Although
I’m not much of a breakfast person, especially early in the morning, when I
awoke at 6:30 a.m., I decided to eat.
Breakfast is included in the cost of the room, and I planned to be out
touring much of the day so wanted to have some good sustenance. There are three restaurants available for
breakfast, the one on the 30th floor the most popular. Since I was so early, I decided to see if I
could get in. There was a short wait
even at 7:15, but I was seated and had a fine buffet meal with a view similar
to that from my room, just a few floors higher.
With
the help of the concierge I planned my day and transport. Started out with a Waterbus Cruise to
Hama-rikyu Gardens.
This
public park began as the family garden of Tokugawa Shogun that functioned as an
outer fort for Edo castle. Many
developments occurred under various shoguns until it was finally completed as
we see it now at the time of the 11th shogun, Ienari. After the Meiji Restoration the garden became
a Detached Palace of the Imperial Family which donated the garden to the City
of Tokyo in 1945. I really like parks that are in the midst of an urban setting.
There
is a traditional tea house which one gets to on a lovely and
traditional bridge which was graced by a couple dressed in traditional
garb.
There is a tree well-advertised as being 300 years old (and propped up in a way to support that claim).
At
12:30, trusting in my map, instincts, and the kindness of strangers, I walked
from Hama-rikyu to the train station where I embarked for Ueno, a large park
area with several museums and the zoo.
While the museums seemed interesting, the beautiful weather and my love
of zoos made the decision easy.
The
zoo was very small (some parts seemed to be closed off), but it did have
elephants (Asian) and pandas, both favorite animals.
There
were two pandas, in separate areas. One
was just lying about while the other entertained by scratching, rolling around,
and rubbing its behind.
Two
Japanese birds caught my fancy – interesting and lovely. The Amami Jay is part of a breeding
program. The White-breasted Water Hen
bustled about.
Outside
the zoo I discovered the Ueno Toshogu shrine.
There are 50 copper lanterns, the offerings of feudal lords from all
over Japan, used not for illumination but for purification and sacred fires during
religious ceremonies. A place for
ceremonial hand washing included instructions on how it should be done.
The Karamon (Chinese style gate) was built in 1651. Gold foil decorates both sides of the doors which also have intricate carving. From the outside
The
Sukibel Wall which surrounds the shrine building was constructed in 1651 and is
decorated with wonderful carvings of birds and animals and a few mythical
creatures. I really liked the carvings
of kestrels and the Japanese nightingale.
Also enjoyed the real-life spider web.
Natural
trees and shrubs were also interesting.
The sacred camphor tree is estimated to be over 600 years old.
The Catalpa Ovalta was planted 350 years ago
to protect the buildings from thunder (so it was believed).
Several nicely-shaped trees grace the corners of the enclosed property.
The
shrine itself is not open to the public.
By
this point (3:45 p.m.) the sun, heat, and walking had worn me out so I decided
I would have to skip whatever other activities Ueno might offer. As I left, however, an event of some type in
the corner of the park seemed to be ending.
These kids were enjoying playing in “snow.”
I
returned to the station, looking for the subway not the train, and was finally
successful in getting on the correct train on the Ginza Line. Went to the Kabukiza Theatre where I’d hoped
to get a ticket for one act. (The entire
performance of four acts lasts for 4 hours!) The 2nd
act had only standing room left so I decided to return for the 3rd
act after finding something to eat. At
5:30 I returned to the theater; was #58 for the one-act tickets – even though
supposedly they hadn’t started selling those tickets until 5:25. No matter; I got in and had a seat. The theater is quite large and looked as if it was almost sold out. The patrons of the full show eat during the intermissions, making the evening an entire social event. We one-act people are seated at the very top of the theater and kept well segregated from the "real" audience.
This
theater is the largest for Kabuki plays in Japan. Kabuki is one of Japan’s traditional arts
with a 400 year history. It is highly
stylized theater with all the roles played by men. The act I saw lasted about 85 minutes and
consisted primarily of the actors sitting or kneeling and declaiming in
melodramatic (and falsetto) fashion lines that seemed very stilted (in the
English language translation I was reading as the play progressed). The costumes and scenery were well done, and
I’m glad I went – but one act was plenty!
Returned
to the hotel exhausted at 8:30 having been off sightseeing for 10 hours. A busy day.
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