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.

Tokyo Stock Exchange 2009.10.27

Tokyo Stock Exchange once was the largest stock exchange in the world in its trade volume and the total capitalization of its listed companies. Now it is the second largest in capitalization after NYSE.

The TSE headquarters building is in Kabuto-cho, Chuo Ward. The area is the center of stock trading in Japan. There are many offices of secutities companies here.

The original exchange was built in the Meiji era (19th century). Current building was built in 1988. Traditional stock trading floor was turned to an information service floor (TSE Arrows) in 2000.

Some parts are open to the public. Tourists, including foreigners, were enjoying watching the floors.

Rakugo @ Zushi 2009.10.25 (off Tokyo)

I visited Zushi City in Kanagawa Prefecture. Along with neighboring Kamakura, they are known as sophisticated residential areas. They are rich in green and keep high standard of cultural activities.

I did not have enough time to walk around the city today. I just visited a private house where the owners held a private Rakugo concert. It is not common in Japan that such an event is held in a private house. Nabors including children came to the house and really enjoyed the performances. (An example of local community activities in Japan)

Rakugo is one of Japan’s traditional talk art.

Two young Rakugo players (Rakugo-ka), Hayashiya Hiroki and Sanyutei Utataro, played their arts. I had big laughs and really enjoyed them.

Sumida River Walk (3) 2009.10.24

I took the 3rd part of Sumida River Walk.

It was from Senju-Machiya area in Arakawa Ward (14-15 kilometers from the mouth of the river) to Toshima in Kita Ward (20 kilometers from the mouth).

There used to be riverside footpaths around Machiya area. But they are now blocked. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government plans to redevelop the riversides.

I had to walk the narrow paths through the houses along the river. They were messy.

The Sumida River and the Arakawa River run parallel at Arakawa-Adachi wards border. It is like isthmus. The "isthmus" is about 150 meters wide and 2 kilometers long. I enjoyed the walk (upward the river) looking the Sumida River in the left hand and the Arakawa River in the right. The view was conderful.

There stand factories, warehouses and oil tanks together with apartment houses along the river(s) here.

Highways and railways run over the river at Toshima, Kita Ward.

Sumida River Walk (2) 2009.10.12

I took the 2nd part of Sumida River Walk. It was from Asakusa (7-8 km from the river mouth) to Senju (14-15 km from the mouth).

Asahi Brewery’s headquarters stands at the riverside at Asakusa. The design is impressive and controversial. The riverside is always crowded with shoppers, tourists and the passengers of waterbuses.

The northern part of Taito Ward, north of Asakusa, used to be a district where many chiep rooming houses stood and thousands of day labors kived. The district was called Sanya. The Sumida River was the east border of Sanya district.

The district has been redeveloped after the 1970s. Many modern apartment houses have been built and small rooming houses have been converted into clean traveller's inns (sometimes for foreign tourists). Still, there remain old buildings.

The riverside is generally clean. People were enjoying walking and fishing. However, I saw blue plastic houses, too. The water flew slowly.

The Sumida River makes a big turn at Minami-Senju, Arakawa Ward.

The part was developed as an industrial area in the early 20th century. It has turned to a modern residential area after the 1970s. The riverside has become a beautiful park.

Famous Haiki poet Matsu Basho took off a boat and started his walking travel at Senju to Tohoku district in 1689. He travelled Tohoku, Hokuriku, and Kansai districts and died in Ogaki, Gifu Prefecture dring the travel. The essay of the travel is known as "Oku-no-Hosomichi", one of the masterpieces of Japanese literature. A picture of the departure scene is drawn on the riverside wall near Senju-Ohashi Bridge.

Komaba 2009.10.11

There are universities, research institutes and cultural facilities in Komaba, a few kilometers from Shibuya.

The Meiji government established the nation’s first public school for elite students in 1886. Then, Komaba has become one of Tokyo's cultural centers. The school turned into a part of the University of Tokyo after the World War 2.

The campus is mainly used for the education of freshmen and sophomores of the university now. Ginkgo trees make lines along the streets in the campus. The tree is used in the logo of the university.

It was a ginkgo nut season. It smelled.

Komabano Park has been developed in the site of former Tokyo University of Education. Modern agriculture (on western technologies) started here in the Meiji era. They still have a small rice field in the park.

It was just before the harvest season and I saw the flock of sparrows eating the rice. Scarecrows did not work.

University of Tokyo also have the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology. Scientists study most-advanced researches in huge modern buildings. There are many foreign students and researchers working here, too. The bording houses for foreigners are also in the site.

Komaba (not Komabano) Park is developed in the former private house of Marquess Maeda. Both western and Japanese houses remain.

There are two important museums near the park: The Museum of Modern Japanese Literature and Folk Craft Museum (Mingeikan).