![Yanaka, Old Tokyo Town [iPhone 4S/HD] @ohayuni71](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/GUhlupGmeP8/maxresdefault.jpg)
Uploaded May 2012 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
In areas east of Tokyo, you would find several areas with many Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines when you look at a Tokyo map. The areas are called 'shitamachi'. Although the word 'shitamachi' literally means 'downtown', they are not like Manhattan. It is more like a place dominated by small old residences, typical Japanese shops and narrow streets. In other words, they are old towns.
Yanaka, one of them, is located in the northwest of Ueno area. There, older buildings are being replaced with modern ones. However, you can still feel the distinctive atmosphere of old Tokyo.
- Shot in 1080p full HD with an iPhone 4S on May 30th, 2012
In areas east of Tokyo, you would find several areas with many Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines when you look at a Tokyo map. The areas are called 'shitamachi'. Although the word 'shitamachi' literally means 'downtown', they are not like Manhattan. It is more like a place dominated by small old residences, typical Japanese shops and narrow streets. In other words, they are old towns.
Yanaka, one of them, is located in the northwest of Ueno area. There, older buildings are being replaced with modern ones. However, you can still feel the distinctive atmosphere of old Tokyo.
- Shot in 1080p full HD with an iPhone 4S on May 30th, 2012
![Yanaka, Old Tokyo Town [iPhone 4S/HD]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/GUhlupGmeP8/mqdefault.jpg "Yanaka, Old Tokyo Town [iPhone 4S/HD]
In areas east of Tokyo, you would find several areas with many Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines when you look at a Tokyo map. The areas are called shitamachi. Although the word shitamachi literally means downtown, they are not like Manhattan. It is more like a place dominated by small old residences, typical Japanese shops and narrow streets. In other words, they are old towns.
Yanaka, one of them, is located in the northwest of Ueno area. There, older buildings are being replaced with modern ones. However, you can still feel the distinctive atmosphere of old Tokyo.
- Shot in 1080p full HD with an iPhone 4S on May 30th, 2012")
![Old Shopping Streets at the Foot of the Tokyo Skytree [iPhone 4S/HD]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/GoZ_0F-ICQ0/mqdefault.jpg "Old Shopping Streets at the Foot of the Tokyo Skytree [iPhone 4S/HD]
The Tokyo Skytree, the worlds tallest TV tower at 634 meters, is located in an old residential area dominated by small houses and shops. It was designed to avoid tall buildings that would disturb radio waves passing through.
In the area, there are several local shopping streets. They had been declining for decades due to the flourishing of major supermarket chains and large shopping mall chains. They hoped that the opening of the tower would galvanize them with newly built towers attraction. However, it was not all it was cracked up to be. The number of people who visited the shopping streets decreased rather than increased after the towers opening. People chose to visit the Tokyos new landmark and its surrounding facilities including a large shopping mall without stopping over the old streets.
It would be sad if nostalgic scenery like this would be completely replaced with uber-modern structures.
- Shot in 1080p full HD with an iPhone 4S on Dec. 7th, 2012")
![Japanese Bath System [iPhone 4S/HD]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/H-xo0dF-qEo/mqdefault.jpg "Japanese Bath System [iPhone 4S/HD]
This is not a cutting edge system, but useful enough.
- Shot in 1080p full HD with an iPhone 4S on Jul. 20th, 2012")
![Sakura, Cherry Blossoms, in Tokyo 2013 [iPhone 4S/HD]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/H5pZjEXEOo8/mqdefault.jpg "Sakura, Cherry Blossoms, in Tokyo 2013 [iPhone 4S/HD]
The Japan Meteorological Agency announced that sakura, or cherry blossoms, reached full bloom in the capital on March 22nd. It was around 10 days earlier than usual and the second earliest on record. Under the glorious blossoming trees, people stroll, sing, eat, drink, lie down and get intoxicated by their beauty, hoping to see the fugacious flowers next spring again.
- Shot in 1080p full HD with an iPhone 4S on Mar. 26th, 2013")
![Kids Triathlon in Kawaguchi, Japan [iPhone 4S/HD]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/IBp3NAAa6iQ/mqdefault.jpg "Kids Triathlon in Kawaguchi, Japan [iPhone 4S/HD]
A kids triathlon was held near my place on a hot summer morning, in which about 300 local fourth to sixth-graders swam 50 m, rode a bike 4 km and ran 1 km under the scorching sun. The suntanned kids got excited about the competition and fully enjoyed the last event of their summer vacation.
- Shot in 1080p full HD with an iPhone 4S on Aug. 26th, 2012")
![Koinobori ~Japans Childrens Day~ [iPhone 4S/HD]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/InIc36oPCyg/mqdefault.jpg "Koinobori ~Japans Childrens Day~ [iPhone 4S/HD]
The Chinese myth goes that brave carps could transform into dragons when they climbed up rapid falls. In Japan, based on the legend, we put up Koinobori, or carp-shaped streamers, in the sky from April to May 5th, Japans Childrens Day, hoping the children will rise like a dragon.
The spring sky was decorated with a lot of colorful carps even in urban areas like Tokyo when I was a kid, however, now you hardly see them swimming in the sky in cities filled with buildings. Fortunately, a Koinobori event takes place every year in my city, Kawaguchi. Nowadays a lot of cities hold this kind of event and fly Koinobori. You can enjoy them even if you dont have enough space to put them up in your garden.
- Shot in 1080p full HD with an iPhone 4S on May 5th, 2012")
![The Tokyo Skytree Illumination for Christmas [iPhone 4S/HD]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/IvpPUcTaWCw/mqdefault.jpg "The Tokyo Skytree Illumination for Christmas [iPhone 4S/HD]
As the first Christmas event since the Tokyo Skytree completed, the worlds tallest TV tower is being illuminated in different colors from usual. Five illumination types are prepared and they change depending on the hour and the day. You can enjoy the special spectacle of lights from the sunset to 11 pm until Christmas. On every weekend, you can see the 1995 LED footlights changing their colors at 8 pm and 9 pm.
Tokyos new landmark lights up winter nights quietly and warmly.
- Shot in 1080p full HD with an iPhone 4S on Dec. 7th, 2012")
![Sudden shower, Kawaguchi, Japan [iPhone 4S/HD]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/IzgOqBMsm4w/mqdefault.jpg "Sudden shower, Kawaguchi, Japan [iPhone 4S/HD]
Here in Japan, as in many other Asian countries, you often encounter sudden showers, especially in summer afternoons. The rains seem to be intensifying with climate change in recent years. Do not forget to check the weather forecast and take an umbrella with you when it is necessary during your stay in Japan.
- Shot in 1080p full HD with an iPhone 4S on May 28th, 2012")
![Cat Street, Hot Spot for the Young at Harajuku, Tokyo [iPhone 4S/HD]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/J2vpzqn3YGs/mqdefault.jpg "Cat Street, Hot Spot for the Young at Harajuku, Tokyo [iPhone 4S/HD]
Ura-Harajuku, which literally means back streets of Harajuku, is an area where you can find a lot of small fashionable boutiques, beauty salons, cafes and restaurants. It is also called Ura-Hara for short. Cat Street and its branches are one of the most bustling streets in the area. You can see young people dressed up and enjoying shopping there.
There was a river once where now Cat Street is, but the river was covered over for the development of this area when Tokyo Olympic was held in 1964. This is why the street is winding.
According to my friend whose birthplace was beside Cat Street, when he was a kid, the area was not like what it is like now, but was a typical old residential area. However, as he grew up, a lot of stores opened around there and it became a popular place among the young.
It would be fun to stroll around with imagining what the fashionable streets were like once.
- Shot in 1080p full HD with an iPhone 4S on Jun. 24th, 2012")
![Curious Alley at Ginza, Tokyo [iPhone 4S/HD]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/JSdTDsx9ab8/mqdefault.jpg "Curious Alley at Ginza, Tokyo [iPhone 4S/HD]
When you explore an old town, you often find it like a maze with alleys. Ginza, the most luxurious district in Tokyo, is also an old town like it. Going away from glamorous streets and down alleys, you would see another face of Ginza.
Sometimes you come across a curious alley like the one in this video. Walking along the gloomy alley, you have to cut through a modern cafe and end up finding a small shrine sitting at close quarters.
- Shot in 1080p full HD with an iPhone 4S on Jun. 14th, 2012")
