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On the highway, heading toward Tokyo in April 2001 — Google Street View
→ Explore the full “Framing Japan” series:
Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4 • Part 5 • Part 6
A few weeks ago, while clearing out a drawer, I stumbled upon an old photo album filled with snapshots from my very first trip to Japan back in April 2001.
Shot on a disposable film camera, these pictures feel like tiny time capsules, so I couldn’t resist scanning a handful to share in this fifth entry in my “Framing Japan” series.
As with the earlier posts, I set myself an extra challenge: track down the exact spots in Google Street View. Two decades of urban change made the hunt tricky. Some façades had vanished — Japan’s streets, especially those of Tokyo, are in constant flux — while others were buried under new signage, and I was working from low-resolution scans with no EXIF data. But in the end, I pinned down every location.
So let’s dive into “Framing Japan — Part 5” and rewind to 2001.
Shinkansen: First Encounter with the Bullet Train
During my first stay in Japan, I was graciously hosted by a family living in rural northern Chiba Prefecture. On my very first trip to Tokyo, my host father was eager to show me the Shinkansen, so my earliest steps in the capital were inside Tokyo Station. I remember him buying two 入場券 (nyūjōken, platform tickets) so we could simply wander down to one of the Shinkansen platforms.
There stood two generations of high-speed icons: the 700 Series, brand-new back then (retired from service in 2020), and the boxier 300 Series, introduced in 1992 and retired in 2012.
Finding the exact spot over two decades later is tricky, but I think this Street View frame is the closest match to the vantage point from which I photographed the 700 Series. Judging by the “14” platform sign visible in my 2001 photo, I’m pretty sure I was standing on the opposite platform — just behind the Shinkansen pictured in the Google Street View frame.
Akihabara: A First Stroll through “Electric Town”
Another place my host father was keen to show me was Akihabara — a name I knew nothing about back in 2001. I vividly remember the bright yellow “Electric Town” exit sign inside the station.
Our first stop was a gyūdon chain for lunch. I can’t recall whether it was Matsuya, Yoshinoya, or Sukiya, but I’m sure it was one of those three. It was my first — and slightly surreal — experience of Japanese fast food. The counter was packed; I couldn’t even sit next to my host father. I had no idea what I was eating, yet it tasted great, and I polished it off in minutes. I’d never seen such lightning-fast service.
Afterwards, we wandered through the neighbourhood, ducking into a few shops. The scene felt mesmerising: tall buildings, vertical signs, colours layered on every surface. Below are two snapshots I captured that afternoon.
— Google Street View
— Google Street View
From Ginza to the Imperial Palace
These two photos were taken only a few blocks apart.
The first one captures Ginza-nishi 2-chōme, a textbook Tokyo streetscape that felt completely new to me at the time.
The second shot looks toward the Imperial Palace moat; on the left edge of the frame stands part of Sakashita-mon Gate, one of the palace’s main entrances.
— Google Street View
— Google Street View
Classic Asakusa
During that first visit to Tokyo, my hosts, of course, took me to Asakusa, one of the city’s busiest tourist spots. Its long souvenir and snack-filled arcade, Nakamise-dōri, leads straight to Sensō-ji, arguably the most famous temple in Japan.
Oddly, it seems I came back with only one shot from the whole area: the vermilion Kaminari-mon gate, framed by an out-of-place traffic light that has long since disappeared.
— Google Street View
2001 Tokyo Tower Panorama
Another must-see was Tokyo Tower, whose observation deck gave me my first ever panoramic view of this gorgeous city. No doubt the skyline has changed a lot since then. Shot at dusk on a disposable camera, the photos are blurry and grainy — but that only adds to their charm
— Google Street View
Odaiba
I don’t have many vivid memories of Odaiba from that first trip. I only learned to like the place years later — especially in 2009, when I discovered the life-size Gundam statue. At dusk, though, Odaiba has its own charm: quieter streets, a soft sea breeze, and neon dancing on the water. Best of all, it offers a wide-angle view of Tokyo’s gorgeous skyline.
— Google Street View
— Google Street View
Tokyo Disneyland
My host family and I spent a day at Tokyo Disneyland. There’s not much to add about the park itself from that visit — I’ve been back a few times since then — but tucked inside my old photo album, right next to the entrance photo, I found my original admission ticket from April 2001. A fun little relic!
— Google Street View
Mashiko and the Giant Tanuki
That day, we escaped Tokyo and drove north to Mashiko, a pottery town about two hours from my host family’s home. I remember it as a long outing; we packed a lot in: Nikkō’s shrines (sadly I’ve found no photos), a riverside picnic where we had fun skipping stones, and finally a visit to Mashiko itself.
Mashiko welcomed us with its oversized tanuki statue, a creature that was totally new to me: odd, a bit gross and funny, yet somehow charming.
— Google Street View
— Google Street View
That first trip to Japan, where I celebrated my twentieth birthday, was simply magical. I was discovering a country, a culture, and a language that had fascinated me for years. Back then, the internet was just beginning to take hold, smartphones and social media didn’t exist yet (though i-mode was widespread in Japan), and digital cameras were still relatively rare. I still remember — and always will — the feeling, and even strangely the smell in the air, the first time I stepped off the plane at Narita Airport.