It’s overcast and smoggy again this morning, with rain predicted in the afternoon. Today’s plan is to visit the Meiji Shrine in the afternoon, with a wander around the streets of Aoyama in the evening.
A good morning for a gym session at The Strings hotel before heading out. There is a fleeting burst of sunshine when the best views from the hotel across to the city can be had. The size of the estate grounds of Kaitokaku, the former residence of the Iwasaki family are also apparent, and the stone tower, lush green gardens and part of the 1908 mansion can be seen. It is an enormous property in the centre of Tokyo. The new Shinkansen station to service Nagoya is still under construction and is scheduled to begin service in 2027.
Another quick trip to Shin-Yokohama on the Shinkansen to find the area that I was looking for yesterday. It’s grey and overcast in Shin-Yokohama too, but nice enough for a circuit of the area between the station and Nissan Stadium. Shin-Yokohama looks like it might be a nice place to live – 11 minutes from Shinagawa, the streets are well-maintained and planted with hedges of azaleas. There’s relatively little traffic on this Thursday morning, and not many people about. There is some interesting architecture at the Digital Arts building, and further down the street, an unusual looking French restaurant. There’s also a nice shady river walk, with more azaleas.
It will be a big couple of years for Tokyo and Japan, with the 2019 Rugby World Cup later this year, and the summer Olympics in 2020. Everyone seems to be keen to practice their English in advance, and I’ve found very few language barriers so far. Time to head back to Tokyo, after a spot of lunch in Shin-Yokohama.
Meiji Shrine
It’s my last day in Tokyo, and decide to catch the JR Yamanote line as far as I can until it becomes too crowded. This has me jump off at Harajuku Station, and head back into Yoyogi Park. It’s warm and humid, and even the old-growth forest isn’t cooling things down too much.
Meiji Shrine has been under restoration for a few years now, and I decide to head down the forest path to see how it has been progressing. The roofs have been replaced, and it is evident that the huge tree trunks that form the torii gates have been stripped back to their original light wood, and the brass decorations on doors and eaves have either been replaced or beautifully restored. It still has some way to go before being completely restored, scheduled for the northern hemisphere autumn of this year.
I figure that if I take the north-eastern exit of Yoyogi Park and keep tracking to the right, eventually I’ll be in Aoyama, an area I haven’t explored before. It’s 4:30 pm, and I think my legs have another 3 hours of walking left, so let’s see what I find.
My wandering down a shady treed street takes me past the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium and a series of stadiums and sporting fields that seem to be under renovation for the Tokyo Olympics.
It also takes me past an interesting building that turns out to be the Meiji Jing Gaien Memorial Picture Gallery, dedicated to the Japanese art of the Meiji era. It’s a striking building with very few windows, more fortress than an art gallery.
Following the oval path around the grounds of the Picture Museum takes me out onto a long street lined with low rise bars and cafes, more sporting facilities, and an avenue of Ginko trees that are just starting so show green regrowth after the winter.
Turning right, I am in Aoyama-dori Avenue, and there’s an interesting building down on the left that looks like an interpretation of the Clocktower in St Mark’s Square in Venice. It turns out to be a wedding venue, but the view from the bridge to reach the building is a good place to practice taking some traffic trails in the late afternoon.
Turning right again, I find myself walking down a one-way street through Aoyama Cemetery, which is massive. As the light drops, Tokyo Tower is visible in the distance.
Bearing right again, I’m on Gaien Nishi-dori Avenue when I pass the amazing building known as The Wall, with the equally amazing Nigel Coates Art Silo building on the corner. The humidity suddenly dissipates into a clear night in Tokyo, a beautiful night for a wander. I stay on Gaien Nishi-dori for quite a while until I see an interesting side street that ultimately leads me into Hiroo with its upmarket boutiques. Turn right again onto Meiji-dori Avenue, with a left hand turn into the bright lights of Ebisu and my feet are done, right on schedule at 7:45 pm.
A short train ride later I’m back at The Strings to pack in readiness for an earlyish departure home tomorrow morning.
Today’s Statistics: 33,335 steps and 23.81km, the highest of my trip, 28 floors and 359 minutes in the active zone. It will make up for 9.5 hours on the plane tomorrow!
Trip Statistics: 157k steps, 112km, 360 floors. Not bad for 6 days!
