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13 July 2008
((Written in Hiroshima:))Writing from Japan, at last! It's been ever such a long time coming but I'm finally here once more, doubly reminded of how much I loved it when I visited so briefly before. Most particularly after China, its modernity and beauty and diversity are almost overwhelming. I'm hit by two forms of culture shock (or perhaps surprise... I wouldn't describe myself as shocked at all... merely pleasantly surprised to be reminded): that of returning to a wealthy first-world society, and that of being in Japan, with all its fascinating quirks and wonderful innovations. As with all negative situations, one is never fully aware of what is missing until it returns. Then things all slide into focus - or into full colour, if you like - once more. Everything is so perfect here! The beautiful little roads full of austere buildings with their neat windows and sliding doors. The beautiful red lanterns with striking black characters on them, casting a glow across dark but perfectly safe alleyways at night. The scents on the air. The little shrines that dot the streets. The green-forest covered mountains shrouded in mist. The glorious parade of inovations and convenient thinking. Sampuru, and adorable corporate mascots, and beautiful modern architecture, and manga stores, and vending machines dispensing cups of soda with ice. Free paper covers for the books you buy, and dorayaki, and tinkling music in railway stations. I'm head-over-heels again. ((Written in Takamatsu)) With my travelling having gone, so far, absolutely according to plan, I now find myself in Takamatsu, which is a medium sized city on the island of Shikoku, south of Honshu. Having spent two nights in Okayama, and seen what was seeable there, I took the 'JR Marine Line' train which took me across a spectacularly large bridge over the glistening turquoise sea and a number of small wooded islands with tempting flashes of sandy beach. The journey was short, and I now find myself in guess-where with a spare hour or two to while away peacefully in the air-conditioned indoors over a coffee or two. I'm carrying my very large suitcase, and consequently can't get about to any overly energetic extent until I check into the hotel and offload it. I'm also a little concerned about overexposure to the sun, as I managed to sustain a bit of a sunburn yesterday and don't want to aggravate the situation. In Okayama the principal attraction is the garden which is listed among the top three in Japan for its beauty. So off I went yesterday morning after my hotel croissant and coffee breakfast (miso and rice parcels with nori around them were available but I really can't stomach that first thing in the morning) and found my way to the entrance of the gardens. It being reasonably early on in the morning, it was quiet: only a few old people taking photographs and a crack team of gardeners in boiler suits. The garden was pleasant, if rather dominated by grass. Apparently it was the first garden in Japan to feature lawns, and they seemed to have gone a little overboard with them. Breaking up the grass, however, were ponds with picturesque little islands with miniature pagodas and a couple of bridges, reflecting prettily in the water. I was rather upset and frustrated to find that my camera's battery had run down, and so sadly I do not have any photos of what I am describing. The garden also featured some small plantations of different sorts: some miniature rice paddies, an orchard, and something billed as an Iris garden, which was really more of a patch. There was a littlr rocky mound in the middle with a view of the rest of the garden, and streams with planks and stones for walking across. One of my favourite parts was a simple wooden pavilion with a stream running through the middle of it. There was also a wooded section, including bamboo, and a pond filled with what looked like Chinese rhubarb, but among which bloomed enormous and exotic white flowers, the like of which I have never seen before. Under the rhubarb jungle, below the surface of the water, vast orange and white flecked koi swam lazily around, and the occasional frog flicked the water near the bank. Despite feeling slightly over-manicured to my untrained European mind, the garden was very nice. The sun was blazing overhead, and a few more trees in the middle would have created some very pleasant respite from the heat. I would like to see the garden in the snow: I should imagine the ponds, with the little craggy trees, rocks and pavilion, would be absolutely magical all dusted in white. Having looked my fill, I then moved on to my second sightseeing possibility in Okayama, the U-Jo (Crow (ie. black) Castle). The thing about this castle, and quite a few of the castles of Japan, is that it is not the real thing at all. The actual for-real Okayama-Jo was destroyed by bombing during World War 2, and so what now stands proud above the river is a 1960s replica. It does look good, despite not being The Real Thing. I bought a ticket and went inside although I'm not sure it was really worth it. Any remaining vestiges of authenticity were removed by the presence of a lift to whisk the sightseer upstairs, but there was at least quite a good view. There were some displays about the lords of the castle, and some items from life in days gone by, but all in all it was a little underwhelming inside. After the morning's sightseeing I took myself off for a quick lunch, and then a spot of wandering around, which is always entertaining and has the advantage of not making one feel as if seeing things is a chore. I do hate when I go somewhere and I feel as if I *should* see things which are supposedly good sights. If I don't go to see them, I feel guilty for some strange reason, as if I'm not doing the thing properly at all. That said, I'm certainly not overdoing the sightseeing. I hope I've managed to find some semblance of balance between touristy and more culture-y discover-y things. During my three days in Hiroshima I took in the A-Bomb dome, which was quite sobering although a little (pleasantly) disconnected from its meaning by the vibrant city life going on around it, the Atomic Bomb Museum (which was horrifying in parts) and Miyajima, the island outside Hiroshima whose shrine has a very famous floating Torii. Miyajima was very pleasant: a little bit touristy but in no means excessively so, and quiet enough to feel really rather peaceful. I whiled away a few happy afternoon hours strolling around, discovering things, looking at the scenery and taking a lot of pictures, many of which I have uploaded to flickr for your viewing pleasure. As the tide went out, it became possible to walk out to the Torii and stand under it, feet in the cool water, which was also very nice and summery-feeling. I also found time to wander around the shops and marvel at the colourful array of things on display. It's blissful being reintroduced to the delights of first-world shopping. I found my way up to the 9th floor of a department store to visit Tower Records, which had almost all of the (obscure) CDs I've been wanting since I've been away. I was very self-restrained, however, and only bought one. There is always time later on in Tokyo (where the shop is even bigger!) anyway. The selection in Tower here is fantastic: plenty of things I struggle to find at home in branches of record shops outside London. I hate how record shops are dying in the UK. At home, now, I pretty much have to use the internet to find anything that isn't the most mainstream dross, because when our branch of Virgin converted to Zavvi it finally lost any of the interest it once held for me. It's not what it was. Only twenty and already I feel old... One of the things that has enchanted me recently is seeing people (women and men) walking around the streets in yukata (light summery kimono). Just now some girls walked into this Starbucks in bright floral-patterned yukata, complete with large bows tied at the back. Another example of the wonderful coexistence of old and new in this country. I'm oddly sleepy. I didn't sleep perfectly last night owing to a combination of uncontrollable circumstances which had nothing to do with my very comfortable hotel room. Since I arrived in Japan, I have very quickly developed a pattern of how I spend my day. I tend to do something worthy in the morning - either sightseeing, or travelling if it's a travel day, have a late lunch in the early mid afternoon, and then go back/arrive at the place where I'm staying, cool down (having been outside in the heat for a while), have a shower, and relax. I then go out again in the early evening to explore, shop and/or find some supper. A little like a late siesta I suppose. It's a comfortable and convenient way of doing things which helps to beat the heat of the middle of the day. I think I'm adapting to it being so hot, but it's still exhausting to spend much time walking around in the direct sun, and humidity can make it feel warmer still. utterly utter [
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