Odaiba Area, Tokyo ~Gundam Returning~

In 1850s, the US demanded the opening of Japan and starting trades to Western countries to the Shogunate of Japan, which basically did not allow commerce and traveling between Japan and other countries at that time under the policy called Sakoku. Seeing the US military's ships coming to negotiate, the Shogunate saw a threat and decided to build an artificial island to put gun batteries in for the purpose of defense in the bay --- what we call Tokyo Bay today. The island was named Daiba, which means 'Battery place', and is now often called 'Odaiba' with the honorific prefix 'o'.

Eventually the batteries were never used and the Shogunate opened up the country. The island was expanded in the last half century. It has developed dramatically since 1990s and now is a massive island known as a major tourist attraction with a lot of commercial and leisure facilities.

The newest hot spot in the area is 'Diver City Tokyo Plaza', a commercial complex opened on April 19th. You can see a full-length Gundam in front of the brand new facility. It was initially placed at Odaiba and had been taken away for a while, returning to his hometown only recently. I wonder how they ended up calling it 'full-length' when it is originally two dimentional. Or has it really been made into real?

Odaiba Area, Tokyo ~Gundam Returning~ [iPhone 4S/HD]
- Shot in 1080p full HD with an iPhone 4S on Apr. 25th, 2012

Sakura, Cherry Blossoms, in Tokyo

This is why I recommend tourists to visit Japan during spring. You can see glorious sakura, or cherry blossoms, here and there. Under the trees, people stroll, sing, eat, drink, lie down, and get intoxicated by their beauty. The flowers' lives are short, but that could make them more beautiful.

Sakura, Cherry Blossoms, in Tokyo [iPhone 4S/HD]
- Shot in 1080p full HD with an iPhone 4S on Apr. 8th to 10th, 2012

Shibuya Crossing, Tokyo

This busy crossing is located in Shibuya area, a fashion center of Japan, also famous as a nightlife area. You may pass the crossing and see the huge crowd to go shopping or drinking when you visit Tokyo.

This video was taken in a weekday afternoon. Visit there in a weekend afternoon if you would like to see more people. The statue of Hachiko you can see in the video was built to tribute a dog named Hachiko. If you are interested in his sad but beautiful story, see the link below.
Wikipedia: Hachiko

Shibuya Hachiko Crossing, Tokyo [iPhone 4S/HD]
- Shot in 1080p full HD with an iPhone 4S on Apr. 4th, 2012

Torigoe Matsuri - One of Mikoshi Festivals in Tokyo

Torigoe Matsuri is the annual festival of Torigoe Shinto Shrine held every June. The shrine is located near Asakusa area which is famous as a popular tourist attraction in Tokyo. People parade around the town with carrying mikoshi, or portable Shinto shrines. This is the scene of Miyairi, which means 'Coming into the shrine', after the parades.

Torigoe Matsuri - One of Mikoshi Festivals in Tokyo