The Last 4 Days

We've spent our last 4 days in Japan taking it fairly easy and doing a bunch of shopping with a little more sight-seeing. Places of mention are the large park at Ueno where we rented a pink swan paddle boat for an afternoon drift around the lake. The park also had quite a few resident cats that were somewhat friendly, probably more so if you had food for them.

Where we're staying in Tokyo is close to Tamachi Station which is a few stops south of Tokyo Station. We use the Yamanote line to get around as it stops at all major stations and runs in a big loop. Each station has a different tune that plays when a train is arriving and when the doors are closing. We ended up doing a full loop one day and got to hear all the different tunes. The best tune goes to the station called Takadanobaba. Why? Because the tunes are the theme songs from Astro Boy! We had stupid grins on our faces when we heard it. For those that don't know, Astro Boy was born at the Ministry of Science at Takadanobaba on 7 April 2003.

We had set aside Sunday for going back to Akihabara to see the cosplayers, but it was a cold wet and windy day so I didn't hold much hope. The first hour or so we spent searching for garage model kits for PChii, again without success. Outside was still cold and wet, but there were a few cosplayers that braved the weather to show themselves off to the huge crowds. The weirdest one was a giant green and yellow bean looking thing that rode in on a bike and did some play acting with a few other random cosplayers. As the day wore on, the crowds of people got bigger. Tip for anyone that wants to check out Akiharaba, do it on a Sunday afternoon after 2pm.

Yesterday we headed to the Sega Joypolis, a big 3 floor indoor amusement park. After some confusion, due to the lack of clear English, we ended up with the a 3500 yen "passport" each. With our passports in hand, one of the attendant ladies that had been standing near us during the whole 15mins ordeal trying to figure out what was what, came up to us and handed us an English brochure!! What became clear was that you can either enter the Joypolis for 500 yen and then pay for whatever you want to do inside or you can buy a passport, which includes the entry fee and all amusement rides are free! My primary objective was to play the special Initial D arcade game that is setup using real cars on big moving platforms. We read through a whole bunch of warnings and said we were OK to go. The attendant then asked if we were going in together, which took me by surprise. Since the game uses shells of real cars, there is a passenger seat for a friend to sit in. Another thing I should mention is that there are 3 cars; Subaru WRX, Toyota Sprinter AE86 (Hachi Roku) and a Mazda RX-7. The board of rules tells us that you can not pick which car you ride in, but I had luck on my side and my first ride was in the WRX. The feel of the whole car moving around when you turn is quite bizarre at first but I eventually got the hang of it and most of all it was really fun! We came back two more times during the day and I managed to score rides in the other 2 cars :D PChii even had a go in the WRX! Funnily enough I liked the RX-7 the best. The rest of Joypolis is filled with attractions that range from gut-wrenching to spooky. We spent the whole day at Joypolis and did most of the attractions and had a blast.

Right now we're packing our suitcases, trying to make everything fit. Its a bit sad that the trip is almost over, but we're both certainly looking forward to coming back home.

Love Costs 800 Yen

Our last trip out from Tokyo was north to Sapporo in the North most island, Hokkaido. On the way there we stopped off at Yamagata for a night for no real reason. It took us 9 hours by train to get to Sapporo, and boy were we glad to get off those trains. We were only staying in Sapporo for 2 nights, so we made the most of it by hitting the town soon after arriving. Ramen Street was our first point of call as we hadn't eaten very well due to being on a train all day. When we found it, I must say it wasn't quite what I was expecting. It was a small alley with about 20 ramen shops packed into the walls, most with the cooks calling out to you as you walk past to come and eat in their store. Some had pictures of famous people in their store proudly plastered over the front of the shop. We found a place to eat, not because the food looked good, but because the lead singer one of PChii's favourite Japanese bands, B'z, had eaten there. So I guess the whole picture of a famous person thing works *shrug* I didn't care where we ate, I was starving!

The ramen store had a baseball game on the TV that we watched while we waited then ate our ramen. The ramen was good but not as good as this little place we found by accident in Shinjuku the previous week. With our tummies full to the brim we start walking around the streets, when PChii tells me that I've never won her anything. We just happen to be standing outside a SEGA Arcade, and the ground floor of these arcades are always filled with UFO Catcher things. Inside we found a small machine filled with little rabbits, two of which looked rather easy to get, or at least thats what they have you believe. Eight tries later @ 100yen a go, I had a little white rabbit holding a sakura blossom with the word "Love" on it. I felt awesome having conquered the machine and PChii knew then that I loved her. Pro tip for the guys out there, don't worry about rings and jewelery, just go win stuff from these UFO Catchers. Some more wandering of the streets found a bar with a name that just beckoned to me, Rad Sisters. Think Coyote Ugly but replace the tarty Americans with cute Japanese girls. They had a special they called a "Short Island Ice Tea" that I can highly recommend if you're ever in the area.

The next day we visited the park in the centre of Sapporo. We were a few weeks too early for the sakura to be blooming, but it would look beautiful when they do. We saw the major attractions of the centre of Sapporo which were the statues and the giant TV tower in the park and the historic Clock Tower building nearby. Lunch was next so we headed for the old Sapporo beer factory which has been converted into restaurants on the ground floor and shopping on the upper levels, with a giant shopping complex adjoining it from behind. One of the most notable places to eat while in Sapporo is at the Factory where they serve a meal called "Ghengis Khan" which is basically BBQ lamb. The lunch special is all you can eat for 2450yen in 90 minutes. Unfortunately, we were so slow we only got through the first serve but it was very tasty and filling anyway!

Next we went up the Observation Hill where you can get a good view of the city. There are supposed to be flocks of sheep and herds of cows grazing peacefully on the slopes of the hill but we didn't see a single one of either. The fields were bare :( I think we ate the last of the sheep for lunch! The view was nice and you could see the Sapporo Dome where the local baseball team, the Hokkaido Ham-Fighters, play. It's big, silver and looks a bit like the spaceship from Flight of the Navigator.

We had an early night to get ready for the 10 hour return train trip to back Tokyo @_@

Kyoto Day Trip

We wanted to see the Miyako Oodori performance while we were in Kyoto last time but they were sold out. We were coming back for the markets anyway, so we booked seats for today. The performance was preceded by an authentic tea ceremony performed by two geisha. We were served a sticky mochi treat and some tea prepared by the geisha on a special plate that we were allowed to keep. The hall itself was magnificent and we had a great view from our balcony seats. I would have loved to sit in the private tatami balcony seats but don't think we could have managed it for an hour. So we sat there in our cushy seats and as the lights dimmed, the stage screen went up, the musicians started playing and singing and as I looked across at DS, he had a big cheesy grin across his face. He hadn't been expecting much but came along because I really wanted to go and as soon as the geisha started dancing, I knew he had been won over. We couldn't understand a word and really had no idea what was going on but we had a photo book which had a basic scene by scene synopsis, in English. The play went for an hour, the sets were pretty and effective, the sound was fantastic in the theatre and the whole thing was just breathtaking. The dancing was something else too, if you want to see a good example of perfectly synchronised dancing, look no further. They were like robots, all their movements in sync but still so graceful. It really was an experience and I'd be happy to go back next year! *^_^* The Miyako Oodori runs every year for the month of April to celebrate the Cherry Blossom season.

Before the play, we went to the Toji Temple for the markets, which was nothing much more than a flea market. We had missed the best one by a week :(

Maid in Japan

Today we headed to the Tokyo Convention Centre for the 2008 Tokyo International Art Fair. We were lucky enough to be sent free tickets by the organisers which we greatly appreciated. The art fair showcased artists mainly from Japan but also a handful from America, Canada and India. The highlight for me was a chrome hammerhead shark about 80cm in length decorated with sponsor ads like a Formula 1 car. PChii's highlight was a display of ceramic lotus blossoms and leaves in a large 2m x 2m glass case. The artist told us the glass was thick and invited her to walk around on it. We saw many forms of art, however the majority was drawn/painted. We enjoyed the variety of works but there were some that were just plain disturbing. It took around 3 hours to make our way through the entire exhibition.

It was a Saturday and we had heard that the weekends are the best times to see the cosplayers in the streets of Harajuku and Akihabara. So we caught a train to Akihabara... where we spent the next 6 hours in search of cosplayers. We failed miserably. However we did visit a maid cafe for lunch which was very cute and very enjoyable.. up till the point where a group of business men sat at a table behind us and all lit up cigarettes. The cafe was small and enclosed and the smoke was awful. I would have to say that is the worst thing about Japan. So many people still smoke and places that have no smoking sections are not even worth it as they are usually just 2m away from the smoking section. Maybe one day smoking will be illegal and the world will be a better place for it.

Princess Howl's Neighbour Spirited Away from Earthsea

Today we took a train out to Mitaka to visit the Ghibli Museum. Studio Ghibli are likened to being the Disney of Japan but in my opinion Ghibli win hands down. When we arrived, there was already a line up waiting for the doors to open at 10am. Tickets for the museum need to be purchased 3 months in advance as they are always sold out. I felt slightly out of place being the only giant gaijin standing in line towering over mothers and children, however the usual stare I get from young children was absent, obviously overpowered by the excitement of visiting the museum.

We exchanged our passed for tickets, which were a 3 cell film strip, mine was from Howl's Moving Castle while PChii got Totoro. The first stop was an animation room that had cells from the various movies in one corner, a display in the centre showed a rotating giant robot from Laputa being surrounded by a flock of birds flying up into the sky. I should mention that the lighting in this room was very low and each piece on display had its own lighting to highlight how consecutive cells showed in rapid succession make animation possible. Towards the back of the room there was a large display make from figurines, it would spin for a minute then slow down to a stop to show you all the figures that make up the scene, then it would spin again, animating the scene. It was a very magical room and a fantastic way to start. Also on the first floor is a cinema that screens a special 20 minute movie that can only been seen at the museum. We managed to catch a session as we were leaving and had to sit in the isles as the theater was packed. There are 6 movies that are rotated monthly, we got to see Koro's Big Day Out.

We moved up to the second floor and walked through an incredible recreation of Hayao Miyazaki's study where the attention to detail was truly amazing. Across the walls were storyboards and sketches for many of the movies and background artwork by Kazuo Oga. Across the other side of this floor was a recreation of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. I'm not quite sure what Ghibli has to do with that story so I'll have to look into that one.

The top floor was home to the gift shops and a large Catbus (no its not a bus for cats, its a cat that is a bus). This catbus was one you could play in and it was a huge hit with the kids, as the line disappeared around the corner near the gift shop. Alas both PChii and I were too big for it, so we moved outside to head up to the roof.

A spiral staircase led us up to the roof where we were greeted by a large replica of the robot from Laputa standing amongst a well kept garden. A small path behind the robot led to another garden than was under repair but a cube from Howl's Moving Castle lay partially embedded in the ground.

We had lunch at the Straw Hat cafe where the magic of the whole museum continued. I would certainly love to bring my kids here one day, as you may have noticed I used the word magical more than once, I could only imagine what it would be like for a child.

Nara & Osaka

Well, we were meant to do a lot more than we actually did today but it seems that I may have planned more than we could handle.

We started out a little later than I had planned so we could have another big breakfast to keep us fueled up. This got us to Nara about two hours late. My main aim for Nara was to see the giant Buddha, feed the shika (deer) and try some shika-senbei :) We took the bus to Todai-jinja, got off, walked across the street and were confronted by a pack of hungry deer. We bought some biscuits and fed the deer. One mission accomplished. The deer were quite happy to eat the biscuits but were reluctant to let you pat them. I tried to round some up to get a "surrounded-by-deer" photo. It was a little harder than expected as some of the deer got bored and tried elsewhere and the others got impatient and started head-butting me. I now have a decent bruise on my right thigh and was sporting a tender cheek for a time after being bitten on the behind! They also tried to eat my jacket and backpack straps.

After the biscuits were gone, we headed for the temple. Passing through the first gate (Nandai-mon) was impressive, with the two fierce guardians glaring down at us from each side. They are carved out of wood and stand about 20ft high (at a guess). Strolling through to the main gate we were accosted by more deer and more trinket vendors. Looking through the bars at the main gate showed a huge temple and it's only two-thirds it's original size!! We entered and the Buddha is HUGE! I really don't think you can really grasp it till you see it with your own eyes. Around the back of the Buddha is a post that has a hole through the base of it. Legend says if you can pass through it, you will reach enlightenment. Well, we were up for the challenge and 20 minutes in line put us in position. I was feeling nervous because if I didn't make it through, I was sure I would be laughed at for being a baka-gaijin. After taking off my backpack and jacket, I crouched down and reached both arms through, pushed off with my feet and wiggled and pulled my way through...and got through! Yay, enlightenment for me! The crowd cheered.

DS was next. Of course, he is much bigger than me, so he was more concerned. After a little more struggling, he also made it through, with more cheering and gasping from the crowd. So with the both of us on the path to enlightenment, we felt it was time to leave and get some lunch. On the way out, we were pulled aside by a group of Korean high-school boys, asking us to take a photo. We obliged, thinking that he wanted us to take a photo of him and his friends. I can only assume he had seen us go through and actually wanted a photo with us! We were happy to do so and imagined him telling his mates about the two big westerners who got through the hole! :) We were now running another half-hour late.


We left Nara for Tennoji-ku (Osaka) to have Okonomiyaki for lunch. We found the place without too much difficulty and were glad we did. The food was delicious *^_^* We ordered a little too much but it wasn't a problem finishing it up. It was now 3pm and we should have been in Osaka sight-seeing two hours previous. I still wanted to go to the castle and Japan Mint but unfortunately, DS' battery-pack ran out and we decided to head back to Tokyo and temporary-home. We were still full from our late lunch, so we just showered and hit the hay -_-

Kyoto

March 31st
Our first day in Kyoto started with a 3 hour Shinkansen ride from Tokyo. The ride was smooth and I managed to catch a couple of zzzz's. We were expecting the weather to be similar to Tokyo, given that it's around the same level, however we were sadly mistaken. It was cold, very cold, and blustery and the rain kept coming and going. It felt like Melbourne but twice as cold. We caught the shuttle bus to the hotel, put some more clothes on and went for a walk down to the Imperial Palace.

The Sakura were out in full bloom along the river we followed, it was so pretty. Once we arrived at the Palace, we had a wander around looking at the lovely gardens. We found a beautiful weeping Sakura and another clump of Sakura but it started raining again and we rushed to get back to the hotel and get warm again. We had Yakiniku for dinner, oishii! *^_^*

April 1st
The next morning we had a 1300yen buffet breakfast with all the trimmings and I tell you what, the Japanese breakfast really keeps you going all day. After paying 500yen for an all day bus pass, we left to go temple hopping. First was Kinkaku-jinja (Golden Temple) and it really is stunning seeing it IRL. The rest of the grounds were lovely but I have to wonder about the stupidity of some people. We were given a handout as we entered and I read through it, as there was some English information and I wanted to know what I was looking at. We were at the last point of interest before the tourist shops and there were two ladies and one man in front of us and they were looking around at the structure and finally one of the ladies said, "I don't know what it is, they don't have a sign up or anything"...
There was a sign but it was in Japanese. I wanted to be helpful, so I asked her if she had one of the handouts. She asked the man and I told her, pointing at the handout, that it was the Tea House. "Oh", he said, "I got one of those, I put it in my pocket." *sigh*
So they had paid 400yen and gone the whole way through not knowing what they were looking at and probably missing some points altogether.

Next was Ginkaku-jinja (Silver Temple), which was under construction...not much to look at except around 50 species of moss :) We took the Philosopher's Path down to Nazen-jinja. We were told it was a lovely walk and we were expecting it to be quiet and peaceful. Maybe it is, just not at the height of Sakura season. The path was quaint and the Sakura were beautiful but it was so crowded, you could hardly move. We didn't go into Nazen-jinja because we were running out of daylight.

The last temple for the day was Kiyomizu-dera, which I particularly wanted to visit. It's meant to float on a sea of Sakura during Spring. Unfortunately, we were still a little early. There were a few out but not what I was expecting. Still, the smell of the wood as you enter is really rich and you get a good view of Kyoto (when it's not smoggy). We then took the bus into Gion and had a wander around before dinner before heading back to the hotel for an early night.