DURTY DAN'S TOKYO TRIP -- PART 1

WELCOME TO

I was in Tokyo on business and I finally got around to scanning some photos in. I was there in February 2001 and I'm going back again in some time around November 2002.
The photos are grouped by subject but are in no particular order.
You don't need to know anything about Japan, the Japanese, or Japanese history. I am a Japanophile and love everything about Japan. (I actually plan on living there some day.) I'll explain anything you need to know to be able to appreciate the photos. Sometimes you'll get more information than just what's on the photo.
I chose interesting subjects, not all these photos are tourist shots. I took about 20 rolls of film, so I won't put you through all of them.
Each photo has an explaination and beside it you will see this:
.
All photos are © Durty Dan, unless otherwise noted.

Here's where I worked when I was in Tokyo, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I can't tell you why I was there or what I was doing, however.

Here is a picture I took in a shopping district known as Asakusa. The folks in the foreground are my translator and his wife. (Mr. and Mrs. Sakaguchi) They took us (my boss J.P. Paquette came with me on the trip) to Asakusa to get some Japanese souveniers.

This is kinda neat. Tokyo is a very clean city. There is little litter on the streets, the one thing they do have trouble with is cigarette butts. They are EVERYWHERE. So in an effort to help control the problem they put up public ashtrays at the street corners. As you can see by the ground around the ashtray, not everybody throws their butts in the asktray. They're even filled with water so you don't even have to but out the cigarette! This one was just outside my hotel. By the way, the Japanese still smoke inside their government buildings, unlike here in Canada. (the ashtray is light blue.)

On a trip through the Ginza, Tokyo's most famous shopping and entertainment district, we came across this statue of Godzilla. Apparently, this was the former location of the studio that did the original movies.

Not even giant lizards scare me. I caught Godzilla!!!!!!!
As an aside, and it really has nothing to do with the picture, but rather with my appearance in the photo. Note my beard and long hair, as well as my leather jacket. I really stood out in the crowd. The weird thing is that Japanese women like facial hair, nowadays. The way it was explained to me was that it's like in North America where bikers get all the babes. You know, the Bad Boy Syndrome, some women are attracted to that sort of thing. Japanese women see beards and long hair as the mark of a "barbarian" and see "barbarians" as part of the Bad Boy fantasy. Almost every gaijin (foreigner) guy I saw had a beautiful Japanese woman on his arm. I stopped counting the number of times I got the "once over" and a nice smile from a Japanese woman.
(photo by J.P. Paquette)

The hotel had a laundry service. This is how my t-shirts, underwear and socks came back.

I also went to see a few Kabuki plays. Kabuki is kinda like Shakespeare for Japan. Although it is more influential and respected. Many Kabuki actors become what the Japanese call Living National Treasures. Just like we designate buildings as historically or culturally significant, the Japanese Government does it with people. Seeing Kabuki plays allowed me to cross off one more thing on my "Things To Do Before I Die" list. The theatre, called the Kabuki-za even provides small radios so you can listen to the play being translated and all the facets and elements of the play and their historical significance.

On my way back from the Kabuki-za to my hotel, a monk was standing on the corner collecting alms. Monks in Japan do not have any source of income. They actually have to collect offereings to have money and food. The Japanese people take care of these monks as they [the monks] are responsible for the spiritual well-being of the Japanese people. I asked if I could take his picture as I dropped some coins into his bowl and bowed respectfully.
The Japanese are VERY impressed with any gaijin who has an even basic knowledge of their culture and language. As Canadian are generally polite, anyway, we tend to fit in better than other gaijin. There are more Canadians working and living in Japan than any other foreign nation.

One thing you won't see in Tokyo is a fire hydrant. There are none, anywhere! At least that's what I though until I walked around the Ginza. I don't read Japanese very well, it took a decorated cover to make me realize that the water connections are below the surface of the sidewalk.

While strolling around the grounds of the Imperial Palace, you will find lots of public restrooms. When you go in, you will see two stalls. One says "Western Style" the other has something in Japanese. Open the Japanese stall, and this is what you see. The typcial Japanese public toilet. I was told they are also in the women's washrooms. The Japanese have normal toilets in their homes.

Here is the gate to the inner compound where the Emperor of Japan lives. The Emperor actually lives in the Imperial Palace, plus other royal residences around the country. The Japanese Emporer is decended from the longest unbroken royal line in the history of the entire world. Few foreigners have gone inside. I'm not one of them. :(

Not all of the original buildings survive, as many were made of wood. They try to salvage what materials they can and encorporate them into the Palace gardens. Here we have a copper roof orniment. It's a dolphin, by the way.

This is a site that is kind of special for me. It is a marker for the final act in a true story of 47 samurai who revenged the death of their lord. For the full story (and it's quite interesting) CLICK HERE

When Shoguns ruled Japan, the Emperor lived in Kyoto, in virtual exile. Several Tokugawa Shoguns tried building a fine house in the centre of the palace. The hill was artifically made and the house was built on top. Four times the house burned down, a couple of fires were unexplained. After the fourth, they decided not to reconstruct. Now, the area makes a nice place to view the gardens and the park. This is an "artsy-fartsy" shot I took of a large pine at the corner of this rise. Note the stones have nomortar between them and they fit so well, you can barely get a piece of paper between them.

Here we have one of the two original surviving guard houses on the Palace grounds. Some of the samurai guards spent their entire lives on the Palace grounds, never going anywhere else until their death.

Here's a shot of the north entrance to the Imperial Palace grounds. I lost track of how many moats, gates and bridges there are. For a nation that values their space, they have no problem in leaving vast tracks unspoiled, even in their big cities.

Like I said, I lost track of where I was. I think this is one of the inner moats on the north side. I guess it doesn't matter, it's a nice picture.

Here is a photo of me peeing in one of the gardens at the Imperial Palace. (Actually, I was standing the the shade while I was changing rolls of film.)
Photo by J.P. Paquette

Here's something you don't see every day. I don't know what it's supposed to represent. The figure is completely covered in living flowers and is about 1 1/2 stories tall.

Here I am, going into an anime shop in the Ginza.
Photo by J.P. Paquette

There are hundreds of parks and greenspace in Tokyo. This is Hebia Park and it's famous crane. (The bird.) Yep, that's a real crane.

These flowers were EVERYWHERE in Tokyo and in full bloom in February! I think they're a species of wild rose, but I'm not sure. I don't know much about plants, I'm afraid.

Here is the famous pagoda (at least famous in Japan) in Asakusa. (the photo is in black and white).

Here's how they park cars to make more space.

Right next to my hotel was a temple, the Atogoyama Temple or Atago Mountain Temple. Here is the bottm of the steps leading to the temple. They are extrememly steep and cause a great sense of veritgo when ascending or decending. I didn't count the steps, but there's gotta be at least 100.

Huff, puff, huff, weeeeeeeze. Here is the view from the top. Whew! I gotta quit smoking.

Most temples have carp. I was told that these ones were around 50 years old. Check out all the colours!

Here is a statue of one of the greatest military strategists in Japanese history. Kusunoki Masashige's unselfish devotion and loyalty to the emperor have made him a legendary figure; after the imperial restoration of 1868, a shrine was erected to him on the site of his death. This is directly across from the Imperial Palace (north side). Kusunoki [Japanese use last names first] was instrumental in restoring the Emperor to supreme power in Japan and ended the 200 year reign of the Tokugawa Shogunate. This brought about the period known as the Meiji Restoration and began the rapid modernization of Japan. Kusunoki even has a temple built in his homour. (I'll go see than, next trip.)

Shortly after Japan began to modernize, the Emperor changed Japan's isolationist policy and allowed the west to gain access to Japan. This is the site, in Yokasuka Bay (where Tokyo is also situated) where Perry landed and opened Japan to America and the west.

That's it. More to come in Part Two.

Here's where I worked when I was in Tokyo, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I can't tell you why I was there or what I was doing, however.
Here is a picture I took in a shopping district known as Asakusa. The folks in the foreground are my translator and his wife. (Mr. and Mrs. Sakaguchi) They took us (my boss J.P. Paquette came with me on the trip) to Asakusa to get some Japanese souveniers.
This is kinda neat. Tokyo is a very clean city. There is little litter on the streets, the one thing they do have trouble with is cigarette butts. They are EVERYWHERE. So in an effort to help control the problem they put up public ashtrays at the street corners. As you can see by the ground around the ashtray, not everybody throws their butts in the asktray. They're even filled with water so you don't even have to but out the cigarette! This one was just outside my hotel. By the way, the Japanese still smoke inside their government buildings, unlike here in Canada. (the ashtray is light blue.)
On a trip through the Ginza, Tokyo's most famous shopping and entertainment district, we came across this statue of Godzilla. Apparently, this was the former location of the studio that did the original movies.
Not even giant lizards scare me. I caught Godzilla!!!!!!! As an aside, and it really has nothing to do with the picture, but rather with my appearance in the photo. Note my beard and long hair, as well as my leather jacket. I really stood out in the crowd. The weird thing is that Japanese women like facial hair, nowadays. The way it was explained to me was that it's like in North America where bikers get all the babes. You know, the Bad Boy Syndrome, some women are attracted to that sort of thing. Japanese women see beards and long hair as the mark of a "barbarian" and see "barbarians" as part of the Bad Boy fantasy. Almost every gaijin (foreigner) guy I saw had a beautiful Japanese woman on his arm. I stopped counting the number of times I got the "once over" and a nice smile from a Japanese woman. (photo by J.P. Paquette)
The hotel had a laundry service. This is how my t-shirts, underwear and socks came back.
I also went to see a few Kabuki plays. Kabuki is kinda like Shakespeare for Japan. Although it is more influential and respected. Many Kabuki actors become what the Japanese call Living National Treasures. Just like we designate buildings as historically or culturally significant, the Japanese Government does it with people. Seeing Kabuki plays allowed me to cross off one more thing on my "Things To Do Before I Die" list. The theatre, called the Kabuki-za even provides small radios so you can listen to the play being translated and all the facets and elements of the play and their historical significance.
On my way back from the Kabuki-za to my hotel, a monk was standing on the corner collecting alms. Monks in Japan do not have any source of income. They actually have to collect offereings to have money and food. The Japanese people take care of these monks as they [the monks] are responsible for the spiritual well-being of the Japanese people. I asked if I could take his picture as I dropped some coins into his bowl and bowed respectfully. The Japanese are VERY impressed with any gaijin who has an even basic knowledge of their culture and language. As Canadian are generally polite, anyway, we tend to fit in better than other gaijin. There are more Canadians working and living in Japan than any other foreign nation.
One thing you won't see in Tokyo is a fire hydrant. There are none, anywhere! At least that's what I though until I walked around the Ginza. I don't read Japanese very well, it took a decorated cover to make me realize that the water connections are below the surface of the sidewalk.
While strolling around the grounds of the Imperial Palace, you will find lots of public restrooms. When you go in, you will see two stalls. One says "Western Style" the other has something in Japanese. Open the Japanese stall, and this is what you see. The typcial Japanese public toilet. I was told they are also in the women's washrooms. The Japanese have normal toilets in their homes.
Here is the gate to the inner compound where the Emperor of Japan lives. The Emperor actually lives in the Imperial Palace, plus other royal residences around the country. The Japanese Emporer is decended from the longest unbroken royal line in the history of the entire world. Few foreigners have gone inside. I'm not one of them. :(
Not all of the original buildings survive, as many were made of wood. They try to salvage what materials they can and encorporate them into the Palace gardens. Here we have a copper roof orniment. It's a dolphin, by the way.
This is a site that is kind of special for me. It is a marker for the final act in a true story of 47 samurai who revenged the death of their lord. For the full story (and it's quite interesting) CLICK HERE
When Shoguns ruled Japan, the Emperor lived in Kyoto, in virtual exile. Several Tokugawa Shoguns tried building a fine house in the centre of the palace. The hill was artifically made and the house was built on top. Four times the house burned down, a couple of fires were unexplained. After the fourth, they decided not to reconstruct. Now, the area makes a nice place to view the gardens and the park. This is an "artsy-fartsy" shot I took of a large pine at the corner of this rise. Note the stones have nomortar between them and they fit so well, you can barely get a piece of paper between them.
Here we have one of the two original surviving guard houses on the Palace grounds. Some of the samurai guards spent their entire lives on the Palace grounds, never going anywhere else until their death.
Here's a shot of the north entrance to the Imperial Palace grounds. I lost track of how many moats, gates and bridges there are. For a nation that values their space, they have no problem in leaving vast tracks unspoiled, even in their big cities.
Like I said, I lost track of where I was. I think this is one of the inner moats on the north side. I guess it doesn't matter, it's a nice picture.
Here is a photo of me peeing in one of the gardens at the Imperial Palace. (Actually, I was standing the the shade while I was changing rolls of film.) Photo by J.P. Paquette
Here's something you don't see every day. I don't know what it's supposed to represent. The figure is completely covered in living flowers and is about 1 1/2 stories tall.
Here I am, going into an anime shop in the Ginza. Photo by J.P. Paquette
There are hundreds of parks and greenspace in Tokyo. This is Hebia Park and it's famous crane. (The bird.) Yep, that's a real crane.
These flowers were EVERYWHERE in Tokyo and in full bloom in February! I think they're a species of wild rose, but I'm not sure. I don't know much about plants, I'm afraid.
Here is the famous pagoda (at least famous in Japan) in Asakusa. (the photo is in black and white).
Here's how they park cars to make more space.
Right next to my hotel was a temple, the Atogoyama Temple or Atago Mountain Temple. Here is the bottm of the steps leading to the temple. They are extrememly steep and cause a great sense of veritgo when ascending or decending. I didn't count the steps, but there's gotta be at least 100.
Huff, puff, huff, weeeeeeeze. Here is the view from the top. Whew! I gotta quit smoking.
Most temples have carp. I was told that these ones were around 50 years old. Check out all the colours!
Here is a statue of one of the greatest military strategists in Japanese history. Kusunoki Masashige's unselfish devotion and loyalty to the emperor have made him a legendary figure; after the imperial restoration of 1868, a shrine was erected to him on the site of his death. This is directly across from the Imperial Palace (north side). Kusunoki [Japanese use last names first] was instrumental in restoring the Emperor to supreme power in Japan and ended the 200 year reign of the Tokugawa Shogunate. This brought about the period known as the Meiji Restoration and began the rapid modernization of Japan. Kusunoki even has a temple built in his homour. (I'll go see than, next trip.)
Shortly after Japan began to modernize, the Emperor changed Japan's isolationist policy and allowed the west to gain access to Japan. This is the site, in Yokasuka Bay (where Tokyo is also situated) where Perry landed and opened Japan to America and the west.
That's it. More to come in Part Two.