Japan After Dark: GoPro Captures the Streets of Tokyo at Night

Japan After Dark: GoPro Captures the Streets of Tokyo at Night

Sometimes no plan is the best plan.

When production artists Wes Nobles, Jordan Miller, and Nate Lee embarked on their journey to Japan, they knew only that they wanted to capture an essence of nightlife in Tokyo and that a mystery man named Shinichi Moroboshi may be able to help them illustrate the subculture.

With almost a week to shoot, a short list of contacts in the area to help connect them with possible subjects, and a quiver of prototype HERO4 cameras, Nobles and Co. touched down in the Far East ready to tackle whatever presented itself.

Above: GoPro production artists Wes Nobles (center), Jordan Miller (back), and Nate Lee (right) grab a group shot at the RWB shop with Akira Nakai and friends.

Luckily, friends of GoPro Yujiro Otsuki and Dino Dalle Carbonare introduced the GoPro team to world famous Porsche wrench, Akira Nakai of RWB Porsche, and the mystery man, Moroboshi. So, for the first few days on the ground, the team immersed themselves in the culture and heartbeat of Tokyo, from the square of Shibuya in the day to the robot light shows of the evening.

As the weekend neared, they got their chance to visit Nakai and the RAUH-Welt Begriff Porsche (RWB) tuning shop. Porsche enthusiasts all over the world covet Nakai's craftsmanship. He considers the cars in his shop blank canvases to apply his signature artistry. Customers looking for the RWB Porsche need only provide their input on performance preferences; the rest is up to Nakai. No two cars are the same. Each is a signed original.

Akira's shop is amazing. It is a controlled chaos that only he can navigate. A wrench may come from the toolbox, but the socket he needs may be on a random shelf where only he remembers putting it last, said Nobles of his visit to RWB.

Above: Yuu Kawasaki proves that Streets of Japan arent just for the boys. She and her custom ZX-10 light up the roads of Tokyo at night.

Nakai, Nobles recalled, was extremely accommodating to the GoPro team. He gave them free reign of his shop and happily brought cars out for them to shoot. Honored and humbled after their time with Nakai, the small production team knew they had a great start to a full edit.

Shortly thereafter, GoPro met Yuu, and young woman obsessed with both high-powered custom Kawasakis and making a name for herself amongst the boys and their toys. Once they met her, the Gopro team knew she would be a key piece to the character development puzzle, juxtaposed to the seemingly male-dominated culture. He quiet confidence shines through in the darkness of the Street of Japan in 4K edit...

Above: There isnt much about these bikes that is stock. Custom is king in Tokyo.

Finally, they met their mystery man, Shinichi Moroboshi. If Googled, his name only amplifies the mystery. Heresy has implicated him, but the man the team met was kind, welcoming, and more than willing to put his cars on the road for GoPro. And although Moroboshi and his crew do not typically take the cars out in the rain, but they graciously made the exception for GoPro, and luckily the weather decided to cooperate once the tires hit the pavement.

The rain actually ended up serving us well. The HERO4s picked up the reflection from the lights on the cars and created an added element of mirror-like shine, Nobles recalled.

The extravagant Italian exotic cars tied the piece together for the GoPro team, and their look and sound really showcased the capabilities of the HERO4 cams. The take-aways were plentiful, said Nobles. Not only did they meet some of the most colorful and intriguing characters, they walked away better production artists.

See the full video ===> GoPro: The Streets of Japan in 4K

LINK:	http://gopro.com/news/japan-after-dark-gopro-captures-the-streets-of-t...
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