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By fading back and forth between scenes of pre- and post-quake Tokyo, this time-lapse video by YouTube user darwinfish105 shows how the metropolitan nightscape has been affected by Japan's ongoing power shortages and conservation efforts.
Tag: ‘Tokyo’
Electricity conservation posters
22 Mar 2011
In Tokyo and surrounding areas, signs of electricity conservation are visible everywhere. Rolling blackouts are in effect, train services have been scaled back, stores and businesses are using fewer lights, advertising signs and escalators have been switched off, and even some pachinko parlors have cut their hours of operation. On Twitter, a community of graphic designers has sprung up to create posters encouraging people to save power. Residents of eastern Japan are encouraged to print them out and post them where they live and work. [Link: Setsuden via GaijinPot]
Everyone save electricity
Please cooperate in conserving electricity
Save power and carry on
Let's conserve electricity! Switch OFF!
Turn OFF the power. Now anybody can be Santa.
Power saving!
The amount you turn off will light someone else up.
Please conserve electricity.
Save electricity. Save somebody.
Save electricity. Switch off.
The light you turn off will light up a smile.
Now conserving power
The quickest aid you can provide now is electricity.
Saving energy & open for business
Open for business in power saving mode!
Conserve electricity to prevent massive power failures!
Photos: Costumed runners at Tokyo Marathon
28 Feb 2011
Some 36,000 runners took part in the 2011 Tokyo Marathon yesterday, including a number of people in costume. Here are a few photos. [Via: Fuzz and Fur, jimgris, Jet Daisuke, Long, hashiee]
Tentacled one [Photo by: Fuzz and Fur]
Usavich and Darth Vader [Photo by: jimgris]
Doraemon [Photo by: urasimaru]
Kappa [Photo by: jimgris]
Jesus [Photo by: jimgris]
Kinnikuman [Photo by: Jet Daisuke]
Frog [Photo by: Fuzz and Fur]
Video: Siberian tiger ‘escapes’ from Tokyo zoo
23 Feb 2011
A person disguised as a Siberian tiger ran wild through Tokyo's Tama Zoo yesterday in an exercise to prepare zookeepers for dangerous situations involving escaped animals.
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Yesterday's dramatic simulation involved a Siberian tiger that escaped its pen following an earthquake. The mock animal wandered freely through the park, attacking zoo workers and visitors before it was surrounded with nets, shot with a tranquilizer dart, and transported back to its cage.
Theatrical exercises involving people in animal costumes are conducted each year in Tokyo at either Tama Zoo or Ueno Zoo. In addition to providing hands-on experience with capturing escaped animals, the drills force zookeepers to administer first aid, usher visitors to safety, and coordinate with local emergency services. Here are a few videos of past exercises.
Video: GAL-O Sengen
02 Feb 2011
Photos: Bosozoku parking
19 Jan 2011
Here's a peek at a few of the bōsōzoku-style custom rides spotted in the parking lot at the Tokyo Auto Salon custom car show last weekend, via Flickr user brunnnno.
LED-powered Harajuku smiles
17 Jan 2011
A commercial promoting the Laforet Grand Bazar winter sale in Harajuku (January 20-24) features a mob of people with flickering LED-illuminated smiles who overrun a dramatic love scene reminiscent of a popular '90s-era TV show.
The ad -- entitled "Geee / Harajuku Love Story" -- makes use of wirelessly-controlled Mouth LED technology developed by artists Daito Manabe and Motoi Ishibashi.
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Here is a rough translation of the dialogue that takes place as the smiling mob approaches.
[Man]: We can make it work. I'll do my best.
[Woman]: Will you come to see me if I get lonely at night, no matter what?
[Man]: I will go immediately. I'll fly.
[Woman]: Will you come and pick me up if I call you from Mt. Everest?
[Man]: I'll fly there right away.
[Woman]: Will you bring me hot nabe soup if I ask for it?
[Man]: I will. I'll bring a year's worth.
[Woman]: What if I asked you to take me to the moon?
[Man]: That might be difficult...
[Woman]: That's not good enough.
[Man]: But I can make you happy.
The commercial appears to have been inspired by an earlier project by Manabe and Ishibashi entitled "Party in the Mouth," which featured a mob of women with glowing LED smiles wandering the streets of Tokyo at night.
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Here is some video from the Laforet website:
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Video: Tokyo drainage tunnel cruise
25 Oct 2010
The Tamori Club late-night variety show recently took a boat cruise through a system of drainage tunnels beneath central Tokyo.
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Here are a few highlights of the trip.
1:00 - The boat approaches the tunnel entrance, located on the Kanda River next to Mansei-bashi Bridge near Akihabara. The drainage tunnel -- known as the Ochanomizu Diversion Channel -- runs 1.3 kilometers and rejoins the river upstream near JR Suidobashi station. The tunnel is not designed for boat traffic.
2:10 - Tamori tests the echo inside the tunnel.
2:25 - The painted numbers indicate the distance in meters from the entrance.
2:35 - The tunnel measures about 8 meters from floor to ceiling. The water level easily reaches the ceiling after a heavy rain.
3:00 - The boat approaches a round section of tunnel dug with a shield machine. This portion of the tunnel is 8.8 meters in diameter and 760 meters long.
3:50 - The passengers view the rails of a ceiling-mounted crane system used during construction. The crane was used to erect a water barrier to keep the construction area dry.
4:00 - The boat passes a floodgate tunnel on the left.
5:00 - The boat passes a sign reading "Eidan Ochanomizu Station." This type of sign was placed in the tunnel during construction to indicate the nearby infrastructure. Due to its proximity to the subway station, this part of the tunnel is built with extra reinforcements.
5:30 - The boat passes a similar sign for Ochanomizu-bashi Bridge.
5:55 - The boat passes a similar sign for Century Tower, a 19-floor office building.
6:00 - A smaller tunnel branches off to the right. The tunnel is too small for a boat, and the guide is not sure where it leads.
6:50 - The round section of tunnel opens up into a large chamber. During construction, this was a vertical shaft used to lower the shield machine underground. The rails of a ceiling-mounted crane system are visible overhead. A ladder leads up to a manhole on the street.
7:50 - The exit comes into view. Another tunnel continues past the exit for another 1.6 kilometers.
8:30 - The boat exits the tunnel and continues up the Kanda River.
9:30 - The boat passes a pipe pumping water out of the leaky Suidobashi subway station (Mita line).
11:00 - The boat enters another tunnel (Suidobashi Diversion Channel No.2), which runs for 500 meters.
Video: Inter // States
08 Sep 2010
Inter // States is the latest Tokyo time-lapse piece by photographer Samuel Cockedey. The soundtrack is "Paradigm Flux (Tokyo Cut)" by Woob, from the new "Paradigm Flux" EP (listen).