According to official statistics, the sunniest public holiday in Japan is Culture Day, which is held every 3rd November.
And so it turned out earlier this week, when a beautiful autumnal day with blue skies and sunshine drew me and thousands of others to Yoyogi Park to enjoy the leaves that were just beginning to turn red and yellow, the fresh air, and the musicians busking in various parts of the park.
In one area someone was playing a didgeridoo, its undulating drone by chance complemented by a trio of drummers who were playing a short distance further on.
Near the Harajuku entrance to the park, a saxophonist blared unmelodically whilst immediately in front of him a woman with a red wig and white powdered face performed some kind of slow motion dance. The saxophone player then stopped playing his instrument and instead started wailing and screaming, with the dancer continuing her slow motion moves, shooting a beady bulgy-eyed glare at the bewildered passers-by.
I gave the demented saxophonist and his dancer a wide berth and headed towards the takoyaki stand by the entrance gate, where I bought some octopus balls to wolf down as a mid-afternoon snack.
Because the guide books all mention Takeshita Dori as a must-see street in Harajuku, I made my way there from Yoyogi Park to check that street out.
Big mistake.
It was hellish. So many people crowded the street that I could hardly move.
After a few hundred yards I escaped down a side street and ended up in Omotesando, where there is a splendid antenna shop selling products from the Niigata region.
These antenna shops can be found dotted around Tokyo, each shop specializing in products from a certain region of Japan.
At the Niigata store, I stocked up on some terrific beer from the Echigo craft brewery, a bottle of white wine from the Agricore Echigo Winery in Minami Uonuma, and a bottle of junmai saké from Yoshinogawa Co.Ltd.
Three weeks and some great Niigata-related drinking later, it’s now a fine Saturday morning in late November.
The weather is bright and sunny.
The leaves on the trees are turning red and yellow.
As I walk from Azabudai to Roppongi Itchome I kick my way through the crisp dry leaves that are strewn on the pavement, such a satisfying feeling.
The half-litre of saké that I quaffed during the meal last night at Ostrea Oyster Bar & Restaurant in Roppongi is making me feel slightly bleary. Ostrea in Roppongi is a terrific place to sample oysters from different regions of Japan, as well as a few foreign imports.
I hadn’t realized how much variation in flavour there is between oysters from different places.
As well as great food, the service in Ostrea was exceptional even by Japan’s high standards.
As the Friday night went on, the restaurant filled up and became quite boisterous, yet the staff remained good-humoured and attentive as the pace picked up. It was good to see a well run, busy restaurant ticking over so smoothly.
With last night’s hangover slowly dissipating, from Roppongi Itchome I take the Namboku Line train to Tameike Sanno.
I change there onto the Ginza Line for Asakusa.
At Asakusa metro station I emerge from the Azumabashi exit.
The sight that greets me is the famous ‘golden turd’ on the roof of an office building on the opposite side of the Sumida River.
The official city map coyly refers to it as a ‘big golden object’, but everyone calls it the golden turd because of its unfortunate resemblance to a huge jobby. It’s quite a sight.
It is such a beautiful crisp morning that instead of heading straight towards Asakusa Meigaza cinema, I have a wander across the Azumabashi bridge to enjoy the view of the Sumida River under a perfect blue sky.
I don’t linger too long, though, as I have never been to Asakusa Meigaza before and I want to make sure that I have enough time to locate it before the film starts.
It is no exaggeration to say that Asakusa Meigaza is a legendary cinema in Tokyo.
One of the oldest cinemas in the city, it is famous for its downbeat, unpretentious feel.
In terms of a cinema-going experience, Asakusa Meigaza is at the opposite end of the spectrum from the cold corporate multiplexes that dominate today’s market.
Whereas multiplexes are typically sanitized, characterless, over-branded and family-friendly, Asakusa Meigaza is devoid of advertising, oozes edgy character that some will relish and others won’t, and caters to an audience which on my visit today consists entirely of middle-aged men sitting on their own.
There must be around one hundred people in the audience, all of them guys.
And no, it isn’t a porn film that’s showing.
Whilst I certainly wouldn’t put Asakusa Meigaza top of my list for bringing someone on a date, the cinema does have its plus points.
The seats are reasonably comfortable.
You don’t have to sit through endless trailers and adverts as none at all are shown before the film.
For the price of a 1200-yen ticket you can stay here as long as you like and watch a triple bill of interesting Japanese films that are unlikely to ever be shown outside of Japan.
Asakusa Meigaza is easily recognized from the outside by its red-tiled facade.
It is located at the north end of what the local map calls ‘Rokku Broadway’, a wide street that gets tangibly more sleazy as you head down it from the tourist-trap surroundings of Kaminarimon Dori.
There is a porn cinema next to Asakusa Meigaza, and a huge betting complex that looks and feels more like a busy train station than a bookies.
This Saturday morning a couple of down-and-outs are standing in the street clutching their cans of beer, staring at nothing in particular.
Other guys, downbeat but less derelict, are checking out the posters outside the cinemas to see what is being shown today.
Kantsubaki is the film I have come to see at Asakusa Meigaza.
Released in 1992 and directed by Yasuo Furuhata, ‘Kantsubaki’ is based on Tomiko Miyao’s novel about a young woman called Botan who is sold as a geisha by her gambling addict father.
In this new life she is forced into prostitution, a victim of what nowadays would be called human trafficking.
‘Kantsubaki’ is set in 1932, the early part of the Showa Era, and the sets are evocative of that period.
Lead actress Yoko Minamino is very good as Botan, whilst Toshiyuki Nishida puts in a terrific performance as Tomita, the man who is responsible for placing Botan as a geisha but who ultimately helps rescue her from that life of exploitation.
The obligatory swordfight bloodbath near the end is done quite entertainingly.
After that frenzied scene the film meanders to a serene conclusion.
‘Kantsubaki’ is by no means a classic film and some of the editing is pretty abrupt, as if too much footage was shot and some drastic action had to be taken in the cutting room. But the acting is good and the story is compelling.
I emerge from the bowels of Asakusa Meigaza out into the bright sunshine of this beautiful winter day.
Asakusa is such an atmospheric quarter of Tokyo.
As I wander around its street restaurants and shotengai arcades, I can feel the spirit of old Edo lingering in the air.
Tokyo’s shitamachi soul lives on in Asakusa.
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