New Shinjuku: June 5, 2016

Shinjuku is the largest shopping center in Japan and is changing every day.

The southern part of the JR station was renovated this spring. A new bus terminal and related facilities were open. 

New walkways were built, which made it easier to move from the station to the shopping centers in the southern areas.

The new bus terminal building is called “Busta Shinjuku”. About 800 buses leave here to many cities throughout the nation every day. The information boards, ticket vending machines and other facilities are new.

They also have tourist information center in the building.

There are sitting spaced in the roof terrace. 

The trains run below. The scene was impressive.

Kanazawa: May 28-29, 2016

I visited Kanazawa, a historical city of Hokuriku area, which faces the Sea of Japan. 

The city had been felt far away from Tokyo before the operation of the Hokuriku Shinkansen (bullet train) last year. Now, it is felt nearer.

It took only two hour and half to arrive in Kanazawa from Tokyo. The bullet train went through seven prefectures – Tokyo, Saitama, Gunma, Nagano, Niigata, Toyama and Ishikawa – before stopping at Kanazawa station. 

The scenes of the Northern Alps from Kurobe area in Toyama Prefecture was especially impressive.

Kanazawa was the home town of Maeda family, the largest daimyo (feudal load) except Tokugawa shogun family, in the Edo era. Local culture flourished.

Historical areas remain in the city.

The site of Kanazawa Castle was once used as a campus of Kanazawa University. Now, it is a park. Several castle buildings have been rebuilt.

Kenroku-en is a Japanese garden which locates next to Kanazawa Castle. Is was developed by the Mada Family in the 17^th century. The garden is counted as one of the three great gardens in Japan. (see the 2nd photo from the top)

There were many Japanese and foreign tourists there. They enjoyed the scene.

Among the local cultural activities flourished in Kanazawa, noh is especially famous. I visited a nho museum in the center of the city. Various kinds of masks as well as costumes were displayed. I saw foreign tourists enjoying nho experience -- wore masks and costumes and took some steps – assisted by the guides. (see the 3rd photo from the top)

I also had the opportunity to have a lecture of noh from a master. It was interesting.

Some samurai houses are reserved. 

The houses of ashigaru (lower-rank samurai) is as large as the houses used today.

The house of upper-rank samurai has a beautiful garden.

Kanazawa has many artificial waterways. The water was affluent and beautiful. (see the top photo)

The city is trying to encourage cultural activities in various fields. One of them is music. I enjoyed jazz played by boys and girls in a park near Kanazawa Castle.

Kanazawa has a sister city relations with Belgium’s Gent and the Belgium Beer Weekend Festival was held there.

The JR station was renewed recently. The design is drastic.

I also visited Uchinada Town in the suburb of Kanazawa. There is a big sand hill in the seashore.

The place was used as an exercise field of the U.S. military in the early 1950s, when the Korean War occurred. There arose a big resistance move of the local people. It is recorded as one of important social moves in Japanese history.

I found no signs of the exercise or of the struggle. There flow a hung glider over the shore.

The container yards occupied large parts of the Kanazawa port. The lumbers from the Soviet Union (not Russia) were piled here decades ago, according to a local driver, who carried the lumbers to Shizuoka prefecture in his truck.

Manila：May 20-22, 2016

The Philippine people elected its new president, Rodrigo Duterte, early this month. I visited Manila for the first time in more than 20 years.

The city was full of energy and messy. New shopping centers were crowded with families while many people live in the slum areas. The gap between the rich and the poor was big.

These impressions were similar to those I got in Jakarta a few months ago.

There used to be a place called “smoky mountain” of garbage in the northern part of the city. It was called as it produced heat because of the pressure from the new garbage piled above and smoked. People tried to find renewable materials from the garbage.

It does not smoke any longer because wasting new garbage here was prohibited. Still, people in the area still make their living by disposing garbage. Large slum areas spread. (see also the 2nd photo from the top)

Down south about seven kilometers, there is a huge shopping mall called SM Moll of Asia. It is one of the largest malls. 

I saw many people enjoying shopping.

There are many office buildings and shopping centers stand in the central part of Makati City, southern part of Metropolitan Manila.

There also are places where high-quality residential houses are built. The places are enclosed for the residents and unauthorized people are not allowed to go in. The spaces are called villages or parks.

The politics must be complicated. But there exist continuing poverty and widening gap between the rich and the poor. They may be elements behind the popularity of Mr. Duterte.

Posters of the politicians are everywhere. (see also the 5th photo from the top)

I saw the construction works of buildings in many places. (see the 3rd photo from the top)

The works of new railways and other infrastructure are also underway. Still public transportation system and other infrastructure are not enough. The train was so crowded when I got it. I also saw a long line of people in the Taft Avenue Station of the Line 3 to enter the platform.

The jeepney is widely used for the transportation of people.

The security check is strong at the stations, shopping malls and other places. 

The Manila Bay was beautiful.(see also the top photo)

The historical Intramuros district preserves the atmosphere of the Spanish rule era between 16 and 19 centuries.

I found many people went church on Sunday. The chorus were beautiful.

Flower carpet @ Roppingi Hills: May 18, 2016

Japan and Belgium have the 150^th anniversary of their diplomatic relations in 2016. Various events are planned to celebrate the 150 years of the friendship between the two countries.

The flower carpet appeared in Roppongi Hills in central Tokyo this week. It is a part of the 150^th anniversary events.

I attended an opening ceremony today.

Brussels had a terrorist attack in January. Japan had a big earthquake disaster in Kumamoto last month. The Prime Minister of the Brussels Regional Government, who attended the ceremony, said (in French language) that he questioned himself if it is appropriate to have such event when we have had many victims of the disasters. He continued that it is important to move forward together.

Brussel’s flower carpet is worldwide famous. It is held every two year at the Grand Place, which locate at the center of the city and is registered as a World Heritage. Brussels plans to have the event with the image of Japan in the carpet.

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Governor Yoichi Masuzoe also attended the ceremony. Leaving aside the political scandal around him, his French was excellent.

I enjoyed Belgium beer after the official part of the ceremony.

Nakasendo Walk (15) Shimosuwa(29/69)-Shiojiri (30/69): May 15, 2016

When I began walking to west from Shimosuwa , the Onbashira Festival of Suwa Shrine was held there.

I met many many local people moving into the center of the town to enjoy the event. Many of them were in happi traditional festival costume.

With about 30 minute walk from Shimosuwa shukuba station, I moved into Okaya City. Nakasendo first went through residential areas and became hilly.

It is the entrance of the Shiojiri Pass.

The Pass is about 1000 meter high. We can see Lake Suwa, cities and towns around the lake, and many mountains from the pass. If it is very clear, we can see Mr. Fuji, Mt Ontake and the mountains of the Northern Japan Alps. It was unfortunately not clear enough. (see the top photo)

I walked down the pass to northwest, the direction of Shiojiri.

There were many battles in the middle age around this area. The battle in 1548 between Takade Shingen and Ogasawara Nagatoki is espechially famous. Maany people died in the area.

There is a monument to console the spirits of the dead in the field between the Shiojiri Pass and Shiojiri shukuba station. (see the photo 2nd from the top)

Shiojiri shuku is the 30^th station from Nihonbashi. Most buildings were burnt in the fire. Some monuments remain.

The east and west Chuo Lines of railroads meet at JR Shiojiri Station. The east line is from Tokyo and the west line is from Nagoya. Shiojiri is an important traffic terminal. 

Suwa Taisha Onbashira Festival @ Shimosuwa: May 14-15, 2016

I was lucky enough to meet the famous festival of Suwa Taisha Shrine in Shimosuwa Town when I was walking there in my Nakasendo walk.

Suwa Taisha Shrine is one of the oldest shrines in Japan. It has about 1000 brunches throughout the nation.

Suwa Taisha Shirine consists of four shrines; Haru-miya and Aki-miya in Shimosuwa Town in the northern side of Lake Suwa and Mae-miya and Hon-miya in Chino City and Suwa City in the southern side of the lake.

The Onbashira Festival is held in every six year. They bring big trees called Onbashira, which are regarded as gods, from the mountains to towns and set them up in the shrines.

The shrine parishioners stand on the trees and sing ritual songs. (see also the top photo)

The trees are pulled with ropes by tens of people. It is dangerous when the trees move down the steep slopes. Not a few people were killed in the accidents in the past.

I saw on May 14^th hundreds of people pulling a tree in the slope (it is Nakasendo) from the mountain to Haru-miya. The participants wore happi, traditional Japanese festival contume.

On May 15, I saw they walked around the town pulling the treed. Thousands of tourist enjoyed the festival. (see also the photo 2nd from the top)