Hanami@Umegaoka: Feb 21, 2010

It’s season to enjoy Hanami, Japanese traditional practice to enjoy flower blossoms. We usually enjoy Ume blossoms (Japanese apricot) in February and Cherry blossoms in March and April.

I went to Hanegi Park in Umegaoka to enjoy Hanami. Umegaoka means “the hill of Ume”. There are about 650 Ume trees in the park.

There were so many people in the park. Some were enjoying their lunch boxes. Others were taking pictures. It was a beautiful day. Spring is at the corner.

Statues in Tokyo

There are many statues to remember in Tokyo. I took some pictures of them during my Tokyo Walk.

The statue of Saigo Takamori in the Ueno Park and of Chuken Hachiko in front of Shibuya Station are probably the most famous statues in Tokyo. I am sure that most Japanese know them.

Others include:

>>The Heroes:

Oyama Iwao: an army general in the Meiji era. The statue is in Kitanomaru, north of the Imperial Palace.

Wake no Kiyomaro: a politician who showed his royalty to the Emperor in the Nara era (8th century). The statue stands in the north-eastern corner of the Imperial Palace.

>>Japanese culture’s big characters:

Godzilla: a monster (and hero). The statue is in Hibiya. The shape is different from that designed in the Hollywood cinema.

>>Popular figures among prople:

Moai: in fromt of Shibuya Station.

Shibuya: Feb 7, 2010

Shibuya is popular among young people. There are many youth brand shops. Many high school boys and girls get together in this area after the school hours in the weekdays and at weekend.

Many people meet in front of Chuken Hachiko’s statue. The dog lived around 80 years ago. It came to the station every day for years to greet its owner even after the owner’s death. People made the dog’s statue to praise its royalty. The station also has a Moai statue outside the building. It is a copy of the statues in the Easter Island.

The shops in the town has been changing rapidly in the past years. There stood a huge building of Tsutaya, a rental video shop, in front of Shibuya station. H&M and other new stores attract young shoppers (probably) from traditional department stores. I also saw many customers in a new electronic goods store LABI.

Opera City: Feb 6, 2010

I went to a concert held in a hall in the Tokyo Opera City. It is about 20-minute walk from Shinjuku Station.

The building is 54-story high. It has a few concert halls, galleries and other cultural facilities. The New National Theater is next to the City.

The main hall has around 1800 seats. The ceiling is high and it has good acoustics.

Other concert halls I often visit include: the Suntory Hall, the NHK Hall etc.