Please check out the video slideshow of this trip to Japan (watch in full screen)

Also my Flickr Album of Japan 

Safely Home

HOME SAFELY

There is so much more to see of Japan. I feel like we only scratched the surface of a country full of history, spiritual depth, kindness, politeness, efficiency, and loyalty. The country is made up of islands, and is primarily mountains surrounded by water. This is a country built in nature and which survives precariously at the mercy of nature. Tokyo has the largest population in the world yet it seems to run ultra efficiently, is sparklingly clean, and blends the old and the new seamlessly. I remember excitedly seeing my first temple from the train window on the way into Tokyo before later noting that temples and shrines were dotted throughout the cities offering refuge from the crowds and a steady reminder that in the eye of the storm there is indeed stillness.

The trains and buses run on time, to the minute. People wait in line, allow folks to exit first and then squeeze into the carriages. Crowds stream along the platforms and through the labyrinthine underground corridors toward their destinations. There is a flow, which at first seems chaotic but with further observation is seen to make perfect sense. It is said that during rush hours people are most cognizant of not losing a shoe because they are not likely to see it again, lost forever in the crowd.

In a country of constant regularity, we were fortunate to be surprised several times by delightful, spontaneous events that captured our imaginations. These included an annual Shaolin festival that that appeared at the door of our hotel, a remarkably diverse religious procession at the Sensoji Temple, a public Noh performance in Miyajima, a wedding procession at the Meiji Temple, and a Cosplay convention near the Tokyo Dome. Each provided wonderful photo opportunities.

We experienced the smooth ride of the bullet trains gliding in luxury through time at 185 mph. It is always of an existential nature for me to reflect on the passing of time while moving through space without any personal effort.

Although we never got to see Mount Fuji, it was not for lack of effort. I believe that it is there somewhere and often had a sense of the space that it filled in the constantly misty landscape that shrouded it from our view. It continues to exist in my mind’s eye and I will continue to romanticize its beauty and presence as a symbol of the most elusive of those things that I search for.

Kyoto really does offer the essence of a city grown up around its spiritual and historical roots. Sometimes the modernity seems superfluous surrounding the shrines, castles, historical districts, and temples of this ancient capital.

We felt like royalty staying at the Fujiya Hotel in Hakone. Hakone is a small town in the foothills of the mountains and usually a prime spot for viewing Mount Fuji. The Hakone Outdoor Museum contains an extraordinary collection of sculptures by the world's most famous artists. It is the best and most diverse sculpture garden that I have ever seen. The exhibits took on a particularly eerie personality in the thick mists and rain.

It felt perfect to stay in a temple in Koyasan, a town set in the mountains and built around the temples of Shingon Buddhism.

Hiroshima is a city grown up out of nothing, out of devastation and hope, out of resilience, and remains as a living museum to the tragedy of war.

Kanazawa left us with some of the warmest feelings of connection with a place. Perhaps by that point we were familiar enough with where we were; or maybe it was the ease of transport or the kindness of the people, or the slower pace of a smaller city. It seemed like a very livable haven, everything accessible. It offered a variety of the elements of history not seen elsewhere, including elements of the lives of samurai, geisha, (ninja), merchant class, and royalty.

We return from Japan in awe of a country that runs on kindness and politeness. It is a place where we always felt completely safe. People were eager to help but never imposing. Native Japanese people almost never asked us details about ourselves. We never felt judged or out of place. We returned home wondering how we can incorporate some of these delights into our own lives: the traditions of openness, giving, providing for others, and helping to make other people’s lives more elegant.

Thank you for joining us on this trip. Arigato.

BACK TO TOKYO

Three weeks fly past when you are having fun. And we are having fun. We took the shinkansen from Kanazawa to Tokyo. This is a new 2½ hour super express that just started in March 2015. Smooth! We returned to the lovely Hotel Niwa where we had been on our initial 5 days in Tokyo. It was nice to hit familiar ground. On Saturday evening we ventured to a somewhat lesser known part of Tokyo – Shimokitazawa, which is known as a small, bohemian part of town. We wandered the pleasant streets beyond sunset and stopped off for a curry in the neighborhood. 

We alighted the metro at Shinjuku on the way home to briefly view the night scene there.

Sunday was our last full day in Japan. We headed out first to Harajuku Station, trying to avoid the huge crowds of adolescents that gather there to buy the latest fashions.

Takeshita St in Harajuku

Our destination was Yoyogi Park and the nearby Meiji Shrine. The shrine is entered through one of the four great wooden torii gates, which are open to long winding, tree-canopied pathways to the shrine itself. Once there, we find ourselves in a large square surrounded by temple buildings. We were particularly lucky this day to see a wedding procession go by. We wandered through the lovely placid grounds for a while before finding our way to the neighboring Yoyogi Park. 

Sake Barrels

Yoyogi Park represented a whole different perspective on Japanese culture with throngs of people strolling along pathways filled with musicians, artists, people in costumes, dancers, families, and even a rockabilly danceathon.

That evening we headed to the 25^th floor of the Bunkyo Building with the hope of catching a glimpse of Mount Fuji. Although it was sunny there was a general haze that prevented any sighting. We decided to go down to the Tokyo Dome grounds where there is an amusement park that looked quite interesting. Paul McCartney had played Saturday night at the Dome and it seemed right to make a kind of pilgrimage. 

It turns out that there was an annual event at the amusement park that we happened to chance upon. Several Japanese youngsters were dressed up in cosplay outfits representing all kinds of manga/anime characters.

We rounded up the evening with fish and chips and a beer at a nearby bar before returning to the Bunkyo building for some night shots.

KANAZAWA: Day 14

KANAZAWA GEISHA

We decided to go to the Spring Geisha Show in the geisha district of Kanazawa. It was held in an old geisha house now also used as a teahouse. The event took place in the evening starting with a warm welcome from the elder geisha, the matron of the house. The audience sat on pillows in front of a small stage upon which stood a solitary golden screen. The two house geishas sang and played a shamisen, or Japanese 3-stringed guitar and a taiko drum. The younger geisha also danced gracefully in the traditional form.

KANAZAWA: Days 12 & 13

KANAZAWA

Kanazawa is a great example of one of the best-preserved major Edo-period cities in Japan. It maintains areas that display the history of Samurai, merchants, geisha, and ruling lords. There is even a “ninja temple” here. Kanazawa is part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network as a city of Crafts and Folk Art. As a coastal town the local cuisine is also famous for its fresh seafood.

One generally enters the city from Kanazawa Station and is greeted by a wonderful glass and steel entranceway fronted by a modern version of a welcoming torii gate.

There is also a circular bus system, which will carry one to the major attractions of the city. On our first night here we wandered the back streets and alleyways around the station and found a great little stall where a woman was preparing takoyaki, a kind of dumpling cooked into a round ball containing seafood and dressed in a brown sauce, green onion, and mayonnaise. I photographed the following collection: "One Small Street" on one night with my wide angle lens. As the title suggests, it depicts several interesting shop fronts at night in one small alley.

Making takoyaki

ONE SMALL STREET

The next day we took the bus to the well-preserved geisha district of Higashi-Chaya. It was lovely to walk around and explore the area of wooden teahouses, and original geisha houses, many of which have been converted into shops selling a variety of well-made crafts and gourmet items.

We stopped at one of the less traditional teahouses for a more informal green powdered macha tea and a sweet.

Walking through the city was more relaxed than the big city of Tokyo. We made our way to the Omi-cho market, a lively covered market with seafood, fruits, and vegetables predominating. We found some snack foods of dried sweet mangoes and some delightful crackers. 

That night we chanced upon a wonderful sushi restaurant and were the only customers, thus receiving closely focused service. The variety of raw fish was great to try.

On our second day we visited the 21^st Century Museum of Art, a stunning circular glass structure. There was a major change of exhibits happening which meant that half of the museum was closed down. We were able to see an exhibit of the ways that architects responded to recent earthquake and tsunami disasters in trying to build community, rebuild homes and honor those who had experienced the devastation. The museum is also famous for its Leandro Erlich “Swimming Pool 2004.”

Nearby is one of the greatest gardens in Japan and one of the highlights of Kanazawa – the Kenroku-en Gardens. It spread over 25 acres and includes an ancient teahouse, small waterfalls, a view of the city, and a villa. There is also a monument to the great Haiku poet Basho. 

One of my favorite Basho haikus:

The temple bell stops,

But the sound still resounds

Out of the flowers

The name Kenroku-en literally means “Garden of the Six Sublimities,” referring to spaciousness, seclusion, artificiality, abundant water, and broad views, which according to Chinese landscape theory are the six essential attributes that make up a perfect garden.

Close to the gardens is the regional Arts and Crafts Museum which gave us a great overview of some of the work of local artisans including gold leaf, lacquering, wood-turning, silk and textile making, pottery, and paper making.

Heading toward home we came across the Oyama-jinja shrine. We were happy to explore a quiet temple complex built on a serene pond. This soothed our souls and refreshed us in preparation for our walk home.

That evening we once again chanced upon a restaurant, which served us a great eclectic meal including a raw salmon salad and a pasta seafood dish. Oh!...and tea and dessert, of course.