Ueno Park



Hydrangea season

 

I took myself off to Ueno Park the other day, not knowing what might be in store.  It was hot and humid and the kind of day that makes you want to take things at a slow and easy pace.  I strolled out of the station and there, right in front of me, in the middle of this huge city, was an area of green and tranquillity I found hard to believe.  Ueno Park - fabulous.

To make my day even better I was approached by a Japanese man in his early 30's (I know this because he told me!) who said "You're not American, are you?"  He then took me around the park pointing out things of interest and there was plenty.  It will need a return visit to take in all the galleries and museums in the place.  He told me his life story - a terrible brain tumor had affected his life and now he was unable to work.  He did however speak fluent English and wanted so much to practise.  I was more than happy to oblige.

A Temple - view from the steps

Lovely Japanese lanterns

The Peace Memorial for those who died in Hiroshima

Prayers

The tofu seller

A Day in the Park

Off to Kichijoji to meet up with friends and had an unexpected picnic in the park.

Priceless!

Myuki, Kumi and Kenka

Oh, anyone bring the wine glasses?

Tenten ( in green ) and Toro

Taken by a very nice man!

A break away from it all

"Fancy a week or two in Thailand?" I asked.  "OK... let me think about it... oh alright then." was his reply.  Well, long before the earthquake of 3/11 we had booked a holiday in Bangkok and Hua Hin for ten days.  Little did we know just how ready for it we were going to be.  For a while, it looked pretty unlikely that we would be able to get away.  David had a job to do and it wasn't going to be over any time soon.  Right up to the last minute we weren't at all sure we would be able to go, but go we did and it was an amazing ten days in a place we really fell in love with. 

We spent four days in Bangkok in a great hotel in the middle of the business district - shopping?  No problem.  Dinner?  No problem.  Relaxing by the pool in 34 degrees?  No problem.  We were well and truly pampered - the seats by the pool were sorted for us, towel laid out before us,  Just a little more shade?  No problem.  Would Madam like a drink while she basks in the sun?  No problem. An extra towel?  No problem.  And so it continued. We cruised the River at night and enjoyed a lovely dinner on board a very grand vessel, passing the temples and bridges which were simply stunning.

We were very lucky to arrive in Bangkok at Songkran - their new year festival.  What we didn't know was that to celebrate the new year the Thai people congregate in Si Lom and spray water at each other and daub chalk on each other - and it is very lucky if this happens to you.  We arrived in the Si Lom area quite by chance.  We had driven through it the night before on our way to supper on the river and decided to visit it the following day.  It was an area that looked real.  Busy and bustling with many people and shops and interesting back alleys.



Si Lom at Songkran

  When we arrived by taxi at a nearby hotel we sauntered down the road wondering what on earth was happening and why most of the young people seemed to be toting huge water pistols.  It became quite apparent that we were to run the gauntlet of enthusiastic youngsters as the sprayed and squirted and shot at anyone passing - age was no barrier in the end although we did think we might get away with it.  I was wet pretty quickly and it took some very brave souls to spray Dave - but he did not escape unscathed.  We laughed and smiled and ran as fast as we could down an alley which gave us some insight into the seedier side of the area.  Bars and girls and some very unsavoury looking men lurked there.  Not somewhere I felt I needed to return to when the sun went down!

The Hyatt looked after us so well.  They transferred us from the city hotel to their sister hotel in Hua Hin by shuttle bus.  When we booked this we were not at all sure about the standard of such a bus.  Would it be comfortable?  Would it  be airconditioned?  Would it be full of loud tourists?  Would it be safe to travel in?  We need not have worried.  This amazing four by four arrived to whisk us off.  We were the only travellers and there was icy aircon and ice cold water at our disposal.  What an amazing trip - three hours south of Bangkok on a holiday weekend and we arrived in what can only be described as manicured paradise.  It was stunning - palm trees, butterflies, wonderfully fragrant jasmine and staff who smiled and smiled all combined to make the place seem perfect.

 Our suite was gorgeous.  Cool, large and very comfortable.  We would be very happy to base ourselves there for a few days and the best thing?  The earth did not move - at all although it took us a few days to stop looking at each other inquisitively when we felt a slight movement.

We were befriended by a lovely Japanese woman who was the Guest Liaison person and she took pity on us!  We were uprgraded to a suite in the Spa and I have to say it can only be described as palatial.  We took one look at it and asked ourselves what on earth we could do in it.  It soon became clear... there was a free massage each, every day - taken on the airconditioned verandah area and a bath that would take a whole rugby squad (sadly, I had to make do with Dave!)

Our HUGE bath

The bed was nine feet wide - we needed a mobile phone just to see if the other was awake!  Along with this there was a lovely beach to enjoy:

View from the suite verandah

G&T anyone?

So we lolled around and totally chilled then headed back to Bangkok for a couple of nights before our return to Tokyo.  We stayed in the Hyatt again - fab room and all the comforts of home.  We nipped across the road to a rather smart Italian restaurant (part of the Intercontinental) and then back to the bar in the hotel basement where I nearly lost Dave to the well known charms of the local ladies of the night!  I had left him in the bar and returned to the room to get some sleep and within moments of my leaving (this is Dave's story and he is sticking to it!) a lovely young girl asked if the bar stool next to  him was taken.  He, very much the gentleman, said it wasn't.  I am not clear what then ensued but he assures me he left after a brief conversation with her!

Earthquakes, tsunamis and radiation issues!

OK, I hear you say, it's been a while and I apologise.  I thought you might find it interesting to know how life has been for us since, what the Americans are calling, 3/11.  The people of Japan have been expecting a huge earthquake for years.  We were well prepared and well rehearsed.  What they did not anticipate was a treble whammy - earthquake, tsunami and a potential radiation problem from a reactor plant which is normally of no significance except that it produces a whole lot of electricity so vital for running the industries and cities in this part of Japan.  My heart goes out to these lovely people.  They have done all they can to restore power and faith to us.  Here in Tokyo we have suffered a minor inconvenience.  Further north their lives have been destroyed and will never, ever be the same again.  We are so lucky to be here and not there.

I had a very humbling experience at the Embassy handout of Potassium Iodate at the weekend.  The queues were long but the system was organised and fair - we just had to wait our turn.  My turn came after a man who had been evacuated from the Fukushima area - he had nothing but a passport and his glasses with him.  He felt lucky too.  Imagine what a fraud I felt when I have a home and all the other comforts of life and he has nothing but his life and his glasses.  There were many stories like that.  There was no sense of panic and no sense of frustration.  Just a sigh every now and again as we inched our way to the front of the line where the FCO people were working so hard to help us all.  They must have been exhausted - it had been a long week and they were still working ten days after the quake - not much respite in between and some were just as traumatised as those around them.

David and I have an advantage here - we were not in the first big quake.  We carry no memory of the awful build up to the shaking and twisting that occurred.  We are emotionally much stronger than those who did and we were so right to come back to support those who have been traumatised by it.  The aftershocks (300 and counting) are still happening and some are large.  We rock and roll and hope that it gets no worse.  Then we get on with life - we went out to dinner after the last one ....  and so did the rest of Tokyo.  Being nine floors up, we wobble quite a bit but it is testament to the Japanese engineering skill that all the buildings in Tokyo have remained upright despite waving in the wind as one friend described it.

The school remains closed for a bit.  The Japanese government has asked us all to conserve power so that it can be directed to the disaster area.  Businesses and schools and universities have been closed to comply with that.  David has a job to do here and I am doing anything I can to help the Japanese come to terms with their dreadful experience.  In all the panic that the expats exhibited, no one actually stopped to think what their disappearance might mean.  It means that there is no one spending money, money that is so vital to support the people from the north - what we do here has a knock on effect.  There are people who were struggling with a recession and now this has happened.   (As I write we are having an aftershock!)

There are children in the playparks, dogs being walked, people in restaurants and Starbucks is functioning just as it always has - I can get my nonfat  latte with a macademia cookie on the side just like normal! They never missed a beat.  We have a bath full of water, our passports on us 24/7 and our potassium iodate tablets at the ready.  We will stay unless the FCO advises us differently.  David is in daily contact with the guys at the British Embassy and that means we have the top people in UK advising us on the risks.  We are not alone - many other expats have stayed for the same reasons as us - this is our home, we have a loyalty to the nation who made us feel so welcome and we feel safe here.

Potassium Iodiate Info



Power cut kit



Autumn in Tokyo

Just spent a morning wandering around in this beautiful park.  The colours are so fantastic at this time and today is a holiday so there were many Japanese visitors too - and it rained!

Rikugien Garden (Near to Ikebukero and Kyu Furukawa Garden)

This garden is a typical "kai-yu" ("walk-around") style garden. The thirty and sixty minute walking courses will take you round the pond, up Mount Fujishiro which is a miniature mountain, past Garyuseki Rock which represents a dragon, and past Horai-jima island which is shaped like a turtle. The garden dates back to 1695; it took 7 years to build and throughout history it has been described in many Japanese "waka" (31 syllable) poems.

Hakone

I really should have written this before the last one - but you know how it is, sometimes there is a gap in inspiration and action!

At half term in October we got away from the city for a few days.  I was busy with a course so could not leave town for very long but we decided to make the best of it - and we did!  We stayed in the Hyatt in Hakone - a beautiful, small, exclusive hotel set in the mountains and foothills of Fuji- san.  We had the most fabulous suite with a view of Fuji san right outside the big picture windows - when the clouds weren't there!  The weather was OK - not too wet and quite chilly so we enjoyed the smell of woods and rain and crisp, clean mountain air.  The hotel itself resembled a Swiss ski lodge - all natural woods and pale colours - stunning.  The added bonus was an onsen (bath) that drew water from the volcanic ground underneath at a temperature of 40C.  There is a ritual around Japanese onsen (more on that at another time) but suffice to say it is a hugely relaxing experience and one that became quite addictive!

On our first day we took a short walk form the hotel to a little train to catch a cable car to catch a boat!  It was amazing.  The cable car dangles over sulphurous springs and volcanic landscape with a fine view of Lake Ashi as you approach your destination, Togendai.  The silence of a cable car and the eerieness of floating above a primordial landscape was unbelievably relaxing and totally absorbing. The arrival at Lake Ashi was something of surprise - we were greeted by the sight of pirate ships that plough their way across the lake!  Hmm, we thought, but we did it anyway!  To be greeted by a pirate on board demanding to have a photo taken was an interesting start to the cruise but I think Dave's short, but courteous, "No thank you" did the job - he didn't bother us again!  (She fails to mention that she did actually agree to it but felt very silly!)

Waiting to board the boat was an interesting experience.  There were many Japanese there, doing what we were doing.  This is an area of outstanding natural beauty and the Japanese are big into nature - they love it and find it very spiritual (well, if you live in Tokyo, it is the perfect antedote).  So, queuing then.  Dave, at 6 feet 2 inches, was quite literally, head and shoulders taller than all of those around us. They could not help but stare at him;  and stare they did.  We do not get this in Tokyo but it did remind us of our time in China - we were very used to being the centre of attention there!

Day two of our short trip was equally fascinating.  In the wilds of the Hakone area we found the most amazing open air art museum with the biggest collection of Picasso I have ever seen.  We had intended to pop in, do the tour and then push off to Odawara for the rest of the day.  No way!  We were there all day and could so easily return.  The photos say it all.

Sulphurous Springs

Pirate Ship - "Ahoy, me 'arties!!"

View from Lake Ashi

Fuji san himself

Art Museum - fabulous place

Ladies in Kimono

Travelling around Tokyo on the Yamanote Line today (a bit like the Circle line, but above ground all the way), I noticed three older ladies dressed in the most beautiful kimono, complete with the kimono coat (the temperature is low today) and those flip flop type shoes that are oh so difficult to walk in.  These ladies were obviously on their way to some rather formal occasion - perhaps to the Shrine to remember a loved one and pay their respects to the spirits; or it may simply have been a birthday lunch for a friend or a concert.  The juxtaposition of such traditional dress and the modern mayhem of Shinagawa Station struck me as a real conflict of ideas.  The kimono shoes are built to support the weight of the obi and therefore throw the wearer forwards on their toes.  The flip flop design means you can't move very quickly and the kimono itself means that you can't take huge strides;  you have to tip toe and shuffle along in a very feminine and humble way.  Shinagawa by contrast was bustling, with people dashing from one platform to another, from one train to a bus or taxi and all at a rate of knots.  Japan, I thought, is an island of contrasts.