Yoyogi Park and Emperor Meiji

Today we decided to return to the Meiji Shrine next to Yoyogi park. We had seen it advertised that this Saturday was a special day in the shrine’s calendar and that the Treasure House would be open to the public. Before we got there though we took a leisurely stroll through Yoyogi park and ate our most excellent super market lunch. A poor couple were modelling wedding attire by the pond in the 32 degree heat and humidity. The bride was wearing Crocs. Some may say this was a practical choice for walking on the swampy ground. But let me tell you, as your source deep in the underground Tokyo fashion scene, this will be huge trend next year with Crocs not only being the chef’s go-to-shoe but also the shoe of choice for the on-trend bride.

It was great to return to cool forest area that surrounds the Meiji shrine. Whilst many wild Pokemon roam the area and many of the people we encounter are busy catching and cataloguing them, we have become interested in the analogue creatures that inhabit the world outside of our iphones and could be seen and heard in foliage. We realise that this is an untapped area of exploration and one that it is at the very limits of our current knowledge. Because of this we have created a new discipline of science, drawing not only on the same processes and practices as Pokemon Go! Our novel approach involves going to places and looking at the animals that are there and trying to understand them. We have even drawn on the same blending process that coined the term Pokemon (Pocket + monsters = Pokemon) to name this discipline. Taking a derivative of the Modern Latin word ‘zoion’ or ‘zoo’ (meaning animal) and combining it with ‘logia’ or ‘ology’ (meaning study) to coin to term ‘zoology’ to describe the study of non-pokemon non-digital animals. We think this will really catch on. The non-digital animals that we encountered were the shaky-loud-bum-fly and the long-nose-man. The shaky-loud-bum-fly can be heard shaking its bum in trees constantly and we think this is done to secure a mate. Whilst the long nose man was knocked from a tree by an enthusiastic ‘zoologist’ we encountered and placed on one of the many plastic ‘wooden’ fence posts so that we could all photograph him.

 

Nothing seemed to be happening at the shrine until an attendant began pounding on a huge drum and a procession of priests and other important people made their way through the crowds. The ceremony was held to celebrate the life of Emperor Meiji and is apparently based on a poem written by the Emperor himself:

Meiji-Jingu-Yamato-Mai
The spacious sky / Spans serene and clear / So blue above, //
Oh, that our soul could grow / And become so open!

(Like the blue sky that stretches onward over us, we ourselves should like to have a heart so large and open.) [http://www.meijijingu.or.jp/english/ceremonies/1.html#meijitennosai]

The Treasure House itself is worth a visit more for the chronology of the significant events that took place during the Emperor’s reign rather than the collection of items on display. It is also worth it for the walk through the forest to emerge in the park area in which the Treasure House is situated. It doesn’t really feel like you are in the middle of Tokyo (if you ignore that one huge building)

After all the peace and tranquility of forests and shrines we decided to return to Harajuku. The city is gearing up for the election of its new Governor so there are various politicians/candidates on the streets with loudspeakers doing their thing. Grace was keen to go to the shop 6% Dokidoki which is famous for selling brilliantly coloured Decora fashion items. Here is Grace with the shop owner who had sadly lost an eye in sale related altercation.

We spent the rest of the afternoon drinking beer in the park and watching people go by. Observations: dogs in prams, dogs in bags, dogs in suitcases.

The final major stop was a huge up-market food market (like if Waitrose did a market) called Food Show which is situated in the underground Shibuya Station. The huge array of foods on offer was overwhelming. So overwhelming that it took us at least an hour-and-a-half to essentially by some salad and some dumplings. Let this be a lesson to you, always take a shopping list.

Rice ball count: 1.5

Grace’s additional comments

Although it took us ages to choose dinner (too much choice is never a good thing) we did end up with a great feast, which we ate whilst sitting on the edge of our bed in the apartment nb: we have a room with no dining table and only one chair…..that’s airbnb for you! Being the foodie that I am, I think you need to see it.

Check out that dumpling. And the siu mai (note greenery due to concern we were living solely on rice for the past few days).

On another food note, I like to try mystery things and at lunch time bought this cute looking dumpling. But I can’t work out whether it needed cooking or not? It tasted nice and sweet but had the consistency of raw dumpling mix….can anyone enlighten me?

 

Shinjuku fun times

Hi! My turn to write an entry today (it’s Grace).

After yesterday’s walking bonanza, we promised ourselves we would have a more ‘relaxed’ day today. HA.

We both woke up bleary eyed after a bad night’s sleep due to ongoing jet lag (we’re 8 hours ahead here fyi) but being the Tebbscotts, stuck to our previous plan of going for a little trot to Yoyogi park, which is about a mile or so away. I donned my Sheffield Running Club vest and off we went. And it was hot. We managed a loop of the park though, and felt much more awake afterwards. Plus, running is always the best way to explore a new place, so it was very eye opening! On the way we saw a raccoon dog – check them out on google. He was a speedy little bugger. Here I am in the park representing the steel city – check me out, dad!

The main plan for the day (and notice how often I use the word ‘plan’? You can tell it’s not Hugh writing today, can’t you?) was to go to Shinjuku, which is the closest part of Tokyo to our apartment. I still can’t get use to the sheer size of Tokyo and keep underestimating the distance between places, so thought it would be a quick walk down the road. Oh no. I think we have walked the same distance as yesterday – so much for having an easy day! As we are trying to stick to a budget, we bought some lunch from a supermarket – but this wasn’t any old tuna sandwich! No  – I will never eat supermarket sushi in England again. Just look at the beauty. Lots of seaweed too.

We had arrived in Shinjuku- full of pachinko arcades (a bit like coin slots in England but with a rushing sound blasting out of the arcades to cover the noise of the machines) and lots of neon lights. We found a cheap snack shop and Hugh bought some ‘fruito dropo’ – those who have watched Grave of the Fireflies will understand my anguish as he shook the metal tin… to those who haven’t watched it. You must!

Our next destination was the Japanese Sword Museum. This was mainly for Hugh’s benefit as he likes all that samurai stuff. It was really interesting though, and if you ever visit Tokyo, it’s a tiny little exhibition room down a small street so it’s away from the crowds. Lots of beautifully crafted swords and engraved animals and flowers.

After a rest in a local park (don’t wear unsupportive sandals when trudging around a city) we went to the Tokyo government building – the centre of power in Tokyo, and a great place for those on a budget to visit. The building itself was immense to look at – it gave me jelly legs just looking up to the top and is like a massive marble cathedral- but you can also ride the lift up to the 45th floor (for free!) where there is an observatory over the city. I sent Hugh up to check out the situation – anyone who went up the Eiffel Tower with me will know my reaction to tall buildings, but after a lot of sweating palm action and umming and ahing, I decided I would only be a blithering wreck if I went up and left it to Hugh. As you can see he caught some great views looking over the city to Mount Fuji in the clouds!

By this time our stomachs were starting to grumble again, so we headed back to central Shinjuku, where the crowds and lights were really starting to grow! I had read of an insane store in the guide book (Don Quijote) so we went to find it. It was basically a Japanese verison of Wilkos and TK Maxx but with extreme sensory overload. They had EVERYTHING, and all lit up with neon lights and bright colours. Including these very fetching hats.

Anyway, stomachs grumbling evermore, we went to hunt down Omoide-Yokocho; a small street running off the jungle of Shinjuku. But first, SELFIE! (Btw. Hugh bought a selfie stick. No lie) It’s hard to capture the insanity of Japan in a photo, but here we attempt to at the corner of a four way crossing.

We finally sat down for some nosh in a tiny smokey yakitori stall on the street translated as ‘Memory Lane’. It was a lovely bit of respite from the overload of people and lights in the rest of the district. We had some amazing and cheap food – kimchi, grilled squid, rare cooked bonito, grilled tofu and crispy grilled RICE BALLS.

It was delicious and so many good condiments! I’m not sure what the stall was called, but the street is only small and it looks like all the eateries are worth visiting.

We then found out that a whisky joint, which Hugh had found out about before we came here, was just around the corner. What a treat! We headed over to try one of the whiskys from a huge range. Zoetrope was an incredible little place, run by only one man, who plays black and white films on a large screen whilst playing random film soundtrack music. We were treated to a Harold Lloyd film with accompanying music from many other films including Star Wars…. we also tried two whiskys to add to our collective tasting bank.

And now, back at the ranch after a long walk and plenty of Pokemon catching along the way.

Rice ball count: 1.5 (0.5 for breakfast with miso soup)

 

Meiji Shrine, Harajuku and Shibuya

After 28 hours of travelling yesterday we were finally ready to explore Tokyo. Our first stop was the Meiji Shrine near the Harajuku area. We walked through the Yoyogi park to get there and were immediately drenched in sweat from the humidity. We stayed ‘cool’ by catching some wild Pokemon in the park, as we wanted to fit in with 90% of the people we saw walking by (twentieth century insight: parks are weird now since Pokemon Go). We actually stayed cool by walking through the quiet forest path leading up to the shrine, where consecrated, decorated barrels of sake (and also french wine) were stacked by the side of the path. These barrels had been donated by sake makers to honor the Emperor Meiji and Empress Shōken whom the shrine celebrates the deification of.

The shrine itself was very relaxing. We had to wash our hands and mouths before we entered the shrine in a very particular manner. There were votive plaques hung around a sacred tree with peoples hopes and prayers written on them. I was happy to see various ones for world peace. Whilst Grace was pleased to see one which simply read ‘I wish to be a stone and tock and pebble collecter’. To this person, whosoever they might be or wherever they are, I say ‘stay true to yourself’ and ‘don’t let the bastards grind you down’. I would also say that the path ahead may be rocky, but if you work very hard one day you will stand atop the mountain of your dreams. The people at the shrine were gearing up for a big celebration in a couple of days time so we will have to come back later this week.

We made our way out of the park into the Harajuku area and stopped for lunch at  Harajuku Gyoza-Ro, arriving just before the lunch rush got too much. We ate delicious grilled and steamed gyoza along with pickled cabbage for around a fiver, as well as picking up a free fan to  beat the heat. (Dear Sheffield restauranters. If you want to say you are serving ‘street food’ make one thing, do it well and serve it quickly. Ok, thanks bye). The first shop we stopped in was Kiddy Land. It is basically four floors of inanimate objects  with faces on them i.e. a vision of the utopia Grace is striving to achieve. Takeshita-dori felt very much like the bustling Camden Lock or the East Village in New York where you can witness all the latest fashion trends. There were crepes everywhere. Whereas Omotesando had a much more Oxford Street feel with the Gucci and other designer brands in large modern department stores lining the streets.

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We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in the park and people watching (nb. Pokemon Go is enjoyed by ALL ages in Tokyo) before heading off to Shibuya. The first thing we did was visit the famous Shibuya crossing. Nearby there is a mural dedicated to Hachikō – a dog that would come to the train station everyday to meet his master from work. When his master died, he kept coming for nine years and was celebrated as an example of fidelity and loyalty.

After strolling around the shops for a while we made our way to Purikura-no-Mecca. This was a place filled with fun photobooths and populated by young women. We were confused by the range of machines and were eventually helped by a pair of girls who translated the various options of photo shoot to us. We eventually took a set of tasteful photos, and I think that you will find them both authentic and free from digital manipulation.

Finally we visited a small roadside street food joint, ‘Sagatani’ for their famous ramen noodle bowls. These are ordered from a vending machine, which shows each dish in photograph form, and then you pass the receipt to the waitress. A very handy system for non-japanese speakers! The noodles were delicious and I’m sorry to say, beat Sheffield’s Noodle Inn by a mile.

Other events of the day:

Grace had her first Japanese toilet experience. She found the flushing sounds, played to provide a modest backdrop to your evacuations, both amusing and an outright challenge to the volume that she could produce by urinating.

We watched a tv show where a woman had to listen to the sounds of umbrellas being opened and then describe what the umbrella looked like. It was excellent.

Everyone has towels.

Observations by Grace:

The photobooth shop was amazing, but Hugh did have some protestations (?) at first as he thought that ‘all they do is give you Western eyes!’ and didn’t see the point. He is eating his words now.

Harajuku was everything I ever imagined and I don’t have the words to explain how happy it made me. KAWAIIIIIIII

I have decided to keep a tally of the amount of rice balls Hugh eats as a snack while we are here. They are easy to buy and fit our budget nicely at around 140yen each. They’re basically palm sized balls of sticky rice with different fillings, and Hugh is addicted, and I’m worried he is going to get vitamin deficiency.

Rice ball tally: 3