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Brenton Kovacs's Travels
8th
In Shinjuku there is the Tokyo Government Building. It offers a roof top observatory for free, so off we went to the top floor. The view was pretty amazing. Wandered the streets of Shinjuku and then headed to Yoyogi park. A really beautiful park with many interesting sights. A lot of people want to be seen here and have various acts they perform to entertain others.
Our next stop was Omotesando. It has a wide tree lined boulevard thats reminiscent of the Champs Elysees in Paris. Plenty of window shoppers here, as the streets are full of brand name stores. You name it is here.
All this walking has given us an appetite. We stopped at a cafe very similar to the ones in Paris. Could not believe the prices. $12.50 for a Cafe Latte, or you could have a Pizza, Pasta or main meal for $10.
The food did look good, so we decided to eat here. The food was amazing! Serving size was on the small size but oh so tasty. Alan had a Pizza with curry pork and egg plant. We have never tasted such an amazing pizza. I ordered the 15 Grain Rice Doria with Crab and Spinach. It was full of crab meat. Best food so far.
Could not resist desert, so we shared a Classic chocolate gateau. The description is a pistachio and vanilla ice cream that incorporate the rich flavor rich chocolate gateau.
All this food and great service was only $30. Bargain for 5 star food and 5 star surroundings.
9th July
We left Tokyo for a day trip to Kamakura. Its about 60ks out of Tokyo by train. Took about 1 hour to reach this beautiful seaside town. The weather is great. We first went to the beach, but not very good when compared to any beach in Australia.
The hike to the top of the hill was exhausting in the humid conditions, but the view was good. The main temple, Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, was very crowded.
Walking down a shopping lane we stopped to sample some rice type crackers. There would have had 50 or more different types and flovours. Some were very very tasty, and some were not. I think we sampled nearly all of them before the shop keeper gave us a funny look. Time to leave.
Didn't buy any as they worked out to be around $25 a kilo.
Not much else to tell about Kamakura.
We needed to return to Shibuya to see the Statue of Hachiko. A bronze statue of a dog. Here is the story.
Shibuya is known today as a popular gathering point for Tokyo’s young
people. But long before loose socks and sandals with three-inch soles,
before Tower Records and Studio Alta, Shibuya had another claim to fame:
Hachiko.
The year was 1925. Every morning, Professor Eizaburo Ueno walked
to Shibuya Station, accompanied by his loyal dog, Hachi, nicknamed
Hachi-ko. Hachiko didn’t accompany his master to his teaching job at the
Imperial University (now known as Tokyo University), but when Professor
Ueno returned every day at 3 p.m., the dog was always at the station
waiting for him.
However, on May 21 of that year, Ueno died of a stroke while at
the university. Hachiko went to Shibuya as always to meet his master,
but 3:00 came and went, and the professor didn’t arrive. So Hachiko
waited. And waited.
The akita must have known something was wrong, but nonetheless he
returned to the station every day at 3:00 to meet the train. Soon
people began to notice the loyal dog’s trips made in vain to meet his
master. Ueno’s former gardner, the Shibuya Stationmaster, and others
began feeding Hachiko and giving him shelter.
Word of Hachiko’s unaltered routine spread across the nation, and
he was held up as a shining example of loyalty. People traveled to
Shibuya simply to see Hachiko, feed him, and gently touch his head for
luck.
The months turned to years, and still Hachiko returned to Shibuya
Station daily at 3 p.m., even as arthritis and aging took their toll.
Finally, on March 7, 1935 — nearly ten years after last seeing Professor
Ueno — the 12-year-old akita was found dead on the same spot outside
the station where he had spent so many hours waiting for his master.
Hachiko’s death made the front pages of major Japanese
newspapers. A day of mourning was declared. Contributions poured in from
all over the country to memorialize the dog that had won the hearts of
the nation. Sculptor Takeshi Ando was hired, with the money that had
been contributed, to create a bronze statue of Hachiko. It was placed on
the exact spot where Hachiko had waited for so long.
Within a few years, however, Japan was at war, and any available
metal was melted down to make weapons. Not even Hachiko’s statue was
spared. However, after the war, in 1948, Ando’s son Teru sculpted a new
Hachiko—the statue that stands outside Shibuya Station to this day.
This is not the only monument to Chuken (“loyal dog”) Hachiko
to be found in Tokyo, however. Aoyama Cemetery, two
kilometers west of TAC, contains a memorial to Hachiko
on the site of Professor Ueno’s
grave. Some of Hachiko’s bones are reportedly buried there, but in
fact, Hachiko can still be seen, in the fur—stuffed, in the National
Science Museum, northwest of Ueno Station.
Back in Shibuya, Hachiko’s statue sits in a noble pose, forever
waiting for his master. And, appropriately, his statue, the best-known
landmark and meeting place in Shibuya, is where hundreds of people every
day sit and wait for their friends.
Thats it for today.
In Shinjuku there is the Tokyo Government Building. It offers a roof top observatory for free, so off we went to the top floor. The view was pretty amazing. Wandered the streets of Shinjuku and then headed to Yoyogi park. A really beautiful park with many interesting sights. A lot of people want to be seen here and have various acts they perform to entertain others.
Our next stop was Omotesando. It has a wide tree lined boulevard thats reminiscent of the Champs Elysees in Paris. Plenty of window shoppers here, as the streets are full of brand name stores. You name it is here.
All this walking has given us an appetite. We stopped at a cafe very similar to the ones in Paris. Could not believe the prices. $12.50 for a Cafe Latte, or you could have a Pizza, Pasta or main meal for $10.
The food did look good, so we decided to eat here. The food was amazing! Serving size was on the small size but oh so tasty. Alan had a Pizza with curry pork and egg plant. We have never tasted such an amazing pizza. I ordered the 15 Grain Rice Doria with Crab and Spinach. It was full of crab meat. Best food so far.
Could not resist desert, so we shared a Classic chocolate gateau. The description is a pistachio and vanilla ice cream that incorporate the rich flavor rich chocolate gateau.
All this food and great service was only $30. Bargain for 5 star food and 5 star surroundings.
9th July
We left Tokyo for a day trip to Kamakura. Its about 60ks out of Tokyo by train. Took about 1 hour to reach this beautiful seaside town. The weather is great. We first went to the beach, but not very good when compared to any beach in Australia.
The hike to the top of the hill was exhausting in the humid conditions, but the view was good. The main temple, Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, was very crowded.
Walking down a shopping lane we stopped to sample some rice type crackers. There would have had 50 or more different types and flovours. Some were very very tasty, and some were not. I think we sampled nearly all of them before the shop keeper gave us a funny look. Time to leave.
Didn't buy any as they worked out to be around $25 a kilo.
Not much else to tell about Kamakura.
We needed to return to Shibuya to see the Statue of Hachiko. A bronze statue of a dog. Here is the story.
Shibuya is known today as a popular gathering point for Tokyo’s young
people. But long before loose socks and sandals with three-inch soles,
before Tower Records and Studio Alta, Shibuya had another claim to fame:
Hachiko.
The year was 1925. Every morning, Professor Eizaburo Ueno walked
to Shibuya Station, accompanied by his loyal dog, Hachi, nicknamed
Hachi-ko. Hachiko didn’t accompany his master to his teaching job at the
Imperial University (now known as Tokyo University), but when Professor
Ueno returned every day at 3 p.m., the dog was always at the station
waiting for him.
However, on May 21 of that year, Ueno died of a stroke while at
the university. Hachiko went to Shibuya as always to meet his master,
but 3:00 came and went, and the professor didn’t arrive. So Hachiko
waited. And waited.
The akita must have known something was wrong, but nonetheless he
returned to the station every day at 3:00 to meet the train. Soon
people began to notice the loyal dog’s trips made in vain to meet his
master. Ueno’s former gardner, the Shibuya Stationmaster, and others
began feeding Hachiko and giving him shelter.
Word of Hachiko’s unaltered routine spread across the nation, and
he was held up as a shining example of loyalty. People traveled to
Shibuya simply to see Hachiko, feed him, and gently touch his head for
luck.
The months turned to years, and still Hachiko returned to Shibuya
Station daily at 3 p.m., even as arthritis and aging took their toll.
Finally, on March 7, 1935 — nearly ten years after last seeing Professor
Ueno — the 12-year-old akita was found dead on the same spot outside
the station where he had spent so many hours waiting for his master.
Hachiko’s death made the front pages of major Japanese
newspapers. A day of mourning was declared. Contributions poured in from
all over the country to memorialize the dog that had won the hearts of
the nation. Sculptor Takeshi Ando was hired, with the money that had
been contributed, to create a bronze statue of Hachiko. It was placed on
the exact spot where Hachiko had waited for so long.
Within a few years, however, Japan was at war, and any available
metal was melted down to make weapons. Not even Hachiko’s statue was
spared. However, after the war, in 1948, Ando’s son Teru sculpted a new
Hachiko—the statue that stands outside Shibuya Station to this day.
This is not the only monument to Chuken (“loyal dog”) Hachiko
to be found in Tokyo, however. Aoyama Cemetery, two
kilometers west of TAC, contains a memorial to Hachiko
on the site of Professor Ueno’s
grave. Some of Hachiko’s bones are reportedly buried there, but in
fact, Hachiko can still be seen, in the fur—stuffed, in the National
Science Museum, northwest of Ueno Station.
Back in Shibuya, Hachiko’s statue sits in a noble pose, forever
waiting for his master. And, appropriately, his statue, the best-known
landmark and meeting place in Shibuya, is where hundreds of people every
day sit and wait for their friends.
Thats it for today.
- comments
Anne What a wonderful true story. Loved it.