Tokyo to Nikko: Rails & Reels 1929

This late 1920s silent amateur film, Home Movies: Tokyo, Japan and Trip to Nikko by Train, captures a Western traveler’s journey from Tokyo to Nikko, Japan. Grainy footage pans Tokyo’s bustling Ginza district—crowded with rickshaws and early cars—before shifting to the Tobu Railway ride to Nikko, a two-hour jaunt north. In Nikko, the camera lingers on Toshogu Shrine’s ornate gates and cedar-lined paths, blending urban sprawl with serene escape. Likely shot by an American tourist, this 16mm relic, preserved in the Prelinger Archive, offers a personal 1920s glimpse of Japan’s evolving landscape.