Michael Powell's Blog, page 81
July 4, 2014
The Studio Ghibli Museum
Since releasing Castle in the Sky in 1986, the magicians of Studio Ghibli have come to dominate the world of Japanese animation. Spirited Away, Porco Rosso, Howl’s Moving Castle, and The Wind Rises are just some of the studio’s nineteen (and counting) feature films, nearly all of which have been hailed by critics and beloved by audiences around the world. We’ve been Ghibli fans for years, and made it a point to visit the studio’s museum in Inokashira Park.
The museum is exactly what you’d expe...
July 3, 2014
Komagome and the Rikugi-en Gardens
A pleasant and almost entirely-overlooked neighborhood to the north of the city, Komagome is defined by narrow alleys lined with shops and restaurants, and is home to one of Tokyo’s best gardens: the Rikugi-en, originally built at the end of the seventeenth century.
We got off the train at Komagome Station, not really expecting much from the neighborhood. And we were able to quickly confirm our expectations: there just isn’t much here. But it’s a very agreeable kind of nothingness. The streets...
July 2, 2014
The Skyscrapers of Shinjuku
Although it’s considered Western Tokyo, Shinjuku can legitimately claim to be the new center of the city. Shinjuku Station is busier than Tokyo Station, serving nearly four million passengers a day, the city government has moved here, and Shinjuku boasts not just Tokyo’s most infamous entertainment district, but a plurality of its tallest skyscrapers.
Shinjuku Station is easily the busiest train station in the world. It serves four separate railway companies and its labyrinth of underground pa...
The Summer Sumo Tournament
We were lucky enough to be in Tokyo during the Summer Sumo Tournament, or Natsu Basho, and bought tickets as soon as they became available. Sumo is one of Japan’s most famous cultural products, and we were determined not to miss out.
Six tournaments are held annually in Japan, and three of them take place in the National Sumo Hall, the Ryogoku Kokugikan. These tournaments are complicated operations, which last for fifteen days, run from the early morning to the evening, and involve hundreds of...
July 1, 2014
Weird Japanese Candy
If there’s one thing that Japan does really well, it’s taking things meant for children, and making them awesome enough for adults. Arcades and video games? Forget about it, I don’t think children even could play the games in most Japanese arcades. The anime and manga of Japan is legendary, and definitely adult-oriented. Toys, games, Gundam models… all of these things supposedly meant for kids are equally appealing to adults. And that’s why I don’t feel terribly guilty about all the crazy Jap...
June 29, 2014
The View from Roppongi Hills
Built for a whopping four billion dollars, the mega-complex known as Roppongi Hills opened to the public in 2003. With museums, malls, theaters, parks, hotels, hundreds of stores and restaurants, along with some of the city’s most expensive apartments, Roppongi Hills would love to eat up several of your Tokyo days. We spent about an hour there.
A view of the Tokyo Tower from Roppongi Hills
Until a construction tycoon named Minoru Mori decided to revitalize the neighborhood with his ambitious de...
In and Around Tokyo Midtown
It surely won’t keep the title for long, but for now the tallest habitable building in Tokyo is the Midtown Tower, part of the Tokyo Midtown complex in Akasaka. We spent a day seeing the best sights in and around the area, including the incredible architecture of the National Art Center and the tranquil quiet of the Nogi Shrine.
The mixed-use Tokyo Midtown complex was built by Mitsui Fudosan for over $3 billion, and provides office space for firms like Xerox, Cisco and Yahoo! Japan. There are...
June 28, 2014
Eating in Tokyo: Our Favorite Foods
Every morning, before starting out on another day in Tokyo, I would ask Jürgen what he was most excited about. It didn’t matter whether we were visiting an ancient temple, a weird museum, a crazy festival or a park, his response was always the same: “Eating.” And I would nod in agreement. Of all the things Tokyo has to offer, its delicious and surprisingly affordable food is probably the highlight. This is a city in which it’s almost impossible to eat bad.
Omurice
As a foreigner, ordering your...
June 25, 2014
The Modern Side of Yokohama
After dedicating the morning to the historic pier district and grabbing lunch in Asia’s largest Chinatown, we moved further north up the bay and spent the afternoon walking around Yokohama’s modern district.
The 1980s were an exciting time for Yokohama. At the beginning of the decade, it surpassed Osaka in population to become the second-largest city in Japan. In 1983, work began on Minato Mirai 21, a sprawling complex built on reclaimed land destined to be the city’s new business and entertai...
Yokohama’s Chinatown
Outside of China, the largest Chinatown in Asia can be found in Yokohama. Hundreds of Chinese restaurants and shops are packed into this colorful and boisterous neighborhood, along with a multitude of gates and temples, and (if you’re visiting at lunch time) approximately 34 billion students looking for a good, cheap meal.
Yokohama’s Chinatown feels like a theme park, with large gates clearly defining its borders and a festive atmosphere reigning in the pedestrian-only streets. This isn’t a no...
