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The Japanese plum blossoms have been blooming in Tokyo since about February 5. Unlike the cherry blossoms of late March and early April, they aren’t quite as spectacular. They do have the advantage of lasting longer though.
They come in both pink…
…and white, but my favorite come with…
…a little green flying creature.
The day was cold. The day was wet. But it is difficult to pass up a marathon running through town even in the most adverse conditions. So I got on the Tokyo Metro for a couple of stops to arrive at Iidabashi (飯田橋) to view the race.
I got a position in the front row right next to a curve. I figured it would be a great spot to take pictures as I thought runners would be coming from my right before turning the corner. Unfortunately, my sense of direction got reversed by coming out a station exit I was unfamiliar with and runners actually came from my left which meant I couldn’t see them until a split second before they were past me.
The male winner was a Japanese man, Fujiwara Masakazu (藤原正和), for the first time in the Tokyo Marathon’s short, 4-year history.
Once I could no longer feel my feet (I stepped in a deep puddle early on) or hands (I had an umbrella in one hand and my camera in the other) I decided it was time to go home where I watched the last hours of the race on TV.
Here are a couple of short videos I took from two different locations.
Back on February 11 Japan celebrated National Foundation Day. Japan was supposedly founded on this day and had its first emperor obtain his position as emperor almost 2,700 years ago. This was previously a big holiday in Japan, but since WW2 it has become rather tame. We went for a walk on February 11, 2010 from Ebisu Station to Azabu Juban and then to Roppongi before getting on a train for home. Between Ebisu and Azabu Juban there were hundreds of police in riot gear, dozens of prison buses ready to haul people away, and many vans preparing for some sort of demonstration or protest. I would have taken more pictures, but it was absolutely freezing. With the wind blowing, the temperature felt well below freezing. And later in the day it snowed. Anyway, my hands had no desire to leave their gloves to take photos.
We didn’t see an actual demonstration or protest. It was so cold if such an event did take place few were witness to the proceedings. I saw nothing about it on the TV or internet either.
The truck on the left says “Restore Emperor Military” (皇軍復活). The one on the right says “Japan National Party” (日本国政党). There isn’t a political party called the Japan National Party by the way. Apparently ultra-conservative Japanese still exist, but you have to be at the right place, at the right time, to find them.
I’m supposed to be in China right now. The only problem is I found out as I was checking in at the Haneda Airport in Tokyo this morning that an American Citizen with a U.S. passport can’t go to China without a visa. Live and learn. I’ve been to 12 countries outside of the USA in the past six years and none of them required a visa for short stays so I didn’t even think to look it up. Also, someone in China handled all of my travel plans so I figured if I needed anything (like a visa) they would let me know. They were as surprised as I was when I wasn’t allowed to board the plane today.
So if you have a US passport, and plan to travel outside the USA, check the above map long before you go so you don’t end up in my shoes. Outside of Brazil, Russia, China, India, some countries in Africa, much of the Middle East, and a few other countries, you are good to go with just a US passport if you are staying for a short period of time.
The good news is my trip isn’t cancelled, just pushed back 10 days. The other bad news is a visa for China isn’t cheap (15,000 + 3,000 yen).
One thing I don’t understand is why someone with a Japanese passport can go to China without a visa but someone with a US passport cannot.
I took today’s photo from the outside perch of the restaurant on the top floor of Joypolis. This is the Tokyo Bay with the Rainbow Bridge connecting my location at the time (Odaiba お台場) with the main part of Tokyo. Tokyo Tower is to the right.
This is one of those scenes that my LX3 does a much better job with than my TZ7. I tried this shot with both cameras and varying exposure lengths. The TZ7 couldn’t capture it as well with an exposure of 1 second or less. I needed that LX3’s 5-second exposure and better sensor.
This picture would probably look a whole lot better if my blog had a black background. Click on the image for a bigger and better view.
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