Ballard Avenue is full of little shops, cafes, restaurants and bakeries. Etsuko from Fresh Flours emailed to say that our little corner of the world has been featured on NHK, Japanese Broadcasting Corporation. She says that this show aired last Friday. The narration is in Japanese, which unfortunately the Geeky Swedes don’t speak.
Update: Mari, a MyBallard reader of Japanese descent, watched the video and transcribed it word-for-word. “It is not very sophisticated translation since I slapped together in less than half an hour, but I hope you could be able to get a broader picture what they are talking about,” she writes. Thank you, Mari!
NHK Sekai Fureai Machi Aruki “Stroll around the world”
http://www.nhk.or.jp/sekaimachi/
Narrator: Taro YamamotoSky is blue and water is blue. It is true that some said that people get moved by these two types of blue.
Seattle is called Emerald City where more than 40% of its area is occupied by water such as lakes and bays.
These skyscrapers are in downtown reflecting morning light.
Population in Seattle is about 560,000. It is the most northern major city on West Coast. Major industries in Seattle are aircraft, computer software, etc, that they are worldly known corporations.
It is a beautiful canal. This quiet water leads us to a dock. Only the trees on the right hand have changed its color. They are aligned like match sticks. I can see many boats and yachts. I am excited to meet people around here.
It is 10 am. It was clear earlier but all the sudden it becomes cloudy. Seattle has a mild weather due to the sea to its west but tends to be cloudy.
Now we came to a street paved with bricks. It must be an old neighborhood. Let’s go.
The trees have changed the color. The street is covered with fallen leaves.
This building is built with bricks. It matches with the street. It is a fine street. I wonder what this neighborhood is called. Well…it says Ballard. It is a western part of Seattle on the canal.
Turning to our left, it seems bit different. Someone is cleaning the street. There are show windows. It must be a shopping area.MC: Good morning! How are you?
MC: I am well. Are you getting ready for your shop to open?
MC: Thank you. We are strolling around Seattle.
MC: Thank you very much.It is a shoe shop.
What do they use these poles for?
Hi. Good morning.
They carry bicycles. It must be popular to do outdoor sports.
They renovated old buildings to new shops.
What an eye-catching sign! I wonder what kind of shop this is.
I see a customer. Is this a music shop? Let’s check this out.
Hello. Wow. They have records. Real records! This must be for record maniacs. What a store!
MC: Good morning. Is a shop master available? OK. There he is. Thank you.
He is in the back.MC: Hello. Is this shop specialized in records?
MC: Sorry for the interruption.
MC: Do you have other rooms? Thank you.They are the number one record shop in US. I must be lucky to drop by this shop.
Let’s take a look at the downstairs. They have many posters up. I feel nostalgic. Excuse me for going ahead of you. This must be the room he was talking about. Wow. What a long room they have. It is completely filled with records! This side, too. They are organized very neatly. I often see a record displayed with its jacked facing toward me. They seem to be categorized by their genre. I cannot tell how many they have. It is overwhelming.
In these shelves, I see records without jackets. Some records must be precious even they are missing their jacket. People say that analog records have their sound which is different from digital one. This shop could be a heaven to these people who love analog sound. I wonder how they have been collecting this many records. So, this staircase can be named as Stairway to Heaven.
Is the shop master available now? Let me ask.MC: I saw the downstairs. It is great.
MC: When did you start collecting?
MC: How many do you have now?
MC: You do love music!
MC: What genre of music do you have?
MC: It is great. Thank you very much.
MC: Thank you.Wow. He is an enthusiast for 45s. Thank you for having us. I hear blues music which must be selected by the master.
That is the most charming thing I have read in awhile! Thank you so much for the translation.
Wow, almost fell asleep reading this. It's why I refused to pay my NHK fee when I lived in japan.
I enjoyed it! Without the video, I had to imagine. It was nice.
Thanks for translating, Mari! That was great!
Great video! I just read the November 25th issue of The North American Post, published in Seattle, which had an article “Japanese in Ballard, 1900-1942 Part II”. I've lived in Ballard 38 years and didn't know there was Japanese history in Ballard! Little do we now!