Friday,
July 4, 2014
Tokyo
Still
Totally Transfixed by Tokyo
Tokyo’s
Fish Market is a huge tourist attraction for two reasons: the early morning
tuna auctions that take place at 5. 30 are a most exciting spectacle—however,
they involve arriving by 3. 30 am, taking a number and hoping to fall within
the 120 places that are allotted to visitors. If you do not make the cut, you
can still stay for the opening of the wholesale buying which begins at 9. 30 am.
We left home at about 8. 30, arrived near the Fish Market to find large numbers
of tourists heading in the same direction. Although too late for the auction,
they were there for the second reason the venue is so popular: Sushi Brunch at
the Fish Market based on the delicious fresh catch of that same morning.
Needless to say, we found the place dirty and wished to get out as quickly as
we could. Plus, Llew, who is not a fish eater, was not going to join me in
eating sushi for brunch—so he whisked himself off for a saunter around the
premises while I ate a solitary meal at a small place that was filled with
locals eating bowls of rice with fresh sashimi (raw fish) topping them. I
settled for the set sushi platter and have to say that it was supremely
delicious—the fish was as soft as butter and deeply flavorful.
Yes,
it was time to visit yet another shrine and Meiji Jinju is the most important
one in all Japan as it serves as the private shrine of the emperor and his
family. We had pretty much mastered the art of using the subway system by this
stage as the temple was far away. It was a drizzly day and we were grateful for
our umbrellas. However, the temple is nothing to rave about—apart from its
associations with the Meiji emperors who brought great prosperity to Japan in
the Pre-World War I period (the memorials for the popular emperor and his
consort are here), there is really nothing by way of architecture in this space
and we were rather disappointed in having hiked up to this part of town.
It
was time to turn our sights on to something different—and we headed next to the
very north of the city to the area known as Ueno.
Ueno
is kind of like Museum City in Tokyo—home of the most important museums from
the Fine Arts one to the Museum of Natural History which is a child’s delight.
The guide book said that if we had the time for just one, we should make it the
Tokyo National Museum that contained a capsule of the history and culture of
the country through the ages. And that was what we did. Again, we were stunned
by the hordes of folks heading to the museums—and these were not tourists, mind
you, but local Japanese folk who are clearly deeply culture-conscious and patronize
such institutions on a regular basis.
Had
we the time to explore Tokyo National Museum at our leisure, no doubt we’d have
enjoyed it more. As it turned out, we used our guide books to pick out the
highlights and ended up spending about two hours reviewing Japan’s classical
contribution to the world. And so we traipsed from one gallery to the next,
starting on the top floor and making our way down. We saw ancient sculpture (a
great deal of Buddhas and Bodhisatavas) such as the ones we had seen at Nara
and Uji and then moved on to the galleries that showcase the county’s artistic
creations in the form of ceramics, metalwork, lacquerware, jade carvings, etc.
Finally, we ended our visit with a look at the treasures of Horyu-Ji Temple
which are located in a special modern building.
Now
having been to Horyu-Ji Temple ourselves, only a few days previously, it was of
special interest to us to see this marvelous collections of Buddha statues as
well as a large number of archeological items found on this site—that go back
about 1000 years. Again, by this stage, we were seriously afflicted by
tourist-fatigue and decided to sit somewhere, away from Ueno and its buzz, so
as to rest our feet.
And,
so we rode the subway once again to the commercial heart of the city in order
to tick off the next item on our To-Do List for the day: a visit to the Tokyo
Metropolitan Government Building which is actually the seat of national
administration.
Built
by Japan’s renowned architect Tange Kenzo (who also designed the Cenotaph at
the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima), this building is composed of twin towers
that sit on a lofty base. They rise far above the city of Tokyo providing
stunning views—on a clear day, one can actually see Mount Fuji from the
observation deck on the 44th floor. Of course, I was keen to see
this building as an example of the kind of contemporary futuristic architecture
that one now finds in many modern world cities (such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi and
Shanghai), but what was more, was that one could gain grand views of the city
for free!
Arriving
there just before dusk on a very cloudy day did not do much for the views we
hoped to receive; but it did give us a very graphic idea of the mushrooming of
this urban metropolis and of its essential design aesthetic. Clearly, the kind
of skyscrapers going up in these concrete jungles are not just unappealing
boxes. As architects vie with each other to produce eye-popping buildings, new
skylines are emerging that are also artistically appealing—and that is what we
noticed about Tokyo from the heights of hundreds of feet above the ground to
which we were whisked in a high-speed elevator. It felt a little bit like the
visits we had made to the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York,
many years ago or visiting the Burj Khalifa in Abu Dhabi, the world’s tallest
building.
With
just hours to go before our departure from Tokyo, I felt the need to return to Takashimaya (we had visited and shopped
at its Kyoto branch earlier in the week), the famous department store, to pick
up a few more gifts. This gave us the opportunity to see East and West Shinjuki
which is the heart of a busy commercial center. Crowds of folks were picking
their way on public transport to get home at the end of the day and we were
swept along in the sheer frenzy of their energy. We soon found the store and picked up a few
more gifts—mainly by way of silk scarves and bags—and then spent some time in
its awesome food department. Once again we were dazzled by the unique wrapping
and display skills of the Japanese and were tempted by a number of samplers
generously handed out to us: shumai dumplings, rice crackers, frozen mango and
melon treats, little jellies, etc. It was a nice introduction to the kind of
items Japanese folks buy as gifts.
By
this time, we were exhausted and a rest was urgently called for. We made our
way back to our hotel and rested for a bit, then showered and set out on yet
another mission: a Visit to the famous Tokyo Tower which is an exact (if
slightly shorter) replica of Paris’ Eiffel Tower. Lit up brilliantly at night,
this edifice towers above the city and can be spied on the subway routes as
they whisk people about the city.
We
quickly found our way there as I was keen to get some pictures. As night had
fallen over the city, we were fortunate enough to find the tower in all its
illuminated splendor—and it was quite wonderful indeed. We reached there at 9.
45 and since the tower was closed to visitors at 10. 00 pm, all we managed to
do was enter the building to get an idea of the lighting up close and personal.
But it was certainly worth the late-evening excursion.
What a lovely walk it was, on our
last night in Japan, breathing in the cool clear night air, watching the city’s
youngsters have a great time at local eateries and amusement arcades and
passing up an atmospheric Buddhist temple whose roof lines contrasted strangely
with the modern metallic lines of the Tokyo Tower! We loved the city, were
delighted with its helpful, polite, clean and organized people and could easily
see ourselves happily living in this part of the world.
Needless
to say, we were deeply fatigued by the time we crawled into bed at about 11.00
pm. With our packing done, we set alarms for our departure from Japan on the
morrow, and our arrival at our next destination—Shanghai in China.
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