Photography & Beer Museums at Ebisu - Thursday 28th July

The Ebisu Garden Palace is an office, shopping and cultural precinct that includes the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography and the Yebisu Beer Museum.

Heading for the Beer Museum, the Museum of Photography was a nice surprise. There were 4 major exhibitions going on, and given it was already beer-o-clock, I just went for two. The Story of Children in Photography was interesting in that it ran through the evolution of photography, the pioneers and technology.

The Enari Tsuneo exhibition Japan and its Forgotten War - Showa was something else. Tsuneo is a photojournalist who has devoted nearly 40 years to documenting the negative consequences of Japan's Showa era wars, on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Fales Manchukuo, The Children's Manchukuo, and Island of Wailing Ghosts. Check out the link.


Black and white photography can be stunning at the best of times, and Tsuneo is an expert. In the Hiroshima and Nagasaki elements, a black and white portrait of an atomic bomb survivor is next to a colour image of a bomb relic - melted glass, a burnt cap. and then another portrait and the cycle continues. The juxtaposition is stunning and is reflected in the those aged survivors who, at least, are 70 years old. What horrors do these eyes portray? How had their lives been directed by the atomic bombs? Haunting.

Back into the real world......the Beer Museum. A bit disappointing really, not much history and back story, rather just an up market beer tasting lounge. Did top it off though with a very nice Yebisu beer from the Beer Hall next door.

Hama-ryku Gardens - Thursday 28th July

 When Veronica and I were here in September 2009, we took this tourist ferry to Hinode Pier. This time, Hama-ryku Gardens were my target. In 2009, the ferry was packed with lots of overseas visitors and locals. This time around, it was barely a quarter full, reflecting the uncomfortable rainy season but more the drastic drop off in tourism since the March earthquake and tsunami.

Nakajima-no-ochaya Tea house

 The gardens present another stark contrast to the dense built up environment that surround. It is absolutely quiet, the pond waters still and glassy. People wander around in quiet contemplation. Yet turn around and there is the un-escapable reality of Tokyo high rise offices.

Hama-ryku Garden is the family garden of the Tokugawa Shogun. Nice work if you can get it. The Nakajima-no-ochaya Tea house originated in 1707. It is these sorts of cultural relics that draw me to Japan.


The entrance fee is a reasonable 500Y and includes Green Tea served with a confection. For us tourists, you were also provided with a cheat sheet to explain what you did and when - like holding the cup in your left hand, and rotating it clockwise 180 degrees. Might sound corny, but in this setting it did let my imagination run wild - hey is that Shintaro over in trees?

Hama-ryku Gardens

Unfortunately my genetic hip condition did not allow me to squat on the floor, so I could not completely transport myself back to Shogun times.

Just got to mention Shimbashi Station, the nearest to Hama-ryku. The station is set in the bowels of a complex of 3 new office towers. it is 7 star quality. Granite and marble pasages leading to the centre of the earth. As if David jones basement had trains running through it. I little bit different than Penriff.

It's pay back time - Thursday 28th July

I have only ever experienced fantastic service and hospitality from Japanese people to me as a tourist. already in these 2 days I have been afforded service and support only dreamed of at home. But this little anecdote is not about them, its about me.

It may come as a surprise to some of you, but I really am a nice guy. Today on the Taito Community Bus service from Ueno to Asakusa, a person who well and truly met the aged criteria for AIDER services, this bloke stood up to get out at the same stop as me. But he caught his shopping bag on the seat and became flummaxed as older people can get. I unhooked him and we got out together. The smile and repeated words of thanks (I hope, anyway) was uplifting.

Being nice - as Japanese folk do all the time to me - is not bound by language.

Tokyo revisited - Wednesday 27th July

Left the printed itinerary at home again, but atleast this time I had it on a thumb drive to print out sometime. My room at the Ueno Terminal Hotel is just about big enough to swing a cat in, but comfortable and reflects the price I paid for it. (6,100 yen is about $80).

Another bit of detaiｌ　Ｉ　ｌｅｆｔ　ｂｅｈｉｎｄ　ｗａｓ　the local dialing codes to make international phone calls. Now that took some work to find, but the first contact back with Veronica was the absolute priority.

Don't call me a train spotter, but.....I took the Toden Arakawa Line street car from Minowabashi to Waseda. One of 2 remaining street car lines in Tokyo, it was a great 15km trip through the suburbs of northern Tokyo. For real train spotter action, I saw a guy at Ebisu station (JR Yamanote Line if you must) with a long recording mike stretching up to the ceiling mounted speaker, to record the details of the next train action. And I just thought is was the British.

Off to the J-League Football to see Kawasaki Frontale play Hiroshima Sanfrecce in a Japan Cup game at Shinmaruko. Absolutely fantastic. And the marketing...you don't see this at a Sydney FC game. Outside the Stadium, there is a great park, and in it must have been 20 tents and stalls selling merchandise, food and drinks, and running activities. Thousands of Kawasaki fans (especially families) hung around here. And you could take your food and drink into the ground!

When I got in to find a seat (I got a ticket to the general area) there were bags, books and clothes all over the good seats. What's this? People mark out their territory and then go elsewhere to chat, eat and drink. Can you picture this at an Aussie footy game?

We even had a 'seat nazi' who would greet new fans as they came up the stairs and find them the required number of seats. This includes moving people over one or two seats, so that single spare seats are used up. Had to see it to believe it, and all the locals are absolutely comfortable with it.
And... what about the person who comes around during the game to collect rubbish? Or the people at every exit stair again with bags to collect rubbish?

The Japanese soccer fans are world renowned for their fanaticism - but it is an inclusive form. Songs are sung the whole game (90 minutes for those non-believers) not just by the core fan group who lead the singing and drum beats, but men, women, young and old in the whole ground. Quite spectacular and exciting. By the way, Kawasaki Frontale won 3 - 1. By coincidence, my Sydney FC jersey was the same colour as Kawasaki, so I looked like a home fan. Well, apart from the causcasian look, grey hair, hairy legs, round eyes and .............

Travelling back to Ueno at 9:30pm the trains coming from Tokyo were absolutely packed - and trains on most lines run every 5 minutes or so.. Surely these thousands of people actually live on those trains.

Quiet streets of Tokyo - Sunday 13th March

I got away early from the Hostel and wandered around Kuramae and Asakusabashi for a while. I found a Cafe Veloce. Unfortunately not like the super cafe next to Kyoto JR Station, this one was a pale imitation. No latte!

Volunteer Fire Corps station

Of more importance and interest though was finding one of the numerous Volunteer Fire Corps 'garages' in Asakusa, just up from the hostel. The whole volunteer fire corps thing is amazing to me, and I harbour the notion of one day training with them! Fire brigades in Japan are some 400 years old, and originated when castles had there own fire teams to protect the rulers as well as the buildings.

In the context that the conurbation of Tokyo has 23 million people, the Tokyo Fire Department is a massive organisation with 81 Fire Stations (and 205 fire branches of that station)  literally every few kilometres. The fire corps structure sits under the fire branch, is made up of volunteers, with the equipment usually being a hand-pulled pump. I kid you not! It is somewhat counter-intuitive. How can it be?

But think for a moment about the context. High density, adjoining buildings. Lots of wooden or light construction buildings. Congestion. Regular earthquakes. When you look up at a thirty storey building, it is easy to miss the little Fire Corps shed tucked away in the laneway. Volunteer Fire Corps in Tokyo exist primarily as the first responders in their immediate local area in disasters. The Corps are organised and disciplined. The minimal equipment is mobile.

Going in to the Toei Kuramae Station, and having to buy a ticket, it was only a few seconds of me staring at the instructions before the Station person came up to me to help. The smiling and earnest support he wanted to provide bought a smile to my face as well. Another great service interaction, but it is just more than that. I believe it is genuine interest in my welfare both as a customer and as a visitor. Don't expect this service in Sydney!

Shinagawa ~ where's the traffic?

The Toei Line trip finished at Shinagawa and with 30 minutes to spare I took a walk around. Shinagawa is a working centre, made up mostly of high rise offices and government buildings. Of course on a Sunday morning I would not expect it to be buzzing, but it was literally deserted, with only a few 'company men' with briefcase in hand going off to the offices.

A baseball family

In a little park I did see a family of four practicing baseball, and what a peaceful and beautiful sight it was. Mother and son, father and son, amongst the concrete and glass.

The river side was quite nice and it too, peaceful. A great pathway lead around the river for some 3 kilometres. In quiet contemplation I could only imagine the teeming hordes of humanity that will occupy these spaces this time tomorrow.

Nozomi 221 - Kyoto here we come!

In to Shinagawa Shinkansen station. Did I mention that I love trains? Since I did not have a Japan Rail Pass (which prohibits travelling on Nozomi bullet trains) I splashed out and had bought a ticket on a Nozomi Shinkansen to Kyoto. Stopping only at Shin-Yokohama, then Nagoya, then Kyoto. 560 kilometres in 2 hours 15 minutes! Yes, that makes it about 260 kph.

Leaving Japan earlier than planned - Saturday night, 12th March

I finally got to K's House Hostel in Kuramae about 9:00pm and after checking in, went looking for food and a telephone. I had bought a 1,000Y phone card at the Hostel which should get me about 20 minutes talk time.

Corner grocery and convenience stores are literally on every corner. Going in to the Lawsons I found that they had nothing fresh to eat. I ended up getting the last 2 vanilla creme puddings - which I love but did not expect to be too filling! As I found out later, the lack of food was the first consequence of the earthquake in Tokyo, as workers were stranded overnight Friday, and bought out all the food in the city!

When I did get in contact with home, Liam candidly told me that Mum was not happy (with me being in Tokyo, as well as not contacting when expected) as well as letting me know of the extended family and friends making contact concerned about my welfare.

Veronica let me know the latest about the nuclear reactor problems (of which I had heard very little, as the constant TV coverage was focusing on the personal tragedies unfolding around Sendai).

As a consequence of these home concerns, as well as the uncertainty about the next few days, I decided to look at alternatives to leave Tokyo early. Back at the hostel I got on to the internet. Trying Qantas, I could not get a seat out earlier than Wednesday night.I tried Jetstar and found that I could get a flight out from Osaka on Monday night, so I bought it for $590A. An expensive long weekend was looming.

For anyone traveling to Japan, Hyperdia is a fantastic train timetable website. Using that, I worked out that I could get to Kansai Airport (Osaka) in about 10 hours with 9 changes of trains, if the Shinkansen was not working. I walked to the nearest JR station at Asakusabashi and confirmed that Shinkansen (bullet trains) would be running south on Sunday, so an option arises to go to Kyoto or elsewhere on Sunday. I got a Shinkansen ticket for 10:00am Sunday to Kyoto, with the intention of going straight to Nara.

QF21 last plane in to Narita - Saturday 12th March

Qantas did a great job at short notice to put us up for the night. On returning to the airport at 8:00am for the planned 10:00am flight, Qantas were still not sure if the flight was going to leave on time, late, or at all. Given that the unfolding disaster in Japan was becoming clearer, fellow passengers all took this uncertainty reservedly.


We got away about 10:30am after filling up the plane with late transfer passengers from canceled JAL flights. About 1 hour out from landing, updates on the Tokyo situation started to be drip fed by cabin staff. First it was about the stoppage of all other flights at Narita, including internal to Japan so no transfers would happen. And for those passengers not able to transfer, advice was given that no accommodation as available around Narita. That news would have deflated a few!

A bit later was the news that there were no express trains running to Tokyo, so local trains would be the go. But be warned, they will be crowded and there could be a long wait.

After de-planing, we discovered that Narita Airport was effectively devoid of passengers, apart from us! Apparently our fight was the last one in, and no flights were going out. So the immigration area was a breeze. And the crowded local trains? Only our plane load was on them so they too were fairly empty.


I had to use the Keisei Line this time to get to Kuramae, rather than via JR. No problems, there were Keisei service staff at the desk to give passengers detailed instructions (in writing and with a mud-map) about which trains to use to get to the ultimate destinations. Another reminder of the superior service that is common in Japan.

I had promised Veronica to contact when I landed. I didn't work out well for that. I did find a pay-phone, but it needed a card. Having found the vending machine for phone cards, the machine would not accept notes (lots of electronic devices were playing up it seemed). So, no phone. And then I noticed that the next train was leaving in 5 minutes - and not knowing when the next one would be, I ran for that one.

Going to the Keisei Line platform I ran in to Bruce the Japanese Canadian guy I briefly chatted to at the Mercure. Bruce was able to use his mobile to email Veronica to let her know I had arrived.

Give up on the hostels

I have to accept it. A mix of being 50+, alone, and not a conversationalist tends to make me stick out like dogs balls in the hostel setting.

K's House Tokyo, Kuramae

At K's House Kuramae (Tokyo) the hostel was very nice. The foyer and lounge area however was quite small, and filled with young, well traveled and connected people - eying each other off as well as providing recommendations about places to go to.

So where does a grey haired guy, old enough to be father of most of the travellers, sit in a room crowded with youngens? I felt like a Toolie at Surfers Paradise. And anyway, my hips don't allow me to squat on the floor like a yogi.

I know, off to my private room! Very nice in the scheme of hostels, but really, really small, with a small TV. Atleast it was not a bunk room. And the toilet is shared. This cost 3,900Y which was a fair hostel price (about $60A).

But then in Nara I got a room at the Fujita Hotel - probably 4 stars - for 5,000Y (about $80A), the room had a big double bed, desk, lounge, and its own shower and toilet.This hotel had its own bar and restaurant as well. Too expensive for me to use though.

Fujita Hotel, Sanjo-dori, Nara

The trick with getting this hotel was to go to the information desk at the railway station. They had a list of hotels with rooms available for that night - all on special, and in any price range you wanted.

Most towns have numerous accommodation places, so its worth the risk not making a pre-booking and seeking out the last minute bargain.

I could help if I really wanted to - Saturday 12th March

I tend to shy away from aggressive situations, and have a particularly well developed disdain for violence, drunkenness and loutish behaviour. So how was I going to fit in with a bunch of rusted-on Sydney FC soccer fans? This question had troubled me in the weeks before the game, especially as I had read more and more of the fan forums. I was pleased I was traveling alone - I was expecting a few of them would be watching the game from the local Kaban (Police) station!

That sleep-depriving dilemma of mine was superseded by the real problems of the earthquake and tsunami.

Whiling away the time on a plane can be a challenge. My emergency service volunteer brain started to take over. Should I find one of the Kuramae or Ginza volunteer fire corps and offer my help? Should I make contact with my NSW Red Cross colleagues and say " Hey, I am in Tokyo, what can I do?"

While very noble of me, I also realise that the Civil Defence Forces, disaster volunteer services, Fire Departments as well as the volunteer fire corps number in the hundreds of thousands. And then there is the small thing of language!

The plane was somewhere over Guam when this sobering conversation with Veronica came to me:

T: "Hey, things seem pretty normal here in Tokyo. Yes, the Hostel is fine. Weather is nice. Haven't felt any after shocks"
V: "Kevin Rudd is advising all Australians to leave Tokyo. The Fukushima thing is getting more fuched. Apparently the water supply is contaminated and George Negus says there is a 150km exclusion zone"
T: "I found a volunteer Fire Corps station is Asakusa. Amazing. Volunteer sheds with human-pulled fire pumps all over Tokyo. Lovely ordinary people serving their communities, just like me"
V: "Your Mum is freaking out. Madeline says you are an idiot for going over in the first place. Go south for God's sake. Jetstar have flights out of Osaka. Get out of Tokyo. Change your ticket."
T: "I've got 4 days spare now I am not going north for the soccer. So I have volunteered with the Red Cross and will go up to Fukushima on Tuesday - or as close as we can with our paper protection suits."
V: "Do you remember when we got those macadamias from Basim. And I had to buy the heavy duty nut cracker...I suggest you don't go."

Fair call.

Will the coat be necessary?

Just been looking at the Tokyo weather forecasts for the next 14 days. Amazing how the weather forecasting can be so reliable nowadays. Tokyo looks good. Low chance of rain (less than 30%) on each of the five days I will be there.

Not so good for Mito and game day versus Kashima Antlers. 80% chance of rain, and getting down to 2 degrees in the night. Wet weather jacket plus the good old Katmandu jacket, the RFS beanie, topped off by the newly acquired Sydney FC ACL scarf. Chances are the Sydney shirt will be outside the jacket - the same look as Feb 09 for the Socceroos against Japan. Might finally get good use out of that XXL shirt I bought than swims on me.

For the last 2 days in Nikko - the weather looks pretty rough. Nights are ranging from -2 to -5 over the next fortnight, but only low chance of rain. Days will hover around 10 degrees, so for a Blue Mountains boy that will be just nice. The mystery is how much colder Lake Chuzenji will be out from Nikko. Considering the ski season goes till end of March, got a fair chance it will be freezing.

So, does the big London Fog jacket get packed for one day's use? I am flying Qantas, so checked baggage weight is not an issue (no Jetstar Light this time). I like travelling light. Maybe a few layers of shirts will do the trick.

What I wil be taking will be a good pair of walking boots. I have a day trip to Mt Mitake west of Tokyo planned which includes a good 3 hours walking. If it does rain or snow, atleast I shall be safe on my feet. Nikko too is a place where the boots will come in handy with a fair amount of walking planned. Boots will keep the footsies a bit warmer (compared to joggers) when standing out on the terraces for the football games.