On the trail of Wolverine

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

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!