We've been back in NZ for almost a week now, and some ways it feels like we haven't left!
Our trip to Tokyo and Morioka was exhilarating. We watched three concerts, performed in two, navigated the subway system, went on two bullet trains travelling at almost 300 km/hr! Had glorious food! Flash hotels, 45 storey buildings, went to the fish market, saw temples and shrines and wandered around the city like tourists :)
We left Dunedin Thursday 3 October early! Had to be at Moray Place by 7am to get the buses to the airport. Flew to Auckland where I had the honour of catching up with my adorable Godson and his Grandparents at the airport over lunch. We hung out in the playground for an hour or so :)
Next flight was Auckland to Hong Kong. This was the LONG leg of the trip. 11 hours! Thankfully there were a number of spare seats, so I got to sit across the aisle from my partner (and his cello) and watched TV and movies. Monsters University, Stephen Fry's gadget programme, Big Bang Theory missed episodes...as you do! Slept for a few hours too, which certainly helps to pass the time.
Hong Kong airport we had 3 hours or so to kill. Walked the length of the airport twice to stretch the legs, quick look around duty free, complained that some section leaders were STILL changing bowing (gr!).
Hong Kong Airport
Next flight to Tokyo was only 4 hours. By that time we were so tired, most of us slept.
We arrived in Tokyo around 6am. Through customs and immigration, showing our very flash Japanese visas (as we were being paid a per diem, we were 'working' in Japan) and through to pick up our bags. Here we were met by our delightful hosts holding signs. With 55 of us, I don't think we were hard to miss!
Bus trip into the city and we hit rush hour traffic, but LOTS to see as we took the Toll Road. We passed Disneyland and marveled at the rides knowing we didn't have enough time to explore it properly - next time, right?
Our Hotel - Keio Plaza was amazing! Marble everywhere, gorgeous chandeliers...wow! By that stage I was SO tired that all I wanted to do was SLEEEEP. Our rooms were small, but comfortable. We crashed for a few hours and decided that we had such little time to explore the city, we had better get moving!
Dave and I went for a wander around the streets. Shinjuku, the suburb where we stayed had so many shops, restaurants, the busiest train station in the world (over 2 million people pass through each day) and lots of people. Japanese people move quietly. Swiftly, but no barging...everyone is aware of each other and allows enough space to move. Beautiful to watch!
Shinjuku by day
We had a couple of hours walking and went back to the hotel in time to shower and change before our first concert to attend. This was a train ride away. Thankfully we had guides on hand to move the select few that opted to hear the performance from the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra.
Amazing venue - the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre is on the 5th floor! We found our seats and settled in. Thankfully there was a group of us to keep each other awake. The music was beautiful - Chopin Piano concerto #1 and Shostakovich Symphony #5. Brilliantly executed. The ensemble was just incredible.
Trip back to the Hotel was eventful - no guides this time, but we had written instructions :)
Dinner! Everything we ate in Japan was incredible. Fresh, so good for us too! That night we went to a place on the first floor of a building in Shinjuku. We had wandered around for some time trying to decide. Someone on the street handed us a coupon for 10% discount, so that worked for us! We were ushered in to a small cubicle and were presented with a computer screen to make our order. Thankfully there was an English translation!
Soy beans arrived - yum - while we were deciding. We ordered things like fried rice with shrimp, mushrooms, a whole fish, peppers, a beer or two for the boys and other tasty treats. Huge selection, so hard to choose!
Happy and content we wandered back to the Hotel taking a few pics and stopping off for ice cream from the seven eleven on the way back. Dave's bean one wasn't so good - my mint and chocolate chip in a waffle cone was wonderful!
One eatery in Shinjuku
A violist's view
Wind warming up
The organ
I spot a cellist!
Back to the Hotel for a quick lunch before changing to go to our next concert. Manila Philharmonic performed that afternoon in the Opera City Concert Hall. We had a reception with them afterwards with a buffet of lovely food and speeches. We also got to hang out with the players and meet our counterparts!
Southern Sinfonia and Manila Philharmonic players
The Japanese audience is delightful. They expect an encore, so we performed the Glinka overture from Russlan and Ludmilla which we had prepared in Dunedin.
A wee lie down at the Hotel and ready to head out on the town!. Dinner was underground this time. Another lovely meal with sushi, rice, fruit wine in lovely blue bottles and all sorts of yummy treats. We decided at that point that it would be great to find the Jazz club recommended in the 88 things to do in Tokyo brochure.
The trek was on! By this stage we had a pretty good understanding of the layout of the main streets, and just happened to come across other Sinfonia players on the way going to the same place! Asking for directions was fun, but thanks to a helpful convenience store owner and someone in a coffee shop we managed to find it.
Which way?...
The group performing that night was usually a trio, but had brought in a trumpet and saxophone player for the gig. They were good! I especially liked the pianist. We spoke to them at the end and he is completely self-taught. Impressive!
One our way back we recognised instrument cases which turned out belong to a viola player, a cellist and a singer who had just performed a gig (and paid in alcohol). Couldn't resist a pic...
Musicians on the streets of Tokyo
Part 2 to follow - day off and Morioka
