So while I was living in Oakland for the month of August, my sleep schedule was really off. I would go to bed after midnight and wake up after nine am. Since arriving in Tokyo, with the help of jet lag, early sunrises into my 3rd story bedroom, and the fact that there is so much more to do in the daylight than in the night, I've been getting up around 5:30 am and going to sleep by 9pm.
Today was no different, and I can get so much accomplished in the early hours!! The weather was more bearable today, it even rained for a short spell, and as it did yesterday in the afternoon there were strong winds which helped to cool everything down to a comfy 80 degrees or so!
With Lex as my guide, I decided to venture onto the train and ride closer into the center of Tokyo to visit the Tokyo National Museum. My darling sister created an incredible Japanese Art History Guide for me, and it was my main guide today at the museum!! Lex, I can't stop thanking you for that!
When traveling, a big part of the excitement each day, is transportation! As it turned out, the National Museum was located on a train line that I was already familiar with! To be ready for the day, my white elephant purse (thanks Mom) carried the following essentials: water bottle (with a light flavoring of fruit juice), camera, wallet (with Pasmo train card), house keys, Lex's guide. From the house, I walk just over a mile to the local train station. This train station is a short connector train between to major lines. So I take this keisei-kanamachi line to the transfer station at Tagasako. From there, I took a 30 minute train to the end station at Ueno.
Exiting the train station at Ueno, is the Ueno Koen (a huge park). Meandering through the park, I passed the zoo, a large shinto shrine, plenty of greenery and pedestrian pathways as well as several different museums.
The National Museum opened at 9:30, and I was ready to go. The best thing about this museum, is that it lined up perfectly with Lex's guide that she made for me! She included chapters about ancient Japanese History, and so the exhibit started with Johon pottery! Her guide then told me that the various Japanese factions were brought together under Buddhism, and the exhibits and artifacts matched that too! I was able to distinguish between the different buddhas, kanji and kana calligraphies. Lex, they even had some of Murasaki's art pieces, depicting her own life! I also saw one of the works of Maruyama (some adorable little puppies). There were then a few newer pieces that I will have to pick your brain about to learn a little more.
DD- isn't he odd? Just looking at him makes me smile.
So glad lex finished the art history project for you (she had told me about it in its early stages)!!!! That is super fun to go see a museum and actually have some personalized information/lens to see in through. How cool. That little figure is very cute. I also hope you visited one of the shrines and did all the proper deep bowing and coin tossing.
ReplyDeleteWay exciting! I'm thrilled that you are confirming what I have learned about japan out of classrooms and books by actually being there (I wasn't sure if maybe everything was totally off). And I would love to talk to you about whatever artworks you want to learn more about too.
ReplyDeleteI like the cool shinto shrine instructions too. I didn't know much about worship traditions at the shrine, but it looks like it involves a lot of bowing.