As I mentioned yesterday we have arrived in Japan at the time of Tsukimi, the mid autumn festival that celebrates the harvest and the change in seasons. (Feeling a little salty about the whole ‘change of seasons’ thing as it was 34C here today. Not what we would consider autumn weather…..)
In the district of Shimokitazawa there is a moon festival with several art installations. We had it on our list as a thing to do but figured we’d get to it when return to Tokyo at the end of our trip. Sounded like a plan until today, when we discovered that the event was over on September 29th. Okay then – guess it’s tonight or not at all.
Let me just point out that today was intended to be an easy day. A day to sleep when needed to deal with the jet lag, to ease into things. We walked out the door just after 8:00 to be hit with a blast of 30C humidity and sun. We were reduced to skulking along the street, clinging to the shadows, hiding in doorways while we waited for lights to change.
We went to Ueno station to sort out some train tickets and thought we’d go for a walk through the shopping area under the tracks. Didn’t get too far before we had to bail into the first place that had outdoor seats for sticks of fruit and mango bubble tea at a Korean spot.We eventually staggered back to our hotel and had a Power Nap that had us feeling pretty perky. Enough so that we decided to make the hour long trip across the city to see what Shimokitazawa had to offer.
Before I tell you about it let me tell you that on our ‘quiet’ day, as I am writing to you, my watch tells me that today I walked 15,151 steps, which is 9.36km.
Fortunately the event was well organized and the signage was very good.
There were three public installations to see, in addition to many collaborations with local businesses. We arrived late afternoon in a light drizzle and decided that we should wait for it to fall dark, so we did what we often do, and asked Mr Google ‘craft beer near me’, which led us to the Tap and Growler, a tiny pub with 10 seats and an abundance of beers.
Down the street we went, and around the corner we went and found – the moon!
Hovering over an empty lot, turning gently in the wind. Peeking behind other buildings:
A delightful surprise!
Up another series of streets we found
A gathering of rabbits, shining in the night!
The third installation we a bit of a walk to the other side of the station, and it, too was about light.
In other life this space is a parking lot. But for awhile these giant inflatable arches are perched instead of cars. The lights change colour and shimmer in the dark. They’re kind of neat up close but part of the fun is seeing them from a distance – an incongruous shimmer of colour that gradually resolves into a series of arches to explore.
Tomorrow we hit the road for further adventures – maybe we’ll find some cooler temps?
Where I'm At 