What on earth is this you ask.  It's an urban motorway built on top of the river Nihonbashi in Tokyo.  I can't imagine the number of heart attacks there must have been in the conservation community when that plan was put forward.  

I'm staying in Nihonbashi this weekend and if you read this Wikipedia entry you'll find it's been very much a key part of Tokyo since the 17th century.  You'll also learn the comforting fact that they've started work on putting the motorway underground.  Barring accidents and delays the view of Mount Fuji from the Nihonbashi bridge should be restored just in time for me to enjoy on my 100th birthday.

I pottered about on Saturday morning and then met Momo in early afternoon to experience the Mukojima-Hyakkaen Garden Moon Viewing.  Before describing that let me tell you that to get there involved using an underground station where I must have walked the length of Princes St. from entry point to getting on a train.  Avoid Otemachi station when in Tokyo is my advice.

Anyway just as the Japanese gather in Spring to enjoy the cherry blossom they celebrate in early autumn when the nights are warm by gathering to view the moon when it's full (or maybe when it's not, I don't know).  Now moonrise in Tokyo yesterday was scheduled for 18.00 hours so that left plenty of time for thumb twiddling or other cultural activities.

Clearly there was walking round the garden, which is truly lovely and to me at least so unexpected to find in the middle of an otherwise undistinguished part of central Tokyo.  The sad thing is that more or less none of the shots I took of the garden are in focus.  The camera has been troublingly playing up for a few days.  I've now discovered that the lens must have suffered a dunt that has brought it partly out of its seating like a bottle top that's not properly in the thread of the bottle neck.  I don't think I can safely dunt it back into place (I've already tried) and don't reckon my chances of finding an instant repairer on a Sunday are very good so I'll just have to put up with it and use the phone more than I have been.

Here's one though of my friend and teacher which is in focus, even though it's unfortunately just the back of her head taken accidentally by me fiddling with the camera as we walked through a long heavily planted tunnel like pergola.

Then there was the tea ceremony which was brilliant.  I do have some in focus shots of that.  There were about ten of us in the little tea house sitting seiza style.  Well two of the older Japanese, not as old as me I hasten to add, had little low chairs while I tried heroically and painfully to do the right thing until rescued by the provision of a third chair.

There were five people involved in carrying out the ceremony, four women and one man.  One young woman explained what was happening.  It was all in Japanese though she used English a couple of times when for example saying that taking photos was ok but not of faces.  That seemed a shame but I succeeded, here's the proof.  Mind you I didn't want to be snapping away all the time.  I wanted to watch and feel and savour the experience.

Another young woman did all the business of making the tea while the other three people served us a little cake and the bowls of tea.  The whole thing was done in near total silence (apart from the commentator) with much bowing from both punters and tea servers.  It all looked beautiful, the clothes, the equipment, the cakes on their little dishes etc etc.  It was done with the delicacy, elegance and precision that pervades much of Japanese culture.

Of course I don't actually like the result - the green tea or matcha but we went off after that for a proper refreshment.  Then Momo had to go and I went back to the garden for the next treat.  

As the sun set they started to light the lanterns

and get the concert hall set up

and then music filled the air

Finally I saw the moon but that was after I left the garden to head back to the dreaded Otemachi station and something to eat although I could have taken some nourishment in the garden.  Food was available.