Wednesday, January 24th, 2001
This morning I am being very lazy, and it turns out that Echo stayed home from work. I eventually leave by myself for Shinjuku. First I went to the bookstore and bought a big stack of Toyota books. (I think I will have to ship them home!) I return to the observation floor of the Metropolitan Government Building as it is the first clear day we have had in a while; I get some pictures, too.

Looking ESE across Shinjuku towards downtown Tokyo and eventually Tokyo Bay. The Shinjuku Garden is center, right behind Takashimaya Times Square. The NTT Tower is right. The green space upper right is the Imperial Palace, and the buildings right behind that are downtown. Squint to imagine you can see the ocean beyond that.

Once again looking across Shinjuku towards Tokyo, but at an angle that gives some sense of how high the 45th floor really is.

Looking roughly South across Yoyogi towards Shibuya. The 1960? Olympic Park is visible, and the site of my death march to the closed Youth Hostel. There is also a sword museum somewhere between here and there.

This one is facing roughly North...these are the 'burbs.

Looking NW at more of the endless apartments, houses, and small shops and restaurants. My house in Saitama is probably somewhere out there in the haze on the horizon, and my hotel for the first few nights is on the far side of that park down below.

Although I am not a huge weapons fan, I decide I have to go to the Japanese Sword Museum (It was listed in the top ten sights in Tokyo in two of my guide books.) Finding the museum was quite a chore, but I eventually manage. It is in a residential district of Yoyogi (across the street from Shinjuku.) Once you get to the location, you have to go through an unmarked gate, and walk up to the building, where a sign on the exterior of the building says "Japanese Sword Museum" in about two-inch-high letters. The upstairs exhibit isn't very large, but it is breathtaking. The craftsmanship that went into these swords is hard to comprehend. Many of the items in the collection are National Treasures. They range from early Kamakura (early 1100's) through early Tokugawa (1600's) with the majority being 12th-13th century. The gold and laquer work is so beautiful, but I also spend quite a while studying the blades themselves. You can see differences in the color patterns reflecting slight temper differences between regions and time periods. The shape and polish on the blades is perfect. I can't stop thinking about how far Europeans still were from pulling their heads out of asses in the 1100's, and here are the Japanese, making these swords, still some of the most advanced steel metallurgy to date. The most perfect working in steel cutting edges humans have done. I shudder when I come across one that has two tiny blade-shaped nicks in its cutting edge. In addition to the swords and sword-sheaths on display, there are also some very old books, and a demonstration about the techniques used to make the swords. I find it all fascinating, and in some ways still hard to believe.

A graveyard behind a temple near the Sword Museum. I took this picture above my head over a fence, feeling very conspicuous. I couldn't get enough of the contrast between the traditional architecture in the shadow, and the modern buildings of the government district lit up by the late afternoon sun in the background.

The entrance to huge traditional house in Yoyogi...taken through a wrought-iron security gate.

I see another Lotus Seven, also without a windshield, but this one is polished aluminum with yellow fenders. It comes around the corner quite fast and up behind slow moving traffic. The driver is just playing with the throttle, getting on it for about half a second, then lifting off again for a few seconds. It must be Ford-Kent-powered, because it has that (deceiving) powerful sound, and the most wonderful carbureted crackling on the overrun. It is really something to be in a town of "Ho-hum...another Ferrari, that's the second Maserati I've seen today, just another Jaguar XK8....well, at least its not another pedestrian Honda NSX."

I think today is the first time I have missed my bike. Japan is filled with people who ride bicycles, but cyclists are very rare. As I stand on the sidewalk waiting to cross a 50kph (~31mph) four-lane street, a rare occurance...a nice bike! This guy goes by, jamming in the big ring, keeping up with traffic, obviously working hard in the middle of a sustained seated effort, and obviously very happy-I know the elation he is feeling, and I start to miss my bike. As if someone was reading my mind, I get to ride a bike!

The south entrance to Shinjuku Eki at about 4:40 in the afternoon.

Another angle of the same...believe it or not, the crowds are just about to get bad, but aren't anywhere near there yet!

Looking west towards the governmental section of Shinjuku from the same location as the shots above. Note the crowd on the sidewalk; they are passing the Lumine department store. Japanese fast food chain First Kitchen is ground level on the far side of the intersection (upper center) Note also the Japanese taxislined up along the curb, some of which are Toyota Crowns, micro minivans, and Japanese small truck (bottom center) The district straight ahead is electronics stores, lunch counters, video arcades, etc.
I head home at rush hour, but there was a breathtaking sunset over Fuji to console me. I also see a gaijin on the train, and don't feel so alone in the crowd. When I get home, Echo announces that we are going to ride bikes to the local bar. We do, and it is probably the nicest bar I have ever been to. It is called "Westwood" and has a sort of surf combined with rasta theme. When introduced as a friend of Lester's, I receive a very warm welcome. We are the only ones there; it was happy hour 6:00-8:00. The owner is a nice guy...a friend of Lester's, but I can't help but laugh at the way he mixes drinks: by shaking rhythmically, arms pumping, elbows out and flapping, and with a distant concentrating look on his face. We have dinner, lots of drinks, and lots of laughs. Seven cocktails each and a hundred bucks later, I am glad everything was half price! I couldn't help but laugh as I ride home in the freezing cold on a way-too-small bike, in the dark, slightly inebriated, no helmet, no clue where I am going...the normal Japanese winter bike ride home. I guess.

Two more observations: Everyone here is thin...I have yet to see someone chubby, let alone someone fat! I asm not lying!! No. 2: Echo asked me what surprised me the most about Japan so far. I had to say that lack of sidewalks. Downtown, big sidewalks. Four-lane, fast-traffic through streets, big sidewalks. Everywhere else sort of suburban or urban-residential, on sidewalks. All sorts of pedestrians and cyclists, on all sorts of sides (and centers) of the street, going all sorts of directions, with the cars very aware and patient!

January 25th, 2001

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