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Tokyo, Japan
Everyone avoids me like a cyclone ranger... everyone…
After a flight from Hong Kong, we’re now in Japan for the rest of the slideshow, and starting right in the heart of Tokyo.
At the end of the Second World War, the USS Missouri pulled into Tokyo Bay to welcome Emperor Hirohito of Japan. He stepped on the boat as an Emperor and God and returned as a mortal figurehead. This is the Imperial Palace, faithfully reconstructed after its obliteration in the 1940s. Tokyo had only been the capital of Japan since the late 1800s, replacing the spiritual city of Kyoto. This is the postcard view, with the German designed double bridge reconstructed in the foreground.
A quick picture from my hotel room deep in the "Blade Runner" section of Tokyo, comes this handy instruction on how to use a western toilet- important information for local Japanese used to squatting (somewhat uncomfortably I might add) over an elliptical hole in the floor.
My new favorite building.
This is the Tokyo International Forum designed to impress by Rafael Vinoly. I’m not quite sure what the building is supposed to be, I think it might be a convention or meeting center, but the multiple story lobby, with exhilarating view after exhilarating view , is an absolute wonder to wander around.
My new least favorite building.
What was Phillipe Starck thinking. It's not a bad building if you don't count that, that, that GOLD thing.
One of my friends from graduate school is Japanese and lives in Tokyo, and he and his wife took time out of their crazy busy schedule to show me all around the city, including stopping at small almost hidden restaurants that I would have never even known existed and certainly would never try by myself. And while it was wonderful that they did this for me, in retrospect I feel as if not finding my way around on my own ended up being a bit of a lost opportunity. Almost everywhere I go I’m on my own, and I remember and appreciate all those logistical annoyances (and successes) as much as I appreciate seeing all the sights; here it felt like I was just visiting as I was whisked from sight to sight by someone figuring it all out for me instead.
