In some respects, elements of the floating world still exist. There are restaurants and taverns everywhere, but they're more concentrated in areas that are considered "entertainment districts." The little theaters that put on bawdy or subversive plays are gone. As for brothels, they still exist in the guise of massage parlors and "hostess bars," which are generally controlled by the Yakuza - essentially the Japanese mafia.
These elements are there, but the floating world that they created essentially ended when Emperor Meiji took power from the Shogun. The class distinctions were officially loosened or eliminated, new laws were enacted, and all of Japanese society was put to work modernizing the country.
The parts of Edo that remain are in small pockets which, through sheer luck or divine providence, survived earthquakes, catastrophic fires, and the Second World War. The people here still refer to these areas as shitamachi. They're old, cluttered neighborhoods with one-lane streets and bikes and scooters parked in back alleys that are even narrower. They're full of tiny old two-story houses in among the 4- or 5-story apartment buildings. They don't really date back to Edo - most of those homes were very small one-story wooden houses, and have been gone for ages.
You do see lots of old people, some in kimono. Mothers with little kids. And middle-aged people on bikes running errands. They're lively neighborhoods, to say the least. There are tons of little shops, a few bigger businesses, but mostly houses and apartment buildings.
So off I went. First stop was the Tourist Information center, about 10 blocks south of Tokyo Station. I picked up a bunch of good street maps and some other info. Then it was another 10 minute walk (almost all underground) to Habiya Station of the Chiyoda subway line. Five stops later, I was in the Yanaka neighborhood. The main streets are like the main streets everywhere else in town, but they're generally two- or four-lane, not the eight-lane surface highways near the Imperial Palace. These streets, and especially the smaller side streets, all have a feature that looks funny to an American - there are telephone poles and wires everywhere. Once you're off the major roads, all phone, electric, and cable are above-ground. When you look down a side street, you can't believe the tangle of cables.
The first thing I noticed about Yanaka is that it's crowded with cemeteries. It seems like there's one on every block. And they aren't grassy plots with headstones - these look like shrines, which essentially they are. The Buddhist/Shinto belief is that when a person dies, his spirit is deified by those who remember and revere him. So there's really a shrine at each place. And not just a little one, like some of the ones you saw in my pictures from Kameido Tenjin. These are all the size of a small house. The first few I came upon thrilled me, but after the first five, I got a little bit thoughtful about the fact that these are more than just great old buildings. I decided to be a bit more respectful and just pass them by. If I'd gone on taking pictures, I would have felt pretty uneasy about it. So I went on to pictures of houses and the streets.
I'd probably walked a couple of miles in a big loop before I came back to the main road where I started. I could have just headed back to the hotel, but the map told me I shouldn't. I was right on the doorstep of Ueno (pronounced "wennoh") Park, one of the more famous ones over here. It was cloudy and about 50 degrees, but not raining. So I decided to head for it. The first thing I came to was an entrance for Ueno Zoo. I passed on that and headed on to the next big thing, Shinobazu Pond. This area, and the pond itself, were favorites of woodblock print artists going back to the 1800s. So I decided to walk around the pond for a while and then head to the subway. But then... I ran across a flea market along the southeast perimeter of the pond. So I started looking around. Came across a lot of junk - flea markets are flea markets, after all - but then I saw one stall with a nice shin hanga print (20th century style woodblock print - "shin hanga" means "new print"). I didn't like it that much, and the guy was asking 12,000 yen - almost $120. I passed and moved on. And came upon pay dirt. A guy had 3 suitcases full of ukiyo-e prints. He went out of his way to tell me that they were printed from recarved blocks about 30 years ago. I kinda guessed that, since he was asking between 2,000 and 4,000 yen apiece. I picked out four I liked, gave the man 10,000 yen, and went on my merry way. The same thing would have cost me three times as much on eBay.
So I started walking toward the subway again, and came upon the Shitamachi Museum. I'd read about this place online. Complete re-creations of Edo-period buildings, and a few originals. Walking through the first floor, I felt like I'd just missed the occupants. Everything looked as though it was the way someone had left it 150 years ago. And nothing was behind ropes - if you wanted to take off your shoes, you could walk right in, sit down, fiddle with cabinets and tools, whatever. I just stood back and took pictures.
On the second floor was a bunch of different displays concerning everyday shitamachi life. There were toys, razors, tools, maps, postcards... lots of relics. Some of the postcards and maps were of great interest to me, as you'll see in the pictures. A few of the employees of the museum spoke some English, and were very helpful in explaining some of what I was seeing, since all of the placards next to the exhibits were in Japanese. I was able to figure out some of it on my own, but I got a lot more out of the experience with their help.
When I was done with the museum, I really did head for the subway. Out on a major street in Ueno, with a KFC, bunches of pachinko parlors and shops of all description, and tons and tons of people. All of which was a great reminder of the value of the shitamachi. Quite a contrast within a mile's space.
By 3:00, I got back to the hotel, I dumped all my pictures to the laptop, started writing, then headed out again to ship my prints home. There's a Mailboxes Etc. three doors down from the hotel, so I tried there first. Shipping UPS back to Knoxville would have cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $150. After I got back up off the floor, they suggested I go to the post office and ship them via EMS - the slow, cheap option.
The people at the post office bowled me over. They spoke essentially no English, but we played charades until we understood each other. They didn't have an envelope substantial enough to protect the prints, so they cut down a box and taped it together into a flat package. Two women in particular spent at least 15 minutes helping me out. I just can't believe the level of service I'm seeing everywhere. It's enough that people are willing to work with me through the language barrier, but they are also completely willing to go above and beyond to help me out. I know it isn't just for me, but as a foreigner who doesn't speak the language, it's heartwarming to know that people will bend over backwards to help.
After collapsing in my room for a couple hours, I met Rieko for a trip to Ginza to find the Ando Cloisonne shop. It was just dark when we came up out of the subway, and the lights were blazing. Ginza is the 5th Avenue of Tokyo, with all the finest shops and highest prices. All the biggest clothing designers and best products are here, with flagship locations of many of Japan's department stores. This is a perfect fit in Japan. People are extremely brand-conscious, and designer goods are definitely a status symbol. If a lady of means is carrying a handbag, it's Gucci or Prada, and it says so.
In spite of the high-class atmosphere at ground level, if you look above the second or third story of the buildings, it looks like Times Square. I guess when there's so much advertising, you have to do whatever it takes to stand out. But the most garish lights and signs belong to Pachinko parlors. They're more Vegas than New York. There aren't any pachinko parlors on Ginza-dori.
We found the Ando shop, but it had closed 5 minutes before we got there. That makes it a solo trip for me on Wednesday. No problem - it'll be an easy walk from Ginza Station, and I know exactly where I'm going.
Then came a ride on the subway to Roppongi Hills. This is a big office area, lots of lights, and it's the center of the expatriot community. Lots of Western-looking faces around here. And lots of pubs selling Guinness and Harp. From here, we walked to Tokyo Tower. Rieko was under the impression that it's located right nextdoor to Roppongi station. Turns out it's about 3 miles away, and we walked it. By the time we got there, I could barely manage to climb the last hill up to the base of the tower. But it was worth it. The observation deck is 150 meters up, and provides a complete view of Tokyo. On a clear day, you can easily see Mount Fuji. At night, you can see some of he bigger cities of Tokyo, along with the Rainbow Bridge and the Ferris Wheel in Odaiba.
All of the pictures I took at Ginza and the Tokyo Tower are hand-held time exposures. So they'll look a teensy bit fuzzy. It's hard to hold absolutely still for a half-second exposure.
Tomorrow will be the quick trip to Ginza to buy cloisonne, possibly followed by a trip to Hibiya Park (just south of the Imperial Palace) or over to Nihombashi, which is only about a mile from my hotel. We'll see - I need a bit of a break after yesterday.
Enjoy the pictures!
