Tokyo government teams up with Japanese rapper to promote roller coaster subway system【Video】

Take a look at Tokyo’s underground tunnels from the driver’s seat of a train in this awesome new music video.

Above ground, Tokyo’s metropolis is a bustling maze of lights, noise and narrow passageways. Underground, it appears that things are surprisingly similar, as this video from the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation (Toei) shows.

The local government recently teamed up with Hokkaido-born Japanese rapper SALU to promote their Toei Oedo Line, which is known for being the longest and deepest subway in the country. Giving us a rare glimpse into the underground system, the route has so many turns and inclines that it’s being likened to a roller coaster, which explains the title of the new rap and its video clip: “Tokyo Roller Coaster”.

Take a look at the video below. Contents include flashing lights, and Toei advises that the clip should be viewed in a bright environment.

Anyone with a soft spot for Japan’s railway system would’ve picked up on some of the common sounds and sights featured in the short video clip. The station jingles can be heard at the beginning of the track, while images of passengers, platforms and ticket gates all bring back memories of travelling on the rails in Japan.

Some of the more surprising scenes are taken from places usually off-limits to the public. Tube-like tunnels, bright lights, and ladders all create eerie images that make us want to dive further and further into the mysterious underground network.

The images run alongside a soundtrack from 28 year-old rapper SALU, who raps about people travelling on the Tokyo Roller Coaster, journeying through unseen underground worlds they’ve never visited though they travel through them every day.

The clip provides an interesting insight into the workings of an underground system that thousands of passengers take for granted every day. Next time we’re out and about, visiting some of the busy districts of Tokyo, we’ll spare a thought for the Toei transportation team and their roller coaster subway that makes up one of the many things we love about this beautifully efficient city.

Source: Curazy
Images: YouTube/toeikotsu

Credit: