Sakura Trees

The cherry blossom front has reached Tokyo! The trees will only be in bloom for about a week, so I've been trying to get my fill of tree-admiring while the opportunity lasts.

Here are some sakura trees around Kamata:

Pink sakura trees!

Ueno park is one of the most popular places to go see the sakura trees. If the internet is to be believed, there are over a thousand sakura trees there. It's a really popular place for 'hanami' or picnics under the trees during cherry blossom week. 

A giant lake in the middle of Tokyo, surrounded by sakura trees (and sky-risers). It was both nice and strange to see water birds in the middle of the city.

Unfortunately, everyone else had the same idea to visit Ueno park. Luckily I arrived early enough that I didn't have to stand in a queue a few hundred people long to get out through the train station gates!

Impressions of Kamata

Kamata is a neighbourhood in the Ota ward in Tokyo, roughly 30 minutes to the south of the city centre. For a place that I chose pretty much completely at random, I am really enjoying living here.

Here are some of the different faces of Kamata.

First, the image I was given of Sakura House, the place I am staying at. I just want to point out that the big blue sign does not say, 'Sakura House' and is in fact a restaurant of some kind that didn't appreciate me trying to barge in there, lost and jet lagged and carting all my luggage, on my first night in Japan. The entrance to my share house is around the side of the building and the flats are above the shops, as is pretty typical for this street.

The street stretches for about half a kilometre and is filled with shops, little home owned restaurants and dozens and dozens of bicycles. As you can see, there's just barely room for a single car to fit down the street, and they only come by rarely. Which is good, because I have enough trouble dodging the bicycles. 

As you get closer to Kamata railway station, the buildings start looking a lot more modern. 

Closer to Umeyashiki station, at the end of my street, the buildings don't quite have as much character. I did find one house that I liked, though; it seems that in Japan, buildings grow towards the sun.

All in all, I think I like my little market street the most, but I really do love how much the look and feel of the neighbourhood can change over a distance of just a few blocks. As far as I can tell, this is true of Tokyo in general, and makes it a pretty fascinating place to explore.

How to draw attention to yourself in the most embarrassing way possible, now with photographic evidence

For future reference, these characters do not mean 'flush'.

The wasabi mystery becomes clear

The other day, I was telling my housemate about my misfortune in having received wasabi-spiked sushi, and was told, "But all sushi comes with wasabi here!". Now, I remember the nice lady at the counter saying, "some words that I didn't understand, some more words WASABI yet more words" and me nodding happily because I heard a word that I recognised. At the time, I had thought she was asking me if I wanted some wasabi on the side, and, back at home, once I had doused the flames in my mouth, I assumed that she was confirming my choice of death-by-wasabi tray.

Now, it came to mind that there may have been a third option. She had been asking me how much wasabi I wanted in my sushi, and my happy and emphatic, "Hai!" encouraged her to heap the stuff on there. Oops.

So, to cut a long story short, I had another go at it today. After a lot of mime, I returned triumphant, carrying both sushi and a new word in my vocabulary -- sukoshi, meaning 'a little'. Success!

Oh so I'd thought! It seems that she and I do not have the same definition of 'a little'. How do I say 'a tiny tiny amount', someone, please?

Meiji Shrine and Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building Observatory

Today, I took advantage of it being a public holiday to explore some of the central districts of Tokyo without being trod on by quite so many people. I visited the Meiji shrine and surrounding gardens, and then went up to the 45th floor of the Tokyo metropolitan government building to have a look at the view

Unfortunately, as it seems that even I can manage walking around a park and riding an elevator without any mishaps, I have no funny stories to tell. However, I do have photos!

Exiting Harajuku station onto a busy street:

However, just around the corner:

The park surrounding the Meiji shrine is large enough that you can pretty easily forget that you're in the middle of the city. I am once again reminded that green spaces are a Good Thing.

Long live sake!

The shrine to Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken:

It is a bit of a shock to come out on the other side of the park and see skyscrapers again.

And finally, proof that Tokyo really does go on forever -- the view from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building Observatory: