There were a few thoughts that I forgot to mention in my first post. With the different style of trip that I was going for, I decided that there were a few benefits of going to the cities, especially for this trip.
1. Christmas markets. Despite not being a Christian country, Tokyo and other major cities have multiple Christmas markets, which I knew would be an interesting experience.
2. Christmas/holiday lights. Many sections of Tokyo are reported to have holiday lights up.
3. There would be more opportunities for having a social experience. Through Reddit, I was able to connect with a chat channel for others travelling to Japan. Even though it is mostly a younger crowd, it is still nice to be able to read and participate in the social chat, as well as have a place to ask questions to in real time.
There are a few notable items regarding my hotel room. To enter the room, you have to input a six digit code. This, to me, is way easier than having to fumble for a key or keycard. There is a tablet in the room, which allows you to control the temperature, turn on/off the lights, and even to inform housekeeping as to whether to clean your room the next day.
The next day I returned to the curry place that I had passed, near the Kabuki Theater. The vegetable curry came with miso soup. I also decided to buy tickets for the Kabuki-za Theater. I had to navigate my way to the basement below the theater, which mixed in with the underground subway center and shopping area. They were all sold out of the evening show, which seemed more interesting. Of the morning shows, all of the budget tickets were sold out. I decided to go for it anyway, and bought what was far and away the most expensive theater tickets that I have ever bought. It was for the very last row on the first balcony.
I've had my eye on visiting Yokohama for a while. Yokohama is home to the largest Chinatown in Japan. I began my late afternoon there. There were surprisingly few people wandering the streets. I began at Choyo-mon Gate. I walked under and made a left, walking down the first street, stopped in one shop, and then visited Mazu Miao Temple.
I backtracked a few feet and then walked toward Kuan Ti Miao temple.
It was nice to have the streets mostly to myself. As I turned to leave, I passed what I imagine the main street was, where many more people were walking.
Next, I began making my way towards the harbor area, on the way to the Christmas market near the Red Brick Warehouse. This is a historical location, involving America's Commodore Perry and the reopening of Japan for the first time in three hundred years.
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| An unusual looking church along the way. |
Once near the water, I momentarily encountered the local building lit up with blue lights, along with yellow lit barriers. I only had time for a quick photo before the lights went off. They did not return.
Near the entrance to the Christmas market, they had a pay to use ice skating ring.
The Christmas market was free for a few days, and it showed. The crowds were insane. Near the Christmas tree, there was barely room to move.
I attempted to find a live jazz bar nearby, which the area was known for. I went to Bar Bar Bar, which was supposed to have live music, but it only played some soft jazz over the speakers. It was a very upscale western style bar in comparison to the bars that I have passed on the streets throughout my time in Japan. I had chicken curry, which has chicken on the bone, which I was not a fan of.
The next morning I was scheduled to go to the Kabuki-za theater. They are very strict about not allowing photography, which was unfortunate, because I had the perfect camera and lens combination for action shots... In any case, as a result I was only able to take pictures when the curtain was up.
The show was split into three separate parts, with stories that I do not believe had any overlap. There was a twenty minute and then thirty five minute intermission. Though there was no English translation(apparently, there usually is, but I guess with Japan newly reopening, they were not prepared), they did give me a handout, giving a general idea of what would be going on in the three acts.
Two men played banjolike instruments that Google tells me is called the samisen. Two others would sing and chant. One more man sat on the ground at the very side corner of the stage and would clap the ground with wooden blocks occasionally.
The first act was mostly dialog between two men that had crossed blades while walking a path. The second act was the most interesting to me, as it had two rows of musicians(which added drums and a flute), along with multiple dance sessions with one to two women at a time. It was very graceful and flowing. The third act was a bit odd. It starred a child(which I later discovered was nine years old). There was a lot of long winded dialog, that I obviously did not understand. This act I had not read the English writeup on, but I I was able to get the basic idea pretty well. It was cute, just again, a bit long winded. During intermission, I popped down to the theater gift shop, which had a strange section completely devoted to Snoopy.
Dinner was at a new ramen place, Hakodate Ramen Funamizaka, just down the street from my hotel. The miso ramen was absolutely wonderful, and I loved the cozy feeling of the shop.
The next day I decided to venture to the Roppongi section of Tokyo. Near the exit to the train is a spider sculpture named Maman. Nearby, across from a Hyatt hotel, is an unassuming garage tunnel to a small temple. I took a horrible picture of the temple, so instead, I will show pictures of the cemetery set up just behind it.
About a ten minute walk away is the National Art Center, which was recommended due to its unique internal architecture. I found it to be just alright. Many of the exhibitions were free, but I paid for the few extra exhibitions, because, why not? Some of the rooms were just calligraphy. Some were paintings or comics.
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| This was a curious cartoon. I could see a few ways to interpret it. |
The final gallery that I visited had a desk set up in the front. They explained that you should take note of your favorite piece, and on your way out, you could vote. These were my three favorites. The third one was the one that won me over because there was something so odd about it that I couldn't tear my eyes away. It was odd and colorful.
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| Utterly bizarre. |
Just down the road was Tokyo Midtown shopping mall. This seemingly very upscale mall housed a handicraft store that appeared on my radar, called The Cover Nippon. As soon as I entered the store, a worker approached me and asked if I was searching for a gift for myself or someone else. I answered, "someone else," as I deemed that to be safest, I asked what the price of one item was, and then I slunk away. Luckily, the workers stayed away from me for the reminder of my visit. That being said, I had to be ultra careful that my movements would not swing my backpack in a way that would knock over a multitude of expensive, small items. It had extremely beautiful items, including a small teacup with beautiful drawings of a rabbit on it, and amazing lacquerware.
Just outside the mall was Fujifilm Square. This was a store combined with photography art galleries. Since I own a Fuji camera, it was nice to be able to walk into a store and see the entire lineup of their two camera systems. I also took a short walk through the galleries.
From there I walked back near where I began, to walk along Keyakizaka Dori Street, which was reported to have the street lit with holiday lighting. Nothing was lit up at the time, so before hopping onto the subway, I decided to stop by Mohri garden. People were sitting along the steps near the park, and it was nearing to 5:00, so I decided to wait until it hit the hour, just to see if the lights in the garden would turn on. Indeed it did, and the lights along the street popped on as well.
The stage between the garden and the street had cameras and it was barred off from the public. Just to my left was a building with glass windows, that housed a woman who was by herself at a desk, but was speaking to a multitude of cameras.
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