Kamakura Prince Hotel

So much to catch up on! Today we went on a day trip to Kamakura, on the south coast of the Kanto prefecture. We made our rail passes valid from today (for the next 2 weeks) meaning that we can take any JR train throughout the county, including the shinkansen a.k.a. bullet trains! We boarded a double decker bullet train at Tokyo station and lay back in luxury as we were transported to our destination ...

... meaning, we can do whatever we want. So many options! Originally I wanted to go to Mt. Fuji, but the weather isn't cooperating. It's been cloudy most of the week and rain is expected tonight. We also wanted to go to Tokyo Dome where there's a roller coaster that goes through this very large ferris wheel (think London Eye)... but it's closed on Sundays.. sigh. Instead I'm going to go shopping w/some of my classmates... we'll see how long I last, but it should be fun.

... he would enjoy this. Imagine a supermarket the size of Nordstrom and Macy's put together. He encountered a $12 piece of cheesecake from Oregon and food he couldn't identify. He managed to get a salad, ham, bread, a $7 Fuji apple, bananas, nuts and a couple of beers for about $30. At least it was food we both could relate too. It was another glorious day with friends in beautiful places with wonderful and interesting things to eat and see. Ahhhhhh! ☺

... walked along the "komachi" street. We spotted a japanese teppan stake restaurant and had lunch there. (p.s. While working on this blog, I just learned that we had a rare "hayama beef", only 200 cows were raised each year in hayama, miura pennensula).

Mothers of Kamakura
Teppan Stake House 2-2-17 Komachi, Naito ...

... for a JR Pass when you arrive in one of the main JR stations. The JR Pass offices are dedicated offices, so don't go to the normal ticket offices when in Japan, they'll only turn you away. Check the exchange order booklet for simple maps on where to find the JR Pass offices. The staff at the offices speak impeccable English and can reserve seats for you as well. 8. You can buy 7/14/21 day JR Passes and they will be valid from the date you ...

... life under so many troubles during long period, will be over and it may get better day by day. By the help of the noble and mayor person, you can get permit and recommendation, your future will be improved to much better. As the last flower can make the best fruit, the fortune smiles and comes to you finally. The income and wealth will be in your hand free, and it last long. *Your request will be granted *The patient will get well soon *The ...

... It was refreshing to see the living side of the religion. To the side of the student area, they had what looked to be a rather old Taiko drum- I took some pix for you, Tarik! After wandering about the gardens a bit, we decided to head back down the hill towards town again. Kaoru was a bit tired, so we stopped at a small shop for coffee and a sweet rolled cake. It wasn't overly sweet, and the filling was probably a bean paste and cream ...

... and specifically Tokyo is ridiculously expensive but after visiting I'm at a bit of a loss as to why that rumour exists. I did not find that to be the case and found it very easy to maintain a $75 cdn / day budget...(excluding the new camera purchase that is). I'm looking forward to visiting again at the end of the trip and to visit smaller towns on my way up from Hiroshima to see the differences between smaller centers and the very large Tokyo.

... paa markedet, der var ikke saa fyldt med mennesker denne gang, da det jo er hverdag, butikkerne lukkede ogsaa lidt tidligere (kl.8). Her fandt jeg endelig ny groen taske. Den er rimlig simpel og rummelig, saa det er fint. Vil koebe noget sejt pynt i Harejuku for at spice den lidt op naar vi skal dertil snart. Derudover var jeg ogsaa paa jagt efter noget vaskepulver. Var inde i en af de seje altmulig butikker. Det er saadan nogle smaa forvirrende nogle, proppet med ting som make-up ...

... the history of Tokyo (two thumbs up from two people that don't typically like museums) before heading into the sumo matches. It was the last day of the tournament where the champion is decided so the atmosphere was definitely electric. The tournament is more ritual than wrestling, but it was really fun to see the ring entering ceremonies for the different wrestlers and to watch as each of the behemoth wrestlers prepared for each ...