Tokyo International Forum

Simply Wonderful

When I visit a new city, I go online and do a search for the best photographic opportunities. I can generally fill my days to the brim with interesting places and it’s always a challenge to decide which locations get sunrise and sunset. Sometimes this is eased by weather, for if it will be cloudy, there will be no sunrise. In my search for Tokyo, one place kept coming up over and over…The Tokyo International Forum. This center is a multipurpose meeting space of sorts on a grand scale. I stopped by one night and was immediately in love with the space. There is just so much going on, such simplicity, but yet such wonderful attention to detail. I don’t know many of the particulars of Rafael Viñoly design, but the nautical influence is impossible to miss. The building looks as though it was constructed from pieces of what should have been a massive ship, but rather, these by some twist of fate simply ended up being affixed to the island of Japan.

Barrels of Sake

Sake In Strange Places

Honestly sake isn’t really my thing. I have had it numerous times before and perhaps I just haven’t found the right kind, but it seems very much like vodka to me…I am not sure why anyone would drink it straight. These barrels are at the Meiji Jingu shrine in Tokyo, Japan. Yes shrine…these are an offering to the deities of the shrine. It is a tradition that has gone on for generations.

Pudong at Night

Night Walking

Walking at night is easy in Asia since we Westerner’s land with a 12 hour out-of-whackness built in to our circadian rhythms. Today’s photo is of Pudong, a very new area of Shanghai. So new there is a gif created about the last 26 years of development … it is stunning. I particularly liked the raided pedestrian walkway above the street that went all over by my hotel, the mall, by Oriental-Pearl-Tower, etc.

Pudong Gif

Yuyuan Garden

Yu Garden

This is just one of the endless scenic little areas in Yuyuan Garden. Don’t get me wrong this place is a tourist trap! It’s not so much that it is expensive or people are trying to sell you something (well there is the tea house), but it’s the throngs of tourists. SO MANY TOURISTS. I luckily got there very early in the day and they were really starting to arrive just as I was preparing to leave.

It Confuses Ghosts

In ancient Chinese mythology, evil spirits can only travel in a straight line. As such much of the design of this Ming Dynasty era temple winds around in some crazy ways. I literally got lost multiple times trying to find one of the more popular areas! I walked by the Grand Rockery with the intent to come back, but after wandering around for 40 minutes I was never able to find it again. I briefly considered I might be myself an evil spirit, but then discounted that notion since I am so sweet!

Hotel Greeters

Ni Hao!

A quick photo for today, but I just loved these guys. The greeted me every time I entered the elevator area of the Park Hyatt in Shanghai, China. It’s probably a silly little thing, but this little art piece somehow made me feel welcome and made me smile every time I saw them.

Monument to the People’s Heroes

China

My first night in Shanghai was spent wandering The Bund’s promenade with tons of other people. It’s a wonderful space to walk and take in a spectacular view of Pudong (where I was staying). You see the subject of today’s photo walking up and down the length of The Bund. It sits on a point which aids in its visibility. I had no idea at the time what it was for, but I got the idea walking around. The circular wall surrounding the tower is sunk below the Earth and its quite a wonderful experience because the sounds of Shanghai fade abruptly away. I really loved Shanghai…for many reasons, it wasn’t at all what I expected which is one of the things I love most about travel.