This is a memorable week for some:
1. April 15 came and went (it is already the 16th, Monday, in Japan) and, as predicted, Kim Il-sung, the Great Leader of North Korea, did not descend from Heaven. His hair stylist can be recommended. Remember his son, Kim Jong-il, and his frizzy hair? Plus Jong-il's wardrobe was singularly workmanlike. Regarding the Twentyish Leader (either 28 or 29) Kim Jong-un, he should get rid of his whitewalls, for this evokes the cut of an elementary school bully.
2. A century ago today (April 15), the Titanic sank. You can watch the details on television and movie theaters, or here. While a hundred years ago this 46,000 ton ship was the largest, more than 25 cruise ships today are heavier, with the Allure of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas each coming in at 225,000 tons. The Seawise Giant, built by Sumitomo, at 565,000 tons when filled with oil, was huge, but it is now called the Knock Nevis and is a floating drydock at only 261,000 tons. Freedom Ship (right) will come in at 2.7 million tons. If built, the cost will exceed $11 billion.
3. The Japan Times noted that it was this month a century ago that those 3,000 cherry trees were donated to Washington, D.C., and a quarter century ago, when the bubble had not yet burst, that Yasuo Goto paid nearly $40 million for Vincent Van Gogh's "Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers," for four times the previous record, Andrea Mantegna's Adoration of the Magi. The most expensive is a 2011 purchase by the Royal Family of Qatar of Paul Cezanne's The Card Players for $250 million. The sunflower painting is currently displayed at the Seiji Togo Memorial Sompo Japan Museum of Art in Shinjuku, a couple of subway stops from the Tokyo Westin Hotel. Not that I'm watching all that much television, but, remember BS1 and BS2, NHK's dominant channels in Japan (like BBC in the UK)? BS, incidentally, is the abbreviation for broadcasting satellite. Anyway, there is a separate link now to BS101 to 258. Many programs are broadcast in Japanese and other languages, and each remote has a button called bilingual to allow you to listen to yours. As many know, the Japanese toilets are wonderful, with warm seats and bottom showering options. Watch out, though, there was once a time when pressing the wrong button if you are male and standing could be catastrophic. Not anymore, as nothing happens if you are not sitting. (If you return, a sakura photo will grace this paragraph from my hanami--picnic under cherry trees--today.)
4. Today (April 15) was supposed to be the deadline for your taxes. However, for some reason, this has been pushed off to Tuesday, April 17. Why isn't TAX DAY on Monday, April 16? Well, it is Emancipation Day, a holiday for some. So enjoy the extra day or two, or be like the Romneys and ask for an extension.
I then went down for breakfast, which can be overwhelming at the Tokyo Westin. My normal breakfast is a third of an apple or papaya with some macadamia nuts. A croissant would be too much, and if you search to the right, you can see part of one behind the glass of water:
Nine different kinds of Japanese pickles, two soups, salad, chawan mushi, orange juice, and the plate of over easy egg on the rice, a fish dish, arabiki and vegetable concoction. Best as I figure this out, all the above is free for being a Platinum member of Starwood.
I then dashed off to Jindaiji, and saw that the botanical park is closed on Mondays. I'll need to return next week. However I had a nearly vegetarian hanami next to a babbling brook next to the temple:
And, no, that is not a bottle of water, for:
Not sure what the penalty is, but who can tell sake from water in a water bottle.
There are some strange Sakura at Jindaiji:
I then went to Shinjuku Goen (which means park):
I tossed Pearl's ashes at one of three bottom scenes a year ago. The Sakura season is just about over in Tokyo, so I next go to Osaka (where it is no better, but I thought I'd stay in the relatively new St. Regis, and I have a Japan Rail Pass, so might as well maximize usage), then to Matsumoto and Sendai. I'm still mulling over whether I should stop through Fukushima, which is next to Sendai.
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1. April 15 came and went (it is already the 16th, Monday, in Japan) and, as predicted, Kim Il-sung, the Great Leader of North Korea, did not descend from Heaven. His hair stylist can be recommended. Remember his son, Kim Jong-il, and his frizzy hair? Plus Jong-il's wardrobe was singularly workmanlike. Regarding the Twentyish Leader (either 28 or 29) Kim Jong-un, he should get rid of his whitewalls, for this evokes the cut of an elementary school bully.
I then went down for breakfast, which can be overwhelming at the Tokyo Westin. My normal breakfast is a third of an apple or papaya with some macadamia nuts. A croissant would be too much, and if you search to the right, you can see part of one behind the glass of water:
Nine different kinds of Japanese pickles, two soups, salad, chawan mushi, orange juice, and the plate of over easy egg on the rice, a fish dish, arabiki and vegetable concoction. Best as I figure this out, all the above is free for being a Platinum member of Starwood.
I then dashed off to Jindaiji, and saw that the botanical park is closed on Mondays. I'll need to return next week. However I had a nearly vegetarian hanami next to a babbling brook next to the temple:
And, no, that is not a bottle of water, for:
Not sure what the penalty is, but who can tell sake from water in a water bottle.
There are some strange Sakura at Jindaiji:
I then went to Shinjuku Goen (which means park):
I tossed Pearl's ashes at one of three bottom scenes a year ago. The Sakura season is just about over in Tokyo, so I next go to Osaka (where it is no better, but I thought I'd stay in the relatively new St. Regis, and I have a Japan Rail Pass, so might as well maximize usage), then to Matsumoto and Sendai. I'm still mulling over whether I should stop through Fukushima, which is next to Sendai.
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