Juku
If you click on the video and it doesn't load soon, try right clicking and downloading to your computer.
Hope you enjoy!
-Chris
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Final Vid
Juku
If you click on the video and it doesn't load soon, try right clicking and downloading to your computer.
Hope you enjoy!
-Chris
Monday, February 18, 2008
Walking in Tokyo
Another quick reflection from the Roland reading...and one I more or less agree with is the impossibility of finding one's way around Tokyo.
When I first moved to Tokyo from Kamakura I was shocked by quite a few things. The first of which was the total disconnect most people seem to have with distances and Train stations. When talking of the Tokkaido line, this is completely understandable, as it would take hours and hours to walk between stations. However, when I lived in Kamakura, I used the Enoden, which is a small train that even goes through the road at times. As such, the stations were rather close as well, and everyone knew it. There would sometimes be someone who would race the train on their bike, and sometimes even win.
However, in Tokyo, many times people think of the gulf between station as uncrossable. However, most are no more than a 20 minute walk away. On a bicycle, almost nothing. It sometimes seem that Tokyo tries to hide its true size by hiding behind a huge network of Subway and Train stops.
The other thing of course is what I did discover by just walking. Tokyo has more shops than one could hope to visit in a lifetime. I have been walking places, just to walk and see and discovered things I would have never found trying to go in a specific place. Parks in Industrial areas, Random Festivals, and shops selling anything one could ever want. It is of course true that to get anywhere quickly in Tokyo you almost have to have gone once to find it first. However, I definitely recommend just heading out one day.... you'll be surprised what you may find.
When I first moved to Tokyo from Kamakura I was shocked by quite a few things. The first of which was the total disconnect most people seem to have with distances and Train stations. When talking of the Tokkaido line, this is completely understandable, as it would take hours and hours to walk between stations. However, when I lived in Kamakura, I used the Enoden, which is a small train that even goes through the road at times. As such, the stations were rather close as well, and everyone knew it. There would sometimes be someone who would race the train on their bike, and sometimes even win.
However, in Tokyo, many times people think of the gulf between station as uncrossable. However, most are no more than a 20 minute walk away. On a bicycle, almost nothing. It sometimes seem that Tokyo tries to hide its true size by hiding behind a huge network of Subway and Train stops.
The other thing of course is what I did discover by just walking. Tokyo has more shops than one could hope to visit in a lifetime. I have been walking places, just to walk and see and discovered things I would have never found trying to go in a specific place. Parks in Industrial areas, Random Festivals, and shops selling anything one could ever want. It is of course true that to get anywhere quickly in Tokyo you almost have to have gone once to find it first. However, I definitely recommend just heading out one day.... you'll be surprised what you may find.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Pachinko and Japan
After reading through Roland's articles, there were some things I agreed with and others that I did not.
The first, and one I disagree with is his analysis on Pachinko. Without a doubt, Pachinko is an environment to enter in to. I have done so on a few occasions and it is quite true that the players sit there, arm to arm, twitching to slightly control the arc of their little metal ball bearings. Roland asserts that this is very Japanese and especially the point that once the ball is launched, it cannot be changed. He compared them to Pinball machines and compared in that context.
However, instead of trying to compare Apples to Oranges, much better to compare two Apples. Like I said a moment before, I have been in a few Pachinko parlors, however, I have also been to Las Vegas. Pachinko parlors, although you have to go through a few more steps, serve the same purpose as Casinos. And in those Casinos, a very common site is the standard Slot Machine. A machine, where you normally sit in rows, right beside other people. You pull a lever, and the result is then out of your hands. Take your ball bearings and replace them with Slot spinners and it doesn't look so Japanese after all does it?
The first, and one I disagree with is his analysis on Pachinko. Without a doubt, Pachinko is an environment to enter in to. I have done so on a few occasions and it is quite true that the players sit there, arm to arm, twitching to slightly control the arc of their little metal ball bearings. Roland asserts that this is very Japanese and especially the point that once the ball is launched, it cannot be changed. He compared them to Pinball machines and compared in that context.
However, instead of trying to compare Apples to Oranges, much better to compare two Apples. Like I said a moment before, I have been in a few Pachinko parlors, however, I have also been to Las Vegas. Pachinko parlors, although you have to go through a few more steps, serve the same purpose as Casinos. And in those Casinos, a very common site is the standard Slot Machine. A machine, where you normally sit in rows, right beside other people. You pull a lever, and the result is then out of your hands. Take your ball bearings and replace them with Slot spinners and it doesn't look so Japanese after all does it?
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Monja Street
Well, after sitting around my Island all Saturday and taking pictures, I managed to finally put the project together into a semi-interactive format.
As the flash file is incredibly large, I have uploaded it as .zip format, and then once downloaded, please unzip and run from your own computer.
http://www.mastertaco.com/Street.zip
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Back in Japan
Well, I'm back in Japan, after a long and rather relaxing time in the US. I came back with about 11 pounds of candy and in the process of giving it all away. If ya want any... contact me!
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