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| From Drop Box |
Tuesday was a full day in Tokyo. After checking out the shop scene in Shibuya, we met Hiro's friend Chia and his brother Yosuke around Shinjuku for lunch. We had a rich ramen w/gyoza, and I tried a plum-flavored alcoholic drink. We spent a little walking around the area - we saw the commercial side of Shinjuku, which was crowded. It was a national holiday in Japan, so a lot of people were out. The holiday is something like our "Labor Day", which apparently means spending the fruits of your Labor The streets were crowded with people.
I commented to Chia on the various noises that the people here must be used to - trucks with anime pictures advertising something were playing happy anime music, an automated voice spoke periodically of the need to cross the street before the light change. This is a place where people tend to follow the rules and remain focused despite the quantity of sensory inputs around them.
We walked over towards the observatory at the pretty city government complex. On our way we passed ginko trees situated proudly in front of a number of office buildings. They don't have the best smell in the world; I wonder if that's one reason they came to be favored in traditional medicine. It would take, and therefore encourage, an effort of spirit to sit under one. The city government complex consists of two towers attached halfway to the top overlooking Shibuya park, which was in colorful autumn bloom, and out across the sprawl of Tokyo. The view was nice from 45 stories up, but Mt Fuji was clouded over in the distance.
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| From Drop Box |
We walked to the Meiji Shrine after that. The day had been full of crowded streets and colorful shops; it was almost an affront to the senses. The Shrine park was completely different. A large sign represented the royal crest at the entrance to a shady park path - Chrysanthemum. The park was cool and shaded by old trees, and was a nice respite from the hustle and bustle and potential sensory overload of the shop areas.
The shrine itself was beautiful. At 3 and 7 years for girls, and 3 and 5 years for boys, children are brought by their parents to give their respects at the temple in search of good tidings. A number of kids were dressed up in kimonos, as well as some older people.
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| From Drop Box |
In the center of the temple, we saw a wedding procession, where the bride was covered with a pretty red parasol.
Later in the day we met with two of Hiro's other old friends - Masumi and Tomo. We intended to go do karaoke with them, but there wasn't time, and so we sat down at a restaurant near Shibuya to get some plum wine and appetizers. They had perhaps 20 kinds of plum wine, and we tried 6 or 7...tasty, every one :). Masumi is a floral designer who had taken classes for floral design at Parsons in NY, and Tomo works in finance and JP Morgan. As Chia before them, they were extremely nice people.
Finally, after a number of coffees to keep ourselves awake, we made our way to Kudanshita where we met with Yosuke again and walked to their family's house. Hiro's mom wanted to have us over for dinner. We spoke there of the North/South Korean conflict, and some of the culture of Japan - how Japan did not have a military, and over time had just come to assume someone else would take care of their problems (for example the Kuril Islands Dispute. In a recession, especially with the US overextended, that won't be so easy. Dinner was a tasty pork bun, wonderfully spiced, with a simple soup that had potatoes, egg, turnip, and a number of types of fish cake.
At long last Hiro and I made it back to our hotel around 11 to have a quick drink and get some sleep.
This morning I'm on my own - and refreshed! Hiro has to do some work at his company's Tokyo office, and I'm off to seek another day...
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