While we were on vacation, I started a Livejournal blog so I could post photos for my kids to see. I didn't do much with it other than posting huge blocks of photos, so I thought I'd start moving them here and actually writing a little bit about them. Good time for an introduction, since I've already posted about the trip several times! I told you I have no sense of continuity!
Shibuya. I would guess that most people who have ever seen photos of modern Japan would recognize this intersection:
It was around 0700, so traffic was light and the buildings weren't lit up yet. A perfect time for a breakfast run to Starbucks! It's on the first and second floor of that building across the intersection. Here's a view from the second floor:
Do you see the large cardboard box crossing the street? It is manned by one a group of young men who were filming what I presume was a student film. We actually ran into them again a couple of hours later in Harajuku.
Are you familiar with the legend of Hachiko?
He has a statue here at this intersection (photo coming in just a minute). The statue is a famous meeting point; reportedly, any Tokyoite knows where it is. It took us a minute to find it, so here is a high-speed, professionally designed map for your edification in case you miss the Hachiko station exit like we did and end up across the street:
Shibuya station is sort of where point #2 is. Here's some nice wall art from inside:
Point #1, during our visit in April 2009, was a train car with some advertising on it. I specify the time frame in case it's not a permanent fixture. Anyway, when we exited the station, we did so via a hallway that we discovered was a bridge over the street. So we came out near point #3, which is a Metro station entrance and was manned by the ubiquitous tissue-advertising-hander-outer-person:
Uh, this map is not according to any kind of scale, by the way. In fact, it isn't really very accurate at all. But point #4 is the building that houses the Starbucks. Point #5 is the tall, cylindrical 109 building. At least, that's where I remember it being...And that leads us back around the map to the big X. Hachiko, who sits and waits for his master's return.
Shibuya. I would guess that most people who have ever seen photos of modern Japan would recognize this intersection:
It was around 0700, so traffic was light and the buildings weren't lit up yet. A perfect time for a breakfast run to Starbucks! It's on the first and second floor of that building across the intersection. Here's a view from the second floor:
Do you see the large cardboard box crossing the street? It is manned by one a group of young men who were filming what I presume was a student film. We actually ran into them again a couple of hours later in Harajuku.Are you familiar with the legend of Hachiko?
He has a statue here at this intersection (photo coming in just a minute). The statue is a famous meeting point; reportedly, any Tokyoite knows where it is. It took us a minute to find it, so here is a high-speed, professionally designed map for your edification in case you miss the Hachiko station exit like we did and end up across the street:
Shibuya station is sort of where point #2 is. Here's some nice wall art from inside:
Point #1, during our visit in April 2009, was a train car with some advertising on it. I specify the time frame in case it's not a permanent fixture. Anyway, when we exited the station, we did so via a hallway that we discovered was a bridge over the street. So we came out near point #3, which is a Metro station entrance and was manned by the ubiquitous tissue-advertising-hander-outer-person:
Uh, this map is not according to any kind of scale, by the way. In fact, it isn't really very accurate at all. But point #4 is the building that houses the Starbucks. Point #5 is the tall, cylindrical 109 building. At least, that's where I remember it being...And that leads us back around the map to the big X. Hachiko, who sits and waits for his master's return.
That is some nice wall art...
ReplyDeleteVaden Chandler
The Arete' Blog
www.ordinary80.blogspot.com
I love the little bursts of art that show up all over the place in Tokyo. This one was definitely a nice use of what would have otherwise been advertising space.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading!