As with many large cities Tokyo is made up of several different areas each known for their own qualities and characteristics. I spent my first day wandering about the streets of Shinjuku which is full of large department stores, ramen shops, restaurants, shops, and is known for its entertainment district of Kabukicho where there are countless bars, nightclubs, and restaurants. After walking about I headed to Aoyama-itchome to drop my luggage off and check-in at my hotel. During the evening I headed back to Shinjuku station to meet several of my friends who I had met at Western Washington Univeristy and we all headed out to eat. We walked around throughout the evening following the ebb and flow of the night as groups of people moved from one place to another for a bite to eat here, and a drink or two there, as the variety of quaint small restaurants and pubs make for a night to be spent with friends moving from place to place.
It was an enjoyable evening spent with long-time-no-see friends, tasty food including donuts for dessert of course, and the busy nightlife of Tokyo's Shinjuku.
The following day I headed to Shinbuya where there is the Meji Jingu Shrine and the nearby Takeshita Dori, a famous shopping street packed with small shops and crowded with people. The Meji Jingu Shrine was established in 1920 and is surrounded by a forest of over 170,000 planted trees. The area of the shrine is approximately 700,000m² and after walking through the wide shrine gate and viewing the impressive natural space created one forgets the large metropolis encompassing it.
After walking around the area, it was back to the station for a train to the area of Ueno. Ueno has multiple offerings such as the Tokyo National Museum, Ueno Toshogu Shrine, National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Ueno Park, and the famous market street of Ameyokocho. While my visit was during the お正月 Oshogatsu, or New Year's time, most of the museums were closed. These will have to be stops for next time. So, I enjoyed a walk through Ueno park and then strove on to the market street, Ameyoko.
Ameyoko is a busy shotengai 商店街. The street is packed with people, hundreds of shops, food, clothing, shoes, arcades, restaurants and more. Walking itself is a task in the narrower sections of the street.
Tokyo has much to see and I am looking forward to visiting again. My next stop was Nagoya.
Nagoya is famous for Nagoya Castle. While, I was able to go see the outside of the castle and take some pictures, during the New Year holiday the castle is closed so I was not able to enter the castle grounds. However, walking around the surrounding walls and viewing the castle from outside is impressive itself. Below I have posted some pictures of the moat and castle.
As I spent the New Year's in Nagoya, I was able to experience a typical お正月 holiday eating at home, watching the special New Year's Japanese Television programming and spending time with my friend's family.
While there I also visited Inuyama Castle. The castle is said to have been originally constructed around 1440, but was completed in 1537 by Oda Yojirou Nobuyasu, a samurai warrior who worked to unify Japan during the Warring States period and it is one of the oldest standing castles in Japan. The castle served as a type of outpost to warn Nagoya castle of any approaching forces. The structure itself has a powerful presence, and one can easily understand its strategic placement overseeing the Kiso River Valley.
Next on the map was Kyoto. Kyoto is an absolutely beautiful city. The city once served as the imperial capital of Japan and hosts numerous historical buildings, national treasures, and UNESCO World Heritage Sites. While there I spent an entire day walking the city from place to place and fell in love. Around every corner one can find remarkable diamonds of history. Temples, shrines, castles, houses, shops, restaurants, shopping streets, kimonos, business suits, cars, samurai, music, art, food, fill the area and create an indescribable atmosphere in which ancient tradition and modern day meet at once and blend in a beautifully calm way.
One such place that I visited was the UNESCO World Heritage Site Nijo Castle, 二条城. The castle was originally built in 1603 and was the official Kyoto residence for the first Tokugawa Shogun, Ieyasu. The exterior is surrounded by a moat and stone wall and the entire ground covered by the castle complex is an impressive 275,000 square meters. Needless to say it is quite large. Upon entering the first gate the visitor is met by another wall surrounding the main palace, within each wall can be found beautiful cherry blossoms and intricately designed gardens. The Ninomaru garden, neighboring the main palace, was designed by Kobori Enshu a famous Japanese tea master and landscape artist and utilizes a stunning use of space, stones, water, plants, trees, and land.
The interior of the main palace is remarkable. Laid out in a series of chambers and rooms all of which corresponded to various levels or rankings of visitors, the castle is filled with intricate wood carvings, gold leaf, and wall paintings. The design of the interior was done so with distinct care and purpose. The floor itself was built with a unique quality known as "nightingale floors". In order to provide a warning to any occupants of an unwelcome guest, the corridor floors were constructed so that the floor nails would rub against a metal clamp to create a noise similar to that of the chirping of a Japanese うぐいす Uguisu, a type of bird.
My next stop in Kyoto was the Ginkakuji Temple.
The Ginkakuji Temple is a World Cultural Heritage Site and was established in 1482 by Ashikaga Yoshimasa, the eight Muromachi Shogunate. Yoshimasa followed his grandfather Ashikaga, Yoshimitsu who had built the temple on the grounds, and built the villa Higashiyama den. Yoshimasa spent his entire life building the villa and surrounding garden with a combination of Higashiyama and Zen culture. The Japanese garden is said to have been designed by a famous landscape artist Soami, and the garden is well known for its sand-mountain representing Mount Fuji.
The next stop I made was by Heian Jingu. Heian Jingu is a Shinto Shrine built in 1895 in celebration of the 1,100 anniversary of Heiankyo, the old name for Kyoto. As was not able to tour the gardens on the shrine's grounds I am looking forward to returning again.
Walking around the city of Kyoto was wonderful and I took a few photos of houses and streets and the area that I would like to share below.
Kyoto is a singular and memorable city. After journeying through the narrow streets, walking through ancient halls, and contemplating the Zen styled gardens, it is easily understood why the city is known for capturing the hearts of its visitors and the spirit of Japan. ぜひ来て下さい。
