Akasaka to Ginza... a Saturday evening's walkabout

In the late afternoon and into the evening of Saturday 20 July, the usual roasting heat of a Tokyo summer dropped enough to make it pleasant for stroll and take in some sights.  The streets were alive with the sound of politically campaigning, as it was the eve of Upper House elections.

Starting in Akasaka, I visited Hie Shrine, I'm not sure how this beautiful Shinto Shrine had escaped my attention before.

According to the Shrine's website (http://www.hiejinja.net/jinja/english/index.html) it has a long history and since the 1600's has been an important place of worship for the people of Edo (former name of Tokyo) and now Tokyo.  It has been reconstructed and moved and burnt down and rebuilt on a number of occasions and its most recent rebuilding being in 1958 after being destroyed during the air raids on Tokyo during World War II.

One of its noteable features is the pathway of Torii (gates). Not quite as famous as the pathway you will see in guidebooks of Japan which is in Kyoto but noteworthy nonetheless.  It was challenge to photograph not least because at the time I was being feasted upon by the local mosquitoes.

After visiting the Shrine, a quick visit to Hibiya Park where fellow Tokyoites were taking advantages of the pleasant temperature.

These two guys caught my eye, as is often the case, anywhere you go in Tokyo you will find someone managing to nap.  Although I think these guys have found a lovely spot in the bustling capital to get their rest.

As I mentioned earlier, the eve of the election had brought politicians and their supporters out in (noisy) force.  And here is one such group of campaigners with their election hopeful, Kyouko Nakayama, getting a group photo taken in Ginza.

Each summer, outside the Sony Building in Ginza (http://www.sonybuilding.jp/e/index.html) you will find a temporary aquarium with an additional tank just inside the entrance.  It is certainly eye-catching and slightly mesmerizing to watch, but then I love aquarium anyway.  I caught this guy being reflected as he looked for the perfect shot of the outside tank's inhabitants.

And inside the building, everyone wanted to get a shot of the beautiful parrot fish.

After leaving the Sony Building, a stroll along the road running alongside the elevated expressway from Yurakucho to Shimbashi found many restaurants nestling under the expressway.  The variety of countries and cuisines covered was amazing but the Japanese izakaya (pub) always catch my eye as they are often festooned with lanterns.

Outside another izakaya you could peruse the fishy ingredients offered up on the menu

Freshness is important with fish and the head is often retained, not only because it can be cooked up, but because the clearness of the eye is an important indicator of how old the fish is.  This tuna head was rather impressive, I assume the middle has already been served up.

Sometime when wandering Tokyo, I'll often come across lines of people waiting to get into something or perhaps to get a glimpse of someone coming out a stage door.  Such a line was found on this occasion with about 30 or so women, perhaps in their 30s and upwards waiting for J-pop "boy band" the Diamond Dogs (http://www.jpopasia.com/group/diamonddogs/)  to exit the stage door after a performance.  When the boys exited the building the waiting ladies were so quiet and reverential with the only brave ones managing to catch a word with some of the group members whilst the other held back and looked on in awe.  If I am not mistaken, this is Kohei Nakatsuka (中塚 皓平) meeting some of his fans in Ginza.

























And lastly, I found a countdown display in the International Forumwhich is showing the number of days until September 7, 2013.This is the date that the IOC will announce the successful city for the 2020 Summer Olympics. 

Competing for the honour is Tokyo, Madrid and Istanbul.  Tokyo's last bid was heavily critcised for a lack of public support and much more is being this time to get the public behind the bid.

 

Hopefully this time Tokyo will be successful!