Journeys for Knowledge

The last few months have been tremendously busy, as I was rushing to finish my thesis proposal before my only trip home for the year. As such I was taking very few breaks, even on weekends, until my friend Neil decides to inform me that he’s visiting Tokyo for the weekend. Since I’ve left home, I try to seize any chance I can to see my old friends from college and before. Life only becomes more turbulent as time goes on, so I do not know when I may cross paths with them again. Thus I took my biggest break in some time to go out to Tokyo and play tour guide.

Since I have already shown much of Tokyo from my previous travels, my photo focused on the new regions I was able to visit this time. Chief among these was Asakusa, known for its Sensoji temple and river bank. Now of course any temple visit on a weekend will be crowded, but this trip are particularly packed due to the advent of the cherry blossoms (sakura) for this year. Sakura is beautiful wherever it appears, with its brief but vibrant appearance, but there is something uniquely fitting about seeing these blossoms around serene Japanese temples. Although Neil had to leave at this point, I still had time to take in more sakura around Tokyo, so I went back to my favorite park in Ueno to see how they were blooming there.

While it was not as magnificent as it would be the week after, there was a rather amusing festival in the park’s center, celebrating the spring. I say amusing because apart from beautiful sculptures and wonderful green tea, there was a concert band performing to anyone who wanted to conduct, even children. To their credit, despite the erratic tempo of their conductors, the musicians followed along perfectly. Past these festivities lied another new location, the Tokyo Museum.

Much like other museums I have seen on my travels, this museum was home to artwork from all around the world. However the best part was seeing even this edifice adorned by even more blossoms. After months of focused study on my thesis topic, having a chance to get back in touch with art, nature, and Japanese society was a much needed respite before my final push to submitting the proposal. Of course this is just one step on a longer journey in science, but I am slowly learning the balance I will need to come out of the experience as wholesome as I was when I began.

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