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In accordance with the opening of Yokohama Port to major Western powers in 1859, Yokohama Shinden settlement was built for them on the reclaimed land along the seacoast of the port.  Yokohama Port was one of the several ports that were opened based on the treaty with them and was the most important one for the Western diplomats and businessmen from Shanghai and Hongkong as it was near Edo, present time Tokyo.  The Chinese population in the settlement were the employees of Westerners or merchants making the most of the regular sea routs between Yokohama and Chinese port towns.  They established Kanteibyo Chinese temple and Chinese schools there, which was the original form of the present time Chinatown in Yokohama.  After the settlement was abolished in 1899, most Westerners got out of there but Chinese remained there.  Thus, the old settlement for the foreigners gradually changed to Chinatown.  Right after the Second World War, when Yokohama was reduced to ashes, the Chinatown was abandoned and deserted.  It once became a danger area, however thanks to the revival plan of the Chinatown carried out by public-private collaboration, it regained the hustle and bustle of the good old days.  Yokohama Chinatown is now a leading tourist spot not only in Yokohama but also in Japan. http://tour-guide-japan.jp/

As Numazu City faces Suruga Bay, a high wind from the bay constantly blows against the buildings and cultivated fields particularly near the coast.  The locals have built a fence made of bamboo to prevent the high wind with sand since the 17th century.  This fence is called Numazu-gaki.  Numazu-gaki is made of thin local bamboos, 1 centimeter in diameter, growing nearby Mt. Hakone.  They tie up more than 10 thin bamboos into a long panel to weave a bigger panel of Numazu-gaki as shown in the photo.  This unique fence is depicted in a Ukiyo-e by Ando Hiroshige, a great master woodblock print artist in the Edo period.  However, this traditional fence has been replaced with one with new construction materials, hence the number of the fence making specialists has been decreased.  Numazu City, accordingly, started to tackle the training of bamboo fence craftsmen.  Numazu-gaki’s lifetime is about 20 years and the new craftsmen are now engaged in remaking work of the fence.  http://tour-guide-japan.jp/

The origin of the flea market is said to date back to the second half of the 19th century in Paris. This kind of antique market is popular now in many countries including Japan.  Japan’s first flea market was held at then Matsuzakaya department store in Ginza and Zojoji Buddhist temple in Shiba in 1934 and 1935.  Thereafter, it spread from Tokyo to the rest of the country and began to be held regularly in the precincts of Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples mainly in the big cities.  Recently, vast parking lots of sports facilities and parks in urban areas are also used for the venue.  Meanwhile, C2C transaction of secondhand articles through the internet is thriving in these years.  The flea markets regularly held in Tokyo, such as at Oi race track, Tomioka Hachiman Shinto shrine and Gokokuji Buddhist temple, count about 50 in total.  The photo shows the flea market at Gokokuji temple, which is held every second Saturday of each month. http://tour-guide-japan.jp/

Known as a special Buddhist temple for the prayers of the successive Tokugawa shoguns through the Edo period, Gokokuji was one of the most prestigious temples in Edo, present time Tokyo.  But many important buildings in the large temple grounds unfortunately reduced to ashes in two big fires.  However, the Kannon-do main building in the first photo fortunately survived keeping the original figure.  Together with Gekko-den guest house, which was relocated in 1928 from Miidera temple in Shiga Prefecture, it is designated as a national important cultural property.  Other buildings such as Nio-mon gate in the second photo, So-mon gate and Yakushi-do hall also remain intact.  These old buildings inside the temple grounds mutually create the atmosphere of Tokyo early in the 17th century.  The temple is rare in the heart of Tokyo in this sense since Tokyo was largely destroyed during the Second World War.  Because the temple was for the prayers of the Tokugawa shogun family and had no common patrons, it was put in a difficult financial situation after the end of the feudal years in the second half of the 19th century.  Hence, they were obliged to sell a half of the temple grounds to the Imperial family, which is now used as a special graveyard, named Toshimagaoka Graveyards, just for the Royal family except for the successive emperors and empresses.  After that, they also sold other parts of the grounds to famous statemen and business leaders, such as Yamagata Aritomo, Okuma Shigenobu, Okura Kihachiro, Ikeda Shigeaki, Masuda Takashi and Yasuda Zenjiro and the like. http://tour-guide-japan.jp/

The construction of Tokyo Station was a project of national prestige as the central railroad station for the capital city of Tokyo.  At that time, the east side of the station was a downtown area and the west side was lonesome.  But, the station building was built on the west side  because of the importance of access to/from the Imperial Palace standing on the west side. In other words, the station was also for the then Emperor.  The original plan, proposed by a railroad consultant invited from Germany, was a Japanese-style building though, a Western-style building was finally adopted.  It was designed by Tatsuno Kingo, a leading architect in Japan at that time, and was completed in 1914.  It was a three-storied ferroconcrete building of red brick, 330 meters long.  After being heavily destroyed by the air raids during the Second World War, it was restored promptly as a two-storied building and was used for about 50 years since, because of the financial shortage at that time.  From 2006, thereafter, a full-scale restoration work started and it regained the original figure for the first time in 60 years.  The west side of the station, the so-called Marunouchi area, is Japan’s largest business area, where the head quarters of Japan’s big business stand side by side. Jason Hardy http://tour-guide-japan.jp/

Almost all the buildings in Ginza, the most famous high-end shopping area in Japan, have been rebuilt transforming into a modern and glittering district.  This old building named Okuno Building is one of the few buildings in Ginza that survived the air raids during the Second World War.  The building was built in 1932 under the name of Ginza Apartment equipped with heating devices using steam as well as a communal bathroom and laundry.　This was Japan’s first top-notch apartment building in reinforced concrete with a private elevator.  Designed right after the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923, the building met revised earthquake resistance standards.  Now, about 100 years after the completion, the building’s tenants have changed from the original individuals to commercial establishments such as galleries, antique stores and showrooms.  As it has undergone regular maintenance work following the original architectural specifications in and out, the aspects in those years remain unchanged.  For these repair works, they sometimes dared to manufacture the materials that were no longer available. Jason Hardy http://tour-guide-japan.jp/

According to an Indian legend, Kishibojin originally was an atrocious goddess capturing nearby children to eat.  However, she finally became a merciful goddess of a safe delivery and parenting after complying with the earnest protest of the Buddha.  She turned into a faithful devotee of the Buddha and people have respected her since.  Kishibojin Buddhist temple in Toshima-ku, Tokyo, is one of the oldest and most famous ones in Japan.  The locals built a small shrine in 1578 to enshrine an old Kishibojin image which was said to be excavated from the neighboring site in 1561.  This is the origin of present-time Kishibojin Buddhist temple in Tokyo.  The building in the first photo was built in 1664 by the lawful wife of the daimyo feudal lord of Hiroshima domain, and is designated as a national important cultural property.  This is the second generation of Kishibojin temple in Tokyo.  The temple attracted many believers in Tokyo in the Edo period (the 17th-19th century) as it was believed to be beneficial for safe deliveries and parenting.  The second photo shows the approach to the temple, the big trees standing along which imply the old history of the temple. Jason Hardy http://tour-guide-japan.jp/

The Protestant Episcopal Church in the USA initiated missionary work in the Tsukiji settlement for Westerners in 1859, right after the opening-up of Japan to the West.  In connection with the missionary work, Tsukiji Clinic was established in 1884, which was the origin of present time St. Luke’s Hospital.  Tsukiji Clinic was enlarged again and again, thereafter, to become a full-scale general hospital named St. Luke’s International Hospital, which is one of the oldest general hospitals in Japan.  The building with a steeple with a cross on top in the center of the photo is an old chapel of the hospital built in 1933 and is carefully preserved inside and out.  This hospital was originally built and managed by the Protestant Episcopal Church in the USA though, it was run in later years thanks to the financial support from rich Japanese people in various fields and even from the Imperial families.  The hospital is now well known as one of the prestigious general hospitals offering quality medical service. Jason Hardy. http://tour-guide-japan.jp/

Genkakuji was established in 1624 and was worshipped by the second and third Tokugawa Shoguns.  The image of the Konjak King Enma in wood, 100 cm tall, which is enshrined in a hall as shown in the first and second photos, is thought to be created in the Kamakura period (in the 13th century).   *Konjak means Yam Cake. *King Enma means the King of the Hell. The image is believed to be beneficial for healing eye diseases and those who have eye problems come here to pray for getting rid of it.  The reason for this is that, in the 18th century, an old woman suffering from an eye disease prayed to the image, thereupon the image replaced its healthy eye with her bad one.  As a token of gratitude, she started to offer a piece of konjak, her favorite food stuff, to the image every day.  In fact, one eye of the image is yellow and cloudy.  In this connection, the third photo shows the bell of this temple manufactured in 1690.  The bell was once handed over to a temple in Saipan Island in 1937, when the island was Japan’s territory.  It was missing after the Second World War though, an American woman fortunately discovered it in Texas, U.S.A, and she returned it to the original owner, Genkakuji temple. Jason Hardy, http://tour-guide-japan.jp/

This building was originally built in 1925 as a sales office building of DNP, one of the largest printing companies in Japan.  Later, it was used as an office building of the main printing factory of the company till 2010 with several enlargements and renovations.  In accordance with the relocating plan of the oldest factory in Ichigaya, the birthplace of the company, this site was decided to transform into a green zone.  The old building, which survived the repeated air raids during the Second World War, was faithfully restored to be utilized as a museum focusing on printing in 2020.  This is a part of the green zone construction project.  In the restoration, they strived to follow the original design by referring the then blueprints, documents and photos.  Even the original architectural decorations and details that were revealed when the retrofitted parts were removed for the work were considered important and used as references.  The museum offers printing demonstrations using an old letter press printing machine, and visitors can enjoy the experience of making books on the machine. Jason Hardy. http://tour-guide-japan.jp/

This modern Japanese architecture is made up of four buildings of different construction periods, from the Kamino-yu building in 1894, down to the Tamano-yu building in 1899, the South building and Main Entrance building in 1924.  The Kamino-yu is equipped with the lounge which was used by Natsume Soseki, a famous novelist.  A splendid bathroom just for the Imperial family is found in the Tamano-yu.  These four buildings are designated as important cultural assets respectively.  A big drum set in the penthouse of the Kamino-yu is beaten three times a day, 6:00am, 12:00pm and 6:00pm.  As to the special bathroom for the Imperial family, very fine grained granite called Aji-ishi, which was conveyed from a nearby quarry, is amply used.  Only ten of the Imperial family members have used this though, the last use was in 1952.  Dogo Onsen hot springs extend around the bathhouse, with traditional ryokans, modern hotels and shopping streets within walking distance. Jason Hardy http://tour-guide-japan.jp/

This temple dates back to 1415.  Odai-no-kata, who was the mother of Tokugawa Ieyasu (the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate), passed away in Kyoto in 1602.  Her body was carried to Edo (present time Tokyo) to cremate in accordance with her will, then the remains were buried in this temple with a magnificent tombstone.  Denzuin was named after the posthumous Buddhist name of Odai-no-kata.  The temple is one of the family temples of the Tokugawa shogun family together with Zojoji Temple in Minato-ku and Kaneiji Temple in Taito-ku, thus many people related to the successive shoguns like the shogun’s mother, daughters and sons dying at an early age are sleeping the final sleep here.  The first photo shows the honden main hall.  The second one is the tombstone of Senhime, a granddaughter of Tokugawa Ieyasu.  She was forced to marry for political reasons with Toyotomi Hideyori, the only one son of Toyotomi Hideyoshi who unified Japan before Tokugawa Ieyasu.  When Tokugawa Ieyasu attacked Osaka Castle, Toyotomi Hideyori’s fort and residence, she was rescued by the Tokugawa side.  As a side note, the temple is so well known that it has been the setting for the works of many great writers since the Meiji era (the second half of the 19th century).  Today, many graves of famous people unrelated to the Tokugawa family have also been erected here. Jason Hardy http://tour-guide-japan.jp/