Japan ... in 7 minutes
May 4, 2014 3:21 PM   Subscribe

Have you ever wanted to visit Japan? Enjoy this tranquil video journey. ありがとう!

An interview with the filmmaker detailing the various locations in Tokyo, Kyoto and Yudanaka that are in the video.
posted by taro sato (12 comments total) 65 users marked this as a favorite
 
Blissful. Thank you for posting this.
posted by Wordshore at 3:51 PM on May 4, 2014


Flagged as fantastic. This is a great post. Gold has a great eye, and unsurprisingly his photography is exceptional as well. Thanks!
posted by cribcage at 4:04 PM on May 4, 2014 [1 favorite]


今後ともよろしく。。。
posted by Redfield at 4:07 PM on May 4, 2014


Lovely video. This makes me want to visit Japan, I've just started learning the language (so that I might be able to speak it, by the time I can afford to go there).

I love filmmaking and photography when they make mundane things look beautiful. One day...
posted by absolutelynot at 5:24 PM on May 4, 2014 [1 favorite]


I think if you want to visit Japan, you'll find that it doesn't, in fact, pass by in slow motion, so may not be as 'tranquil' as this video represents. Not to detract from a well-done clip, but be prepared for a volume much different than that of a new-age piano piece.
posted by Metro Gnome at 5:58 PM on May 4, 2014 [7 favorites]


That was wonderful. I just realized that it's been ten years since I travelled to Japan, feels like yesterday and a lifetime ago. Fushimi Inari Taisha is still one of my favorite places on this planet.
posted by lydhre at 6:14 PM on May 4, 2014


This is beautiful and just the right length for a refreshing travelog. I love the beautiful food photography on this 'journey.' Thank you for this. I have treasured the lengthy slide slows of Kyoto in Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn; they are very relaxing but really take time.
posted by Anitanola at 8:06 PM on May 4, 2014


1 month and 1 week ago I just got back from visiting my sister in Japan as the first trip abroad in my life, and it's still sinking in. It was a transformative experience in some cases, and in others it was a nice taste of something different.

My other sister who came with me on the trip and I landed in Narita, and had to bounce to Haneda to catch a plane to Osaka where we met with our sister and spent a few days. Because of a tighter than necessary itinerary, we missed our scheduled flight out to Osaka, but the attendants at the ticket counter understood what was going on and nicely rescheduled us for a half empty flight out the same evening which had, I think, a handful of people coming back from Tokyo Disney. Osaka was impressive, and I absolutely loved Den Den Town enough to get lost a bit. Had to pick up a wifi signal to get a hold of and rejoin my sister. Saw the second to last day of sumo matches. Fully appreciated the dynamics of sumo as a game in a sport. Also went to Minato-ku, looked at some of the ships they had docked and docking and walked through the aquarium. With their ferris wheel, it felt a bit like Chicago's Navy Pier, but there are certainly big differences between the two.

Out of the city we checked out Tōjinbō cliffs and few nearby temples, all of which were moving and in many cases culturally transcending experiences. What really struck me on that leg of the trip was how dense everything is in Japan. Meaning: you're in an urban area - every square centimeter is some form of well developed infrastructure, you're in farm country - every square cm is some form of well developed farm land, you're in more rural and forested areas - oh yeah there are gonna be trees and bamboo to the tune of at least 4 of them combined per square meter. Those forests, often surrounding the temples we saw, were fascinatingly dense. This very pronounced organization and management of land just impressed me, and the Japanese have a lot going for them because of it.

Food and drink wise: sushi was good, ramen and rice were delicious, canned coffee and pastries were interesting and tasty, sake was smooth, beer was OK, but top on the list was their apple juice and even their apple vodka(?). They do apples incredibly well.

Altogether, still internalizing most of everything I saw and experienced. Cherry blossoms/sakura, unfortunately, were still budding and blossomed shortly after we left. But plum blossoms were out and showing similar colors; very pretty. It was a great trip, from which I'll have plenty to talk about for years to come.
posted by JoeXIII007 at 8:16 PM on May 4, 2014 [6 favorites]


It's amazing how much different a place can seem depending on whose eyes you're seeing it through. For instance, contrast this travelogue with this earlier audio meditation by Logan Whitehurst, here presented with accompanying interpretive video by a semi-literate 7th grader. Each gives a strikingly distinct view of the place, but in the end each one might say more about its respective creator than about the land itself.
posted by contraption at 11:02 PM on May 4, 2014


I think if you want to visit Japan, you'll find that it doesn't, in fact, pass by in slow motion

Due to the geologic phenomenon of Continental Drift, Japan does, in fact, pass by at 1 to 1.5 cm/year.

This video only feels like it.
posted by Harvey Kilobit at 9:37 PM on May 5, 2014


Really beautiful, and reminded me so much of Kyoto when I was there. Made me hungry for the food...thanks a lot!
posted by eggtooth at 7:27 PM on May 6, 2014


I will never be young enough, healthy enough or brave enough to visit Japan. For this, I am profoundly sorry.
posted by SPrintF at 10:07 PM on May 6, 2014


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