A Walk around Toranomon (Part 1) / 虎ノ門の散歩 （パート１）

Recently I had to go to the Immigration Department because I noticed that my multiple-entry stamp was going to expire in a couple of months.  Although I became a permanent resident of Japan last year and no longer have to worry about renewing my visa, the entry stamp is a separate entity.  However, when I went to renew my multiple-entry stamp, I discovered that my passport itself would expire a month earlier than the entry stamp which means I would also need to make a short trip to the U.S. embassy to renew my passport and the embassy is located in Toranomon.  I'm going to skip the details of my passport renewal, as you can also renew by mail, but since I found myself in Toranomon, I decided to walk around the neighborhood, away from the U.S. embassy which you are forbidden to take pictures or videos of anyway.

最近自分の再入国スタンプの期限が近づいて入国管理局に行ってきました。昨年日本の永住権を取得したので、ビサの更新はなくなったが、再入国スタンプは別物。更新してる最中に凄いことに気付いた。自分のパスポート自体の期限が再入国スタンプより一ヶ月早く切れる。そういうわけでアメリカの大使館に行ってパスポートも更新しなと。（現在はポストでも更新出来ますが）。とりあえず、パスポートの更新の話をおいといて、アメリカ大使館がある虎ノ門の散歩を決定。大使館の写真や動画を撮るのは禁じられてる為、他の場所を探索しました。

I like the Showa atmosphere of some of the areas I walked around.

いろんな裏路地を歩きながらなんだか昭和の匂いがした。


I also discovered a store that I know a friend of mine would love to browse at.  As to purchasing items in said stop, that would be another story.  My friend loves Japanese swords and he bought a replica of one in Asakusa when he came to visit so many years ago.  But this particular store sells genuine Japanese swords.  In fact, the name of the store is [Japan Sword].  They are quite pricey but beautiful. Pictures weren't allowed inside the store but I must have browsed for a good 30 minutes.  I did take a nice picture of the yoroi that was on display from outside the building.

ある店を発見したら、アメリカの友達を思い出した。以前日本に遊びに来た時、浅草で日本刀のレプリカを購入してた。そう、友達が超日本刀のマニア。ま、彼は歴史好き。でも虎ノ門で見つかった店は本物の日本刀の専門店「日本刀剣」でした。店内の写真撮影は禁止でしたが、３０分位観てましたな。店の外側から素敵な鎧の写真が撮れました。

For those of you want a little more detail on "Japan Sword"

http://www.japansword.co.jp/







But, do you know what's really great about walking without any specific plans.  It's coming across funky things that you think might make a good picture like this frog and santa I discovered in front of a restaurant.

でもぶらり散歩の一番の楽しみは変わったものを発見すること。たとえばこのレストラン前に居る蛙とサンタさん。

But what I really love discovering on my walks are the various temples and shrines found throughout the city. There was a sign in front of this particular temple called the Saru-dera Eikan-in which said it is where Genpaku Sugita tombstone is.  Genpaku Sugita?  I had to look him up on the net.  According to Wikipedia, Genpaku Sugita (b.Oct 20, 1773 - June 1, 1817) was a Japanese scholar who was known for his translation of "Kaitai Shinsho" - the "New Book of Anatomy" from the Dutch.  Hmm, interesting!

でもやっぱり僕の楽しみはまだ行ってない神社やお寺を発見することですね。最初に訪れたのは猿寺 栄閑院（さるでら えいかんいん）。前に書かれたサインが気になってました。 都史跡 杉田玄白墓。 杉田玄白？ 誰だ？ 帰ったら早速ネットで調べました。ウィキペディアによりますと、杉田玄白９月１３日（１７７３年１０月２０日）～文化１４年（１８１７年６月１日）、は江戸時代の蘭学医でオランダの解体書を翻訳された人物。

Entrance to Eikan-in / 栄閑院の入り口

This path leads to Genpaku Sugita's tombstone.

奥に進めば、杉田玄白のお墓がある。

Genpaku Sugita's Tombstone / 杉田玄白の墓



Eikan-in Mizuko Jizo-son / 栄閑院水子地蔵尊

What I found particularly interesting about this statue were the children pulling at the robes of the monk.

不思議でも面白いと思ったのは下に居る子供たちの像。

And for my Japanese readers who want more information about this historical site:

To be continued...

つづく。。。