This is an authorized translation in English of a post in French by @japon: Hama Rikyu, un parc exceptionnel au coeur de Tokyo
Remember that the person that speaks here is NOT me, Vincent Celier (@vcelier), but @japon, a French guy.
Hama Rikyu, an exceptional park in the heart of Tokyo
Continuation of the visit of South East of Tokyo with a large park: Hama Rikyu. When we think of Tokyo, we imagine a huge city with its skyscrapers. This is the case in some parts but it would be forgetting several large parks that allow to escape the tumult and urban unrest.
When I arrived in front of the park, I noticed automatic terminals. You have to buy a ticket: only 300 yen it's cheap to pay for the quality of what I'm going to see. I take my ticket and advance to the entrance. There are wide grids, but they are open. And nobody to verify that each visitor has bought a ticket. Another proof of the civility and honesty shown by the Japanese.
In front of me are wide tree-lined avenues and a few small traditional wooden houses (which unfortunately cannot be visited). But the most interesting part of the park is a little further. A large pond, surrounded by pines cut into plateaus, and in the middle the Tea House Nakajima.
You can access the tea house via a wooden bridge. At the entrance, a small Zen garden with its rocks, lantern and white gravel finely raked. A Japanese dressed in traditional kimono greets me and invites me to enter.
I remove my shoes and leave them at the entrance, in the storage provided for this purpose. Inside the tea house, a single large room covered with tatami mats. There are some people, Japanese and foreigners. Everyone is sitting on the floor. No chair or table. I am invited to settle in a corner.
This is the perfect opportunity, I order a matcha green tea. A leaflet (in Japanese and English) explains how to drink according to tradition. Take the bowl in both hands, rotate it a quarter of a turn, bring it to your lips, and put it down.
This tea has the reputation of being very bitter, and it is with a little apprehension that I swallow the first sip. Good surprise, it's very good. During its preparation, the matcha tea is whipped up to become almost a foam, I do not have the impression to drink a liquid.
I try to apply myself to drinking tea properly. The place is really nice (even if sitting on the floor is not very comfortable). In front of the house, a large terrace overlooks the lake. As I'm in socks, I'm offered a pair of sandals to go on this terrace.
My shoe size isr 43, I have the heels protruding from the back ;-)
The spectacle is amazing. I was in a traditional teahouse, and in the background, the skyscrapers offer a striking contrast to Japan. This landscape could sum up Japan all by itself: tradition and modernity. The two worlds do not clash but live in harmony. The Japanese have the ability to take the best of everything and integrate it into their culture.
Once out of the tea house, I finish the walk in the park. I notice a small hill, a bench is located at the top. I tell myself that this must allow to have a nice point of view. I climb the stairs and sit down for a few minutes. A woman arrives too and settles next to me.
I tell her then in Japanese that it is very beautiful. She looks at me, surprised to see a stranger speak her language. We begin the conversation about the park and what we see around. And then we stay for a moment just to admire the tea house, the lake, the park and the skyscrapers in the background. Hama Rikyu Park remains one of my most beautiful memories of Tokyo.
-- @japon
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