Waseda University, International Division, 1963…do the math: yes, 50 years ago, so, when the announcement of an anniversary event in Tokyo to be held 25 October 2013 arrived, I thought it would make a good date around which to build a trip to Japan. Where am I? By then it was pretty typical that I was the tall guy in the back row…and so it is here.

Waseda teamed up with a lah-dee-dah hotel chain, Rihga, to build this on the edge of the campus, and it was...

here that the Anniversary was held. The invitees were mostly the current administrative personnel, some of the previous "suits" and a handful of students. Since I was a member of the first group of students, I was asked to observe.

So  when I was spontaneously asked to make a few remarks, I was quite unprepared, so I just took the audience's photograph instead.

ForourTokyo nights, we stayed at Kimi Ryokan, near Ikebukuro Station….

...because our friend, David Kopitske was staying there. (If you go back to that opening 1963 photo, David is the fellow in the middle of the second row.) I did not get to know David so well at Waseda but we later spent a year on the same English teaching program in Toyama, where we did get to know each other quite well. 

Kimi R. is a Japanese style "business hotel", that is, no meals, shared facilities, but tatami rooms with fold up futon  beds. We chose to roll up the beds and leave out, and use the futon storage closet for luggage.

In the old days, hotels, inn's and "minshuku" (inexpensive inns) always served breakfast, so finding it on the streets was problematical. With the rise of western style, all day, if not all night too, restaurants, this is no longer a problem, take "Gusto" for example. Located on street level near the station, with a hotel, sauna and massage above, it is well positioned to capture early morning (and late evening) customers.

Although more and more places have English menus, many more have added photos to be their international language. Some of the details may elude one, but its gets the basic information across.

Zhufeng had a favorite Chinese breakfast, rice porridge, and I had a favorite Japanese one: rice, seaweed, pickels, miso soup and mackerel. Juice, soup, tea, coffee were all self-serve from the Drinks Bar.

I usually find time to visit Meiji Shrine, as much for the large park it is in (and its Inner Garden) as the shrine itself. 
The approaches are marked by grand "tori'i" gates and flanking lanterns, and….

…the gates to the shrine have a stylized 12 petal chrysanthemum, the Imperial family crest.

The main shrine building is marked as an important Shinto place by the straw rope, tassels and folded white paper charms. 

It is always pleasing to see well maintained traditional post and beam architecture. It is not so often to be there to see a wedding procession as well.

Out in the courtyard, the tradition of writing a wish on a plaque ("ema") is going strong, of course in Japanese but more and more in English as well.

To contrast the Shrine's architecture, we went to the Edo-Tokyo Museum, designed by the venerable modernist, K. Kikutake (d. 2011) in 1993. Before 1868, this city was known as Edo. After the Emperor moved from Kyoto to Edo, the name was changed to Tokyo ("Eastern Capital"). The museum highlights the city of Edo and its chage to Tokyo.

Needless to say, high on the school excursion list.

It is full of models: large, small scale ones with binoculars to see the details.

To much larger scaled ones which illustrate some of the traditional activities of the era.

And of course, full scale artifacts as well….such as Subaru's first mass produced car, the 360, from 1958 to 1971.

I wonder, did "THE museum shop" develop in Japan…?

Contrasting traditional and contemporary is a full time activity….here a facade of paper lanterns announce what is inside, while….

…here a glass curtain wall opens the interior to speak for itself.

The firm of another of Japanese's pioneering modern architects, K. Tange (d. 2005) is still going strong, winning the Skyscraper of the Year award with Cocoon Tower in 2008.

It houses three educational institutions, so it's not surprising to find on the first floor a …..

…..right from good old Seattle.

So it was an appropriate place to visit with Shoko Majima. While her husband was posted in Seattle, Shoko was an active and informative guide at the Japanese Garden…a delight with whom to do special events. We miss her!

One gets to ride lots of trains in Japan, and watch the passengers watch their digital screens.

The days of folded over newspapers, large "Manga" comics, or tiny pulp fiction books, are gone. 

And the "bullet trains" just get faster and faster, and more and more stylish. One line departs with two 8-car trains together, and splits to distant destinations on down the line. Contrasting colors assist passengers in getting on the desired section.

One thing which has NOT changed is the impeccable condition of the rolling stock. A line of pink uniformed cleaning ladies await the arrival of a train, which, in less than 10 minutes will have her seats rotated, head-rest papers replaced, floors swept, trash removed, supplies refreshed and another load of passengers on board ready to head back from whence it came.

Meanwhile the departing passengers wait patiently, if not exactly in the designated waiting lane, for the boarding announcement. Or grab a "bento", sandwich or drink from the platform shop.