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As previously mentioned I, once again, entered the Travel Essentials Photo Contest. In 2008 I came in 18th place. For 2009 I moved up to 7th place–still out of the money but an improvement nonetheless. To see the top 22 entries click here.
After a break of “just” 21 years I finally had the chance to see sumo in person again earlier this month. I was extremely excited, especially after watching it on NHK the prior evenings. I went on the sixth day of the fifteen-day tournament, arriving at 8 a.m. to be sure I could get a ticket. As it turned out, I probably didn’t need to arrive so early as there were many empty seats. Should you ever attend, do get there at 8 (or earlier) to purchase the cheap (2,100 yen) tickets on a weekend or you may not get in. I went on a Friday, early in the tournament, so those may be the main reasons it wasn’t crowded.
The above sumo wrestler (力士 or rikishi) is 将司昂親 (Masatsukasa Koshin). He was 5-0 going into day six. His spectacular salt toss (most 力士 don’t throw nearly as much) was supposed to purify the ring. On this evening it did not work well for him, and he fell to 5-1.
The day started out as a beautiful, mostly blue-sky day. The banners/flags of the sumo stars out front looked wonderful, and until about 8:30 a.m. a drummer (who was more than a bit off beat) worked the drum up in this tower. I was enchanted and ready for action. Unfortunately, it wasn’t easy to continue this high for 10 straight hours until the top wrestlers performed.
The flag on the far left is that of 白鵬翔 (Hakuho Sho), the most recent tournament winner. He is Mongolian and one of only two current 横綱 (Yokozuna, the top rank in sumo). On this night Hakuho lost his first bout of the current tournament to a guy who had zero wins and five losses in the first five days. It was shocking to say the least. Spectators picked up their seat cushions and hurled them in Hakuho’s direction, an incredible sight.
I was alone, or I could have had pictures taken with many of the sumo dudes, but I did take this one, self portrait four hours into the day.
While riding a bus for the first time one day in an unknown area I passed the 護国寺 bus stop. The place looked huge and my bus stop wasn’t very far beyond the 護国寺 stop. So after I finished my business I walked back to this Buddhist temple. A funeral was underway. The person must have been very important as there was an unbelievable number of people in attendance. A line of more than a hundred people were waiting to get in while the inside already looked full of hundreds of people to me. Rather than have one or two places for people to check in, there looked to be more than a dozen.
Of course I didn’t take any pictures of the funeral or the people lining up, but the size of the event meant that many of the typical photos of this place wouldn’t work either as the grounds were covered in automobiles. The cemetery went on forever so I took quite a few pictures while strolling through it as the sun went down. It was one of those magical moments that can only happen when you are by yourself (which isn’t often in public in Tokyo). Other than myself there were only crows–lots of big black ones.
Not having done my homework beforehand, I had no idea how famous this place is, that it is Japan’s Imperial Mausoleum, that Emperor Meiji’s remains are here (I figured they were at Meiji Jingu), and that Gokokuji is the head temple for the Japanese tea ceremony.
I didn’t realize until I did research after taking these photos, but the third and last picture in this entry (with the crow on the torii) is of Okuma Shigenobu’s grave. Okuma Shigenobu was the founder of Waseda University and was a former, two-time Prime Minister of Japan. I actually gave a speech in the Okuma Auditorium, named in his honor, last week. Others who have given speeches in that exact same spot include Bill Gates, Albert Einstein, Bill Clinton, and Nelson Mandela. Maybe someday they will be as famous as I. 
Gokokuji is about a 30 minute walk from the Ikebukuro Station, or you can catch a bus in the Nishi Waseda area that will take you right there. There is also a Gokokuji Station on the Tokyo Metro.
The guidebook in our apartment (copyright pre-2003) said there is no point in going to Roppongi unless you are going at night. Well, we had no plans one Sunday morning so we went anyway. It turns out things have changed since the Mori Tower was built in Roppongi Hills (六本木ヒルズ森タワー) and now there is plenty to do any time of the day or night.
My son went to a movie in Mori Tower with his friends, my wife went shopping in and around Mori Tower, and my daughter and I went up the Mori Tower to the top. It isn’t free to get to the top. On this day it was 2,000 yen for adults and 700 yen for kids, but there are several things to see at the top. The “Tokyo City View” offers a very nice 360 degree view of the city. Unlike the free views in Shinjuku, there are no other skyscrapers in the area to block your view. You’re also close enough to the Tokyo Tower to get a really good angle on it.
Currently there is a Sky Aquarium at the top included in admission. The various fish and their tanks would have seemed quite cheap with the music turned off and the houselights on, but in this environment they were very Japanese–mysterious and somewhat magical.
One of the nice things about the views from the top is that you aren’t just pressed up against glass like you usually are from typical observation points. Instead, you can get a drink, sit, relax, and enjoy the view. Besides the bar setting, there are somewhat private bench sitting/viewing places, rooms with built in seats around the edge, and a variety of other options as well.
I’ll show you some more pictures from the top as well as some of the museum, which is also included in admission, on a later date.
As previously mentioned I ride the Odakyu Line a couple times a week down to the Atsugi area to teach a course for the University of Maryland University College Asia on a military base. The Atsugi Naval Air Facility (厚木海軍飛行場) has an interesting history. The first time Douglas MacArthur set foot in Japan was here.
The history is far more intriguing than just that though. This was a kamikaze training center. 33 of the pilots refused to give up with the rest of the country and went on a final mission rather than hang around for MacArthur’s entrance. Where they went was never known. Nor have their planes ever been found.
The Japanese expected this area to be bombed by American B-52s, so extensive underground caves were built. I haven’t seen them, but I guess that was the point.
Lee Harvey Oswald was stationed at Atsugi, as was the infamous U2 spy plane.
This statue of MacArthur in the MacArthur Garden is a fairly new addition (1990s I think). Under the statue it says 日本の民主々義の生みの親マッカーサー which translates to something like “MacArthur parented the birth of the Japan’s democracy.”
Another strange thing about this facility is the church. It looks Buddhist from most angles but is not. Four congregations meet here–all different and none Buddhist. One is Catholic; another is “Traditional Protestant”; the others are “Contemporary Protestant” and “Word of Victory Protestant”. I’d be interested to know the history of this building if anyone knows.
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