Tokyo Tunnels (under the Skin)

edo/tokyo has had a population in excess of 1 million since the mid-1700s. the oldest neighbourhoods, like kanda, have long since reached the saturation point. for generations the new has been built on top of the old, layer upon layer, and what used to be on the surface gets buried. the process is natural, layers of sediment gathering over time.

walking through the sooty tunnels of kanda you still find yourself surrounded by pachinko parlours, restaurants, and laundromats. sometimes you'll even stumble across an old tile-roofed house that was incorporated wholesale into the masonry walls that grew up and over it, blocking it off completely from the light. you feel like an archaeologist walking through a tomb.

an underpass ducking the yamanote train tracks where they split shinjuku into east and west halves.

the maze of raised walkways and expressways in front of ueno jr train station. this shows only a small cross-section. there are in fact many different levels both above and below ground.

one street in the shadow of another. in some places, like west shinjuku and ueno, it can be impossible to tell which level is the real "ground."

a narrow tunnel burrowing underneath the train tracks in the heart of kanda. the sides are covered in pipes and vents and cryptic machinery.

underneath many tracks the arched masonry creates a row of vaults which are used for parking, storage, industrial workshops, even homes.

Jamie: 3rd Apr 2005 - 19:22 GMT

It's really interesting to catch such an inside glimpse of a place i know so little about, have never visited, and probably never will.

M: 4th Apr 2005 - 01:32 GMT

So reminescent of Blade Runner! Fantastic series. Interesting, I had the same thoughts as I drove through lower Wacher Drive in Chicago, it's a subterranean existance below the city streets.

Peter: 4th Apr 2005 - 15:06 GMT

jeeff: once again, great photos... were loving seeing your sites from japan!

hasslehoff: 12th Apr 2005 - 11:35 GMT

That guy in the second photo is really going at that botle of soda. The woman abuting him, no dount his cold long suffering wife, seems visibly displeased, either with her husbands over-enthusiastic consumption, or that of the photographer brazenly snapping away at her.

jeeff: 16th Apr 2005 - 14:54 GMT

hah yeah, i think she was giving me the stink-eye. i also like the guy on the left side who seems to be doing some kind of zen levitation trick.

elaine: 16th Apr 2005 - 17:06 GMT

in my obstinate animism, I am liking the two white cars snuggling up together, like two smug cats on a warm radiator

Peter: 18th Apr 2005 - 15:10 GMT

i think it got lost in the great database crash of last week. and unfortunately, google doesnt have it cached :( maybe jeeff would post it again? ;)

Marc: 18th Apr 2005 - 19:00 GMT

great tokyo pics jeeff- doomo.. what's the most layers of throughway uve counted in a stack? i visited in 2000 and counted 7 near shibuya.. i wish i had some pics of the ferris-wheel-elevator-car-parking garages, oh, oh, how i wish..

jeeff: 18th Apr 2005 - 21:39 GMT

marc, not sure, i never counted. shibuya's probably the place for it though. i too liked the ferris wheel parking garages. too bad they're all covered, it would be cooler if some were open-air.

peter, i'll post an approximation of it. same photos. the text i'll have to do from memory.


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This article has been viewed 5425 times in the last 5 years Jamie: 3rd Apr 2005 - 19:22 GMT It's really interesting to catch such an inside glimpse of a place i know so little about, have never visited, and probably never will. M: 4th Apr 2005 - 01:32 GMT So reminescent of Blade Runner! Fantastic series. Interesting, I had the same thoughts as I drove through lower Wacher Drive in Chicago, it's a subterranean existance below the city streets. watcher: wow. tokyo is a megalith. Peter: 4th Apr 2005 - 15:06 GMT jeeff: once again, great photos... were loving seeing your sites from japan! hasslehoff: 12th Apr 2005 - 11:35 GMT That guy in the second photo is really going at that botle of soda. The woman abuting him, no dount his cold long suffering wife, seems visibly displeased, either with her husbands over-enthusiastic consumption, or that of the photographer brazenly snapping away at her. jeeff: 16th Apr 2005 - 14:54 GMT hah yeah, i think she was giving me the stink-eye. i also like the guy on the left side who seems to be doing some kind of zen levitation trick. elaine: 16th Apr 2005 - 17:06 GMT in my obstinate animism, I am liking the two white cars snuggling up together, like two smug cats on a warm radiator jeeff: whoa, how'd i become "jeef"? gwailo: what happened to the tokyo waterways article? Peter: 18th Apr 2005 - 15:10 GMT i think it got lost in the great database crash of last week. and unfortunately, google doesnt have it cached :( maybe jeeff would post it again? ;) Marc: 18th Apr 2005 - 19:00 GMT great tokyo pics jeeff- doomo.. what's the most layers of throughway uve counted in a stack? i visited in 2000 and counted 7 near shibuya.. i wish i had some pics of the ferris-wheel-elevator-car-parking garages, oh, oh, how i wish.. jeeff: 18th Apr 2005 - 21:39 GMT marc, not sure, i never counted. shibuya's probably the place for it though. i too liked the ferris wheel parking garages. too bad they're all covered, it would be cooler if some were open-air. peter, i'll post an approximation of it. same photos. the text i'll have to do from memory. Comment on this article.. 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Jamie: 3rd Apr 2005 - 19:22 GMT

M: 4th Apr 2005 - 01:32 GMT

Peter: 4th Apr 2005 - 15:06 GMT

hasslehoff: 12th Apr 2005 - 11:35 GMT

jeeff: 16th Apr 2005 - 14:54 GMT

elaine: 16th Apr 2005 - 17:06 GMT

Peter: 18th Apr 2005 - 15:10 GMT

Marc: 18th Apr 2005 - 19:00 GMT

jeeff: 18th Apr 2005 - 21:39 GMT

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