Home Again Home Again

For our last day in Tokyo, we headed to one of the main train stations to do some final souvenir shopping.  Our tracking skills were still a bit off and we had trouble finding the markets.  After wandering through the Shrine Accessories shopping streets (we did see some miniature orange torii gates…), we finally found the markets.  Unfortunately, we didn’t have much time left, so we found a restaurant and had our last Japanese-style meal before heading back.

With our luggage in tow, we wove our way through the transportation system one last time.  Two subway trains and 2 express trains later we arrived at the airport.

Our return trip included an overnight stopover in Texas.  And it’s true; they really do “Go Big” there…

(The World’s Largest Wind Chime)

Our final flight home was without incident.  There was no inclement weather to impede our return and, in fact, both of our flights got in early.

Now home, we look forward to the rest of our summer spending time with friends and family and sharing stories about our adventure in Japan (after we get some sleep…). 

Thanks for joining us as we shared some of the highlights.

Kyoto back to Tokyo

Today we headed back to Tokyo because we fly out tomorrow.  It’s hard to believe our voyage is coming to an end.

The train ride back was grey and raining and once again we missed glimpsing the elusive Mt. Fuji.

Once relocated in our final apartment, we explored the new area.  Not much was open in this quiet section of Tokyo, so we decided to head further into the city.

After all these weeks of successfully maneuvering through the convoluted Japanese metro and train systems (*only once did we get on a subway going the wrong direction), we finally somehow managed to get stuck in a metro station without a ticket.  We got on using our train pass, but they wouldn’t let us out without a metro ticket.  After much discussion with a few metro officials (including a translator), we finally found one that let us out.

At last set free, we found a restaurant to celebrate our last night in Japan, Japanese-style, of course.

Our return trip to the apartment was without incident.

A Temple and A Shrine

This morning we went to the Daigoji Temple. 

Once again we were not permitted to take photos inside.  We explored the many rooms of the temple and admired the delicate artwork on the sliding doors.  At one of the shrines we made prayers for Yuriko and her family during this difficult time.

The extensive grounds were very beautiful with a pathway through a mature forest, a serene garden with waterfalls emptying into ponds, many small idols and statues, and ancient buildings in the traditional architecture. We took our time exploring all the wonderful sights.

From the temple, we went to the Fushimi-Inari Shrine.  This shrine is devoted to the god of rice, but is well known for its many torii (gate or archway).  There are over ten thousand. We didn’t count (we read it), but it sounds about right because we did walk through the majority of them.  They cover a 4km hiking path up to the top of Mt. Inari.  The majority of them are painted bright orange (some are stone).  The view of Kyoto from the top of the mountain was stunning, but it was a long hike on a humid afternoon and by the end we glad to see the last of the orange torii.

It just so happens that Lukas wore his Fushimi-Inari Shrine Torii Camouflage today too (can you spot him?)

In the evening we strolled through the local streets, shopping for souvenirs.

Rainy Beach Day

I’ve been monitoring the weather to ensure that our day trip (2 hour train ride away) to the beach would be a nice sunny day, not primarily because a Beach Day needs to be sunny, but mostly because the beach we were going to is famous for its views.  Needless to say I was quite disheartened when the partly sunny forecast I’d been monitoring suddenly changed to rain yesterday afternoon.  Our days left in Japan are numbered, so there were no alternative days left in our itinerary.  So, this morning, armed with umbrellas, we headed off to the beach. 

The views along the long train ride were quite beautiful. We went over bridges spanning deep, narrow canyons, through hillside tunnels, and past green, rice paddies to arrive at Miyazu Bay on the Sea of Japan in the town of Amanohashidate… in the rain.

First we went up the cable car to see the view.  Fortunately the cloud cover wasn’t too bad; we could still see the sandbar and bay.  Part of the “tradition” in Amanohashidate (which means “Bridge  in Heaven”) is to view the sandbar upside down.  There are special platforms with railings to help you balance while you bend over and look at the view from between your legs – they even sell pastries and other sweets in the shape of a person bending over.

I think today with the rain and the clouds, it wasn’t really necessary to bend over to get the perception of heaven.

After lunch we took a boat ride across the bay to go up the cable car on the other side.  By then, heaven had really set in.

We had hoped to ride bicycles back across the sandbar, but decided walking was a better idea.  The weather did not deter the kids from wanting to go in the water. And, of course, we had to put our toes in the Sea of Japan, but there were jelly fish in the water which was the only thing that prevented them from swimming (certainly Not the rain).  We had a nice meandering walk back along the beach, collecting shells, sea glass, and starfish along the way.

You can follow our route here.

In the end, the rain wasn’t such a bad thing.  It certainly kept the tourists away, giving us this little slice of heaven almost all to ourselves.

A Lot of Buddhas and a Maiko dancer

We spent this morning with 1001 Buddhas, 28 guardian deities, and 2 gods.  Rows upon rows of 5 foot tall, gold-leaf covered, wooden statues of Buddha and one giant Buddha were guarded by statues of mythic deities and flanked at the ends by the gods of Thunder and Wind in the Sanjusangen-do temple.  Regrettably, we were not permitted to take any photos inside.  One hundred and twenty-four of the 42-limbed statues were made in the 12^th century; the remaining 876 were made in the 13^th century when the temple was renovated, because you can never have too many Buddhas.  They were extremely well preserved and very daunting.

Since we seem to be spending a lot of time on trains, we thought it would be appropriate to visit the train museum.  It is a work in progress, but currently houses many full sized steam engines dating from the early 1900’s, including a working one and a turn table.

The museum has plans for expansion to include more modern trains, including the Maglev train by 2016 – I guess we have to come back...

For a treat today we visited the Cacao Market.  This is a store full of all things chocolate. And that’s not the best part – Really – there is a secret door, with a secret code to a quaint basement café where you can order delicious drinks and desserts – chocolate, of course. So awesome!

To get back in the Japanese mood, our last stop of the day was at the Maiko Museum.  Here we saw videos of the Maiko dancers and Geisha, and displays of various kimonos and parts of their costumes.  We even got to pose for a picture with a real Maiko dancer.

Monkeys, Bamboo, and a Temple

We started out the day in Arashiyama. 

Our first stop after a long hike up a mountainside was to visit some monkeys that roamed freely on the mountaintop.  There was a cage set up for the humans to go inside and feed the monkeys on the outside.

My monkeys had a fun time watching and feeding these monkeys.

Upon our descent, we wandered along a path through a Bamboo Grove.

We were dwarfed by this spectacular forest (no panda sightings though ;-) ).

Not far from Arashiyama, we stopped to visit the Ninnaji Temple.  I don’t know if it was the time of day, or just that this temple was slightly off the tourist path, or if it is always like this, but it was so peaceful.  We all enjoyed the gardens and buildings and wished we’d had more time before it closed.

Afterwards, we had dinner and wandered around the Kyoto train station.  There was an amazing light show of pictures and words on the big, outside stairs spanning from the 2^nd to the 11^th floor.

It was mesmerizing.

Osaka

Believe it or not, someone turned Alia’s camera in to Lost & Found! So, this morning we went to Osaka (about 30 min by train) to retrieve it. We used this as an opportunity to explore Osaka.

During our train ride this morning, we were in the first car and had a “Conductor’s Eye View” of the tracks ahead.  It was fun to watch the stations come and go as we zoomed by on the Express Train.

It was a grey and drizzly day today – a perfect day for Instant Ramen Noodles – The Museum!  Yes, there is a museum dedicated to those long, curly noodles you like to just add hot water and slurp on a cold winter day or when camping.  There really wasn’t a whole lot of information in the museum, just the biography of the gentlemen, Momofuku Ando, who created Cup Noodles.  But that didn’t really matter; the important part was that we got to invent our own instant noodlely creation from cup label design, to mixing a unique combination of flavours, to securing our sealed product in a pillow of air.

After our hot lunch of Cup Noodles, we went to the Umeda Sky Building where we spent some time out of the rain, looking down on the city.

The kids did get some time to play in the rain before dinner.  And after dinner, we worked our way through multi-levels of indoor shopping before heading back to Kyoto.

Hiroshima to Kyoto

We zipped along the Japanese Rails again today and relocated in Kyoto.

Our new apartment is in the Gion district, which is an older part of the city with more traditional buildings. It is known for the Geisha and Maiko culture.

After getting some directions, we spent the afternoon exploring the area.

In the evening, we walked through the grounds of the Yasaka Shrine.  It was very pretty with its orange paint and many brightly lit lanterns.

Peace

Today we went back to the Peace Park.  

We visited the Peace Museum which chronicles the devastation of both land and lives from the atomic bombing on August 6, 1945.  The sense of destruction is bleak, but this commentary is necessary for the betterment of future generations - Lest we forget.  The exhibit also offers distinct positive advocacy for peace and encouragement to move forward.

This was exemplified by a volunteer making Peace Cranes.

She helped the kids each make one, which they placed at the Children’s Peace Monument later in the day.

After the Peace Museum, we visited the Hiroshima Castle, which was reconstructed after World War II.  The original castle was established in the Samurai Era.  We found one wandering the exhibits inside.

We had hoped to also visit the Mazda museum today, but were unable to make an appointment.  As an alternative we went to the Transportation Museum.  It was a short, but fun visit.

Just outside this museum we stumbled on The Blue Moon American-style Diner.  We couldn’t resist.  Inside was a mass conglomerate of everything Americana.  While we dined on Burgers and Fries (served with chopsticks), we watched Roadrunner and Peanuts reruns, and car race mishaps, with American Pop radio playing in the background.

With our bellies full and nostalgia satisfied, we headed back to the hotel.

Hakone to Hiroshima

Today was very foggy and rainy – a perfect day to spend four hours on a train.

The weather reflected our emotions as we parted ways with our cousins.  They headed back to Tokyo and we set out to continue our tour south to Hiroshima.  We have wonderful memories of our time together exploring Tokyo and playing in Hakone.

Once again we boarded the Maglev train, this time bound for Hiroshima.

Our trip was very smooth and almost uneventful, except for the unfortunate loss of Alia’s camera.  We had it on the first train, but noticed it missing near the end of the ride on the second train.  We think it must have slipped out of her bag on the first train.  We have a call in to Lost and Found, but do not expect to hear anything.  Fortunately, she had uploaded all of her photos; we were just sad at the loss.  But don’t despair – this is Japan – land of the Nikon and digital cameras, so we had no trouble purchasing a replacement for her.  Her photo blog will go on!

Luckily our train did manage to out run the rain and although it was overcast when we arrived in Hiroshima, it was dry.  We dropped off our luggage in our hotel and set out to explore. 

We are not that far from the Peace Park, so we wandered through looking at the various memorials and tributes to the souls that lost their lives.

The amount of destruction was devastating, but even more apparent is the revitalization and dedication to  promote peace. 

Shake and Spurt

We woke us up this morning with a little jolt – a magnitude 3.3 earthquake.  The epicenter was in our area.  Other than a little shaking, there was no damage where we were.

Our plan today was to explore the area around Hakone, the site of an active volcano.  Since May the warning level around the volcano has been at Level 2 which bans people from going near the crater.  This meant that the Rope Car (gondola) across the crater was closed.  But, we still had access to the various buses, trains, cable car and a boat ride in the area.

Our first stop of the day was at the Amazake-chaya Tea House.  It is an ancient rest stop for travelers that used the Tokaido Trail through the mountain passes.  We enjoyed some regular hot tea and a sweet miso-like beverage called Amazake.

  

Once energized by our refreshments, we set out for a 2km hike along the Tokaido Trail.  The path was laid with moss covered rocks that, in ancient times, was edged with bamboo.  The enormous trees of the surrounding forest provided a cool canopy as we ascended the hill.

We stopped for lunch and some legendary black eggs by Lake Ashi.  These black eggs undergo a laborious boiling process involving extremely hot temperatures and sulfur, which give them their black colour and odorous smell.  However, it’s worth it because it’s said that eating one will add 7 years to your life. (And they tasted pretty good)

Next we took a voyage across Lake Ashi, a fresh water lake formed when the volcano erupted 800 years ago.  Views of Mt. Fuji once again eluded us due to the low lying clouds, but the views of the forests surrounding the lake were beautiful.

After our boat cruise we were going to take a bus around the crater to the cable car (since we couldn’t take the rope car), but were directed to a different bus.  Along this route we had a quick glimpse of the volcano.  There was a LOT of steam coming from it.  When we arrived at the entrance to the cable car, we were told it was closed.  We were also told the boat cruise was closed.  It wasn’t until later that we found out that our cruise was the last one before they closed it due to an upgrade of the volcano warning to Level 3.  What we’d seen from the bus, was the volcano actually having a small eruption!

For our last evening together with The Cousins, the kids went swimming at the hotel pool and ate dinner together in the room, while the adults went to a local restaurant for Japanese BBQ with Kobe beef.  We enjoyed the food and company and laughed about our escapades from the past few days.

Tokyo to Hakone

Today we took our first Maglev train, Shinkansen, from Tokyo to Hakone.  It was “Super Express”.  The ride was super smooth and super fast. 

I was hoping to get a glimpse of Mt. Fuji from the train, but could not – not because we were going too fast, because the peak was shrouded in clouds.  Hopefully the weather will be clearer tomorrow and we’ll get another chance.

From the train station, we took the hotel shuttle.  Lukas got to be co-pilot.

Our hotel is high on the mountainside overlooking the ocean.  The view from our room is spectacular.

We had a slight reprieve from sight-seeing today and spent a little time relaxing.  The kids bowled in the hotel’s bowling alley,

while we opted for shiatsu massages and then a soak in the onsen – Japanese style(!) (definitely no photos from here... no where to put the camera). 

It was very restorative. 

Day Trip to Kamakura

Our destination today was a small town south of Tokyo, Kamakura, about an hour train ride away. 

We climbed the many steps to the Kamakura temple to make our wishes for the day.  There were many different varieties of bright, colourful flower lanterns decorating temple.  These were one of my favourite things today.  Even though it was quite warm, there was a slight breeze coming off the ocean -just enough to stir the tails of the lanterns into a gentle dance and give us a some relief from the heat.

We found other ways to combat the heat as well.

(I had The Best green tea ice cream I’ve ever tasted…EVER!)

This small town is popular, as attested today by the crowded buses and even more crowded trains, because it is home to a very Big guy, Diabutsu, or the Great Buddha.  And we’re talking Great – this statue, cast in bronze in 1252, is 13.35m tall.  Let’s just say he leaves some pretty big shoes to fill.

After such a Big day, we headed back to enjoy our last evening near our apartment – tomorrow is a travel day – hard to believe we’ve already been here a week!

Shopping Day

We started our day by making wishes at the Meiji Jingu shrine.  We learned how to properly bow and clap our hands to ensure our wish was sent.  Alia also wrote down our family wishes on a wooden plaque and hung it with others from around the world. 

With our wishes dispersed, we made our way to the narrow market street to see if any were granted. 

The bustling, modern, commercial alley was quite the contrast from the immense, tranquil gardens of the shrine across the way.

Our visit to the market was indeed successful.  We found some fabulous treasures and souvenirs to bring home. 

Plus we got to sample some crepes (I think I might know whose wish that was…).  And, Yes, I said crepes. The Japanese have taken The Crepe to a whole new level.   I can’t even describe it; it must be experienced.

When we returned to the apartment for a rest in the afternoon, we came across a live monkey show in an open area by the shrine.  It was very cute.  We sat and watched for a while.

For dinner we stopped at various street vendors and sampled their wares.

I had beef on a stick, which consisted of sticky rice wrapped in thinly slice beef (think bacon, only beef) with a salt sauce.  Yum.

This evening, those of us that were not too tired, headed out to see Shibuya after dark.  It was quite the spectacle.

(You’ll have to go to ‘Photos’ to see what I mean).

Museum Day

This morning it was overcast when we left the apartment.  We walked along the river and crossed over the green bridge into Sumo territory. 

We spent the morning at the Edo-Tokyo Museum.

It is a massive museum that traces the timeline of Tokyo from its early days as Edo to the present.  The city has a very long fluctuating history of growth and destruction.  So many times it has been destroyed by fire, flood, or fighting, but has emerged to rebuild a bigger, better base.

The museum housed full-sized reconstructions of buildings as well as detailed dioramas that chronicled the life styles of the past and evolution of development.  There were many opportunities to get a hands-on feel for the way things were.

After a quick lunch we headed to the Shitamachi Museum.  

This too chronicled the evolution of Tokyo, with a deeper focus on the local area, showing the lifestyle of its inhabitants, the crafts and trades people.   

There was a table full of wooden toys and puzzles for more hands-on experience.  The kids spent an hour playing with the various artifacts!  As we were leaving one of the docents gave the kids origami spinning tops that she had made (more hours of fun!)

This museum is situated on the edge of the Ueno Park and just outside the entrance, the lake was dense (to say the least) with Lotus plants.  These giant lilies were awesome.

We would’ve spent more time here looking at the magnificent view and strolling through the park, but it was raining lightly. So, we headed to the bakery for pastries and then back to the apartment.  We got in just before the downpour!

Japanese Icons

Today we visited the locations of three Japanese Icons.

First, we visited an antiquity, the Imperial Palace, which dates back to the early 1600’s, when it was known as the Edo Castle.  This ancient property, surrounded by moats in the heart of Tokyo, is the residence of the current Emperor and his family.  The well preserved ancient gardens and structures within are a great contrast to the modern city which encircle them.

From there we went to the home of the city’s most notorious and newest citizens.

Godzilla!!!

He was a little busy, so we didn’t stick around.

The location of our last stop is also well-known for its immensity.  The modern backdrop of Hachiko Square is a bustling, commercial intersection of sights and sounds.  One of the remarkable impacts that Tokyo has made in the few days we’ve been here, is the quietness.   For a city so vast, with millions of people carrying on the activities of their daily lives, the level of volume is an audible murmur.  Hachiko Square, however, is like being at an Extreme Dance Party.  It’s as if all the sound for the entire city (and maybe all of Japan) is channeled to this spot.

Our iconic day ended with a return to the quiet confines of our apartment for dinner.

Disney’s Sea

This morning we met The Cousins at a predetermined location on the subway line and then made our way to Disney’s Sea amusement park.

It is a recently added park (2001) adjacent to Tokyo Disney.  This Disney park is unique to the Disney family.  It is located on a small island off Tokyo on the Japanese coast in the Pacific.  The entire theme of the park is based on various water settings like the Mermaid Lagoon, Mediterranean Harbor, and the Arabian Coast.  There are some familiar Disney rides, like Indiana Jones (except Indy speaks Japanese), 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and the Tower of Terror. But much of the park is unique with rides such as the Raging Spirits roller coaster, Aquatopia (a takeoff of Autotopia), and Sinbad’s Storybook Voyage.

The weather was perfect.  The sun was shining and there was a breeze off the ocean. The park was also not that busy – another bonus.

We all had a wonderful time and are fully exhausted. 

On our way back to the apartment we bought food for breakfast and stopped at a traditional Japanese restaurant for dinner.  We sat on pillows at a table set over a big space in the floor for our legs.  For dinner we ate sashimi and hot pots. It was very satisfying after our strenuous day.

Exploring Home Base

This morning we set out to explore the area around our apartment.

We went back to the Sensoji Temple.  It was not the deserted grounds from the evening before, but bustling with locals and tourists alike, saying prayers and taking photos. 

We purchased our fortunes at the temple.  In order to get them, some of us went through the ritual of shaking a container filled with numbered sticks, then tipping the container so that one stick protruded.  This stick had a number that corresponded to a drawer which held our “chosen” future on a slip of paper.  We have the option to tie our fortunes to small stands or burn them, while making a wish or prayer. 

Around the temple were various shrines and a garden with waterfalls and Kio ponds.   It was a quaint patch of nature surrounded by the old city.

The main alleys leading to the temple were lined with markets. We wandered through, ate ice cream burgers, and saw umbrellas with pretty patterns that only appeared when they were wet.  Our mouths watered at fake meals on display outside restaurants, and not-so-much at some not-so-fake eels swimming in an aquarium.

After lunch we wandered along the Sumidagawa River.  It was a little cooler and a change of scenery.  We came across this very cool garden with some interesting foliage. 

Fascinating – some rare buds in there!

The rest of the day was quite uneventful, except for Lukas and Ben’s altercation with a local celebrity on the street.

By evening, we were all pretty exhausted from walking all day and still adjusting to the time change.  We had a nice dinner and headed back to the apartment for an early night.