APR 2, Japan Visit: arrival in Tokyo

 

Senso-ji, Buddhist temple,7th century
Prominent feature of Asakusa, Tokyo;
dedicated to Kannon, goddess of mercy

  

 

  

Enhancing our confusion, we  had booked Tokyo hotels in the central Asakusa sector (a-SA-k'-sa) for our first few days, and in the Akasaka district (a-KA-sa-ka) of trendy Minato City for the last few days of our month's visit. A portable wi-fi hotspot was a must. With its aid we usually got ourselves lost no more than once a day.

  It is highly touted to visit Japan during April for sakura, blooming of the cherry trees. This transient, somewhat-unpredictable visual treat for tourists and locals progresses at various times in various locales dependent on elevation, sun-exposure, and recent and longer term temperatures. Touring Japan during this time results in an enviable peak experience (and did we luck out!)

a tourist delighted with the vista 
in Ueno Park, as the weather grows less wintry, and the trees respond

Ueno Park is where many of Tokyo's museums are located, including the National Science Museum and the Tokyo National Museum. Here's some takes at the National Museum of Western Art.

Pablo Picasso, 1881-1973,  "Bust of a Woman", 1942

Pablo Picasso, 1942
"Seated Woman with a Little Round Hat"

Paul Signac, "The Port of St-Tropez",1902

Auguste Rodin, "The Kiss", 1882

an electric toilet-bidet as found in most Japanese hotel rooms and public facilities. Enough said!

TODAY'S POEM  (senryu *) 

Rodin Museum, Paris

"The Kiss" by Rodin

locks Paolo and Francesca

in torrid embrace.

Giorgio Coniglio

* learn more HERE about senryu, a lesser-known Japanese short poem that shares some physical characteristics with haiku (nominally 17 'on' / syllables in three non-rhyming lines), but deals in a satiric or humorous way with human foibles rather than with Nature. 

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