Thanks to all my Patreon supporters for making this kind of video possible www.patreon.com/lifewhereimfrom ! For links to the programs I was using to plan and animate my route, I listed them all on the Life Where I'm From website → bit.ly/LWIFEP148 . For the original video, go to th-cam.com/video/u0x8EAf4GSg/w-d-xo.html
Tokyo by bike really open my mind about Tokyo. it's not just a city that has busiest crossing in the world but also has numerous green and eco park. thanks for made that video
The video really did change the way I think about Tokyo as a city. I was suprised by all the smaler (and very preatty) residential areas. So mission acomplished 😁 👍
Wonderful explanation of your fantastic biking video. Cycling is already a very efficient way for a human to move about (calories per km). But cycling slowly is INCREDIBLY efficient, as there's almost no air resistance. I use a very upright Dutch bike, with two baskets, around Vienna, Austria (a surprisingly flat city in a very bumpy country). The cycling experience seems very similar to yours in Tokyo, although our bike routes tend to be more obviously separate from pedestrian routes. I almost never need to ride on a road with any kind of significant car traffic. On pavements (sidewalks), just ride in a way that lets pedestrians know you're not a danger to them. Can't get enough of your channel!
Greg, you did an excellent job of capturing a lot of the variety that can be seen in everyday life in Tokyo. (And in all your other videos too). Living in Tokyo never gets old, thanks in large part to the huge variety of scenes, places, and activities. Those who visit but don't stray far from the hotel or a few major tourist destinations usually don't "get" how anyone could love to live there. This video (and your others) can help them start to understand.
Yout original Video Tokyo by Bike got me so hooked and I often had it in mind when I visualized that I someday will ne visiting this fabolous country! Thank you for your vlogs and insights in the culture. Arigatou gozaimasu
I kind of want another one of these Tokyo by bike videos, but knowing how long it took for it to be made, plus how much it may have took out from you, I shouldn't. It was a real eye opener, especially from someone who can't afford to go to Japan any time soon. Thanks for making it!
I've always been a big fan of LWIF and I've always admired your life there in Japan, but now after watching this I also have to say that I admire the swimming pool sized computer monitor you work with! I do a lot of long-distance cycling and you did the right thing by riding at a pace that you can sustain. Besides, going slow is the best way to enjoy the ride. Another great video, but I was secretly hoping there would be bonus footage of the two cats in the window! : )
Sorry, no extra footage of cats this time. How big is the monitor again? 32 inch? I can't even remember, but something like that. It seems totally normal size to me now.
@@LifeWhereImFromX I can imagine that the bigger size makes it easier to manage the audio and video tracks during post, and also to have other software on hand when you need it. I hope you do more cycling stories in the future (with cats, haha)!
Been following you and your channel for years. I love the detail you put into your videos, and I am always amazed by how they turn out. I can’t wait to go on bike rides like this when I go to Japan!
Hi Greg, I have been a fan of your videos for a long time! I am an architecture student and due to the pandemic I have been making a lot of media for my projects with computer software and I am always interesting in learning new software, so this video was very interesting to me. I also really enjoyed watching the bike video. I hope to visit Tokyo eventually, until then I will continue living vicariously through you and learning new things about your beautiful city! Thank you for the videos!
I really enjoyed watching your bike ride! I spent time in Tokyo in 2018 and 2019, so I recognised a few of the places in the video, particularly Shibuya, Shinjuku, Nihonbashi and the Gotokuji Temple. Tokyo is a breathtaking city! ... As an expat living in Shanghai, I am considering doing a similar bike ride around Shanghai. Your video has inspired me! ... Keep up the excellent content! 😎
Kudos to you who manage to maintain energy and spirit to finish the filming in one whole day! I would shoot it multiple days just because I'm not that fit haha
thanks for sharing behind the scenes. I'm planning a bike route for next trip. and your video really help me to get better idea on how to record while cycling.
Great video! Loved both the one on the main channel (I love this small neighborhood/streets that you have in Tokyo) and the video behind the scenes. It is super interesting to see how you prepare your videos and also the equipment/software that help you to get prepared. I am really fond of your channels so keep up the great job Greg! :)
The bike video is one of my favorite videos from you! My boyfriend and I are also planning a visit to Japan after we graduate college next May partially due to your amazing channel. Thanks for making videos, I greatly appreciate it.
I loved the video!! I would love to do a bike tour like this myself! Crazy that you were able to ride 120km in and around Tokyo in one day! And you were not even rushing! It’s funny to see how the scenery was constantly changing so much. Riding on the street seemed scary though
I absolutely loved how the video came out! I hope you will make another one soon, personally I loved all the residential areas, seeing the narrow streets and the wide varierty of houses ^-^
Hey Greg, thanks for sharing this - I found it really interesting and surprising how much you can get around Tokyo by bike. I'm inspired to give it a try next visit to Tokyo. :) Just a tip - you might find it easier to plan routes using a bike route planning website/app. I use one called Komoot and it doesn't have the same 10 waypoint limitations you mentioned, and you get some nice extra information about surfaces/gradients/etc. If you choose the bike touring option it'll also prefer quieter roads. Anyhow, thanks again! Really enjoyed this!
Hi Greg, Absolutely great work on the new video. Really compelling and thorough. Just lovely. Wanted to note that with respect to production value where you are generally stellar, shooting in 60 fps for any biking videos would greatly improve the quality. Less screen blur and pixelation from the motion. That is the only thing I think you could improve on these going forward. Best, Jeff
Yes, I agree. I think I commented somewhere else that I've been waiting for that darn SONY a7siii to come out, which is supposed to have 4k 60FPS. I know other cameras can do it, but all my gear right now is set up for SONY, so to temporarily switch over just for 60FPS which I wouldn't use very often, just isn't worth the hassle at the moment.
@@LifeWhereImFromX Ahh I see. Looking forward to the SONY technology catching up with you :) I'm similarly hooked on Fuji for travel photography. I just love the feel of the mirrorless XT series, and it's so easy to shoot one fully manual.
These videos are nice to get a look into the Tokyo behind the tourist attractions. Personally love seeing that side of cities. I like to see how advanced Tokyo’s bicycling infrastructure is, though, coming from someone who studied traffic science in the Netherlands where we have more bicycles than people, it looks like it was an after-thought half of the time. Not hating at all, just an observation
great job Greg! That was a lot more work than I thought. What a ride. I wish I could do the same but I need an electric bike with 2 or 3 spare batteries. :) Maybe you should create self guided tours of Japan.
I sometimes ride to Ginza and Nihonbashi to watch movies (not lately though), and it's like a 70 minute bike ride one way. My Japanese family always thinks it's so weird, but to me, it's not that big a distance at all. People in Vancouver do daily commutes covering the same distance all the time (they go much faster than me, so it would only take them half the time or something).
I've never been a very skilled runner but I have been doing some long distance runs over the past while. The first couple times that I ran a full marathon distance I wasn't able to run the full distance as by the 5 hour point or so it felt like my body was getting the same soreness you feel the next day after you do some exercise. The key for me to complete the distance was to slow down at the start, take it easy and later on in the run I found I wasn't getting sore and tightening up in the same way.
That's something to think about. I had the same train of thought after the bike ride, that maybe I could do longer running distances if I paced myself better. Currently, I've only been able to do two half marathons, and I had to take a walking break on both about 15km in. I've since done 25km on my own, but still, my legs were pretty beat near the end. If I slowed down the pace from the start, perhaps I can push the distance significantly. Cheers!
@@LifeWhereImFromX Yeah for the first completion I just took it real slow, ran all the way and finished in about 7 hours. Although I didn't technically 'walk' I wasn't running much faster than someone who was walking by the end. Now when I'm running I look at increasing the time, the last one was about 6 hours 18 minutes. I'm in Ogikubo by the way, I'll jog through Zenpukuji park every once in a while. It's a beautiful place, good to see it in video!
Long time watcher first time commenter! I was wondering about where you leave your bike when you use a bathroom or enter a convenience store? I know from your other videos that the security of the bike wouldn't really be a problem - I more wonder about the place that is most socially acceptable and doesn't cause inconvenience to others 😁 I'm not a super confident cyclist, but these videos (and your explanation of the rules, which sound similar to the Australian state where I'm from) have inspired me to give city cycling a try next Japan trip!
If you see what other people do, that's usually a decent bet. Sometimes there are areas with a bicycle symbol, which make it obvious that you're to park a bike at a place. There are also no bicycle signs that make it obvious that you shouldn't park a bike (which is not to be confused with not being able to ride a bike, which is denoted by a person standing next to a bike, which means you should get off and walk your bike). If there are no signs, which is a very likely possibility, you should place it on the side and out of the way. You'll see a ton of examples if you come to Japan, so it shouldn't be too hard to figure out once you see. Even if you park it in the wrong place, the most likely thing to happen is that they give you a warning paper on your bike not to do it again and to move it when you see it. If you leave your bike for a day with that paper on it, your bike will go to bike jail and you'll have to find the one for the area and pick it up. In some high traffic areas, like you park on the side of a busy street (on the street part, not the sidewalk), they may just straight up send it directly to bike jail. However, the most likely thing that will happen is nothing. I've only had my bike go to jail once, and that's because I left it in front of my kids' school for 2 days, because I rode my bike there, walked home, and forget where I put my bike!
I here what you're asking for, but they generally never go well for me. Not enough people interested. But to answer your question, it's a LG 32" monitor (LG 32UL950-W). Software is simply Windows 10 with the latest Adobe Premiere / Creative Suite. My roughly complete kit of gear can be found at kit.co/lifewhereimfrom/youtube-filming-gear
Hi Greg first of all, thanks for the video and the behind the scenes, amazing quality as always and just really really good content. I have an unrelated question seeing all your computer gear. Do you have to take precautions for a monitor like that and maybe for the pc tower because of the earthquake risk? Thanks again for all the very high quality videos, stay safe, greetings from Italy!
You're welcome! The PC tower is quite heavy and stuck in there, so I don't worry about it. I have a one year backup plan on Dropbox, so if anything were to happen to projects that I've deleted in the past year, I'd still be able to access. I sync all my footage to dropbox. I also backup locally, but those are more in danger of being damaged in the case of a natural disaster. In that scenario, I'd be out of luck and only have my finished work on TH-cam as a backup. For the monitor, no, I don't have anything to protect it in case of an earthquake. For the shelves, which I don't think I've ever really shown when shooting my office, they have earthquake braces that touch the ceiling, so that they won't roll away, since I have some heavy gear on there.
Awesome video Greg, I wish I lived there to go with you, or just help, etc... if you even needed help. Just super inspiring, one of the things I'd really love doing if I lived there. Here were I live it's a surefire way to get mugged, dead in some ditch, or worse. xD On the camera setup: I think it was the best choice for image quality. Good Sony camera with a gimbal, great one btw. If I was shooting for convenience during ride and way more work on the editing side though, I kinda wish a camera system like Insta 360 One X kept evolving... as well as thinking about GoPros or DJI Osmo pockets covering multiple angles. But for a trip this long, editing would get hellish. About route planning, I'm not sure if this is true anymore since it's been a very long time, but some 10 years plus ago I had to do something similar, and found out that using Google Earth software was easier and more intuitive than Google Maps to plan routes, create maps, and just use as visual aid. But I'm not sure how it interacts with and how it goes for actually following routes during trip. Back then, it just had a more robust set of tools to draw over the map, I used to plan a convention bus trip, anime convention coincidentally. Anyways, thanks for all the work, stay safe there!
I enjoyed the video so much. I wanted to rent a bike and do a tour during my trip in 2015, but I didn't encounter any shops or koisks set up. Maybe it's easier now. Can't believe you went the whole day running a full size camera. How much power and memory cards did you consume?
Rental is easy now. You can get bikes from 7-Eleven's (it's not 7-Eleven's bike, but they have a rideshare company use space in front of their stores). I wasn't filming constantly. I'd stop on average every 10 minutes to film, whether I was stationery or riding the bike while doing it. So power and memory cards weren't as big a deal as you'd think. I believe I went through 3 batteries, so 2 spares left. And for SD cards I only had 4 hours of footage in the end, so not even two 128GB cards.
Hi - Thanks for this as I really was interested in how you planned it plus how come you seemed "relativley" fresh for such a long ride. Though my exp tells me, you ridding so long it would have been your bottom that was the most sore! Or do you just normally ride alot so that was not a big issue? I was quite impressed in your ride & it was very enjoyable to watch. What a bonus to have this "extra". cheers Melb, Australia
Neck and shoulders were really tensed up. My butt, surprisingly not bad. Surprising because on practice runs of 40-50km it was sore near the end. So I think those runs helped condition my butt a bit, haha. I ride very short distances often, like 1-5km. I haven't done 30+km rides often at all in Japan, maybe only a few times before I had the idea to make this video.
@@LifeWhereImFromX Greg, i own Japanese cafe in Melbourne, and as you can imagine things are sooo tough here (and everywhere else). But watching yr videos, plus Paolo, Only in japan does give us Japan lovers some enjoyment these tough months. Best wishes to you & family.
No, I've held it before and seen the footage, I just don't like the quality. For other people, yeah, it's a fine tool, but I find that my camera setup makes a difference for the immersion of being there, especially in 4k. I can't wait until Sony comes out with the SONY A7Siii, which I expect will have 4K 60FPS, which I think would be ideally suited for rides like this.
During the Tokyo by Bike video I was was wondering just how much you workout Greg, 120km isn't a small feat, heck even 30km and 50km isn't a small feat and all that on a mama bike.
Great explanations of making the video. Too bad you didn’t have a mount for the camera, it looks a bit heavy to hold. Thank you again for sharing. Hope the family is doing ok.
I did try with a mount, but it transmits too much shock from the bike, especially when you hit bumps, to work. The human body and arm are really great at shock absorption. Once you add the gimbal to the human body, and the bike prevents the ups and downs you'd normally get from walking, you end up with smooth shots if you don't need to change direction.
The mask is more meant for UV protection more than anything else. My wife bought it off of Amazon and they're all sold out now in Japan. Yeah, it was easy enough to breathe, which makes me think it's not the best for coronavirus (but also, it must help a bit). I also brought with me a more proper mask in case I encountered situations where I had to be really close to people in an indoor space, but that never ended up happening.
Is it safe to assume that i can ride along sidewalk as long as i keep my speed under 10kph all the time? Road is kind of difficult especially of you dont know which are one way, which way goes where. I guess maybe if google is accurate all the time, i will be confident.
Yeah, if you're going slow and giving pedestrians right of way, I can't possibly see how you'd run into trouble. The only exception if there are no riding signs up, but that's generally around really busy areas, like train stations, and it'll probably be obvious.
Interesting Greg.. Here in San Francisco the law is that a car has to give a biker 30 inches gap or buffer to avoid any contact but there are some areas here that is almost impossible to comply with this rule and it can be a bit scary riding a bike. Most of the time some drivers do not see a biker when a car makes a right turn in front of a biker.
I brought a couple tools, but not for the bike specifically, but for the camera, smartphone holder, and water bottle holder. If it came to any repairs for the bike, at most places, there was probably a bike repair shop within a few km, so I would have done that.
20:18. I'd like to see footage of this section of your trip where you seem to have gone underwater from Nishinagisa Information Center to near Kasai Sea Life Park Office... 😉🙂
@@LifeWhereImFromX Ja, ja...!!! I guess if I ever go to Japan I won't be able to travel this section by bike, then... Unless of course they come up with the appropriate technology for that... If it's Japan, it wouldn't surprise me... 😉🙂
@@fuego09esmeralda You could take a kayak or something. If you look at a satellite image, it's a really shallow piece of water. In reality though, it'd be fairly obvious where the path is leading to, just use the bridge and you'd be fine!
aescripts.com/geolayers/ This software has the tutorials. The hardest part for me was figuring out where the darn import button was for the GPX data. But I eventually found it and after that, it's very easy to do.
Thank you so much for this video! I loved the bike video but I kept asking 'how did he do that?' - 'what kind of camera is he using?' etc. This answers all my questions. The Sony is amazing at night shots and dynamic range and that gimbal is stunning and makes it look that much better. Every time I was ever in Japan I noticed one thing that I've never encountered in any other country -- the light. There is something about the daylight in Japan that has a character and quality that I can't put into words, but it is unique to Japan. Do you notice this? Do you know what I mean? Thank you again. :)
I don't think I've traveled enough to make a good comment about the light. But I have thought the sunsets look a bit different than Vancouver and also Winnipeg, places that I've lived before.
I have the same thoughts in my mind when I first came here to work in Japan 32 years ago ( I was married to a Japanese a year later ) even now then. There is really something about the DAYLIGHT that I have never been discuss to anyone until now.
i'd love to be able to cycle around my city- i pay around €70 a month for the bus to and from college, which would be a 12km bike ride (and would take less time than my combo of bus and walking) if we had decent bike infrastructure. no greenways, sometimes cyclists have no choice but to use the bus lane, etc. sad times😢
@@LifeWhereImFromX OH MAN, I thought that might've been the case!!! I love Graniph! Got a ton of stuff from their Shibuya/Harajuku store last time I was there. Didn't even know they had an online shop. Thanks!
On a side street, I was behind a black van, when it would start and stop sporadically. Really annoying. So I went to gear down, but it was also stopping in front of me, so I lost balance and dropped the bike. But I was basically at a stand still and the bike is a stepover model, so the bike fell down but I was still standing. I mainly lost grip of the bike because I didn't have any speed, but also because I was holding the camera in the same hand that I was trying to use to shift the gears. The close call would be when I showed the shot of me down a busy roadway, and I couldn't turn off to a quieter side path. I hadn't planned on holding my camera for that portion, and there was a bit of a grade difference between the two feet from the curb and the main rode. So sometimes my tire would go back and forth over that difference, which really worried me because maybe it would cause my bike to tip or slide.
I really wish I could cycle here in England a bit easier, but, at least where I live, there are very few dedicated cycle paths so you mostly have to ride on the road (it's technically illegal to cycle on the pavement unless stated otherwise), which absolutely terrifies me because people in cars get annoyed with cyclists and often overtake too close or park on the edge where there are sometimes small cycle lanes. Unfortunately it's, in part, because the roads are so old they're often barely wide enough for cars, let alone cars and bikes and our standard speed is 30+ mph. I think if cycling were a bigger part of our culture (like in Germany or Japan), then things would be a bit safer for cyclists, but as it is now I tend to stick to cycling alone canels- then you only have pedestrians to contend with!
I'm surprised that you didn't just use a GoPro or get a mount for your camera! I would have been so awkward holding a camera in one hand and steadying the bike in the other.
That is crazy! I appreciate the effort you put in, but please just use a go pro next time. I would rather you had fun doing it, and feel like doing more of them, than you suffer for your art!
Thanks to all my Patreon supporters for making this kind of video possible www.patreon.com/lifewhereimfrom
! For links to the programs I was using to plan and animate my route, I listed them all on the Life Where I'm From website → bit.ly/LWIFEP148
. For the original video, go to th-cam.com/video/u0x8EAf4GSg/w-d-xo.html
That animation was really cool. I remember thinking that while I watched the video.
I actually really enjoyed the biking video! I watched the whole thing and it just made me wanna go back to Japan
Hopefully you can come soon!
Can't wait to visit again!
Tokyo by bike really open my mind about Tokyo. it's not just a city that has busiest crossing in the world but also has numerous green and eco park. thanks for made that video
The video really did change the way I think about Tokyo as a city. I was suprised by all the smaler (and very preatty) residential areas. So mission acomplished 😁 👍
Glad you enjoyed it!
Wonderful explanation of your fantastic biking video. Cycling is already a very efficient way for a human to move about (calories per km). But cycling slowly is INCREDIBLY efficient, as there's almost no air resistance. I use a very upright Dutch bike, with two baskets, around Vienna, Austria (a surprisingly flat city in a very bumpy country). The cycling experience seems very similar to yours in Tokyo, although our bike routes tend to be more obviously separate from pedestrian routes. I almost never need to ride on a road with any kind of significant car traffic. On pavements (sidewalks), just ride in a way that lets pedestrians know you're not a danger to them.
Can't get enough of your channel!
Greg, you did an excellent job of capturing a lot of the variety that can be seen in everyday life in Tokyo. (And in all your other videos too). Living in Tokyo never gets old, thanks in large part to the huge variety of scenes, places, and activities. Those who visit but don't stray far from the hotel or a few major tourist destinations usually don't "get" how anyone could love to live there. This video (and your others) can help them start to understand.
Yout original Video Tokyo by Bike got me so hooked and I often had it in mind when I visualized that I someday will ne visiting this fabolous country! Thank you for your vlogs and insights in the culture. Arigatou gozaimasu
I kind of want another one of these Tokyo by bike videos, but knowing how long it took for it to be made, plus how much it may have took out from you, I shouldn't. It was a real eye opener, especially from someone who can't afford to go to Japan any time soon. Thanks for making it!
I've always been a big fan of LWIF and I've always admired your life there in Japan, but now after watching this I also have to say that I admire the swimming pool sized computer monitor you work with! I do a lot of long-distance cycling and you did the right thing by riding at a pace that you can sustain. Besides, going slow is the best way to enjoy the ride. Another great video, but I was secretly hoping there would be bonus footage of the two cats in the window! : )
Sorry, no extra footage of cats this time. How big is the monitor again? 32 inch? I can't even remember, but something like that. It seems totally normal size to me now.
@@LifeWhereImFromX I can imagine that the bigger size makes it easier to manage the audio and video tracks during post, and also to have other software on hand when you need it. I hope you do more cycling stories in the future (with cats, haha)!
Been following you and your channel for years. I love the detail you put into your videos, and I am always amazed by how they turn out. I can’t wait to go on bike rides like this when I go to Japan!
I miss videos on the X channel. Great behind the scenes stuff Greg!
Thanks!
Hi Greg, I have been a fan of your videos for a long time! I am an architecture student and due to the pandemic I have been making a lot of media for my projects with computer software and I am always interesting in learning new software, so this video was very interesting to me. I also really enjoyed watching the bike video. I hope to visit Tokyo eventually, until then I will continue living vicariously through you and learning new things about your beautiful city! Thank you for the videos!
ooo, thanks for talking about the bike rules a bit! Also, your camera gimbal is awesome!
I adore your content tremendously. It’s absolutely stunning! The time, the research, the effort, the beautiful shots! I enjoy your long videos.
Love the vagaries of the ex-pat Canadian accent: "I want to talk about ROOT planning... So I planned my ROWT out." 😀
I didn't even notice!
Isn't that just english?
I really enjoyed watching your bike ride! I spent time in Tokyo in 2018 and 2019, so I recognised a few of the places in the video, particularly Shibuya, Shinjuku, Nihonbashi and the Gotokuji Temple. Tokyo is a breathtaking city! ... As an expat living in Shanghai, I am considering doing a similar bike ride around Shanghai. Your video has inspired me! ... Keep up the excellent content! 😎
Kudos to you who manage to maintain energy and spirit to finish the filming in one whole day!
I would shoot it multiple days just because I'm not that fit haha
thanks for sharing behind the scenes. I'm planning a bike route for next trip. and your video really help me to get better idea on how to record while cycling.
nice to see a video on this channel :) really enjoyed Tokyo by Bike so was interesting to see how you planned it all out
Great video! Loved both the one on the main channel (I love this small neighborhood/streets that you have in Tokyo) and the video behind the scenes. It is super interesting to see how you prepare your videos and also the equipment/software that help you to get prepared. I am really fond of your channels so keep up the great job Greg! :)
Loved the bike vid, it really took me back to when I rode a kick scooter around Tokyo, and this behind the scenes was cool.... thanks! 😊 🛴
I really appreciate you Mr Greg, thank you 🌻🌼
And stay safe 🌻
Love this insight into how this was made
The bike video is one of my favorite videos from you! My boyfriend and I are also planning a visit to Japan after we graduate college next May partially due to your amazing channel. Thanks for making videos, I greatly appreciate it.
I loved the video!! I would love to do a bike tour like this myself! Crazy that you were able to ride 120km in and around Tokyo in one day! And you were not even rushing! It’s funny to see how the scenery was constantly changing so much. Riding on the street seemed scary though
I absolutely loved how the video came out! I hope you will make another one soon, personally I loved all the residential areas, seeing the narrow streets and the wide varierty of houses ^-^
Really love that video. Very nice to watch specially to those who've never been to Tokyo/Japan. It's like a virtual tour. 👍
Hey Greg, thanks for sharing this - I found it really interesting and surprising how much you can get around Tokyo by bike. I'm inspired to give it a try next visit to Tokyo. :)
Just a tip - you might find it easier to plan routes using a bike route planning website/app. I use one called Komoot and it doesn't have the same 10 waypoint limitations you mentioned, and you get some nice extra information about surfaces/gradients/etc. If you choose the bike touring option it'll also prefer quieter roads.
Anyhow, thanks again! Really enjoyed this!
Hmm... thanks for the tip. I might try it out next time. Although now I've figured out how to use Google My Maps!
Hi Greg, Absolutely great work on the new video. Really compelling and thorough. Just lovely. Wanted to note that with respect to production value where you are generally stellar, shooting in 60 fps for any biking videos would greatly improve the quality. Less screen blur and pixelation from the motion. That is the only thing I think you could improve on these going forward.
Best,
Jeff
Yes, I agree. I think I commented somewhere else that I've been waiting for that darn SONY a7siii to come out, which is supposed to have 4k 60FPS. I know other cameras can do it, but all my gear right now is set up for SONY, so to temporarily switch over just for 60FPS which I wouldn't use very often, just isn't worth the hassle at the moment.
@@LifeWhereImFromX Ahh I see. Looking forward to the SONY technology catching up with you :) I'm similarly hooked on Fuji for travel photography. I just love the feel of the mirrorless XT series, and it's so easy to shoot one fully manual.
my unconditional love for Japan and your videos from cities to country side , i just enjoy every second of it .... thanks so much Senpai !!!!!
Total staycation tour thanks
Thanks for the bike trip and the behind-the-scenes, Greg. That gimbal is nimble!
the camera setup is hardcore, now I know the secret why the quality is really great and stable.
I came here from the Tokyo by bike since I enjoyed it that much. more power to you! Hope you get to make more videos like these 😁🚴♀️
My question is how did you manage to carry the camera on the gimbal the whole way? Or did you have a bike basket?
7:10 coordinate
very cool, didnt realize how big Tokyo actually is
It's funny, because I was thinking about how geographically small it is, but there's definitely a lot of variety within Tokyo.
Greater Tokyo is 35 Million people!
These videos are nice to get a look into the Tokyo behind the tourist attractions. Personally love seeing that side of cities. I like to see how advanced Tokyo’s bicycling infrastructure is, though, coming from someone who studied traffic science in the Netherlands where we have more bicycles than people, it looks like it was an after-thought half of the time. Not hating at all, just an observation
This guy looks exactly how he used to look since the beginning of his videos....kudos greg!!
You are the best youtuber thanks for uploading this!
Really cool insight in this video, makes me want to explore my neighborhood more. Happy Fathers day btw (in America at least lol)
Thanks!
great job Greg! That was a lot more work than I thought.
What a ride. I wish I could do the same but I need an electric bike with 2 or 3 spare batteries. :)
Maybe you should create self guided tours of Japan.
* Thank You For Your and Effort & Dedication To Make This Video.
* Please Make More Videos.
These videos make me want to live in Japan, but it'll be a long time until I can...
ooh a behind the sceenes! You spoil us, greg!
This was an awesome video, wish you can do this every once in a while
Excellent, I once rode from Skytree all the way down to Ginza. About 18 miles. Really awesome.
I sometimes ride to Ginza and Nihonbashi to watch movies (not lately though), and it's like a 70 minute bike ride one way. My Japanese family always thinks it's so weird, but to me, it's not that big a distance at all. People in Vancouver do daily commutes covering the same distance all the time (they go much faster than me, so it would only take them half the time or something).
Excellent setup
Hey man thank you so much for this gem! Could you please tell me what was your focal length? 16mm? and what about fps, 4k 24fps?
I've never been a very skilled runner but I have been doing some long distance runs over the past while. The first couple times that I ran a full marathon distance I wasn't able to run the full distance as by the 5 hour point or so it felt like my body was getting the same soreness you feel the next day after you do some exercise. The key for me to complete the distance was to slow down at the start, take it easy and later on in the run I found I wasn't getting sore and tightening up in the same way.
That's something to think about. I had the same train of thought after the bike ride, that maybe I could do longer running distances if I paced myself better. Currently, I've only been able to do two half marathons, and I had to take a walking break on both about 15km in. I've since done 25km on my own, but still, my legs were pretty beat near the end. If I slowed down the pace from the start, perhaps I can push the distance significantly. Cheers!
@@LifeWhereImFromX Yeah for the first completion I just took it real slow, ran all the way and finished in about 7 hours. Although I didn't technically 'walk' I wasn't running much faster than someone who was walking by the end. Now when I'm running I look at increasing the time, the last one was about 6 hours 18 minutes.
I'm in Ogikubo by the way, I'll jog through Zenpukuji park every once in a while. It's a beautiful place, good to see it in video!
These behind the scenes are as interesting as the finished videos, in not more. So many tech details and logistics 🎉
Please make a tutorial on how did you make that animation part on your map using after effects please... Thank you!
Very nice, thank you for sharing the details!
Long time watcher first time commenter! I was wondering about where you leave your bike when you use a bathroom or enter a convenience store? I know from your other videos that the security of the bike wouldn't really be a problem - I more wonder about the place that is most socially acceptable and doesn't cause inconvenience to others 😁 I'm not a super confident cyclist, but these videos (and your explanation of the rules, which sound similar to the Australian state where I'm from) have inspired me to give city cycling a try next Japan trip!
If you see what other people do, that's usually a decent bet. Sometimes there are areas with a bicycle symbol, which make it obvious that you're to park a bike at a place. There are also no bicycle signs that make it obvious that you shouldn't park a bike (which is not to be confused with not being able to ride a bike, which is denoted by a person standing next to a bike, which means you should get off and walk your bike). If there are no signs, which is a very likely possibility, you should place it on the side and out of the way. You'll see a ton of examples if you come to Japan, so it shouldn't be too hard to figure out once you see. Even if you park it in the wrong place, the most likely thing to happen is that they give you a warning paper on your bike not to do it again and to move it when you see it. If you leave your bike for a day with that paper on it, your bike will go to bike jail and you'll have to find the one for the area and pick it up. In some high traffic areas, like you park on the side of a busy street (on the street part, not the sidewalk), they may just straight up send it directly to bike jail. However, the most likely thing that will happen is nothing. I've only had my bike go to jail once, and that's because I left it in front of my kids' school for 2 days, because I rode my bike there, walked home, and forget where I put my bike!
Props for doing all that mileage on a Mama-chari.
20:45 You pulled an E.T. flying in front of the Moon scene, nice! ;)
Itsounds a little like a trail here in Utah called Jordan River Trail which is 45 miles and follows the river.
very awesome project! nicely done : )
Great! I love the bycicle tour of Tokyo you did. Nice to see some background to it. :)
With what camera are you filming yourself this one?
Definitely would love to have the tech tour! What screen is that? What software/OS are you using? What camera, gimmble, etc.
I here what you're asking for, but they generally never go well for me. Not enough people interested. But to answer your question, it's a LG 32" monitor (LG 32UL950-W). Software is simply Windows 10 with the latest Adobe Premiere / Creative Suite. My roughly complete kit of gear can be found at kit.co/lifewhereimfrom/youtube-filming-gear
@@LifeWhereImFromX Cheers!
Hi Greg first of all, thanks for the video and the behind the scenes, amazing quality as always and just really really good content. I have an unrelated question seeing all your computer gear. Do you have to take precautions for a monitor like that and maybe for the pc tower because of the earthquake risk? Thanks again for all the very high quality videos, stay safe, greetings from Italy!
You're welcome! The PC tower is quite heavy and stuck in there, so I don't worry about it. I have a one year backup plan on Dropbox, so if anything were to happen to projects that I've deleted in the past year, I'd still be able to access. I sync all my footage to dropbox. I also backup locally, but those are more in danger of being damaged in the case of a natural disaster. In that scenario, I'd be out of luck and only have my finished work on TH-cam as a backup. For the monitor, no, I don't have anything to protect it in case of an earthquake. For the shelves, which I don't think I've ever really shown when shooting my office, they have earthquake braces that touch the ceiling, so that they won't roll away, since I have some heavy gear on there.
Would love to learn the After Effects aspect of it.
Awesome video Greg, I wish I lived there to go with you, or just help, etc... if you even needed help.
Just super inspiring, one of the things I'd really love doing if I lived there. Here were I live it's a surefire way to get mugged, dead in some ditch, or worse. xD
On the camera setup: I think it was the best choice for image quality. Good Sony camera with a gimbal, great one btw.
If I was shooting for convenience during ride and way more work on the editing side though, I kinda wish a camera system like Insta 360 One X kept evolving... as well as thinking about GoPros or DJI Osmo pockets covering multiple angles.
But for a trip this long, editing would get hellish.
About route planning, I'm not sure if this is true anymore since it's been a very long time, but some 10 years plus ago I had to do something similar, and found out that using Google Earth software was easier and more intuitive than Google Maps to plan routes, create maps, and just use as visual aid.
But I'm not sure how it interacts with and how it goes for actually following routes during trip. Back then, it just had a more robust set of tools to draw over the map, I used to plan a convention bus trip, anime convention coincidentally.
Anyways, thanks for all the work, stay safe there!
I enjoyed the video so much. I wanted to rent a bike and do a tour during my trip in 2015, but I didn't encounter any shops or koisks set up. Maybe it's easier now. Can't believe you went the whole day running a full size camera. How much power and memory cards did you consume?
Rental is easy now. You can get bikes from 7-Eleven's (it's not 7-Eleven's bike, but they have a rideshare company use space in front of their stores). I wasn't filming constantly. I'd stop on average every 10 minutes to film, whether I was stationery or riding the bike while doing it. So power and memory cards weren't as big a deal as you'd think. I believe I went through 3 batteries, so 2 spares left. And for SD cards I only had 4 hours of footage in the end, so not even two 128GB cards.
Thanks for sharing. Love the content!
Can you bike around the Tokyo Olympic venues???
Hi - Thanks for this as I really was interested in how you planned it plus how come you seemed "relativley" fresh for such a long ride. Though my exp tells me, you ridding so long it would have been your bottom that was the most sore! Or do you just normally ride alot so that was not a big issue?
I was quite impressed in your ride & it was very enjoyable to watch. What a bonus to have this "extra".
cheers
Melb, Australia
Neck and shoulders were really tensed up. My butt, surprisingly not bad. Surprising because on practice runs of 40-50km it was sore near the end. So I think those runs helped condition my butt a bit, haha. I ride very short distances often, like 1-5km. I haven't done 30+km rides often at all in Japan, maybe only a few times before I had the idea to make this video.
@@LifeWhereImFromX Greg, i own Japanese cafe in Melbourne, and as you can imagine things are sooo tough here (and everywhere else). But watching yr videos, plus Paolo, Only in japan does give us Japan lovers some enjoyment these tough months. Best wishes to you & family.
Japan is so so clean. I would go there even if there is pandemic going on.
Where is aiko these days . Can you please make a video revolving around her .....😊😊
Hi Greg, have you considered using the fimi palm?
No, I've held it before and seen the footage, I just don't like the quality. For other people, yeah, it's a fine tool, but I find that my camera setup makes a difference for the immersion of being there, especially in 4k. I can't wait until Sony comes out with the SONY A7Siii, which I expect will have 4K 60FPS, which I think would be ideally suited for rides like this.
During the Tokyo by Bike video I was was wondering just how much you workout Greg, 120km isn't a small feat, heck even 30km and 50km isn't a small feat and all that on a mama bike.
Great explanations of making the video. Too bad you didn’t have a mount for the camera, it looks a bit heavy to hold. Thank you again for sharing. Hope the family is doing ok.
I did try with a mount, but it transmits too much shock from the bike, especially when you hit bumps, to work. The human body and arm are really great at shock absorption. Once you add the gimbal to the human body, and the bike prevents the ups and downs you'd normally get from walking, you end up with smooth shots if you don't need to change direction.
whats that high speed gimbal called and model?
Hey Greg, Great video! Quick question - What was the mask you were using and was it easy to breathe though while riding your bike?
The mask is more meant for UV protection more than anything else. My wife bought it off of Amazon and they're all sold out now in Japan. Yeah, it was easy enough to breathe, which makes me think it's not the best for coronavirus (but also, it must help a bit). I also brought with me a more proper mask in case I encountered situations where I had to be really close to people in an indoor space, but that never ended up happening.
I Always enjoyed your video, hope in the next year or later I can going there to trying your "Tokyo by Train" video 😅
Is it safe to assume that i can ride along sidewalk as long as i keep my speed under 10kph all the time? Road is kind of difficult especially of you dont know which are one way, which way goes where. I guess maybe if google is accurate all the time, i will be confident.
Yeah, if you're going slow and giving pedestrians right of way, I can't possibly see how you'd run into trouble. The only exception if there are no riding signs up, but that's generally around really busy areas, like train stations, and it'll probably be obvious.
Interesting Greg.. Here in San Francisco the law is that a car has to give a biker 30 inches gap or buffer to avoid any contact but there are some areas here that is almost impossible to comply with this rule and it can be a bit scary riding a bike. Most of the time some drivers do not see a biker when a car makes a right turn in front of a biker.
What is the name of the bridge at 6:35 in the original video?
Tatsumisakura Bridge goo.gl/maps/9qfvx3rtpoR4ECnm9
Did you take any spare tools, in case something mechanically broke down?
I brought a couple tools, but not for the bike specifically, but for the camera, smartphone holder, and water bottle holder. If it came to any repairs for the bike, at most places, there was probably a bike repair shop within a few km, so I would have done that.
20:18. I'd like to see footage of this section of your trip where you seem to have gone underwater from Nishinagisa Information Center to near Kasai Sea Life Park Office... 😉🙂
That's where my GPS tracker cut out and I forget to correct the jump. I noticed that after as well!
@@LifeWhereImFromX Ja, ja...!!! I guess if I ever go to Japan I won't be able to travel this section by bike, then... Unless of course they come up with the appropriate technology for that... If it's Japan, it wouldn't surprise me... 😉🙂
@@fuego09esmeralda You could take a kayak or something. If you look at a satellite image, it's a really shallow piece of water. In reality though, it'd be fairly obvious where the path is leading to, just use the bridge and you'd be fine!
@@LifeWhereImFromX All jokes aside, that's a great idea... I'll make a note of it... 🙂
Can you do a video about Tokyo's anti flooding systems?
It's a good idea.
Which app do you use for editing your videos?
I would love to see a tech tour and how to integrate the gps tracker data into maps video in after effect, thank you, have a nice day
aescripts.com/geolayers/ This software has the tutorials. The hardest part for me was figuring out where the darn import button was for the GPX data. But I eventually found it and after that, it's very easy to do.
quick question... on how many vending machines did you drive by?
LOVE IT !
Thank you so much for this video! I loved the bike video but I kept asking 'how did he do that?' - 'what kind of camera is he using?' etc. This answers all my questions. The Sony is amazing at night shots and dynamic range and that gimbal is stunning and makes it look that much better. Every time I was ever in Japan I noticed one thing that I've never encountered in any other country -- the light. There is something about the daylight in Japan that has a character and quality that I can't put into words, but it is unique to Japan. Do you notice this? Do you know what I mean? Thank you again. :)
I don't think I've traveled enough to make a good comment about the light. But I have thought the sunsets look a bit different than Vancouver and also Winnipeg, places that I've lived before.
I have the same thoughts in my mind when I first came here to work in Japan 32 years ago ( I was married to a Japanese a year later ) even now then. There is really something about the DAYLIGHT that I have never been discuss to anyone until now.
i'd love to be able to cycle around my city- i pay around €70 a month for the bus to and from college, which would be a 12km bike ride (and would take less time than my combo of bus and walking) if we had decent bike infrastructure. no greenways, sometimes cyclists have no choice but to use the bus lane, etc. sad times😢
Just started watching it but nice outfit Greg
Where'd you get your shirt? :)
www.graniph.com/shop/default.aspx
@@LifeWhereImFromX OH MAN, I thought that might've been the case!!! I love Graniph! Got a ton of stuff from their Shibuya/Harajuku store last time I was there. Didn't even know they had an online shop. Thanks!
How tall are you sir ⁉️
If you can , ad all the raw footage on youtube .
next video: Behind-the-scenes of the Tokyo by Bike| Behind-the-scenes
Any stacks or close calls Greg ?
On a side street, I was behind a black van, when it would start and stop sporadically. Really annoying. So I went to gear down, but it was also stopping in front of me, so I lost balance and dropped the bike. But I was basically at a stand still and the bike is a stepover model, so the bike fell down but I was still standing. I mainly lost grip of the bike because I didn't have any speed, but also because I was holding the camera in the same hand that I was trying to use to shift the gears. The close call would be when I showed the shot of me down a busy roadway, and I couldn't turn off to a quieter side path. I hadn't planned on holding my camera for that portion, and there was a bit of a grade difference between the two feet from the curb and the main rode. So sometimes my tire would go back and forth over that difference, which really worried me because maybe it would cause my bike to tip or slide.
I really wish I could cycle here in England a bit easier, but, at least where I live, there are very few dedicated cycle paths so you mostly have to ride on the road (it's technically illegal to cycle on the pavement unless stated otherwise), which absolutely terrifies me because people in cars get annoyed with cyclists and often overtake too close or park on the edge where there are sometimes small cycle lanes. Unfortunately it's, in part, because the roads are so old they're often barely wide enough for cars, let alone cars and bikes and our standard speed is 30+ mph.
I think if cycling were a bigger part of our culture (like in Germany or Japan), then things would be a bit safer for cyclists, but as it is now I tend to stick to cycling alone canels- then you only have pedestrians to contend with!
I'm surprised that you didn't just use a GoPro or get a mount for your camera! I would have been so awkward holding a camera in one hand and steadying the bike in the other.
I tested with a GoPro, but didn't like the quality, nor the control. It would have been unusable (for me) footage at night.
that bike video looked like it was taken from some anime.
Your mouse just like mine 😂
sportman!!
Thank you for discussing some bike rules. I'm surprised about the helmets.
That is crazy! I appreciate the effort you put in, but please just use a go pro next time. I would rather you had fun doing it, and feel like doing more of them, than you suffer for your art!
Nah, I couldn't do GoPro. Doesn't have the control and quality I'm looking for.
I bet Chris can't do it