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For six years running I made an annual pilgrimage to Tokyo. It seemed there was always a trade show or seminar or training session that requires my peculiar skills.

Japan

Hank Shiffman
2003-11-29 15:15:01

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For six years running I made an annual pilgrimage to Tokyo. It seemed there was always a trade show or seminar or training session that requires my peculiar skills. A visit to Japan is a fine chance to indulge my fascination with technology and with varieties of architectural style. Here are a few examples of the latter.

The building on the left is part of the Tokyo government complex in Shinjuku. Shinjuku train station is the busiest in Tokyo, in part because of buildings like this one. On the west side of the station are many more enormous government buildings, offices, hotels, huge department stores and shopping complexes like the one at right and a whole lot more.

East of Shinjuku station is an area called Kabuki-cho, home to Tokyo's sleazier and cheesier side. Here you will find hostess bars, casinos and a lot more interesting stuff that the locals never show me. Although they certainly tried; walk around here with a camera on a Saturday night and you'll be amazed at the services you'll be offered.

On the left is the Meiji Shrine, the burial place of the emperor under whose reign Japan took on the centralized government it still enjoys (if that is the proper word) today. The Shrine is an oasis of peace; during the long walk from its entrance at the edge of Harajuku to the Shrine proper you could almost forget the noise and insanity that are Tokyo. At the right is Budokan, famous for rock concerts and martial arts events. (These are two separate categories.) The day I was there it was full of students of kendo, which is interesting if you like to watch people try to hit each other with sticks.

A five hundred year old pagoda in the garden at the Four Seasons Hotel. The hotel is attached to Chinzan-so, the place to hold a wedding ceremony in Tokyo. In addition to the pagoda, the garden has stone lanterns that are a few hundred years old. ...