Yokohama

In the weekend of 3-Jul we went down to Yokohama.   We stayed overnight in the historic Hotel New Grand.   This opened in 1927, 4 years after the Great Kanto Earthquake, and was where General MacArthur stayed in his first night in Japan during the occupation.

This video shows the view from the restaurant looking across Yamashita Park to the historic liner and museum ship Hikawa Maru with the distinctive red-and-white Nihon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) livery on the funnel.    And then the view from our room of Minato Mirai area and Yokohama harbor.

Hotel New Grand and Hikawa Maru are minor cultural icons.   For example, they appear in a scene in the latest Studio Ghibli movie.

On Saturday evening we visited Yokohama Chinatown. 

Hannah bought a red hand-bag and a mask.

As part of the package we had dinner in a somewhat radioactive chinese restaurant.  We briefly recorded our highest ever radiation reading of 0.75 micro-sieverts per hour which set-off the alarm on our geiger counter just as the waitress brought my first beer.   The next reading was only 0.1 micro-siverts and the average reading was no more than 0.3-0.4.  But I wonder if we briefly caught evidence of one of the many 'hot particles' that are apparently floating around largely undetected by geiger counters like ours.  

On Sunday we met up with some friends from Rika's mums group at a kids art event at the Yokohama Museum of Art in Minato Mirai.   

After that, we visited the fun park where Hannah got to ride several times on the kaiten-moku-ba.   

Then we rode the 100m high 'Cosmo Clock 21' Ferris Wheel, once the worlds largest.

Towards the end of the video we can see the view to the south to the Yamashita Park and the Hikawa Maru.

Shakuhachi Odyssey - Asahi Falls

This weekend we went down to Izu to visit Baba.   On Saturday I asked her to take us to Asahai Falls where there was once a komuso temple called Rugenji.     I'd read of this  the as being near Izu Ohito, so I was surprised to find that it is actually south of Shuzenji,  quite close to the Laforet resort where Rika and I had our wedding reception.  

"Asahi-taki" is a 100-meter waterfall in the mountains of Izu in Shizuoka prefecture. The piece "Taki-ochi," literally "falling water" is said to have been composed on the banks of the pool at the bottom of this waterfall. "Taki-ochi" is supposedly sometimes played in front of this waterfall. The piece is a honkyoku of the Kinko school but variants are found in other schools as well.

According to Jin Nyodo, when one learns this piece it is important to listen to the sounds of waterfalls. In the case of a pair of waterfalls one must pay attention to which is the "female" (i.e., smaller, less powerful) and which is the "male" (stronger, bigger, etc.). The piece begins with the sound of water dripping; these drops then increase to become a small stream that gradually builds in strength. The second half of the composition describes a large waterfall. This piece features the use of "yuri" and "furi" ornamentation of the melody. It also uses powerful straight breathing and high notes that conjure up the power and scale of a very large waterfall.

Although "Taki-ochi" may have originally been taken from a koto piece by the same name, it must have been greatly altered to suit the shakuhachi. Like many other pieces of the basic repertory, music of other genres was incorporated and varied, resulting in further development of shakuhachi musical styles." 

www.komuso.com/pieces/pieces.pl?piece=2543

Video:  Asahi falls and Takiochi.   Large file so may take some time to load 

As you can see in the video, a path leads about a third of the way up the falls to wide ledge in the waterfall.    "There is a tradition among many Buddhist lineages, including the shakuhachi playing Fuke lineage, of meditating under waterfalls. It is claimed that to play shakuhachi under a cascading waterfall in wintertime may be to experience one-mindedness."  

Yoyogi International Graduation Ceremony

On Wed 8 June Yoyogi International School held their graduation ceremony at the Yoyogi Seishonen Center.

As usual it was a terrific event and somewhat emotional as we reflected on how quickly our children were growing up.    We were relieved that this year Hannah joined her class onstage.  Here she is at the left with Rin-chan performing 'You are my Sunshine'.

Video:  You are my sunshine...

Video:  ...my only sunshine

Proud parents:  Rin-chan-mama and Rika.

Video:  Koneko-san

After a moving speech from Mrs Muir the Principal, the whole school sang 'We are the world' together.   This was a touching moment, (although one that is best shared visually).

Komoso

On 5-Jun at the Opera City we had a real treat - a Komuso monk playing shakuhachi.

The Komosos were mendicant Zen monks of the Fuke sect who wandered Japan playing the shakuhachi and covering their heads with straw baskets ('komo') to symbolise their detachment from the world.

They would play shakuhachi for alms as this monk is doing.

Video:  Komuso

Later the komosu rebranded as 'komuso' (priests of nothingness) which is a much cooler name.   For more on their remarkable history visit komuso.com the website of the International Shakuhachi Society. 

Related Posts 

- Shakuhachi Odyessey - Myoanji  (20-Nov-10)  link

- Shakuhachi Odyssey - Asahi Falls (11-Jun-11)  link

Video:  Hannah with Komuso

Biker Chick

May 21-22 was a lovely late spring weekend.   I tried to look after Hannah and give Rika a rest.

First going to the shop by bike to get breakfast

  then to Yoyogi park

After 4 years of sleeping on a futon on the floor,  we finally ordered a bed.   Partly to reduce the risk of  furniture falling us if we have an earthquake.

   Hannah helped us clean up the floor and assemble the bed.

Hakone

Last weekend we took a trip down to Hakone to relax for one night at an onsen hotel. 

Clever Rika managed to book us seats near the front of the Romance Car VSE express.

We stayed at Kowakien, about halfway between Hakone Yumoto station and Hakone town / Lake Ashi.   The 220 room hotel is located in a l0,000 m3 Japanese garden.  This lovely site was formerly the  Mitsui family holiday house.

Hakone Kowakien Hotel

View from hotel, NE down the valley.  The ridge ahead to the left is the North rim of the caldera of the Hakone Volcano which is about 10km across.   The hotel is on the north side of one of the mountains  in the middle of the caldera (resurgent lava dome).   Hakone Yumoto,  literally 'Hakone source-of-hot-water',  is down the valley out of sight to the right.

Hannah and Rika in the hotel after dinner.

On Sunday the weather was lovely so we decided to do the classic Hakone round trip.  First we took a bus to Hakone town on the shores of Lake Ashi.

Hannah and Rika at the Bus-stop.

On the lake-front at Moto Hakone looking west to Mt Fuji.   Lake Ashi  is the south side of the caldera and was formed about 3,000 years ago when an eruption dammed the river outlet.

Next leg is the 'Pirate Ship' across lake Ashi to Togendai.

We got to have our photo taken with a real pirate

Hannah and Rika on the deck.

Hannah was briefly disappointed when we didn't have a 100 yen cointo use the binoculars on the boat.

We had a nice lunch at Togendai on the lakefront.  Amazingly for a Sunday afternoon there was only one other group in the restaurant.   We then went for a short ride in the duck boats.   Hannah drove, I provided power and Rika encouraged us.

Then we took the ropeway from Togendai up to Owakudani.

Looking west from the ropeway to Mt Fuji.

Owakudani, was the 'high-point' of the day.

We could enjoy the panoramic view south-west to Mishima and Saruga Bay, and west to Mt Fuji.   The ridge in the foreground is the west rim of the caldera of the Hacone volcano.    Owakududani itself is a volcanically active area with steam vents, sulpher and bubbling pools....

But more importantly, ice-cream!

Finally we took ropeway from Owakudani to Souzan, cable-car to Gora and finally switch-back railway down to Hakone Yumoto by 4pm to catch our train home.

Hakone volcano from the NW

Neco Sampo

One think Hannah likes to do in the weekend is to take Minimi to Yoyogi Park for 'neco samp' ('cat walking').  

Minimi quite enjoys this.  Although rather than walking he prefers to be carried, either in Hannahs harness of on my shoulders. 

 

Enjoying the late afternoon sun in the park.