Saturday, July 16. The rain is still there, but it should be intermittent. We have to go and exchange our second coupons for JR passes, so we go to Tokyo station to do so. We then logically decided to stay in the area and explore the “fancy shopping” district of Ginza. We spent time in several stores, ate in a Chinese restaurant, and collected some Eki stamps along the way. For the next part, Samuel identified a few sculptures in the public space, and a park to visit on the way. The first one is Young Clock Tower, a sculpture made by Okamoto Tarō in 1970 for the Osaka Expo. It is located in the small Sukiyabashi-kōen park, a mini-green enclave in the center of Ginza. We find a few other sculptures as we pass by, but no identification.
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| Young Clock Tower |
From there, we head to Hibiya Park, a Western-style park, but one that retains Japanese elements quite clearly. Hibiya park, which covers 16 hectares, has a rich history: it was a feudal estate during the Edo period (1603-1867), then a place of arms during a large part of the Meiji era (1868-1912). There are some fortification walls and a remnant of moat. It was transformed in 1903 into the first modern park of Western inspiration in Japan. There are many large trees, including a ginkgo known as “kubi-kake ginkgo”, which is estimated to be about 500 years old. In the center of the park is a fountain inspired by a crane, the popular national bird that brings good luck. There is an open-air concert hall located within the park, and clearly there is a concert today, we hear the music and see the line to enter, this despite the rain. In a corner of the park, a small hill on which we find a copy of the Liberty Bell, a bell that was broken during the American Revolution and whose original is in Philadelphia. A gift to the Japanese people from a group of American companies at the suggestion of General Douglas MacArthur in 1952. It is a symbol of freedom. The purpose is to remind the Japanese people that they are free and in a free country, and that should be cherished. Perhaps it is time for Japan to give a similar gift to the American people…
From there, we will find Leandro Erlich’s Cloud sculpture. A glass parallelepiped appears to contain a cloud, which makes it look pretty neat. It blends in perfectly with the tall buildings around it. It seems that the sculpture is illuminated at night, maybe we will come back. We have already walked a lot, we push a bit more and go and rest in a small craft beer bar. But not without having passed by the JR station on the corner, on the place of which is an old locomotive. We then take the subway and streetcar to go to the Santagaya firefly festival. The fireflies are released under a tent so that small children can see them before sleeping. In the surroundings, it is clearly the party of the district. We buy some food and we go back home quite tired.
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