May
4, Friday & May 5, Saturday
May 4, Friday
Rain again. At 11:54 this morning I feel another earthquake, but not as big as the other day’s. I’m watching Kibuki Theater on TV. J I finally went out at about 1 pm to the Tokyo Station to purchase train tickets for the rest of my Japanese travels (Tokyo – Kyoto – Hiroshima – Hakata – Nagasaki. I also booked hotels on-line for each destination. At 4 pm the sun finally comes out. Weather reports show that there has been flooding in the area, over 200 (mm?) of rain in less than one day.
Metro map
My new bag for the Indochina Loop
The new Tokyo Sky Tree, just opened
Rickshaws available on the streets
The shopping area around Asakusa
It is hard to move, there are so many people out today
Asakusa Temple
Other temples on the grounds
Pagodas and pavilions on the grounds
And a beautiful bronze Buddha outside
Part of the gardens and stream
Tokyo street scenes: If you don't have room for a garden, a beautiful arrangements of flower pots will do.
One of the major streets
How appropriate, a Children's Shrine on Children's day
and a tiny Buddha to go with it.
Crossing on an elevated walkway above railway tracks
Yanaka Graveyard
At Ueno Park, I start with the National Museum and learn about ancient life in Japan. All very interesting and again I am floored by the number of years that their history has been documented: 4,000 BC ! ! !
The national Museum
No, not Buddha, but one of his early Japanese followers “Yakushi Nyorai” carved wood, dry lacquer with gold leaf, Nara period, 8thcentury
An amazing wooden sculpture of Emperor Meiji's horse by a reknown artist
This was later cast in bronze and supposedly sits in front of the Imperial Palace
Bronze eagle,
Jar with spout 2000 to 1000 BC. In amazingly great condition
Warrior armour
This is a helmet, but I can't believe it was worn during battle !
Some ancient helmets
Very elaborate armour
And gorgeous kimonos !
A jeweled hair broach and pin
I continue my walk through the park, along with thousands of people on this bright sunny day.
Outside another museum there are reproductions by students or some of Rodin's statues; the "Gates of Hell in the background"
So many people out today
In one part, there are people demonstrating traditional dancing!
Most are in Japanese traditional dress
One of the many little ones out today with their families
The peony garden; some shaded by parasols
More of the huge copper lanterns in this section of the park
I visit the peony garden, but can’t seem to find a path to the Ueno Selyoken Pagoda. By-pass the zoo, which is a zoo in every sense of the word today, since it is Children’s Day !
Heading down to the lake with hundreds of other people
I make it down to the area where the lake / pond is located and am quite disappointed by the look of it. Maybe it is the time of year that makes it look swampy.
May 4, Friday
Rain again. At 11:54 this morning I feel another earthquake, but not as big as the other day’s. I’m watching Kibuki Theater on TV. J I finally went out at about 1 pm to the Tokyo Station to purchase train tickets for the rest of my Japanese travels (Tokyo – Kyoto – Hiroshima – Hakata – Nagasaki. I also booked hotels on-line for each destination. At 4 pm the sun finally comes out. Weather reports show that there has been flooding in the area, over 200 (mm?) of rain in less than one day.
May
5, Saturday (Happy Birthday Bruno)
Finally the sun is shining again. I took the Tokyo metro today for the first
time. I LOVE THE JAPANESE ! I have never seen anything so efficient
before and I’ve seen a lot of metro systems by now. There are over 13 metro lines,
criss-crossing the metropolitan area; each line is colour coded in addition to
having a Letter identification, and numbers for each metro stop. Example
Green Line = Letter C, Orange
Line = G. Each station along the line
is numbered from 1 to 25 if there are 25 stations (C4, C20,
G12, 28, etc). So when you enter the metro station, the
first thing you see is the line that comes through that station A big green circle with the letter C inside
it, or a big orange circle with the
letter G. Once inside the station, you
will also see the station number (C4 in green,
or G12 in orange). When you get
to the metro tracks, one side will indicate “C1 - C3” and the other will
indicate “C4 – C25” so you immediately know which side to take (unlike New York
or Mexico or most places that only show you the name of the last station on
that line. Tough luck if you don’t know
what that name is! If the station has
multiple lines going through it: Red M,
green C, orange G and very clear directions to get to each set of tracks. SO SIMPLE !
The metro map shows you all lines, all stations, and which tourist
attractions are linked to which station.
Metro map
OK, by now you are wondering why I’m giving all this
information. You just need to ask
someone I’ve worked with before. I LOVE
THINGS TO BE WELL ORGANIZED, SIMPLE, AND TO THE POINT.
So all this to say that I had absolutely no problem
getting into the station, purchasing my ticket and getting to my
destination. I was heading back to
Asakusa Temple (G-19 & A18) which I
had visited in the rain with the city tour, to visit the rest of the site, take photos
while the sun is shining, and try to find a soft sided bag to use during my Indochina
Loop. I know I won’t be able to take my
HUGE suitcase on this tour because it is simply too big and I won’t need half
the things that are in it (heavy sweaters pants, dressy shoes, etc). I’ll simply leave my big suitcase at the
hotel in Bangkok, where I will be starting and ending my 29-day tour. Luck was with me and I found a bag for approx
$20; made in China however so I’m hoping the zippers won’t break on me the
first week out.
My new bag for the Indochina Loop
The new Tokyo Sky Tree, just opened
Rickshaws available on the streets
The shopping area around Asakusa
Asakusa Temple
Other temples on the grounds
Pagodas and pavilions on the grounds
And a beautiful bronze Buddha outside
Part of the gardens and stream
From Asakusa I need to back track to the Ueno Park. It’s only about 2 km away, and since I’ve
been cooped up for awhile, I decide to walk.
My map and sense of direction don’t fail me; I find the right street and walk the 2 km
along Kototoi Dori Avenue looking at everyday life in Tokyo. Today is “Children’s Day” (which used to be
“Boys Day” !) and parents are out with their children, biking, walking and
generally having a good time.
One of the major streets
How appropriate, a Children's Shrine on Children's day
and a tiny Buddha to go with it.
Crossing on an elevated walkway above railway tracks
Yanaka Graveyard
At Ueno Park, I start with the National Museum and learn about ancient life in Japan. All very interesting and again I am floored by the number of years that their history has been documented: 4,000 BC ! ! !
No, not Buddha, but one of his early Japanese followers “Yakushi Nyorai” carved wood, dry lacquer with gold leaf, Nara period, 8thcentury
An amazing wooden sculpture of Emperor Meiji's horse by a reknown artist
This was later cast in bronze and supposedly sits in front of the Imperial Palace
Bronze eagle,
Jar with spout 2000 to 1000 BC. In amazingly great condition
Warrior armour
This is a helmet, but I can't believe it was worn during battle !
Some ancient helmets
Very elaborate armour
And gorgeous kimonos !
A jeweled hair broach and pin
I continue my walk through the park, along with thousands of people on this bright sunny day.
Outside another museum there are reproductions by students or some of Rodin's statues; the "Gates of Hell in the background"
So many people out today
In one part, there are people demonstrating traditional dancing!
Most are in Japanese traditional dress
One of the many little ones out today with their families
Copper lanterns near peony garden
More of the huge copper lanterns in this section of the park
I visit the peony garden, but can’t seem to find a path to the Ueno Selyoken Pagoda. By-pass the zoo, which is a zoo in every sense of the word today, since it is Children’s Day !
Heading down to the lake with hundreds of other people
I make it down to the area where the lake / pond is located and am quite disappointed by the look of it. Maybe it is the time of year that makes it look swampy.
By then however my feet are telling me it’s time to rest,
so I head back to the direction of the Ueno Metro Station. Lots of stores in this area so I walk around
some more and find a nice little restaurant “Spaghetti-Yo” in a very busy
little side street.
Nice glass of wine (to your health Bruno !) to go with my Spaghetti Bolognese. I spend about an hour here, resting my feet and enjoying my meal. Then it’s back out and to the metro station (G-16 & H-17) for a direct ride back to the station on the corner street to my hotel (G-10).
Nice glass of wine (to your health Bruno !) to go with my Spaghetti Bolognese. I spend about an hour here, resting my feet and enjoying my meal. Then it’s back out and to the metro station (G-16 & H-17) for a direct ride back to the station on the corner street to my hotel (G-10).
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