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The above picture is of my kids and the kids of my coworker. All four were really nervous before meeting and could hardly look at each other for the first five minutes, but then they ended up having a great time together even though they shared no common vocabulary. I think the event inspired all of them to try harder to learn the other’s language.
I spotted this little guy at the Marines’ game.
And this little girl at the playground next to 甘泉園公園…
You will not have a hard time finding a place to eat in Shinjuku at night. The streets are lined with places, sometimes six or more stories high. The restaurants aren’t hard to see either. With all the light coming from them, Shinjuku can be brighter at night than during the day.
The above photo is of one of the entrances to Kabuki-Cho on the east side of Shinjuku station. The building on the right has a 7-11 on the ground floor and then other floors featuring shabu-shabu, okonomiyaki (pancake filled with vegtables, squid, mayonnaise, etc.) and takoyaki (octopus balls), a bar, a manga cafe, and a place to play mahjong.
Kaiten Sushi (回転すし) is when you don’t order sushi, you merely pick your sushi choices off the rotating conveyor belt. That’s what the above place is, with prices starting at just 100 yen per plate. You frequently see fun pictures of the creatures you will be eating in Japan, something that doesn’t seem too appetizing in the states.
Which of these smiling fish would you like to eat?
Or perhaps you’d prefer pork in the form of a pig pretending to be a tanuki? Apparently they don’t serve raccoon dogs here, but you can get something made out of pig like tonkatsu. I love tonkatsu, but this pig at the door makes me want to eat it somewhere else.
Just left of center is the Shinjuku Center Building. To the left of it, the building that flares out at the bottom, is Sompo Japan Building. Just to the right of the center of this photo is perhaps the most interesting of the Shinjuku high-rise buildings, Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower. My daughter says it reminds her of the Bird’s Nest Stadium the Beijing Olympics were centered around. On the far left is the Mitsui Building and the far right is the Keio Plaza Hotel.
I took this picture from the free, observation deck in the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office.
I took a walk the other day through Shinjuku’s Chuo Koen (新宿中央公園). The park provides quite a contrast to the high-rise buildings that surround it. 新宿中央公園 features a rather wide, two-sided waterfall. The side you can see above is almost 10 feet high and more than a hundred feet wide. The other side is at least twice as high.
The building in the background is the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office (東京都庁舎 or just 都庁). Like many of the buildings in Shinjuku, it didn’t exist when I last lived in Tokyo in the late 1980s.
If you look very closely at the above photograph you’ll see turtles in the water beneath the waterfall.
And here is a closeup of those same turtles.
The next evening I found myself on the observation deck of the 都庁 with a view of the spot in 新宿中央公園 from which I had taken the top picture. From this vantage point you can see the other side of the waterfall. The turtles are probably still there, but you can’t quite see them in this final photo.
It’s a great feeling at night when I’ve finished my class and commute and find myself at Takadanobaba Station ready to walk the final stretch home. Recently I’ve come to anticipate the street musician just outside of the station. He plays a shamisen but not like the geisha. No, he plays a heavy metal version that is quite unique. I really like the vibe.
I was going to talk to him on the night I took the above picture. However, as I approached him he scowled as he tuned his three strings. I figured I should keep my distance. So I went across the street to get a picture. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a clear shot as people kept passing before him.
While I waited for people to clear out, I turned my lens to an icon of the area, Big Box.
The view got nicer, at times, but I still didn’t ever get a good photo of the Metal Shamisen Dude. Next time, if I get up the courage, I’ll ask him if I can take a video.
From there I walked down Waseda Doori passing many curious shops. The one above features an 赤提灯 (あかちょうちん, akachochin, or red lantern) that seems to have been in use for decades. Rather than replace it, they have put plastic over it to keep it from wearing out so fast. The bottom half is literally hanging by a thread.
Places with an akachochin out front are great for a drink and/or bite to eat.
Farther down the street (upper right corner of the above photo) you can see Wendy’s, one of the last places in Japan to not ban smoking. The place reeks inside. Japan’s smoking habits have really changed in the past 20 years. When I was here in the 1980s people smoked everywhere. Now, seeing someone smoking is something of a rarity. There are small, designated smoking areas outside of most train stations, away from the major traffic areas. I no longer have to experience the stink, unless I’m walking by Wendy’s at the same time a customer is coming out the door.
When I lived in Japan a couple of decades ago nothing was done for Halloween–no decorations, no costumes, no trick-or-treaters, nothing. It appears times have changed.
I don’t think trick-or-treating has caught on yet, but a flyer went up in our neighborhood for a Halloween costume parade (early in October–not on Halloween!) more than a week ago. The stores are already well stocked with Halloween decorations and goodies even though we are barely midway through September.
Where else in the world, but Japan, can you find Hello Kitty Halloween goods and vampire Mickey Mouse?