Good evening, readers.
One of my English teachers told me that to see a city you must walk it. Only then can you truly understand a city's people, culture, and way of life. I had this piece of wisdom in mind as I set out for Aoyama Cemetery 青山墓地, a place I read about in an article highlighting top cherry blossom viewing sites.
The journey took a little more than thirty minutes by foot, and as I reached the cemetery's entrance I could feel the atmosphere change. The wind increased. Then slowed. The smell of incense wafted through the spring air.
I made my way along the stone-laid paths between the numerous rows of marble graves. A small funeral was being held in front of one gravestone. A Japanese family of eight dressed in black attire paid their respects before leaving their departed loved one. In another part of the cemetery, others refilled water in small troughs located at the center of most headstones. Unlike back home, tombstones here are clothed in not only flowers but also drinks, usually water. At first glance, I thought the cemetery had been littered, which is rare in Japan (public garbage cans are uncommon because it's expected that individuals will hold onto their trash until they get home and then dispose of it there). It turns out that Japanese people bring the deceased drinks, though, and also wash the marble headstones with sponges wet from the graveyard fountains.
Heading deeper into the cemetery, I suddenly realized the place's vastness. Japanese as well as foreigner gravestones gathered together, some looming over me like giants. In several sections, cherry blossom trees dotted the space between the marble structures and especially along a small road that wound its way through the cemetery. Scooters and cars noiselessly passed through ducking under the pink budded trees that gave the cemetery an unexpected, breathtaking beauty.
After exiting the cemetery, I took in the rest of Aoyama through my sense of sound. Sunday means sports day in Japan (similar to those football fans in America). I stumbled upon an elementary school and stopped to watch tiny tykes run around a dirt soccer field, paying no heed to their parents yelling from the sidelines. I enjoyed snacking on one of my last bags of Goldfish and spending an hour reminiscing about my childhood soccer games.
My last stop in Aoyama happened by accident. My curious ears caught the sound of loud cheering, which dragged my feet in its direction. After strolling for some distance, I came across a stadium: Meiji Jingu Stadium 明治神宮球場. According to the bold print signs, this is Tokyo's Olympic stadium! I was baffled at the size and excited to see banners flowing that read "Discover Tomorrow," which advertised for Tokyo to be a candidate in the 2020 Summer Olympics.
While I hope Tokyo is chosen so that I have another reason to return, the banner's phrase speaks to me in the here and now. I'm in one of the neatest cities in the world and no matter the obstacles I face today I will always have tomorrow. To discover.
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| Cherry Blossoms |
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| Tree Pathway |
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| On the run |
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| Meiji Jingu Stadium |
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| Olympics Banner |
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