Gingko @ Meijijingu 2009.11.29

Maijijingu Gaien (Outer Garden) is famous for its gingko trees.
The 300-meter street is called the “Gingko Street” and it is used in many cinemas and TV programs. More than 146 gingko trees are planted.

The street was crowded with families. I saw children spreading the fallen leaves.

The Gingko tree Festival was being held and stalls were open in the open space nearby. People were enjoying the season of the autumn color.

Kasumigaseki 2009.11.28

Many Japanese government offices have their headquarters in Kasumigaseki. The name of Kasumigaseki means the Japanese government or the bureaucratic system.

Some ministries keep old buildings build in Maiji, Taisho, and early Showa eras (1880s-1930s). The red brick-covered Ministry of Justice’s building was originally built in 1895. The powerful Ministry of Finance’s building was built in 1939.

Foreign Ministry’s building was built after 1960. Other ministries have relatively new buildings.

The power of the bureaucrats had been strong under the Liberal Democratic Party’s rule (1955-September 2009 with exception of 10 months). Under the iron triangle system (of politicians, bureaucrats and business leaders), the checks on the policies were weak, which enabled bureaucrats keep wide and strong power.

The situation is changing after the DJP (The Democratic Party of Japan) took power in September.

Bureaucrats work hard until late in the district. However, they worked harder (longer) decades ago. It was not easy to take lunch and dinner easily until 1990s, when convenience stores and other facilities had been introduced into the Ministry buildings.

Nagatacho, Japan's Capitol Hill 2009.11.28

Nagatacho is the seat of Japan’s Prime Minister Office as well as the Diet. That is why the name of “Nagatachi” usually means the Japanese politics (just like the Capitol Hill means the White House).

The huge National Diet Building was built in 1936. The left wing (from the front) is the lower house and the right wing is the upper house.

It is, of course, the place of legislation and political debates. But it is also used for other purposes. School children visit the Diet to study the country’s political process. Politicians invite their supporters from their constituencies. I saw sightseeing buses coming and many tourist taking photos (even tough it was Saturday).

The Prime Minister House stands at the other side of a road from the Diet. It is strictly guarded by policemen.

The office buildings for the Diet members stand behind the Diet Building. The National Diet Library is also in the area.

There is a public garden in front of the Diet. It is open to the public. The scene of the Imperial Palace from the garden is fantastic.

Around Imperial Palace 2009.11.28

The Imperial Palace locates at the heart of Tokyo’s central district. It is like a green oasis in the concrete jungle of huge metropolis.

Many people jog and walk around the palace. It talks 20-30 minutes for the joggers and about an hour for the walkers. The scene is beautiful.

I started walking counterclockwise at Sakuradamon-gate. There is the headquarters office of Tokyo Metropolitan Police at the corner of Sakuradamon.

I first passed through the outer garden, which face the Emperor’s residential area over the moat. Many pine trees are in the garden. There were many tourists, too.

I moved to the direction of the East Garden, which is open to the public (see Inperial palace, East Garden page). I passed through several gates (Seimon Gate, Sakashita Gate, and Kikyo Gate, Ote Gate, Hirakawa Gare etc.). Each gate has historical episodes.

The banks of the moats are covered with grass and trees. The color of the leaves of the trees have turned to red or yellow. I really enjoyed the autumn color.

Idemitsu Museum 2009.11.15

Idemitsu Museum of Arts is a private museum sponsored by Idemitsu Kosan, Japan’s petroleum business company. It exhibits mainly oriental drawings, ceramics and other arts.

Current exhibition focuses Utopia. A Chinese picture shows a dream of an old man. He dreams an ideal situation in the picture and the situation is – to be free from desires and to live peacefully. Other pictures show nature-rich, calm garden as an ideal places. They are places to be found around us. It seems that old Chinese and Japanese say as -- It is a question of our mind to find a Utopia.

It is not allowed to take pictures in the exhibition rooms. Outside the exhibition rooms, there is a Japanese tea room. The evening scene of the Imperial Palace from the museum’s lobby is fantastic.

Roppongi 2009.11.14

Roppongi is one of Tokyo’s most famous amusement centers. I visit more often at night than daytime.

The district is rather messy. We find both modern shopping and cultural centers and old small stalls. Some restaurants offer three-star French cuisine while others offer 290 yen (3 dollars) Ramen noodle. Some buildings have ethnic restaurants, business offices, massage parlors and topless bars (and others). You may be asked by girls and boys to enjoy your time at their stalls when you walk Roppongi streets (usually not so dangerous).

Raised highways run over the Roppongi Crossing. The scene is not beautiful.

There was a demonstration by a right-wing group. The group was lead by a car with loud speaker and it was naturally so noisy. The slogans included: PM Hatoyama should resign; foreign workers should not be allowed to work in Japan; DPJ should dissolve the party; we will not accept Asian community, (Former PM) Murayama’s comments (on Japan’s responsibility for the WW2) should be withdrawn etc.

They have extremely fewer demonstrations in Japan than other countries. They seldom demonstrate on the global warming, Iraqi war, or Global financial crisis. The exception is the right wing group. They often have demonstrations though people usually feel just noisy.

Roppingi Hills is a business-commercial-cultural complex, which is consisted of several buildings. 53-story Mori Tower stands in the center. Business offices, shops, hotels, museums and other facilities are in the buildings. There is a big spider sculpture just in front of Mori Tower. Foreign tourists were taking photos.

The Tokyo Midtown, another business-commercial complex, was developed in 2007. The land was formerly used by the Defense Agency. The Midtown Tower is 54 stories and 248 meter high. It is the tallest building in Tokyo.

The Mori Museum in Roppingi Hills, the Suntory Museum in the Tokyo Midtown and the National Art Center compose “Roppongi Art Triangle”. All of them are good.

Seoul (off off Tokyo) 2009.11.5

I spend past 5 days in Seoul in South Korea. This was the first visit in 10 years.

My walks and visits in Seoul included:

(1) A walk along Cheonggyecheon, an eco-friend riverside walkway in downtown Seoul renewed in 2005.

(2) Visits of historical places including Jongmyo, Changdeokgung (these two are the world heritages) , Changgyeonggung, Gyeongbokgung, and Deoksungung.

(3) Walks around downtown areas including Myeong-dong, the busies area in the city.

(4) Visits of markets and shopping centers including Namdaemun Market and Dongdaemun Market.

(5) 　Walks around Yeouido, Korea’s financial and political center on an artificial island in the Han-gang river.

As this blog is Grassman’s “Tokyo Walk”, I write some impressions from my Seoul walk comparing with Tokyo.

Seoul has become cleaner and more sophisticated city in the last 10 years. The buildings are newer in Seoul than in Tokyo. People’s moves have become slower than 10 years ago, which gave me the impression that the country has been matured.
Both cities are similar in many points in global viewpoint. So are both citizens.

Harvest Festival @Nodai 2009.10.31

I visited the Harvest Festival of Tokyo University of Agriculture (Nodai).

There are many university festivals at this season, but Nodai’s festival is unique because it exhibits and sells vegetables and other agricultural products they made. Organic vegetables were especially popular. I saw many people enjoying shopping.

The university is famous for its Radish Dance played by its male cheering group at sports events. The performance was not held, but design of a dance player was displayed at one of the open-air stalls.