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I started to line up at the Sakashit Gate of Imperial Palace at 12: 45 and was guided by the Imperial guards to the front of Imperial Household Agency building inside the palace ground. I signed books congratulating Crown Prince Naruhiko and Princess Masako on the birth of the new princess. Many people came so that it took about one and a half hour until I finished the sign. The most of them were the middle and high aged. Few youngsters were among them.
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I got out from the Palace Ground, enjoying a beautiful view of the Fujimi watchtower and going out through the Kikyo Gate. TV cameras were waiting at the exit to make interviews to some of these people. The outside palace park was beautiful with autumn colored trees. Children are skipping a rope together with their parents, enjoying a Sunday afternoon. Meanwhile many homeless people were taking nap on the turf of park under the autumn sun.
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As I had not lunch yet, I dropped in the salon of Tokyo Kaikan and had an afternoon tea.
Then I stopped by Biccamera at Yurakucho and looked at a high-vision plasma display made by the Pioneer. They were very beautiful. But you can identify the quality of cameras. The hi-vision broadcast by NHK of soccer games has not clear picture on display, because they do not put the high-performance cameras yet. But the cooking programs look good ( according to a sales staff, the heavy competition among TV stations on cooking programs brought in the best cameras to take them.) In order to have steady digital broadcast, it seems to be necessary to raise the level of surrounding equipments.
On the pavement near Sukiyabashi cross, a guardsman was standing with a placard written as "This place is the last end of line to No.1 ticket window." The buyers of the year end special lottery tickets at this window had better chance to get 300,000,000 yen, they said. The guardsman added it would take three hours to reach the window if you were in line right now. Still people were coming one by one to the end of line. The Ginza street was making effort to promote the year end sales more earnestly than to congratulate the birth of new princess.
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At the YAMAHA music store on West Ginza street, I bought three compact discs of Wiener Philharmoniker conducted by Maestro Simon Rattle. Almost all record shops in Tokyo, they exhibited their products of classical music classified by the name of music. So it is difficult to get them by the name of conductors. I happened to get a help from a sales woman who was not only familiar with classical music but also with Sir Rattle. While I was sitting on a chair, she picked up CDs of the orchestra conducted by Sir Rattle. Thus I bought new three discs. Now I have five discs of the orchestra by Maestro Rattle. I am expecting to listen them at year end holidays.。