Koishikawa Korakuen Gardens

The original Korakuen Garden was begun in 1629; it was built for one of the Daimyos, or feudal lords appointed by the Edo Shogun. The red maple trees and other fall foliage were splendid when we visited it last Monday. The landscaping is intensely developed, with fish ponds, streams, arched bridges, a tiny artificial waterfall, pretend mountains and rivers named for real ones somewhere in Japan, stone lanterns, artificially-supported pine trees, rocky footpaths and stairways, trellised wisterias, and even a rice paddy.

As we walked we saw dozens of Japanese visitors with cameras, and one professional photo shoot featuring a couple of models dressed in kimonos and elaborate accessories. The Tokyo Dome is right next door, providing ultra-modern contrast with the ancient garden features.

Feeding the fish and ducks

Men working on the rice paddy; wisteria trellises in the background.

Tokyo Street Scenes

From the Edo Tokyo Museum: an idealized street scene from the past. . . and several street photos that I took while walking around last week:

University of Tokyo Campus

The University of Tokyo hosted the conference that Len attended last week; we stayed in a guest house near one of the several gates. Our gate was not decorative, only serving for security as cars drive through to the nearby University Hospital. Other gates are quite beautiful, such as the one above that frames the yellow leaves of an alley of ginko trees.

The building above is the most well-known sight on campus, our hosts explained. When there's a news story about the university, the media use this building as the representative view.

A famous location at the center of the campus is the Sanshiro Pond, originally part of a feudal estate in 17th century Edo (the old name for Tokyo). The water is quite far below the level of the rest of campus, and attracts ducks and other wildlife. When we walked down the steps to the path surrounding the pond, we felt as if we were in a rural setting rather than in the midst of a busy city.

Asakusa

The gardens behind the Pagoda at Asakusa were open today, so we enjoyed a walk in the beautiful sunshine. A young woman dressed in a kimono-like blouse and jeans served us some green tea as we were walking.





From the Temple steps we could see the huge incense burner, where crowds of people were trying to breathe in the smoke. Similarly, many people were drinking the water at the fountain, and throwing coins into the huge offering trays.

We also walked through the large shopping area around the temple.

Water Taxi Ride on the Sumida River

Here we are walking on the Azumabashi bridge after our water taxi ride. Behind us is the famous Asahi brewery building, designed by a French architect. I think the thing on top looks like one of those large Japanese radishes, but it's supposed to be a golden flame.

We had very good luck because our volunteer guide to the Edo-Tokyo Museum explained to us where to get the water taxi, looked up the schedule, and then walked us to the dock so we could buy tickets on a boat that was leaving 15 minutes later. We really wanted to take a boat ride, but were afraid we couldn't figure it out.

Gates

The Kuromon, or Black Gate, now part of the Tokyo National Museum was once the gate to the Tokyo home of the noble Ikeda family, Daimyo lords of Inaba province. Its original construction was sometime in the Edo period (1603-1868), and it was moved to the musuem in 1954.

The second gate is the Red Gate of Tokyo University, not far from the campus guest house where we are staying. Next, a couple of random gates on the street, not far from the Red Gate.

And the gate next to the Isnsho-tei restaurant where we ate, in Ueno Park:

The gate to a little shrine beside an ancient well, now sandwiched between high-rises and other apartment buildings:

The gate to the Fox Shrine on a little island in a pond in Ueno Park:

AND one earlier thought:

 

Not far from the Red Gate of the University of Tokyo, in an un-noticeable alleyway, is an old wooden Buddhist Temple. A temple monk named Malcolm pointed it out to me after he also showed me how to buy and eat noodles in a little noodle shop. We went back at night and took a photo of the temple guardian.

Costco Sells Mona Lisa

Black Friday Sale

Lewis Chessmen in the News

I've always loved these -- and the NYT did a great job of describing their history.

Goodbye, Car

Our car, yesterday, photo for Craig's list. We sold it this afternoon.

The new car, August 1, 2001. It served us well, but we just don't need it any more.