Wabi Sabi photography - Fine Art, Travel and Abstract Photography

Travelogue – Japan Trip 4, May 2011 

Yokohamma - Tokyo - Kamakura - Omiya - Kawagoe 

This trip was different because it wasn’t really about going on a photo safari, it was more about visiting family who I haven’t seen in seven years. Still I had four days of tripping around by myself and finally was able to figure out how to use the transportation system. I flew into Narita and was met at the airport by my father in-law. He had a strong desire to see me as soon as possible and thought he would help me get around and into town. After landing I needed to get a cell phone which I had rented in advance over the internet from a company called Air’s. After researching the best prices and locations within the airport, they had the best deal for me. We found their store at the airport without trouble and I had a phone in just few minutes. Next I had to exchange some money and this was painful. The rate was just under ¥79 to the dollar so I was losing 21% of my money. The next stop was the JR (Japan Rail) to purchase a ticket for the Narita Express to Yokohama and also to get a Suica card. These cards are relatively new and they are rechargeable cards that you can use to get on every train (except Shinkansen [bullet train]), subway or metro bus in the greater Tokyo area and other areas. Some merchants will accept them as well. For foreigners, you can get a discounted Narita Express ticket and ¥1500 on the card for a price that is lower than just the ticket alone. The give you a little card like any other credit card and all you do is swipe across the turnstile as you go into a train or subway station and it records the start of your trip. When you exit, you swipe it again and it subtracts the amount of your trip and shows you the balance left on the card. In the past, one would have to go to ticket dispenser and look at the giant board and find your station and your destination and figure out how much it will cost and buy the ticket. Unfortunately these boards are all in Japanese so a foreigner doesn’t stand a chance. This is all eliminated with the Suica card. All you have to know is where you are going and navigate through the stations, which is hard enough.

My father in-law and I rode the train about an hour and a half to Yokohama and tried to converse a little. After arriving at Yokohama station we had to switch to the Minato Mirai line which wasn’t too difficult and make sure we were going towards Chukagai. My wife met us at the Minato Mirai station which is located under the huge Queen’s Square Mall. There are numerous restaurants throughout the mall and we settled into a good ramen joint. After dinner we said goodbye to dad and saw him off back to Kawaguchi which would probably take him about an hour and a half. Makiko and I retired to the posh Pan Pacific Hotel that is also attached to the mall. She had a fourteenth floor room overlooking the bay which was beautiful. Unfortunately it is usually all lit up with a huge Ferris wheel dominating the view but because of the disaster they have to reduce electricity usage so it was never fully lit up.

I had a good night’s sleep and Makiko left for work and I spent the day wandering around Yokohama. I first went to the Maritime Museum and the sailing ship Nippon Maru which are both visible from our balcony. ¥600 gets you into the museum and the ship. I went aboard the ship first and it started drizzling a bit. The ship is a full four mast western style vessel built in 1930 to train people how to sail. It’s a beautiful ship and interesting to walk around. I then went into the adjacent museum and was met by an elderly gentleman who gave me a personal tour of the whole place. It obviously wasn’t crowded and he enthusiastically showed me every display and was very knowledgeable of Yokohama’s history which is very interesting indeed. He himself was born during WWII and was a small child growing up during the American occupation and learned to speak English quite well from the US soldiers. He intertwined his own history with the museum displays and it made it more personal than it would have been if I were alone. I thanked him for his time graciously and walked around the bay area and over to the Red Brick Warehouses. These are interesting buildings and only two remain. They were the start of Yokohama’s growth as a major port and virtually all of the goods flowing in and out of Japan after they opened up to foreign trade in the mid 1800’s went through those buildings. Now they are a shopping mall. After leaving the warehouses, I had planned on going over to Chinatown. Makiko had some co-workers tell her about visiting the Kirin beer factory which was a short train ride away. So I made my back to the Minato Mirai station and then two stops to the Yokohama station and found the train to the Namamugi station which all took about half an hour. I got off at Namamugi and it was a little scary. I was standing on a little side street with only a vague idea of which direction I should go. I walked to a corner of what looked like a somewhat major street and immediately saw the Kirin sign and headed for it. I got to the plant but the actual entrance was about 400 meters away and there was a sign in English saying so. I found the entrance and I was the only one there until 2 young Japanese women came in. They gave me pamphlet with a description of the tour in English as the tour is in Japanese. The cute tour guide did her best to give me some English descriptions of the tour and she was able to answer all of my questions. It is a nice tour and it includes 3 small glasses of beer to taste and couple of snacks all for free. I made my way back to the hotel and relaxed until Makiko got off work and then went to dinner with her and some of her co-workers at an Italian place in the mall.

The next morning, Makiko again left for work and I went downstairs to the station, two stops to Yokohama station and made my way to the Keihin-Tohoku line that goes into Tokyo. The one line goes all the way to Ueno. This was a crowded train packed with commuters and it is rather uncomfortable to be pressed in like sardines. Fortunately it was only about ten minutes when some people got off at the next station and there was a little breathing room. At each station more people would get off easing it even more. I got off in Ueno and headed into the sprawling Ueno Park that is adjacent to the station. Ueno Park is a very old leafy place that has many walking paths, ponds, temples, museums a zoo and other things. I was there midweek and it was quite busy. I strolled around for some time making my way to some of the temples. None of them are terribly interesting, but it is relaxing to walk through the park. I was trying to make my way to the Ueno Toshogu. There are many maps around the park but the various paths going this way and that make it a little difficult to find. It wasn’t long though and I did find it. It is called a shrine, but is just a small gate in a quiet corner of the park. It is of interest because it may be the oldest thing in all of Tokyo. Its history goes back to 1627 and the current building dates back to 1651. It has been renovated since but has maintained its original form and certainly does look very old and is one of the few things that have survived the massive earthquake and fire of 1923 and near total destruction of Tokyo during WWII.

I then made my way to the Tokyo Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan (Tokyo National Museum). This is a huge museum where many national treasures of Japan’s history are housed. There were separate entrance fees for the museum and a special exhibit for the famous 18th century artist Sharaku. He is known for woodblock prints of Noh actors. I had no idea who or what Sharaku was and I tried to ask someone at the gate to justify the additional ¥900 admission (the main museum was only ¥600). He could only say that it was Edo era art so I said ok. I went to the Sharaku exhibit first which was in separate wing of the museum with its own entrance. The place was packed with Japanese people orderly walking in line three persons thick in front of every display. After looking at several walls, they all started to look the same to me. I walked on the outside of the line scanning the art until I could find a less crowded section and was able to get a closer look at some works. It was mildly interesting but I quickly moved on to the main museum. There was a hallway connecting the special wing to the main building and in the hallway were a couple of galleries dedicated to Japan’s most ancient relics. I found these to be fascinating with items as old as 20,000 years. According to the display, these ancient people were the first in the world to make clay bowls and urns. I marched through the rest of the museum which contained many items one would expect to find in Japan. Fine examples of swords, armor, weapons, kimonos, screens and lacquer ware etc.  I left the main building and went to the adjacent Gallery of Horyu-ji Treasures. This is a modern boxy building that has a couple of dimly lit galleries and only takes a few minutes to walk through. I left there and was getting very hungry. I had checked out a couple of the museum cafes but they were a little expensive and didn’t look very interesting. I made my way back Ueno station and went past it to the bustling Ameyoko-cho. I have been here before and it is always interesting with little pedestrian streets choked with goods and foods and people of all kinds. I spied a little revolving sushi place right at the entrance and had a good and cheap sushi lunch and then explored some of the side streets around Ameyoko before making my way back to Yokohama.

The next morning I again headed into Tokyo and got off at Tokyo Station. I consulted my trusty Lonely Planet guide and made my way to the International Forum building. From the outside it looks like a large ship. I went in and spent some time taking photos in its huge lobby. I went upstairs to get some other views from the catwalks that crisscross the interior. There were signs saying for staff only but it was quiet and no one was around so I walked past them and took a few snaps from various directions. I left the Forum and wanted to go to the Kitanomaru-koen (Kitanomaru Park). This required using the subway. I walked a few blocks and found the Yurakucho subway and went down and down about five stories and then walked what seemed to be a quarter mile to get to the train I needed. On the way I bought a seaweed wrapped rice ball with tuna in it for a snack later. The train didn’t go directly to the stop I was going to and had to transfer to another line. This again required another quarter mile hike through bland corridors to get to the transfer and only to go one more stop. I may have been better off to just walk directly to my destination which probably wasn’t much more walking than what I just did and would have been above ground. As it was, I made my way to the park which is adjacent to the Imperial Palace. I went into the Modern Art Museum. It is typical of other modern art museums I have been to where there are a few interesting things and numerous other things that make you scratch your head and wonder why something so stupid would be in a museum. There was one piece in particular by a famous American artist whose name escapes me, of a cardboard box hung on the wall. This infuriated me and I wanted to just rip it down. I suppose that maybe that is its intention and by creating such a pronounced feeling in me it did its job, but still it was just a box, I mean come on. I sat outside and ate my rice ball and then continued through the park. It wasn’t very distinctive but still, a nice stroll and walked by the Budokan which is the famous arena where many a great concert has taken place. Just beyond the Budokan is Tayasu Mon which is a large gate from the original palace and is also very old dating back to 1636.

Just passed the gate and huge moat was a busy street and across it is the controversial Yakasuni Jinja (Yakasuni Shrine). The entrance is a very wide paved walkway that goes under two huge Torii gates before arriving at the main hall. I couldn’t see a direct way to enter the shrine so I walked inside an administrative building just to the side. I asked if I could go in and very nice looking woman formally dressed in a kimono picked up a piece of paper and read that the shrine isn’t open to the public and directed me to the museum. I walked around the building and down a path to the side that led to a small but serene garden and koi pond. Makiko called me to let me know that she will be off work early and she was interested in going to Tokyo Tower because she had never been there. We agreed to meet there after she got off. I still had a few hours to kill but decided to head in the direction of the tower. I went out of the Shrine through a small side gate but first checked out the path on the other side of the shrine to see if there was a side entrance there but it was all fenced in. They were serious about keeping the public out. So I walked down the street and found the Ichigaya subway entrance and took the subway back to Yurakucho and then transferred to the JR Yamanote line just two stops and got off at Hamamatsucho. The station had a huge map but the tower was just off the map. I was standing in front of it with my guide book trying to orient myself before walking out of the station. In some stations especially bigger ones, if you walk out the wrong exit, you can easily get disoriented and get lost. I was able to avoid this by carefully studying my guide before venturing anywhere and orienting myself by reconciling my guide map with any other maps I found along the way and trying to memorize any landmarks that will clue me in to being on the right path. While I was standing there, several people tried to help me but none of them spoke English and though appreciated they really weren’t helping me.

I left the station and began walking in the right direction and I asked a police officer just to make sure. I was going towards the Zojo-ji temple. Once I got to the main street I could see the tower and navigation was easy. I walked about three big city blocks to temple taking mental notes of the dinner possibilities along the way. I passed a Spanish restaurant that looked promising. The temple has a huge imposing gate and after entering it a large courtyard and large modern temple. I went in and it was quiet and peaceful with a bright altar and gold all over. I didn’t see any signs forbidding photography but most temples and shrines do not allow it inside. Off to the side is counter where you can buy various souvenirs and I asked one of the monks if it was ok to take pictures and said it was. So I took a few snaps of the altar when a man tapped my shoulder and pointed to sign in Japanese. He pointed to my camera and shook his head. I pointed to the monk and said I asked. I sat down and rested for a few and walked around the complex a little which was not very thrilling as much of it was modern. I still had a couple of hours to kill and decided it was beer-thirty. I doubled back a couple of blocks to the Spanish restaurant and asked them if they spoke Spanish which they did not. So in Japanese I asked them if they had Spanish beer which they did not and then I sat at the bar and just ordered a beer to which they told me that they were not yet open, damn! Now it was a quest. I walked back in the direction of the tower, past the temple and only another couple of blocks to the tower. This wasn’t a commercial area and there were no restaurants which meant no beer opportunities. I walked past the tower to the next big street and there was only a coffee shop. Across the street though I saw what looked like it might be a ramen place. I went there and was relieved to see beer ads on the wall. I tried to talk to someone and they directed me to machine by the door. Apparently you buy a ticket from the machine for what you want and hand to someone in the kitchen and then they bring it to you. I had never seen anything like this before but I guess it isn’t unusual in many parts of Japan. I told her I only wanted a beer and she showed me a bottle of Sapporo and all was good. I did end up ordering a little snack. Behind me on the wall were pictures of various food items but all the names were mostly Chinese characters. No gaijin ever walked in here. I wanted some little white and pink fish cakes and I studied the characters to see if I could buy it from the ticket machine of which there were two. I went to the machines and tried to find the item I wanted but could not. I got the attention of a server and just pointed to the picture on the wall and she nodded. I had another beer which was not Sapporo it was a Suntory all malt beer. Japanese often use corn and rice in their beer so the ones that don’t like to advertise that fact. I didn’t know Suntory even made beer, I can’t recall ever having one before. It was a bitterer than the Sapporo.

Makiko called and was at the station making her way to the tower so I left to wait for her. We went up into the tower which is such a touristy thing to do, but it really was spectacular. We got there at just the right time as it began darkening. The sunset light giving way to the nighttime sparkle was almost magical. The perspective of the city is fantastic. I have been in a couple other tall buildings in Tokyo but this view beats them by far. There are two observatories and you have to pay extra to go all the way to the “special” observatory. It is well worth it though. On our way back to the station we stopped at the Spanish restaurant and it was completely packed. We kept going down the street and ended up at a funky izakaya and had some decent food before trekking back to Yokohama.
I didn’t have too many more places in Tokyo to get excited about. The places I have been to weren’t terribly spectacular, nice but not spectacular. So I took the Yokosuka line south to Kamakura. I got off at Kamakura station and wanted to find the tourist information center to get a map and find the Enoden line. I found the tourist desk and got the map but I had to go back through the station to get the train. The Enoden line looks ancient and rickety compared to all the other trains I’ve been on.  I got off at the Hase station and had no idea which way to go. I wanted to see the Daibutsu (Great Buddha) again but it wasn’t exactly obvious which way to go. The crowd was definitely moving in one direction and I overheard a couple of girls talking about Daibutsu so I went in the same direction as everyone else. Immediately I was on a small touristy street lined with all kinds of shops, food stalls and ice cream stores. There were hundreds of kids and almost all of them were having ice cream. It was a few blocks to the Daibutsu and it was good to see it again. I couldn’t get any decent photos because it was too crowded and the light was dark and it was drizzling on and off. Some kids came over to me to have an interview which has happened to me before. They are required by their teachers to engage English speakers. So I practice my Japanese with them and they are always impressed by the few words I know. Then they ask to pose with them for pictures so they can show that they accomplished the task.
I left Daibutsu and doubled back up the same street and turned towards Hase Dera. There is a small sign on the street pointing the way. After a couple of blocks, there was another small sign pointing the way to Kosokuji. I checked my map and it wasn’t far so I took the detour. It was a small temple surrounded by a lush flower-filled garden. It was very pleasant and quiet with few visitors. There is a back stairway going up the mountain side to what looks like a burial site with some decent sized stone monuments. A little farther is cave with a wooden grate covering the entrance that was said to be a jail for a famous monk named Nicherin.
I went back the way I came and turned up the hill to Hase Dera. I had been here before and wanted to see it again. It doesn’t look or feel old but it is beautiful none the less. It has a nice view overlooking Kamakura bay and there is an interesting cave that has a number of carvings in it. Its garden is also pretty and of course not to be missed is the imposing Hase Kannon statue.  It is one of the most impressive statues I have ever seen. Carved out of a large cedar tree it is scary to behold. It seems to hover over you and at any moment it could pick you up. Unfortunately photography is not allowed. I bought a delicious dumpling from a vendor and soon headed back to the Enoden station for a rickety ride back to Kamakura station.
I got off the train and studied my map to try to get to Komachi-dori which is a shopping street. I went in the direction I thought best and walked a few blocks and saw nothing that gave me any indication that I was on the right path.  It was a nice part of town and may have been nice to walk around a bit and maybe I was close to what I was looking for, I couldn’t tell. I asked an older lady walking towards me and I couldn’t understand anything she was saying but she was pointing in the opposite direction. I walked back towards the station and asked another passerby and he was pointing to the other side of the station which is what I was afraid of. I did not want to go through the station because I would have to swipe my Suica card and did not know what would happen if I just entered and exited, probably nothing, so I tried to walk around the station. I had no idea how far I would have to go to find a crossing and fortunately I didn’t have to go far. I walked another block and there was a sign saying Komachi-dori and I thought hmm I’m on it but it just didn’t seem jive with my map but I was already turned around and thought I just didn’t know and kept walking. At the next intersection it became clear. This cross street was what I was looking for and it was a wall of people, mostly school kids of different ages and as before, many of them eating ice cream. I pushed my way into the crowd and was able to get clear of the congestion. This was a great place full of all kinds of shops, restaurants, sweets and whatnot packed into a tight pedestrian lane. After a couple of blocks I was getting hungry and saw an ad for a set lunch that looked appealing with an arrow pointing down a small side street. Another sign and the arrow directed me down another alley and to a small restaurant. I was happy to sit and ordered a nice lunch with some hot udon, a bowl of rice with small bits of salmon and ikura (salmon roe), pickles and a bit of some other vegetable for ¥1000 plus a beer and I was feeling good and refreshed. I walked to the end of the shopping town and turned right for a block and was at the end of Wakamiya-oji, Kamakura’s main drag and the main path to the imposing Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine. Its big bustling shrine and I walked up the steps and looked around some. It is more in the Chinese style, bright red with intricate carvings of animals and flowers. I walked down a side path where it was much quieter and leafy and found the Kamakura Museum. It is small but has a number of brilliant wooden statues and other items. I made my way back to Wakamiya-oji and strolled down it. Many of the buildings looked pretty old but it is a well kept street with interesting shops and few small temples. I saw the station and went back to it and started heading back but first I got off at Kita-Kamakura one stop north. Near the station is a small sign pointing to several temples and their distance in meters. It was getting late and my Achilles tendon was starting to hurt so I went to the closest one which was Engaku-ji. It is only a minute from the station. It was quiet and the song birds were busy making perfect background music. It is built up a hill with a broad path going up to the various shrines and gardens. Many of them are not open and you can only peer into their courtyards. I ended up on the other side of the compound and there was a sign saying “National Treasure” and an arrow pointing up some steps. My ankle was killing me but I went up anyways. At the top is nice view, a shrine and a very old bell, the kind of temple bell that many shrines have. Back down the steps and back to the station and in about half an hour I was back in Yokohama.
On Saturday we had to check out of the hotel and we went to Makiko's parent’s place in Kawaguchi and spent the day together. We were planning on going to Kawagoe the next day but it was raining pretty hard and I didn’t think it would be a good idea. As an alternate we went to the Railway Museum about a half an hour away in Omiya which is part of Saitama City. This is an interesting place and it is pretty big with all kinds of trains from Japan’s railroad history. There is some information in English and we all found it enjoyable.
Monday was my last day and Makiko made it to Kawagoe as the weather was better. It took about 45 minutes to travel out to the countryside. Kawagoe station is about a 30 minute walk from most of the stuff tourists want to see and there are a couple of bus options that circle the interesting areas with a onetime fee for on and off privileges. We took the one that had the earliest start time but it also had the earliest finish time and we were concerned that we would be in rush to get it but I thought the ¥500 fee was worth it even if we miss it and have to get back some other way. The bus left within minutes of us boarding and we got off at the first stop which was a small shrine called Naka-in. It had a nice garden and a little bamboo garden on one side. We left there and walked down the street towards Kita-in. On the way there was an unkempt corner of old statues surrounded by modern buildings and barbed wire. This is an old graveyard and all that remains of another temple called Minami-in. The statues were interesting to me and just a taste of what was to come. We found Kita-in and also the Toshogu. The Toshogu Shrine was built in 1640 to honor the Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa and built to resemble his resting place in Nikko. Kita-in was built with some buildings that were moved from Edo Castle (old Tokyo) by Shogun Iemitsu and are all that remain of the old palace, the rest being destroyed in the Great Earthquake of 1923 and WWII. Iemitsu was born in Kita-in so it is a very significant place. As we strolled up to the temple one can’t help but noticing the Gohyaku Rakan or the 500 statues. There are 538 or 540 (depending on which guide you're looking at) stone statues of monks arranged in rows. Every one of them is different and display a variety of postures (standing, sitting, lying etc.) and emotions (happiness, sadness, anger etc.). They were carved between 1782 and 1825. Legend has it that if you walk around them at night and touch their heads, you will feel one that is warm. If you mark it somehow and comeback during daylight you will see that it is the one that most resembles yourself. With Kita-in’s beautiful rooms and gardens plus the 500 statues this place left a very pleasurable feeling to both Makiko and I.
We left the temple and found the bust stop and waited a few minutes for the bus. We got off in the middle of the Kurazukuri  (old storehouse) Zone. This area is called “Little Edo” because the buildings give it the atmosphere of Edo in the 18th century. The storehouses are fireproof buildings that used to be small buildings for homeowners to store various valuables. In Kawagoe they were built big and used as residences and stores. It is nice to walk down the street and imagine life 200 years ago. For some reason, sweet potatoes are very popular here and we ate a delicious little snack. Behind the storehouse zone there is the Kashiya Yokocho which is small lane that is filled with confectioners selling inexpensive sweets. Unfortunately it seems they are only open on weekends and none of them were open.  We covered everything we wanted to see and caught the bus back to the station for the ride back to Kawaguchi. Back at Kawaguchi we went into the large Sogo department store across from the station and went down into the basement. If you have never done this before it is highly recommended. Most major department stores sell all kinds of food items and the assortment is staggering and the quality usually very high. You can buy fresh food like meats and vegetables of all kinds as well as prepared foods. The various counters are not unlike cosmetic counters with each one specializing in something. We bought some rice with vegetables, tender pork, pickles, other vegetables, and it was a feast for the family. The next day was getaway day for me and Makiko went with me to Nippori station and we returned my Suica card and got back ¥500 for it. They will also refund any remaining balance on the card if it is over ¥210 (mine wasn’t). I took the Skyliner back to Narita which is a very pleasant and scenic ride and flew home.