The long journey home began at 7.15 Tokyo time, when the airport shuttle bus picked us up from the hotel. This shot was taken as it crossed the ‘Rainbow Bridge’ across Tokyo Bay. Not a rainbow of colours however: thanks to the rather alarmingly blue filters on the bus windows, which were so potent that I was seeing extra pink shades inside, to compensate. Still, it’s a nice effect. Farewell to Tokyo anyway — until next time? Sayonara…
On a Sunday of, frankly, foul, revolting weather, my friend Mariam took me on a sightseeing tour of Tokyo, including the Senso-ji Buddhist temple, the city’s oldest place of worship dating from 645AD. Here, visitors purify themselves at this massive bowl of incense sticks, wafting the ‘breath of God’ over themselves before entering the shrine.
I post this pic partly because of the odd added detail, odd to us sensitive Westerners anyway; I know, I know, it’s an Eastern symbol of the sun, good fortune, life itself even. It’s found carved into church windows in Ethiopia, Bronze Age stonework in Yorkshire, prehistoric pottery in Bulgaria. Its name, translated from the Sanskrit, means “it is good”. But still, you wouldn’t find it easy to litter your holy places with swastikas in Europe. I dunno, probably we’re the ones who’ve lost out.
The remnants of jet lag saw me up early, but I had to work today anyway, and photographically, it was probably worth it. Within a short time after taking this the haze had risen and Fuji — a truly beautiful sight — had disappeared behind it. But there you go — Japan’s iconic (and highest) mountain, in its late winter raiment.
Worked in the afternoon and evening, but had a bit of time off in the morning so spent it visiting Meiji-Jingu, a Shinto shrine to the Emperor Meiji who is revered for being the ruler under whom Japan transitioned from a feudal to a modern state towards the end of the 19th century. It was set in a beautiful, tranquil forest park, though the shrine itself, while an attractive building, was nothing particularly spectacular. A peaceful (and free) way of spending a couple of hours though.
For a donation of ¥500 (£3.50, give or take) visitors can acquire one of these prayer tablets and hang up their appeal along with a few thousand others on these boards outside the main temple. The reason for picking this photo in particular is the tablet to top centre. If there are such things as kami (spirits in the Shinto belief system), I hope they address that one, at least.
So here I am in Japan, specifically a side street not far from the immense Shinjuku station, which is like, take the biggest metro station you’ve previously seen in your life and octuple it. Since getting completely turned on to the country — or a certain stereotypical idea of it — by reading and watching Shogun when I was a teenager I have wanted to come here, and so now I’ve finally made it, thanks to a complete work freebie that just fell into my lap two months ago, it’s not easy to know how to depict it. Obviously it’ll take a few more days (months, a lifetime maybe) to even start the process of learning what the ‘real Japan’ is actually like, but let’s start with this shot. I suppose I picked this picture because it’s as good an effort as I can make at picturing my preconceptions. There were plenty of Blade Runner moments this evening, put it that way. But is that life imitating art, or the other way around? What I can gather so far, is that there’s not a lot of point worrying about the difference here.
It’s been raining since about Friday morning, though did stop in the afternoon — a good thing seeing as the river was rising. Drove one representative of the local Muscovy duck colony off the water anyway; not that things were much less damp in town for it.
Off to Japan tomorrow. Forgive me if updates don’t arrive daily, at least for the next few days. There will be plenty to see I’m sure.
This alley heads off Cross Street in Manchester and then ends after about twenty metres in the blank white wall of the building you see ahead. That building must have been built quite a while ago now, like in the 1970s at the latest. No car or other vehicle has come down this street in a long time. And as the double yellow lines imply, you aren’t supposed to even use this as a lay-by.
So why the arrow? Why a nice, bright, reasonably freshly painted ‘turn right’ sign (when Cross Street isn’t even one-way)? Answers on a postcard to Manchester City Council please.
Not the most exciting photo either but at least it indicates I had schlepped my way down to campus for the first time since March 2nd. Which, like most of Manchester has been throughout the whole lifetime of this blog, is being rebuilt — here, the Business School, part of the whole ‘campus masterplan’ that will turn us into some world-leading something-or-other, if the money doesn’t run out first, anyway.
Back home — for a few days anyway, before my next trip out. I have said it before, and doubtless will say it again, that I like both travelling and coming home; being at home, and travelling. May this pattern of life continue. The structure in the background is the bridge built around 1510 that gives this town its name. The man is paying tribute to the ducks, I think, with offerings of food. The girl is just chilling out.
Tromsø is the world’s northernmost city, with 75,000 inhabitants, give or take, and has many of the world’s northernmost something-or-others, such as its northernmost professional football team, cathedral, mosque, Burger King and (the reason why I am here) university. At around 69º 40′ N it is comfortably the northernmost place I have ever been (though as I’m going on a tour tomorrow that will probably be beaten). This view over the harbour takes in the Ishavskatedral — the pointy thing to the left, in the background — and the mountain of Tromsdalstind, lit by the setting sun. Nice place…. I saw the Northern Lights tonight as well but no chance of capturing a photo of it, maybe next time though.
Being 42 