Maybe we could have seen all of the Tokyo of 1650 with a population of 300,000 - 430,000. However, by 1721, the population had soared to over 1 million - in less than 50 years, it had become a Megacity. It's never looked back. Today, 'greater Tokyo' is 37 million. The Tokyo Prefecture (territory, state, governing entity) is over 14 million. (That would be the heart of Tokyo.) Without advice, this place would have been overwhelming. We could have spent an inordinate amount of time just traveling from one attraction to the next. We chose differently.
On advice, we chose a hotel close to Ueno Park. This is a large park with the zoo at one end and a transit station at the other. It's the home of the symphony in the music hall. There are several museums and a wonderful garden to discover. There are shops and restaurants around the perimeter. We decided to be satisfied with this little sliver of Tokyo.
Ueno Park had so many jewels to choose from, it wasn't hard to fill the days. Everyone had so hyped up cherry blossoms, I was disappointed the blossoms has peaked a minimum of ten days earlier. It turns out cherry blossoms are just the start of springtime in Japan. It was a riot of blossoms. We were at peak peony season, and a special peony garden in the Ueno Park was open for viewing. I learned the least common peony color is yellow, and there are 500 varieties. The lagniappe (little something extra) was the bonsai tree exhibit scattered among the peonies.
The Peony Garden is in front of the Togoshu Shrine which was built in the 17th century. The modern park opened in 1873. It has about 800 trees, mostly ginkgo, camphor, cherry, and zelkova trees. It has a amphitheater which seats 1200 people. It's where people in this area listen to outdoor music in the summertime. There is a grand fountain, lined with tulips this time of the year. There's a thirty minute 'fountain' show which happens all day long. This was a place to relax.
The sign says: Please don't pick the tulips
Heading toward the Peony Garden, you are also headed toward the Ueno Zoo. We could have gone to see the famous panda, but decided to pass on it. There are these decorated items all over Japan. Their decoration depends on where they are located. Here's the one from this section of the Ueno Garden. It's a cherry blossom sewer cover.
What kind of a park would it be if there were no statues? Fortunately, Ueno held up its end. And, the Imperial Prince is even on horseback.
There are several areas of the park built in 1631; the shrine dedicated to Ieyasu Tokugawa was reconstructed at this location in 1651. Another famous statue was completed in 1898. Ueno park has consistently evolved over the centuries to serve the people who live around it. Today, in addition to cultural sites, there are museums which hold several cultural treasures beloved by all of Japan. We were fortunate enough to see two special ones. Hokusai's 35 Views of Mount Fuji, and one-half of Hiroshige's 100 Views on the Road to Edo. Today, though, we were making a straight shot to the Peony Garden.
If we had gone further, we would have run into the Shrine. These stone pillars lined the path. You can see, we turned into the garden.
The umbrellas weren't just decoration. They shaded certain peony bushes to slow down the bloom of the flower. This garden is trying to get two weekends of people viewing the flowers and paying for the privilege. The red trees are springtime Japanese maples.
I think these are some of pretties peonies I've ever seen.
Moving on from the flowers, we were surprised to find a Museum of Western Art. It was substantial, and we didn't expect it to have anything particularly special. Just as all of Japan is; it was wonderful. Here are a few pictures which caught my fancy:
This is a painting by Jan Steen, a 17th century painter of ordinary people. This one is called "Village Wedding". Steen is one of my favorite artists. He captures so much 'movement' in his paintings as well as he tells 'tiny stories' in his paintings. (Notice the children in the foreground.)
Capet was a female painter who was helped by the French Revolution. She was of modest background, but during the time of upheaval she was able to secure a place in a famous woman painter's studio. She quickly began to improve her skills. After the French Revolution, women were allowed to enter works in the famous Paris Salon of paintings judged by the art experts of the day. Capet is considered a Neo Classicist, and I love the way she's captured her own expression and the beautiful silk dress in this self portrait.
Meet Victoria DuBourg. This is one of her paintings prior to her marriage to Henri Fantin-Latour. Fantin-Latour is famous for his paintings of flowers. Until recently, it was not known that Victoria collaborated and painted the flower paintings with her husband, of course without credit.
Pissarro is better known for his cityscapes, particularly Paris, in the impressionistic style. This is a painting in the realistic style shaded towards impressionism.
"Poplars in the Sun" by Manet in the Post-Impressionistic style.
When I saw the artist of this painting, I was very surprised. This is by Gustave Klimt. It was a stunning painting. The capture of the water was masterful.
The Western Museum of Art started as a display of the collection of a famous Japanese industrialist. It has been added to for the past thirty years. This is a first class museum.
If you think all we did in Tokyo was to go to museums, you'd be wrong. We actually went to a Japanese baseball game. The Swallows vs the Giants. (The Swallows lost.) Notably, the baseball park was 100 years old.
We were sitting absolutely cheek and jowl in tiny stadium seats. Even the Japanese were crowded! One guy arrived at the ballgame in suit and tie. He carefully removed his suitcoat and tie, folded them up and put them away in his satchel. Then, he took out his Swallows jersey, and donned it - ready for the ballgame. Here's an example of Japanese baseball food. There were no hotdogs or hamburgers.
We contented ourselves with french fries covered in weird, but tasty, condiments. I got a kick out of the beer and soft drink salesgirls roaming the stands. They filled your cup as you ordered it from this contraption on their backs.
And what baseball game would be complete without cheerleaders? Here are the ones for the Swallows
Here's Miss Swallow, one of the team's mascots. She even does the routines with the cheerleaders in those gigantic shoes!
Outside of Ueno Park, we went to see a garden designated as a "Special Historic Site" as well as a "Special Place of Scenic Beauty". The double designation is very rare. The name of the garden is Koishikawa Korakuen Gardens. It was originally built by the founder of the Mito Branch of the Torugawa Clan in 1629. However, a later lord, Mitsukuni, invited a special garden adviser from China, Zhu Shunshui, a retainer of the Ming Dynasty, to consult.
The result is a garden full of Chinese tastes and flavor. The name "Korakuen" is derived from a Chinese text meaning 'Worry before all worries in the world, and enjoy after all enjoyments in the world." The garden is designed around a large pond. The Full Moon Bridge uses the stream to complete the full moon illusion.
The pond reflection shows this garden is an oasis in the middle of a 21st century city.
I liked the live duck sitting on top of the falls.
As we were leaving the garden, there was a lovely young woman in this beautiful dress. This is her wedding dress, and she was at the garden to take engagement pictures.
Another destination in Ueno Park was the Tokyo National Museum. This was filled with Asian art. There were stunning pieces. I really enjoyed looking at the kimonos since I love embroidery.
There were lovely examples of ceramics and lacquer
If these items weren't enough, we got to see Hokusai's 35 Views of Mount Fuji. These are considered one of Japan's great treasures together with Hiroshige's 100 Views from Edo Road. Here are three of Hokusai's views of Fujisan
This one is known at 'Red Fuji'
This is known as "The Wave" - see Fujisan in the background.
This depicts people admiring the cherry blossoms with Fuji in the background.
I must admit after several tries, Drake and I decided we just really didn't care for Japanese food, so we let ourselves off the hook and just ate whatever looked good. I'll admit to Italian food; convenience store sandwiches; pizza; and Chinese street food. I could definitely get used to dumplings with vinegar sauce for breakfast with a side dish of rice. I did eat soft tofu - with Szechuan sauce and a Japanese style food called teppan (fried pork cutlets). Yes, I know, we should have eaten more sushi, but we didn't.
One thing we learned in Japan was how to send our heavy suitcases on to the next destination, so we didn't have to carry them on/off trains. That was a big convenience and saved both of our bodies which were getting pretty tired at this point.
As usual, I took a zillion pictures while in Tokyo, well, maybe not a zillion, but a whole bunch. Here are several albums if you want to check out more pix:
2 comments:
You saw some beautiful and interesting things Jan! Love the places and the art. We have a jigsaw puzzle of the “Big Wave” which is beyond us to finish!
Janelle xxx
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