Sunday, April 2nd 2023 Borealis. Nagoya.
As we make our way into Nagoya harbour we are greeted with the same standard high road bridge over the entrance to each Japanese port. After Lisbon, Suez, Hong Kong, Hakata, Shimonosheki, Osaka, sailing under a tall bridge is no longer a sensation, more a yawn, And yet each such bridge is a wonderful piece of engineering, functional and lean, and pleasing to the eye. The Nagoya Merito Triton Bridge shoots further in both directions across an island and then another piece of water. It is in fact a combination of three bridges linking small towns on the coastal expressway bypassing Nagoya. Viewed from the harbour itself it forms an attractive feature especially with two high arches perched dramatically over the two central pillars of the bridge. The entrance into the harbour is surrounded by busy industries and warehouses, including shipyards, silos, great piles of coal, and masses of newly produced cars. As it was a Sunday none of them were working, but just the sight of this silent world of industry makes its impact. As you sail in you can almost hear the city of Nagoya say to you, "We are the industrial heartland of the country. Here we work, not play." All this I felt as I watched our coming in from our bacony on the port side.
Once I had gone up to have breakfast on the starboard side, the picture changed considerably. We had docked next to a pretty park. Not so much a traditional Japanese garden, but one with green lawns, a fountain and a bridge This formed a welcome contrast to the industrial landscape across the harbour. Adjoining it was a massive observatory, much higher than the Borealis, the top half of which was shaped like one of those large office punches that can make six holes at once in your stationery. It looked just ready for some huge unseen hand to come down on the Observatory bridge to press it down, Further back I could see another massive ferris wheel, what else!
It was 10.30 when Sammie announed from the bridge that the port authority had cleared the ship. As our tour was only supposed to start at 1.30pm I decided this was my chance to go ashore in my free time to change those Hong Kong Dollars into yen. I took down a portion of sugar frosted flakes for Albina's breakfast in the cabin and ventured out to the sound of a massed troupe of young Japanese drummers. I could see high up on our Promenade Deck 3 a whole crowd of my fellow passengers watching and cheering on the drummers. It was only at that moment that I realised that I had forgotten to take my phone with me to get a picture. Too late to go back for that now. I cleared immigration by showing them my photocopied passport. Next I came across a small stall ready to change my money, and so I finally got rid of my Hong Kong dollars.
I could have returned to the boat there and then, but I thought that once I was on land I would enjoy an hour's walk around the harbour. After all there is nothing like a one to one connection with a Japanese city to appreciate that one is in Japan. I skirted around the Observatory and crossed a long pedestrian port bridge crossing a small harbour catering for smaller boats. The bridge crossed over to the Nagoya Aquarium and to another exhibition hall. Beyond that was the Jetty Food Market and alongside that there was a fun fair dominated by the ferris wheel. I then walked back through the park, called the Peoples Park, and then back to the ship in time for lumch with Albina.
After lunch we made our way to the Neptune Theatre to await news of when our coach was ready. By 2 o'clock we were in the coach. Albina and I both liked what we saw of the city. Streets were wide (there were 2 streets with a width of 100 metres), buildings were more at human level, apartment blocks were not all look alikes and were mostly only some six to ten storeys high. It may have the reputation of an industrial city but it is built for humans and not for automatons boxed up with their families in repetitive anonymous high rises. The streets were clean and of good quality. There were no impatient drivers sounding their horn, even though traffic lights often took a long time to change. Nobody complained, for instance, when the road around the castle got choked up after our coach sought to plough through a narrow road with two way traffic and with cars parked on both sides. The cherry blossoms were still in full bloom, especially around the castle, and the areas around the shinto shrines were still resplendent with greenery.
However our city tour remained as disappointing as yesterday's. On this occasion we do not have one single visit on foot, not even for a photo opportunity by the castle. Our itinerary was supposed to include exciting modern sites such as Nagoya Station, the spiral towers nearby, the Nagoya City Archive, the Nagoya TV Tower and the transportation complex shaped like a spaceship called Oasis 21. We saw them for barely a second from a moving coach and were often too near or too awkwardly placed to take a picture. In the case of the Nagoya City Science Museum we did not see anything at all as the object in question with a great silver ball perched between the two buildings, which was the largest planetarium in the world, was totally obscured from view. That iconic building alone deserved turning the coach into a side street for us to kook at and admire.
We did a glimpse of Nagoya Castle and in my view it deserved a stopping visit, even if it meant that we would have to walk several hundred yards to get a picture. I would not have expected us necessarily to get into the grounds. What we could see was indeed dream like with five stone storeys in brilliant white and with gabled roofs in green slate. The castle was topped with two golden dolphin like creatures proudly facing outward. Because of earthquake damage the castle interior has been closed to visitors. Although we were just able to take a peek at the castle from the bus, we were unable to see the adjoining palace which was of equal historical importance. Admittedly the castle was only a stone replica of the earlier massive wooden castle built by Ieyasu in 1612, but it is still something we should have had time to view properly, if only for a photoshoot. Nor did we see anything of the ancient Atsuta Shrine hidden behind its forest of Ginkco trees.
The guide kept up her monologue during the two hour ride. She had some interesting observations about the future. Apparently a new faster floating train is being planned from Tokyo to Nagoya which could travel at a speed of 500 kilometres an hour, twice as fast as the Shikansen. It is due to be completed by 2027. The Japanese remain ambitious and restless. They are still striving to retain their primary position for modern industries and engineering, robotics and information technology. They still blend this participation in the technology rat race with their love of beauty and love for tradition. Everywhere they are seeking to restore their castles to their original pristine beauty, and everywhere they concentrate on the atraction of their homecrafts in clothes, ceramics and furniture.
When I got back to the ship I wrote a critical report of the tour. My criticism was not a criticism of the tour guide. My criticism is not of the route of the tour, or of the seven points of interest whuch we were supposed to see. My criticism was that we could not properly see any of them, and some, and in particular the spectacular Nagoya City Science Museum with the new floating planetarium, we could not be see at all, as it was hidden behind the trees. I know too that a number of passengers complained because of a lack of comfort stops. Whatever. The tour could have been a successful one, but it needed to be at least an hour longer to allow for the necessary stopping time.
As night set in, Borealis cast off. Again we had a farewell flash of colours from the Nagoya Ferris Wheel. Then we were gone out to a heavier swell as we entered the Pacific.
After 2 weeks of effort my Council Tax amount has been idetified on the internet, and paid thtough my Barclays app. Still had the time to do a quiz with Sharon and Ranald. Only13 out of 15. No chance of winning anything with that score.
No comments:
Post a Comment