After 40 minutes delay in Paris and a 12 hours flight I arrived on Friday morning at 7.30 a.m. local time in Tokyo. Customs - incl. fingers prints and ID photo - , pick up of luggage and transport by Keisei to Ueno, a district in Tokyo city went very fast. Visiting for the 3rd time the same hotel, by now I know the way, which helps. I hoped that the room would already be available, because I felt tired and wanted some sleep (I did not sleep at all in the plain, Annette, I read the book you gave for my birthday, very pleasant travel book about India). Happily the room was not available, so I had to carry on after having dropped my luggage and left a little note for Arjan to let him know that I arrived. I went on by public transport to Kamakura. Toshiharu-san explained me in advance how to get there, which was very convenient, because the main railway station of Tokyo is something special, so big!!! After 1 hour of travelling by train I arrived and right away I felt myself back in Japan again: cleanness, temples, vermillion coloured torii (entrance gate to a Shinto-shrine), kind people offering spontaneously their help if they saw me looking for the way, sushi lunch, hyper modern toilets, dressed dogs, ..
Kamakura used to be the capital of Japan from 1185 to 1333. There are a large number of Buddhist temples (I visited about 5 of them) and the occasional shrine dotted around the surrounding countryside, as well as some very pleasant walks and a Great Buddha (Daibutsu). The latter I visited by taxi, because I was running out of time, the sites close down around 6 pm. I managed to explain the taxi driver that he had to wait 20 minutes: I was happy to still see him at return!
Back to my hotel in Ueno where soon enough Arjan arrived as well, but that he will tell you himself.
10-05-08
Part of the afternoon Arjan and I split our ways: both Toshiharu-san and I assisted on my special request to the ''Maurice Béjart Memorial Play'' performed by the Tokyo Ballet at Tokyo Bunka Kaikan (i.e. Tokyo Culture Hall) next to our hotel. We were not too much impressed by the Sept danses grecques on music of Mikis Theodorakis, but we loved the 2 pieces on music of Igor Stravinsky: Le Sacre du Printemps and L'Oiseau de Feu.
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