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Ueno

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    • Day 11

      Tag 11: Auf der Suche nach Schreinen

      November 2, 2023 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

      Ein Goshuin ist ein Faltbuch, welches man von beiden Seiten öffnen und beschriften Kann. Insgesamt hat es 50 Seiten, also 25 pro Vorder- und Rückseite. Ich Versuche, es gut zu erklären, ich zeig euch das Buch einfach. Ziel ist es also, alle 50 Seiten zu füllen, indem man 50 Tempel besucht. Da diese Zahl etwas unrealistisch für unseren kleinen Urlaub ist, haben wir uns vorgenommen, wenigstens die 25 Seiten der ersten Buchhälfte zu füllen und dazu fehlen uns noch sieben Einträge. Für den heutigen Tag war also unser Ziel, sieben verschiedene Tempel und somit auch sieben Mönche aufzusuchen, welche die Seiten füllen sollten.
      Bereits nach dem Frühstück suchte ich eine geeignete Rute. Wir fuhren drei Stationen mit der Bahn, bis wir in einem Wunderschönen Park ankamen. Die warmen Sonnenstrahlen kitzelten uns auf der Nase und es wirkte alles so harmonisch. Wir gingen also durch den Park, in welchem sich gleich vier Schreine befanden. Einer davon war ganz in Gold. Eine anderer lag in der Mitte eines großen Sees. Es war wie im Märchen. Anschließend gingen wir noch etwas durch die Stadt und suchten noch mehr Schreine. Es war fast wie eine Schnipseljagd. Insgesamt kamen wir auf 6/7 Schreinen. Von daher geht es morgen mit dem letzten Schrein weiter.
      Was uns (und euch) noch erwartet ist der morgige Nationalfeiertag der Kultur der in Japan mit Festen gefeiert wird. Seid also gespannt.
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    • Day 16

      FFFB 14: Hallo Ramen my old friend

      April 5, 2018 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

      Am letzten “offiziellen“ Tag in in Tokyo gabs nochmal Ramen im Stadtteil Akihabara. Das Lokal in dem wir waren wurde von mehreren Stellen empfohlen, dennoch lagen die doch etwas schwer im Magen. So hat sich Christopher danach einen Sacke gegönnt und ich mich erstmal für ein paar Stunden schlafen gelegt. Da dies aber die einzige Mahlzeit auf der Japanreise war, bei der wir leichte Probleme hatten, kann man generelle das Essen in Japan nur empfehlen! 😊Read more

    • Day 49

      Tokyo National Museum and Peonies

      May 2, 2017 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

      Looked around the Highlights of Japanese Art exhibition in the Tokyo National Museum with the aid of the very good audio guide (¥500 ~ £3.50). It covers national treasures of the last 12,000 years. Very good, but also quite overwhelming!

      I think I may have made an etiquette faux pas as I left the museum. After getting the photo I bought a mango cornetto from a vending machine in the basement (great!) and strolled out into the warm sunshine in the park enjoying it. I'd nearly finished when I had a moment of realisation that couldn't see anyone else eating icecream and that I'd read that it's impolite to eat while walking. Oops. Although there's lots of street food sold I think folk normally sit nearby to eat. Gobble, gone.
      Perhaps related I've seen several signs on the pavement saying 'Don't smoke and walk'

      Now I may have missed the cherry blossom, but really I'm a peony type of girl, so my timing in Tokyo is perfect, with the flowers in the Peony Garden in Ueno Park in full bloom. It's a lovely snaking walk, with gentle music wafting over the garden. Very peaceful and gently reinvigorating; just what I needed.

      The Peony Garden ends at Toshogu Shrine and in its grounds is 'the flame of Hiroshima and Nagasaki' which burns with the hope of ending nuclear weapons. The Hiroshima element of this flame was collected from a burning house after the Hiroshima bomb and kept alight since. The Nagasaki element was symbolically created, and added to the Hiroshima flame, by sparking 2 Nagasaki roof tiles together. It's a very, very powerful link to the past.

      I have to say it's extremely sobering to be here when the potential use of nuclear weapons in this region is talked of as a possibility. I really can't imagine what that would mean.
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    • Day 48

      Natural History Museum and an encounter

      May 1, 2017 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

      Went to the National Museum of Nature and Science today to see a special exhibition put on by the Natural History Museum. Amongst the exhibits on tour is the fossil of archaeopteryx, which I've heard won't be on show in the UK on its return. I'm really pleased to have seem it, though a little odd to be in Tokyo rather than London!

      It was a good exhibition, covering the history of the Natural History Museum in London as well as the exhibits that have travelled to Tokyo. Seing it here really got me thinking about what it was culturally that supported that era of (mostly) European (many British) gentleman collectors and explorers and the consequent shifts in scientific understanding. Surprising to me was the inclusion of Marie Stopes who was a recognised paleobotanist before her work on birth control. For the first time I wondered how Darwin's explorations were funded. Wikipedia tells me he was a grandson of Josiah Wedgwood, and he married his cousin Emma Wedgwood. I never knew that!

      After lunch and a wander around some of the rest of the museum I decided to look round more of Ueno Park. I'll go back, probably tomorrow, to the Peony Garden, but while I was pondering what to do next I was acosted by a well dressed young woman with pretty good English who asked if she could pray with me. Her energy was friendly, so I asked what religion but couldn't quite understand her answer, but she said it was an energy thing, a bit like yoga and she seemed to indicate the highest 2 chakkras. Up for new experiences I said yes, so she asked me to step off the path ... she said she was a bit embarrassed in public ... then hold my hands a certain way and close my eyes. Well I confess I kept one eye partly open just in case I was about to be jumped by an accomplice. But no, it was all above board. She asked hopefully if I'd felt anything. I wish I could have said yes, and I did try to relax as well as be on alert! Her intention was to purify my spirit, and in a way I think she did 😊 I've since found out, since she recommended visiting the Miho Museum, that she was practicing Shinji Shumeikai. Another interesting Tokyo encounter!
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    • Day 7

      Working Class Cosplay

      April 14, 2018 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

      The Goonies would describe the Tokyo National Museum as being full of the "rich stuff", they would describe the Shitamachi Museum as being dedicated to the goon docks where they are from.

      The Shitamachi area used to be solid working class, the museum has preserved an idea of what that used to be like with a recreated street with houses you can sit in as long as you remember to take off your shoes. You can also pose in some working class attire, play some typical games from the time period.

      There is a cover charge for the Shitamachi museum.

      It's set during the late Edo and early Meiji era (basically the era of Queen Victoria and the better escapades of Sherlock Holmes) so it's also kinda cool to see predominantly old school Japanese urban environment sprinkled with more modern conveniences.

      There is a lot of history attached to the Ueno area. It's long been used as a park - the locals have been going crazy for the cherry blossom festivals here long before it was cool for tourists. The Tokyo National Museum even has paintings of previous festivals that look like a scene from the drunken louts at the Melbourne Cup.

      When the Meiji restoration booted out the Tokugawa Shogunate, they fought a major battle in Ueno for control of Edo (Tokyo). If you're going to have a battle, best to do it in the local park.

      The Meiji restoration of the Imperial crown was also strongly motivated by a desire to rapidly modernise in the face of western colonial encroachments into Asia.Taking a cue from the Great Exhibition in London, Ueno was used as the site of the National Industrial Exhibitions, designed to bring modern technology to Japan and attempt to encourage it's adoption. The creation of a thriving merchant district and black market in the area may or may not be connected... (achievement unlocked in any case).

      The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 destroyed large sections of Ueno around where the Shitamachi Museum currently is. Ueno Park itself though was a refuge from the fires and also where a lot of the recovery efforts were organised from. The impressive talent the Japanese have for disaster recovery and mitigation basically started in Ueno.

      During WW2, Ueno was frequently used again as a disaster recovery zone from the bombings, but was also victim of a few horrors of it's own. The fate of the animals of the Ueno Zoo was turned into a famous book called the Faithful Elephants - spoiler alert - it's considered a tragedy and there are shrines dedicated to the animals... :/

      Immediately after the war when things started to get pretty post apocalyptic, the Ueno Shosei Kai, which later became the Ueno Tourism Association was formed to restore the park by replanting 1,250 cherry blossom trees - or basically all of the trees in the tourist pics. i.e. Ueno was pretty much a post war recovery turning point.

      Two Chinese pandas, Lan Lan and Kang Kang arrived in the Ueno Zoo in 1972 to commemorate the normalisation of relations between China and Japan. And so began the introduction of pandas into the Japanese pantheon of cute.

      And of course in modern times, Ueno has become a centre of Japanese and Asian culture and arts due to the concentration of art galleries and museums and the park is still crazy popular in Tokyo as one of the open areas left.

      Observations:

      Public spaces are much more useful than casinos and shopping centres.

      Kaiju Collected:

      None - don't kill the faithful elephants!
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    • Day 3

      Halbzeit

      September 7, 2018 in Japan ⋅ 🌬 26 °C

      ... und pünktlich zur Halbzeit unserer #JapanPlan-Kampagne gibt es jetzt nochmal nen zweiten Footprint, diesmal aus dem schönen Ueno-Park, wo ich neugierig in den Fahrradkorb eines Parkmitarbeiters gelugt und diesen kleinen Freund gefunden habe.
      Verbreitet unser Vorhaben, denn FindPenguins gibt es bei Unterstützung gratis dazu!
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    • Day 219

      Ueno Zoo + Takeshita-dori Lane + Robots!

      October 26, 2015 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

      So far we are loving Japan - the food, the culture, the landscape, the world class public transport - who wouldn't want to live here!

      Trav has a surprise in store for Suki. Months before we set off on our holiday she was obsessed with seeing Panda's.......even going as far to try and volunteer with them. Finally we're in luck! On loan for a cool $950k/year from China, Ueno Zoo has two Panda's - Shin Shin & Ri Ri which are the main attraction.

      We catch the train and subway to Ueno station.....still oblivious to the surprise, Trav informs Suki of the Panda's and excitement in uncontainable. Housed in their own separate yards (with a hammock and there own deck!) the Panda's seem very chill sitting own leaning against a rock slowly chomping down on bamboo. Trav was impressed. A 2nd visit before we were allowed to leave proved worthwhile as it was feeding time. Being lazy, the zoo keepers dangle down their food (chicken we think?) on massive looking chopsticks just above headheight making the panda walk around like a grizzly!

      It wasn't just the Panda's that stole the show, a giant Polar Bear diving into the water and swimming backwards in his underground pool, an orangutan family with a shy little baby perched on top of the mum who would jump off and run towards his dad before running back, 2 x manly kangaroo's having a crazy boxing match before the boss jumped in and broke it up, and plenty more!

      Next stop was the famous Takeshita-dori Lane - a pedestrian-only street lined with fashion boutiques, cafes and restaurants right next to Harajuku Station. The sun is starting to set and this street is packed with local teens, school kids and the occasional tourist carrying a massive bulky camera. Certainly the trendy part of town, its not uncommon to see kids dressed up in halloween-like superhero costumes or little kids carrying around fairy floss 3 times the size of their head.

      After some yummy octopus balls we line up at one of the many fancy takeaway crepe stores. With up to 110 options (all displayed with immaculate plastic models in the window) it's really hard to choose the right one. We settle for a savoury ham-based crepe and it ok....but nothing to right home about. Time to move on to our next destination so Suki convinces Trav to line up with her for a custard churro - Tokyoite's seem to love waiting in lines for everything - but aleast this one was worth it. Why did we only buy one?!

      A short subway ride to Shinjuku station and we stroll down to the Robot Restuarant. Recommended by Suki's friends and a glowing review on Tripadvisor, were excited as we pick up our tickets and head into the waiting room. Its like we've been teleported back to the 70's with mirrors lining the walls, old school throne link funiture and 5 piece band dressed like robots. This is crazy town but we love. After a few warm-up drinks we get ushered downstairs and we're seated either side a long rectangular room. We've scored possibly the best seats in the house located in the front row!

      The lights fade and the music cranks.....this is not for the faint hearted. Over the next 90mins were treated to a crazy music/dance show with bikini clad tiny japanese chicks dancing, banging drums, and fighting massive remote controlled robots. Seriously, you have to see it to believe it. The performance is well choreographed and it was certainly one of the best shows we've seen!

      Its getting late but we find the time to take a quick walk around the neighbouring Golden Gai district. A cool little part of Tokyo with about 7 streets of tiny bars - each one can hold about 5 people and some have different themes.

      Its been a massive day but we've had such a blast!
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    • Day 19

      Ueno-Park

      April 7, 2014 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

      Heute war leider schon wieder unser letzter Tag in Japan.

      Da uns beim letzten Mal der Ueno-Park so gut gefallen hat trotz Regen, wollten wir diesen Park noch einmal bei sonnigem Wetter besuchen.
      Wir schlenderten gemütlich durch den Park und genossen das schöne Wetter, während wir zum letzten Mal nochmals die Kirschblüten bestaunten.

      Bevor wir zurück zum Hotel gingen, wollte Stefan sich noch ein gutes Küchenmesser kaufen. Deshalb gingen wir an die Strasse, wo man hauptsächlich Küchenutensilien kaufen konnte. Diese war von weitem auch schon ersichtlich durch diesen riesigen Kopf eines Koches auf dem Dach eines der Gebäude.
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    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Ueno, 上野

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