Day 9: bags at the Keisei Ueno Station, the pleasure of a break in the Museum of Western Art

We were down to last bits of money in wallets, last bits of brain to squander, last shreds of feet to wander... packed and taxied to the station (the entrance convenient to the taxi coming from our direction is the one with nothing but steps to drag our baggage down), tickets bought and seats booked on the Skyliner for later in the afternoon, bags consigned to lockers.

We had time to visit something among galleries in Ueno Park, some were changing exhibitions, we elected to go to the National Museum of Western Art.

Multiple railway stations, multiple museums in a large park. The park where we had started.

This museum has an unusual history, having been built around the collection of one man with a shipbuilding fortune... and only a small part of that collection, made during the early 1920s, much having been lost by misadventure in Europe before the remainder returned to Japan in the early 1950s, having been confiscated during the war. The building is by Le Corbusier, my photo of the outside rotten, please go to this link, the Museum's information on the building.

It is an elegant place and most people looked more elegant than did I, especially in the place where we stopped for coffee.

My companion looked refined.

I had the view of Japan outside, she had the view of Japanese style inside.

The Google Cultural Institute link offers a good view of some works.

The building itself is art, also satisfying with its simple statements of the Modular or Modulor.

There was some great work to see, though I do not seek to represent it here other than with people present, for the mood of the day and the place

We were not alone in seeking rest... and being tired is OK in Japan.

Though certain people who must remain nameless, 

because we don't know their names, had snagged the best seats.

You can buy your own Le Corbusier chaise longue here.

That ad (at time of writing this blog entry) says: 

"A gentle warning. Once you sit your body in the Le Corbusier Chaise Longue (LC4), you may never want to get up again."

The evidence is before your eyes. I saw no prospect of getting a turn on this one.

But if considering getting one, when you look at that advertiser's video at YouTube, 

you realise that the chair 

will look nothing without the museum, so be prepared to dig deep!

The same advertiser says that the other chairs here,

 the "Grand Confort Spécial" are filled with duck down. Again, not free soon...

Finally, we should not leave unmentioned that this fine museum stands with many other fine places in Japan in offering superlative toilet facilities. 

This a disabled/family toilet on the ground floor, I confess to declaring myself unable to get down the stairs to the regular toilets at this end of the day, which was certainly much the case, but it was an exhibit needing to be inspected.

Even some ordinary railway toilets boast the clever seat to hold the infant. 

Why do we not consider such thing?

The bidet and wash function buttons are on the wall. 

I was initially alarmed by the location of ... was it a urinal?? ... on the left wall, in an impossible position. It was a handwashing basin accessible from wheelchair. No taps of course, no touching anything. Similarly, pass your hand in front of the flush non-button, and it flushes. 

and so out into the late afternoon for a short walk around Ueno Park

before introducing ourselves to the departing-every-20-minute Keisei Skyliner (the sharper, pointier one, forget that mildly sluggish gaudy creation on the right)

to be whisked at enormous speed to Narita Terminal 2 in time to wait quite a long time for our flight out at 7.45pm, with just enough cash for a pleasant 'Indonesian' curry while looking out the window.*

Sayonara...  sigh... 

Such an amazing trip, such an excellent amount of time to feast, remain coherent, remain upright, be quickly and completely blown out of home preoccupations and into another universe.

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* I note that in contrast to experience of queues in other international airports, as we approached the check-in area of Japan Airlines at Narita 2, as unentitled cheapest Economy Class passengers, we were met by a polite young person who directed us to an empty counter, went behind the counter and proceeded to do everything instantly and brightly.
And then off to Sydney for cheerless soulless cold dealings by Border Protection staff at the airport there, mean manners imitative of a Morrison. Hard landing home...

Day 5, Tokyo Sunday, part 2: subway, Sendagi, Yanaka

After the wild and crowded life thrust upon us exiting Harajuku Station and around Yoyogi Park, during which my Fuji XF-1 camera decided to lose control of exposure (hereinafter photos mainly from iPad mini, fortunately on hand), we set off down Omotesando, imagining it to have the serenity and charm it had when I walked there in 1980. It doesn't.

We slipped into the first subway entrance, Meiji-Jingumae, of the Chiyoda Line.

Helen caught this stunning image of modern Japan going out or going home...

The sweet lolita subset of kawaii of Harajuku Sunday World above was wafting in...

I could see from the subway map (it really does help to try to understand it in advance) that we could take this chanced-upon Chiyoda Line to a station near Nippori, from where swiftly on the Yamanote Line to Ueno, then the Ginza Line to Tawaramachi, then 300 metres walk home past our preferred sushi shop. This screenshot below is the middle bit of a standard map. To orient yourself, remember that the Yamanote Line of Japan Rail (this is a fantastic introduction to the villages/cities of the Yamanote Line) runs around the centre of the city, and while the carriages are pleasantly light green on the outside and lightv green in railway station signs, on the map it's the grey and white dotted line. So... in the moment I discover we are at the ticket gate of the Chiyoda Line at C03, Meiji-jingumae, south from Shinkuku, the world's biggest train station, we are down in the lower left of the map. Follow the green line with the C numbers and you are following the Chiyoda Line. I decided we should walk to Nippori JR station from Sendagi because that seemed likely to lead through Yanaka, an area with a 'traditional' shopping street of which I had read. Sendagi is C15. See Nippori north east from it, Ueno two stops away on the Yamanote, Tawaramachi G18 on the Ginza Line from Ueno, orange line. Top right. It was nice taking this ride on Sunday afternoon, Wikipedia reports that on the north side of Nishi-Nippori at peak hours passengers may be at 180% of capacity.

Soon enough we joined the Sunday afternoon crowd on Chiyoda Line, doing what respectable people do on the subway in the afternoon.

Helen woke me just before we arrived at Sendagi!

Arriving at the surface from a subway station on an overcast day can be tricky in any city, you take multiple flights of stairs or escalators, turning a number of times, you hit the street, blindfold comes off so to speak and where's north you say to yourself. It was where I thought. We were in a very suburban, residential environment. I confirmed from a passing cyclist that from the gate we should go left then right for Nippori.

As seen from Google Earth, Sendagi Station lower left, Nippori Station top right.

Proceeding left, we looked up a lane in the wrong direction and had to go there. This was a perfect quiet counter to the crowded parks and streets at better known destinations. Sudo Park, green spot left side of map above, bliss for young person with mother and soft serve below.

Shhh... tiptoe away....

This photo also makes the point that after cherry blossoms come azaleas, after azaleas wisteria.

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We proceeded through minor streets for what I understood to be Yanaka, a traditional merchant street leading to Ueno.

This is what we found.

the pot plant is on the back rack of the motor scooter

in narrow streets glass windows add dimension

There are children in strollers, below, but dogs very commonly get to avoid exercise this comfy way, even biggish dogs

Not much leg, but I walk

looking back where we have just come from: the Yanaka ginza

The shrines that are not tourist tramped, where people go for spiritual purpose, are so much more interesting to pass...

and then two stops to Ueno

The signs say reserved for people with babies, pregnant people, old geezers and walking wounded
... and don't use your phone near such people.
The frequent supporting public address announcements say please too.  :-)
But the train was not full and on most rides many people
would leap to their feet anywhere in the carriage for those needing a seat.
Women with babies refused to take my seat, insisted I take theirs. I must look decrepit!
It's great to be in a smiling courtesy contest.

then we hurried down below from JR Ueno to Ginza Line G16, where we queued properly for Car 5.
Footpaths and stations have lots of yellow pimpled pavers, much support for vision impaired.
There would be longitudinal grooves if one were to walk along a yellow line.
These yellow pavers calls halt.