Tokyo–March 19, 2016

As it was raining, I decided to go to some of the museums in the Ueno area. The first stop was the Tokyo National Museum. The admission price is only ¥620 (about US$6), and that is a phenomenal bargain. Note: I’m going to give prices in yen from here on. Just divide by 100, as that is the approximate exchange rate as I write this. The exhibits are aesthetically pleasing, and there is a lot to see. One thing that struck me is how old this stuff is; they had swords from the 13th century that looked almost new. Some of the exhibits were from over 2000 BCE. That is an incredible time span. Herewith the pictures, in no particular order.

Main stairway at Tokyo National Museum warrior god 12 heavenly generals warrior god? metalwork animals including rabbit with extremely long ears 13th century samurai sword Lacquerware cups with cherry blossom theme Lacquerware bowl with geometric pattern resembling tortoise shell teacups dollhouse accessories hina dolls map scroll necklaces hokkaido bells bronze round symbol of authority house with smaller houses terra cotta statuary terra cotta smiiling man roof tile segments large terra cotta object 6th century terra cotta warrior deer tile primitive figurines clay figurine 3000-2000 BCE illustrated folding screen drawing of eagle sake ewer folding screen with city life samurai warrior armor baroque door design

One exhibit was of miniature sculptures called netsuke; here are a couple of them:

netsuke frog emerging from egg boar netsuke

These pictures are from the Asian Art museum.

indian god indian reliefwork indian deities third century reliefwork 1st to 4th century clay figurines 6th to 5th century BCE ibex head cuneiform tablet 22nd century BCE south asian statues vase chinese fan 5th to 6th century ornamental fittings ganesh the indian elephant deity reliefwork from India

By the time I left the museum, it had stopped raining, so I was able to get these pictures:

lion sculpture outside museum main entrance tokyo national museum statuary outside national museum chinese statue of man pool outside Tokyo National Museum demon tile kuromon-the black gate

Cherry Blossoms

I decided to go for lunch; it was about 2 p.m.by then, and on my way back I passed the Museum of Western Art, where I saw a replica of Rodin’s “The Thinker” (insert obligatory joke about statue here), and next to it was what I think was a cherry blossom tree in bloom. The Japanese people near me weren’t sure it was a cherry blossom, but I have since confirmed that it is.

thinker with cherry blossoms cherry blossoms cherry blossoms cherry blossoms

More Museums

After lunch, I returned to the museum area. I was going to go into the Museum of Contemporary Art, but the price was fairly high (¥1600), and I decided that if I wanted to see Italian art–that was the special exhibit–I could do it as well locally. However, I did get these two pictures of a very clever sculpted cube outside the entrance.

Striped cube that has an optical illusion effect; in front of Museum of Contemporary Art. Side view of cube showing actual shape better

I decided to go to the Science Museum. The person at the counter was going to let me in for free, as she thought I was over 65. Of course, being honest as I am, I told her that I was only 62, so I paid the ¥625. If you’re in Tokyo, save your money. The building and the exhibits are showing their age. (I heard thee or four kids telling their parents “Ikimashō!”–“Let’s go!”) Here are a few pictures from the museum. The picture of the seismograph shows a recording from the great Kantō earthquake of 1923, and the LCD displays show seismic activity.

display of measuring instruments stained glass bird dinosaur skeleton seismographic chart on monitor seismographic display on map

Although, as a whole, it was not a great experience, the cleverest display was a series of dioramas about Japanese home life through the ages, starting with the caveman. The last diorama case was empty and open so that you could go in and take a picture. I suspect the plaque at the bottom reads something like “Modern Japanese Family.”

historical japan dioramas empty diorama

The full-size model of a blue whale outside the museum was a great draw for people taking pictures, and the green globe-like sculpture was fairly attractive as well.

model blue whale outside science museum green globe sculpture

Miscellanea

A bust of a Japanese governor outside the opera house, and a cute mascot at a shopping mall. I watched as a little kid ran up to the mascot and posed for a picture, then turned around and gave the mascot a hug. Even I thought it was adorable.

Statue of Japanese Governor in front of music center mascot in costume

Even the manhole covers are worth looking at. I have never seen one with colors before; I presume they are meaningful to workers.

manhole cover with cherry blossom motif manhole cover with colored numbers

Today’s Signage

Coolest. Poster. Ever. (It’s from Japan Railways.)

Japan Railways poster

Today’s Food

For lunch, I ended up at a place that serves curry rice in various flavors; I had the pork cutlet with curry rice. It was excellent and (of course) a bargain at ¥400.

At about 9 p.m. I was not feeling so great, and realized that I had had only that one meal. I suspected that one meal a day is not working well for me, so I went out and found a Yoshinoya restaurant. Now you may be thinking “why the hell would you go out to a chain restaurant that’s everywhere in California?” It turns out that their menu is different. The vegetable bowl in the US has cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots; it’s just so-so. The one here was marvelous: sweet potato, red pepper, string beans, broccoli, onions, and baby corn. Here’s a picture (first one on the page).