Located just 15 minutes away by bus from Mitaka 三鷹 and Kichijoji 吉祥寺, ( a bustling shopping town that was the visual basis for Takaramachi in Tekkon Kinkreet ) is Jindaiji 深大寺, an age old shrine village dating back to the Nara period 1200 years ago.
An unexpected downpour had dampened the air just before our arrival, shrouding the place in a fine mist that added to its queer tranquility. It was like stepping into a Miyazaki film set. Just behind the first shrine we came upon, a couple of children were having a field day fishing scarlet red crayfishes from a pond.
Jindaiji is also well known for its delicious hand made Soba, with numerous quaint old stores scattered around the village. Ros and I had foolishly forgotten to draw cash before we made our trip here and had barely enough for the bus ride back, so we reluctantly gave up on the Soba and spent the rest of the time on a few more pictures.
I’ve been living in Tokyo for more than 3 years now, but each day I continue to be amazed by this city’s extraordinary landscape – that of a new world thrust upon an old, of cold metal and concrete against weathered wood. This must be one of the enduring visual hallmarks of Tokyo that make it such an intriguing and captivating place.
10
Matsushima Bay, Sendai.
Japan Trip, Spring 2018
Tokyo / Tottori Summer Trip 2016
Tokyo Trip, Autumn 2014.
Hachiman Shrine, Irumagawa, Saitama.
August 3rd, 2007 at 6:02 am
Nice photos! I’ve never been to this shrine but I wouldn’t doubt that it inspired Miyazaki. I’ve seen him jogging in Inokashira park several times.
I’m sure you know that Mitaka and Kichijoji are where alot of the animation studios are located. At least, back in the ’80s anyways. I remember coming to Tokyo in 1985 and going to the Gainax studio which was just a tiny apartment north of Kichijoji at the time. Also, the video stores in the area used to have a lot of diversity when it came to the selection of anime compared to other shops. These days Akiba and Nakano have filled the otaku void but back in the day there was only Kichijoji. The animate shop was one of my popular destinations.
August 3rd, 2007 at 9:40 pm
That’s the fantastic atmosphere I was always looking for in Japan, but I never found it! Thank you for those fantastic images!!
August 3rd, 2007 at 10:32 pm
Beautiful photos. I find them very pleasing. Your description of the contrasts you find in your environment is also enjoyable.
To me such differences as those you describe heighten the reality of each extreme in the spectrum to which they belong. Knowing a thing that much more by knowing its opposite. I hope that comment makes sense to others.
Thank you for sharing the beauty.
August 4th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
Nice Photos of nature there
August 4th, 2007 at 12:59 pm
Roy – Thanks for dropping by. I’ve ever only seen Miyazaki once when he was on his way to work, driving past Musashi-Sakai station. I was right in front of his car when he stopped at the junction, you can imagine how excited I was.
How long have you been in living in Japan actually ? You must know all the streets like the back of your hand. :]
Nicola, Erik, Akiraman – Thanks for the compliments ! I hope to go around taking more pictures when I can, but free time is so hard to come back.
August 4th, 2007 at 4:33 pm
it certainly has a mystic touch to it
now i know why the ghibli films have that serene air about them when it comes to portraying scenes like these…
August 5th, 2007 at 2:34 am
beautiful pictures! i love the muted greens. can’t wait to go back this december!
August 6th, 2007 at 3:20 am
tragic comedy – Ghibli background artists like Kazuo Oga must have spent quite a lot of time visiting and studying places like this for their work in Spirited Away and Mononoke Hime.
CMWilly – Thanks ! Come back soon. :]
August 6th, 2007 at 12:34 pm
Your pictures are really beautiful. Really love to visit there if I have the chance.
Nowadays, it’s hard to find nice scenery places like that. The nearest you can find in Singapore could be Bukit Timah hill, I guess?
August 7th, 2007 at 6:51 am
Thank you ! Speaking of Bukit Timah I remember watching a Singapore documentary once about a Japanese Shrine that was built in there during the Japanese occupation. It was destroyed by the Japanese when they surrendered, but some remnants of it remain, like the pillars and a well. Quite fascinating.
August 11th, 2007 at 1:11 pm
I spent a week in Kichijoji last time I was in Japan, I am definitely going to visit that shrine next time! I would often go on walks when I had spare time at the schools I worked at and would stumble upon tiny shrines now and then, so awesome, I totally agree about your insight in regards to the old and the new in Japan…. makes for a remarkable ambiguity that somehow just works. I have lots of photos, not nearly as beautiful as yours, that I am currently going through as inspirations for new works. I will put them up on Flickr as soon as I get time, will drop you a line to let you know… in other news I have been signed to an agency!!! It’s being launched in September so hopefully will be able to get some exciting projects underway and can plan my next trip to Nippon!
August 11th, 2007 at 6:06 pm
Hey Andrea, congratulations on your new work ! I’ll be sure to check your blog for more updates on that. I’ve also signed up for flickr recently, but I’ve been too lazy to upload pictures… :p
ps the shrine village is amazing. You have to visit it the next time you come. :]
August 22nd, 2007 at 1:30 am
Oh man, I remember that place! Wasn’t nearly as magical when I went there though. Instead of misty and mysterious, it was hot and muggy and I was assaulted by mushi the size of small hamsters.
Seems very beautiful through your pictures though. I love photographing bamboo. Even though it’s horribly cliche, it’s just so much fun.
Reminds of a similar trip I took to Fushimi Inari in Kyoto. I was worried we would get rained out, but fortunately the clouds broke just as we arrived, and we were able to walk through the rows of torii gates and ancient trees with the sun glinting off a million raindrops all around us.
Too bad you missed out on the soba, though! I would’ve been pretty reluctant to pass that up, too!
August 22nd, 2007 at 1:09 pm
Actually we weren’t spared the bugs either ! I endured numerous mosquito bites when I had to hold still to take shots. But the rain did wash away the afternoon heat. Gotta try that soba when I visit next time. :]
April 16th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
I agree! Everywhere you go in Tokyo you run into things in places you least expect to find them. I love it : ) I have never been to this particular temple but will put it on my ever growing list for when I’m over that way again.
April 16th, 2009 at 4:57 pm
Honor – Thanks for visiting, and you should definitely check it out soon, hopefully before the bugs invade ! :]
April 16th, 2009 at 8:46 pm
Fanstastic photos.
April 17th, 2009 at 8:58 pm
Thanks again ! :]
April 18th, 2009 at 5:37 am
great pictures. You are very talented
May 5th, 2010 at 5:14 pm
You managed to catch the elusive essence of Japan. Beautiful!