Moerenuma Park, Sapporo

Moerenuma Park - Glass Pyramid
Originally uploaded by Ame Otoko

Looking back on the highlights of our trip to Japan, our short trip up to Hokkaido stands out in my mind. It's a bit surprising because up to the point we went there, I never thought to myself "Man, I really want to see Hokkaido."

What struck me about Hokkaido was the great open spaces which remained green through the summer. As such, Hokkaido has some fantastic parks and we had the privilege of visiting not one but two amazing parks.

Moerenuma Park in Sapporo was the vision of Japanese-American sculptor Isamu Noguchi. Built on land reclaimed from a disposal site, you would never know the history of the land unless someone told you. The park is mainly lush green open space with Noguchi sculptures spread throughout. But each of these Noguchi creations is amazing in their own rights. The most prominent feature is Mount Moere, a man-made mountain that stands 190 feet tall. Climbing this mountain (by stairs or by trail) gives you a panoramic view of the park and nearby Sapporo. From the summit, you can see Hidamari, the glass pyramid which houses restaurants, a small shop, and classrooms for workshops. You can also see a circular grove of trees which simulates walking through a forest, and beyond that, Moere Beach, a shallow "concrete pond" (to borrow from the Beverly Hillbillies) where children can cool themselves in the summer heat.

Though Moerenuma Park is lovely in the summer, it is equally beautiful in the winter and a completely different experience. Winter bring snow to the entire island of Hokkaido and the man-made mountains and huge open space create a place for skiing, sledding, and snow play for children and their families.

Noguchi died before he could see his vision come to fruition, but I'm sure he would be proud to see how his creation brings joy to so many people year round.

Tea for One

Yanaka - Tokyo Tea
Originally uploaded by Ame Otoko

The identity of the man shall remain anonymous for his protection. The story, unfortunately, is true.

He took me for a walk around Yanaka because he heard I was interested in seeing “old Tokyo”, the part of Tokyo that wasn’t bombed in the war and wasn’t subject to the relentless modernization other areas of Tokyo were constantly going through. Yanaka, the little neighborhood north of Ueno Park, was stubbornly resistant to the marching of time. There were homes here handed down for generations, lovingly cared for, not torn down in favor of a three-story concrete monolith with a garage.

We stopped for tea at a cute little teahouse near Ueno. Ducking in from the heat of the day, we sat at the counter next to the only other customers, three ladies who appeared to be of the kind who spent their days enjoying tea in cute little teahouses. There wasn’t room at the counter for any more. He took me to the display counter and showed me the sweets inside. It was my first visit to a teahouse, so I didn’t really know what to order. Did I like anko (red bean paste), he asked. I nodded, and he ordered. It was like that with him. We could have an enjoyable time together as long as I basically allowed him to maintain control of the situation. If I disliked anko, things could have become quite uncomfortable at that point.

The tea and dessert came out a few minutes later, after the water had been boiled. The thick, green matcha was not as bitter as I had imagined it would be and the heat of the drink not as uncomfortable as I thought it would be on such a hot day. The dessert was sweet, but not too sweet and complimented the flavor of the tea perfectly. I understood why the women next to us could enjoy having tea on a daily basis.

As we enjoyed our tea together, we really enjoyed it alone. You see, we had little in common except that he wanted to impress on me that he was a good man, a good father and husband. But his attempt to impress me only made me realize more how detached from reality he was. His marriage was failing, his daughter apathetic to him at best, hateful at worst. His selfishness and controlling nature had already shone through his facade on several occasions. It was too late to make a good impression on me; I already saw who he really was. And I pitied him because if he spent as much energy trying to be a better man to his family instead of wasting it trying to impress me, perhaps he wouldn’t be in the situation he was in.

I sipped the tea down, finished the sweet, and gave him an empty smile. “Come” he said, “I’ll take you to Tokugawa’s tomb.” I didn’t want to see Tokugawa’s tomb, but I followed him anyway.

Feeling Foreign in Tokyo

Yakitori Under the Tracks
Originally uploaded by Ame Otoko

I certainly haven't blogged as often as I wanted to here in Tokyo. I probably underestimated the time we would be out and about, or moving from house to house, or traveling out of the city. Beyond that, there is a feeling of being a foreigner in a city that is hard to summarize, but Internet access is certainly an example.

If I'm in the US and I need Internet access, chances are the friends or relatives I am staying with have broadband access and I can easily plug in and get connected. Fairly often, they have a wireless network and with a few clicks and a password, I'm online anywhere in the house. In the rare cases someone doesn't have Internet access, I can simply find a McDonalds or a Starbucks and using my AT&T account, log in from there.

I have found little of the above to be true in Japan. It's true that we are now staying in a house that has multiple Internet connections in the house (though not wireless), and I can access the Internet at will. However we have stayed with one relative who did not have Internet access at all (I believe they use a CDMA LAN card in their laptop for access), and at a relative with one network connection where I had to stretch a power cable across the dining area floor because there are about half as many power points in a Japanese house as there are in an American house and twice as many electrical devices, including talking rice makers.

One place I have felt completely at ease, however, is behind my lens and I am thrilled (and probably spoiled rotten) to be able to shoot every single day. And even 2 weeks into our trip, I feel like I will run out of time to shoot every location and time of day that I want to be able to shoot.

This shot was made in Akihabara, once famous for electronics and computer gadgets, now famous for geek culture (anime, collectables, and maid cafes). Akihabara, or Akiba, as it is nicknamed, was one of the locations I was fortunate enough to return to twice, once in the day time (mainly for shopping) and once at night (mainly for shooting). Under the JR tracks is this tiny little yakitori shack. I love this picture because I can look at it and almost smell the skewers cooking on the grill and hear the clack of the train passing overhead as they arrive and leave the station.

Sayonara Bay Area, Konnichiwa Tokyo!

Sayonara
Originally uploaded by Ame Otoko

Tomorrow morning we'll be on our flight to Tokyo via Seoul. Though the stopover in Seoul adds quite a few hours to the trip, I'm kind of stoked about it. For starters, we get to fly Asiana Airlines which is considered a top class airline at a discount price, so I don't believe the extra distance is going to bother us that much. Plus they offer Korean meal service which is awesome in itself. Second, I haven't been to Incheon Airport since before it was remodeled. It was a horrible, depressing monstrosity back then. Today, it is completely modern, clean and one of the best airports in the world in terms of amenities. So is Incheon Airport a destination in itself? Could be.

If Internet access is easier in Tokyo than it has been in year's past, I hope there will be many posts over the next few weeks. For now, "Ato de!" (Later!)

Hidden San Francisco - The Gallery @ Autodesk

Not To Scale
Originally uploaded by Ame Otoko

Tucked away on the second floor of the architectural classic One Market Street, former headquarters of Southern Pacific Railroad are the San Francisco offices of Autodesk, the world leader in design software. Less than a year ago, Autodesk opened a space where it could display some of the most interesting pieces of work its customers were creating using Autodesk software solutions.

The Gallery is not large, but very well done, with beautiful displays of customer work, interactive media, and a very hands-on kind of feel. You couldn’t spend more than an hour here, but it would be an hour well spent if you are interested at all in how software design is improving the efficiency and creativity of architecture and engineering.

The Gallery is opened to the public on the first Wednesday of every month from 1:00pm to 5:00pm. But for an even richer experience, try to visit the Gallery on an evening it hosts Pecha Kucha San Francisco. Pecha Kucha, a style of multimedia presentation described as “20 slides, 20 seconds” are short presentations created to pitch new ideas and concepts. As they are only 6 minutes, 40 seconds long, they are rarely boring and often introduce some new and exciting ideas.

The Autodesk Gallery is located on the Second floor of One Market Street. It is opened to the public on the first Wednesday of every month from 1:00pm to 5:00pm.