13th April 1984 Last day in Tokyo

 Friday 13^th April 1984  Slept quite late in the morning and had breakfast of stroubrries, apple, nuts and yoghurt. Stroubrries are cheap and plentiful in Japan, and nice.

  Walking back to the station, we passed some market gardens; and the houses along the narrow streets are quite higgledy-piggledy, even though they’re only ten or fifteen years old.

 Next to the railway line is a parking lot full of hundreds of bicycles, and one attendant. The barriers that go across the level crossings are made of bamboo painted yellow and black.

We caught the 10.50 rapid train to Tokyo Station, and from there proceeded directly to the Overseas Working Holidays Office (in West 5^th Street, would you believe) and I filled out a form and got a couple of addresses in Kyoto. [I had an idea of getting a working holiday visa and teaching in Kyoto – as it turned out, I took over from Simon.] Then we walked to Shimbashi Station and Simon went off because he had to prepare for some classes. Bye bye Simon, and thanks.

  I went back to the hotel, where in the lobby were Jane and some of the others. I went upstairs to dump some things and wash a shirt. Then back down and Jane was still there, so I walked with her along Hibiya-dori (the big road behind the hotel) as far as Sotobori-dori, under which runs the Ginza Line. I left Jane, exchanged some TCs ($90) and went to Toranomon Station. From there to Omotesando Station. I bought some bun things at a bakery shop where you pick up a tray and pair of tongs and pick what you want to eat. ¥550.

  I walked up Meiji Jingu dori and ate my buns in a little playground. I continued up the street and saw a lot of young Japanese in terribly trendy fashions, with haircuts, some with Boy George make-up – the sort of youths (a motley crowd) that I haven’t seen round Tokyo centre – though there was one on a train with pink hair wearing a light suit and red shirt.

 My prime objective was the Meiji Jingu Shrine, an edifice completed in 1920 to honour the popular Emperor Meiji and his consort. The main buildings etc were destroyed in 1945 but these were restored to their former magnificence in 1958 – pure Shinto of dignified simplicity.

  There are, apparently, several torii at the various entrances. These are all made of Japanese cypress (kinoki) and one is the largest such structure of wood in Japan (though the wood comes from Taiwan). It is about 12 metres high, and the pillars are 1.2 metres thick.

 There was some sort of small ceremony going on – some kind of baptism, I think. The place is so neat and clean, and is surrounded by 72.4 hectares of the Inner Garden (Yoyogi Park) – lots of gravel pathways, trees and crows. Inside the park is an Imperial Garden, which Emperor Meiji (1852-1912) and Empress Choken loved to visit to fish in the pond and see the vast areas of iris and waterlilies in June/July. The garden was originally part of a feudal lord’s house. Some gardeners were inspecting some thatch on a little hut; an old man was painting water colours of the pond and some cherry blossom. There’s also a well which has water as good as Canberran mountain streams, but is perhaps a little earthier. It’s certainly better that Japanese tap water, which has a lot of chlorine in it.

   After visiting the shrine and garden (¥300),  went back to Omotesando and caught the train back to Toranomon, and walked back to the hotel, to pack and fall asleep. At 7.00pm I paid the bill (¥11,200) and went to a Japanese restaurant with the McCarthys, the Walshes, Dee, Jane and Elly. We sat on the floor, on tatami, and I had Kijitei, which is fried rice, a lot of pork and some concoction of egg. This was quite fun, cost ¥1875. But we went over to McDonalds for dessert – thickshakes and/or sundaes.

 -- On the way up to the Meiji Shrine, there’s an establishment called the Key West Club (or Café) which is all white – even the waiters and waitresses are trussed up completely in white. That’s not terribly important though. Sorry.

-- There was a junior [primary] school kid on the subway in navy blue uniform, shorts, jacket and hat.

 Japan is a great country.