Waiting out Typhoon Dujuan in Tokyo

Shibuya Crossing

Typhoons. I've been through more than I count during the decades I was living in Japan and Taiwan, but for most of those times the storms were inconveniences keeping me indoors throughout almost the entire day. Only twice have typhoons disrupted my travel plans. The first time was in September 2013 when I found myself marooned in Akita City 秋田市 when train services were suspended. However, the next day's weather was fine, and thanks to my having a Japan Rail Pass I was still able to eventually visit all the places that were on my itinerary. 

The other time also happened in September, in this case the month just recently completed. I was scheduled to depart Guangzhou's Baiyun Airport 广州白云国际机场 on Sunday, September 20 on a China Southern Airlines flight to Haneda Airport 羽田空港 in Tōkyō 東京. However, Typhoon Dujuan had chosen this time to aim directly for the Kantō region 関東地方, home to Japan's capital. It was with some trepidation I took the subway to the airport that morning for my mid-afternoon scheduled flight. However, everything appeared to be on time, and I was actually disappointed my gate wasn't the one listed on the sign below:

The plane left on time, and the flight was smooth, with the exception of some turbulence as we approached Haneda. Arrival was around the originally scheduled time, and while the rain outside was heavy it wasn't yet of typhoon strength. After clearing immigration, the Tokyo Monorail 東京モノレール and Yamanote Line 山手線 deposted me at Yoyogi Station 代々木駅, after which I located and checked into the Hotel Century Southern Tower 小田急ホテルセンチュリーサザンタワー.

Looking out my room window the following morning the rain didn't seem that bad, and more importantly, the trains were still running. Still, one of the two friends I was going to meet that Monday couldn't come into Tōkyō because her school closed for the day in anticipation of the coming typhoon, and the other friend would also end up taking a literal rain check as his wife was concerned over the potential of flooding in their neighborhood. So I resigned myself to staying in the Shinjuku 新宿 area that day, and hoping the weather would be much improved by Tuesday, when my plans called for leaving Tōkyō for points up north:

The TV news reports weren't looking very promising:

By the time I ventured out in the middle of the morning the winds had started to pick up. Fortunately, Takashimaya Times Square タカシマヤタイムズスクエア専門店 was located directly across from the hotel, and I spent some time (and later on some money) inside Books Kinokuniya Tokyo 紀伊國屋書店 on the sixth floor of the South Building perusing the Japan-related titles and wishing I had the library space to accommodate all the books I would've liked to have purchased:

I returned to my room to rest, and then ventured out again in search of somewhere to have something to eat for lunch. My first choice of nourishment was tonkatsu 豚カツ, but the two small restaurants I sought out following some Google Maps research turned out to be closed for the day. Fortunately, one of the Shinjuku Station 新宿駅 branches of Saboten さぼてん was open for business, and I managed to squeeze into a seat at the counter before hungry customers were being told to wait outside:

The weather had deterioted sharply by the time I returned to my room to wait out the worst of the typhoon:

By the late afternoon the meterological conditions had improved just enough that I went out for the final time that day, first for a latte at a Tully's situated almost directly outside the hotel, and then back across the railroad tracks to Times Square for a curry set dinner on one of the restaurant floors:

 

The worst of the typhoon (at least in Shinjuku and its environs) was over by nightfall. Other areas in Kantō, however, took quite a beating from Dujuan:

The view from my room early on Tuesday morning:

Post-typhoon skies tend to be very clear once the tempest has moved on:

With my morning open I went for a stroll around Shinjuku Station. The once-iconic Studio Alta meeting spot on the station's east side was now long gone, but nearby stood the video screen that has gained a lot of attention online for its 3D Cat Billboard. Apparently I didn't wait around long enought for the giant feline to make its appearance, but then again Instagram plays no part when it comes to my deciding on what to see and do in Japan:

I haven't lived in Tōkyō since 1999, though I have visited many times since. Businesses come and go, but the general layout of the areas around Shinjuku Station has remained largely the same over the years. The same can't be said of Shibuya Station 渋谷駅, where I headed next that morning. Other than those stations closest to where I was living, Shibuya Station was probably the one I most often entered and exited, and yet so much construction and renovation has taken (and is taking) place in the 27 years since I left that I found the area difficult to navigate. I did, however, manage to locate the Myth of Tomorrow 明日の神話, a 1969 fourteen-panel painting by Tarō Okamoto 岡本太郎. The 30 meter/98 foot-long mural depicts the moment the atomic bomb exploded in Hiroshima 広島. It was moved to its present location (the bridge corridor linking the JR station with the Shibuya Mark City complex) in 2008:

The same corridor provides a view of Shibuya's famous scramble crossing:

Having a brief walk through Shibuya Stream 渋谷ストリーム, one of the many restaurant/retail store complexes that have popped up near the station:

It was only 10:00 by this point so I headed over to Mag's Park Rooftop, an observation deck overlooking Shibuya Crossing. The ¥800 ($5) admission fee included a drink, so I opted for a morning beer:

I'm going to assume you're aware of the existence of Shibuya Crossing 渋谷スクランブル交差点. It's an intersection I'd crossed numerous times going to and from the station, and yet on never one of those occasions did I ever think to stop and take a photo or video of the action. That isn't to say there wasn't a certain exhiliration that came with making the crossing, but at the same time it was just one aspect of the Shibuya experience. But nowadays it's become a rite of message with the foreign tourist hordes to film their walk through the intersection, just one of the many annoying "benefits" of Japan's social-media inspired tourist boom. But I was a tourist myself, so I also checked out the action from high above:

Why are the Mario Karts allowed to interfere with Shibuya's traffic?:

Looking down on Hachiko Square ハチ公前広場. It was once Tōkyō's most popular meeting spot (though I preferred to wait for friends by the police box just outside the station's plaza gate as it was less crowded and I was easier to spot), but these days the area is filled with tourists lining up to have their photos taken with Japan's most loyal canine. The story is too well-known, but I suspect at least one reason the dog kept returning to the station every day was the food handouts being given to him by the vendors then operating stalls in the immediate area. Let's not forget that tales of Hachikō's loyalty were exaggerated and promotod by Japan's militarist governments of the 1930s, before the story was given a kinder, gentler makeover in the immediate post-war years: 

Center-Gai Street 渋谷センター街, the city's supposed "center of youth culture" and another warden of lanes and alleys I used to be very familiar with:

By this point I was faced with a decision. I had to return to Shinjuku (my bags having been entrusted with the hotel), but should I have lunch at the station before catching a Shōnan-Shinjuku Line 湘南新宿ライン train to Ōmiya 大宮? Or should I take the chance that there would be a sit-down restaurant by the bullet train gates at Ōmiya Station 大宮駅 where I could eat before getting on the Shinkansen 新幹線? I opted for the latter course, and secured a table at the only cafe I could find inside the station, and before a queue developed out front:

The Akita Shinkansen 秋田新幹線 train that would take me to my next destination, Kakunodate 角館:

This bullet train is known as a "mini Shinkansen", a high-speed train that operates on low-speed conventional tracks. I tried to get some photos of Mount Iwate 岩手山 (2038 meters/6686 feet) in the distance as the train made its way to Kakunodate from Morioka 盛岡:

I was checked in at the Tamachi Samurai Residence Hotel 田町武家屋敷ホテル by 17:00:

Despite having only been in country for a couple of days I took advantage of the fact there was a laundromat fewer than twenty minutes away on foot:

The Tamachi Bukeyashiki Hotel is a traditional inn exuding a Meji period 明治時代 atmosphere, helped by the smart Western-style room I was given. Once unpacked and with the laundry done, I went to the hotel's attached restaurant next door for dinner, starting off with a local brew...:

...to go with the oyakodon 親子丼 meal set I ordered:

The television news reports were still focusing on the aftermath left behind by Typhoon Dujuan, but except for some rain here and there, the weather would be cooperative for the rest of this trip. The next day I would explore one of Japan's more evocative samurai towns. 

Kicking the bucket...list: Day 21 - Drowning in a sea of sweat

 

Looking out over Matsuyama from the castle 

OK, I'm well aware Japan can get very hot and humid in the summer. I mean I somehow managed to sweat through my first three summers in Tōkyō 東京 in a tiny apartment cooled only with an electric fan (I finally sprang for an air conditioner when a coworker with connections was able to get a deal on one for me). But I wasn't expecting it to be this uncomfortable in the middle of June, in late spring and during the rainy season. The times are definitely a-changin'. 

My original plan for this day was to go to Dōgo Onsen 道後温泉 as the forecast was calling for a 100% chance of rain on Saturday, compared with "only" 75% for Sunday. However, the Sun was shining at around 0600 when I woke up to use the bathroom. The sky had become overcast by the time I went downstairs for breakfast but not threatening-looking, so I changed my plans, opting to soak in indoor hot springs the following day. However, nature works in infuriating ways - once I left the hotel in the morning it started to rain: 

My first destination of the day would be Matsuyama Castle 松山城. The ropeway station that takes visitors up Mount Katsuyama 勝山 (132 meters/433 feet) to the castle was 25 minutes on foot from the hotel. On the way there I was passed by a Botchan Train 坊っちゃん列車 taking its passengers to the onsen:

I got up to the castle by using the ropeway. By the time I snapped this photo soon after reaching the top I'd started to sweat profusely in the humidity:

Before heading up to the castle entrance I made a short (unfortunately downhill) detour to Shinonome-jinja 東雲神社 (1823) on the eastern side of Katsuyama. The shrine is noted for its Takigi festival - held in April, Noh plays are performed in light cast from flaming torches 薪能 (having seen it performed in Matsumoto 松本, I can attest that it's far more entertaining than the standard version performed in indoor theaters). However, the shrine turned out to be so close to the ropeway station that I might've been better off just walking up...: 

...except for that humidity. The now-longer uphill walk only resulted in even more perspiration: 

Reaching the castle. Finished in 1628, Matsuyama-jō is one of a dozen Japanese castles deemed to be "original", though the five-story donjon was rebuilt as a three-story structure in 1820 following a devastating lightning strike 36 years previously - the Edo period 江戸時代 was a time of peace, which probably explains the lack of urgency when it came to reconstruction. Even knowing the three lesser donjons are all modern-day reconstructions, Matsuyama Castle remains an impressive fortress:

My hotel is the cream-colored building in the center:

The interior of the main donjon houses a museum displaying calligraphy, old maps, painted screens and samurai armor, among many other items:

The views from the top floor of the donjon, including of the Seto Inland Sea 瀬戸内海 in the distance. The breezes at the top were a welcome (though all too brief) respite from the stuffiness of the enclosed floors below:

After visiting the main donjon, it was time for a snack break, consisting of vanilla and red bean soft cream + a draft beer:

Walking down on the backslopes of the castle in the direction of my hotel, with the sweat continuing to roll down from my brow: 

At the bottom of the steps I entered the Ninomaru Shiseki Tei-en 二之丸史跡庭園, a series of gardens built on the site of the outer citadel of the castle, which fell victim to fire in 1872. A display of mikoshi 神輿, portable shrines frequently carried around during festivals: 

These modern-day pathways and pools represent the floor plan of the former citadel:

This sign explains how a Russian gold coin was found when the great well above was excavated. The coin most likely came from a Russian POW: 

By this point I was such a sweaty mess that I returned to the hotel to take a shower and change my clothes, before going out to the Iyotetsu Takashimaya いよてつ高島屋 department store for a late tonkatsu 豚カツ set lunch:

There was still time to do some more sightseeing, so after lunch I walked back to the area around the castle, passing by these turtles relaxing in the former castle moat:

The Ehime Prefectural Government Office 愛媛県庁本館:

My destination was the Bansui-sō 萬翆荘, a French-style villa built in 1922 for Count Sadakoto Hisamatsu 久松定謨, a descendant of the daimyō 大名 of the Iyo-Matsuyama feudal domain 伊予松本藩:

Art exhibitions and concerts are held on the first (ground) floor, where entry is free of charge (there was a recital taking place at the time I popped in). There is a charge to visit the upper floor:

This model represented the best view of the villa, as this angle can't be seen from outside: 

Two portraits of Emperor Hirohito 昭和天皇. The then-Crown Prince stayed for a couple of nights in the villa in 1922:

A portrait of the Count in all his pre-Occupation finery:

The best view I could get of the exterior:

Cooling off with an Iyokan IPA at the Ōkaidō Brewery, a small beer bar on the first floor of the Matsuyama Mitsukoshi 松山三越 department store: 

Try as I might, 2½ months after the fact I can't recall what I did for dinner on the evening of my twentieth day in-country. I suppose it can be chalked up to age-related memory loss, especially at it also happened to be my birthday. With my wife back in Beijing 北京 and my daughter finishing up at college in the U.S., I'll admit to feeling pangs of loneliness at times that day, no doubt exacerbated by the heat and humidity. Still, all things considered it had been a good outing, part of a trip that was meeting (and in many cases exceeding) virtually all of my pre-journey expectations. And I would be reuniting with Shu-E and Amber in just over a week's time. 

So, if you like, wish me a belated 誕生日おめでとうございます, and join me for Day 22, when it was still hot but a bit less humid, and without a single drop of rain.