Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan

  I stole the title of this post from a book by the late 19th Century author Lafcadio Hearn. Now that I have a digital camera, I'll post pics from time to time. But as with other viewing matter, if you don't like it, you don't have to look. I'll put them in the order they were taken, rather than anything thematic.

  This is the first picture I took with the digital camera. The gray building houses the store where I bought it. The green structure at the top carries the tracks for the train I rode to get there.

  The inner gate and courtyard of the Kanda Shrine. It is an important one for Shinto believers in Tokyo. They have a major procession through the streets every other year.

  This is the Kanda River, near the shrine, looking toward the area where I bought the camera.. I took the shot because at first glance the little buildings on the left reminded me of "Little Venice" in Bamberg, Germany. But Bamberg doesn't have such large, modern buildings behind the small ones. Enclosing the rivers in channels is standard practice in Tokyo. The bridge in the background is for one train line and you see a subway crossing at the bottom in the foreground.

  Two photos from the Nihombashi area. Top — a shot of the bridge. The green thing above is the viaduct for a automobile expressway which is built over the river which the bridge crosses. If you build the expressway over the river, you don't have to tear down any buildings. Bottom, the streetscape looking north from the bridge. The building on the left is the world-famous Mitsukoshi department store.

  Three pictures from the Shinagawa area. Before modernization and the expansion of Tokyo, Shinagawa was the first stop on the Tokaido, the road from Edo (as Tokyo was then called), where the shoguns lived, to Kyoto, where the emperors lived. Top — Shinagawa Central Garden. Middle — a traditional-style house. Bottom — a bit of the old Tokaido in the area near the old station. The paving is modern, of course, as are the buildings. But it looks like a typical commercial street in a residential neighborhood. And the street is said to be the same width as the old Tokaido.

  Two shots of a Buddhist temple near where my brother lives. Top — the main building. Bottom — a hall to the left, facing the courtyard. There is another building to the right, also facing the courtyard. It looks similar in style to the main building, but smaller in size.

  The Grand Kabuki Theater.

  Sister-in-law and brother at lunch in their house, my last day there on this trip. (Please don't copy this.)

  BTW, the cat in my profile pic (for now) is theirs.

Back Again and Busy

I'm just in from Colorado, where my brother and I went for a funeral. Our cousin's husband's mother died about a month before her 101st birthday would have happened. She had 11 children, six of whom predeceased her. My brother and I flew out to Denver yesterday afternoon, drove a rental car to Pueblo, and then went to the funeral in Avondale this morning. We had to leave at noon to catch our 4:00 flight back to Boston. I wish we had been able to be there longer and spend some time visiting with the family, but they were very happy that we made the effort to be there.

It may seem extravagant, but five years ago, when my mother died, we told this cousin on a Sunday evening. They and their youngest son got in their car and drove from just East of Pueblo the my home near Boston in time to arrive during the wake on Tuesday evening. (I don't think they could have afforded plane tickets.) That was over 2000 miles and 33 hours of driving. If they took 8 hours to sleep along the way, they'd have had to leave at about 2 a.m. on Monday. Each hour later leaving is an hour less to rest.

And now, I've got a cousin from PEI due to arrive Tuesday evening, and I've got to tidy up the mess before she gets here (in addition to my routine activities). So again, you may not see much of me for a while. But I'll post and comment when I have time to stop and draw a breath.

Welcome — October 15, 2009: Praise Page, goleftatthefork, OGM

Several followers have joined recently. First was Praise Page. His name is Jonathon and he  describes himself as, "Just A Teen On A Mission. God Is My Hope And Christian Music Is My Life." Those of you who frequent Davis's "Small Town Chat" will probably recognize a familiar face. His blog is titled "Praise Page ~ Christian Music Videos," which describes it very well, from what I've seen. Check it out for some spiritual uplift.

Next is goleftatthefork, who probably needs no introduction to most of you. He remarked that he had thought he was already a follower. His blog is titled "Go Left At The Fork." (No big surprise there.) Now that I notice it, I'm not sure I approve of the caps on "at" and "the" in the title. Apart from that, it's interesting reading. He's 39 (or was when he started the blog, married 15 years, with two kids, and interested in guys.

Most recently, OGM, who says "Back in the dark ages of 1947 a brand new baby boy poked his head outside the comfort of the womb. He liked what he saw and so he decided to give life a try," about himself, decided to follow. (He's almost as old as I am.) His blog, "Diary of an Older Gay Man," has personal observations and remembrances, illustrated with pictures and videos — no porn. Check it out.

Welcome aboard guys. Sorry for being so slow with the welcome. I hope you continue to see something worthwhile here.

October 12, 2009: Columbus Day, Culture Day, Thanksgiving Day

 "In fourteen hundred and ninety-two / Columbus sailed the ocean blue," as we learned in grammar school. Although there were others who came to the Americas from Europe before him, it was his voyage that truly set off the age of exploration and colonization of the New World. He was a very devout Catholic, and at his first landfall he had the traditional hymn of thanksgiving, the "Te Deum," sung. All of us whose homes are here as a result of the European settlement of the Americas or of the subsequent events which depended on it ought to honor the intrepid "Admiral of the Ocean Sea" who set the events in motion. October 12 was the actual date of Columbus' arrival at Hispaniola. The United States now celebrates Columbus Day on the second Monday of October. This year, happily, the holiday falls on the actual date.

My brother tells me that in Japan, this is Culture Day. It was the Meiji Emperor's birthday. He was the one who took power back from the shoguns.

And in Canada, I understand, it is Thanksgiving Day.

So celebrate as many of these as you can. 

Back

Back from Japan a couple of days ago. Before I went I was wondering what I would do. I really had no ideas other than a day tour out to the area around Mt. Fuji for a close-up look. My sister-in-law had found and forwarded information on a bus tour with English-speaking guides — the sort of thing you sign up for at your hotel, but I could come aboard at their last stop in the city. So I brought plenty of books to read and was expecting to spend a lot of time sitting around the house.

Well …

At the spot (TCAT, if you know Tokyo) where my brother met me he found the Handy Tokyo Map and Handy Tokyo Guide, and I found some interesting looking stuff. And my sister-in-law had a couple of suggestions. My brother suggested how to get where I wanted on the subway and train system each day. And I never took the Fuji tour because it was cloudy and rainy most of the time I was there.

Thursday, my first day, I went to Akihabara, where the electronics stores are concentrated, and bought a digital camera with a lot more bells and whistles than I need (e.g., smile detector!). Then I walked around the area and nearby Ochanomizu, looking at some of the spots in the Tokyo Guide. Got lunch in a restaurant which featured little clams in its miso soup — by pointing at the picture in the menu. S-i-l's mother joined us for dinner.

Friday — they said my other brother and my nephew had both enjoyed the Edo-Tokyo Museum which displays models and artifacts from when the shoguns made it their capital and then shows how the city was modernized after the emperors resumed power and made it their capital with the name Tokyo (and how it was destroyed by the 1923 earthquake and the 1945 firebombing). After that I planned to see the Tokyo National Museum. But I spent almost five hours in the Edo-Tokyo Museum and that was enough time on my feet. I had lunch at the adjacent station and went "home." Dinner at a neighborhood restaurant.

Saturday I decided to see the Nihombashi region. There was a model in the museum showing how it looked in the early 1600's, and I wanted to compare. Nowadays it's a bustling commercial district. Then I would go to Shinagawa, where the Guide said you can see the area of the first of the 53 stages (rest stops) on the ancient route from Edo to Kyoto (the Tokaido). My brother suggested that while I was in Nihombashi if I had time I might like to take a peek inside the Mitsukoshi department store. I went in, found Christmas presents (2010 diaries/planners) in the book department for bro, s-i-l, and nephew, pictures for my wall scrolls, and an amazing exhibit of traditional crafts — I concentrated on the wooden items. On to Shinagawa. It was maybe a mile from the main station to the Tokaido stage area, Shinagawa Shuku (or Syuku, as the Guide spells it). I was disappointed that apparently the actual building travelers would have used 400 years ago wasn't there, but the street was still there — a typically narrow street lined with shops — buildings two or three stories tall. So I got to walk a portion of the historic route. Almost back to the station, I stopped for lunch at a place where there is a vending machine. You put your money in and press the button for your selection, and you get a ticket for it which you present at the counter. Dinner was at my s-i-l' brother's little apartment. He's a good cook.

Sunday — day of rest. Brother showed me a Buddhist temple he had discovered about a half mile from their home. Joined s-i-l for a 30th anniversary Mass at the Gregorian Institute, which is one place where she teaches organ. Dinner in another neighborhood restaurant.

Monday — s-i-l had pulled up stuff from the internet about the Kabuki performances. I went for the matinee, which lasted, with three intermissions, from 11:00 a.m. to after 3:00 p.m. Fortunately they have earphones for rent which give English explanations and large chunks of the dialogue. There were three major stories, and a snippet which began with the debut of the three year old son of one of the actors. At the outset of that piece, the actors took turns noting the debut. The last to speak said that he was very pleased to be part of it because the boy's great grandfather had been very kind and helpful to him when he began his acting career. Another machine ticket lunch, and dinner prepared by s-i-l, who is also a very good cook.

Tuesday s-i-l pointed out that the Tokyo National Museum (the one I didn't have time for on Friday) had a special exhibition of artworks from the imperial collections, also divided into sections from when they were in Kyoto and since they moved to Tokyo. Lots of screens and painted hanging scrolls — also vases and other furnishings from the Tokyo period — beautiful and fascinating things. Again I spent hours walking through it and through the nearby regular display. In the evening I took them to a neighborhood restaurant for dinner.

Wednesday, packed and took the train to the airport. Good flights (same on the way over).

So it was a great visit — no days sitting around the house; and except Sunday and Monday I spent about five hours on my feet each day and arrived "home" pretty footsore. Thanks to my brother's advice I did fine on the subway and train system. And I enjoyed everything I saw. Looking forward to my next visit.