These Videos Will Transport You to Tokyo, and 30 Years into the Past

Social distancing got you missing travel? Wishing you could open your eyes and find yourself in Tokyo? Feeling a little nostalgic?

YouTuber Lyle Hiroshi Saxon has been living in Tokyo since 1984, giving him a unique perspective on the bustling metropolis, and we can all be thankful that he's been documenting that life since the 90s! His YouTube channel contains a whole host of home videos from early 90s Tokyo, taken on a bulky camcorder, showing off the fascinating mundanities of a Tokyo 30 years in the past. Watching his meandering, often aimless tours of busy city streets and quiet parks is just what we need while we stay home.

Many of Saxon's videos are under 5 minutes. Short walks through train stations, Shinjuku crowds, Shibuya nightlife.

It's no surprise that some of his most popular videos are those showing train station attendants dramatically pushing riders into trains so crowded it seems physically impossible. A tradition that, unfortunately, still continues to this day.

But it's videos like this one, a 36-minute "walkabout" of Shinjuku from 1991, that make this channel special. Zone out to the sights and sounds of Tokyo. Check out the clothes that are... surprisingly similar to what we see today, thanks to the cyclical nature of fashion. Enjoy a nostalgic glimpse of a world before smartphones.

And don't miss this clip that recently blew up on Japanese Twitter, a full 30 years after its recording, showing us what Tokyo's busiest train station turnstiles once looked like.

Check out the channel, and tell us which are your favorite videos on the Japankuru twitter, instagram, and facebook!