Greg Sanders

The climb up Mount Misen

Mount Misen is the highest peak on Itsukushima at 534 meters and despite having been here in 2002 was the first time I’ve climbed one of Japan’s many dark green summits. We choose the Daoshi-In route up which goes by a historic hill temple. Based on one of the pictures outside, it looks as if the trail could once have passed through the temple, but now it’s just an interesting side-trip requiring some doubling back. We spread out a bit, depending on how much time people wanted to spend looking around versus spending on the ascent.

On the way back we could see that people were now walking all the way up to Miyajima’s famed Torii gate as the tide continued to recede. The view points back were not that common, but they made welcome rest stops on a fairly steep, albeit typically paved, path all the more satisfying. There were some deer scattered throughout the journey, but they weren’t as common as in the densely visited  areas and were beaten by a tiny blue-tailed lizard for role of my favorite animal of the walk. We encountered perhaps a dozen other travelers on the way, including one musician, but by and large we had space we needed to commune with the beautiful surroundings.

We had regrouped, including meeting up again with Toshi, by the time we reached the end of the Daoshi-In trail. There was much discussion about whether to make it all the way to the top. Remarkably, the musician, a bugler, who had passed us earlier made it all the way to the peak of a nearby mountain and practiced his craft for all to hear. He’s a speck near the top of the rock-face  in the picture on the right. The choice to play Taps within his set was taken as perhaps an ill omen, but nonetheless we made it to the temple near the peak. That place had more tourists, many of whom likely took the ropeway up. It also sold  drinks even there was neither food nor a cafe as I’d misread in the guidebook.

We decided to press on to the very peak, which did have a multilevel viewing stand that made the climb all the more rewarding. The view on the left includes some of the islands of Hiroshima Bay and also the lesser peak that would be the our next destination. I reached the summit first, in part by miscommunication, but I made it back quickly and stayed with the bags as everyone else made the final trek. All-and-all I do recommend the trip; I’d just say to be sure to pack a lunch and to understand that the journey may take a fair portion of your day.

The journey to Miyajima 2014-05-27

The trip to Miyajima from Hiroshima is quite straightforward. If you have a JR Pass, just grab the train to Ono and ride the ferry over to the island. Both are covered. There’s also a tram line that runs parallel which may well be cheaper for non pass-holders. However, it’s a good thing we took the train as it meant we met Toshi, our on-and-off companion for the day. He noticed Moti was actually reading the Japanese on the platypus-labeled signs that told tourists how many stops until they had to get off (why a platypus? short answer: Japan loves cute things; longer answer: the platypus is the mascot of JR West and also appears on their smartcards). Toshi is a civil engineer who works in Germany but was making a trip back home on vacation.

Between my leaving my pass at home and earlier trip to the park, we hadn’t made it out in time to see the Itsukushima Shrine’s fabled torii gate at the high tide, when it appears most to be floating in the water. On the day we visited, that happened around 8 am and low tide struck at 2 pm. When the tide is entirely out, the gate is fully accessible by land and the floodplain around the shrine is similarly dry. Nonetheless, even in the middle stages, the gate is a sight to see and the deer are almost as prevalent as they are at Nara. We didn’t make that site of legendarily large wooden temples and bowing deer trip, although I still have fond memories of it from my 2002 excursion.

In the morning, we did not actually stop in the shrine, although we did take our time to look at the torii gate while the water was still in. The architecture does do a beautiful job of accenting the natural beauty of the bay and the mainland and island mountains. While we did look around the town, it was primarily a waypoint on our journey to the base of Mt. Misen. That hike would take us most of the day and is the subject of the next post.

Our first return to Peace Memorial Park 2014-05-27

There is a Peace Clock Tower at the north end of the park, one built by Seiko with atop a triangular tower with a twist at the bottom and a ball at the top. It plays at 8:15 AM every day and my mother set out early to make sure that we heard it and to give her a chance to see some of what she missed the prior night. Nearby is classical large temple bell etched with a map of the world and an atomic symbol. The prior night I had tapped it with a ring to hear a tone but when the park opened at 8:30 one of the staffers released the clapper for visitors to use. I have a video of my mother tolling the bell, but in the video depicting my effort I’m taking a bit of time, contemplative and pensive, and the ring of the peace bell can’t be heard by a larger audience. There’s a troubling metaphor here with my international relations work, that is sufficiently on the nose that I will not further explain it.

To the south of the clock tower and bell, there’s the Children’s Peace Monument, dedicated to all the children who died in the bombing with a statue inspired by Sadako Sasaki, a girl who later died of leukemia brought on by radiation exposure. The booths to the back of the picture are filled with strings of paper cranes as well as artwork with the cranes as a medium. Sasaki had attempted to fold the cranes near the end of her life in keeping with a legend about 1,000 cranes granting a wish. The effort behind that gesture and the sentiment that underlies it left me awed.

My mother and I then explored a bit further and then headed to the intersection of two major tram-lines to meet with the rest of our group. I went off to pick up a convenience store breakfast for the both of us and realized that I’d left my passport and rail pass in the hotel room in my eagerness to make the sounding of the carillon. Thankfully, the regularity of the trolleys is such that I was able to rush back to the hotel room and rejoin the others in time to catch the train and subsequent ferry to Miyajima and a rather different sort of encounter with the spiritual.

Travelogue resumes tomorrow. Tonight, congratulations to the winners

Not all the races I’m watching are done yet, but from what’s known I’ll be happy to support Maryland’s (and specifically Montgomery and Howard’s) slate of Democratic candidates. This isn’t that surprising of a result to me, as most of the races had a lot of strong contenders and even many of the candidates that did not make the cut this year should be proud on a race well run.

I feel rather lucky to be alive in this period of Maryland history. There’s still a general election to win, but I think the theme for the next four years really has to be state-level execution. We’ve made some real strides, but the Silver Spring Transit Center and the first round of Health Care website problems show that we can sometimes mess ourselves up without needing much help from Republicans. We have a chance to be a hopeful example to a divided nation, but we have to bring our A-game. Let’s start by building the Purple Line now!

Japan travel blogging resumes tomorrow. Good night and good luck.

Travelogue interruption: MD primary endorsements and Vote411 plug

I’m rather happy with my choices this year. Maryland, my present home of Howard County, and my birthplace of Montgomery County have all been well governed for the past few years. There’s been a exception or two, mostly notably the health care website, but it seems like that’s under control now.

So, if you have any races you still need information on, allow me to recommend Vote411.org. That has the candidates answers to pertinent questions for races at all levels of the ballot. That’s not just MD, check it out for any U.S. election (though obviously many elections have already happened or may not be tomorrow).

So, speaking strictly for myself, and not for my organizations or employer, and certainly not for the League which doesn’t do endorsements, here’s the Action Committee for Transit scorecard for Montgomery County and various statewide races (scroll to the second page for state government stuff). One of the candidates did object to the scoring, here’s a discussion by David Alpert of GGW on what goes into that sort of thing.

If you favor building the Purple Line, now, then please allow me to point you towards two County-Council-At-Large candidates in particular: George Leventhal and Hans Riemer. Both have been with us from the start and  push for the line even when inconvenient. As the ACT scorecard shows, the Purple Line has many friends in Montgomery and I’m grateful to all of them. However, I wanted to emphasize those two as I hear the at-large race is pretty competitive this year and I want to be sure they stick around.

Hope your election day experience is or was a good one and that turnout is high for an off-year.

Okonomiyaki, Hiroshima-style! 2014-05-26

Hiroshima loves okonomiyaki! How can I make such a bold statement about a city? Well, it has a three-story tall building full of okonomiyaki stands, Okonomimura, in the central business district. I think that qualifies, don’t you? Happily my wife Kate also loves okonomiyaki and the last time she had it was with our friend Coby in L.A. This is in large part my fault, as my diet restrictions on mammals and cephalopods runs right up against some favored ingredients in the cuisine.

The dish is a grilled one, typically prepared in front of the customer either at a common bar like the one in the picture to the right or at grills at the table. The word basically means grill what you like, so this isn’t really a cooking gimmick so much as intrinsic to the style. Ironically, the only available local option we know about in Howard County is premade, so I can’t get it without pork. All of the chosen ingredients are combined to form a pancake-style final product, although the Hiroshima style is a particularly large one, in part due to its inclusion of cabbage and noodles.

We picked a place by going up to the third floor, walking to the pack, and then sniffing. The back right place had a pleasant odor, and though almost all of the menu items contained pork, I was able to request a special order. Our noses served us well; our range of selections were all quite good and our server was quite the charmer. She already had a smattering of relevant English questions and worked with Moti to start to master follow-ups. She’d learn from him to go for “Where in Canada?” or the like after people named their country of origin and then tested it out on the other people at the table.

I don’t have the card handy at the moment, but I intend to specifically list the name and location of the place, as we’d all recommend it to anyone visiting the city. Kate continues to love okonomiyaki in all its forms, and I should perhaps just come up with a written Japanese explanation of my preferences. That said, we consistently had a fun time with later places that served it, and it’s popular throughout Kansai; don’t miss an opportunity even if you aren’t in Hiroshima.

Arriving at Hiroshima 2014-05-26

While I loved the entire trip, Hiroshima is what I cite as my favorite part. This was partially true because I had been to Kyoto, Osaka, and Tokyo in the past, so while still spectacular they were not as packed with discovery. Also, while Japan is a treasure trove of trains, Hiroshima is flush with trams, both of the single car streetcar and the two car long trolley variety. The short length is made up by volume, a mixture of classic cars like the one on the right to smooth curves of modern models. After completing our misty ride on the Sakura line from Osaka to Hiroshima, we rode one of those classic cars into the city center and then walked down to our hotel, the Tokoyu Bizfort.

My mother called it in for the night, and the rest of us walked down a covered promenade towards the river and the Peace Park. I’d seen such plazas on my past trip; they’re a natural outgrowth of large pedestrian-friendly cities that have an extended rainy season. We stopped for a chocolate snack at the Stick Sweets Factory before walking the rest of the way to the Peace Memorial Park.

The Park was once a busy downtown commercial and residential hub. In 1945 Hiroshima was a garrison city, but still an urban space in its own right. The nominal target of the atomic bomb was the Aioi bridge at one end of the island. The building Hiroshima is perhaps most known for, the A-Bomb dome, was the Hiroshima Prefectural Commercial Exhibition Hall, the closest building to survive the blast. We walked through the park as the sun went down.

The first Shinkansen 2014-05-26

The Japanese bullet trains, literally translated as new highways, began operations in 1964, coinciding with the Tokyo Olympics. Some of that difference with the history of the United States is of course driven by geography and the fact that it’s much easier to build straight rail in country forced to redevelop itself after bombing. Nonetheless, given the decay inflicted upon our cities by the interstates, I feel confident in saying that President Eisenhower should have gone with trains, at least on the North-East corridor and the like.

Our journey south had two legs; the longer stretch was between Tokyo and Osaka. The picture on the left is of the more rural end of the spectrum of what we were seeing. Cities and towns were also regularly present at the foot of misty mountains. Prior to going to Japan we had picked up a deck-building board game called Trains with a Japanese theme. One of the features of the board was that plains were in light green and mountains were in dark green. After this section I understood why; vast hills were everywhere and from what we could see beneath the mists they seemed consistently below the tree line.

The stop in Shin-Osaka was fun for me, although we didn’t have time to leave the station. Shin-Osaka refers to the new Osaka station; the older central one couldn’t affordably be expanded to become a network hub and as a result you’ve got to catch a quick train to get between the two. General fans of technological wackiness should note that there’s an escalator that briefly turns flat in the middle. This was actually our second strange pedestrian aid of the trip. When we were transiting through Toronto they had a high speed moving walkway with foot-wide platforms moving at higher than usual speed, spreading out for most of the journey and scrunching together at the ends. I suppose the lesson there is just that inventors and designers think a lot about how to efficiently move people through hub stations.

Tsukiji fish market, Hama-Rijyu gardens, and leaving Tokyo for the first time

Our trip was skirting on Japan’s hot and wet summer, so our overall plan involved a journey from South to North with a bit of time in Tokyo at both ends. This ultimately worked out fairly well; we faced some days of persistent rain and all-encompassing fog, but the temperature was only a problem for the Kyoto stretch. However, since we were jetlagged and rising early anyways, we gave ourselves the morning off in Tokyo and went to see the Tsukiji fish market. As during my trip in 2002, we didn’t feel up for doing the 5:30 AM tuna auction. What we hadn’t realized was that under the current rules, if you don’t get one of the small number of slots for the auction then the commercial side of the market is closed to tourists until 9 a.m. No matter, we still got to see tuna being carted around, to dodge the ubiquitous mini-trucks with their conical front steering columns, and to have a lovely sushi breakfast.

The commercial district and small nearby shrine are fun, but it’s the right off the boat fish that’s the most appealing part of a morning market visit. That particular day, the chef was pushing a batch of oysters that was apparently the pick of the market not an hour before. We took that advice and were impressed; I’m not really an oyster person but trying something in top form is a great way to better understand the appeal.

After leaving breakfast (and procuring an octopus tea cup), we visited the fruit and vegetable market. There was a range of fascinating selections and it did help me understand the Japanese side of the constant trade battles regarding their restrictive agricultural  markets. Moti, who had worked with the JET program for a year in cherry-producing Yamagata, told us stories of getting vast numbers of cherries gratis because of small imperfections preventing their sale on the market. I’ve seen impressive fresh produce at U.S. farmers markets and fine grocery stories, and I’m no expert on these issues. However, the food we saw and the ate throughout the trip successfully cultivated a gourmand feel that is markedly different than the industrial agriculture portion of the U.S. market. It was also the first time I recall seeing wasabi in the raw and I was pleased to discover that the spice had a spiky covering to matched its flavor.

Wandering around the market itself was still remarkable if claustrophobic at times. The market itself may be moving before too long, a subject of some controversy, and seems to have a somewhat uneasy relationship with its status as a tourist destination.

We ended our Tokyo visit on a more relaxed and open note and visited nearby Hama-Rikyu gardens. One of many gardens once reserved for the ruling elite and now open to the general public, it has many elements you can find in Japanese gardens in North America but on a far greater scale. What could not have been anticipated by its original designers was the contrast of old and new, nature and city, of wooden plank bridges and skyscrapers. Such contrasts can certainly be found at Chicago’s Skyline Drive or New York’s Central Park, but the sheer density and continuous history of Japan makes such striking combinations the rule rather than the exceptions. After finishing that walk we returned to our hotel and caught our first Shinkansen to Hiroshima.

Recovering from Jetlag on our first night in Japan 2014-05-25

The ride into Tokyo takes an hour on the N'ex (Narita Airport Express). That fact, combined with the sexy streamlined N'ex engine you see on the right, confused me as I knew high speed rail should be able to travel the distance between even a far flung airport and its base city in a fraction of the time. The answer was quite straightforward, mere streamlining does not high speed rail make. The actual Shinkansen require far straighter track and have streamlined nose cones that are reminiscent of airplanes.

The countryside witnessed on the journey into Tokyo is not rural but does include rice paddies. As in China and Egypt there is no arable land to spare, in large part because of the widespread hills and mountains. As I understand it, the difference is that Japanese production is artisanal rather than subsistence. Japan is a net importer of rice but has particular standards when it comes to that staple and other crops.

When we arrived at Tokyo station, Moti took a moment to exploit the JR station provided free wifi and get a map for our hotel. That said, don’t necessarily rely on that trick, in part due to use of a range of bands, some of our phones often did not see or could not use any given wifi service. We did already have an address, but under the Japanese system, addresses refer to neighborhood and block numbers rather than position on the street. The numbers are sequential within the neighborhood, but there are no numerical avenues or grid-style positioning reference points. Thus, if you don’t have mobile internet access, it is best to have the closest transit stop with a map image handy for any locations not listed in a guidebook.

Fortunately, our hotel, the Mitsui Garden Hotel Shiodome Italia-ga, was labeled on the station map. The Italia-ga part of the name refers an Italian theme in the district as a whole, also reflected in the Italian restaurant in the hotel. That said, we favored cheaper fare for the night and went to one of the local convenience stores, a FamilyMart. The name convenience store does accurately describe the longer hours and range of products, but notably these stores offer a range of fresh pastries and food choices more in keeping with the prepared food section of a high-end grocery store than any counterpart in the U.S. What’s remarkable is that the prices are in line with conveniences stores in the U.S., the breakfast and snack items on the right were under ten dollars and will easily feed two. FamilyMart was Moti’s favorite variant, and indeed this one had a nice seating section and had a melon pastry (in the center top of the photo) that was a favorite of Kate throughout the trip.

We made an early night of it, to better handle the jet lag. The next morning, we would rise early to head over to Tsukiji, Tokyo’s famous fish market and the associated vegetable market. After that it was on to Hiroshima for the first leg of our trip.

Arrival in Tokyo 2014-05-25

The flight was smooth, although our plan to simultaneously watch Her on three different seat consoles didn't quite work out due to deficient headphones. My capsule review is that I thought it was effective both as a romantic film in its own right and a critique of the failure of many other AI-centric stories to incorporate the possibility of continued growth.

Upon arrival in Tokyo's Narita airport we united with our Canadian contingent, changed over some money, holding back because of a spike in the strength of the yen, and tra ded in our Japan Railways (JR) vouchers for full on JR passes. For those not familiar, the JR pass is a godsend for foreigners traveling between multiple cities in Japan. The very fastest four lines of the bullet trains, called Shinkansen, are off limits. However, a plethora of trains, including Shinkansen faster than anything in the U.S., traditional inter-city lines, and any number of local trains can be ridden for free. You'll still often wish to take the time to make a reservation for the longer hauls, but that similarly has no additional cost. The total charge is comparable to a single significant roundtrip ticket, so if you qualify and are train-savvy at all than its a can't miss deal that you've got to book ahead of time. If you're actively enthusiastic about trains, than I'd wholeheartedly endorse the Japan By Rail guide, version 3 of which has been one of our core references for this trip.

In continuing transit geekery, we then got Suica smartcards. Transit smartcards have proliferated since my first visit in 2002. The Suica belongs to JR East and is particularly fancy in that you can have your name printed on it. Different smartcards are issued by the various competing geographic divisions of the JR group, by department stores which sometimes have their own train lines, and by various regional cooperatives. As is becoming increasingly common, these smart cards can also hold money which can be used in local stores and the like. Given all the different systems, this could easily be a confusing mess. However, there is a fair amount of interoperability and cash registers and fare gates are labeled with the systems they'll accept. The biggest complicating factor is that it's tricky to have two in your wallet at once and getting a hold of one in the first place. Generally speaking, they're available at major stations if you find a machine that says 'IC.' Mercifully, a good percentage of the machines we've encountered so far have had a button for English.

With that out of the way, we were ready to ride into Tokyo on the Narita Airport Express. During my trip a dozen years ago I'd also flown in, though that time we'd then transferred to a flight to Kyoto. One of my first observations on that trip was that the escalator handrails were often blue. That had seemed like a fairly innocuous if curious distinction at the time as most every handrail I was familiar with back home was black. I later realized the reason, the flexible handrail material can easily get marked up and turn partially black with the combined residue from hands and machinery. I suspect it's easy to create an escalator with any color scheme you desire, but maintaining it will take real work. I suspect that's true of many of the modern wonders we'd see this trip; on-time trains and the like are not magic, they just require paying a lot of people to make sure it happens.

Review: The Last Days of Judas Iscariot; Forum Theater @ Silver Spring through 6/14

Judas is on the docket for the trial of the millennium in purgatory, catatonic with guilt and unable to speak in his own defense. Fortunately, he has a lawyer ready to take on figures from Mother Theresa to Lucifer himself. This courtroom drama is vulgar and philosophical, hard-hitting and comedic, and full of characters that are contradictory but unlike Judas are quite capable of speaking in their own defense.

That last point is one of my favored criteria for all fiction: a range of characters capable of full-throated defenses of their viewpoints that are forced by circumstance and dialogue to make the hard case for themselves. At no time is this more clear than back-to-back showstopper witnesses: High Priest of the Sanhedrin Caiaphas and Roman Governor Pontius Pilate.

All the more remarkable, the play does not rest on its characterization; the debates show a remarkable intellect and a firm grounding in actual history, to the limited degree that it is known. The playwright, Stephen Adly Guirgis, is happy to speculate, particularly when it comes to the asides and the characterization of St. Monica, who takes after her namesake boulevard. However, it maintains a broader relevance by favoring the report of the four Gospels when other sources are not available and avoiding reliance on any esoteric revelations. The play shows its commitment best when, in my opinion, the second most guilty character in it defends himself by noting that the very plausible case against is notably lacking in proof. The playwright achieves this wisdom the old fashioned way, by making heavy use of great writing that came before it, incisively choosing from and at times challenging well-loved writing on relevant topics rather than seeking to start from scratch.

I fear that that last paragraph understates the appeal, but worry not those with little interest in theology. This play has absolutely no interest in how many angels can dance on the head of the pin or what exactly communion means. And in the end, even questions of theodicy fall away as the strictly human implications of the debates move to the fore.

Finally, all of this would just be a book review were it not for the excellent direction by John Vreeke and performances by the cast. I’d normally prefer to go through and call out performances by name, but we’re presently in Japan and have not had much time to write and we wanted to post this in time for people to go see it. However, in doing a last Googling to finalize this piece, I did see that Frank Britton, who memorably played Pilate, was attacked and robbed after a cast party. His performance was one of the ones that exemplified all I’ve said above and our best wishes go with him. As for the rest of the cast, I enjoyed the actors and actresses that were new to me and it is quite exciting to see returning faces often playing very different roles. I’ll be renewing my subscription without hesitation after this show.