MAY 2022
MAY 2022
May 27: I joined the tour exploring old Edo culture which starts from Ryogoku River Center to Asakusa and Nihonbashi by cruising. Unfortunately, the river cruise has been cancelled due to heavy rain. We get soaked to the skin because of heavy rain when we walked around Sensoji Temple. Then we took a subway instead of a boat.
We were supposed to take the Kandagawa River Cruise which tours around Kandagawa River to find traces of the Edo Period in this historic area. It was a pity because this was the highlight of the tour!
At the end of the tour was “Rakugo”, Japanese comic monologue by a story teller, Tatekawa Sunshi. First, he gave us a lecture about Nihonbashi with his deep knowledge history in an amusing manner. Then he performed Rakugo.
Rakugo is a traditional narrative art, in which one comic storyteller tells humorous tales about the everyday lives in the Edo period. It was so much fun that we laughed forgetting about being caught in a heavy downpour. Let’s try again!
May 18: Special Exhibition: A TEA GATHERING with the Irises Screes at the Nezu Museum is being held at the Nezu Museum in Minami Aoyama. This exhibition is an opportunity to experience the National Treasure Irises screens and superb tea utensils that Mr. Nezu prepared for a tea gathering in May, 1937. This is an annaul event at the museum when we can appreciate the Irises Screens and Irises in the garden. We had a good time scrolling around the garden looking at irises on the pond.
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May 13: The National Museum of Western Art with the core Matsukata Collection reopened after renovation in April. The building designed by Le Corbusir is designated as a World Heritage Site. My friends and I visited the museum to catch up and appreciate Old Masters paintings in pre-18th century and 19th and 20th century French paintings by Renoir, Monet, Gogh and Mauguin. There was also a print exhibition and Le Corbusir's drawings and paintings for the first time. Le Corbusir was also a talented artist! We had a fun time together!
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May 8: The last day of the spring holidays was lovely weather. We walked along the Tama River bank towards Kawasaki feeling refreshing breeze. On the way at the Todoroki Atheletic Field in Kawasaki, we happened to see a soccer game of Kawasaki Frontale vs. Kashiwa Raysol U-18 for Prince Takamado Trophy JFA U-18 Football Premier League 2022. Kawasaki Frontale won the game at 5-1 on their home ground. Perfect day!
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May 1: This is the first virus-free holidays in last three years. At the start of the Golden Week holidays, we went to the Tamagawa Sky Bridge which opened on March 22, 2022, linking Haneda Airport with Kawasaki-city. Spanning the Tamagawa River, the bridge is approx. 675-meter-long and has one lane of traffic for each direction, with bike lanes and pedestrian paths on each direction. We walked from Haneda outward and back for about half an hour, feeling a sea breeze. Lovely day!
Haneda Airport
