In those days, people wore face masks for allergies and when they had a cold. Not like today at all. Actually, life is much better now than then. Maybe it is because I don't have to work as hard as I did then. Still live very close to where the video was made.

Yes, it was made in 1988 when I was living near Kashimada Station on the Nanbu Line. Now, we live just over the Tamagawa River in southern Tokyo. Glad it brought back memories for you.

Yes, I made the video around 1988.

I'm very glad you enjoyed it. I too, like viewing the video from time to time to see my children when they were young and how we lived. They're all grown now.

That's wonderful. My daughters can vaguely remember those days as well.

One stop from there, Kashimada Station.

@@ronmcfarlandUnika I was there 20 years after you, and the models of the cars and the way people dress were all subtly different, but (obviously) the physical layout is familiar. I'm not sure if this analogy is right, but it feels like seeing photos of your grandfather when he was young or something. BTW do you know the Japan Foundation's video series "Yan and the Japanese people?" for learning basic Japanese, also probably produced around this time? This reminds me a bit of that, too.

@@karlint39 That train station, Kashimada is completely changed now, totally rebuilt. We currently live just over the Tamagawa River in Tokyo and can see those condominiums from of current place. I don't know of the Japan Foundation's video series you mention. I learned Japanese before coming to Japan in the late '70s. Now, just speak it all the time.

@@ronmcfarlandUnika I know Musashikosugi was completely transformed several years ago, so it makes sense that Kashimada changed, too. I learned Japanese in the 1990s (while in Japan) and I too speak it more than I speak English these days. In the 1990s I had things like Canon's WordTanks to help me look up kanji and translations without having to carry around a big dictionary. Learning Japanese in the 70s, while not in Japan must have been quite the challenge. Did I see on a blog somewhere that you still do events?

@@karlint39 Yes, learning Japanese in California was a challenge and my Japanese level when I arrived here was very poor. I just kept learning. In the past year, my wife has not been well, so I've stopped all speaking events, and I am taking care of her. I still write articles. Here is the most recent one, "5 steps to drive changes on your project". (coachingbuttons.com/2024/09/18/changes)

Yes, we have to learn how to live within limited spaces and rooms must be multipurpose.

You're asking a very hard question. My children were young then, as you can see. I was working full-time and didn't have much in savings. Now, the children are grown and we have two granddaughters. Life in Japan has become far more comfortable, and actually the whole country has become easier to live in. The safety and politeness has not changed to me in Japan, but I miss the global travel and all the experiences I had then. I guess in answer to your questions, I like now more than then.

Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks. I made in around 1988.

Glad it brought back and triggered some memories.

I hope it was informative and you enjoyed it.

Glad you enjoyed it. I made it around 1988.

No, I never could have imagined that back in 1988. Made it to learn how to use video editing equipment at work and decided to pick that topic, knowing many of my Stateside family and friends would never come to Japan. Thanks for your thoughts.

Glad you enjoyed it. I made in 1988. I used a video editing room I had at work.

Very interesting. I lived on the Kawasaki side of Tamagawa for 16 years and often on weekends would ride my bike or job on their bike trail. Then, we moved to Ota-ku, Tokyo, on the Tokyo side of the river and have lived here for around 21 years. Up until about two years ago, I would bike ride or jog on Tokyo's side of the river. I live right on the river, so now I just walk along the river. Never get tired of it, and can see Mt. Fuji in the winter.

I just noticed 16:31. Yes, that is on the Kawasaki side of the river between Gasubashi and Ohashi bridges. My condo was in Kawasaki about a 15 minutes walk from there. Notice the buildings in the background. They are on the Tokyo side. I live on that side along the river now.

@@ronmcfarlandUnika wow. What a coincidece. Glad to know this. I believe building in the background is --> maps.app.goo.gl/MjgBPQKf9AH4TMb5A

Glad you enjoyed it. Made it in 1988, a very long time ago.

@@ronmcfarlandUnika I've been feeling very nostalgic about Japan lately. Even times before I visited. My first trip was 1998.

@@BojoPigeon Glad my video brought back great memories of visiting here.

I came to Japan in 1976.

I studied Japanese in California before going to Japan, although I only have business degrees. That let to teaching English to business people in Japan. From there, I learned of business graduate school in Japan and studied for another 2-1/2 years. From there, I started working for Isuzu Motors, mostly providing overseas sales training (21 years). Then, I started working for a Japanese cutting tool manufacturer that exports. I promoted and found distributors in the US and Europe. You can learn more about me on LinkedIn. jp.linkedin.com/in/ron-mcfarland-8936472

@@ronmcfarlandUnika Wow what an incredible and interesting life, especially in the golden age of living in Japan, thank you for the info/video!

Yes, many things we have today didn't exist in those days. To make that video, I used a full video editing room in the company I was working for. We just started to use FAX machines to do international business, no email at all. I used to record what I was involved in on a cassette tape and mailed it to my sister, so she could hear my voice. Telephoning was quite expensive for me in those days.

@@ronmcfarlandUnika Thank you for sharing. I always wanted to visit Japan for a vacation and experience its beauty and the culture. Hopefully in a year or two it can finally happen. Again many thamks and God bless you and your family

@@rogueagent0191 I'm glad you enjoyed it. I came to Japan in 1976 and wound up just staying as one interesting project after another came to me. Interestingly, in the first 20 years, Japan was not a tourist location, just business and cultural interests. In the past 10 years, Japan has become a real tourist spot, as I'm seeing visitors all the time. I think most people have very favorable experiences here.

No, but we all fall into the same Scottish Clan, originally spelled "Macfarlane". His spelling is closer to the original. When the clan was established, there was no writing system at that time in the 1300s. That is why there are many spellings. The clan was northeast of Glasgow.

Glad you enjoyed it. I made it in around 1988 when there was a video editing room in the company I was working for. I used my life as material to practice using the equipment.

Yes, I was 48 years old at that time. I'm now 76 and still going strong. Fully retired and loving having all of life's experiences after that plane crash. I'm truly among the lucky ones. Still in contact with the lady that sat next to me in that crash.

Glad you enjoyed it.

@@ronmcfarlandUnika sir it was such a delight. I love Japan. I’ve been there 2x and hope to return a final time sometime by 2026. It is such a beautiful country with the most delightful people. To say nothing of the culture, food, and traditions. You are very lucky to have lived and raised a family there.

@@TheMalfean Yes, I'm still here. It has played out very nicely for me. The daughters are grown and we have two granddaughters. Now, I'm part of the retirement community here. Different from the working environment. Take a look at this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ol6xfH9qbtujkLc

Thank you for your comments. I often ask myself should I have stayed. Most visitors leave after a few years. I never did and wonder what I missed living Stateside.

Wow! It is a Scottish name, which I learned when traveling on the south island of New Zealand. I was traveling in Africa once and had to fly to London to change planes to return to Japan. So, I decided to fly up to Scotland because I know that McFarland has a Scottish Clan. The original spelling is "MacFarlane" and now has around 10 spellings I think. In those days, there was no writing system. The clan location is northeast of Glasgow. There was a book written on the clan if you are interested. You can Google the Scottish Clans to get more information.

@@ronmcfarlandUnika omg! I didn't even know about that, thanks for telling me, very cool orgin 😌🌟

@@MacMyaa I didn't know it either until I walked into a bookshop in Dunedin, New Zealand and found a book marker with all the Scottish Clans and our name on it. That led me to visit Scotland years later. Historically, Scottish people controlled the mining operations on the south island of New Zealand.

I had a customer named McFadden from Manchester, England. He is from the same Clan and knows that history very well.

@@ronmcfarlandUnika that's pretty cool, I've wanted to visit Scotland before.

I didn't talk so much about the work side of living in Japan. That kept me very busy and on the run all the time. Now, life is far slower now that I'm into retirrement.

@@ronmcfarlandUnika you started what they call now as 'vlogging' even before youtube started to emerge. Great video, sir! :)

@@carln4406 Thank you. That was the first video I had done. I made many slide presentations (still shots using slides and OHP transparencies), but never a video. I found it very hard work but well worth it.

Yes, it is still there. I live in southern Tokyo, but I have several friends living in that complex, "Shinkawasaki Park City". I can see it from my current condominium over a river.

@@ronmcfarlandUnika Also the background music sounds like a lullabye for me🤭

@@burnhardleeyow Check this music out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ol6xfH9qbtujkLc

Glad you enjoyed it. I made it a long time ago when my children were small.

Yes, many times. For many summers, we visited family in California. My youngest daughter went to High School in Canada. They enjoyed it, but Japan is their home. They are far more comfortable here in Japan.

@@ronmcfarlandUnika oh yes, cultural/societal différences might be strong. Plus Japan is probably significantly safer.

@@Stone8age Very true. Add language to the list of differences as well for my daughters. For me, I always thought with a great project and a good community to live in, the US can be very rewarding as well. I love the idea-creation in the US.

@@ronmcfarlandUnika oh, they are not entirely fluent in English? Interesting. Did proficiency in English language increase over these years? When I visited Japan 10 years ago, it was quite challenging to communicate with people even in huge cities.

@@Stone8age Honestly, I studied Japanese in California for three years before coming to Japan, so I was using Japanese from the day I arrived and didn't rely on English to communicate in general conversation. I taught English for the first 8-9 years here and wasn't that impressed with most student's ability. The general public was even worse. That was around 1980. Now, I haven't a clue, as I use Japanese most of the time.

Our similarities are interesting. I worked in Isuzu for 21 years. Left when the company had financial difficulties in an early retirement program. Worked for another 17 years for a Japanese cutting tool company, involved in setting up overseas distributors for them. Different from you, I've always lived in the Kanto area, mostly Tokyo, Yokohama and Kawasaki. I'm still in Japan, southern Tokyo, just over a river from Kawasaki. I still see some old Isuzu people. The company continued to shrink and now has it's HQ in Yokohama.

Yes, I produced that in 1988 by myself only, scriptwriter, narrator, cameraman, editor and everything else. I did have access to a video editing room in my company and used a lot of their equipment. Thank you for your compliments.

By the way, any ideas on how to produce a professional movie? Have a look at this article I wrote. ""A movie to scale corporate social responsibility. (coachingbuttons.com/2024/03/11/envisionmovie)

Profit making, capitalistic, publicly traded multinational corporations produce far more goods and services than any other type of organization. But, in the movies, they are mostly portrayed as the greedy bad guy. What about them being the good guy in a dramatized movie that is entertaining and educational?

@@ronmcfarlandUnika Dam can't imagine what editing was like back then, compared to how we do it now lol respect for making such a high quality film all by yourself

@@murthfilm Thank you for your complements. Yes, I had a full editing room in the company I was working for, but still it was difficult. I was trying to learn that editing equipment along the way to make training videos. Wouldn't look forward to doing another one.

I'm glad you enjoyed it. For me too, it brings back great memories when my children were young.

Thank you. You're right. I have had a life far more exciting than I would ever have dreamed. Have a look at this if you haven't seen it. It is my life in Japan around 1988. kzbin.info/www/bejne/npTHn3l3Zdljoc0&lc=Ugwe4Bvtcp5Q8gzOsCZ4AaABAg

@@ronmcfarlandUnika oh yep that’s the one that brought me to the crash video. May I ask, is your family still based out of Japan - kids, grandkids? It’s pretty cool that you put down roots in a different country starting at your 20s

@@pathua7692 Yes, we live in southern Tokyo, over a river from where we lived in the 80s. The daughters are grown, and we have two granddaughters that live nearby. I'm retired now, so the pace of life is far slower than in those days.

Where are you located?

@@ronmcfarlandUnika I’m in Florida, came to America from Hong Kong when I was a boy. I visited Japan last year for the first time ever ~3weeks, was only in Tokyo for 2 days. Really enjoyed the relaxing vibes of smaller cities in Kyushu, though I could definitely sense the effect of population decline in some areas. I definitely would like to spend a few days at Yokohama next time I visit. Just curious, did some of these smaller cities also went through a boom in the 80s? Or did the boom mainly happened in the big metros - Tokyo, Keihanshin, Nagoya etc. I read quite a bit of articles on that era, some of the stories were really interesting and cool! I could totally understand why Japan had such a cultural impact on other East Asian cultures. I even came to find out that most of Taiwanese & Cantonese pop hits in 80s and 90s sampled directly from Japanese hits!

Great. I'm glad you enjoyed it. We still live near there. One of those daughters have two daughters, so we have grandkids nearby. You're right. Mostly, life hasn't changed that much, but I find it much easier now than in those very busy years.

I'm glad you enjoyed it. We still live near there in southern Tokyo.

彼らが来てくれたのはラッキーだった。 私は彼らを知らない。

Glad you enjoyed it. I made it in 1988 when my children were small. Still live near there, but live has changed greatly, mostly for the better.

MY company had major financial problems, so I had to find a new job. My salary went down, but my life was about the same. I think banks suffered a lot too.

@@ronmcfarlandUnika thx sir 🙌🏻

I'm an American citizen with permanent residency in Japan. My wife and children are Japanese citizens, but I have no need to change.

Yes, came to Japan in 1976. Got married in 1980. Plane crash in 1996. Now, writing articles, posting on LinkedIn and playing around on KZbin. Been a fun journey.

You’re incredibly stupid

Glad you found it interesting. I shot those scenes around my condominium around 1988. Still live near there in southern Tokyo now.

I enjoyed those years, but life now is far more relaxing.

Yes, we see them on TV all the time. Actually, Doraemon was created in Kawasaki and there is an museum there.

Notice this address: 2-chome 8-1 Nagao, Tama-ku, Kawasaki-city, Kanagawa Prefecture, 214-0023

I was in Grande Gomore for about two days, if I can remember. My separated left hip was reset by the doctors on vacation from France. From there, I was flown on a French Foreign Legion hospital aircraft to the island of Reunion. On that island, I was in a hospital for one month and then returned to Japan. Yes, I'm in contact with Rani Nankani all the time. Her nephew and his family visited me in Japan a few months ago.

Wow. It's amazing to hear that you're still in touch with Rani and her family. Was there any media circus at the time? How did your family find out and take it?@@ronmcfarlandUnika

Well, the TV people first contacted me when I was in the hospital in Reunion. That was NBC Dateline. After that, I was interviewed five times for US TV, three times for Japanese TV, and once for Germany TV. The German one was the longest. Each program taught me more about people on the plane and the hijackers. My family first learned of the hijacking and plane crash from a Japanese trading company. Rani was in the same hospital as me, so we got to know each other's family. After that, I visited her older brother in Bangalore, India and then Rani herself several years later in Mumbai. I hope to visit her in India in the future. Don't know when, though. @@HS-mm2yz

Notice this presentation I gave. Scroll down to see the slides. www.slideshare.net/RonMcFarland1/worst-international-business-trip

@@ronmcfarlandUnika Altogether what a rare and remarkable experience for a human being to have. And how remarkable it is that the internet enables us to talk it about it now. Thank you for answering my questions. The presentation is great, it’s cool to see all the pictures. Best wishes from Texas.

In those days, I was working in a training center which had a video editing room. To learn how to use the equipment and make videos, I picked up the topic of my life in Japan, as many members of my family and friends will never visit Japan. I wanted to share it with them. From a VHS video I converted it to DVD and then internet access.