Tokyo Sky tree update

The Tokyo sky tree reached its full height of 634.0 meters, and is currently on the last stage of the construction, it is scheduled for completion on December 2011, and with the gran opening for spring of 2012.

The four tower cranes used at the top during the construction have been dismantled and a small crane is still being used on top of the first observatory.

Some members of the media have been allowed to ascend to the first observatory, and the view is breathtaking. I cannot wait until next year for the opening.

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Chrysanthemums festival at Yushima Tenjin

Yushimateijin celebrates the chrysanthemum flower festival every year, around November. The temple grounds fill up with the autumn flower aroma as a large number of arrangements of this flower are on display.

Displays are in two varieties: flower arrangements and theme arrangements.

Flower arrangements are displays based on varieties of the flower.

Theme arrangements have a scene created or decorated with the flower; artisans paint a scene with the chrisantemum flower..

Every year there is a display of mannequins with Kimonos made of the flower. This year the theme of the display is “Gou” a trendy sengoku period soap opera based on the life of the Oeyo, wife of the second Tokugawa Shogun and mother of the third one.

Additionally, many families visit the temple to celebrate the Shichi-go-san, or celebratory temple visit for girls of seven, five, and three years old of age.

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Chouryu temple in Moriya city.

Chouryuji is an ancient temple in Moriya city Ibaraki Prefecture, founded in 1590. The general Asano Nagamasa stayed at the temple during the conquest of the Odawara castle by Toyotomi Hidayoshi. The general consequently issued a decree, forbidding the soldiers from looting the temple, and thus protecting it.

The temple approach and the esplanade in front of the main hall are lined with ancient cedar trees that gave the temple great range of colors during the autumn.

The temple also has dramatically aged wooden gate and bell tower that give testimony of the temple long history.

The temple is a short walk from the Moriya station on the tsukuba express and is definitely worth of a visit if you are around the area.

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Saint Paul’s Festival in Ikebukuro

Saint Paul’s University (Rikkyo University), in Ikebukuro celebrates the school festival in November, where food, music and entertainment are provided for other students and visitors.

The University founded in 1874, with the Ikebukuro building being built in 1918. The school buildings are gorgeous and well maintained, as only a private school can afford to do.

The School library is relatively new, completed in 1960, but its design manages to keep the harmony with the older buildings.

The festival is not so different from other countries school festivals, apart from the menu on the stands, and some of the bands music.

The festival is open to everybody and looking at the attendance, seems like some of the students invited the whole family.

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Prada’s Epicenter in Aoyama

The epicenter building is Tokyo Prada’s flagship store, located in Aoyama in the Minato ward. Designed by Herzong and de Meuron, the winners of the Pritzker prize, and completed in 1999, it has since become ‘a must see’ for lovers of modern architecture.

The freestanding glass and steel honeycomb building has 6 floors and 5 sides, in a diamond/kaleidoscope like shape, that skillfully uses natural lighting to highlight the store interiors.

The glass walls formed of diamond-shaped glass panes of flat, concave and convex shapes, giving the building a very dynamic structure. The shape of the panes provides a sence of a multidimensional space from the inside of the store.

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Little Edo town Kawagoe

Kawagoe city in the Saitama Prefecture is one of Tokyo Satellite cities. In the Edo period, this city located at the north of the great city of Edo (now Tokyo), was called little Edo, and was the location of the kawagoe castle, a close ally to the Tokunaga shogunate, most of the buildings were dismantled in 1870, but some of them remained and now allow appreciation of the period life.

The kurazukuri (old storehouse style) buildings zone. Kura buildings were originally used for storage of household tools, and then due to his fire resistance developed into residential buildings and stores in kawakoe. The zone is lined with 100-year-old culturally significant buildings.

The Toki no kane or time bell tower, used to announce the time since the early Edo period, Even today the bell rings four times a day. The current tower is the fourth version after the tower was rebuilt immediately after the great fire of Kawagoe in 1893.

Kashiya Yokocho or penny candy lane, a narrow street lined with traditional sweets, hard candy, and senbei rice cracker shops.

The Koedo loop bus is a retro-style bus made to match the streets of kurazukuri, provides a convenient way to travel from Kuruzukuri, to other city sightseeing spots.

Stores not only preserver the edo period building, but also the interior is arranged in harmony with the era.

Some of the buildings contrast with the area buildings, as they are from the Meiji period, as the resona bank building, built in 1878 has been designated by the country as culturally significant, other buildings nerby are from the same era.

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