Holiday in Japan (3): Hakone
April 8th, 2025 by Roger Darlington
On our final morning in Tokyo (Tuesday), at breakfast I was excited to see a bowl of fruit with a banana waiting for me, only to find that the whole display was plastic.
Greater success occurred when Jenny & I decided to use the hour between the conclusion of our breakfast and the departure of our group to walk round to the next door Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) Building. We were in the queue for when it opened for the day and we were transported to the 45th floor in 55 seconds. From a height of 663 feet (202 metres), we had spectacular views of the city.
This building is so new and so iconic that it has already appeared in two Godzilla movies only to be destroyed by the giant monster.
This morning, we left Tokyo to travel by train to Odawara on the way to Hakone. A feature of all trains in Japan is that all seats face the direction of travel so, on the platform, we watched with amazement as section by section the seats swivelled from facing one way to facing the other.
The train journey was only just over an hour and presented splendid views of snow-capped Mount Fuji. At Odawara station, Jenny and I bought some food from a cafe to eat as lunch on the coach journey to an embarkation point at Lake Ashinoko.
Here a vessel designed as replica pirate boat took us on the choppy waters up the crater lake to Togenda-ko. The plan had been that we would then take the Hakone Ropeway, a cable car up to the Owakudani hot springs with views of Mount Fuji.
However, it was so windy and so cold that the cable car was closed. Instead we took the coach up to the springs where there are plumes of steam and a smell of sulphur, but the howling bitter wind meant that nobody wanted to stay long.
It was something of a relief to arrive at our accommodation for the night, the modern Hakone hotel where we had a Western dinner.
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Holiday in Japan (2): Tokyo
April 7th, 2025 by Roger Darlington
The journey out was straightforward but l-o-n-g.
When I went to Japan in 1998, it was a direct flight over Russia, especially Siberia, which took about about 12 hours. But now we have the Russian invasion of Ukraine and no flying by the shortest route.
We flew with Emirates: London to Dubai (three hours ahead) in an Airbus A380 for 6.5 hours and Dubai to Tokyo (eight hours ahead) in a Boeing 777 for another 9 hours. The only problem on the flights was that one needed a degree in biochemical engineering to open the tiny pack of butter.
When we reached our hotel, my journey door to door had been 26 hours. The hotel itself, the Keio Plaza Hotel in the Shinjuku is HUGE: two towers with a total of 1,438 rooms. The first culture shock – literally – was the toilet which had a heated seat. Another surprise – at breakfast – was a robot delivering used plates back to the kitchen.
At 10 am on Monday, the Great Rail Journeys group gathered for the first time. There are 38 of us, 22 from the UK and the remainder – who flew here on separate flights – from Australia, South Africa and Canada.
We have a Glaswegian Tour Manager Bill and a local guide Kazoo and it’s difficult to decide who has the stronger accent, but both are immensely knowledgeable and unfailingly helpful.
Tokyo is, of course, the capital of Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper, it is one of the most populous urban areas in the world. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes Tokyo and parts of six neighbouring prefectures, is the most populous metropolitan area in the world, with an amazing 41 million residents.That’s one-third of the entire population of the country.
We began the city tour with a visit to the Meiji-Jingu Shinto shrine in the Harajuku district.This was constructed in honour of modern Japan’s first emperor. Next stop was to the much more expansive and colourful Buddhist temple of Senso-Ji in Asakusa. This dates from the 7th century and was built to honour Kanin, the Buddhist goddess of mercy.
Our local guide told us that Shintoism and Buddhism co-exist without conflict and that some Japanese follow both traditions. At the temple, we were given time for lunch and Jenny and I found a place to share two dishes of traditional Japanese food and each of us had a bottle of Sapporo beer.
The afternoon started with a visit to the vast, landscaped Hama Rikyu Gardens. We are in Japan at the height of the cherry blossom season which only lasts one week. The final stop was the famed Shibuya crossing where up to 3,000 people at a time make use of the facility coming from all directions. Round the corner is the statue of the Akita dog Hachiko, remembered for his loyalty to his deceased owner.
Back at the hotel, I was able to reconnect with two Japanese friends whom I’ve not seen for around a quarter of a century. I worked with Masako Ano Lynsey in London in 1999 and with Yoko Ogawa in Tokyo in 1998 and an hour with each was enough to keep the flames of friendship burning bright.
Dinner was provided to the group in our hotel. It was European food because – our British guide advised us – Westerners cannot cope with Japanese food. When I was in the country in 1998, that was all I ate and I’ll be sure to eat more of it at times on this trip
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Holiday in Japan (1): introduction
April 5th, 2025 by Roger Darlington
On 3-14 October 1998, I visited Japan as a member of a delegation from three British trade unions, including the Communication Workers Union where I was then Head of Research, to visit colleagues from the five postal and telecommunications trade unions of Japan. The delegation had meetings in Tokyo and we were shown around Tokyo and Kyoto. I stayed on alone for a few days to fly down to Hiroshima.
I never expected then that I would visit Japan again and certainly I would not have imagined that any further visit would occur 27 years later when I am the venerable age of 76. However, I am about to have a two-week holiday in the country.
I will be travelling with the company Great Rail Journeys and our Tour Manage for the entire trip will be Bill MacKintosh. I will be with my travel buddy, Jenny Madden, with whom I have previously travelled in Georgia & Armenia, Pakistan and India & Bhutan.
Japan – known as the Land of the Rising Sun – is a nation of islands. The four largest are (from north to south) Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu. By far, the largest island is Honshu, the location of the capital Tokyo. Outside of these four large islands are 6,848 smaller islands.
The nearest point to the Eurasian land mass is 120 miles which is among the reasons why the country has never been successfully invaded. In the 1300s, the Mongols tried twice to invade Japan but failed on both occasions. In 1945, the Americans obviated the need to invade by dropping two atomic bombs and forcing a surrender.
The territory of the Japanese islands is larger than Germany, but three quarters of the land is not conducive to human habitation, especially in the mountainous regions, and only 13% is suitable for intensive cultivation. So the Japanese live in close proximity to one another, mainly along the coastal plains.
The current population of Japan is 124 million, making it the 11th most populous nation on the planet, but the birth rate has fallen dramatically and there is minimal immigration, so the populations is falling and is expected to shrink to less than 100 million by the middle of the century. Meanwhile the collapse in the birth date and high longevity (one of the highest rates in the world) means that the demographics of the nation are changing rapidly with a growing proportion of older citizens (currently 29%. are over 65).
Politically, the head of state is the emperor, making the country the only one on the globe with such a figure as the constitutional leader (although he is no longer said to be a god). The country is a democracy with free elections, but the same political party has won almost every election since the war.
Although the Japanese economy has been stagnant for decades, the country still has the fourth largest economy in the world. Culturally, the country is renowned for its traditionalism and conformity which fosters good order and little (overt) crime.
The Japanese language is exceptionally challenging: over over 2,200 kanji characters used in everyday life and around 3,000 basic everyday words to memorise – plus three writing systems.
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Ever heard of Father Gapon?
April 4th, 2025 by Roger Darlington
I didn’t know the name at all when it was mentioned in conversation with an American friend who is more familiar than me on Russian history.
Wikipedia states:
“Georgy Apollonovich Gapon[a] (17 February [O.S. 5 February] 1870 –10 April [O.S.28 March] 1906) was a Russian Orthodox priest of Ukrainian descent and a popular working-class leader before the 1905 Russian Revolution. Father Gapon is mainly remembered as the leader of peaceful crowds of protesters on Bloody Sunday, when hundreds of them were killed by firing squads of the Imperial Russian Army.”
You can read more about Georgy Gapon here.
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AI successfully applies to become an art student at a university in Vienna
April 3rd, 2025 by Roger Darlington
Check it out here.
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Ever heard of tall poppy syndrome?
April 3rd, 2025 by Roger Darlington
I’d never heard of the term until today. According to Wikipedia:
Tall poppy syndrome is a term which originated in Australia and New Zealand in the 1980s that refers to people with notable public success, who excessively promote their own achievements and opinions. Intense scrutiny and criticism of such a person is termed as “cutting down the tall poppy”.
I was introduced to the term by a young Canadian woman. Wikipedia states: “In Canada, the term ‘tall poppy syndrome’ is used in particular to refer to successful women being criticised for their success.”
In fact, I think that my companion felt that the term had a wider connotation in Canada where she sees people reluctant to have pride in themselves because they might be subject to this tall poppy syndrome.
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A review of the bestselling novel “It Ends With Us” by Colleen Hoover
March 27th, 2025 by Roger Darlington
This novel was published in 2016 and, by the time that I read it almost a decade later, it had sold more than 7 million copies and been made into a film. Ironically, given that the subject of the book is abuse of women by men, the lead actress in the movie, Blake Lively, claimed sexual harassment from the film’s director and co-star, Justin Baldoni.
The novel is written in the present tense and in the first person, the voice being that of 23 year old flower shop owner Lily Bloom who has a passionate relationship with neurosurgeon Ryle. There are flashbacks in the form of journal pieces by Lily when she is aged 16 and befriended homeless student Atlas. This narrative structure presents an examination of two cases of marital abuse with different outcomes, making this an unusual and very readable romantic work with a social message.
Via the character of Lily, Hoover poses questions: “People spend so much time wondering why the women don’t leave. Where are all the people who wonder why the men are even abusive? Isn’t that where the only blame should be placed?”
For Hoover, the subject of abuse is personal: her father abused her mother who left him when Hoover was three. For me, the topic is equally personal: my dad abused my mum who left him when I was eight. Most readers of this novel are women – it is an ideal work for book clubs – but men should read it too and reflect on its important message.
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A review of the black comedy film “Mickey 17”
March 11th, 2025 by Roger Darlington
In 2020, South Korean director Bong Joo-ho won the Academy Award for Best Picture with his stunning film “Parasite”. Five years later, we have his follow-up work, a picture in the English language based on the 2022 novel “Mickey7” by Edward Ashton.
It is technically a sci-fi movie in that it is set in 2054 on a planet where a crazy fascist, played in over-the-top style by Mark Ruffalo, is seeking to create a new world “full of superior people” (Elon Musk comes to mind). His fanatical wife is portrayed by Toni Colette and the “colony project” is funded and supported by a weird religious organisation (shades of the American evangelical movement).
This is a risky enterprise, so the most dangerous tasks are given to an underclass of disposable humans called expendables whose biometric date and memories have been uploaded ready for reuse. When they die, they are simply reconstituted.
The story centres on one such expendable who is on his 17th iteration when, having apparently died, he is printed out for an 18th version. Both formats are represented by Robert Pattinson who is able to display his considerable thespian talents by appearing in two identical forms with rather different personalities reflecting their different aspirations. So, rather like “Parasite”, we have an exploration of class with an identification with the lower class.
The plot is a little confusing at times and there is nothing subtle about the messaging, but there are some interesting ideas in this insane movie and an entertaining and amusing exposition of the storyline which is never boring.
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A review of the shocking recent film “The Substance”
March 4th, 2025 by Roger Darlington
Girls and women are constantly under pressure to stay young-looking, slim, attractive. Perhaps nowhere is this pressure more insidious than in the entertainment sector. And the pressure really comes on when a woman reaches a certain age.
But what if there was a black market drug that enabled a woman to be transformed – at least for a time – into the most appealing version of herself, but with various conditions? Should she take the option if it saves her career and could she adhere to the limiting conditions?
This is the outrageous plot of this stunning film and the message is put over with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer in a shocking satire that turns into a body horror movie.
It is a tale which could – or, at least, should – only be told by a woman and the writer and director is French filmmaker Coralie Fargeat who was the only female director in the 2025 Academy Awards shortlist of 10 contenders for Best Picture.
The casting is a piece of cinematic magic. Demi Moore, who was so high profile in such commercially successful films as “Ghost”, “A Few Good Men”, “Indecent Proposal” and “GI Jane”, has not been seen in movies much in the last couple of decades which might have something to do with the fact that she is now 62.
Here she plays a television star aged 50 who is dropped from the schedule because of her age. Moore is brilliant in a role than has actually won her awards for the first time in her career, although she didn’t quite manage to win the Academy Award for Best Actress (being pipped by a 25 year old).
Be warned though: this is not a work for the faint-heated. It is disturbing and violent. In the last segment, when you think it can’t become any more gory or bloody, it does – again and again. The final shot is a wonderful return to the opening sequence on Sunset Boulevard – a neat sense of symmetry in a stylish film full of clever shots and powerful images.
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A review of the award-winning film “Anora”
March 4th, 2025 by Roger Darlington
By the time that I belatedly caught up with this thoroughly enjoyable film, it was only hours away from winning no less than five Academy Awards, a remarkable achievement for a very low budget (only $6M), independent movie competing against the likes of “Dune: Part Two”, “A Complete Unknown” and “Conclave”. Most of those awards went to Sean Baker who garnered Best Writing (Original Screenplay), Best Directing and Best Film Editing as well as grabbing Best Picture.
Set in the Little Odessa district of New York City, it tells a kind of “Pretty Woman” story, except that this time the man with the money is just a video-obsessed, high-kicks, drug-fuelled kid of 19 (but the son of an ultra-rich Russian oligarch), while the prostitute is only a little older and her aural repertoire includes some Russian, some sharp put-downs and a lot of obscenity. Compared to the 1990 hit, this genre-skipping tale is much sexier, much funnier, much more violent, and ultimately much sadder. I loved it.
At the heart of the movie both literally and metaphorically is the titular Ani, a Brooklyn stripper who is played with panache by relative newcomer, 25 year old Mikey Madison. She is brilliant and reminds me of the sassy character played by Marisa Tomei in her 1992 break-out role in “My Cousin Vinny”. It was a delight to see her win the Oscar for Best Actress, beating Demi Moore who hoped to win for her incredible performance in “The Substance”.
But what do you do next when you take such a prestigious award at so young an age? I can’t wait to find out.
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