Fire fly Festival & Bon Dance @Setagaya Daikan House: July 15, 2011

The rainy season was over last week and We have hot days. The temperature goes up more than 35 degrees every day in Tokyo.

I visited Daikan Yashiki in Setagaya ward today. The place was a house of local manager in the Edo era.

It has a straw roof. There are many old and tall trees in the garden.

They held a firefly festival in Daikan Yashiki. Fireflies were kept in several net cages and placed in the gardens.



We could find fireflies in many places in Tokyo (including Setagaya) until the 1950-60s. People enjoyed watching the small lights floating in the dark air in summer. They disappeared after the 1960s because of environment pollution.



People started movements in many places in Tokyo to recover the environment where the fireflies can survive. Setayaga’s firefly festival is organized in such moves.

A bon festival was held in a small local shrine near Daikan Yashiki.

Similar summer feativals and activities are held and planned in many places in Tokyo.

Smart Phone Shop@Shinjuku: July 15, 2011

Bad news dominate the headlines in business news in Japan.




Japan has experienced “the lost two decades” after the 1990s. The nominal GDP remains in the same level (about 500 trillion yen). Many companies face difficult times. The business condition is much worse after the Great East Japan earthquake in March.




It is not correct for all industries. Some business sectors and companies enjoy busy days.

An example is the smart phone market.


I visited Yodobashi Camera in Shinjuku to buy a new smart phone. Major mobile phone companies (NTT DoCoMo, Au, Softbank, Willcom etc.) had their own corners in the shop. I saw tens of people checking the products in each corner.


All staff members were busy in recommending products and answering quest’s questions.


I was asked to get in a line for registration when I decided to purchase one. I had to wait more than 15 minutes.

Some popular products were sold out.

Sugamo: Juy 3, 2011

The rainy season still continues and we have hot and humid days in early July.
I visited Sugamo, an old town in northern Tokyo.

Sugamo is famous for Togenuki Jizo Temple. Many people (especially old people) visit the temple to pray for their health and long life.

There is a legend behind people’s behavior. The life of a poor wife was saved thanks to a Jizo god in the Edo period. The husband honored the Jizo god in the temple.

There is a shopping street (Jizo street) in front of the temple. The shops are old and the street keeps the atmosphere of the Showa era (before the 1980s).


I saw many visitors walking in the street and found most of them were old.



Some Japanese media called Sugamo “a Harajuku of old moms”. Harajuku is a famous fashion town for young girls.

They held a Morning Glory Festival.


Tokyo’s most famous and largest morning glory festival is usually held in Iriya (near Ueno), but it was suspended this year as the police cannot send its guard staff to the festival. It was because of the Great East Japan earthquake.

I found a raw of solar panels on the roof of the arcade in front of JR Sugamo station. The efforts to introduce renewable energy are accelerating throughout the nation after the earthquake.

Hydrangea＠Hakusan Shrine, Rikugien Gardens: June 25, 2011

Tokyo has a rainy season in June. I could not go out last two weekends because of rain. Today, I walked out although it sometimes rained.

June is also known as a season of hydrangea.

Hakusan Shrine in Bunkyo Ward, about 2 km north of the Imperial Palace, is famous for its hydrangea. The local community held “the Hydrangea Festival”.

There are about 3000 hydrangea plants in the shrine and neighboring garden. Hundreds of flowers were pink, blue, purple and white.




I also visited Rikugien Gardens. The gardens were originally a residence of Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu, the most powerful politician in the mid Edo period (from late 17th to early 18th century).

It rained when I visited there. A couple was sitting under an umbrella in front of hydrangea.



The artificial mountain in the garden was partially destroyed by the Great East Japan earthquake in March. So, I could not go up.

Tokaido Walk(14) Yui-Ejiri (off Tokyo): June 4, 2011

I walked from Yui, the 16th shukuba station from Nihonbashi, through Okitsu to Ejiri.

I visited Yui fishing port before starting my walk today. The port is small, but it lands the largest volume of sakura-ebi (small pink shrimp) in Japan.

Hundreds of small fishing boats were tied up in a small space. There was an open-air restaurant where they served sakura-ebi lunch.

The Tokaidi street went into mountainous area. Bothe sides of the road are steep slopes and loquat and orange trees are planted there. Yui’s loquat is nationwide famopus.

Each loquat fruit was covered with a small paper sack. It is to protect the fruit from craw and other birds. Farmers cover the thousands of fruits with the sacks by themselves.



It was the harvest season. I saw many farmers on the trees and took the ripe loquats. They sold the fruits in front of their houses along the street.
I climbed the steep road and arrived at Satta mountain pass. It is 244 meter high.



The pass is known as one of the hardest places (along with Hakone and Oigawa river) to cross in Tokaido in the Edo era.

The view from the pass was beautiful. There spread green trees (loquats and oranges), the blue sea (Suruga Bay) below. Both the national Route 1 and the Tomei Motor highway ran along the seaside.

It was unfortunate that I could not see Mt. Fuji today because of the cloudy weather.

Down the mountain and I moved into Okitsu, the 17th station. There are historic places in the area. They Include:



- Seikenji Temple: Old large temple. Tokugawa Ieyasu often visited here.
- Zagyoso: Saionji Kinmochi, an influencial political leader in the Meiji period had his 2nd house here.


I moved westward and entered Ejiri, the 18th shukuba station. The area is now the center of Shimizu ward of Shizuoka city. Shimizu has a big port. They have developed such industries as fish food production, wharehouse, transportation and marine related machines.

Tokaido Walk (13) Yoshiwara-Yui (off Tokyo): May 21, 2011

I walked from Yoshiwara, the 14th shukuba Station in Fuji city, through Kanbara, the 15th station, to Yui, the 16th station.

Fuji city has many factories including paper factories (as I wrote in May 15, 2011 post). I found various factories when I walked Tokaido road in the city.

I also found many creeks and small water ways in the city. All creeks and water ways were affluent. Mt. Fuji is always covered with snow and the meltwater comes from the mountain to the city.

I crossed the Fuji River. The water ran fast.

Tourists had to cross the river by boats or on foot in the Edo period. They had to wait for days when they rain continued.

There stands shrine for the river at the side of the river. Monuments in the shrine showed the history of “the crossing point” in the Edo era.


The scene was beautiful. I found many birds there. It was unfortunate that I could not see Mr. Fuji because of cloudy weather.

The west side of the Fuji River is called Iwabuchi district. There remained a rest house which was used by high-rank samurai in the Edo period. They stayed in the house when they wait the river boats arranged.

The house was inhabited till about 10 years ago. It is open to the public now.



I walked through hilly roads and arrived in Kanbara. The area is now a part of greater Shizuoka city. The houses lie in a narrow place between the mountains and the sea.

It is one of the most famous shukuba stations because of an Ukiyo-e picture drawn by Ando Hiroshige, one of the most famous Ukiyo-e artists in the nation. Kanbara’s winter scene was dawn in his “53 stations of Tokaido” works. Most Japanese know Kanbara’s Ukiyo-e.

The basic structure of the town and the street remain unchanged from the Edo era. Edo-style buildings stand along Tokaido road.

People are eager to attract tourists. They place information boards in front of historically important buildings. People kindly greeted to the tourists even if they do not know them. (I was greeted so often in the town)

The also spend relaxed lives. I saw many groups of old people sitting in the street and chattering. Such gatherings were common throughout the nation decades ago, but we seldom see such gatherings in Tokyo and other big cities now. It seemed that the time flewed slower here.

I walked westwards and arrived in Yui. Yui also keeps the old structure and atmosphere of the town.

The main guest house of the shukuba station has converted into a memorial park. There remains the birthplace of Yui Shosetsu, a famous rebellion against the Tokugawa Government in the Edo era.
He was recorded to be born in a dye shop in fronto of the main guest house. The shop still keeps their business.

Yui is also famous for Sakura-ebi, small pink shrimp. The Yui port lands the largest volume of the Sakura-ebi in the nation. There are many shrimp shops along the Tokaido street.

I enjoyed Sakura-ebi dinner at a local restaurant. It was so nice.

It is about 150 kilometers from Nihonbashi, Tokyo.

map: Kanbara

map：　Yui

Tokaido Walk (12)Hara- Yoshiwara (0ff Tokyo): May 15, 2011

Mt. Fuji is everyone’s topic in Japan (even now). It is not only the highest mountain but also a symbol of the country. The mountain also attract many foreign tourists (especially Chinese tourists).

I had a confortable walk from Hara, the 13th shukuba station from Edo’s Nihonbashi, to Yoshiwara, the 14th. I could see Mt. Fuji in my right hand all the way in my walk.


Old Tokaido runs along the sea side in this area. Houses continue along the road. I could see Mr. Fuji over the roofs.

The pine woods continue from Numazu to Yoshiwara (about 10 kilometers). The scene of Mt. Fuji over the pine trees was so beautiful.

I found many factories when I entered Yoshiwara, Fuji city. The city is especially famous for its paper factories.
There are many factories along the Tokaido street. I found many tall industrial chimneys in the city.

The contrast of modern factories and Mt. Fuji was impressive.

The pollution was serious in the city about 40 years ago. It smelled so bad (because of the smoke from the paper factories). Rivers and ports were heavily polluted with the waste (slime) produced in the process of paper production.

Slime monsters appeared in the movies.

The rivers and the port were cleanned up after the 1970s.

Map: Hara

Map: Yoshiwara, Fuji city

Tokaido Walk (11) Mishima-Hara (off Tokyo): May 5, 2011

I have already walked more than 100 kilometers from Nihonbashi, Tokyo. I walked from Mishima, the 11th Shukuba station, through Numazu, the 12th station, to Hara, the 13th. It was about 12km walk in total.


Mishima is known as an eco-friendly city. It has many springs in the city. A beautiful creek named “Genbei gawa” flows in the central part of the city. Small fish swim and fireflies fly in and around the creek.


People were enjoying walks when I visited there in the morning. There are cement-made steps installed in the creek. I walked over the steps.

The creek was seriously polluted after the World War 2 by polluted water from homes and factories. Fireflies died out.

People started clean-up the creek in the 1990s. The city’s recovery of clean water is widely reported both inside and outside Japan.

I walked Old Tokaido westwards. Houses and shops continue along the street. The roads are flat (easy to walk).


I found a huge building with a large parking space along the street. It was a pachinko parlor. Pachinko is Japan’s popular board game. People enjoy gambling by it.

The building had about 1000 machines in it. More than half of the seats were full when I entered the parlor at around 10:30 am. It was noisy inside the parlor but no sounds were heard outside.

I saw a young lady arrived by a taxi. I also saw many people came here by their cars. I wondered how many people were spending their holidays at pachinko parlor in Japan.

I arrived at Numazu. The city is famous for its fishery port and himono (half-dried fish) products.

There are many shops of marine products and seafood restaurants in the port area. I found hundreds of himono (half-dried fish) on wire-mesh tables and hundreds of large cooked tune heads (on wood tables) sold.

I visited the seacoast. Thousands of pine trees are planted here. The coast is called Senbon-Matsubara (Thousands pine trees field). Families were relaxing in the coast and birds were flying against strong wind from the sea wind.

The pine woods - Mt. Fuji contrast is famous. The scene is repeatedly drawn by many artists. I unfortunately could not see Mt. Fuji because of cloudiness.

I walked from Numazu to Hara. The pine-tree woods continued throughout the area (about 6 kilometers).

Tokaido Walk (10) Hakone-Mishima (off Tokyo): May 4, 2011

I walked down the Hakone mountains to Mishima, the 11th shukuba station. It was more than 15 kilometers. The walk was rough like yesterday’s (Odawara-Hakone climbing).


I had a short climb from Hakone shukuba station to Hakone point. The point is the border between Kanagawa and Shizuoka Prefectures (Sagami and Izu counties in old names). It is also the highest point in all Tokaido.

I walked up an old street which had cider trees in both sides. Unlike the lakeside cider street which was well trimmed, the street was not cleaned up and was covered with bushes.

The Hakone point is 846 meter high. I enjoyed a beautiful scene of Lake Ashi from a viewing spot nearby. I also saw a group of motorbike riders at the point.

The condition of the road was different by parts. It was surrounded by small bamboo bush in one part. I felt that I was walking in among walls made by bamboos.

The road was surrounded by young cider trees in other parts. Woodpeckers made sounds there.

Old cover stones remain in many parts. It was like an ordinal mountain trail in other parts. Butterflies flied and many unknown flowers were open in the ground.

It was cloudy again today. I could not see Mt. Fuji. (Pity!)

There appeared vegetable fields and farm houses when I moved around five kilometers. The villages in the mountain were developed in the Edo period.







I finally came down to Mishima city. TPine-tree street as well as mile stones remain in Mishima.
It is about 32 kilometers from Odawara through Hakone to Mishima. I was tired but felt good.