big red dot

2 weeks ago my good friend Scott and his long-time girlfriend Makiko had a traditional Japanese wedding ceremony, in a hotel up in Niigata. I say ‘had a ceremony’ rather than ‘got married’ because of course- as things are done here in Japan- you get married first in secret at a local ward office, just by signing some papers. Then, when its too late for the parents to protest, you notify them that they’ll need to pay for the ceremony.

Hay-ah! How do you like that, parents?

I went up with some friends on the Shinkansen to attend. I’m on the left in the picture below, alongside Scott and Makiko.

Click ‘Read more…’ below for the full video and details.

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On Saturday June 14th the latest and possibly last subway line through Tokyo, the Fukutoshin F-line, opened up, and I was one of the first people on it.

The line runs from Saitama down through Ikebukuro and on to Shibuya, with extensions into other train lines at both ends. Trains run around every 5 minutes.

I boarded early in the morning, but the whole of Zoshigaya was already a-buzz like I’d never seen before, I suppose chiefly due to F-line tourists checking out the stops along the way. I imagine this new station will inject new capital into the area, perhaps we’ll see more renovations, more classy restaurants and bars and the like.

The line itself is quite deep, not as much as the Oedo line in Roppongi but still a good 4 escalator rides down. The platform has the new motorized railings to stop people from falling off. The walls of the line are curved like the Oedo line, unlike most other Tokyo subway lines, reminding me of London’s Tube.

I only rode one stop, but it was a leisurely and pleasant affair. Full marks, the F-line. 5/5.

Here’s the video of my journey:

Capsule Stations or ‘Gashapon’ are a big deal in Japan, located outside any place that kids or otaku (nerds) might go. They are basically toy vending machines, like gumball machines, but for toys in plastic egg-shells. The name Gashapon is onomatopoeic, where the ‘Gasha’ is the sound of you turning the handle, and the ‘Pon!’ is the capsule toy popping out. They dispense a whole range of toys, from super-cheap garbage up to higher-end ‘adult-content’ type stuff.

The one I went to is on my block in Zoshigaya. I felt a little embarrassed to be buying what is basically a kids toy, and also to be filming it, but, there you go. Here’s the film of the buying and opening of my first two Gashapon:

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The Negishi Racecourse Grandstand in Yokohama was built in 1930 and abandoned (became a haikyo) some time after the second world war, when it was surrendered to the occupying American Armed forces. It has lain fairly dormant since that time, a great grand reminder of the halcyon days before the war, though now boarded up and double-fenced, with a flood-lit U.S. Navy Base right next to it.

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Sports World in Izunagaoka was built in 1988, in the heyday of the Bubble, and abandoned (became a haikyo) in 1993 as the Bubble burst. It has lain untended for 15 years. I read about it in my haikyo (ruins) guidebook, took Googlemaps snapshots with me, and headed out via Shinkansen to see if it was still there.

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Last Friday I had a bicycle accident on my way back from work. It was around 10pm so a bit dark out on the road, I was speeding home, and a taxi in front of me braked abruptly. I was already looking over my shoulder to check it was clear to get around the taxi, but when I turned back he had already stopped. I slammed on my brakes but still hit his rear bumper with my front wheel, sending me over the handlebars and bouncing off his back windshield.

I must’ve rolled off and landed on the ground pretty smoothly, like a cat, because I remember seeing my bike land in the middle of the road after bouncing up in the air itself.

I also remember thinking, as I flew through the air- why is nobody filming this?

So, I decided to re-enact the accident via GTA 4. Of course, there are no bicycles in GTA, so I’m on a motorbike, and in reality I didn’t flip all the way over the car, but other than that it’s pretty similar.

Just so you know (mom), I wear a helmet and was completely un-injured by this incident. And yes, I’ll be more wary behind taxis in the future.

After I bounced off, some people shrieked a bit, and after a while the taxi driver came over to check I was OK. I was fine, just checking my bike- the gear chain had come off.

Haikyo is a Japanese word that means ‘ruins’. It can be used in combination with English, ie- ‘do a haikyo’- which would mean go explore some ruined buildings. Or at least, that’s how I use it.

I’ve always been fascinated by ruined buildings and abandoned places. When I was 14 I went to the ancient city of Pompeii in Italy, and was blown away. It’s hard to explain why- but it’s something about the life of the place, and the lives of the people who were there, being suddenly cut short. Whether they were killed, driven out, or just moved on, the things they leave behind tell the story of their life at that moment, a snapshot captured and crystallized like a fossil.

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Ever since seeing the music video to the song ‘Yellow‘ by Coldplay, where Chris Martin walks down a deserted pre-dawn beach in slow motion while singing along to the lyrics of the song at regular speed, I’ve wanted to have a go at it myself.

Slow motion is amazing. You know? When I first saw the Matrix I was blown away. The slow-motion camera spinning effects they used for the fight scenes kick more ass than any other fight scene I can think of.

So, now I have a camera. I don’t have the ability to do any bullet-time stuff, that involving having an array of cameras all connected by sophisticated shooting programs, but I do have the capacity to replicate the effect in the song Yellow.

I chose do it with the Scientist rather than Yellow, as I like The Scientist better. I shot it all myself- so it’s a close-up image, which sadly doesn’t render into slo-mo too well. Full body shots allow for cool stuff like slow-motion running and gestures. As it is, you might think I’m just walking slow and mouthing slowly, when in fact the video on me has been slowed down by 50%.

As it is, I think it’s pretty awesome. The sync-up is pretty much perfect. I’m looking forward to experimenting more with slow-motion and other filming techniques.