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5th installment of “The problem of not being able to watch video tapes.” Precious memories of Christmas and New Year’s may also disappear.
Tokyo,December 27,2025 – The nostalgic hiss of a VHS tape might soon be a sound of the past,but the memories contained within those magnetic strips are far from obsolete. Ikatsu Kobo in Tokyo preserves scenes like a lively mochi pounding in Setagaya Ward in December 1981, a communal event rarely seen today. There’s also footage of children enjoying Futakotamagawaen amusement park, which closed in 1985 and is now a commercial complex – a lost landscape captured on magnetic tape.
But it’s not just historical scenes at risk. For many, these tapes hold deeply personal memories. Dubbing Copy Kakumei in Taito Ward, Tokyo, is experiencing a surge in requests, especially as families gather during the year-end and New year holidays.
Manager Mayo Simpson noted the increased demand, stating, “Especially during the year-end and New Year holidays, when the tapes come out during cleaning and all the relatives come together, I want to take this chance to watch them with everyone.”
A man in his 60s from Chiba City recently brought in 53 mini DV tapes documenting his daughters’ childhoods. One tape captured a particularly poignant moment: his eldest daughter, then 2 years old, decorating her first Christmas tree 20 years ago.
“That’s the first time I’ve ever decorated a Christmas tree. Daddy also decorated a Christmas tree for the first time in his life. Yay, peace,” the father recalled saying on the tape.
His young daughter responded simply,”Too.”
The decision to digitize the tapes was prompted by his daughter’s upcoming move for work in March
