Saturday in the Park

Last Saturday was beautiful here in Tokyo, so Cindy and I decided to visit Yoyogi Park. It is located on the southern end of the large plot of land that surrounds the Meiji-Jingu shrine (see last week's "Edifice of the Week"), west of the shops at Harajuku, and north of Shibuya's hustle and bustle (see previous post "Meet Me at Hachiko"). We had heard about this park, but had not yet been.

We arrived via Harajuku station, right near the park's entrance. The "cos-play" folk were out. A "cos-player" is someone whose hobby is dressing up as one of the characters from one of the (many) cartoon ("anime") or video games so popular here. The costumes can be quite elaborate. I hear that sometimes a set of cos-players from a given show will get together to do re-enactments of favorite scenes, but the ones we met Saturday seemed content just to be seen together, and to have their pictures taken.

As it turned out, the cos-players were a perfect introduction to our afternoon. A sense of whimsical fun prevailed throughout the park. Jugglers, dancers, and musicians practiced their skills, and it seemed they enjoyed being watched and listened to--and posing for the camera.






Pets were out in force. One fellow had brought a pack of long-haired dachsunds wearing sunglasses. A fashionable young man had his white rabbit on a leash. My favorite was a black Boston Terrier that came with a young family. Racing around in the sunshine, he was having the time of its life.



The Boston Terrier's people were not the only young family at the park. Many couples with small children dotted the open spaces--flying kites (or trying to--there wasn't much wind), playing ball, and just being together.




Not all the couples there had children with them (Cindy and I fell into that category). They seemed content to sit and talk, enjoying the weather and watching all the goings on. Some folks were there by themselves, exercising, reading, or just soaking in the sun.




One group of young adults was having some sort of get-together. They had a number of ad-hoc activity centers set up at different parts of one of the fields, and participants were moving from one to another. The staff at the station below were dressed in homemade costumes, and had participants join in a dance and song. I have no idea who there were or what they were doing, but like everyone else there, they seemed to be enjoying themselves.




When we finally drifted out of the park, heading for our favorite sushi-go-round restaurant in Harajuku, we passed some "J-Pop" hopefuls performing on the sidewalk. In addition to having a cool American name, they were pretty good, and I wish them the best. Maybe this picture will be worth something someday!

Sign of the Week: STB 139

This week's entry is the sign at the entrance of STB 139, a posh night spot in Roppongi. I chose it not only for its interesting description, but also for its nifty projection format.


Passersby in the daytime might wonder what "STB" stands for in the restaurant's name. But at night, this sign tells us it's an acronym for "Soundful, Tasteful, herBful. Of course, the only one of these that is a actual word in English is used here out of context--they don't want to say it's a tasteful restaurant, but that its food is tasty.

You may feel it is a stretch to make the "B" stand for "Herbful." Maybe, you imagine, they could have come up with a better word--perhaps even one that starts with "B." But if you visit Tokyo, you will find the word "herb" (and variations of it, however novel) is used quite a bit in the names and descriptions of trendy restaurants. It is a very chic word here, and I'm sure they wanted to use it. So, since neither the "S" nor the "T" occur anywhere in herb (or herbful) they had to go with the "B."

Vehicle of the Week: Rolls Royce Silver Cloud

For this feature, I usually select vehicles unique to Tokyo, or at least Japan, if I can. But look what I found parked just down the block the other night.


This is a Rolls Royce Silver Cloud III. The first Silver Cloud came to market in, I think, the late 50s or early 60s. The III version, with the four headlamps, didn't come along until the late 60s. Like all versions of the Silver Cloud, only a couple of thousand IIIs were ever built, so I was happy to get a chance to admire it and take a picture.

Edifice of the Week: Meiji-jingu Shrine

For this week's featured building, we visit a Shinto shrine built to house the spirits of Emperor Meiji and his consort, Empress Shoken. In an earlier post, we explored the wooded park that contains the shrine (see "An Oasis of Nature").

Emperor Meiji helped bring Japan into the modern world. When power transferred from the shogunate to him in the 1800s, Japan was isolated and behind technologically. When he died in 1912, the nation had become an important international power. The shrine was completed in 1920. Destroyed in World War II, it was rebuilt soon afterward.

The tori (gate) that marks the symbolic entrance to the shrine is enormous. The people in the picture provide a good reference. Weathered wooden columns support the crosspieces. Passing underneath, it is hard not to feel a sense of awe.

Approaching the shrine compound, you find a covered fountain. This you use to ritually purify yourself before entering. On a wooden grate above the water are ladles. You dip one into the water, and use the contents to rinse your hands. Then another cupful to rinse your mouth. Now you're ready to enter.

I passed through another gateway, through a wooden screen. Next came the wall surrounding the shrine courtyard. I passed through a massive doorway on the east side of the enclosure. You don't have to do this; there is a wide open passageway to allow crowds through, but I wanted to see the door up close.

The large passageway I mentioned runs underneath rooftop supported by an elaborately decorated framework. These are made of wood. No nails are used; the structure is held up by the interlocking beams. The southern entrance (below) has an identical arrangement.

Once within the compound, visitors head across the courtyard to the main shrine building, and ascend the steps.

The stairs lead to covered place that looks into (but does not access) the courtyard within the main shrine. Here, worshippers line up to take a turn praying and giving an offering. One by one, they stand before an offering box, toss in a coin, and say a prayer (in silence). They conclude by clapping their hands once, and then make way for the next person.

The offering boxes are interesting. Wooden bars run across the top, forming a grate. Coins tossed on them may bounce, but eventually slide between, down into the box.

When I visited, I heard a loud drumming coming from the place of worship long before I approached it. I got to witness a repeat performance on it from close at hand. As you can imagine, the this drum can generate quite a bit of sound.

To one side of the courtyard, there is a large prayer rack. You can purchase a wooden tablet, write your prayer on it, and they will hang it on the rack for you. The rack is open to the breeze, so it can blow through the prayers. You can find prayers written in many languages here.

As I left the shrine, I met an older couple who had just arrived, and were finishing their washing. I turned to watch them enter the shrine together. I thought about my wife and me attending our own temple together. There is something compelling about the act of worship; I felt a kinship with other couple that ran across boundaries of faith and culture.

Sign of the Week: Flat White Coffee

Some Tokyo signs that feature English are noteworthy for their seeming random selection of words. Others stand out as inadvertently humorous, thanks to a tortured translation. But some are real puzzles. They seem as though someone put a lot of thought into them, but they don't make logical sense--at least not to me.

Now, none of us are coffee drinkers, so maybe it's not fair for me to feature this advertisement as Sign of the Week. But from what I understand, java afficionados in search of the perfect cup are looking for neither whiteness nor flatness. So for me, this ad fits perfectly into the category of enigmatic signs I encounter in Tokyo--on a regular basis.

Tremor in the Wee Hours

There is no picture to go with this story, but I wanted to share an unusual experience we had overnight.

We had felt a few very minor tremors in the weeks we've been here, but they were almost unnoticable. Just after three this morning, however, we were all wakened by the apartment shaking quite noticeably. An earthquake measuring 5.7 on the Richter scale (3 on the Japanese 7-point scale) was the culprit.

The epicenter was off to the southwest, so we didn't get the full brunt of the shaking. Nothing was broken in our home. But we don't feel cheated; as far as I'm concerned, I hope this eerie event turns out to be the most serious earthquake we ever experience.

Vehicle of the Week: food delivery bicycle

Tokyo is a place of restaurants. From the high-cost place to the lowly noodle shop, eateries are part of everyday life. But not everyone eats out; many prefer delivery. The convenient choice, home delivery offers good food in the comfort of home, with no preparation time (or skill) needed. Of course, key to high-quality restaurant food at home is the ability to get it there intact and in a hurry. This is where the delivery bicycle comes into play.

Bikes are the obvious choice for fast delivery in our neighborhood. They can avoid traffic jams, take shortcuts down tiny alleys and streets, and are the ultimate in economic efficiency. And wherever you live in Tokyo, you're never more that a quick bike trip from a number of restaurants. Perhaps the only drawback is this: how does the deliveryman carry the food as he weaves his way through traffic?

This style of delivery bike is the answer. A spacious container tray hangs suspended from a spring attachment mounted behind the rider. It can carry a surprising amount of victuals, bundled up to keep them warm. In the picture, the tray seems to be riding too high to hold much, but as items are loaded, it hangs lower and lower. As the bike swerves on its way, the tray stays level, keeping the bowls of curry or soup upright. Hats off to whoever came up with this clever device.

Edifice of the Week: Roppongi Hills Mori Tower

This week's focus is the sleek Roppongi Hills Mori Tower. Completed in 2003, this high-rise is 781 feet tall and has 54 floors. Most of the building is office space, but the top floors feature an art museum, observatory, private club, and academy.

Mori Tower is the centerpiece of the Roppongi Hills complex. Its lower six floors are part of an upscale shopping mall, which continues down the eastern hillside at the tower's foot. All told, the center features 230 retail stores, a Grand Hyatt hotel, a large cineplex, an outdoor performance arena, and broadcasting centers for two TV stations. The interior of the mall is spacious, with waterfalls and other interesting design features.

The grounds surrounding the mall also have lots of fountains, and some interesting sculptures. The spider statue is a favorite meeting spot.

The grounds were all decorated for the Christmas/New Year season, with beautiful lights at night. In this picture, you can see the Tokyo Tower in the background (a future Edifice of the Week candidate).

Onward, Skylarks!

We are keeping up with the football fever in Philly via the internet (watch, this will be the year!) but we had some of our own here on Thursday. The occasion was the 23rd annual Rice Bowl, which determines the championship of the Japan American Football Association.


The JAFA began in 1934 with three collegiate teams. In post WWII years, the league grew as the popularity of American football spread. While it is still a very minor sport in Japan, I was surprised to learn how many teams are competing.

The JAFA has three divisions: High School (106 teams); Collegiate (220 teams); and Corporate (68 teams). The collegiate champion is determined in mid-December at the Koshien Bowl. In the most recent contest, Hosei U. beat Kwansei Gakuin U. 45-43. In the same time-frame, the corporate champion emerges from the Japan X Bowl, in which the Onward Skylarks recently defeated the Kajima Deers 24-21.
















This set the stage for the Rice Bowl matchup of collegiate vs. corporate champions: the Hosei U. Tomahawks vs. the Onward Skylarks. It was fun to watch (TV) even though either team would have been absolutely destroyed by, say, the Rowan U. Profs. The game was in doubt until the very end, with the Skylarks coming from behind in the 4th quarter to win, 30-29. The difference--in fact, the only variation in quarter-by-quarter scoring--was a missed extra point after the Tomahawk's final touchdown.

I wondered about the Skylarks' odd name until I found that Onward is in this case not an exhortation, but the name of the corporate sponsor (high-fashion clothing). Here is a list of the top-echelon corporate teams:

East Division
Onward Skylarks
Kajima Deers
IBM BigBlue
Penta-Ocean Construction Pirates
Gakusei Engokai Rocbull
All-Mitsubishi Lions

Central Division
Obic Seagulls
Asahi Beer Silver Stars
Fujitsu Frontiers
Nissan Skyliners
Tokyo Gas Creators (no kidding!)
Renesas Hurricanes

West Division
Matsushita Electric Works Impulse
Asahi Soft Drinks Challengers
Naigai Engineering Marvies
As One Black Eagles
Iwatani Sidewinders
SRC Kobe Finies

My hopes for next year's Japan X Bowl: either the Marvies vs. the Finies or the Onward Skylarks vs. the As One Black Eagles. Of course, Asahi Beer vs. Asahi Soft Drinks would be worth seeing, too.

Thanks to the Onward Skylarks' website for the pictures; you can view it at http://www.onward-skylarks.com/

A Fire in Azabu Juban

The other day Cindy called up from our lobby and said there was a fire going on just down the street. I went out to look, and took these pictures from the our front landing.

Here are some shots from ground level, as firefighters were cleaning things up.

Many of the emergency personnel arrived on the scene on their official bicycles.

The fire started in a fifth floor apartment. That apartment seems to have been really gutted, but fortunately the blaze was soon contained and didn't spread much further.

The fireplugs over here are under the sidewalks, beneath access panels that are sort of like manhole covers. The fire engines have self-propelled hose carts that stow in the rear.