Tokyo in 2023
Tokyo at Christmas and New Years
I arrived back in Tokyo on Christmas day because I thought it would be better to be in the big city for Christmas than the country side. Unlike the west, Christmas in Japan isn’t a national holiday. Nor is it about presents and family and thanksgiving dinner. Rather, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are considered one of the most romantic days of the year and is closer to Valentine’s Day as a time for couples to go out on a date. Since I didn’t have a date, it was kuribotchi for me — spending Christmas alone.
But it wasn’t that bad. In fact, it was one of the more enjoyable Christmas’ because I could do what I want. This consisted of seeing some winter illuminations in Ginza. I was planning on seeing more illuminations while in Tokyo but somehow it just didn’t end up happening. I was never in the right neighbourhood at night and after a full day of walking around I was usually pretty tired and ready to tuck in.
On Boxing day I revisiting two Japanese gardens. Hamarikyu Garden and Kyu-Shiba-rikyu Garden are along Tokyo Bay and operated by the municipal government so they’re pretty cheap. Both are nice in their own way but I realized when I was there that the last time I came I’d seen the gardens in the afternoon and was suppose to come in the morning. I’d forgotten and was again seeing the gardens late in the afternoon. Oh well.
Another garden that I’d been meaning to see for a long time but hadn’t ever made it to was the Koishikawa Korakuen Garden beside Tokyo Dome. I think this would be quite a pretty garden in the spring and summer. In winter it was alright and I enjoyed the reflections on the pond, but there was one area with stepping stones and a bridge that I thought would look great with some foliage.
Since I was near Tokyo Dome I did go see the light display there. This was the only other light display I managed to see this year which is a little bit of a shame but the way it goes.
I stayed a week in Tokyo from Christmas day until January 2nd because it is one of two holiday weeks in Japan and most of the attractions, museums, and parks are closed so I wanted to be somewhere where I wouldn’t be bothered by that. Tokyo has so much to do so it made a lot of sense to hang out in the big city for a week.
I spent most of this week walking around the suburbs going to used bookstores and some more remote architecture projects. I have a long list of architecture books I’m going to buy at the end of my trip but it seemed prudent to check out the used bookstores too. I ended up finding a few good books.
By coincidence I went to the Tokyo Institute of Technology to see a Kengo Kuma project and found the Centeninal Hall by Kazuo Shinohara. This was exciting because I first saw the distinctive building in first year and later studied Shinohara extensively on my own in second year. Unfortunately the building was closed for the winter break but at least I could see it from the outside.
The Kengo Kuma project wasn’t actually that exciting and I was rather disappointed with it. Fortunately, later in the day I went to a hall designed at Denenchofu Seseragi Park that was quite nice. I liked the combination of traditional and contemporary elements and the simplicity of the building lines which I think could be a good to study further in the future. It too was closed but looking through the windows it looked pretty good.
I also saw the Tokyo Apartments by Sou Fujimoto and the Moriyama house by Ryu Nishizawa, two famous residences in the architectural world. Since they were private houses I could only take photos from the street and I didn’t stick around long because I didn’t want to bother their privacy. The Moriyama house actually has a sign for no photos tresspassing in English and Chinese (because a Japanese would never) but some self-centred tourists in the past have ruined it for everyone else.
I’m really glad I saw the Tokyo Apartments though because it is one of my favourite projects. The Moriyama house is also very interesting because it was and still is considered quite radical. But really it just makes me frustrated that Canada has so many stuipd bylaws and building regulations that prohibit experimental designs. If you ever wondered why nearly every house in Vancouver and Toronto looks the same, you can thank stupid bylaws that pretty much only allow one appearance and a municipal building department of old geezers who “want to maintain the character of the street.”
Anyways, I love being in Japan and walking around the quiet neighbourhoods and back alleys because there’s always a lot of interesting architecture.
Here are some more photos of the neighbourhood streets I wandered down. Though they might look messy with telephone poles and wires going everywhere, I find it actually quite organized and cohesive. I think of it like a messy desk — everything’s still in it’s own place if you know where to look.
The other thing to point out is that every house is different, and in all being different there’s a mutal understanding between the buildings and they all fit together. Whereas Canada insists on having the same volume setback from the street and general appearance to again, “maintain the character of the street” re: let wealthy privilege people remain wealthy by not “lowering” the value of the neighbourhood because a house down the street is “ugly.” — The Japanese neighbourhoods find communality in material choice (often non-combustible materials to stop fire spreading) and sometimes odd roof lines (to ensure adequate lighting to neighbouring properties and the street). The value and the pleasure is that every house can and is different. Freedom of expression should always be valued.
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