Buildings of Tokyo - Nakagin Capsule Tower

Constructed in 1972 and designed by architect Kisho Kurakawa, this space-age looking building was made of inter-connected capsules, each of which was a very small fitted apartment. It's currently unoccupied and has so far survived plans for its demolition after protests by several architects. Whether it will survive long into the future is anyone's guess. This building is a short walk from Shinbashi station (8-16-10 Ginza) It was an interesting vision of the future at the time, and although it's starting to look a bit tatty now, it lead to the common capsule hotels which are seen in all Japanese cities today. The same architect, Kurokawa, later designed the first capsule hotel in Japan, which opened in Osaka in 1979.

Buildings of Tokyo - St. Mary's Cathedral

Tokyo is a city full of very modern buildings, with very little evidence of structures more than a few decades old. This is largely due to the devastating destruction the city endured twice in the 20th century; firstly in the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 and again in the heavy bombing experienced in World War II. The result today is not what you can really call a beautiful city, with ugly, bland, concrete buildings and housing stetched over vast areas of the city. There is, however, some interesting and bold architecture, and the fact that that there isn't any beautiful heritage to protect as in, say for example, Venice, Paris or Rome, seems to enable buildings to spring up that wouldn't be built anywhere else. I plan to visit some well-known (and lesser-known) buildings around Tokyo for this blog, starting with St. Mary's Cathedral.

This cathedral was constructed in 1964 and designed by the reknowned Japanese architect Kenzo Tange. Among his best known buildings are the Peace Museum in Hiroshima and the Olympic gymnastics stadium in Harajuku. In fact, the cathedral has a similar curved roof to the Olympic stadium.

Standing freely from the cathedral there is also a 60 metre bell tower.

The bell tower is very narrow and the bells are only visible from the side - face on all you can see is the narrowly tapered tower with a crucifix at the top.

The interior is built in grey concrete with minimal decoration. The beauty comes from the big open space and the sweeping lines converging towards the ceiling.

When Kenzo Tange died in 2005 his funeral was held, appropriately, in this cathedral. The cathedral is located in the Bunkyo district of Tokyo.

Warm November sun

One of the nice things about Japan (in the middle and south of the country, at least) is the relatively warm autumn weather, which carries on well into November. On sunny days the temperature can go over 20 degrees, and yesterday (Nov.7th) I cycled to a park and sat there for a couple of hours enjoying the warm sunshine and listening to music on my headphones

I also took 360 degree panoramic photos on a new app on my phone, which you can see here

Who is the Japanese prime minister?

It occurred to me recently that I can't remember the name of the new Japanese prime minister, and not only that I don't even know what he looks like. I honestly wouldn't be able to pick him out in an identity parade. Prime ministers change here as regularly as teenage girls in Shibuya change their shade of nail varnish. Since I moved to Japan in 2003 I have no idea how many prime ministers there have been and would be hard pushed to name half of them. Maybe I don't need to get to know what the new one looks like - the new one will probably be along before I've returned from my Christmas holiday.

Tokyo Halloween

When asked about Halloween most Japanese say "we don't celebrate it here" - ignoring the fact that almost every shop, cafe and public place is decorated with images of pumkins, witches and black cats. Like with the globalisation of a lot of things, it does seem to be becoming more popular here and at night I noticed quite a few people in costumes heading off to various bars and parties. Japanese Halloween is basically fancy dress - any fancy dress. Dress up as a nurse, a pirate, a cartoon character, it doesn't seem to matter. I suppose it makes a change from hundreds of Scream masks and Draculas.

As always I went out for drinks in Shinjuku with my friend, Gary, who always spends hours making incredibly detailed masks weeks in advance. I borrowed a kimono and bought a black wig and face paint and went as...I don't know what it was really, but it was based on images of kabuki theatre. Other random costumes I saw were guys dressed as white swans, with long balloons for the tails and a girl dressed as the Starbucks logo. Like I said, any resemblance to a "normal" Halloween theme seems to be completely optional.

Adventures in Kansai, part 4 - Kobe

Kobe is a port city with a large harbour area on one side and mountains on the other. The city gives its name to the famous and very expensive Kobe beef, which I saw no examples of anywhere (not that I was looking) and of course it's probably most famous for the devastating earthquake which struck the city in 1995. There is a museum documenting this event, and had I been passing by I probably would've gone there, but as it was in a different area to where I was I just decided to stroll around the city and enjoy the warm autumn sunshine.

My first stop was Chinatown, where I had an early lunch. This is one of the three main Chinatowns in Japan, the other two being in Yokohama and Nagasaki. I've been to all three. I suppose there's not a great deal of difference between any of them, but they're interesting to see nonetheless.

From Chinatown it's a short walk to the harbour, with it's pleasant wide open areas (something of a rarity in Japanese cities.)

From there I walked back through the centre of the city and headed uphill to the area called Kitano. This is a very wealthy and fashionable area. There are many old Western style houses here, built in the days when Kobe was an important trading port and many Westerners settled here. These houses are very well preserved and some of them are open to the public. It's twinned with Montmartre in Paris, presumably for the similar hillside location, although it's not really quite the same thing. However, it appeals to people who want to have a flavour of European sophistication without actually having to get on a plane (or speak another language.)

Adventures in Kansai, part 3 - Kyoto

I've been to Kyoto several times before, but there are so many sights scattered far and wide that it's always possible to see something new with each visit. For this visit my first stop was Fushimi Inari, a shrine easily reached five minutes by train from the main Kyoto station. The shrine is famous for the hundreds of red torii gates which you pass under on the many paths through the area, and the curious looking stone foxes which stare down at you from all around.

I then stopped for lunch at one of the many tiny little restaurants in the city. When I say tiny, I mean the seating area is usually just at a counter sitting right in front of the staff as they prepare your food.

The entrances of these restaurants often have "noren" hanging down, a cloth printed with the name or logo of the establishment.

Although it can seem an intimidating prospect going into these small Japanese restaurants if you don't speak the language, I strongly recommend that visitors give them a try. if there's not an English menu there's usually a menu with photos - just point! These places are much more interesting than the usual array of Western chain restaurants around the very large and modern main Kyoto station.

My next stop was a temple called Sho-ren-in. When I went here I was almost the only visitor so it was very peaceful and quiet. The temple has many rooms and some beautiful hand-painted screens on the walls and a large garden area which you can walk around. There was a light drizzle falling as I walked around the green moss-covered garden, very atmospheric and relaxing.

The final part of my day was spent wandering around Gion, the traditional area of the city where you see many old wooden houses, and following the winding paths up to Kiyomizu temple. This is one of the most touristy parts of the city, and when I was there seemed to be literally overrun with hoards of school kids. It's still worth seeing, but when you visit the city it's also well worth seeking out some of the less crowded places to really appreciate the atmosphere of the city.

Adventures in Kansai, part 2 - Koya-san

After a couple of days in Osaka I was ready to get out of the city. I decided to head to Koya-san, a place I'd never been to before, or even heard of before reading about it in my guide book. It's in an area of Japan known as the Kii peninsula, a rural area of forested mountains. I took the train from Namba station in Osaka for the one and a half hour ride to Gokurakubashi station, passing through some very nice scenery along the way. Then I boarded a small cable car for a short ten minute climb to Koya-san station, around 800 metres above sea level. After that I bought a day bus pass for 800 yen, so I could hop on and off the buses which circulate around the main sights.

My first stop was Okuno-in, an area of over 200,000 tombs and mausoleums - the largest graveyard in Japan. Some of the burial mounds are hidden in the forest and covered in green moss and obviously very old, there are also some interesting statues and it's a very atmospheric place to wander around, epecially in the moments of peace when there are no other people around and you can't hear a thing except the sounds of the forest.

I also saw a few temples and a large gate called Daimon, which marks the main entrance to Koya-san.

Finally, I went on a short hiking trail, passing under quite a few traditional red torii gates, and with occasional views of the sprawling countryside below. Supposedly on a clear day you can see as far as the island of Shikoku, but I couldn't see that far.

As the buses weren't very frequent (sometimes more than an hour between buses) I decided to call it a day after the short hike. I'm sure there must be a few sights I missed out, and it may be worth doing this area with an overnight stay and two days to take in the sights. In any case, it's well worth a visit.

Adventures in Kansai , part 1 - Osaka

The Kansai region is the second most populated area of Japan after the Kanto (Tokyo) region, with the three main cities of Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe all within about 30 minutes train ride of each other. As I had a week off work in October I decided to take the bullet train for the two and half hour ride from Tokyo to Osaka and spend a week in the region. I've been to this area three or four times before, so as well as enjoying some familiar places I already knew I also wanted to discover a few new places. My hotel was a "business hotel" - in reality a cheap, slightly shabby hotel with tiny rooms. Quite what is "business" orientated about it I don't know, but it seems to be a name they use in Japan for a certain type of low price hotel with the bare minimum of facilities.

Osaka is a vibrant, noisy and colourful city. Similar to Tokyo, I suppose, but also with it's own feel. One of the famous things to eat here is takoyaki, which you can buy at street stalls over the city. They are octopus fried in little balls which are then slathered in mayonnaise and other sauces and eaten with little cocktail sticks.

The takoyaki places are easily visible due to the often very large and ornate octopus signs and decorations hanging above the premises.

In fact, the shops and restaurants in Osaka do have some amazingly eye-catching facades, with extraordinary fibre-glass creations such as dragons, giant crabs with moving pincers, huge cartoon faces all competing for the attention of passersby.

you see sights like a ferris wheel on top of a building, or a giant 30 foot red whale in a shopping mall.

It's quite a crazy place, good fun, but it can get tiring. If you're not into city life then Osaka is really not for you. If that's the case then one good thing about Osaka is that peace and tranquility, and a more traditional Japanese way of life, isn't too far away.

My first record player

I got my first record player when I was about nine or ten years old, passed on to me, I think, when my parents replaced the stereo in the living room with a newer one and I was allowed to have the old one in my bedroom. It was a big chunky box with a heavy wooden lid on top which you had to lift up to put the records on. In those days (around 1975) televisions and record players were designed to look like proper furniture, with dark wooden veneers and so on. There were three speeds on it - 33, 45 and 78rpm. Vinyl albums, of course, played at 33rpm and 7 inch singles at 45rpm. The 78rpm setting was already fairly obsolete at this time, used only for old style discs which were made of a hard shellac (which shattered if you dropped them.) I was actually given some of my grandmother's old 78's. I can't really remember the songs, but one of them was the Ugly Duckling song. Of course, as a child I enjoyed the novelty of playing records at the wrong speed, or putting my finger on the record and playing it backwards. Among the first records I had was Abba's Greatest Hits, which came in a gatefold sleeve. The cover showed the four of them sitting on a park bench; on the front Bjorn was reading a paper while Agnetha stared vacantly ahead looking vaguely sad, and on the back Benny and Frida were embraced in a kiss, which was slightly racey to my young eyes. After that I collected all the Abba singles, eagerly buying them at the local record store each time a new one came out. I always enjoyed the B sides too. Nowadays downloading is undoubtably convenient, you can get what you want when you want, but I don't feel like I own the music in the same way as when it was a physical product which can be handled and touched and looked at.

Concerts I've seen over the years

Since the mid-1980's I've been to many concerts and live appearances, some of them remain clear in the memory, others not so much. None of them are really legendary appearances - no Beatles in the Cavern Club or anything like that. But here's a selection of some that I've seen over the years, in no particular order. More often than not dates and venue names are very vague.

1. Patti Smith, Madrid, 1996

I was on holiday in Madrid when I saw a poster for this concert, which was taking place in a couple of months time. My holiday was only for a few days, but all the same I was so keen to go to the concert that I bought the ticket and decided to come back to Madrid especially for it. It didn't even occur to me that she might be doing some London dates right where I was living at the time. Or maybe I didn't want to take the risk that there wouldn't be any London dates. These were her first concerts for decades, after taking a long time out to raise a family. She'd assembled most of her old band to play with her again, including musicians she'd collaborated with like Tom Verlaine. There was also a surprise guest appearance by Michael Stipe, who came on to duet with her. She had real magnetism and stage presence, a great aura. She sauntered on stage to "Redondo Beach", wearing a hat, looking effortlessly cool. I've since seen her live in London and Tokyo, so she's the only artist I've seen in three different countries.

2. Iggy Pop, Miami, 1999

Again, another concert I went to while on holiday. This time I didn't fly back to Miami a second time to see it though. I was passing by the concert hall and saw that this concert was coming up in a few days (along with Eminem) and decided to go. Great to see another rock icon live.

3. A Flock of Seagulls, Hammersmith Odeon, London 1983 or 84

This was the first concert I ever went to. The band were always ridiculed and completely uncool, they seem to sum up the naff 1980's (the absurd hairstyles) but I liked them at the time and am still quite pleased to be able to mention them as my first live experience. I went with a group of sixth form school friends, taking a bus from a Berkshire into London. I remember I wore an old denim jacket my Dad had and flourescent pink socks, which I thought made me wild and dangerous.

4. The Smiths, Portsmouth Guildhall, 1985

One of many concerts I saw as a student in Portsmouth. This was on their Meat is Murder tour, so I remember lots of abbatoir sound effects for the title song.

5. Take That, Heaven nightclub, London, early 1990's

This was a live P.A. rather than a concert. My friend and I were regulars at Heaven on Saturday nights in the early 1990's, and there would often be a short live appearance by up and coming bands with an album to promote. So we saw Take That one night. They hadn't had a hit single at this stage and were still more or less unknown, so there was no build up or anticipation for their performance. I didn't even take much notice of them when they came on, as they could easily have been the kind of band you heard nothing of ever again. Of course, they're now one of the most successful British pop acts of all time.

6. The Ramones, Astoria, London mid 1990's

I really enjoyed seeing these punk legends, who played against a brick wall backdrop, like the cover of their first album. Loved the way they launched from one song into the next without even waiting for applause, just a quick "1,2,3,4..." By the mid-90's only Joey and Johnny remained from the original line up, but they were like a street gang - if you were lucky you'd be invited into their ranks.

7. Madonna, Wembley Stadium 1990

I've seen Madonna for three consecutive tours, this was the first of them, the Blonde Ambition tour. I went with a friend from work and wore a cut off pair of jeans, cut off so high they were like hot pants, with the pockets protruding out below, and I'd fixed a pendant thing I'd made on one of the belt loops. the support act was "Pump up the Jam" legends Technotronic. The second time I saw her was the Girly Show, also at Wembley, and the third time was for the Drowned World tour which I saw in Paris with a group of friends, which made it a fun weekend away.

8. Kraftwerk, Zepp, Tokyo 2004

I'd also seen Kraftwerk live in the early 90's in London, and they were great so I was glad to get the chance to see them again in Tokyo. The four of them stood in line at the front of the stage behind what looked liked laptops, barely moving. It sounds boring but it was actually captivating, they have really interesting films and visual images on a backdrop illustrating each song. But even with all the visuals there's something fascinating about seeing them just standing there, like scientists at work in a lab.

9. X Ray Sex, Roundhouse, London 2008

X Ray Spex had always been one of my favourite punk bands, Poly Styrene was such a colourful and intriguing character. As they'd more or less split up after one album in the late 70's I didn't think I'd ever get to see them live, so I was delighted when they reformed for a one off show for the 30th anniversary of their classic Germ Free Adolescents album. I was very sad to hear she died of cancer recently, so I'm grateful I got the chance to see them when I could. Hopefully she enjoyed it too and realised how well loved her and her music is.

10. Summer Sonic Festival, Chiba Japan 2003

This was a two day festival I went to with a couple of friends in my first summer in Japan. Actually, when we went we weren't planning to stay the two days, and so had an uncomfortable night of (no) sleep lying on flattened cardboard boxes in a cold air-conditioned hall. But the festival had a great line-up; Radiohead, The Strokes, Blur, Kings of Leon, Interpol and others. I've never been there since, and I've never thought the line-up was as good as it was that year.

11. Manic Street Preachers, Astoria, London 1992

My friend and me really got into the first Manics album, and particularly loved the style of the guitarist Richey Edwards. At this concert my friend was wearing a leopard print coat with no shirt underneath, and a couple fo girls at the concert started talking to us and one of them wrote "fuck me Richey" on my friend's chest in lipstick. Also during the concert a shirtless James Dean Bradfield leapt into the crowd, landing right on top of my friend and me.

12. Divine, Ritzy nightclub, Portsmouth, around 1985-86

This was a live appearance rather than a proper concert. In fact, I'm sure it would all have been mimed. I actually worked part-time in this club while I was at university. It was a rough place. Fights would frequently break out and bouncers would be leaping over the seats to break up the fights and throw people out. Girls dancing round handbags. The last song was always a slow number so guys could grab whatever girl they'd picked up for the night. For some reason I remember one of the slow songs; "Why Can't I Wake Up With You?" by Janet Jackson. Not that any of this has anything to do with Divine, of course.

I want to ride my bicyle, I want to ride it where I like.

Yesterday I bought a new bike from Don Quixhote, a great chain of shops which sell almost everything at very cheap prices. I guess it's what's known as a "mama chari", the favoured bike of middle aged ladies who use the basket at the front for their grocery shopping. I look forward to getting around Tokyo on it and hopefully discovering some new places along the way, but not today as a typhoon is sweeping in. The temperature has now plunged at least ten degrees - up until a couple of days ago it had been over 30 degrees every day but it was only 19 degrees when I got up this morning.

New home

A few weeks ago I moved into a new apartment in Takadanobaba, a lively, studenty area very close to the centre of Tokyo. As I moved from a furnished place to somewhere completely unfurnished there are still a few things missing like a proper bed frame and a washing machine and a TV, but gradually I will aquire these things. At least I have a fridge now though, as for the first week I was trying to keep milk cool by putting it in cold water in the sink.

Spot the various goodies from my recent trip to the U.K.

The bathroom is the typical size of Japanese bathrooms...i.e., tiny.

There's even a tiny garden area. Maybe I'll plant something there one day...or maybe not.