Tokyo Trip - Day Two

KODAK 2005 12 27 19 52 45
Originally uploaded by Yasashisa.

Hello, I'm back. Nothing too interesting has been happening to Charity or myself lately, so here is the story of what we did on our second day in Tokyo. We slept in a little that day because we had such a long day on the Monday. When I got up, however, I found that I could barely stand. All the walking I had done the day before had given me a terribly sore ankle. I could walk, but I had to hobble about without putting too much pressure on my sore foot. It did not bode well for getting much done that day.

Nevertheless, we went out and headed to Tokyo Station, where we planned to see the downtown. We slowly passed through the expansive imperial gardens, which is essentially the Emperor of Japan's backyard. It was interesting enough, but I think it would have been a lot more interesting in the spring or summer. Some of the trees looked very dull, as trees usually do in winter.

In the area of the Imperial Palace one can find the Japanese Diet building, or Parliament building, as the case may be. One other thing we saw that is worth noting is the Yasukuni Shrine. There has been a whirlwind of controversy surrounding the Yasukuni Shrine in recent years. The shrine itself is a Shinto shrine that commemorates the soldiers who have died in the service of the Emperor, including those who died in World War II. It is a holy place in Shinto, which is a popular Japanese religion that venerates the dead and the Emperor. Shinto is tied closely to Japanese identity; you can't really be Shinto if you are not Japanese. Shinto teaches a form of animism that combines the worship of gods and spirits with the political power of the state and the Emperor. While the Emperor is not the centre of all political power as he once was, he is still the key figure in Shinto belief. Often, in Japan, when politicians want to stir up nationalistic feelings in people, they make reference to Shinto in some way, shape, or form. The Yasukuni Shrine honours over 2 million Japanese war dead, including 14 class A war criminals who are considered responsible for Japan's atrocities in the Second World War and the buildup to it. Obviously, nations like China, South Korea, North Korea, and Taiwan, the recipients (or victims) of Japan's colonial aggression resent the fact that these war criminals are essentially being venerated as gods. Think of how Europeans would feel if the Chancellor of Germany paid an annual visit to Hitler's grave. To make matters worse, Junichiro Koizumi, the Prime Minister of Japan, has become infamous for making annual visits to Yasukuni, sparking protest and condemnation of the visit in China and the Koreas. Shinto is no longer a state religion, but the actions of Koizumi, acting in an official capacity of his office, has made many question whether the Japanese government is truly supportive of religious freedom in Japan and whether or not Shinto will once again be used to incite the Japanese people's nationalistic fervour.

In the evening, we went to visit Ginza. Ginza is a famous shopping district in Tokyo. The most expensive property in the world is in Ginza. They say that if you take the largest bill in Japanese currency, fold it up as small as you can, and drop it on the ground, you could not afford to buy the small square of land it falls on with that bill. We're talking about land that costs a thousand bucks for a square foot or so. It was interesting enough. We went to the Sony Tower, where we saw some interesting technology, including cute robotic dogs. You can see a picture of them in the Flickr photos. After that, we went to something called the Millenario. The Japanese love electric lights and it shows. They had set up a series of arches over the street that were covered with small light bulbs. The effect was very cool. In Kobe, they did a similar thing, but Charity and I could not go. By a stroke of good luck, we came upon the Millenario and enjoyed it quite a bit. There must have been millions of light bulbs. We made our way down the street toward Tokyo Station, then headed home on the Yamanote line. It was a good day, but by the end, I was hurting pretty bad. The pain in my foot would not go away if I "just walked it off." We made it back to the hotel room that night exhausted, but happy to be in Tokyo. More later,
-Joe.