Return to Tokyo

I walked to Matsumoto Station with my holdall which had been forwarded from Ise-shi. I'd reserved a seat on the Azusa 18 Limited Express to Shinjuku Station in Tokyo. The journey took 150 minutes, and I may have glimpsed Mt Fuji although I wasn't sure if it was snow or cloud-covered.
The JR Blossom Hotel was a short walk from the station which, it was claimed, was the busiest in the world with two million passengers each day. There were lots of platforms, corridors and exits plus multiple over-ground and metro lines.
The crowds on the streets were a contrast to what I'd seen in the twelve days since leaving Osaka.
The room at the hotel wasn't available until 14.00 so I meant across the road to a cafe for lunch.
In London, I'd booked a seat for a concert at the Suntory Hall in the evening. The Hall was part of a modern development in the Roppongi Hills and had a reputation for having excellent acoustics. The Hall was large and cavernous.
Before the concert. I had dinner at a brasserie, one of the many eateries in the development. I couldn't understand why the plaza was called Herbert von Karajan Platz.
The concert was given by the Tokyo Philharmonic as part of their subscription series. The conductor was French, Chloe Dufresne, and the soloist was a young Japanese violinist, Lina Nakano. The programme comprised "D'un Matin de Printemps" by Lili Boulanger; the 3rd Violin Concerto of Saint-Saens, and the Symphonie Fantastique by Berlioz.
The Hall was 90% full, and the audience remained seated at the end to provide enthusiastic applause rather than rushing to the exits. The section leaders stood and prompted their colleagues to take the applause. The final bow was given by the Leader, and then the applause stopped. It was very orderly and Japanese.Read more