allabout japan
allabout japan

Take a Breakneck Video Tour of Japan!

By Michael Kanert

https://vimeo.com/160301271

If you need another reason to visit Japan—or travel the country if you're already here—we present Exhibit A.

Filmed by Vincent Urban, Alex Schiller and Alex Tank during a three-week railway journey through Japan in 2015, this stupendously edited collection of memories reminds us of what can be so fascinating about this island nation.

Starting from a standard shot of a typical train station, we're suddenly catapulted through images of pop icon Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, a woman in maiko makeup, festival dances and a remarkable just-before-closing shot of Sensoji Temple in Asakusa, Tokyo, traveling hundreds of miles back and forth in the course of a few seconds.

This is a hectic visual mix of the cutting-edge and the traditional, modern dance groups juxtaposed with kendo practice before we take a 360-degree spin around Dotonbori in Osaka and then settle in a quiet bamboo forest alongside a creepy giant centipede (mukade).

Walk through the countless red torii gates of Fushimi Inari-Taisha in Kyoto, then step into a typical convenience store (combini) before taking a peek at Tokyo Tower and Tokyo Skytree and spinning through Ryogoku Kokugikan Sumo Hall.

There are stops at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and the floating red torii gate at Miyajima, as well as the Great Snow Wall in Toyama and nearby Shomyo-daki, the highest waterfall in Japan.

Of course we see Mount Fuji from Yamanashi Prefecture, and even head down the mirrored entranceway at Tokyu Plaza Omotesando Harajuku. There are even shots of people just hanging around. And if you've still got some breath left after all that, the video promises a continuation at the end!

Michael Kanert

In Japan since 2001, I'm a former ALT trainer who's lived in Shizuoka, Saitama and Tokyo, and visited 34 of Japan's 47 prefectures (13 to go!). When I can get out from behind the editorial desk, I take photos, do bits of theater and practice German longsword.

www.thekanert.com