Our last days in Tokyo were filled with new discoveries. Having arrived on a busy Friday right before Golden Week, we found the city filled with Japanese tourists. Golden Week is a series of days starting with the Emperor's birthday and ending with Children's Day (renamed from Boy's Day - when one praised the young men of the family but which is now a very non-PC concept and has thus been re-named). The days in between are a series of 'made up' holidays to force Japanese to take time off from work. It is considered by the government important that workers take time off and so they glued together a week of 'holidays' to encourage families to go out and enjoy the country. For us this was reflected in higher rates at our hotel and crowds everywhere. To join in this melee, Narumi and I went shopping for a gift for Joe: an official cotton kimono or yukata. Of course there are official places to buy these 'robes' along with the obi and other accouterments associated. We went to the men's Kimono shop and then went to a different store in the mall which was the women's Kimono shop to pay our invoice. The whole process of how to wrap the kimono, how to tie the obi, how to place the fan all were part of our learning experience. I made only one faux pas which was to step onto the carpet in front of the mirror (where I wanted to try on the kimono) with my shoes on! Everyone jumped and quickly pulled me off this small green carpet as if I had stepped in front of an on-rushing car. One just plan doesn't soil the carpet in front of the mirror with your street shoes! Ah yes, cleanliness is truly the word to describe this country.
It is amazing. There is practically no litter in a city larger in population than New York City. The streets are immaculate as are all train stations, train platforms, bathrooms, all taxi cars, all stores. To find a wastepaper basket on the street is almost impossible. There are plenty of recycling containers for plastic, but practically none for paper. Like a good doobie, at the end of any day I would un-load all pockets and purses of stray paper wrappers, tissues, ticket stubs, you name it. And of course there are the moist hand towels one receives at the start of any meal and which are left with your table setting until you depart to ensure that your hands are always clean. (Bob and I are trying to figure out how we can keep this concept going in Peacham Vermont).
Narumi and I went on to visit a shrine in the northern part of Tokyo where I wanted to purchase a unique omamori (good luck charm associated with a particular wish you hope will be acknowledged by the gods of that shrine). Then back to the hotel through a maze of subway lines which reminded me of the London Tube where one walks miles below ground to get between different lines. It is so much easier in Tokyo when following someone who actually can read the signs and knows where she's going. Between the crowds of shoppers, crowds in the metro, and crowds in the shrine, one knew it was Golden Week. Our last stop was a return to our favorite sushi restaurant where we collected a nice tower of plates before calling it quits.
To continue following in the footsteps of the boys, our next adventure was a day-long bus tour of Kamakura and Yokohama. We met our 11 other English-speaking tourists and hopped on our bus with Emiko, an entusiastic, energetic tour guide who regaled us with tales as we drove south along Tokyo Bay to our first destination of the day - Hasadera Temple in Kamakura. While the goal was to see the eleven-headed statue of Hase Kannon (from which Canon camera takes its name), Bob and I being templed-out, chose instead to stroll through the gardens and to visit the Benten-kutsu Cave where a series of statues are carved out of the walls of the cave. The cave honors Benzaiten, a sea goddess, and the only female among the seven Lucky Gods of Japan. Her temples are always near water - and thus Kamakura. In the poorly lit path which one took through the cave, one was bent double since the height of the cave was less than four feet. Bob showing a certain intelligence, waited outside for me to return from the depths of hades.
Our next stop, made by the boys, was the Great Buddha or Daibatsu. It is the 2nd largest sitting buddha, only surpassed by the one on Lantau Island near Hong Kong. Along with the zillion Golden Week holiday revelers, and school children who use this week to 'attend' classes by going on school excursions, we took lots of pictures in the lovely warmth of a spring day before heading along the beachfront to our lunch in Yokohama. The problem with most such day tours, is that one must endure lunch which is usually mediocre at best, but which is part of the event. This, quite good, lunch was in Yokohama's Chinatown in a large hotel overlooking the harbor. Our interesting table companions were two young women from Colombia, who are on a Mitsubishi Training Program for three months near Nagoya. They admitted that they are learning little (if English is rarely spoken imagine how much Spanish your average Japanese would know). But an all-expense paid period in Japan was too good to turn down, and so they were taking advantage of everything they could do before returning to their 'real' jobs which awaited them back in South America.
Having finished our eight course Chinese-style/Japanese meal we continued on to tour Chinatown. The Chinese originally came to Japan and settled in the areas where foreigners were allowed to live when the country was opening up to the world at large. Because Chinese were adept at reading Kanji characters (though they could not speak Japanese), they acted as go-betweens to translate for both the Japanese and the westerners who were setting up trade. In the 1923 earthquake that devastated over 95% of Yokohama, many Chinese returned to Canton, then with the war between the two countries the Chinese population dwindled further. There are now less than 4,000 Chinese in Yokohama and the area is much like Chinatown in San Francisco or New York: narrow pedestrian streets lined with ticky-tacky gift shops selling Chinese artifacts and clothing, endless eating establishments, reflexologists ready to relax your body and palm readers scattered below endless 'Chinese' lanterns.
The last tourist site of the day was as beautiful as the first had been. This was the Sankeien Gardens, a 17 hectare (one hectare = 100 acres) plot once owned by a Yokohama Silk merchant who started its construction in 1902 and took 20 years to complete. There were inner gardens for Mr Sankei alone and the outer garden which he opened to the public. There are a series of buildings moved from other locations in Japan including a three-story pagoda and these are dotted throughout the gardens. It was a most restful place to look out on the man-made lake with gardens everywhere. Wisteria, azalea, iris and other plants I didn't know were everywhere. A lovely bride and groom in traditional outfits were being photographed at various spots in the garden, and they were tolerant enough at the end as we left the gardens to pose with some of our fellow bus-mates before going their separate way.... probably laughing at us westerners.
When walking in Chinatown, or the Sankeien gardens, or when looking out at the peaceful harbor, it is easy to forget that a mere 75 years ago we were at war, and that American air attacks were wiping out vast parts of this country - especially Yokohama - which was a critical port for the Japanese, and thus a prime target. Now one drives past the Yokohama Baseball Stadium, the harbor front with its ferris wheels and wind surfers and one can easily be lulled into forgetfulness. It is only the 'newness' which tells the story: Boring bland apartment complexes built in dull boxy shapes; individual houses all looking fairly modern built of stucco or siding; modern bridges spanning various waterways - all new. It is only in parts of Kyoto which was NOT bombed, that one can see the older Japan. But unlike some countries that never recovered after the war, Japan is now the 3rd largest economy in the world in less than 100 years, and the shogun, samurai, and warrior class is gone. It is amazing to think that this very nationalistic, isolationist country has transformed itself in an amazingly short period of time.
One of the things we had observed while dining in Yokohama, was that out in the harbor was a ocean liner that looked very much like the one on which the 'boys' had sailed on when they left Yokohama for Vancouver. We did some googling and found out that the ship was indeed a Japanese liner built in 1929, which crossed the pacific numerous times carrying passengers until it was converted to a hospital ship in 1941. We had to go. The chance to tour the inside of a ship of the period when the boys were having their adventures was almost the perfect ending to our own trip. So the next day, Bob and I took the train back down to Yokohama, walked past the baseball stadium where the Yokohama Baystars were playing to a full Golden Week crowd, and headed for the NYK Hikawa Maru, a 'tangible cultural property' as designated by the City of Yokohama. Here was a totally re-created 1930's era ship, which had been lovingly restored by the NYK shipping company to show the beautiful Art Deco original it once had been. We were able to imagine the boys as they sat in the first class dining saloon, slept in their first class cabin, walked the promenade deck, sat in the smoking room or went up to the bridge to join the captain. Compared to any liner we go on, this one held a total of 280 passengers and a crew of 80 chefs and god knows how many others. Its route was Yokohama to Vancouver, Seattle or San Francisco and many famous actors and actresses, including Charlie Chaplin sailed aboard this ship. It seems that every place we have been in Japan, Charlie Chaplin has been here first.
What a perfect ending. The only ship that comes close to representing this period was the Britannia, in Leith Scotland, and that was for royalty. This was just a normal liner that plied the Pacific Ocean serving people like the boys.
And so our "Journey of Discovery" is coming to a close. Tomorrow we board the Crystal Symphony, with our fellow 1000 passengers and 500 crew, wining and dining our way back to Honolulu, and Los Angeles.
And, one last entry on the blog will tell of our adventures when we return to Peacham in 16 days.
No comments:
Post a Comment