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October 12, 2007 - Tokyo - Ueno - Tokyo National Museum

Like many big cities for tourism or business that sees a lot of people coming and going, even Tokyo has many museums dedicated to art, crafts, science, industry and any other branch of human activities.

Not all, I imagine, are of immediate interest for the tourist (you never said that there is a "museum of salt and tobacco in Shibuya ?) But some steps are required for any person should verietà and get an idea of \u200b\u200bthe beauty of Asian cultures in general.

Assessing Tokyo National Museum by the yardstick national would be reductive to scale (100 thousand square meters!), Quantity, variety and provenance of the works, in a sense, multiculturalism, the first museum in Japan is comparable to the British Museum. A thorough visit to its halls r egal a look as well as on ancient Japanese history, even the oldest ones on the rest of East Asia, China and Korea in particular.



The NWT is divided into large halls built in different periods since 1872, each housing a different permanent exhibition, as well as numerous temporary exhibitions each year.

Honkan (or Japanese Gallery)
It 's the main hall of the museum, as well as the major. In its 24 rooms are all examples of Japanese cultural and artistic journey, from the Jomon period protohistoric to the contemporary age.



As you can see from the map, there are rooms devoted to archeology, art and Buddhist court. You can see objects of military use, as armor and weapons, items for the tea ceremony , theater and painting on panels and screens . In the end, there are also some pictures, expression of the influence of Western art from the second half of the nineteenth century.



dell'Honkan Opposite the main entrance, there is also a beautiful garden, where you can see a corner in the photo below.

At Honkan is a Dogu , a clay figurine dating to a period between 1000 and 400 after Christ, became known more for theories of fiction for its archeology archaeological value. This figurine is called "astronaut" , because the decorations in his clothes remind someone of the current space suits.



Hyokeikan

is the Asian gallery. It houses a vast variety of archaeological finds from China, India and Korea, as well as a smaller but fascinating collection of West Asian and Egyptian artifacts.
East and Southeast Asian countries are also dedicated several rooms containing figurative and decorative art objects (sculptures, pottery, etc.).. Currently
this pavilion also includes articles of Toyokan , another building dedicated to Asia, whose restoration will last until 2012.

Heiseikan
It 's the most recent construction of the museum complex, houses and other Japanese archaeological material, including recent times as the era of Nara and Heian .

This is the entry ticket, which lists the halls of the museum and the dates of construction (in the case dell'Honkan, devastated by an earthquake in 1923, last construction). The fare is 600 yen (400 yen University students, students of primary schools and people over 70 free).



Warning for those who are in Japan November 12, 2009: that day will mark the twentieth anniversary of the reign of Emperor Akihito, and entry to all exhibitions is free of TNM.

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October 11, 2007 - Kamakura - Komachi & Danzakura

Once out of the temple Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu , we decided to go for a while along the path indicated by the large Torii aligned with the entrance of the temple, along the road known as Danzakura . In the picture the first torii gate that marks the beginning of the part of Danzakura under the direct responsibility of the temple.

We would have gladly taken something to eat and drink for refreshment, but, strangely, not seen, nor the classic vending machines, either open a place where you sit. It was not yet late afternoon, so we decided to walk along the sidewalk on the right side of the beach giving a furtive glance in the shops (the Sardinian word "sconchiai" makes the idea) to capture a trace of life! Along the way, not far from the temple, there was also a small Catholic church.

After walking for about ten minutes, we recognized a room with a classic banquet to prepare the pancakes, but inside the room seemed to be no one, apart from an elderly lady who was cleaning and fixing things. We had to leave - on the other hand, the place at first glance, it seemed very friendly - when the lady called our attention. She did not speak English well and - needless to recall - we did not know almost nothing about Japanese, so when asked (I assume) if we wanted to get something, we made gestures to understand more words than we would have a crack. She called her husband and turned on the plate. We made it clear that we had to wait a while, but for us it was not a problem: on the contrary, we had the impression that they were opening up in advance just to make us a favor. He opened the door and motioned us to sit down.
The first impression of the place was bizarre to make a comparison "Italian", I felt the same feeling of abandonment that comes when you enter a dimly lit bar of the old, still furnished with forty years ago in which all now seems spent and where things are not ancient, but prosaically old. The location of two elderly persons who had not wanted to put up with the times.
However I do not keep that good memories of that place: the gentlemen we prepared two simple but very good pancakes and tea.

Although my face is not the maximum life (^^), if you look you can see the wallpaper aged and drawings hung with tape. The two gentlemen were very kind, as often happens in Japan, and in spite of any language difficulties even tried to make a little conversation with us.
is often given this kindness of the Japanese to a form a little hypocritical to label and in part may be true, but this is only one aspect of the thing. Gambling

my personal opinion about them: Japan the customer is not just a customer but a guest to whom we owe the courtesy to visitors who reserve their home. Provo, for the sake of speculation, to imagine the proverbial hospitality of the Sardinian applied in the commercial field, and it seems that everything makes sense.

I am not so naive as to think that it works the same way everywhere, into the gigantic depato in the small local family-run, but nothing out of my head that I could spend an entire life to say if not polite expressions there was at least a basic sense of true hospitality.

Anyway, we paid our drink (a paltry sum davero ... about 5 € in all), thank you and goodbye, I think I've made 250 micro-bows while saying "arigatou gozaimasu" just to make sure they understood we appreciated everything. As we left, I was relieved to see that people were beginning to approach the bench to order the cracks and give more away to that place.

walked a few more hundred meters on foot, and then decided to turn right, convinced that we first arrived at the station. We ended up in a shopping street - Komachi -that began to fill with people and we had already traversed a part in our previous wanderings. Komachi contains a number of craft shops, is narrow, teeming with life, far removed from the glamor of the big city and perhaps that is most appreciated. What a disappointment would be the usual string of stores and depato in one of the most picturesque towns in Japan!

Fortunately for us the way things were a little different.



The external fittings were often funny as this above.



The afternoon had not yet filed, but the number of people around was already high.



Here I open a brief parenthesis. If you look at the top of the photo you will notice a spider web of cables that often can be seen in the streets of Japan. Although this method of passing cables is objectively unwatchable, that's what makes the Japanese now have a band internet large up to eight to nine times more powerful our connection. It will be as bad as you want, but you can imagine the cost to rewire a city with underground rather than overhead lines are a little different.

Below, a small store of printed materials, from postcards to books dust jacket (something popular in Japan) in print, paper for the walls. What place was packed to the point of not being able to move! People like me who loves these kind of things can not but be fascinated by that place.



A tourist junk shop which rises majestically from a superhero myths Japan: Ultraman! The true ancestor of all the heroes of the show in costume.



And yet, the shop in Kamakura most photographed by tourists because of the presence of the gauge wood Totoro, one of the most famous animated characters outside of Japan.



Finally, just off Komachi dori, what I call the "Odd Couple": a dark red and crimson bulls McDonald's, proves once more that there is never peace among the olive trees!



entered the station and headed to the train, it was time to greet this wonderful corner of serenity that is Kamakura.

Who goes to Japan board to stay there a night or two, if necessary, to stealing the larger cities. If you love Japan a little less of a cosmopolitan and gleaming No you will not be overwhelmed as happened to us.