Pictures from my grandfather's 1964 trip to Japan

[miyakoji]

11 hours ago, railsquid said:

 

I think that's in Kyoto and was used for some sort of canal portage (can't remember the details offhand ).

 

You might be thinking of the Keage Incline.  It was very wide gauge.  It's hard to get a sense of scale from this image, but based on the building on the right and its door, this doesn't seem wide enough.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Biwa_Canal#/media/File:Lake_Biwa_Canal_Keage_Incline.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Biwa_Canal#/media/File:Biwako_incline.jpg

[Lina_Blue]

Wow! Thank you so much for sharing those amazing photos.

 

It's a pleasure to browse trough them.

[maihama eki]

On 6/17/2018 at 6:46 AM, railsquid said:

 

It's fun identifying the locations of all these photos... this one is a bit tricky, but I guessed the location before I made out the street sign, and I'm 99% sure it's this corner here:

 

https://goo.gl/maps/npxp8FmGNBG2

 

which marks one edge of the outer Tsukiji fish market.

The street sign says "Harumi-dori" (晴海通り) which puts it directly down the road from this one at Sukiyabashi (close to Yurakucho station):

japan 1964 128 by John Carlton, on Flickr

 

 

 

Someone built an incredible model of the Nichigeki Theater (round facade with the Toshiba sign on top) and it made the cover of RM Models November 2016.  It's cool to see a photo of the real thing. 

 

That issue of RM Models is available on eBay still where you can see this model.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-RM-MODELS-November-2016-Vol-255-Magazine-From-JAPAN/282217490262?epid=1993672657&hash=item41b5792756:g:iTUAAOSwLF1X~nFq

 

More info on the theater (in English).

http://www.oldtokyo.com/nippon-theater-nichigeki/

 

Thanks for the sharing these amazing photos!

[Jcarlton]

4 hours ago, maihama eki said:

 

Someone built an incredible model of the Nichigeki Theater (round facade with the Toshiba sign on top) and it made the cover of RM Models November 2016.  It's cool to see a photo of the real thing. 

 

That issue of RM Models is available on eBay still where you can see this model.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-RM-MODELS-November-2016-Vol-255-Magazine-From-JAPAN/282217490262?epid=1993672657&hash=item41b5792756:g:iTUAAOSwLF1X~nFq

 

More info on the theater (in English).

http://www.oldtokyo.com/nippon-theater-nichigeki/

 

Thanks for the sharing these amazing photos!

The old Tokyo site had this postcard.

http://www.oldtokyo.com/aerial-views-of-tokyo-c-1940/

Doing a quick street view the only building in the picture that is still there is the primary school, I think. It's a shame as the theatres were rather interesting.

apparently the expressway has replaced the canal.

And still more on this neighborhood.

 https://thetokyofiles.com/2018/05/05/ginza-canals-tokyo-waterways/

I wonder if they demolished the bridge or if it's been buried under there.

Edited June 18, 2018 by Jcarlton

[kvp]

9 hours ago, Jcarlton said:

I wonder if they demolished the bridge or if it's been buried under there.

Looking at the old pictures and google street view, it looks like some of the bridges in the area have been kept and used as overpasses for the cars that fill most of the old canals as many of them have been converted into open or covered over expressways. One example is what is labeled as the Yaeshu route and runs right inside the old Edo castle outer moat, the one that went right next to Tokyo station. It enters under the water level at the Sumida river and exits onto the overhead ramp just north east from Yurakucho. At least one underground Tokyo station parking lot enterance seems to be connected to it. What surprises me is how much of this infrastructure is under the water levels of the old canals and actually under the normal water level of the Sumida river. And there are subways below all of this.

 

For the old Shimbashi bridge, where one pillar still stands, there is a mysterious bump in the road under the highway, that follows the arch of the old bridge: