Location: Narita and Tokyo Japan
About:  A business trip to Malaysia offered this opportunity to have an extended layover in Japan.  Tokyo and Narita were the focus of this brief 2.5 day stay in Japan.
Time of year visited:  Early December 2003
Locations photographed:  Naritasan Shinshoji, Tokyo Imperial Palace, Akihabara
Route Map:

No online map free for my use is currently available.  The following link will take you to the Japan National Tourist Organization document that I used to find my way around the Imperial grounds and Kitanomaru Park and Gardens.

http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/RTG/PTG/pdf/pg-305.pdf

This link will take you to the English version of the Naritasan Shinshoji website where a map of the grounds is available.

http://www.naritasan.or.jp/english/index.html 

Travelogue:

A business trip took me to Malaysia for a week.  An overnight layover in Japan was required while traveling in route to Malaysia, but on the return it was arranged to have 2.5 days to do some photographing of the sites in Tokyo and Narita areas.

To save on expense, I stayed in Narita which is about 1.5 hrs from Tokyo, but very close to the Narita International Airport.  The hotel that I stayed at was a chain found in the US, and I found out that it was commonly used by the airlines for their flight crews for layovers.  This ended up being as American of a hotel as it gets, meals were definitely American food, with sparse 'local' food, which what I was hoping to sample more.  Next time, despite the added expense, I will try to stay closer to Tokyo and in a more hotel or facility that offers more of a Japanese experience.

Day One: Tokyo

The first day of my stay, I took the bus from the hotel into Tokyo.  This cost about $15 US, which was pretty cheap actually.  The ride from Narita offered a view of the sprawling cities around Tokyo and even a glimpse of far off Mt Fuji could be seen on this clear day.

We arrived downtown Tokyo at Tokyo station.  This station is one of the central bus and subway stations in the city and is a short walking distance from the Imperial Palace grounds, which was my intended destination.  After consulting a map of the area and getting my bearings, I walked a few short blocks to the grounds. 

Just outside the grounds was a Hibiya Park with several water features running even during this cool but comfortable December day.  This spot, as most of the tourist locations visited on the trip, weren't crowded. Considering it was not the peak tourist season, its certainly likely to be much busier in the spring and summer.

The most prominent fountain was found at the back of the area and is pictured here.  For most of the time, the large curved structure in the back had water pouring off of the top, but once it stopped, a fine mist was created from below.  The lighting and angle made for a perfect partial rainbow.

Across the street from this area is the main Imperial Palace grounds.  The grounds are surrounded by a large moat with bridges that grant access though large and heavy wooden doors that were at least 30 ft/10m tall and over 1ft/.3m thick.  I walked along the moat and enjoyed the bonsai shaped trees, some over 10ft/3m tall, when I came upon a large group of tourists huddled about and taking pictures of Nijubashi Bridge and the palace building behind it.

I walked up to the entrance to this bridge, which was cordoned off by concrete barriers.  Japanese guards were stationed on both sides of the gate, some 50 ft/15m away.  I considered trying to get a picture of one, but the guard standing in a small booth behind me made me feel a bit nervous and opted not.  The guards were armed and stationed eyes straight ahead, similar to the English guards found around the Queen's palace.

There was no entrance to the grounds from this location, so just a little further east from the bridge there was an open entrance to the grounds called Otemon Gate.  I walked into the grounds, picked up a map of the area and proceeded to explore.  My first stop was a small museum, called Sannomaru Shozokan, that was free to enter.  Photography was not allowed in the museum, but I must say that some of the artifacts in the museum were exquisitely crafted out of wood, metal, ivory and ceramics.  While the museum is rather small and with just a few exhibits, it only takes a few minutes to get through and is well worth the stop.

After the museum I ventured deeper into the grounds.  The grounds still retain many of the defensive features designed hundreds of years ago.  Large walls formed made of carved stone boulders 3ft/1m wide as well as tall and deep, formed an inner barrier to the grounds.  Passing this barrier took me into an area where some historic Japanese buildings were left standing. This one apparently was a samurai guardhouse. While lighting conditions weren't optimal, the Japanese architecture and strikingly green bonsai stood out and made for this photograph.

Further along, I had reached the Kitanomaru Park.  Large grassy fields, now dormant were surrounded by evergreen trees and a few deciduous trees that still had their red and golden leaves.  Despite the winter conditions, the center area was very beautiful  and well maintained.  Another small museum is in this area that had small models of the grounds and various photos and prints from recent and historical times.

I finally came to another exit called Tayasumon Gate. You can see the size of the doors in this image. As well you can see how large the stones were that formed the outer walls of the palace grounds.

I exited the grounds, and crossed over a busy street on an overhead footbridge.  A museum was across the street, but happened to be closed on the day I visited, so I could not enter.  Instead, I turned toward the controversial Yasukuni Jinja shrine.  Prior to the trip, I had never heard of Yasukuni, nor the controversy surrounding it.  Apparently several individuals convicted of war crimes are interned at the shrine, and the Chinese and Koreans take great offense to any honoring of the convicted dead.

Yasukuni Jinja is a monument to Japanese war veterans originally built over 130 years ago.  The english version of their official site can be found here: http://www.yasukuni.or.jp/english/.  According to this site, 2.5 Million spirits of warriors, both male and female (Kami) are enshrined and worshipped here. 

At the entrance to this complex is a very large structure called a steel Tori (gate).  At least 80ft/24m tall,  this structure seemed to welcome visitors onto the grounds.  Along the road, where no cars seemed to be allowed to travel, golden trees lead you to the shrine. 

This small shrine, relative to the one to be later visited in Narita, was my first visit to a Shinto shrine.  Not knowing the proper protocols or customs for photography, I snapped one quick picture and went on my way.  I did see a Japanese photographer taking photos of some of the features around the shrine, so I didn't feel too bad taking this picture.

On my way to the shrine I had passed a large statue of a Ohomura Masujiro, founder of Japan's modern military, that was half way between the entrance and Shrine.  Further along, a small flea market was set up, and locals were selling all kinds of trinkets, swords, armor, plates, dishes, and other artwork.  Some of it was clearly not Japanese made but labeled "Made in China", but much of the older looking stuff looked like genuine antiques.  I even saw a samurai armor and helmet set there.  In all, it was a very interesting display of antiques, but due to the perceived language barrier I did not attempt to purchase any of their goods. 

Finally, before leaving the complex, I noticed these concrete lanterns that lined both sides of the street.  They had tags wrapped around them, writing was in Japanese so I had no idea what they said.  The setting sun though provided a perfect opportunity to  capture these lanterns against the entrance to the grounds.

By this time, I had walked it seemed, several miles, though it was probably no more than a couple of miles/1km.  After a short break I decided I wanted to find my way to Akihabara, the renowned electronics district where you can find every high tech gadget available.  I decided to try to take the subway as I figured a taxi was going to be expensive and nearly impossible for me to communicate with the driver.

I ventured down into the subway system and eventually figured out how to buy a ticket and find my way to the subway.  The subways in Japan were pretty clean, though this being my first subway, I have no frame of reference to compare to.  Signs are in Japanese and English letters, but most of the instructions were in Japanese so I had to guess based on color coded menus.  I purchased a ticket that would take me to the next stop where I had to purchase another ticket and change lines.  Ticket prices were pretty cheap, seemed like they were at most a couple of dollars a piece.  Later I found out that I could purchase a ticket that lets me transfer to another line for a little more. 

I made note of the name of the first stop on the way to my destination, boarded the train I thought I needed to be on and crossed my fingers. Sure enough I got on the right one and in a few short minutes was at my transfer station and then onto Akihabara.

I exited the Akihabara subway station and was immediately engulfed in the busy sidewalk.  Not knowing exactly where I was, or where I was going, I decided to head off in one direction and make note of which turns I was taking so I could find my way back.  I didn't see any street signs, so I felt I needed to rely on keeping track of my route.  Before I knew it, the skies had grown completely dark and the lights of Akihabara were my guide.  I found a particularly busy part of the district and entered several shops looking at cameras and other electronics. 

In Akihabara, outside the electronics stores, young Japanese women stand with ads for the store and try to encourage people to enter the store.  Whenever I would walk into a store, they would call out something that I have to this day, no idea what they were saying.  For all I know it was a  a welcome or greeting.

As a note, the prices for many of the electronics were no better than they are here in the US.  Some were actually more expensive.  The array of phones and miniature cameras was amazing.  It was definitely a gadget freaks heaven!

After doing a little shopping, I made my way back to Tokyo station, found my bus back to Narita and took the long ride back to my hotel.

Day Two: Naritasan Shinshoji

The next morning I decided to stay in Narita to visit Naritasan Shinshoji Temple.  This is reportedly the second largest Buddhist temple in Japan.  The grounds are located in central Narita, near Keisei (Kay-say) station.  I took a local bus from my hotel to Keisei and walked the about 15 minutes to reach the grounds.  

The entrance to the grounds is through Niomon gate.  This gate is guarded by four wooden statues, that are protected from damage by strong metal mesh.  Unfortunately this mesh made it hard to see the statues as well, but I assure you that in the evening, once the sun has set, these statues are kind of spooky. You can just make out the eyes of the statues peering out of the darkness.  A large lantern, seen in the picture, fills the entrance.

Just past the entrance is the turtle pond.  More statues are in this area, and notably were these statues of a type of Korean dog that guard the temple.  Proceeding up the stairs past these guards, you can now see the main temple.

The main temple is quite large and access was restricted when I was there.  I observed worshippers tossing coins into a large wooden grated bin and bringing their hands up with a clapping sound to their face to pray.  Not feeling like it was appropriate or even allowed to photograph this simple act of faith, I refrained from attempting to photograph the inside of the temple or the worshippers. The temple is shown here later from later that night.

Next to the temple are other buildings and temples.  Next to the main temple and most prominent is the Three storied Pagoda.  Access to the building was off limits, but the outside of the building was intricately detailed with ornate decorations of colored stone or ceramic, gold or brass lacing and wood carvings.

Behind the main temple were several other structures, these with more historic significance.  Some of these buildings I believe date back several hundred years.  While not as ornate as the 3 storied pagoda, their different architecture style reflected the influence Chinese and other mainland cultures had on their development.

The largest structure on the grounds was the Great Pagoda of Peace.  Built in the 1980s, this structure is over 191ft/58m tall.  As the day was drawing to a close, I knew I wanted to get back to this area the next day before catching my flight home.  Before leaving though, I took advantage of the golden light that mixed beautifully with the red tones of the pagoda. 

Before heading back to my hotel, I had noticed several large lights that were setup, presumably to light up the main temple.  I waited around for dusk to settle and for the lights to come on.  While I was waiting, I met and chatted with another visitor to the temple from Japan who was there to study it's history and architecture.  After parting our ways, I attempted to inquire when the lights would come on.   I found out, after a little more trying through gestures, that the lights would not come on that day. 

Disappointed, I started back to my hotel. I stopped to get the final shot of the night, a cleansing fountain just outside Niomon gate.  I had observed people using the wooden scoops to bring water to their hands to wash.  I believe I also witnessed people drinking from these scoops.

 

 

Morning of Day Three:  Naritasan again

The next day I made it back to the grounds and headed for the Great Pagoda of Peace.  I was able to go inside the Pagoda, but again no photography was allowed.  The inside was amazing.  A large 20-30 ft/6-10m statue of a deity called Fudo-myo-o was inside.  The statue was bright blue and holding a large sword, which I've read, is typically how he is portrayed.  The colors were more impressive than those I had seen on the 3 storied pagoda.  The upper floors of the pagoda were filled with small urns, seemingly hundreds or thousands of them.

I explored the gardens and grounds around the Pagoda, which like the Imperial gardens, were largely dormant.  A few trees were still golden colored, but most had lost their leaves already.  Nearby were several statues and large flat rock slabs that stuck out of the ground like surfboards standing in the sand.  On them were Japanese writings.  I believe they were headstones or other monuments to those buried in the area.

With my time running out, I got a few more shots of the Great Pagoda from below and near the fountains that were running.  One thing that struck me was that this area would be absolutely stunning during the spring when the leaves are back and the trees are blooming.  I hope someday to be able to get back to Japan to visit this location and other locations in the country side and mountains.

I hurried back to my hotel, gathered my things and was off to Narita airport and on to home.  My experience in Japan was wonderful.  Communicating was fairly difficult at times, but I would definitely go back again.

For more photos from this trip, browse the complete Japan gallery