Wrdprss!

To the ancient capital of Japan, full of temples and Geisha.

Sadly some place names are synonymous with their disastrous events to such a degree that the evocation of the place name fails to suggest any other images.

Whilst the urge “to remember” (as often seen in connection with the Holocaust) is important, this is a shame as Hiroshima was such an enjoyable city in the spring sunshine.

The picture is the remains of the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotional Hall, one of the closest buildings to the “hypocenter” of the explosion.

This is the garden adjacent to the ground of Himeji castle. The castle is “by far the most impressive” of “Japan’s twelve surviving feudal-era fortresses”, according to our guide.

Also famous as a backdrop for the films You Only Live Twice and The Last Samurai, it is an impressive castle. Unfortunately for us, the main fortress building is covered in scaffolding whilst various conservation work takes place, and it won’t be a few years until it’s complete. Cleverly they have turned the scaffolding into a feature, serving as a vantage point to see the building close up (several stories above ground level). Despite these efforts, I didn’t think the sight was as impressive as it will be once the scaffolding comes down.

Once in the gardens pictured above, we attend a traditional tea ceremony. This is a great experience but fraught with opportunities for cross-cultural faux pas. The tea is thick and green and unlike any I have encountered before, but tastes pleasant.

First chance to get the Shinkansen (often translated as “Bullet Train”, but it actually means “New Trunk Line” according to my guide book).

Our last day in Tokyo for now.

We go to Asakusa and see some amazing temples and a good deal of stalls selling tourist tat. We bring bento boxes with us for lunch, which I can highly recommend and are usually found in the basement of most department stores. Whilst eating our lunch an old man approaches us and engages us in English conversation, asking where we are from. He reminds me of a character related in Niall Murtagh’s account of living in Japan, The Blue-Eyed Salaryman, and spends part of his time reminiscing about the time after the war. This is slightly surprising, but the sentiment is similar to the character in Murtagh’s book. Perhaps now that the Japanese economy has stalled, some prefer to look back to “the good old days”.

He also laments the “youth of today” – something more universal and likely to be echoed by grumpy old men across the world – blaming technology and computer games specifically for what he perceives to be the parlous state of Japanese family life. More surprisingly, he seemed to think that the Japanese worked too hard and also praised the British empire for its legacy of multi-culturalism*, which he compared to his own culture which he declared was still “too closed”. Of course, it’s not really possible to extrapolate from talking to one old man, but this perspective was interesting nonetheless.

More prosaically, he also told us that he thought everyone wore face masks due to high pollen counts, so at least we knew the reason for that.

* I don’t really want to get into that discussion. It seems like the currency of that particular word has been de-valued, but I can’t think of a better alternative.

The picture above is taken from the 46th floor of the Caretta Shiodome skyscraper. It’s a great place to get a good view of Tokyo. Our point-and-shoot doesn’t really do the view justice, but there was a serious photographer getting the most of the view as well. He even had a little towel to put his tripod on!

In the basement of this building was a cool (free) advertising museum with lots of interesting graphic design and exhibits showing how consumer goods have evolved over the years. As well as being of interest to budding meeja students, it gives a background to the meteoric rise of Japan’s post-war economic fortunes.

Our guide book told us another good vantage point was the 45th floor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, but on our visit, these observation floors (of both towers) were closed, apparently due to the earthquake. I am not sure if they have re-opened yet.

Arrive in Tokyo pretty knackered from our flight but pleasantly surprised by the cheery lady at the JR (Japan Rail) office. This is where we exchange our “exchange order” for our “JR Pass” which gives us (virtually) unlimited travel in Japan.

The exchange pass is a complicated form with lots of handwriting on it (true to stereotype, the Japanese seem to like lots of form-filling and paperwork), whereas the actual JR Pass is a rather natty passport-sized thing with a stylised version of the famous Hokkusai painting on the front.

As an aside about the post-earthquake conditions, the impressions were as follows: some train lines are not running, and some escalators are switched off in a bid to save electricity, but otherwise everything seems pretty normal. Later on, in Tokyo and other cities, the impression is similar; some large neon signs and screens are switched off in a bit to save electricity. It seems that the Japanese are doing a bit of soul-searching over their consumption of electricity, even considering switching off drinks vending machines in the summer. I later learnt from the English translation of NHK News that an average drinks vending machines consumes as much as 50% of the power as one household!

We are given lots of maps and information and sent on our way. First impressions are that everything is very clean and organised. Also see a brand of chocolate milk with Pikachu on the front, and lots of vending machines, thus allowing me to tick off various stereotypical expectations.

Finally, we arrive at the hotel. Once the novelty toilet has been negotiated (the toilet seat is warmed and there are lots of buttons to press – later on I realise this is a pretty standard installation in most hotels), I have a little impromptu nap. Wake up thinking that the bed is being shaken by a mischievous Toby, but in fact it turns out to be an earthquake aftershock! This doesn’t come to much, and nothing falls over or breaks. Not a very worrying experience, a bit like being on a cross-channel ferry or a plane with turbulence. Clearly nowhere near as bad as a “real” earthquake.

We try to go out in the evening but it is tipping down with rain. Whilst this adds to the “Blade Runner” feeling pervading the area we are in (Shinjuku), it cuts short our night out. Have some noodles at some sort of chain restaurant near the (vast) station, and thankfully are given a menu with Korean, Chinese and English translations. Somehow we manage to avoid the very seedy come-ons of the various bar proprietors and call it a night.

Esteemed ex-Tek colleague and über-nerd explains 8 bit computers here.

I’ll put some stuff in here about my visit to Japan when I can remember what I did and get round to typing it all out!

Pictures here