2020 Olympic sites @ Bay area: Sept.28, 2013

Tokyo will host the Olympic Games in 2020. It will be the 2^nd time to host the Games (after 1964).

The opening and closing ceremonies, together with track and field competitions, will be held at the National Olympic Stadium in Shinjuku ward as in 1964. Other games will be held in the new facilities to be built or renovated mainly in the Tokyo Bay area.

Today, I walked “2020 Olympic sites” in the Bay area.

I first visited Yumenoshima in Koto ward. It is an artificial island built in the 1950s and 60s. Enormous volume of garbage was carried here from many places in Tokyo and piled up to make lands. The place was infamously called Gominoshima (Garbage island), not Yumenoshima (Dream island).

Today, garbage has turned into soil. There is a large park spread in the area and various facilities are built in it.

Large Halloween pumpkins were placed in the garden of a tropical plant dome and children were playing with them.

I also visited an exhibition site of Daigo Fukuryu Maru (Lucky Dragon 5), a tune boat which was exposed to and contaminated by nuclear fallout from US nuke test in 1954.

Basketball, badminton, archery, equestrian games will be held here in Yumenoshima area.

I moved westwards to Tatsumi, where swimming will be held. Water polo will be also played in the area.

Highways run around the area. There are tall apartments, office buildings and factories in the area. Construction works were underway.

I continued walking through Shinonome to Ariake. Volleyball, gymnastics, cycling and tennis will be played here in Ariake. Ariake Coliseum, which currently has 10,000 seats, and other facilities around it will be used for tennis games in 2020.

It was crowded today as the final match of Toray Pan Pacific Open was held today.

I moved westwards and arrived at Odaiba, where Triathlon and beach volley will be played.

Nearly half of the games will be played in the area I walked today.

Moon Festival: Sept. 19, 2013

It is fine to enjoy moon in autumn night.

A moon in the “Moon Festival” day is more than that.

Japan and other Asian countries (e.g. China) have moon festivals on August 15^th in traditional calendar, which is a day around the autumnal equinox day (late September). It was September 19^th in 2013.

We fortunately had full moon today. It was first time in 6 years to have full moon in the monn festival day.

I had a walk of about an hour in the night. People were enjoying the moon sitting in the benches in the walking trails and small community parks.

The moonlight was impressive. The sounds of autumn insects were comfortable.

New Kabuki Theater @Ginza: Sept.8, 2013

New Kabuki Theater opened in April this year. I visited there for the first time.

The new theater has 29-story modern building in the backyards, but it keeps traditional tiled-roof building in the front part. It is 4 stories high.

Advanced technologies are used in the stage sets. Spectators’ seats are more spacious.

Classic dramas are often played at Kabuki Theater. Today, I watched a newly-written play titled “Onmyoji”, a mysterious story in the Heian era (794-1192). Many young Kabuki players joined the project.

Shops and other facilities are renovated. The basement floor was developed as a cultural and shopping center of Kabuki.