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Want to support this channel and help us preserve old films? Visit Visit our website Dating to the 1960s, his amateur travelogue film takes viewers on an in depth tour through Japan focusing largely on the country’s architecture and religious shrines. The end of the film turns to portions of Australia. It was produced and directed by Gwen and Paul Zimmerman (:31). A map highlights their route from San Francisco to Japan (:56). Tokyo was selected to be the first destination (11:18). The National Diet building is seen (1:31) in downtown Tokyo. The House of Councilors is pointed to on the right (4:24) with the House of Representatives to the right. The streets of Tokyo are crowded with foot traffic and lined with city skyscrapers (1:55). Japanese Imperial gardens are visited (2:16). The Asakusa shrine was dedicated to the Goddess of Mercy (2:31). It’s 14 foot paper lantern is zoomed in on (2:44). Locals arrive to worship (2:58). The Toshogu shrine is a combination Shinto and Buddhist shrine (3:33). Paper prayers are hung from the entryway (3:55). The area is characterized by waterfalls and lush landscape (4:23). Shogun Lemitsu was the builder of the Tokugawa Mausoleum (4:30). Visitors enter the shrine from the main entrance off Cedar Ave (4:52). It is surrounded by 16,000 cedar trees. The ceremonial litter is highlighted (6:47) requiring twelve men to carry. Monks sell good lunch charms and prayers (6:59). Kegon Falls are pictured in Nikko National Park (8:55) as well as Ryuzu Falls from the Yugawa River (9:07). Bonsai trees over 150 years old are zoomed in on (9:38). Tourists and locals shop at an open air market (9:57). A stream of youth passes through on summer vacation (10:01). Just as Gwen and Paul exit Tokyo on their way to Hakone, they capture Kamakura Daibutsu; the Great Buddha (10:20). Worshipers take a drink prior to services (11:16). The northern beaches of Hakone follow (11:25). Nearby is the Fuji Five Lakes (11:40) and Mount Fuji. Hakone is situated in the heart of an extinct volcano (11:55). Lake Hakone follows (12:04). The group takes a ride on the Izuhakone boat (12:24). A hotel is viewed constructed on the side of Lake Hakone (12:54). It’s resort area follows (13:06). A cable car lifts riders for a scenic view (13:28). A Shinto Shrine sits at the top of the cable car ride (14:23). Japan’s speedy bullet train zips through at 130 mph (14:50). On the way to Kyoto; the old capital of Japan, they pass by rice fields (15:35). A large bell is rung in one of the temples of Kyoto (16:01). The golden pavilion of Kinkaku-ji is highlighted which was constructed for a court noble and later turned into a Buddhist temple (16:09). An ancient Cyprus tree is shaped into a boat (16:55). Japanese gardens are traditionally meticulously crafted (17:30). The Kyoto Imperial Palace (17:52) displays traditional Japanese architecture. The main building (18:23) and garden are highlighted (18:59). Female Japanese bend on their hands and knees to weed (19:15). This city was spared bombing during WW2 as it contains rich culture (21:25). Gwen shows viewers an area in Miyako Hotel where guests can live as a Japanese would (22:56). Koi ponds are popular here (24:00). Todaiji Temple in Nara (25:30) was once of the powerful Seven Great Temples. The Japanese consider deer to be divine messengers (25:55). Kasuga Taisha (26:51) is known as the shrine of lanterns. The tour guides hop on a Quanta Boeing 707 (27:14) to Australia. The Sydney Oprah House is first captured (27:24). Sydney was once a convict colony (27:35). Taronga Zoo in Mosman, Australia (28:42) boasts strange creatures such as the kangaroo (28:52), the wombat (29:32) and the Kuala bear (29:50). The tourists take a car; on the left side of the road, to Canberra (30:30). Canberra is considered to be similar to Washington DC (30:54). Walter Burley Griffen designed the city after winning a competition in 1911 (31:15). Woolworths is pictured in the downtown shopping area (31:35). The pair then flies a Cessna 172 Skyhawk (32:37) to show how the city is laid out (33:21). They visit Mount Wellington (36:05) on the island of Tasmania. The film begins to head to intermission with images of the harbor in Hobart (37:34). We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: “01:00:12:00 -- President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference.“ This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit
