I’ve got big plans for what some call “location independence” — big,
heaving plans, I tells ya — but until such time as I magically achieve
them, I make do with in-cubicle travel. While “making do” has never been
a big interest of mine, at least Web 2.0 and Beyond have made it easier
than ever to do longing-inducing stuff like this.
“Walking” around various world cities on Google Street View has been a favorite e-pursuit of mine, but I think I’ve found one I like even better. I call it “Flickr tourism.” Though I’m not particularly interested in what’s normally considered “tourism,” I do find it stupendously fascinating to view all the photos every Flickr user across the world has uploaded and tagged with a particular location. While the city remains the same, the perspectives, the sensibilities, the aesthetics, and the types of curiosity all shift constantly.
It’s fun to do this with cities I’ve personally seen, like Los Angeles, Portland, or Vancouver. But I’ve recently gotten into Flickr-touring cities to which I’ve never been but by which I’m nonetheless intrigued. Today, it was Fukuoka, the biggest city on one of Japan’s smaller islands. I don’t know why I’m interested in Fukuoka, but it probably has something to do with Taichi Ichinose and his invaluable techno resource of the 1995 web, JapanEdge.
Flickr tourism has simple rules. You just search for the city’s name as a tag, view all photos uploaded, and browse until you find ten interesting shots. Here’s my Fukuoka:
Several of these images come from one dude who goes by “Pokoroto”. He’s evidently walking across Fukuoka and taking pictures of everything odd he comes across. Naturally, I hate him for his freedom to do this.
“Walking” around various world cities on Google Street View has been a favorite e-pursuit of mine, but I think I’ve found one I like even better. I call it “Flickr tourism.” Though I’m not particularly interested in what’s normally considered “tourism,” I do find it stupendously fascinating to view all the photos every Flickr user across the world has uploaded and tagged with a particular location. While the city remains the same, the perspectives, the sensibilities, the aesthetics, and the types of curiosity all shift constantly.
It’s fun to do this with cities I’ve personally seen, like Los Angeles, Portland, or Vancouver. But I’ve recently gotten into Flickr-touring cities to which I’ve never been but by which I’m nonetheless intrigued. Today, it was Fukuoka, the biggest city on one of Japan’s smaller islands. I don’t know why I’m interested in Fukuoka, but it probably has something to do with Taichi Ichinose and his invaluable techno resource of the 1995 web, JapanEdge.
Flickr tourism has simple rules. You just search for the city’s name as a tag, view all photos uploaded, and browse until you find ten interesting shots. Here’s my Fukuoka:
Several of these images come from one dude who goes by “Pokoroto”. He’s evidently walking across Fukuoka and taking pictures of everything odd he comes across. Naturally, I hate him for his freedom to do this.
Yakult!
Posted by: Madelaine | August 25, 2010 at 12:57 PM
Yakult is a yogurt drink, I am not sure if it's filipino but I've only seen it there and also at a filipino grocery in Tukwila.
Posted by: Julian Blake | August 26, 2010 at 12:57 AM
Yep, I've totally had it. It's really rare in WA? It seems to be everywhere in Southern CA.
Posted by: Colin Marshall | August 26, 2010 at 09:26 AM
Yakult is a Japanese drink! The even more interesting thing about Yakult is the Yakult Ladies (google that.)
Colin, you should come up with a Japan-based project and try to get your trip funded on Kickstarter. I would contribute!
Posted by: Maria | August 28, 2010 at 12:12 PM
you should come up with a Japan-based project and try to get your trip funded on Kickstarter. I would contribute!
Posted by: Tiffany sale | October 19, 2010 at 06:41 PM