KF 1

After living in Japan for long enough, you might find yourself occasionally forgetting the beauty and wonder you felt when you first arrived. Being surrounded by it all the time, it might alip your mind that Japan is a place unlike anywhere else in the world. That is why when photographers or filmmakers come to Japan and capture the essence of the country through fresh eyes, it really reminds us of how awesome it can be.

One such filmmaker is Francisco Fuentes, better known online as Birdo, who visited Japan in May 2015 and captured his 14 days of travel through unique video clips that altogether only amount to 15 seconds of video per day. As a testament to his artistic vision, those 15 seconds are exhilarating to watch, even when his subject matter is normal, mundane tasks. Those who have never been to Japan before will be greeted with an excellent “amuse-bouche”, while people who have lived in Japan might get a little nostalgic for all their favorite places.

You might be wondering, “Why only 15 seconds?” This is because Birdo restricted himself to sharing his video via Instagram, where 15 seconds is the longest time allowed for a video. The time constraints stretched his creative talents as every millisecond had to have value. We deem the project as a real success since the finished videos really leave viewers with a lasting impression.

Birdo and his friends started in Tokyo, visiting all the most famous sites in the capital city such as Harajuku’s Takeshita-dori, Shibuya Crossing, Tsukiji and Asakusa. They also ate a ton of delicious food like sushi, katsu-curry and ramen. They even managed to document a trip to the famous robot restaurant.

KF 3

KF 4

KF 5

birdo 4

The team then blasted off to Kyoto and saw its renowned temples and shrines like the Golden Pavilion and Fushimi Inari. They even managed to catch all the craziness of a local festival.

birdo 6

KF 6

With only two weeks to tour two amazing world-class cities in Japan, the trip probably went by incredibly fast for Birdo and his traveling pals. However, the moments he captured in these incredibly short videos will last them a lifetime. We are betting that as soon as Birdo finished editing and uploading his videos, he was planning his next trip back to Japan. If you like his work, be sure to check out his YouTube channel and homepage for his latest videos, as well as his Vancouver series, which is presented in the same style as these Japan videos.

Source: Karapaia
Screenshots: YouTube/Birdo The Bird