Last Friday night we went to Tokyo Midtown in Roppongi to check out the Christmas lights (referred to as illuminations or イルミネーション) and have some dinner. The restaurants with the good views in the Garden Terrace were all booked so we had some inexpensive, Vietnamese food without a view instead. Ironically, even though the place was packed, all the restaurants and shops closed at 9 p.m. We then headed over to Roppongi Hills where I took the above photo of the Tokyo Tower, which was lit differently than usual.

The Mori Garden was illuminated as it basked in the glow of Asahi TV Studio.

The Grass Square behind the Midtown Tower and Garden Terrace were the scene for this ever-changing light display.

Posted on December 8th, 2009 under Japan. Tags: mori tower, night photography, Tokyo, tokyo tower. Comments: 1

At this junction, you can take about eight different paths. One takes you to the top of Mt. Otsuka. The book we were following didn’t say anything about what you’d see there so we didn’t go to the top of Mt. Otsuka (which turned out to be a really good thing as it would have put us back another hour and likely left us stranded in the dark later in the day). Another route looked shorter and said (in Japanese) that it took you to the picnic area from which you can see Mt. Fuji. However, we could pretty much see the top, and it was surrounded in tall trees. So I don’t think you could really see Mt. Fuji from there unless you climbed a tree. Instead, we followed the above sign towards Mitake Jinja (御嶽神社), which is the Shinto shrine on top of the mountain. For some unknown reason the kanji is different (御岳山 for Mt. Mitake vs. 御嶽神社). Anyone know why?

As we neared the shrine area the number of people increased dramatically. Houses, shops, etc. also sprung up as we neared this remote location. The building pictured above had the strangest roof I have ever seen. It was all one building but appeared to have at least three or four completely different roofs.

Posted on December 7th, 2009 under Japan. Tags: hiking, japanese maple, mt. mitake, thatch roof, 紅葉. Comments: 3

Things have changed since Hiroshige created the above scene (“Basho’s Hermitage and Camellia Hill on the Kanda Aqueduct at Sekiguchi, No. 40” (せき口上水端はせを庵椿やま) in “One Hundred Famous Views of Edo” (名所江戸百景)). I haven’t taken any photos of the Kanda River yet, as it is anything but beautiful these days. However, I will in spring when the cherry blossoms are out.

Basho’s hermitage (Bashodo or 芭蕉堂) is still here, but it isn’t easy to find (especially if you can’t read Japanese), and you have to go through a closed gate to enter the grounds.

This area along the river is still a great spot for a walk though. I take one or two here a week, and Linda takes one almost every day past Chinzanso. Our apartment would be in the distance on the left side of this ukiyo-e where the trees are, although at that time our apartment’s exact location was part of takadanobaba which Hiroshige also included in his “100 Famous Views of Edo.”

A few weeks back I witnessed a man throw a hefty bag of garbage into this water way. What a shame. From the looks of the current state of the water, he isn’t alone.

The above is the current path along the river, complete with elevated expressway on the other side and guard rail (the river is some 30 feet below).

Posted on December 6th, 2009 under Japan. Tags: chinzanso, hiroshige, kandagawa, Tokyo, ukiyo-e. Comments: 2

A really good day to do touristy things in Tokyo is a weekday when my kids aren’t in school but the Japanese schools are in session. Such was the case this past Tuesday so Ryan and I headed off to Ueno Park while Ellie had a sleepover at a friend’s house. Our destination was the National Museum of Nature and Science (国立科学博物館), another place that takes the Grutt Pass.

Other than a few school groups (who mostly stuck together), the place was empty. Avoid the school groups and you can enjoy the exhibits all to yourself. Run into a school group and, if you are a foreigner, you will turn into the exhibit.

The old building (above) houses the Japan collection. The building, itself, is almost as interesting as the collection. It is one of the few buildings in Tokyo older than WW2. A new building (below) was added in 2007, and it houses the bulk of the collection.

There is little in English, but you can rent an English audio guide for 300 yen which can keep you busy for up to nine hours. We only had three hours in the place but could have easily spent all day exploring if I had not had an afternoon appointment elsewhere.

Posted on December 5th, 2009 under Japan. Tags: grutt pass, museums, ueno, 国立科学博物館. Comments Off on National Museum of Nature and Science

Let’s start our next installment of Tokyo Tower photos with an “Abbey Road” kind of picture.

We ate some really good Chinese food in Roppongi Hills one afternoon. We were unable to get a window seat, but I still took a photo from the table in that restaurant and the above was the result.

Finally, for today anyway, the Tokyo Tower from Shinjuku. The building just to the right of the tower is the Midtown Tower, Tokyo’s tallest building. In the lower right you can see Meiji Jingu Stadium (明治神宮野球場), home of the Yakult Swallows.

Posted on December 4th, 2009 under Japan. Tags: tokyo tower. Comments Off on Tokyo Tower photos