On the trail of Wolverine...
October 14, a national holiday in Japan and time for a meander through the streets of Tokyo starting in Hibiya Park with the discovery of some stones...
Scandanavian explorers
This stone marks an expedition carried out by Scandanavian explorers in February 1957 to find a route from Europe to Japan via the North Pole. It uses the Nordic epitaph of Scandanavian vikings as its motif (I know this thanks to the plaque that can be found next to the stone which kindly has details in Japanese and English).
Antartic stone
Another plaque proudly declared the nearby stone to be from the Antartic, I assume its the one in the picture but somehow it seems lacking in being all that impressive...
Yap Money
And then nearby was one further stone which is "Yap Money".
Yap is a place, an island in fact, located in the Federated States of Micronesia and is known for its stone money. This stone came to Japan in 1925. Although the Yap Island now has the US Dollar as an offical currency, the stone money is still used in ceremonial exchanges.After leaving the park, I realised I wasn't that far from Zojo-ji, a buddhist temple in Tokyo which is a location in the 2013 film "Wolverine". Having seen it just the day below, I decided to set off to see the setting in person... and here are some of the things I found along the way.
How do you know when it's a national holiday in Japan?
On national holidays in Japan, buses and many buildings display the national flag of Japan. Even a humble underground parking lot displays the flag at its entrance.
Wasuremono
In Japan, lost property is called "wasuremono". If something is dropped on the street, but perhaps not of significant value other than for the owner, it is common practice to put it somewhere to the side of the street so as not to get stepped on.
Carillon
I found this along the way and at the time had no idea what this piece of street sculpture might be.
Apparently it is a "carillon" which is a musical instrument consisting of cast cup-shaped bells. I was rather taken by its form and took the next photo from standing inside the structure.
Zojo-ji
After seeing Wolverine last night, I checked the internet about the locations used in the film, I knew the location for the funeral scene was Zojo-ji but was amused to see it now called "the Wolverine temple".
In the setting sun, under gathering clouds, and perhaps with the film in mind, here is the temple with the Tokyo Tower standing behind it. But no yakuza or ninji today... or at least none that I could see...
I've been learning more about using Lightroom 4 to edit photos and here is my take on Tokyo Tower, taken as the sun was setting.
Lastly, something else I learnt today... the next photo is of "solanum mammosum", often scene in florists shops in Tokyo at this time of year. It always puts me in mind of balloons that have deflated but I leave you with one of its common names...
Titty fruit
