For the 3rd year running I made the pilgrimage out to the Tokyo Racecourse for the Japan Cup, one if not the only time each year that i use the Keio Line. It’s always a great day, if nothing else it’s good to spend the day outside and for 200 yen admission on top of the train ride out there it’s hardly going to break the bank.
I did what i set out to achieve, drink a few beers, have a few bets and take a few photos. I’ve actually slipped a few photos from Derby Day in Australia in the middle, see if you can pick which ones they are. Derby Day is the first Saturday of a week long Spring Carnival in Melbourne, a fantastic week indeed, one i’ve missed the last 3 years.
I also took my video camera out there and took some footage of the big race. I’m still without any proper editing ability but Paul was nice enough to splice the 4 short clips i took together and i’ve whacked it up on Vimeo. I expect i’ll buy a Mac over the coming months and start getting into the movies a bit more.
The train ride out there was reasonably quiet with many punters getting out there earlier than my 1.30pm start.
Once i got to the station the crowds were more prevalent.
The first iPhone in Japan will be sold too Hiroyuki Sano who has been in line since Monday night at 11pm. At the moment, Wednesday afternoon there are 26 people in line.
Sano-san made his way up from Nagoya to Tokyo at a cost greater than the iPhone itself and has taken 4 days off University this week . While i was there he was interviewed no less than 10 times by local and international press.
After being asked by one guy whether i was international media and then doing an quick interview with the Nippon Television Network i made a hasty exit with my footage. I hope the interview doesn`t make it to air because my Japanese was disgraceful … it`s much better after a few beers.
Here`s some footage i took with my new camera, i had to scale it back from full HD as i`m still not able to get the clips up onto Vimeo at that resolution. Sano-san is the guy with the white jacket on by the way …. not roadside, that`s his mate i think. Unfortunately the embedded version here isn`t HD but you can check it out t Vimeo. VERY happy with Vimeo so far though …. very easy to use, thanks for the tip Ale.
The other night i was watching Discovery, or what i’m now referring to as the “repeat channel”, and i saw the epside from How Do They Do IT on the Worlds Largest HDTV ….. and unbeknown to me, i’ve actually watched it … on 4 seperate occasions infact.
The Worlds Largest HDTV is located at none other than the Tokyo Racetrack. Now me being a mad keen punter i’ve been out to the track the last 2 years for the Japan Dirt Cup and then the Japan Cup, held in November each year, so i’ve seen it without knowing.
The screen employs Mitsubishi’s Aurora Vision LED technology and measures 11.2 meters (37 feet) x 66.4 meters (218 feet), giving it a surface area of 744 square meters (8,000+ square feet), or the equivalent of 3 tennis courts.
Mitsubishi manufactured the screen for the Japan Racing Association (JRA) at its Nagasaki factory in the town of Togitsu, Nagasaki prefecture. The screen was divided into 35 pieces for delivery to the Tokyo Racecourse in Fuchu, Tokyo.
Here’s a few pictures i guess i inadvertently took of the Worlds Largest Television.
The first was taken at the Tokyo Dirt Cup on the Saturday in November 2006.
And the 2 below were taken last year at the Tokyo Cup on the Sunday.
