.be/0gcWn1iie5Y
(Above and below) Typical Tokyo winter suburbia street scenes as seen from a bicycle... I'm looking forward to the weather getting warmer and things becoming greener again!
Suburban Side Streets (B) 130203
http://youtu.be/AMik4CqNuuY
Road Widening Construction (130203)
http://youtu.be/u6ac_-aZSAY
This street is being widened to convert it into a four-lane main road for trucks, etc... there used to be a row of big beautiful trees here, but they were cut down to make way for dead black asphalt. I think that within mega-cities, it would be a good idea to make personal car use illegal. Nothing ruins the quality of life in a big city like vast numbers of internal combustion engined machines running around on dead black asphalt, pumping noxious gases into the air all the while.
Sunday Ride Along a Main Street (With Unusually Little Traffic) 130203
http://youtu.be/8dgRrwV6vK0
Back in the very old days, roads were usually just dirt, and I guess compared to that, black asphalt is nice, but it's so lifeless! And there's so much of it! If you're walking on a street like this, generally the first thing you do after turning down a side street and walking a block, is to heave a big sigh of relief that you've (temporarily) escaped the noise, vibration, and noxious gases of the bloody automobiles and trucks. When I took this, there was very little traffic, which just accentuated the desolation of the vast expanse of dead black asphalt. Presumably people in the future will be (relatively) free of this form of self-destructive behavior. You have to envy them that. I wish the internal combustion engine had never been invented.
At the Grocery Store (130203)
http://youtu.be/ic8mY9_MlOc
Typical grocery store scene....
Power-Off Chuo Line Train 停電中央線 (130130)
http://youtu.be/ZC8cUvjwO58
It's not every day that you walk up to a train and find that the power is off and the doors half-ajar! In fact, in about 30 years, I think this is the first time I've seen this. What happened is that there was an accident where construction scaffolding fell onto the overhead power cables and onto a train (which had one of its pantographs torn off). So they shut off the power to deal with that, which is why this train was sitting at the station with the power off - with only the emergency lighting on (one light per car if I remember correctly).
Not long after this they had (in this train) power on for the doors, which were set for manual operation via open and close buttons (electrically and pneumatically operated, [electro-pneumatic]) . This type of train car has the manual option for the doors, but they almost never use it on the Chuo Line. When it's particularly cold or there is some special reason, they can activate it (see video below). [Note about the term "manually operated": It's a bit confusing in this case, since the term could refer to both manually operated by directly sliding the doors open and closed with your hands, or by pushing an open or close button. I experienced both on the same train within about ten minutes on this particular day.]
Manually Operated Doors (Chuo Line) 中央線の手動ドア (130130)
http://youtu.be/Slsn3dJPkTM
Incidentally, there are some pictures of the fallen scaffolding that caused all the trouble on the Chuo Line - here (text in Japanese):
(画像) JR中央線・国分寺-西国分寺駅間で火事！鉄柱落ちてきてバーン！
http://matome.naver.jp/odai/2135951901238647101
Haijima Line Cab View (to Higashi-Yamato-shi) 東大和市駅まで (拝島線) 130130hd
http://youtu.be/waIbH2cytTw
This batch of "Haijima" videos are mainly front cab views taken on the Seibu-Haijima Line. The "thunk-thunk-thunk" sound that almost sounds similar to the type of sounds that old steam engine trains made is apparently due to a flat spot on a wheel, so with each rotation of the wheel, there's that "thunk" sound, and (naturally) the frequency of the sound increases as the train runs faster. I seem to remember hearing this noise a little more frequently back in the mid-eighties, and then it seemed to become very rare; and now, maybe it's just a coincidence with the particular trains I've been taking, but I've been hearing it more frequently recently. Hopefully it doesn't signify less stringent maintenance of the trains.
Higashi-Yamato-shi to Tamagawa-Josui 東大和市から玉川上水まで (130130hd)
http://youtu.be/ioCPx_b5OaM
Haijima Front Cab View (to Musashi-Sunagawa) 武蔵砂川まで (拝島線) 130130hd
http://youtu.be/DhYIl_dN0DY
Haijima - Front Cab View - Haijima Line 拝島線で拝島駅まで (130130)
http://youtu.be/HUlEhoZb1RM
After getting off of the Seibu-Haijima Line train at the end of the line at Haijima Station (above video), I transfer to a Hachiko Line train (following videos).
Haijima Station Transfer 西武拝島線からJRまでの乗り換え (130130)
http://youtu.be/MhKTMb6k5-E
Haijima Station - Waiting for Hachiko Line Train 拝島駅で見回る (130130)
http://youtu.be/kBnayf_N6-E
Departing Haijima Station - Winter Afternoon 拝島駅から出発 (130130)
http://youtu.be/2RJHtUYEQ6o
Hachiko Line Side Window View (Winter Afternoon) 冬の八高線景色 (130130)
http://youtu.be/DO5d_Jh3WLg
Hachiko Line to Hachioji Station 八王子駅までの八高線 (130130)
http://youtu.be/2qsZmfjd6G4
Above and (several) below - after taking the Hachiko Line to Hachioji, I transfer to the Keio Line.
Keio-Hachioji Station 京王八王子駅 見回りと出発 (130130)
http://youtu.be/XMRBJZQAO5o
Keio Line to Kitano Station 京王線で北野駅まで (130130)
http://youtu.be/RU6LofgKZLY
This includes a transfer (between different Keio Line trains) at Kitano Station.
Kitano to Hazama (Keio Line) 北野から狭間まで (京王線) 130130
http://youtu.be/sODailewhPg
Arriving at Takao Station via Keio Line 高尾駅到着 (京王線) 130130
http://youtu.be/HtuZ-gG2Y3g
1991 - Hibarigaoka and Kiyose - Seibu Ikebukuro Line (910202)
http://youtu.be/1A6-0XNSdOU
I didn't have much time for time-tripping this week, so there are just two clips - one this look back at 1991 - showing two stations on the Seibu-Ikebukuro Line (西武池袋線) - Hibarigaoka (ひばりヶ丘駅) and Kiyose (清瀬駅). The other is a 1990 look at Ueno (further up the page).
Shinjuku - Chuo Line Platform to Upper Concourse 新宿駅の忙しい夜 (130205)
http://youtu.be/uZJEvCox-XI
Shinjuku Chuo Line Night Platform Walk (130205hdc)
http://youtu.be/7r-_Pv5cspc
Nighttime Chuo Line Platform (130205hd)
http://youtu.be/RCGEJmqKu0g
Gallery Kazuki 画廊香月 - February Group Exhibition (130205)
http://youtu.be/4AxmUpg4eWQ
Matsuda Shizumune 松田靜心 Exhibition at Gallery-58 (Ginza 銀座) 130205
http://youtu.be/oepg6x9BA9A
Ochanomizu to Kanda (Yamanote Line) 御茶ノ水から神田まで (山手線) 130205
http://youtu.be/vdc0KsyEwPM
Construction continues on the former Manseibashi Station (万世橋駅) - with more and more of its old platform being ripped out. I hope they don't completely remove it... there's such interesting history there. Here's what the original building looked like:
Kanda Station Under Construction 工事中の神田駅 (130205)
http://youtu.be/osI98EWmWW8
Walking through the construction zone that Kanda is right now.
Kanda Station Middle Platform 神田駅真ん中のホーム (130205)
http://youtu.be/gIZACO8QaXo
(Above and below) Looking around from Kanda Station's middle platform while waiting for a train (on my way to Ueno).
Kanda Station Middle Platform (Waiting for a Train) 神田駅ホーム景色 (130205hd)
http://youtu.be/A8f2Q3SV5ks
Kanda to Ueno (Yamanote Line) 神田から上野まで (山手線) 130205
http://youtu.be/PDoK5EEoAxU
Looking out a left side window of a Yamanote Line train as it rolls from Kanda Station to Ueno Station.
Ueno Trackside Side Street 上野横道ガードの下 (130205hd)
http://youtu.be/p5ib6IF6xTo
Walking along the elevated tracks in Ueno - on the opposite side from the famous Ameyokocho street (written on a huge sign over the street as "Ameyayokocho アメヤ横丁", but I've always heard the locals call it "Ameyokocho"). You can't really plan for mood, but when I went here, things seemed very calm and relaxed. On weekends and during more crowded periods, the atmosphere is quite different.
Ueno Side Street to Main Ameyokocho Area (130205hdc)
http://youtu.be/1nVEO2x2N-E
Ueno Ameyokocho Stroll 上野アメ横丁散歩 (130205hd)
http://youtu.be/Ieag8yQpqpw
The stereo soundtrack of this one captures some of the ambiance provided by background sounds.
Ueno - Old Style Corner Store (Ameyokocho) 上野昔風の角店 (アメ横丁) 130205
http://youtu.be/EePqOxb2Eo8
Ueno Streetside Market Stroll 上野アメ横丁散歩 (130205hd)
http://youtu.be/NmcTmrTsVSo
Walking back over to the clothing stores on the opposite side of the tracks from the main part of Ameyokocho.
Ueno Side Street Izakaya Places, Etc 上野横道居酒屋など (130205hd)
http://youtu.be/rrbqe3xXvH8
This area is a lot more active when the weather is a bit warmer.
Ueno Park Saigo Takamori Square (Under Construction) 130205
http://youtu.be/ANfB8Kp1TZw
Part of this section of the park is actually the roof of a building, but it's seamlessly integrated into the park, so you wouldn't notice if you didn't look hard at the design and size of the building that's there. They tore down the building that used to be there, and reconstructed a new one (of a similar size), and they're still in the process of putting everything back together on top. At around the 03:20 mark, I enter the building and head down the stairs - walking past the many restaurants in the building. There was a restaurant in this building that I rather liked before - I'm not sure if they're back in the building or not - I don't remember the name of it.
Restaurant Building Near Ueno Station (130205)
http://youtu.be/RqmzGdLyK6A
Walking around in, and in front of, the new restaurant building next to Ueno Station (and near to Ameyokocho). The front of the building as seen at the end of this clip used to be where a row of souvenir shops were. They thrived when the yen was weak in the old days, but once the yen shot up in value, people had so much more buying power of things from overseas, that they started shopping in different ways and business fell off for the old souvenir shops. Now that they are completely gone, it feels like something from very long ago, and it's hard to believe how busy they used to be how different the atmosphere was on this street.
After writing the above, I checked my old material and found some video of the area taken in March 1990 - the old souvenir shops can be seen towards the end of the video (which is also listed further up the page):
1990 - Ueno Walkabout (Cherry Blossoms, Station, Etc) 上野駅など (900323)
http://youtu.be/WytK0IyenBc
Ueno Rail Bridge-360 上野駅の橋下 (130205)
http://youtu.be/wE_gdPaUWj4
Ueno Station Original Building Side Entrance 上野駅オリジナルビル (130205)
http://youtu.be/9uOHffEfb9E
Walking in the side entrance of the old original Ueno Station building. It's very unusual for a 1930's building to still exist in its original form (aside from interior changes) in Tokyo, so this building has come to have a special historical significance for Tokyo I think.
Ueno Station Original Building Side Staircase (130205)
http://youtu.be/iRNXAXCL8m0
At 00:02, it looks as thought the handrail has been cut. I suspect the staircase used to continue down into the basement, and when they made it into a first-to-second floor only staircase, they cut it then... I imagine. It looks that way anyway. Up on the second floor are a bunch of restaurants. I imagine the upstairs area was originally used for station office space? I need to look into this. An old building is that much more interesting when you know how it was originally used.
Ueno Original Station Building (Upper Area) 130205hd
http://youtu.be/7gMCsOD-VNY
Ueno Station - Original Station Building Area (130205hdc)
http://youtu.be/Y3O56ua8ULY
Looking at this again - I end up pondering why I've (until recently) had so little interest in the Ueno area and this station. I've come through this area on and off from time to time, but the station never seemed as interesting to me before as it does now. Of course, they've made it nicer. The huge skylight effect with the translucent material used over the central concourse used to be a standard opaque material. Making it into one huge skylight while preserving the original metal structure was a great idea! It's quite a nice space now.
Ueno Station - Underground Walkabout 上野駅地下散歩 (130205)
http://youtu.be/oEY5e3rvTI8
Walking down the long ramp into the subway and basement to the station. Watching this, I get a flashback. In the eighties, there were homeless people sitting all along this stretch, and they weren't exactly friendly, so I stopped using this ramp to avoid their hostile stares, comments, etc., until... now basically. Come to think of it, that might be a large part of why I ended up not having an interest in Ueno. It always seemed like the almost official campground for the city, and the atmosphere generally seemed hostile to me (due to not very friendly campers), so it was unpleasant to be there. Well, there it is. No wonder I haven't spent much time in Ueno over the years.
Ueno to Akihabara (Yamanote Line) 上野から秋葉原まで (山手線) 130205hdc
http://youtu.be/D5KBED2eW20
Looking back out a left-side window as the train rolls from Ueno to Akihabara. Watching this now, it occurs to me that the new walls on the edge of the railway might be to stop the noise of Shinkansen trains? Presently the Shinkansen trains are run underground here, but they are expanding the Shinjuku tracks, so maybe some of the Shinkansen trains will be running up at this level? Pure speculation, but the new elevated rails near Kanda Station would certainly suggest that they will be running more Shinkansen trains overhead.
Yurakucho Plaza - Passing Shinkansen, Etc 有楽町広場など (130205hdc)
http://youtu.be/rnXrmvzolKU
Watching a Shinkansen train passing Yurakucho Plaza and then walking towards Ginza.
Building with Fujiya Gallery in Central Ginza (130205)
http://youtu.be/GvO-igacDaU
Ginza - Building Shortcut from Chuo-Dori to Back Street 銀座 (130205)
http://youtu.be/kjFI_9PbRrY
Trying out a building shortcut one evening.
Ginza Twilight Alley (130205)
http://youtu.be/KO9kXfl46ZI
Something quite rare in Ginza - an empty bit of land that you can actually access.
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://lylehsaxon.blogspot.jp/
Tuesday, February 05, 2013
"Nihonbashi (2012/11)"
"Nihonbashi (2012/11)
Copyright 2012 by Lyle H Saxon
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://lylehsaxon.blogspot.jp/
"Television Izakaya - (January 2013)"
I looked in the window of the small izakaya under the overhead railway tracks. The location had the type of by-or-under railway atmosphere that often makes for a great izakaya - with reasonably priced drinks and tasty and reasonably priced yakitori. It was closed, so I wasn't sure if it was still in business. Walking up to a window, I peered inside and saw that it appeared to be just closed (too early in the afternoon) and not derelict. I saw the potential of the place, but wasn't all that eager to go there really - I basically thought "Oh well - it's not worth a special trip to come back and check it out, so I guess that's that".
So I continued on my way - taking pictures and video in the area. I ended up spending a little more time on recording images than I had planned to, so as I headed back towards the station, it occurred to me that the small izakaya might be open...
As I approached it, I could see that it did indeed appear to be open, and I peered in the open door and saw a pile of already cooked yakitori and the shop owner(?) grilling (or just reheating) some more. I stepped a little closer and called out "Sumimasen!" and asked (in Japanese) if he was open. He looked up, locked his eyes onto my face, and stared. So I asked again if he was open and he said "Not Yet". [Just to be very clear, all communication at the shop was in Japanese.] So I asked what time he opened - which generated another blank stare, so I asked again, and he said "Around 4:30", so I nodded, and walked off, thinking his behavior was a little weird, but assumed he wasn't used to seeing space creatures from other galaxies wandering around on this planet near his shop.
Since 4:30 was just 20 minutes away, I went to a fast food place and ordered a Y100 chicken something-or-other. Strangely, the time in the fast food place turned out to be pretty nice. The air in the middle of the place was standard fast-food-greasy, but fortunately, a table right next to the entrance (one of two entrances actually) was unoccupied, so I sat there and thanked the power of convection for the rush of cool less-greasy air that came in every time the automatic doors opened (which sometimes happened when the motion sensor(s) picked up the motion of a passing pedestrian). The Y100 something-or-other didn't taste too bad, and I enjoyed the jazz(!) music on the store's PA - relaxing until about 4:40.
Then I went out and took some more pictures and eventually returned to the yakitori izakaya place about 5:10. I cheerfully poked my head in the door and said/asked "Is it OK now?". The man looked up with a startled "What?! You came *back*? Why?" look, stared at me without answering for a few seconds, and then finally said OK.
Walking into the small izakaya, I immediately began to regret being there. When I first saw the place with the lights out, I imagined standing inside with dim incandescent bulb lighting, and windows open for ventilation, and being able to easily look out them. As I walked into the small room (which strangely had a very high ceiling), a number of things I hadn't noticed from outside quickly became apparent. The windows were shut, it was overheated, a bloody TV (up in a high corner) was going, and the windows were too low to look out of without stooping way down, etc. Aside from about every atmosphere-killing device known to humankind being in the room, something else didn't feel right. When you get that kind of feeling, you should never ignore it, but I thought it would be too rude to suddenly leave (I wish I had) and so I decided to stay for one drink.
I unhappily ordered an uronhai from the man while standing under the blasting florescent lights (I would have noticed the horrible lighting if it had been after dark when I came) and irritatingly droning TV. By and by the drink came, and while it didn't taste bad exactly, it was the strangest tasting uronhai I've had in almost three decades of living here. I then stupidly ordered a couple of sticks of yakitori and he pretended to grill a couple and then gave me a couple of lukewarm ones with a lot of cinders still on the meat. At this point, I didn't care if I was polite or not, so I picked off the cinders (said to be a cause of cancer) and ate most (unfortunately), but not all of it (I should have just left it uneaten). With each passing second, I wanted out of that space more intently, so regardless of having drink and food remaining, I paid my bill and got out of there.
What does it mean? I honestly don't know. What I do know is that I never, ever want to go to that place again, and the next time I get that feeling that it's better to leave - *now* - I hope I pay closer/better attention.
I felt... polluted... or something, and so I really wanted to get something else in my stomach, so I bought some junk food and can-chuhais at a convenience store and went off to a spot near the railway where I could consume the convenience store food and chuhai while watching the trains go by. This was a vastly more pleasant experience than being blasted with florescent lighting and TV, while drinking mysterious brew and picking through black cinders within sauna-level heat (in the winter)! Later on, as I walked back to the station, I looked in the windows (from a distance) of the TV izakaya place and saw what appeared to be a room full of exactly the kind of people I least get along with. Standing there under all that florescent lighting, watching TV. A vision from h**l if you ask me, but they seemed to be - sort of - enjoying themselves.
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://lylehsaxon.blogspot.jp/
So I continued on my way - taking pictures and video in the area. I ended up spending a little more time on recording images than I had planned to, so as I headed back towards the station, it occurred to me that the small izakaya might be open...
As I approached it, I could see that it did indeed appear to be open, and I peered in the open door and saw a pile of already cooked yakitori and the shop owner(?) grilling (or just reheating) some more. I stepped a little closer and called out "Sumimasen!" and asked (in Japanese) if he was open. He looked up, locked his eyes onto my face, and stared. So I asked again if he was open and he said "Not Yet". [Just to be very clear, all communication at the shop was in Japanese.] So I asked what time he opened - which generated another blank stare, so I asked again, and he said "Around 4:30", so I nodded, and walked off, thinking his behavior was a little weird, but assumed he wasn't used to seeing space creatures from other galaxies wandering around on this planet near his shop.
Since 4:30 was just 20 minutes away, I went to a fast food place and ordered a Y100 chicken something-or-other. Strangely, the time in the fast food place turned out to be pretty nice. The air in the middle of the place was standard fast-food-greasy, but fortunately, a table right next to the entrance (one of two entrances actually) was unoccupied, so I sat there and thanked the power of convection for the rush of cool less-greasy air that came in every time the automatic doors opened (which sometimes happened when the motion sensor(s) picked up the motion of a passing pedestrian). The Y100 something-or-other didn't taste too bad, and I enjoyed the jazz(!) music on the store's PA - relaxing until about 4:40.
Then I went out and took some more pictures and eventually returned to the yakitori izakaya place about 5:10. I cheerfully poked my head in the door and said/asked "Is it OK now?". The man looked up with a startled "What?! You came *back*? Why?" look, stared at me without answering for a few seconds, and then finally said OK.
Walking into the small izakaya, I immediately began to regret being there. When I first saw the place with the lights out, I imagined standing inside with dim incandescent bulb lighting, and windows open for ventilation, and being able to easily look out them. As I walked into the small room (which strangely had a very high ceiling), a number of things I hadn't noticed from outside quickly became apparent. The windows were shut, it was overheated, a bloody TV (up in a high corner) was going, and the windows were too low to look out of without stooping way down, etc. Aside from about every atmosphere-killing device known to humankind being in the room, something else didn't feel right. When you get that kind of feeling, you should never ignore it, but I thought it would be too rude to suddenly leave (I wish I had) and so I decided to stay for one drink.
I unhappily ordered an uronhai from the man while standing under the blasting florescent lights (I would have noticed the horrible lighting if it had been after dark when I came) and irritatingly droning TV. By and by the drink came, and while it didn't taste bad exactly, it was the strangest tasting uronhai I've had in almost three decades of living here. I then stupidly ordered a couple of sticks of yakitori and he pretended to grill a couple and then gave me a couple of lukewarm ones with a lot of cinders still on the meat. At this point, I didn't care if I was polite or not, so I picked off the cinders (said to be a cause of cancer) and ate most (unfortunately), but not all of it (I should have just left it uneaten). With each passing second, I wanted out of that space more intently, so regardless of having drink and food remaining, I paid my bill and got out of there.
What does it mean? I honestly don't know. What I do know is that I never, ever want to go to that place again, and the next time I get that feeling that it's better to leave - *now* - I hope I pay closer/better attention.
I felt... polluted... or something, and so I really wanted to get something else in my stomach, so I bought some junk food and can-chuhais at a convenience store and went off to a spot near the railway where I could consume the convenience store food and chuhai while watching the trains go by. This was a vastly more pleasant experience than being blasted with florescent lighting and TV, while drinking mysterious brew and picking through black cinders within sauna-level heat (in the winter)! Later on, as I walked back to the station, I looked in the windows (from a distance) of the TV izakaya place and saw what appeared to be a room full of exactly the kind of people I least get along with. Standing there under all that florescent lighting, watching TV. A vision from h**l if you ask me, but they seemed to be - sort of - enjoying themselves.
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://lylehsaxon.blogspot.jp/
Sunday, February 03, 2013
"Kokusai Forum (2013/01)"
"Kokusai Forum (2013/01)"
Copyright 2013 by Lyle H Saxon
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
"Shinjuku, Ochanomizu, Suidobashi, Odakyu Line, Train Scenes, Etc."
Other than a trip out to Yoyogi-Uehara on the Odakyu Line, I mainly focused on the Chuo Line - with scenes from Shinjuku, Ochanomizu, and Suidobashi - combined with (as usual) several in-motion scenes taken on various trains.
Ochanomizu to Tokyo - Kanda Under Construction 工事中神田駅など (130129g)
http://youtu.be/cM4Dj1QDL6g
This starts off with a platform view at Ochanomizu Station while waiting for the train to get underway. I stayed mainly on the right side of the carriage in order to get a view of the remains of the Chuo Line's former terminal station, Manseibashi Station (万世橋駅). You can see the old platform from about the 01:38 mark, then there's a big construction hole (at 01:44) where a section of the platform has been cut away, quickly followed by a quick view of exposed stairs leading to/from the platform. As I mentioned previously, I have long known there were remains of a former station there, but had never looked up the history and didn't realize there was a big, interesting terminal station building there from 1912 until 1919, when the line was extended. The cool looking big terminal building was destroyed in the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923. Anyway, I already went into that before, so more information is further down the page (in a previous post). I mention it again, because suddenly that area seems much more interesting. I wish I had known this history sooner.
When the train gets to Kanda, I transfer to a Yamanote Line train - walking through what feels like greatly intensified construction activity in Kanda Station (from about 03:24). The construction at Kanda Station has been going on for quite a while, but this day the atmosphere felt quite different and it seemed as though it's on a verge of a great change - soon.
Speaking of construction - after getting on a Yamanote Line train, it passes another big construction hole just before the platform at Tokyo Station (at around 06:34). Another big project, but I have no idea what this particular construction is for. Basically Tokyo is in a permanent state of reconstruction. If the city lasts for 300,000 years, it will probably be under construction for 300,000 years. The video ends as I walk through one of the large under-track concourses at Tokyo Station.
Shinjuku Station 1130 p.m. Dash 新宿駅夜遅くのラッシュとダッシュ (130129g)
http://youtu.be/Er-5uq8FuNA
After walking through the direct-transfer gates between the Odakyu Line and the JR lines, I walk through the late-crowd, people rushing to get the last trains that still make connections to other lines further away out in the suburbs. The last trains from Shinjuku run pretty close to 1:00 a.m., but for those who have distant transfers to make, they need to get on the system between 11:00 and 11:30 p.m., which is why you see people dashing about on the lower concourse at Shinjuku Station. Hearing the "doors are about to close" sound, I run up a flight of stairs and jump on a train myself.
Shinjuku to Nishi-Shinjuku Crosswalk 西新宿 (元淀橋) に入る (130129ghd)
http://youtu.be/X585UekiLAI
Nearing Suidobashi Station (Political Van) 水道橋駅に近づく (130129ghd)
http://youtu.be/qQziLZnZ7fk
Typical winter street scene in Tokyo. About the political van that drives by - the timing puzzles me, since there were elections quite recently. I guess they're getting an early start aiming towards the next elections?
Shinjuku Platform Walk (Chuo Line) 新宿ホーム風景 (中央線) 130129ghd
http://youtu.be/BkBuDnUHN9s
Walking down a nighttime Chuo Line platform at Shinjuku Station.
Shinjuku Station Upper Concourse (South Exit) 新宿駅上の通路 (南口) 130129ghd
http://youtu.be/TbUiIbYgTpI
Walking over to and through the South Exit ticket gates. People passing by in their winter clothing. Since people tend to wear dark clothing in the winter, it's not exactly colorful.
Yoyogi-Uehara Station - Boarding Odakyu Line 夜遅く代々木上原で小田急線 (130129ghd)
http://youtu.be/m_Hfygx8lyc
Looking around on one of the platforms at Yoyogi-Uehara Station; then boarding a nearly empty local Odakyu Line train bound for Shinjuku and taking a quick look around inside the mostly empty train.
Ochanomizu - Walking South from Station 御茶ノ水駅から南へ (130129g)
http://youtu.be/RTpoG8zJIN4
Starting at one end of a bridge and then walking back past Ochanomizu Station and heading south down the main street (towards Meiji University).
Ochanomizu Walkabout - Outside Market 御茶ノ水道バザール (130129g)
http://youtu.be/hkJKtOITyEQ
The outside market this starts with appears to be a regular event - with basically the same type of things being sold each time. I don't know what the exact arrangement is, but I remember this from eleven years ago, and I've seen it on and off since then. Maybe it's a once-a-month event? Once-a-week maybe? Probably once-a-month (I need to research this...).
Towards the end of the clip, I walk into Ochanomizu Station, at the entrance with the pleasantly old wooden structure that I hope is preserved. This design has so much more character than the newer designs. Both (together) are ideal actually - you can experience both modern designs and older designs by going from station to station. The contrast from both ends enhances both new and old.
Ochanomizu to Suidobashi 御茶ノ水から水道橋まで Chuo Local Line (130129g)
http://youtu.be/NbpkAsoJQ2Y
Suidobashi Station is slightly unusual (for the Chuo Line) in that it has the twin tracks in the middle and the platforms on either side. More commonly there is one platform in the middle and the tracks (one for each direction) are on either side of the platform. This is more convenient for riders, since they can just climb the stairs to the platform without needing to verify which platform they need beforehand, and then take whichever train is going in their direction. Thinking about it, I presume the arrangement at Suidobashi is so the rails are straighter, allowing express trains to go through at a higher speed. With a center platform, the rails curve out to get trains on either side of it (since the platform is considerably wider than the space between the double tracks between stations).
Walking South from Suidobashi Station 水道橋駅から南へ (130129g)
http://youtu.be/ZGZ_LU7NTrU
Fairly typical central Tokyo scenery. One comment - notice the yellow steel structure at around the 00:26 mark - they have strong steel structures like this in front of some bridges - the beams are slightly lower than the lowest point of the bridge, so if a truck that is too high to get under the bridge comes along, it hits this yellow barrier first, which stops the truck and prevents it from damaging the bridge. It's a very effective way of preventing overly high trucks from hitting the underside of the bridge.
Tokyo Station Yaesu Construction Tunnel 工事中の東京駅八重洲口 (130129g)
http://youtu.be/Pt4zNouf3PM
These white-walled construction passageways are moved from place to place as the construction behind them progresses.
八重洲駐車場 (A) Yaesu Underground Parking (Street to B2) 130129g
http://youtu.be/-5HLVcl_Dk0
I have passed this underground entrance many times over the years, but it never occurred to me to go down the steps and have a look until the day I took these two videos (above and below). I shouldn't have been surprised really, but I didn't realize just how much parking was down there.
八重洲駐車場 (B) Yaesu Underground Parking (B1 to Street) 130129g
http://youtu.be/zb97rnkSBPc
Six-Door (Per Side) Train Cars on Saikyo Line 埼京線六ドア車両 (130129g)
http://youtu.be/cvNSoum_UC0
I haven't had any particular fondness for this type of train car, but since they took them off of the Yamanote Line (to make all the carriages four-door per side in order to make it easier to install platform walls and doors), it seemed a little like discovering something that was familiar, but you thought had disappeared.
京橋のドゥ画廊に行く Going to Dou Gallery in Kyobashi (130129)
http://youtu.be/S6p3fxjVqDM
Showing the area immediately around the Dou Gallery in Kyobashi (next to Ginza) before heading inside.
臼木英之展示会 (ドゥ画廊) Usuki Hideyuki Exhibition (Dou Gallery) 130129
http://youtu.be/PNBip49ZDMs
A look around at an interesting exhibition of artwork - both paintings and directly painted clothing (each one a one-off, painted by hand).
Shinjuku East Side - Game Centers Etc 新宿東側 (130129hd)
http://youtu.be/xdCUlWFTm4s
Walking down a side street near Shinjuku Station - past game places, a pachinko parlor, restaurants, etc.
Shinjuku Shadow Street - Winter 2013 新宿影通り(冬) 130129
http://youtu.be/IVs3pTjle_Q
"Shadow Street" is not a proper name - I just called it that, because the angle of the winter sun was such that there was absolutely no sunlight on the street at all, so it felt like "Shadow Street".
Shadows - Shinjuku South-East Exit Plaza (130129)
http://youtu.be/0lEYVxi_WPU
I'm not a big fan of winter - but at least the long shadows in the afternoon are interesting.
Shinjuku - Walking West Towards South Entrance (130129)
http://youtu.be/drdGWYEkHKM
Shinjuku - Long Shadows by South Exit 新宿南口の長い影 (130129)
http://youtu.be/8Jl6zHy8pyY
People waiting for a walk light to change - casting long shadows near the South Entrance/Exit to Shinjuku Station.
Shinjuku Upper Concourse Walk, Etc 新宿駅上の通路散歩 (130129)
http://youtu.be/NDuxJEG-vVQ
Entering Shinjuku Station via the South Entrance and walking along the upper concourse. At the end of this clip, notice how *wonderful* [heavy sarcasm] the English announcement sounds. It's real English, but they obviously didn't use someone professional. "PLAtfORm... NUmBer...... TEn." Uh! Yuck! Man, I hate those unprofessional announcements! You'd think that since they're going to torment people with those recordings over-and-over-and-over again (forever more?), they'd try to get a decent recording of someone who doesn't sound like they're reading a children's book to preschoolers! (And not even a professional preschool teacher at that!)
Shinjuku to Ochanomizu (Chuo Line) 新宿から御茶ノ水まで (中央線) 130129
http://youtu.be/kAYRzDy2URQ
Recently I don't buy much from the platform stores (00:14), but I always feel glad that they are there - something about the option to get a variety of things from most train station platforms being there is very welcome. It makes the platform a more interesting place to be while waiting for the train to arrive. And so it was on this day. Once the train arrived, I climbed aboard (an expression I should change, as it's just a horizontal thing now - like walking onto an elevator) and looked out a left side window at the high contrast landscape flowing past under mid-winter sharp-angle January lighting. The lighting was generally bad for pictures, but as the train pulled into Ochanomizu Station, the reflections on the river down below the left side of the train were quite nice, so after getting off the train, I hurried over to a spot next to the river to take a couple of videos of the cool reflections (following two videos) before the light changed.
River Reflections (A) Central Tokyo 水の反射 (中央東京) 130129hd
http://youtu.be/80RA1FvQH-8
River Reflections (B) Central Tokyo 水の反射 (中央東京) 130129hd
http://youtu.be/p0C42gHcW4w
Ochanomizu Station Area Stroll 御茶ノ水駅あたり散歩 (130129hd)
http://youtu.be/m1hoNDEQHl8
Walking along a narrow street that runs in parallel with the tracks from one entrance of Ochanomizu Station to the other - with both entrances located at an end of the ten-car platform. Depending on how much time you have, and your perspective, the general ten car length of Tokyo trains is a pretty long distance (and some lines have 15!).
Ochanomizu Station Platform Views 御茶ノ水ホームビュー (130129)
http://youtu.be/JTR1IINepSY
Walking around on a platform at Ochanomizu while waiting for my train to come. Looking around, it occurs to me that this station is pretty remarkably intact in its Showa-Era construction and atmosphere. For the sake of understanding history, I hope they leave at least a few stations like this alone (repainting them of course).
I go on about that a lot I know, but every time I'm at a station like this, it hits me again how much atmosphere and history is in the structure.
Suidobashi Station Afternoon Platform View 水道橋駅ホームビュー (130129hd)
http://youtu.be/WO6s2P9PUH0
The roof structure for this station is quite interesting I think. And in this case, the combination of new roofing material over the platforms and old original railway rails (used for I-beams) still there as part of the overall structure works very well aesthetically I think. This is good to see.
Suidobashi Station - Platform to Exit 水道橋駅_ホームから改札まで (130129)
http://youtu.be/RlOgjMsOpwk
Aside from the platform, this takes a look at the old wooden parts of the stairway while walking towards the ticket gates (wooden roof, etc.).
Suidobashi Station - Boarding Sobu Line 水道橋駅 - 中央線を乗る (130129)
http://youtu.be/18Ip9TVTVqM
After taking some pictures in the area around Suidobashi Station (further up the page - out of chronological order), I returned to the station and went to the other platform in order to go back to Ochanomizu (where I could catch a faster kaisoku train).
Suidobashi to Ochanomizu 水道橋から御茶ノ水まで (総武線) 130129
http://youtu.be/eBBDlvN2Tu0
Hachioji to Nishi-Hachioji - Snow on Ground (130128)
http://youtu.be/go_yMn11yXo
Kyobashi 1-Chome Side Street 京橋一丁目横道 (130129)
http://youtu.be/CdfY5rtUvqk
Approaching Shinjuku South-East Exit 新宿駅東南口向き (130129hd)
http://youtu.be/MmAOEVtw8TA
Walking down the upper concourse at Shinjuku Station - towards the South-East Exit.
Saikyo Line Train at Shinjuku Station 新宿駅に止まった埼京線電車 (130129hd)
http://youtu.be/RQZxAaJ66I4
Mainly walking down the platform beside the train as people board it, but with a quick look inside the train as well. The departure time being a few minutes later, people are relaxed about boarding it (in contrast to jumping on a train that is going to close the doors and depart in a matter of seconds).
And... reviewing the next video, I see it's basically a continuation of the one above - although the second one shows a train arrive at the station, and another train depart.
Saikyo Line Late Night Platform Walk 埼京線夜遅くホーム散歩 (130129hd)
http://youtu.be/S2mu7ewFpws
Shinjuku Station Concourse to Platform 新宿駅通路からホームまで (130129hd)
http://youtu.be/2AZMXwoZbXE
At 00:38 - a view of many people standing in line on an open platform, waiting for their train to arrive. I've always found this type of view to be fascinating, and so don't look forward to the platforms getting walls (although I must admit it's safer that way). [01:20]: A man comes running up - on crutches(!). They are forever telling people not to run for the trains, but it's a natural thing to want to do. The doors are about to close... you have two or three seconds to get on the train, or be left behind. The railways present it purely as "It's dangerous to run", while ignoring the natural feelings of "I don't want to be left behind!" and "I want to get where I'm going on time!". Those two generally being heavier, people run, ignoring the ceaseless barrage of verbal warnings from the railways not to run.
Evening Construction Cranes on Yaesu Side 八重洲口の夕方工事 (130129)
http://youtu.be/bGVIPMIZOO8
Waiting for the walk light to change to green, I looked around - including over and up at the construction cranes towering over the Yaesu side of Tokyo Station. After that, I - shock and surprise - walk across the street when the light changes to green.
Gargantuan Metal Shutter Coming Down for the Night (130129)
http://youtu.be/4B71MjkCAYo
No big deal really, but this is one of the larger metal shutters I've seen, so when it started to come down right next to me, I pulled out my camera and took this video.
Kanda Lights - Seen from Chuo Line 神田の夜光 (130129)
http://youtu.be/kKK_8Iu9KSE
The businesses, signs, restaurants, etc. are so close to the railways here, that it's always kind of a nice light show when passing through this stretch at night.
Odakyu Line Departing Shinjuku 小田急線 - 新宿駅から出発 (130129)
http://youtu.be/ZjWVFO0zrJA
I don't use the Odakyu Line much these days, so I hadn't realized that they have platform walls up at Shinjuku now.
Nighttime Odakyu Line - Left Side Window View 夜の小田急線 (130129)
http://youtu.be/EPWmkYmCYfI
Looking out the window of an express train as it rolls towards Yoyogi-Uehara - enjoying the mixture of direct light and reflected light that nighttime views from a train afford.
Yoyogi-Uehara Station - Outbound Trains 代々木上原駅の下り電車 (130129)
http://youtu.be/G-tyqpCSN58
Watching a couple of outbound trains depart Yoyogi-Uehara Station after getting off of a train from Shinjuku.
Train-Watching at Yoyogi-Uehara (Romance Car, Etc) 小田急線ロマンスカーなど (130129)
http://youtu.be/AOIfuwmqbEs
While waiting for a train back to Shinjuku at Yoyogi-Uehara, I walk around on the platform and watch other trains passing, including one of the Romance Car (reserved seat express) trains.
Yoyogi-Hachiman to Shinjuku (Odakyu Line) 代々木八幡-新宿 (小田急線) 130129
http://youtu.be/FkLaLAgxRvk
The thing about getting on a nearly empty inbound train late at night, is that - after practically always riding in full trains - you suddenly feel like you have all this space to yourself and all this freedom (to move,etc.)... which is how I felt on this evening, so I wandered around a bit inside the train, looking out the windows, at the hanging advertisements inside the train, into the next carriages, etc.
At 04:26, you can see (at the top of the picture) a few illuminated trees up on a two-story high structure - that is the edge of Shinjuku Southern Terrace, which is basically a platform built by Odakyu over the Odakyu railway. When on the Southern Terrace, even when you know, it's kind of hard to imagine that you're directly over all that train activity below (which is on the surface of the earth, not a subway).
At 04:36, the inbound local train I'm on begins going down to the lower level local train platform while an outgoing express train descends from the upper level platforms. Odakyu runs a lot of trains, and so they stacked the platforms.
If I remember the history of the railway correctly, it was originally called "Odawara Kyuko 小田原急行" (Odawara Express), and that was shortened (by combining elements of the two words) to "Odakyu 小田急". I remember reading an article (or was it a book?) about 26 years ago in which the author stated that the name "Odakyu" was initially resisted by the railway itself, but as it was in popular usage (starting with the term appearing in a song), they gave in and begin calling it Odakyu.
Looking on-line - I see there are three Wikipedia pages for the Odakyu Line train system. I strongly recommend this one:
Odakyu Electric Railway
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odakyu_Electric_Railway
Personally, I don't think there should be three pages for it - they should merge those other two pages into the one "Odakyu Electric Railway" page.
In any case, looking at the proper page for the railway, the first two paragraphs of the history section are as follows:
"The 83 km line from Shinjuku to Odawara opened for service on April 1, 1927. Unlike the Odawara line, rarely were pre-WWII Japanese private railways constructed with double-track and fully electrified from the first day of operation. Two years later, April 1, 1929, the Enoshima Line was added.
"The original full name of the railroad was Odawara Express Railway Co., Ltd. (小田原急行鉄道株式会社 Odawara Kyuko Tetsudo Kabushiki-gaisha), but this was often shortened to Odawara Kyuko (Odawara Express). The abbreviation Odakyu was made popular by the title song of the 1929 movie Tokyo Koshinkyoku and eventually became the official name of the railroad on March 1, 1941."
Also, here is Odakyu's own website:
Odakyu
http://www.odakyu.jp/english/
Which has (on February 2nd, 2013 anyway) the slogan "Odakyu has a Japan". Um... Odakyu? What exactly does that mean? We weren't aware that there was more than one Japan. Which one exactly is it that you have? Time for a rant. In this age of easy communication with nearly all countries on the planet, there is no excuse for putting embarrassing, idiotic English on a corporate website. From past experience, probably some middle-management scum sent out a group e-mail to people within the company, including a few token foreigners, pretending to solicit feedback. Then the middle-management scum ignored the feedback - especially the feedback from the native English speakers (what do they know), and then sent back a reply saying 色々な意見を聞きまして、以下の通りに決めました ("After going over feedback from everyone, we have decided on the following"), followed by this idiotic mutant English expression "Odakyu has a Japan". When problems arise (only a matter of time), the middle-management scum can then point to the foreign names on the group e-mail send list and claim that they didn't say anything. Of course, if they had, they would have been axed for doing the right thing and saving the company from worldwide embarrassment, but causing middle management scum to lose face (been there, done that, and was fired for doing the right thing - I won the battle [for the company] but lost the war). Corporations would do well to get rid of at least half of their middle-management scum - they drag the whole corporation down performance-wise, and also bring shame to everyone working there... and (once you're publishing on the Internet) to the whole country.
All of that said, this English language (well, *mostly* English language) website of Odakyu's isn't all bad - it has maps, information, etc. If I seem a bit harsh in the above paragraph, it's due to having had some very bad experiences helping companies I've worked at battle mutant English promoted by middle-management scum. Anyway....
And that's all for now - sore-dewa, mata!
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
Ochanomizu to Tokyo - Kanda Under Construction 工事中神田駅など (130129g)
http://youtu.be/cM4Dj1QDL6g
This starts off with a platform view at Ochanomizu Station while waiting for the train to get underway. I stayed mainly on the right side of the carriage in order to get a view of the remains of the Chuo Line's former terminal station, Manseibashi Station (万世橋駅). You can see the old platform from about the 01:38 mark, then there's a big construction hole (at 01:44) where a section of the platform has been cut away, quickly followed by a quick view of exposed stairs leading to/from the platform. As I mentioned previously, I have long known there were remains of a former station there, but had never looked up the history and didn't realize there was a big, interesting terminal station building there from 1912 until 1919, when the line was extended. The cool looking big terminal building was destroyed in the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923. Anyway, I already went into that before, so more information is further down the page (in a previous post). I mention it again, because suddenly that area seems much more interesting. I wish I had known this history sooner.
When the train gets to Kanda, I transfer to a Yamanote Line train - walking through what feels like greatly intensified construction activity in Kanda Station (from about 03:24). The construction at Kanda Station has been going on for quite a while, but this day the atmosphere felt quite different and it seemed as though it's on a verge of a great change - soon.
Speaking of construction - after getting on a Yamanote Line train, it passes another big construction hole just before the platform at Tokyo Station (at around 06:34). Another big project, but I have no idea what this particular construction is for. Basically Tokyo is in a permanent state of reconstruction. If the city lasts for 300,000 years, it will probably be under construction for 300,000 years. The video ends as I walk through one of the large under-track concourses at Tokyo Station.
Shinjuku Station 1130 p.m. Dash 新宿駅夜遅くのラッシュとダッシュ (130129g)
http://youtu.be/Er-5uq8FuNA
After walking through the direct-transfer gates between the Odakyu Line and the JR lines, I walk through the late-crowd, people rushing to get the last trains that still make connections to other lines further away out in the suburbs. The last trains from Shinjuku run pretty close to 1:00 a.m., but for those who have distant transfers to make, they need to get on the system between 11:00 and 11:30 p.m., which is why you see people dashing about on the lower concourse at Shinjuku Station. Hearing the "doors are about to close" sound, I run up a flight of stairs and jump on a train myself.
Shinjuku to Nishi-Shinjuku Crosswalk 西新宿 (元淀橋) に入る (130129ghd)
http://youtu.be/X585UekiLAI
Nearing Suidobashi Station (Political Van) 水道橋駅に近づく (130129ghd)
http://youtu.be/qQziLZnZ7fk
Typical winter street scene in Tokyo. About the political van that drives by - the timing puzzles me, since there were elections quite recently. I guess they're getting an early start aiming towards the next elections?
Shinjuku Platform Walk (Chuo Line) 新宿ホーム風景 (中央線) 130129ghd
http://youtu.be/BkBuDnUHN9s
Walking down a nighttime Chuo Line platform at Shinjuku Station.
Shinjuku Station Upper Concourse (South Exit) 新宿駅上の通路 (南口) 130129ghd
http://youtu.be/TbUiIbYgTpI
Walking over to and through the South Exit ticket gates. People passing by in their winter clothing. Since people tend to wear dark clothing in the winter, it's not exactly colorful.
Yoyogi-Uehara Station - Boarding Odakyu Line 夜遅く代々木上原で小田急線 (130129ghd)
http://youtu.be/m_Hfygx8lyc
Looking around on one of the platforms at Yoyogi-Uehara Station; then boarding a nearly empty local Odakyu Line train bound for Shinjuku and taking a quick look around inside the mostly empty train.
Ochanomizu - Walking South from Station 御茶ノ水駅から南へ (130129g)
http://youtu.be/RTpoG8zJIN4
Starting at one end of a bridge and then walking back past Ochanomizu Station and heading south down the main street (towards Meiji University).
Ochanomizu Walkabout - Outside Market 御茶ノ水道バザール (130129g)
http://youtu.be/hkJKtOITyEQ
The outside market this starts with appears to be a regular event - with basically the same type of things being sold each time. I don't know what the exact arrangement is, but I remember this from eleven years ago, and I've seen it on and off since then. Maybe it's a once-a-month event? Once-a-week maybe? Probably once-a-month (I need to research this...).
Towards the end of the clip, I walk into Ochanomizu Station, at the entrance with the pleasantly old wooden structure that I hope is preserved. This design has so much more character than the newer designs. Both (together) are ideal actually - you can experience both modern designs and older designs by going from station to station. The contrast from both ends enhances both new and old.
Ochanomizu to Suidobashi 御茶ノ水から水道橋まで Chuo Local Line (130129g)
http://youtu.be/NbpkAsoJQ2Y
Suidobashi Station is slightly unusual (for the Chuo Line) in that it has the twin tracks in the middle and the platforms on either side. More commonly there is one platform in the middle and the tracks (one for each direction) are on either side of the platform. This is more convenient for riders, since they can just climb the stairs to the platform without needing to verify which platform they need beforehand, and then take whichever train is going in their direction. Thinking about it, I presume the arrangement at Suidobashi is so the rails are straighter, allowing express trains to go through at a higher speed. With a center platform, the rails curve out to get trains on either side of it (since the platform is considerably wider than the space between the double tracks between stations).
Walking South from Suidobashi Station 水道橋駅から南へ (130129g)
http://youtu.be/ZGZ_LU7NTrU
Fairly typical central Tokyo scenery. One comment - notice the yellow steel structure at around the 00:26 mark - they have strong steel structures like this in front of some bridges - the beams are slightly lower than the lowest point of the bridge, so if a truck that is too high to get under the bridge comes along, it hits this yellow barrier first, which stops the truck and prevents it from damaging the bridge. It's a very effective way of preventing overly high trucks from hitting the underside of the bridge.
Tokyo Station Yaesu Construction Tunnel 工事中の東京駅八重洲口 (130129g)
http://youtu.be/Pt4zNouf3PM
These white-walled construction passageways are moved from place to place as the construction behind them progresses.
八重洲駐車場 (A) Yaesu Underground Parking (Street to B2) 130129g
http://youtu.be/-5HLVcl_Dk0
I have passed this underground entrance many times over the years, but it never occurred to me to go down the steps and have a look until the day I took these two videos (above and below). I shouldn't have been surprised really, but I didn't realize just how much parking was down there.
八重洲駐車場 (B) Yaesu Underground Parking (B1 to Street) 130129g
http://youtu.be/zb97rnkSBPc
Six-Door (Per Side) Train Cars on Saikyo Line 埼京線六ドア車両 (130129g)
http://youtu.be/cvNSoum_UC0
I haven't had any particular fondness for this type of train car, but since they took them off of the Yamanote Line (to make all the carriages four-door per side in order to make it easier to install platform walls and doors), it seemed a little like discovering something that was familiar, but you thought had disappeared.
京橋のドゥ画廊に行く Going to Dou Gallery in Kyobashi (130129)
http://youtu.be/S6p3fxjVqDM
Showing the area immediately around the Dou Gallery in Kyobashi (next to Ginza) before heading inside.
臼木英之展示会 (ドゥ画廊) Usuki Hideyuki Exhibition (Dou Gallery) 130129
http://youtu.be/PNBip49ZDMs
A look around at an interesting exhibition of artwork - both paintings and directly painted clothing (each one a one-off, painted by hand).
Shinjuku East Side - Game Centers Etc 新宿東側 (130129hd)
http://youtu.be/xdCUlWFTm4s
Walking down a side street near Shinjuku Station - past game places, a pachinko parlor, restaurants, etc.
Shinjuku Shadow Street - Winter 2013 新宿影通り(冬) 130129
http://youtu.be/IVs3pTjle_Q
"Shadow Street" is not a proper name - I just called it that, because the angle of the winter sun was such that there was absolutely no sunlight on the street at all, so it felt like "Shadow Street".
Shadows - Shinjuku South-East Exit Plaza (130129)
http://youtu.be/0lEYVxi_WPU
I'm not a big fan of winter - but at least the long shadows in the afternoon are interesting.
Shinjuku - Walking West Towards South Entrance (130129)
http://youtu.be/drdGWYEkHKM
Shinjuku - Long Shadows by South Exit 新宿南口の長い影 (130129)
http://youtu.be/8Jl6zHy8pyY
People waiting for a walk light to change - casting long shadows near the South Entrance/Exit to Shinjuku Station.
Shinjuku Upper Concourse Walk, Etc 新宿駅上の通路散歩 (130129)
http://youtu.be/NDuxJEG-vVQ
Entering Shinjuku Station via the South Entrance and walking along the upper concourse. At the end of this clip, notice how *wonderful* [heavy sarcasm] the English announcement sounds. It's real English, but they obviously didn't use someone professional. "PLAtfORm... NUmBer...... TEn." Uh! Yuck! Man, I hate those unprofessional announcements! You'd think that since they're going to torment people with those recordings over-and-over-and-over again (forever more?), they'd try to get a decent recording of someone who doesn't sound like they're reading a children's book to preschoolers! (And not even a professional preschool teacher at that!)
Shinjuku to Ochanomizu (Chuo Line) 新宿から御茶ノ水まで (中央線) 130129
http://youtu.be/kAYRzDy2URQ
Recently I don't buy much from the platform stores (00:14), but I always feel glad that they are there - something about the option to get a variety of things from most train station platforms being there is very welcome. It makes the platform a more interesting place to be while waiting for the train to arrive. And so it was on this day. Once the train arrived, I climbed aboard (an expression I should change, as it's just a horizontal thing now - like walking onto an elevator) and looked out a left side window at the high contrast landscape flowing past under mid-winter sharp-angle January lighting. The lighting was generally bad for pictures, but as the train pulled into Ochanomizu Station, the reflections on the river down below the left side of the train were quite nice, so after getting off the train, I hurried over to a spot next to the river to take a couple of videos of the cool reflections (following two videos) before the light changed.
River Reflections (A) Central Tokyo 水の反射 (中央東京) 130129hd
http://youtu.be/80RA1FvQH-8
River Reflections (B) Central Tokyo 水の反射 (中央東京) 130129hd
http://youtu.be/p0C42gHcW4w
Ochanomizu Station Area Stroll 御茶ノ水駅あたり散歩 (130129hd)
http://youtu.be/m1hoNDEQHl8
Walking along a narrow street that runs in parallel with the tracks from one entrance of Ochanomizu Station to the other - with both entrances located at an end of the ten-car platform. Depending on how much time you have, and your perspective, the general ten car length of Tokyo trains is a pretty long distance (and some lines have 15!).
Ochanomizu Station Platform Views 御茶ノ水ホームビュー (130129)
http://youtu.be/JTR1IINepSY
Walking around on a platform at Ochanomizu while waiting for my train to come. Looking around, it occurs to me that this station is pretty remarkably intact in its Showa-Era construction and atmosphere. For the sake of understanding history, I hope they leave at least a few stations like this alone (repainting them of course).
I go on about that a lot I know, but every time I'm at a station like this, it hits me again how much atmosphere and history is in the structure.
Suidobashi Station Afternoon Platform View 水道橋駅ホームビュー (130129hd)
http://youtu.be/WO6s2P9PUH0
The roof structure for this station is quite interesting I think. And in this case, the combination of new roofing material over the platforms and old original railway rails (used for I-beams) still there as part of the overall structure works very well aesthetically I think. This is good to see.
Suidobashi Station - Platform to Exit 水道橋駅_ホームから改札まで (130129)
http://youtu.be/RlOgjMsOpwk
Aside from the platform, this takes a look at the old wooden parts of the stairway while walking towards the ticket gates (wooden roof, etc.).
Suidobashi Station - Boarding Sobu Line 水道橋駅 - 中央線を乗る (130129)
http://youtu.be/18Ip9TVTVqM
After taking some pictures in the area around Suidobashi Station (further up the page - out of chronological order), I returned to the station and went to the other platform in order to go back to Ochanomizu (where I could catch a faster kaisoku train).
Suidobashi to Ochanomizu 水道橋から御茶ノ水まで (総武線) 130129
http://youtu.be/eBBDlvN2Tu0
Hachioji to Nishi-Hachioji - Snow on Ground (130128)
http://youtu.be/go_yMn11yXo
Kyobashi 1-Chome Side Street 京橋一丁目横道 (130129)
http://youtu.be/CdfY5rtUvqk
Approaching Shinjuku South-East Exit 新宿駅東南口向き (130129hd)
http://youtu.be/MmAOEVtw8TA
Walking down the upper concourse at Shinjuku Station - towards the South-East Exit.
Saikyo Line Train at Shinjuku Station 新宿駅に止まった埼京線電車 (130129hd)
http://youtu.be/RQZxAaJ66I4
Mainly walking down the platform beside the train as people board it, but with a quick look inside the train as well. The departure time being a few minutes later, people are relaxed about boarding it (in contrast to jumping on a train that is going to close the doors and depart in a matter of seconds).
And... reviewing the next video, I see it's basically a continuation of the one above - although the second one shows a train arrive at the station, and another train depart.
Saikyo Line Late Night Platform Walk 埼京線夜遅くホーム散歩 (130129hd)
http://youtu.be/S2mu7ewFpws
Shinjuku Station Concourse to Platform 新宿駅通路からホームまで (130129hd)
http://youtu.be/2AZMXwoZbXE
At 00:38 - a view of many people standing in line on an open platform, waiting for their train to arrive. I've always found this type of view to be fascinating, and so don't look forward to the platforms getting walls (although I must admit it's safer that way). [01:20]: A man comes running up - on crutches(!). They are forever telling people not to run for the trains, but it's a natural thing to want to do. The doors are about to close... you have two or three seconds to get on the train, or be left behind. The railways present it purely as "It's dangerous to run", while ignoring the natural feelings of "I don't want to be left behind!" and "I want to get where I'm going on time!". Those two generally being heavier, people run, ignoring the ceaseless barrage of verbal warnings from the railways not to run.
Evening Construction Cranes on Yaesu Side 八重洲口の夕方工事 (130129)
http://youtu.be/bGVIPMIZOO8
Waiting for the walk light to change to green, I looked around - including over and up at the construction cranes towering over the Yaesu side of Tokyo Station. After that, I - shock and surprise - walk across the street when the light changes to green.
Gargantuan Metal Shutter Coming Down for the Night (130129)
http://youtu.be/4B71MjkCAYo
No big deal really, but this is one of the larger metal shutters I've seen, so when it started to come down right next to me, I pulled out my camera and took this video.
Kanda Lights - Seen from Chuo Line 神田の夜光 (130129)
http://youtu.be/kKK_8Iu9KSE
The businesses, signs, restaurants, etc. are so close to the railways here, that it's always kind of a nice light show when passing through this stretch at night.
Odakyu Line Departing Shinjuku 小田急線 - 新宿駅から出発 (130129)
http://youtu.be/ZjWVFO0zrJA
I don't use the Odakyu Line much these days, so I hadn't realized that they have platform walls up at Shinjuku now.
Nighttime Odakyu Line - Left Side Window View 夜の小田急線 (130129)
http://youtu.be/EPWmkYmCYfI
Looking out the window of an express train as it rolls towards Yoyogi-Uehara - enjoying the mixture of direct light and reflected light that nighttime views from a train afford.
Yoyogi-Uehara Station - Outbound Trains 代々木上原駅の下り電車 (130129)
http://youtu.be/G-tyqpCSN58
Watching a couple of outbound trains depart Yoyogi-Uehara Station after getting off of a train from Shinjuku.
Train-Watching at Yoyogi-Uehara (Romance Car, Etc) 小田急線ロマンスカーなど (130129)
http://youtu.be/AOIfuwmqbEs
While waiting for a train back to Shinjuku at Yoyogi-Uehara, I walk around on the platform and watch other trains passing, including one of the Romance Car (reserved seat express) trains.
Yoyogi-Hachiman to Shinjuku (Odakyu Line) 代々木八幡-新宿 (小田急線) 130129
http://youtu.be/FkLaLAgxRvk
The thing about getting on a nearly empty inbound train late at night, is that - after practically always riding in full trains - you suddenly feel like you have all this space to yourself and all this freedom (to move,etc.)... which is how I felt on this evening, so I wandered around a bit inside the train, looking out the windows, at the hanging advertisements inside the train, into the next carriages, etc.
At 04:26, you can see (at the top of the picture) a few illuminated trees up on a two-story high structure - that is the edge of Shinjuku Southern Terrace, which is basically a platform built by Odakyu over the Odakyu railway. When on the Southern Terrace, even when you know, it's kind of hard to imagine that you're directly over all that train activity below (which is on the surface of the earth, not a subway).
At 04:36, the inbound local train I'm on begins going down to the lower level local train platform while an outgoing express train descends from the upper level platforms. Odakyu runs a lot of trains, and so they stacked the platforms.
If I remember the history of the railway correctly, it was originally called "Odawara Kyuko 小田原急行" (Odawara Express), and that was shortened (by combining elements of the two words) to "Odakyu 小田急". I remember reading an article (or was it a book?) about 26 years ago in which the author stated that the name "Odakyu" was initially resisted by the railway itself, but as it was in popular usage (starting with the term appearing in a song), they gave in and begin calling it Odakyu.
Looking on-line - I see there are three Wikipedia pages for the Odakyu Line train system. I strongly recommend this one:
Odakyu Electric Railway
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odakyu_Electric_Railway
Personally, I don't think there should be three pages for it - they should merge those other two pages into the one "Odakyu Electric Railway" page.
In any case, looking at the proper page for the railway, the first two paragraphs of the history section are as follows:
"The 83 km line from Shinjuku to Odawara opened for service on April 1, 1927. Unlike the Odawara line, rarely were pre-WWII Japanese private railways constructed with double-track and fully electrified from the first day of operation. Two years later, April 1, 1929, the Enoshima Line was added.
"The original full name of the railroad was Odawara Express Railway Co., Ltd. (小田原急行鉄道株式会社 Odawara Kyuko Tetsudo Kabushiki-gaisha), but this was often shortened to Odawara Kyuko (Odawara Express). The abbreviation Odakyu was made popular by the title song of the 1929 movie Tokyo Koshinkyoku and eventually became the official name of the railroad on March 1, 1941."
Also, here is Odakyu's own website:
Odakyu
http://www.odakyu.jp/english/
Which has (on February 2nd, 2013 anyway) the slogan "Odakyu has a Japan". Um... Odakyu? What exactly does that mean? We weren't aware that there was more than one Japan. Which one exactly is it that you have? Time for a rant. In this age of easy communication with nearly all countries on the planet, there is no excuse for putting embarrassing, idiotic English on a corporate website. From past experience, probably some middle-management scum sent out a group e-mail to people within the company, including a few token foreigners, pretending to solicit feedback. Then the middle-management scum ignored the feedback - especially the feedback from the native English speakers (what do they know), and then sent back a reply saying 色々な意見を聞きまして、以下の通りに決めました ("After going over feedback from everyone, we have decided on the following"), followed by this idiotic mutant English expression "Odakyu has a Japan". When problems arise (only a matter of time), the middle-management scum can then point to the foreign names on the group e-mail send list and claim that they didn't say anything. Of course, if they had, they would have been axed for doing the right thing and saving the company from worldwide embarrassment, but causing middle management scum to lose face (been there, done that, and was fired for doing the right thing - I won the battle [for the company] but lost the war). Corporations would do well to get rid of at least half of their middle-management scum - they drag the whole corporation down performance-wise, and also bring shame to everyone working there... and (once you're publishing on the Internet) to the whole country.
All of that said, this English language (well, *mostly* English language) website of Odakyu's isn't all bad - it has maps, information, etc. If I seem a bit harsh in the above paragraph, it's due to having had some very bad experiences helping companies I've worked at battle mutant English promoted by middle-management scum. Anyway....
And that's all for now - sore-dewa, mata!
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
Sunday, January 27, 2013
"Tokyo Tower (2012/11)"
"Tokyo Tower - 2012/11"
Copyright 2013 by Lyle H Saxon
Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/
http://youtube.com/lylehsaxon
http://tokyoartmusic.blogspot.com/
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