Norwegian Wood walk - In pursuit of Haruki Murakami・4K

“True, given time enough, I can remember her face. I start joining images – her tiny, cold hand; her straight, black hair so smooth and cool to the touch; a soft, rounded earlobe and the microscopic mole just beneath it; the camel-hair coat she wore in the winter; her habit of looking straight into my eyes when asking a question; the slight trembling that would come to her voice now and then (as though she were speaking on a windy hilltop) – and suddenly her face is there, always in profile at first, because Naoko and I were always out walking together, side by side. 0:07 “We had left the train at Yotsuya and were walking along the embankment by the station. It was a Sunday afternoon […] We had not planned to meet but had run into each other on the Chuo commuter line. She had decided to see a film by herself, and I was headed for the bookshops in Kanda – nothing urgent in either case. She had suggested that we leave the train, which we happened to do in Yotsuya, where the green embankment makes for a nice place to walk by the old castle moat. Alone together, we had nothing in particular to talk about, and I wasn’t quite sure why Naoko had suggested we get off the train. We had never really had much to say to each other. Naoko started walking the minute we hit the street, and I hurried after her, keeping a few paces behind. […] Fifteen minutes of walking and I was sweaty enough to take off my thick cotton shirt and go with a T-shirt. […] 31:19 “This was no mere stroll for Naoko, though, judging from that walk. She turned right at Iidabashi, 52:45 came out at the moat, crossed the intersection at Jinbocho, 1:05:34 climbed the hill at Ochanomizu (1:12:45) 1:57:15 and came out at Hongo. From there she followed the tram tracks to Komagome. It was a challenging route. 2:31:36 By the time we reached Komagome, the sun was sinking and the day had become a soft spring evening. “Where are we?” asked Naoko, as if noticing our surroundings for the first time. “Komagome,” I said. “Didn’t you know? We made this big arc.” “Why did we come here?” “You brought us here. I was just following you. […] I was exhausted from all that walking, and she just sat there with her hands on the table, mulling something over again. All the leisure spots were crowded on this warm Sunday, they were saying on the TV news. And we just walked from Yotsuya to Komagome, I said to myself." Murakami, Haruki. Norwegian Wood “Yotsuya, the starting point of their walking, is a place known as the origin of the ghost story “Yotsuya Kaidan”, which was written between the 18th and the 19th centuries. It is a ghost story about a woman named “Oiwa” who is killed by her husband who loves another woman, but she gains her revenge as a ghost. […] After Naoko leaves Yotsuya with Watanabe, they walk to Iidabashi. On the right side on the way is the Yasukuni shrine, which protects the people who died in the civil wars in Japan and in the wars against foreign countries. […] There are several routes to Komagome, but Naoko chooses a roundabout one. She could have chosen the straight route to Komagome, but she “turned right at Iidabashi”. This turn is the beginning of her roundabout trip. Why did Naoko choose this route? Urazumi infers that they are visiting historical scenes of violence, for example, universities which had a massive youth movement, such as Nihon University (1:07:30), Hosei University, Tokyo University (1:30:45) […] Thus, Naoko walks on the layers of violence and death toward the origin of Japan” Suzuki Akiyoshi, “Mapping the Subterranean of Haruki Murakami’s Literary World”; cf. Urazumi Akira, “Walking Murakami, The Settings of the Novels and the Shadow of Violence”, Sairyusha, 2000, pp. 34-37.

GREAT f•king idea, Rablalac! A thematic walk is amazing. There are parts of the book I didn't really know where the characters were, so this is awesome! As usual, the no-cut walks are the best. You're still the first and original "on the ground" walk channel. Looking forward to more of these "themed" walks!

2:38 People used to use the promenade as "smoking zone", but it looks less clean now. 12:50 Ichigaya station 15:20 outer moat (sotobori) 23:25 Hosei University campus 33:00 Kagurazaka 33:30 end of outer moat 36:20 walk down to the Iidabashi station, then walk along Mejiro-dori 39:00 tea time 52:49 Yasukuni-dori to the east 54:10 Nihonbashi river 56:07 Biang biang noodle 58:00 West end of Jimbocho 1:02:25 I didn't know there is a Taco Bell in Tokyo 1:05:15 Meidai-dori to the north 1:07:30 Nihon University campus 1:08:00 Casals Hall was my favorite music hall with a great organ, I don't know why it is closed. 1:08:30 Meiji University 1:12:50 Ochanomizu station and the bridge over Kanda river 1:16:42 Juntendo University Hospital 1:30:45 Akamon (red gate) of the University of Tokyo 1:45:59 wrong street? 1:47:06 residential area 1:52:15 Hakusan-dori 1:54:08 Daienji temple 1:57:15 Back to Hongo-dori 2:01:37 Hon Komagome station 2:05:00 Kichijoji temple 2:07:30 walk around a middle school 2:10:36 a cat near Tenso shrine 2:15:45 Fuji shrine 2:20:06 back to Hongo-dori 2:29:12 Rikugien Garden is closed due to COVID-19 2:31:40 Komagome station

It’s absolutely amazingly fitting that you saw a cat on this Murakami walk. Please make this a series! I would love more Murakami inspired locations !!

I thank you deeply from my heart for every video you shared with us , you have no idea how much your videos are precious to me ❤️❤️

This is a piece of walking poetry - 2 hrs and a half, and still it seems too short 🥰 ! How I'd like to wake up once somewhere near the ''guitar street''🎸😂 ... ! Winter is over, wind cleared the sky for the first 🌸🌸, and the first brave cat 😹💖 - what a marvellous window into a world as it should be👍👍👍...!!!

Damn mate, 10 km!! That's awesome! 🤩I wish more people would go on long and meaningful walks. You probably inspire many of us to go out and explore!!

Знаете, вот такие путешествия не выходя из дома сейчас нужны как никогда... Ситуация в мире неспокойная, поэтому нервы у людей на пределе. Ваши фильмы, дорогой Rambalac, очень помогают успокоиться, насладиться прекрасной природой. Очень хорошо, что без голосового комментирования, только интершум... Все и так предельно понятно... Лучше красоты природы нет успокоительного средства!!! Ваши фильмы очень помогают!!! Благодарность и восхищение вашей работой -- из Минска, Беларусь.

Дорогой Rambalac! Хочу от всей души поблагодарить Вас за замечательный канал! Это мой самый любимый формат видео о Японии - прогулки по разным местам, без навязчивой музыки и идиотских комментариев! Я так счастлива, что нашла Ваш канал, это теперь единственное окно в Японию, страну моей мечты, до которой нам еще долго не добраться! Очень надеюсь, что в сложившейся ситуации для нас не перекроют и эту возможность выглянуть "наружу".

...sometimes...not often...the YouTube algorithm sends you a gem...and on the same day that I downloaded "Norwegian Wood" to my Kindle.

Thank you, Rambalac, for this interesting video that takes us through the Tokyo portrayed by Haruki Murakami in Norwegian Wood. It serves us to experience the story. I am one of Murakami's big fans and also one of your amazing walks. Great video. Thank you for the cat encounter, too. Greetings from Spain. 🤗

お疲れ様でした。四谷からの土手の道は親しんでいましたが、その後、飯田橋から北に上ってお茶の水、本郷、そして駒込まで行ってしまうとは、驚きました。安定して歩き続ける健脚に、いつも感心しています。 おかげさまで興味深い動画を、居ながらにして楽しませていただいています。 どうぞお体を大切にして、交通に気をつけて、散歩を続けてください。

I came across this video as I was reading the book. It felt amazing

Thanks so much! Norwegian wood is one of my favorite novels and I have been always curious about the places mentioned in the book!

Greetings from Canada! Love your walks and also Murakami. What a great idea to put them together.

Those stairs up Fuji Shrine were steep! Thanks for taking us along!

Each and every video is like a breath of fresh air for me, I respect Japan more than any other country

So glad to be on one of your walks again through beautiful Japan! ♥️

absolutely wonderful walk and video. i watched it while drawing and it was amazing! thank you

Смотрю вас уже несколько лет. Ваши видео всегда помогали расслабиться в напряженное время и обдумать свои мысли, наблюдая при этом за красивыми и удивительными местами, будь то утро в оживленном центре города, тихий ночной переулок или дикая природа. Спасибо вам большое, Rambalac