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Published: September 13th 2009
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Tokyo - Mori bldg, Roppongi
the Northern Twr where all this happens later that very same day....
now this will have to be the final - and it will it will be relatively brief - I may like the sound of my own E voice but I need some sleep like serious as courtesie de Finnair and time zones not too much last "night".
So what got "done" this afternoon? well I finally hauled myself off the tatami and wandered down the road - decided I needed some kinda grab it and go lunch so the local Lawsons convenience store - like 7-11 which are also big here - they even have a bank, Seven Bank which is virtually the only one - other than the PO I beiieve - in which you can withdraw Yen against foreign cards - the Japanese are very insular like that. Its normally cash cash for when I come. Anyway Lawsons saw me right with a rice cake (v Japanese) followed by perfect white bread, corners cut off sambos. Their stuff is always fresh and its replenished every couple of hours or so apparently.
So to keep this short (ahem) headed off in the direction of a temple at Roppongi, one of the mini-cities
in Tokyo I have not been to - as there was supposedly a flea market there every 2nd Sunday of the month - so thats today right. It is renowned as an upmarket shopping area (whats new in Japan about that!) and it turned out I went via the wrong subway line as this temple is a little over to the left so to speak and not that near the Roppongi exit on the Hibiya metro line. Anyway as i was there decided I would visit the Mori Art Museum and view the works of Ai Wei Wei the foremost Chinese conceptual artist who was also involved in the design of the Birds Nest stadium for the Olympics. I wont attempt to give you a precis of each work as there is not the time - but say - Chinese tea house - yes, literally - but you cannot go into it - its a small structure made entirely out of blocks baked from Chinese tea (you get the CONCEPTUAL drift oui ??). The other thing is - it is not cheap to visit - 1500yen (19AUD or so) - but on the other hand it is inside the 49th
floor of the Mori skyscraper - so you get to admire the Centrepoint like view of Tokyo out the windows before you go and view the art and say - cor, this is a load of conceptual codswallop innit??
Anyway would have loved to stay a bit longer - but I had a time schedule to meet Dr Clive Wright - Chief Dental Officer of NSW Health in (voluntary) exile on a 12 month visiting professorship in Tokyo - a lurk he has been managing for some 20 years or so he tells me on and off - sounds mighty fine to me. Trouble is Roppongi is somewhat out of the way and on the other side of Tokyo - so my chances of getting there on time in 25 mins were zero minus - I got there 15 mins later than scheduled which was rather stretching the envelope - but had a very pleasant dinner with him and his wife Joan who is a lawyer - but not working here. He had a pretty early start - and this happens to be his last week in Tokyo. I then poked around the bizarre side alleys of Ueno -
restaurants and pachinko parlours and vintage vinyl record stores - for those Japan only Duran Duran discs etc you have been hankering after - for a bit before coming back to the ryokan - and using the tripod at last to take a snap of myself - what a finale!
So I think it is time to say Sayonara to travel blogs from the Far East and Northern Europe and hang up the keyboard and camera (for the moment) - but like Macarthur - I may well be back! TTFN.
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