TravelJapanBlog.com » Tokyo

Fireworks over the Arakawa River

acase — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 01:18:30 +0000

To avoid the insane crowds, which can approach a million people, at the Sumida River Fireworks, we decided to stake out a place at the Adachi Hanabi Taikai (足立の花火) instead. Attendance the prior year was “only” 600,000 people so I arrived a little before 2 p.m. to lay down my blue tarp. Most spots were still available as it had been raining hard all morning. The wind and rain picked up at times; sometimes it seemed like a typhoon. I had to head for cover on several occasions during the afternoon.

The rains ceased just before the show began at 7:30 p.m. The atmosphere was electric. People filed in from who knows where at the last minute. The show was spectacular. Here is a short video showing just a few seconds of the full hour worth of fireworks.

Crossing the Arakawa River via the Kasai Bridge

acase — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 09:11:12 +0000

I wish there were more skies like these in Tokyo during the spring and summer. Usually the sky is completely white due to the humidity, but sometimes we get lucky. I took this pic after we left Gyosen Park and crossed the Arakawa into Sumida Ku.

Awa Odori Festival at Kagurazaka (神楽坂の阿波踊り祭り)

acase — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 01:52:14 +0000

Last night (and tonight if you are in Tokyo) was the annual Awa Odori Matsuri at nearby Kagurazaka. The day was very hot so I remained indoors (with AC) until I walked the 30 minutes or so to Kagurazaka in order to arrive by the start at 7 p.m.

Summer nights have that magically feel in the air already. Add thousands of Japanese musicians and dancers to the smiling members of the audience and the evening becomes that much more special.

I have never witnessed the Awa Odori before, and I hope it won’t be my last such experience.

Here is a video I took:

Lost in Translation

acase — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 18:36:16 +0000

On a hot and humid night earlier this month we headed to the Park Hyatt Tokyo in Shinjuku. We had lunch there once before, but this was our first time taking in the night view from the top. This hotel was the setting for Lost in Translation starring Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson.

We went to the New York Grill on the 52nd floor initially. When we found out there was a 2,200 yen (about $25) cover charge each, we opted for The Peak Lounge on the 41st floor instead.

The above photo was the view from our table. This is facing north. You can see Shinjuku Chuo Park in the center and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building to the right.

We walked back to Shinjuku Station a little after 11 p.m. Part of the west side of the station was filled with homeless people sleeping side by side, many with boxes over their heads to keep out the light and noise. I’ve seen plenty of homeless people before, but this was most unusual. There were dozens of them lined up in neat rows with hundreds of waking people walking down the aisles between them that they had left for us to get back inside the train station.

I took this picture with my TZ10 and left the shutter open for 8 seconds.

Field of dreams for a lefty

acase — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 18:33:48 +0000

AT&T Park in San Francisco has nothing on this place. There you have to hit the ball about 400 feet and clear a wall and rows of fans before you “splash down” in McCovey Cove.

At this baseball field, on the Arakawa River (荒川) in Tokyo, water is less than 250 feet away for a left-handed hitter. There are no walls or seats to clear. There were a couple of guys fishing in right field though.