JR Yamanote Line - Hamamatsucho
Apr 15th, 2008 by Neil
So onward I push on my journey to cover all 29 stops on the JR Yamanote Line with today’s trip taking me to Hamamatsucho.
After 23 minutes from my home station Yoyogi only to find i’d actually used this station several times to connect with the Monorail to go to Haneda Airport. I’d usually take the Toei Oedo Subway and change at Daimon, now i know i’ve realised how much easier it would be to use the JR line instead … the connection is much easier when you have luggage.
The ride past Hamamatsucho was the original inspiration for me to visit all 29 stops on the JR Yamanote Line. I can’t remember where it was i was going, but on route through this station i saw scenes i hadn’t previously seen so today i was off to explore in greater detail.
Right next door to the station was the Kyu-Shiba Rikyu Gardens and for 150 yen you can spend all day there if you like.
“The focal point of the garden is the large pond, Sensui, which like Hama Rikyu’s pond still is, was once filled with seawater from Edo Bay by means of a inlet, that can still be seen.
Nowadays the lake is freshwater and contains a number of islands, rock formations and massive carp” - Japan Visitor
A couple getting married Saturday were having their photos taken. If they had chosen any of the 5 days before or the few after to get married they would have been disappointed with the weather, they were lucky on this day as it was actually quite sunny and warm.
I only had a brief walk around the Gardens but what i did see i was impressed.
There was no shortage of Ramen shops in Hamamatsucho, by now i had decided i would try some local ramen for lunch.
Although i took the JR Yamanote Line there’s easy access by car via the endless overhead highways.
A quick walk through the Italian Gardens, which i didn’t really expect to see, located next to the JR Line.
The peaceful nature of the gardens provide a good place for some people to catch up on some sleep.
I keep threatening to by a bike and when i do i’ll get one with big handle bars like this one.
Some statues that look strangely like humans sniffing backsides in a dog like fashion.
Back out into the side streets and i found some good pockets in Hamatsucho with plenty of bars and restaurants. It looks like Hamamatsucho comes alive after dark.
Yakitori and Ramen restaurants were plentiful.
This is the Ramen shop i ate lunch at.
All that walking was thirsty work. The Ramen was pretty good too, not as good as Hon-Atsugi Ramen though.
The inspiration to visit all 29 stops on the JR Yamanote Line was this scene i once noticed when transiting through.
The river is littered with these boats that during the day had no life in them whatsoever but i’m sure after dark it’s quiet a different story.
What i’m guessing is a burial place of sorts.
As usual walking the streets there were many different and interesting sights.
Just cause you’re homeless it doesn’t mean you don’t have washing to do.
If i had dollar for every water feature i’ve seen in Japan i’d be a rich man. Needless to say we don’t have the same water restrictions here as they do back home.
Another of the sights, viewable from the passing train, that inspired me to see more of what’s in an around the Yamanote Line.
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Awesome photos!
Once again I am impressed - this series was a brilliant idea!
I hope i still agree with you after another 5 or 6 stops …. it’s a long day out there!
Those statues made me a little uncomfortable .
I bet if I was s__t faced and used my shirt as a pillow it would probably be very comfortable.
Out of interest Neil, do you have a fairly quick dash round firing off as many pics as possible, or do you spend the best part of the day at each stop?
I`d probably spend 1/2 a day at each one so far Lee, somewhere around 4 hours, maybe 5 or 6 at a stretch, has been about the average. I keep thinking to buy one of those gadgets that measures the distance you walk …. by paces i guess, cause on Saturday i started at Hamamatuscho and walked to either station on each side plus a good meander throughout too … plenty of double backing and thank god for GPS in my phone! With a lunch stop in the middle i usually get out there mid morning 11ish and then get back home around 3 to 4pm. Maybe as the weather gets much better i may pull up at some good spots for a few beers.
When I lived in Bangkok, I always set a goal to see 1 new area a week and try 2 new restuarants a week. I wanted to make the most of the time in my new home and really get to see it. Too often we move somewhere and have good intentions on seeing new places but we fall into old patterns. Sometimes its hard to avoid (I slacked a bit sometimes!) but its good to keep your eyes on the prize.
I like the goal and I love the pictures.
Your also linked to me now on my site.
-Matt
nice pictures as always.
I’m wondering neil, i went 3 times in a row to a hotel located near shiba-park ^^
I always used the JR Hamamatsucho-eki to travel around and i’m surprised that i can’t recognize anything on your pictures. I spent some time just walking around near Hamamatsucho but nothing of your photos seems familiar too me
I guess i went walking around in other directions.
What’s the next stop? Harajuku? yatta~
I think more of my photos were taken further away from Hamamatsucho than close in to the station where it seemed a little sterile.
Yes, next stop will be a good one, Harajuku … although this weekend i will go to Nagoya so it will have to wait another week.
Another great series of photos, Neil. I do enjoy this virtual tour around the Yamanote line. If you don’t mind me asking, how do you keep the file size so low for such big photos? What software are you using? Thanks!
Good question Nick. I take all the photos at full res. They start off at 4000 x 3000 and around 5 up to 8 or 9 meg. I then crop and resize them to just under 600 wide. The image size is still around 200 to 300 kbs on average at this size. When there’s a good 30 plus images it can get to an 8 meg page load pretty quick!
Software - I actually use MS Office Picture editor for all of it, the crop, resize and then finally to get the size down i export a new image with 60% quality setting, which seriously doesn’t affect the photo quality seeing as they’re already resized . The images then end up around 50 kb … on average. Which in this case bought things back to a 1.5 meg page load from 8 meg at the start. You could even go lower than 60% and i have experimented with 50% but some degeneration does creep in.
If there’s something particular you want full size let me know and i will send … i have done in the past. I usually take anywhere upwards of 150 shots in a day and then try and reduce it too bare minimum ~ 30 ish to put up …. its easy to creep over though.
Thanks for replying, Neil. I’ve been using Paint Shop Pro, but lose quality quickly when I compress over 20%. I’ll have a play around with a few other programs I have and see if I can get my own photos down to a good-quality 50kbs.
I find PSP too heavy duty for the image work i need to do. Have plenty of other uses for it but MS Office Photo Editor is pretty light weight and satisfies my requirement perfectly. Another one you may want to try is “Gimp” i’ve heard it’s great.
I like to see Japanesse wedding clothes, especially the bride…Unique costume.
I also follow the concept left by Nomadic Matt. One new place or event a week - it’s not overwhelming and avoids the ‘rut’ that is so easy to fall into.
Neil, on my weekly outings I usually snap anywhere from 100-200 shots as well. it does take some sifting through to find the good shots but they are often the ones that you least expect. Thank goodness for digital cameras and large hard drives!
How do you organize your photos? I tend to create a folder for each day with the date and location in the name and drop them in without renaming the files. If a file has a name then I know I have cropped or adjusted it somehow but I always leave the original intact.
Hey Shane, Between my home PC which is a Sony Living Room PC and my work laptop i have about a terabyte of storage. I store all images in their natural form straight off the camera in dated folders then copy a version of the ones i want for uploading to a seperate directory structure and manipulate them …. but always keeping the original, full size elsewhere.
That massive clock store front has to be one of the strangest things I’ve ever seen. Do you know any background as to what’s the story behind that one?
It was at the entrance of some sort of childrens entertainment building / games parlour …. i didn’t go inside but there were no shortage of kids in the area so i guess that’s what it was.
Great photos dude! Ebisu is still my favorite.
my first time here and i definitely lovin it. great blog.
Hey Neil, love the JR Yamamote Line tour idea. I’m thinking of doing the same thing when i get to tokyo in July but i don’t think I can cover all 29 statios in a month. Have you ever gone back to any of the places you’ve been to? Someplace that has caught your interest perhaps?
I haven’t specifically been back to any of the places due to doing this tour but i’m sure i will …. it gives me a broader idea of what’s out there when trying to think of places to go. All over the places i’ve been so far have attractions that would make me revisit.
Those butt-sniffing things are creepy. I must not be the only one who thinks so; I didn’t see anyone sleeping on top of one of them.
My Girlfriend and I were thinking of going into Tokyo during Golden Week (well, Golden “Weekend” this year). I do believe that we would be very interested in stopping in Hamamatsucho. We are park people… Though I guess it might be rather crowded… But anyway, you have definitely piqued my interest on the stop!
Thank you!
I remember passing those boats on the Yamanote once and thinking the exact same thing; “What in the world do those boats do?”…
I am really looking forward to your take on Harujuku. I can’t wait to see what you find there! This is an excellent idea, I’m glad you are doing it!
—Guy