Going Down in a Haze of Story

Rainbow Bridge on fire precisely 10 years ago to the day

For various reasons, I got to look at YouTube for the first time in years this morning and, by sheer coincidence, got to see a video captured exactly 10 years ago to the day.

The footage came from a fire that had broken out on the spectacular Rainbow Bridge, which links the Tokyo mainland (well, another reclaimed section) with the artificial island of Odaiba.

I was working in the Yokoso Rainbow Tower, an exceptional work of architecture that reflected the flavor of the then-recently burst economic bubble when it was completed in 1995.

I’d just finished my lunch break and returned to the office to see Rainbow Bridge on fire. Always a late adopter, I didn’t have a smart phone in those days, but I did retain a long-held habit of carrying a video and still camera everywhere I went, so I quickly captured the footage.

Yokoso Rainbow Tower, scene of some of the happiest working days of my life, even if I was grossly out of my depth

I don’t remember much more, but came across the video again day and noticed the date. I’d planned to blog about sunflowers today and went to the local patch only to discover that it’s at least weeks away from blooming. So we get the video instead.

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