Japan on my mind

Plugged in at the airport. It was another beautiful day, blue skies, fluffy clouds. I got to Tokyo Station about 8:30 am, just in time to cope with those waves of people coming off the train. It’s not too bad if you have patience, but I’d hate to be one of the hurrying ones. The Narita Express is reserved seat only, so I was glad I decided to check on it ahead of time. Finally put everything in a locker and headed for the National Museum Crafts Gallery. The building is situated next to a park. Rather than going right in, I went for a walk in the park. There were beautiful trees, but not as old and beautiful as in Kyoto. I passed a man feeding about a half dozen very fat cats, then saw crows almost as large as the cats.

There are lots of crows and they make a beastly amount of noise. Traffic noise from a highway next to the park is drowned out by the crows.

The exhibit at the crafts museum had highlights from 30 years of their exhibits. Good show, but I would have liked to see their permanent collection. I know; I can’t have everything.

The Imperial Palace is across the road from the museum. You can’t go into the Palace, but you can walk through the East Garden. It was a great way to spend my last day in Japan. The garden includes most of the area where the original Edo Castle was located. Nothing is left now except the stones on which the castle keep was built.

A special area called the Ninomaru garden was originally laid out in the 17^th century by Kobori Enshu. Although destroyed in a fire, it was rebuilt according to the original plan.

I continued walking back to the station and stopped at Maruzen. I hoped they would have a good selection of books in English. It was OK, but nothing I wanted. Kinokunya in New York is much better.

I was mildly concerned about money. When I arrived I exchanged $1000 for yen. About a week ago, I ran out of yen and exchanged $300 more. Each time the exchange rate got a little worse, thanks to our sagging economy. By this morning, I was down to about $33, or 3500 yen. I don’t like getting that low but I didn’t want to come home with yen. So it nagged at me all day. But it all worked out. I actually got here to the airport with about 1800 yen and I’ve managed to spend most of it. Now I’m just waiting for the plane to board.

Sitting at O’Hare: I can’t believe it’s all over. I spent at least the last six months planning the trip, and now it’s done. I’m feeling bereft.