Rikugien's Autumn Night Illuminations

Rikugien garden is kind of special to me! It was one of the first few places I've set foot in upon entering Japan. In a way, it's the perfect example of the Japanese standard when it comes to traditional beauty - elegant, simple, but in the end, undeniably beautiful. Fun fact: Rikugien was constructed in the early 18th century, which makes it older than the United States of America.
 As it turns out though, at this time of the year, Rikugien garden stays open a little later for the yearly autumn night illuminations. So I figured I'd take a stroll and reminisce about it all.
At night, with the trees' leaves lit from beneath as they are, Rikugien is almost surreal, and it's no wonder it comes recommended as one of the hottest spots in Tokyo to appreciate the seasonal colors. I was lucky enough to take my stroll on a night where it wasn't too windy, and the payoff was great - the surfaces of the ponds scattered all around the park were perfectly still and reflected the leaves above like a mirror.

 In the rearmost section of the gardens, mist was cast over the ground and illuminated in cold blues, creating stark contrasts with the warmer colors of the leaves. I think a real photographer could have a hell of a field day here.

Night Time Stroll

Impressive for a hotel garden!

As Summer comes about, so too do all the bugs - most of them a nuisance. Cicadas and cockroaches, mosquitoes and centipedes, Japan's got all of that. But also fireflies!
 I decided to take a night time stroll to the Chizanso Hotel, which opened its garden to the general public for firefly viewing. Unfortunately, my camera does poorly when it comes to darkness, so pictures are a little sparse. The hotel, a massive, luxurious place in a little-known district of the city, sports quite a handsome garden, complete with a 3-story pagoda that was brought from the mountains of Hiroshima, which is quite a while away.

 When it came to the fireflies, I was actually quite surprised to find out that they're quite different from the ones I grew up with in the forested suburbs of Montreal. Quite a bit smaller, and a lot more timid. And boy, do Japanese love their fireflies. People crowded around the outskirts of the park's ponds, trying hard to spot them. They'd have quite a field day if they ever saw the big bastards in Canada.
 As the old local myth goes, fireflies are the embodiment of the souls of the recently departed. Whatever the case, it was a nice stroll, but you can't go in expecting to see the forest lit up by a thousand tiny lights, as they would have you believe with the posters.

Hiroshima is Tragic, Peaceful

Work has granted me a week off to do whatever may please me with, and I decided to spend the first few days in another of Japan's bigger cities. I hopped on a plane to the western Chugoku Province and found myself in Hiroshima. Have you heard of Hiroshima? It's the first city in human history to have an atomic bomb dropped on it. That happened during World War II. Remember that? Yeah. Well Hiroshima hasn't forgotten about that.

 When I was in my uncle's estate in America for a visit, he asked me if Japanese hated Americans for dropping the nukes on them. He was certain they did, and it came to him as a bit of a surprise to know that the average Japanese person actually...doesn't hate the United States of America. At a quick glance, the cultural authorities in Hiroshima are no different. In the last 70 years, Hiroshima has become an advocate of world peace rather than international hatred. That doesn't mean they've set the bombing aside, far from that. You can't walk a hundred meters in Hiroshima without there being a panel saying that this bridge or that bank was blown up and rebuilt after the bomb fell.

Sadly enough, most of Hiroshima's more touristic attractions are centered around this fact. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial, known locally as the Atomic Bomb Dome, is the sole remaining structure within the blast range of the US Army's Little Boy to not have been torn down or completely eradicated in the explosion. It alone stands as a testament to the destructive power of nuclear weapons. All the other structures in the vicinity of the blast were actually wiped off the face of the city, save for their bases. The only reason this one mostly stood was because the blast was detonated almost directly over it, pushing the columns of the structure downwards rather than outwards. Once, it served as a promotion hall for industrial products. It's Hiroshima's most recognized landmark now, sitting at the outer fringe of the Peace Park, also dedicated to the lost lives of men, women and children during and following the bombing.

The Cenotaph Tomb

The Hiroshima Peace Park itself is surely something that can't be missed while visiting the city. It's a beautiful green space speckled with monuments meant to bring hope to humanity. It is, as a whole, a message conveying that, through the sheer tenacity of people working hand in hand, something beautiful can rise from the most desolate ashes of what's been destroyed.
The center piece of the park is the Cenotaph of the victims. One can't tell by looking at it, but the monument is actually a tomb, directly under which is a stone chest. Inside it is a register of the over 220,000 victims of the bomb, either as a result of the initial blast or its radiation. Every year at this site, a speech is given in their memories, and at 8:15 AM on August 6th, a moment's silence is observed.

Also prominently featured is the Children's Memorial, built in memory of the younger victims of the bomb. Featured at its summit is Sadako, the young girl who lost her life to Leukemia caused by radiation exposure.
The story of the girl goes that she firmly believed in the story that whoever folded one thousand paper cranes would have any one wish granted to them. The popular version of the story is that, in her hospital bed, she folded cranes in hopes of reaching one thousand and getting back her health, but ran out of time at the count of 644.
 Her friends and family folded the remaining 356 and buried the thousand cranes with her. Today, cranes are still folded and brought to the memorial in her honor, representing the wishes of those who desire to live in a world without the threat of nuclear holocaust. The monument has many duplicates around the world.

Other similar monuments cover the grounds of the park, dedicated to others such as the Korean victims, with various symbolic meanings relating to world peace. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum also sits in the center of the park, for those seeking to draw a deeper knowledge about the facts of the bombing. I'll go into that another day. It's incredibly sobering and fringes on nightmare-inducing.

Hiroshima Castle

Exiting the confines of the park, Hiroshima also has its own Castle not too far away from the city center. The construction itself is mostly wooden. Like almost everything else in this sector of the city, though, the original Hiroshima Castle, too, was atomized by the Little Boy. This reconstructed version was completed over a decade later, complete with its own moat, just as the original structure used to have. From what I hear, you get a pretty good view of the city from its top, but it was well past time for that by the time I got there.

Well, what do you think? Pretty depressing all in all, isn't it? Well the worst is yet to come.

The Deer of Nara

I've been sitting on the most amazing thing about Nara. If you've been to Japan and subsequently Nara, or if you're Japanese, you know right away what I'm talking about.
 One has only to stroll into Nara Park for an amazing encounter with the deer of Nara.

 Protected by law, the deer of Nara Park number around 1200 and are beloved by tourists and the local populace alike. Their presence can be attributed to the fact that they figure very prominently in the Shinto religion that was once the head religion in Japan. It used to be punishable by death to kill one of the deer, but that hasn't happened in many centuries.
These deer are tame. And by that, I mean they don't give a shit about anything, really. Get close, pet them, chase them around, see if that phases them in one bit. It generally doesn't.
As a matter of fact, you see them approaching people more often, eager to get their hands on anything they can eat. The deer are notorious for lifting skirts and eating paper - yes, that includes your guidebooks and maps. You better watch out!

Alright, ready? Here's the kicker:

Damn right, the deer will even bow to you if you tip your head to them first. It's a fact most foreigners I've met were totally clueless about, but with you as my witness, it works. They've learned a handful of nifty tricks to get their hands (hooves?) on the deer crackers that are sold around the park for 150¥ for a set of 10.
I'll leave you guys with a quick video I shot of the park.

Kasai Rinkai Koen

Summer's been raging on with furious Tokyo heat and most of my friends have undertaken various trips outside of the country. I really had no excuse not to check out Kasai Rinkai Park, located a 10 minutes train ride away from my mighty apartment of Hermit Fortress.

 Actually, the park is also one station down from Disneyland, which unfortunately kind of puts it in its shadow. Lots of people actually haven't heard of this place, despite it being, you may quote me on this, probably the best park I've been to in Japan. It's actually pretty awesome. (And yes, if you put 2 an 2 together, I live 12 minutes away from Disneyland. Surprise! And I still haven't gone yet.)
 There's enough here for you to spend the day. Complete with an aquarium, a birdwatching area and a giant Ferris wheel, the park really has a little something for everyone, be it couples, families, or the odd guy who'll do it solo-dolo.
 I didn't go into the aquarium, which apparently features tuna a lot. I guess that'll come in handy when the species go extinct from over-fishing and they have the last 10 or so. They can then sell them to a rich Japanese guy for loads.

How awesomely scenic!

Personally, the birdwatching area really took me. Surrounding a vast marsh, the area is protected by wooden enclosures through which people can look. Some of the birds will actually come pretty close! There's a whole variety as indicated by the various signboards adorning the place, but it's a bit of a sport for the patient man, which I only rarely am. Still, in the 40 minutes or so I spent, I did manage to catch sight of a few bird-things here and there. (No really, I don't know what's what. Anyone care to help me identify the thing on the left?)

The view from the Diamond and Flower Ferris wheel

 The Ferris wheel, named the Diamond and Flower Ferris wheel after its decorative illuminations, was the world's second tallest at the time of its construction in 2001 (it's still 10th now and the current tallest in Japan) and provides a good view of the surrounding area - including the Disney resorts. From what I gather, you can also see Mount Fuji on a clear day, but I had no such luck. Its whole rotation takes 17 minutes, which is advertised as "maximum kiss time." That's pretty cheeky.



And that was my tour of Kasai Rinkai Koen! Go there! It's nice!

Hanami by Day

The blossoms took Tokyo by surprise this year, exploding into petals a few weeks earlier. I took advantage of my day off to go have a closer look at Tokyo's hanami hotspots. You can read all about hanami on that link there. I tried to join Aala's hanami group, but it was all to no avail. And so, my modest camera in one hand and a bag of chips I didn't quite get to share with anyone in the other, I lazily walked up and down the park.  Here are some pictures taken at Yoyogi Park during the day.

It's times like these when I remember that I'm in Japan, and that I was born so far away. There's still so much left for me to do and so many new things left to see.

Gazing at the Blossoms

The concept of Hanami doesn't constitute very solid framework for a casual outing anywhere but in Japan. For a brief two or so weeks of April, the cherry blossoms are in full bloom: Hanami literally means "Flower Watching," an activity undertaken by many different demographics in the country. For some, the blooming of the cherry blossoms, sakura in Japanese, is best enjoyed in the company of a loved one while taking a walk in a park. Others enjoy to drink under the pinkish blossoms. Whatever the intent, though, sakura draws all types of people to the parks during the early days of April.

Most of these pictures were taken late during the season.

Worth 10 points in Koi Koi!

The cherry blossom is also notably Japan's national tree and an important cultural symbol, very relevant to art history within the country. The roots of Hanami are indeed quite deep, drawing from many centuries ago and going on strong until this very day. I think there's something to be appreciated here for everyone, not just Tom Cruise.
 The season for sakura is as beautiful as it is brief, though. Within a matter of days, the pink petals will have all shed and will be replaced by green leaves.

We're dorks (together)

Today, Julian, Devin, Clement and I decided to go walk around in Shinjuku and go wherever the wind would take us. Thus, we strolled into Shinjuku-goen park. Though the wind is getting chillier with every passing week, Tokyo's parks are particularly nice at this time of the year, since the leaves have mostly turned but have not yet fallen. The great variety of trees in this area make it so that the colors are quite diverse. With so much city around us, it's kinda easy to forget that Japan is kind of a tropical island, and houses an expansive flora.


Having visited the park, we then ventured downtown to purchase prepaid cellphones. I have to give credit to Clement where it's due, since we wouldn't have been able to figure it all out without his knowledge of the language. Unfortunately, it took shamefully long for them to prepare the phone for us (Julian bought one too), so we decided to kill some time at an arcade.

I told him to pose like this.

 Now, arcades in Tokyo aren't like the measly ones back home. Here, they're megalithic spires with up to five floors, packed with a decent amount of people at any time of the day. We walked around the floors with all the cool games and shit, and were quite frankly intimidated. I was watching a girl play, and decided to opt out of playing with her because she would kick my ass and wipe the floor with me. Then I watched a child play, and decided the same thing. I'm pretty sure if there was a dog in there it'd have also kicked my ass. So instead we went back to the first floor and played the UFO catcher games. I spent 200Y (3$) before quitting. Julian spent 8$. Devin spent 28$.
Julian won this weird fucking thing. It's an action-figure doll with airplane propellers for legs. I won't even comment on that, but I will say it's pretty Japanese, alright.




So after one hour, we headed back to the cellphone place to see if our orders were ready. They weren't. So we waited another 20 minutes so that the crab-people could finish and give us our purchase, by the end of which they did. It turns out what took so long was charging the phone. Why this was so important, I don't know. My phone comes with useless features such as a daily fortune and, if I understood corectly, an earthquake-warning app, which is kind of weird, seeing as I'm pretty sure I'd feel it if there was an earthquake that posed any danger to me. Of course, I didn't pay anything extra for any of that shit.

 All in all, my phone cost me 30$, plus 30$ for two months of unlimited received calls and text messaging. It's a good deal, I think, and one that's been recommended to me many times.

Yoyogi Park & Harajuku

It was 23 degrees out today. You wouldn't think we're in late November. Damn, it's satisfying. I'll be happy if I can see a snow-less Winter this year.
 With the weather being so good, I decided to take a walk around Yoyogi Park, Harajuku. I didn't expect there to be so much going on.
 Every twenty meters or so were different crews of performers: acrobats, musicians, jugglers, you name it. The park was alive with sound and play. I particularly enjoyed the small circus crew in the center of the park. That's one of the acts, pictured to the left.

For those of you who don't know, Harajuku is also one of the fashion hotspots in Tokyo. A lot of girls casually waltz around in flamboyant costumes you wouldn't quite get the chance to see anywhere else. Designers shops line the streets. I dared not go inside without female companionship, though. On a Sunday afternoon like this one, it got quite busy.
 You know those rumors about guys being paid to pack people into the subway train like sardines? Yeah, those are all true. I'll make sure to avoid rush hour.

On a side note, two employees for Fuji TV passed by the Hotel today, asking for young North Americans. I agreed to go get interviewed tomorrow, so that should be interesting (especially considering they usually pay). I was also told that they would possibly be recruiting foreigners who are staying in Japan for long-term for some television show. Let's see what happens.

Rikugien Garden

Hurrah, I'm fucked!

                                      
      
This morning began with Kris losing his passport. Now, see, this is kind of a big deal, since foreigners in Japan are mandated to carry their passports with them at all times. A police officer can totally decide to break your balls by randomly asking you if you have your passport, and kicking you 'round the curvature of the earth back into your country if you don't. Though I have not yet been inspected in such a way, it's happened to some of the other tenants of New Koyo before.

And so, Kris and Rodrigue and I spent a few hours this morning backtracking through Kris's steps to help find the big oaf's passport. Sure enough, we found it at the Western Union money exchange, where this tall alpha-asian, a rare specimen amongst his kind, handed Kris back his documents.


And so , everything was as normal, Kris was un-fucked, and we celebrated with dinner. A plate like the one on this picture costs the equivalent of four dollars. It's delicious; and healthy, too, I think.




Having made it out with his documents, Kris decided to retire back to base, leaving Rodrigue and I to ponder our next visit in Tokyo. We settled for Rikugien garden.
Now, realize that westerners and the Japanese have different concepts of the word, "garden". Rather than just a bunch of plantations with nice flowers, Rikugien is a picture-perfect patch of nature outlined by beautiful simplicity. It's a nice place to immerse yourself within a rare nature that isn't easily found in Tokyo.

It's a relaxing place in general with a number of turtles and koi and great ravens circulating in such a way that you'd forget that you're in the center of an enormous metropolis. Well, figuratively. Unless you have Alzheimer's, in which case it's more literal.







We must've spent three hours here. The garden (more like a park, really) is ridiculously large, and there are a number of scenic spots.

Also, Nephilia-family spiders! We spotted like, ten of these in the first twenty minutes in Rikugien. I hear these babies can go up to five inches, legs and all, but most of the ones we saw were around three or less; nothing like the candy-ass ones back home. The silk of these spiders can be used to produce bulletproof vests, though I don't know if it's these ones specifically or another spider of the same family.

Yeah, I know I ruined the whole garden for a bunch of you.