Shinjuku - Tokyo at night - 2005

16th April 2005
SONY FX-1 HD camcorder.

[@STUPIDHUMAN]

I'll never forget the pre-smartphone 2000s. The nights back then had a real late night atmosphere.

[@hyakin7818]

And even then we asked ourselves, Do they even sleep?

[@cupuacu4life13]

hmm... i do remember these times but i kinda prefer now its even more futuristic yes there is a certain charm in the 2000s, and i think we should have aesthetically gone to the 2000s way i mean... would you really want your smartphone to be this lifeless glass slab that every company makes it look the same? or a hecking SPD Power Rangers Morpher?

[@nateclipps]

This comment gave me a headache

[@checkoutmyyoutubepage]

It’s like a long adult swim bump with LoFi hip hop 😊

[@ReeceMarshallPersonal]

“The nights back then had a real late night atmosphere..” try again

[@randomlurker55]

There's something about 2000-2009 Japan that's charming.

[@JunkBondTrader]

2010 Japan was total trash. lol jk

[@matheuss886]

The economy was going relatively well compared to today (not as well as between the 50s the 80s tho), the gaming industry was booming due to new exciting releases, and the best 21st century anime series were from this time. I suppose that both the 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami that hit the Tohoku (Northeast) area of Japan and COVID had serious impact on the country and originated many economic and logistical issues. There have also been low marriage and birth rates and psychological issues on the youth due to isolation (for a country that was already known for a very comparatively shy and reserved society)

[@moahammad1mohammad]

This was Japan at its international peak at the time, Similar to modern day korea's success basically

[@prosaic.7944]

No insufferable Japan vloggers too.

[@LifeofBrad1]

I grew up during that era. The vibe was different back then. Everything felt more chilled out and care free. People's views weren't shaped by social media algorithms.

[@kunaldebnath3879]

The 2000s: The last decade when people used to enjoy the simplicities of life, when human connections still mattered more than Facebook, and when 'TikTok' used to be a song and not cringy braincell-destroying videos

[@LifeofBrad1]

Yup. 100%

[@airplanes7204]

THIS

[@janbadurowicz7579]

I JUST WANT THE FLIP PHONES BACK😢

[@selami32]

they are flipped into history

[@NeoReibert]

Crazy that this footage will be 20 years old in only 2 years.

[@youravictim38]

crazier to me that i was 0 years old by the time this footage was recorded.

[@user-ij2kh7le3k]

俺が生まれた年。

[@slevingarganera8375]

Man I was only 4 months old when this was recorded

[@computer3210]

@@youravictim38 I was getting developed in the womb when this footage was recorded 💀

[@user-gt2op4wu4m]

「昔ながら」が通用したギリギリ時代。今と昔の狭間の時代。スマホが生まれるちょっと前。なんだか色々思い起こされるな

[@pgdgawgd]

この頃が懐かしいと言われる程時間は経ってしまったんですよね😢

[@Picanhadopapaimolusco]

​@@pgdgawgd ビックリですよね！ 時間本当に残酷なもの2000年初頭まだ若者だった自分が今40代後半で死を待つだけになってしまいました😂 色んな趣味持ってたが現在全く興味わかなくなってしまった。

[@kobo-oji]

この時と今、何が違うと言われても「スマホ（→カメラ、携帯音楽系がなくなった）」「地デジ」「電気自動車」くらいしか思い浮かばないｗｗｗSNSもmixiあったしなぁ。

[@airplanes7204]

I wish smartphones never existed... But then again we will never had the chance to see this type of things without a computer... The irony...

[@pgdgawgd]

当時高校生。いい時代だったなー🥺古き良き。。。 どこかに映ってたりしないかなw

[@user-pb7rw4jm2x]

まだシンプルにガラケーの時代か 懐かしい 色んな意味で良き時代だった。

[@user-wi7ct1pf4q]

信じられない、、、、 レンジにデフテック、、、武富士にビクスクはもう無い、、、、帰りたいこの頃に

[@airplanes7204]

And I hope that you can make your wish come true 🙏🏻❤️😊

[@user-ir3ll8xp9f]

懐かしさってやっぱ画質に出るのかな、今の映像って言われてもわからない

[@krkrhkr]

貴重な映像ありがとうございます この時小2でしたが、2005年はドラマも歌もいいのばっかだし、この頃に青春を過ごしたかったなと思います

[@BOOK-OFF-]

個人的には90年代の方が「神曲」と言われるべき曲は多いと思いますが、2005年も沢山あると思います。

[@seka1nix]

Tokyo in 2005, huh? My mind immediately jumped to Yakuza 1 / Yakuza Kiwami 1, especially after I saw this 2:28. It's cool to see how faithful Kabukicho was recreated in both versions. Also, I didn't know "Pronto" was a real cafe store.

[@christianmorning1710]

The funny thing is pronto means "ready" in italian if I remember correctly, or to answer the phone we say in Italy "pronto"?

[@KAI-bm6lq]

Glad to know that I'm not the only person who immediately thought about Yakuza while watching the video lol.

[@dinoblade8167]

The same year and same place where the story of Kiwami 1 happens.

[@d15z1sux]

Was about to comment this lol

[@kd0079]

I was about to comment this too. 2005 in Shinjuku, exactly the time of Yakuza 1 lol

[@user-zm7pt6md5t]

2005年となると当時14歳中学生3年生だったので、色々と懐かしい気持ちになりました。 あれからそろそろ20年近くなんだ…。

[@elinazalizadeh9247]

I was still in Japan this time of the year, and i miss being there more than anything.

[@kennyadvocat]

Love this video. The FX-1 was a beast when it launched. Still holds up!

[@user-pk8cr9ik5z]

当時20代でした、懐かしい月日が過ぎるのは早いですね。貴重な映像ありがとうございます。

[@pgdgawgd]

早いですよね😢 自分は高校生でした。。

[@user-ur9fd8ws2x]

@@pgdgawgd 同世代です。懐かしいですよね…戻りたいなぁ…😢

[@pgdgawgd]

@@user-ur9fd8ws2x 同世代ですかー。ドラゴン桜とか野豚をプロデュースとかマイボスマイヒーローとか☺️ 当時見てたドラマと、なぜかこの新宿の街並みがマッチングして思い出されます

[@user-fh6ck9ur7m]

私は二十歳でした。時が経つのは早いですよね

[@tonylife94]

Good times. The Internet has not yet become so comprehensive. Smartphones and social networks have not yet replaced reality. The entertainment media has not yet become so politicized. Games were still made by game designers, not PR managers. The music was still real.

[@nat3299]

althoguh the msuci industry is at full speed (by this i mean its nearly like the fast food insdustry lol) i ts still wonderful, you just have to dig a bit deeper.

[@tonylife94]

@@nat3299 True. If you dig, you can find. But here it's about the diversity of the mainstream and the average level of quality. Previously, there was more variety and completely different genres of music could be heard from a passing car. Now it's rap, pop or something with low bass in the vast majority. And the quality of this is rather mediocre even in comparison with similar genres of previous years. And it's not just with music. Games, movies, TV shows - they all became somehow the same, as if they were made on the same assembly line. Surprisingly, with the advent of the Internet for most of the population, people began to lose their uniqueness and individuality, preferring to simply follow the fast-changing trends.

[@nat3299]

@@tonylife94 I felt this so much specially in regards to radio music beacuse its literally unlistenable (dont kow if i spelled that right oops) But its truly very hard to listen to the same balnd corporate friendly tiktok song thats on neraly every advert lol

[@raiden306]

The music is still real. You just have to look for it

[@Yuzugumi007]

Thank you Mr robot 🤖

[@Genny-Zee]

I listen to this at night to feel less alone. Arigato lensman-san 😢

[@Lensman864]

If my video helps you then I'm very pleased; thank you for your kind words.

[@why8582]

feeling nostalgia for a place I’ve never even been to

[@xxpsilocybinxx8878]

tokyo during the late 90s/2000s was something else

[@akira0583]

@@xxpsilocybinxx8878 I don’t even think the US could compete

[@user-yy9xu6pu2d]

@@xxpsilocybinxx8878 Can you explain more about why you think so?

[@user-yy9xu6pu2d]

@@akira0583 What did you like about Japan during this time?

[@angieharajuku7396]

@@xxpsilocybinxx8878. I totally agree i wish i lived my childhood there around 2000 - 2006

[@sushimanaries]

Would have loved to go to japan around this time, thanks for sharing

[@airplanes7204]

Me too 😢

[@YK-ok3gj]

貴重な映像をありがとうございます。 懐かしい風景がちらほらと…

[@user-is2th8no9k]

カラフルな電光掲示板、原チャリの少年、少し明るい茶髪の彼女。過ごしたことない青春が蘇った。

[@crobatgaming5661]

I really like 80s and 90s japan it was so cool

[@1964corvan]

that Queen banner and Freddy statue at the beginning was sweeeeeeet! then that sweet 1962-67 Prince Gloria at the 2 minute mark!

[@tacituskilgore80]

There's something so captivating about 90s and 00s Japan that I can't explain. It's just hard to compare to any other city. Today there's tons of cities like Tokyo but back then it wasn't so. I feel a similar way about NYC.

[@braeformica]

I visited Japan for 3 months from Janurary to April this year. Being in Tokyo a lot, it's incredible to see how it's changed over the years. It's the same place - just advanced in a way. I wish I was able to experience it back then, too.

[@hldmyhndPX]

when the world felt real just before hyperreality

[@Japan_Changed_My_Life]

I worked in Shinjuku between 2004 and 2011. This tickles the nostalgia nerve. Thanks for sharing!

[@Lensman864]

Nice one! The first time I was there in April 2004 I had no clue and booked a hotel deep in Kabuchichō with zero knowledge that it was the "entertainment" district. Hilarious! 🙂

[@user-wg2nr2ei6b]

やっぱり、誰もスマホを持ってないのが1番の違いかな

[@Slayerrrrrr]

Japan really has always been so ahead of the world, it's amazing to see.

[@Yuzugumi007]

Idk looking like 1980s a little here too

[@CB-L]

@@Yuzugumi007 Well you can say 80s Japan was also way ahead of the time...

[@stra9761]

​​@@CB-L yeah Even 60's Japan was way ahead of its time

[@braino64]

yet Japan is the only country in the world, who is ahead of the world but stuck in time. Let's be honest, Japan is not as good as people make it out to be in the 1990s/2000s

[@stra9761]

@@braino64 Look at 1960's Japan it was Very Very ahead of its time, until the 90's and 2000's

[@urmom-pd7og]

Thanks for sharing! Went back recently after 15 years and was wondering why I remembered it being so different!!!! So much more high rise now, and of course had to navigate with maps and landmarks back then!!!

[@joman66]

The first thing that gives it away this isn't modern times are the cars and their designs. If you just look at these clips real quick, it's not like it's noticibily older footage, unlike if it was footage from the 90s, 80s, or older.

[@hsun7997]

It's just like now except no smartphones and social media.

[@ariel_monaco]

Thanks for sharing this, it brought me so many good memories...

[@mariomartin39]

Gracias por mostrar tan buen material , vale oro

[@kusu8209]

Thanks for the valuable video 🇯🇵❤

[@roselightmoon]

really beautiful shots, and what an amazing footage that takes you back in time. This was really nostalgic to watch too, considering all of this was from before smartphones happened. crazy to see how much things changed in almost 2 decades.

[@abewot]

The atmosphere was more lively than now

[@yenxion6516]

Thank you for uploading this. In middle schools my school library had these really old textbooks about Japan and it have pictures from the 90s to early 2000 of Japan so I always wanted to see what it was like during those times.

[@nick7813]

Amazing footage! So nostalgic and the quality is superb from that Sony 👍🏼👍🏼

[@Phototime123]

Good old days without smartphones.

[@thai8037]

So nostalgic, so beautiful

[@hoangtuan7945]

Most of the young and teen people in this video are in their 35-50s now. Time flies fast and it's sad.

[@Lensman864]

I was younger then too. 😉

[@ytpoon666]

Sadly, most of the symbolic running neon signs are gone now. They are much surreal and eye catching than the LED screen today

[@feliponcioloko]

Thank you!!!!🐒This is gold

[@madeonearthbyhumans]

love ur hardwork , i hope u have time machine and traveling around 80's-90's to take the footage and bringback to us. thx and goodluck for ur traveling andd be carefull to time looping and ur self on the past. Peace~

[@mikulitsi1819]

Fantastic footage. So beautiful

[@Lensman864]

Thank you very much! 😀

[@felipeeduardodelarosabocan2356]

I was living in Japan that year, in Hiyoshi (Yokohama) but used to go a lot to Shinjuku, Ueno and Akihabara as well as Shibuya. Great memories.

[@janraphael5618]

The vibe of 2000s Japan is something

[@sleuthentertainment5872]

From 2016 to 2020 I was travelling to Japan many times. And I loved to go to Shinjuku I can see it hasn't changed too much since the time the video was recorded🧐🧐

[@sewaden7108]

I'm really glad you wanted a while to upload this because KZbin was known for being EXTEREMELY lossy back then. Anyhow, it's nice (and nostalgic) to see what else was going on in the world while I was a newborn.

[@chitoge4321]

lovely. nostalgia i never had..

[@jaredf.6532]

Always wanted to visited the forgotten or dark era of Japan in the late 90s-2009. I wasnt born for like half of yet. When I did start getting into Japan. It was 2010, learning and seeing pictures from this era made me wanna go

[@ricenoodles632]

I'd like to visit during 1992-2001, that was imo the golden age of the "dark era"

[@jaredf.6532]

@@ricenoodles632 early 90s wouldve still been a nice trip to visit as well

[@Aaronzp627]

Yooo this is so freaking cool man, next year it will mark 20 years

[@Lensman864]

Thanks! It's mildly horrifying that it was 20 years ago nearly. It feels like yesterday. 😵‍💫 ⏳️

[@airplanes7204]

14:59 I used to be obsessed with lightening pins when I was a teenager 😅😂❤

[@Kiriya_Kirigaoka]

auの旧ロゴが懐かしい

[@jow_tora_ruela]

awesome

[@Qahtanite]

I wish I could go back in time man

[@yagogabriell]

Thats so amazing seeing this people living like we was

[@kasukasu11]

公開してくれてありがとう

[@rossjaredt.delrosario2535]

60's, 70's, and 2000's have the best atmosphere for me❤

[@virtualtourshk]

Thanks for your lovely sharing 😁 Have a nice weekend 😆

[@abdouu5300]

2000s...peak of jappenese technology culture - anime - manga - jpop - jrock...

[@ballsgaming6652]

And fall of Japan economy, rise of declined population.

[@abdouu5300]

@@ballsgaming6652 i mean that since end of 80s economic boom but yeah world heard more about it from the 2000s

[@user-cg6jh1mf2r]

ちょうど撮影日が僕の3歳の誕生日で、2005年って殆ど記憶に無いけど、古き良きいかにも平成らしい時代に見える。古き良きって昭和の高度経済成長時代に使う言葉だとは思うけど、そう見える。🥸🧐

[@n.a.7723]

4:31 the music is so fitting, as if it's presenting to the person watching this old video, "behold". A window to the past.

[@okitasan]

I was there for my very first trip to Japan just a month later. Lots of nostalgia!

[@CB-L]

Same for me - My 2nd trip to Japan was about 13 years later though The difference between 2005 and 2018 was like, night and day!

[@v1ped]

@@CB-L care to share the differences?

[@CB-L]

@@v1ped Well the very first thing caught my attention is that my native language(obviously not japanese) was barely - or nowhere around - in 2005, but I could easily see and hear around even from the airport in 2018, ofc around various places too. That's already a huge difference imo Other obvious things are, maybe, the usual differences between pre-smartphone age & modern times? btw my 2018 visit was in late spring time and 2005 visit was almost during the end of the year.(I even got the fortune to see those 00s-style new year special stuff on hotel TV) I guess seasonal differences count too

[@necturion9610]

Can we go back to this time period please?

[@adlibbed2138]

and Kiryu and Majima proceeds to fght each other on the other side of the district

[@keplerscat28]

I've been looking for this comment lmao

[@dinoblade8167]

The same year of Kiwami 1

[@Pwnisification]

haha HD footage from 2005, pretty sick!

[@Lensman864]

I'm pleased that you noticed! Yes, I purchased the first consumer HD camcorder, a SONY HDR-FX1 to take to Japan that year. There can't be very much non-pro HD video footage of Japan before mine.

[@farizmeinardi3906]

@@Lensman864 thank you for this, 2005 was one of my great moments... hoping I can visit japan at that time...

[@allentoyokawa9068]

Japan had HD cameras since the early 90s

[@ricenoodles632]

Very uncommon for home recording in 2005. I remember DVD Handycams and Mini DV were popular during that time, but nothing in HD.

[@Lensman864]

The HDR-FX1 was released that year. I risked buying one.

[@BoxGraphic]

So many things that can be said, but all I can say is this is amazing

[@Lensman864]

Thank you! Much appreciated.

[@andreiacosta1425]

Tokyo em 2005 um ano antes de mim nascer, esse país não mudou nada dos anos pra cá só evoluiu na tecnologia que doideira.

[@alexsaffamerica]

It's amazing to think that most cars in this video have been sent off to other countries where they're rotting away (especially in poorer nations) because they're expensive to keep on Japanese roads for so long. There will be nothing like 90s and 2000s Japanese cars anymore.

[@Lensman864]

Quite a thought!

[@vlanzingmanz]

This is an incredible video, thank you. I liked it so much you inspired me to make a very similar style video, I hope you don't mind. I wonder 20 or so years in the future now if we will look back on the past the same way we do today, so that is why I did it.

[@Lensman864]

Thank you very much for your kind words; greatly appreciated. It might interest you to know that unlike most of my videos posted here there was no post editing for this one. It's exactly as it left my camera and I remember, particularly with the signage, thinking about the sequence as I recorded that night. You MUST record current events; people WILL be interested in the future by things we think currently very normal. Imagine if we had video of a Tudor or Roman street scene; dynamite!

[@hahatoure1642]

thx

[@mohican8860]

最高の動画

[@Lensman864]

Arigato!

[@oldfashionedprograms681]

2005年にもよく通っていた新宿・・・ それにしても2005年でこの高画質・・・「SONY FX-1 HD camcorder」はそんなに凄いのか？と思って調べたら凄かった。

[@RealGroove163]

your channel is awesome! please don't delete these videos.

[@Lensman864]

Thank you very much for your compliment! The videos will never be removed by me!

[@rram992]

It’s amazing to see how Japan hasn’t aged a bit. Very modern looking then, and still very modern looking(with the exception of their population that is)

[@dradrapaty]

この頃は新宿歌舞伎町で水商売してました。懐かしい

[@piast_kolodziej]

6:01 "I wear my sunglasses at night" :)

[@Littlejonjontheking]

Impressive.

[@user-vl3cg3mp7n]

大学に進学して上京したのにもかかわらず、ほとんど家に出ず当時は２ｃｈと電車男にはまってたな(笑)

[@claire_699]

Beautiful country

[@Lensman864]

To quote a great man: "I've ... seen things you people wouldn't believe." Such beauty in Nippon. 🙂

[@kasukasu11]

ありがとう！

[@sirfizz6518]

This is just shy of a month after I'd gone up to Akita as a high school exchange student. I believe it was on March 18 and 19 that we (about 800 students from around the world) had our orientation before parting ways to go as 4 separate groups via Shinkansen to our respective regions, excepting the students who would be staying in Tokyo and Chiba. For those of us heading elsewhere, the extent of our Tokyo experience would be the view from bus windows, plus one chaperoned walk from the campus to a convenience store. It's interesting seeing a glimpse of Tokyo so close too that time, particularly the more bustling areas. Perhaps the Tokyo we would have seen up close if we'd had a little more time and freedom... But I'm glad shortly after I'd get to see a much smaller metropolis that much fewer foreigners ever experience, that of Sendai during their massive Sansa festival. 🎉 Thanks for sharing! 😊

[@Lensman864]

A very interesting comment indeed; thank you!

[@dazatx9942]

0:45 queen

[@pgdgawgd]

14:43 織田瓜生花店🌸🌼💐 瓜田の実家😂

[@christian4688]

The year I was born.. interesting!

[@user-rt1hz5rz3e]

2024年とそんなに変わらないのがすごいな。

[@challengethings]

2005年的时候明珠城还没有建好，还是一片沼泽地！

[@icpsl737]

そういえば、つぼ八や村さ来は見なくなった。15分あたりの、さくらんぼの曲が良い。海物語をみると、ギンパラと意地をはるw 失われた10年とか、出版不況なんて言われてたけど、街は明るく楽しかったです。

[@web3wizard381]

definition of kino

[@bboot412]

細かい変化はあるけど今と変わらないねー 街並みと車に変化なし ホストの変な髪型、歩きタバコ、若い女性の細身のジーンズが時代を感じさせる 外国人観光客がほとんどいない時代だ

[@katamaridamashii]

I kinda miss this era :(

[@SlowLee-zw8jm]

I miss my childhood lol

[@Meramerafiveman]

物心どころじゃなかった『ちょっと前』でも20年近く経つと、こうも『昔』と感じられるようになるんだなあ、、

[@jackfloc0]

i was born that year😊

[@deathi]

someone needs to make a stream where this vid loops back to back with some like old jpop playing in the background just that type of vibe

[@Lensman864]

🤔

[@user-uj4wu2ob1v]

この時代結構えびちゃん系OLとかギャル、ギャル男がわんさかいた時代だw

[@ramens]

wow

[@chrisserfass8635]

I thought that I would see Light Yagami walking by from cram school!! But good job with the camera footage.