Sushi, vending machines and hot summer nights...
Trip Start
May 18, 2006
1
11
27
Trip End
May 30, 2007
Tokyo,
Japan
Friday, July 28, 2006
After 2 months 'slaving away' at our schools for 20 hours a week, school holidays (fully paid ! ) were here!! As we plan to travel to SE Asia after we finish with Korea, for these holidays the most logical place to go seemed to be Japan. So with our bags packed and a rough itinerary made we headed to Busan to catch a cheap flight over.
Racial profiling at the airport:
Well after a 1 hour taxi ride (which only cost $20) we arrived at the Busan airport and began to line up at check in; then all the fun started: pretty much we got grilled and went through every level of security bar an anal examination! May have had something to do with our one-way ticket but still, how hard can it be to leave a country
01 Tokyo Metropolitan Govt Building
. I can now understand why people get really pissed of at airports when they are repeatedly asked stupid questions. However, we got through and the kilo's of kimchi that we hid in our carry-on was not discovered. DAY ONE:
Tokyo
In a few words Tokyo can be described as: hot, humid, crazy busy and, in my opinion, just a big city with not a lot of stuff to see, it is more experiencing the city rather than running around seeing things..
But here is what we did see:
First up, the Tokyo metro is a sight in itself. I thought the Moscow metro was crazy but this was on a whole level (after 5 days I still was getting on wrong lines, and the station names were in English). The main station, 'Shinjuku', is the busiest station in the world and it showed.
We arrived late in the afternoon so not a lot of time to sight see, but we did get to up the 'Tokyo Metropolitan Govt building' which gave a great view of a very smoggy Tokyo and showed us how large the city was, it just kept on going!
DAY TWO:
After getting up early we started out first full day of sight seeing
02 hello kitty
. However, after 10 mins walking we discovered that the websites were right: Japan is hot in summer, really hot! We got started into the bottled water, and really never stopped. Luckily there are vending machines everywhere selling all manner of things including drinks, smokes, beer and all types of food, unfortunately I did not find the underwear machine I had heard about.Ueno: A suburb of Tokyo that is really famous for it's museums, but to be honest we were not really interested and decided to wonder the park instead. After looking at the huge Carp and beautifully presented trees we witnessed the largest grouping of homeless people in Tokyo. However unlike in Australia, where they sleep on the park benches etc, the Japanese are allowed to pitch a tent/tarp in the park, cook there and drink cheap saki. Again, unlike Australia, their area was spotless and like all good Japanese, they left their shoes outside their tents and hang there washing in trees etc...imagine if 'Ziggy' could pitch a tent on High Street...??!!
Asakusa: Out next stop was this suburb, which had the biggest temple in Tokyo, Senso-Ji. The temple was really beautiful. At the entrance they burn incense and it is good luck to wave the smoke over you
03 View from the top over Tokyo
. Around the temple were Japanese gardens, we saw a cat eyeing off the carp in the ponds which was cute..In the street leading up to the temple there are big markets selling everything Japanese. From key-rings to samurai swords and kimonos. Here Nicole had here first taste of sushi in Japan....very yummy. And on the way home we stopped in at the oldest bar in Tokyo for a beer and some saki with the locals...
Central Tokyo and Ginza: In money saving efforts we decided to walk a little and see some of Tokyo and go from Ginza to the Imperial Palace a route which would take us right through the heart of town...didn't look all that big on the map...it was a bit of a hike but we made it. Ginza was very glitzy with all the usual high-end stores. We knew we couldn't afford the real thing so when we saw a 2nd had store for L V and Rolexes etc we had a look, and still couldn't afford anything ☺. The Imperial Palace was set in perfect gardens..the grass immaculately kept and very regal.. We shocked a group of Koreans there on holiday when we said hello (in Korean) and asked them to take our photo....they were very confused. More confusing to us was why they were sight seeing in heels....?!..not a good look to see a girl bandaging here blisters. WHY do it??
We met with the Japanese girl that night we had arranged to stay with; she took us to Yakitori for dinner
04 Amazing architecture
. The chicken was great, but none of us (including her) were keen on either the raw liver or cooked liver nor the cartilaginous bones. The yakitori bar was great, it was busy, crammed and lively, it was great having a Japanese person so you could go to these places that didn't have pictures or any sign of English menus.The last experience of the day was the packed subway ride home....what do these people do - they were leaving the city for home still at 10pm at night...wow...
DAY THREE:
Tokyo to Shizuoka
"Tsukiji Fish market" was the first stop. This place was great, the guys on their little motorised carts whizzing here there and everywhere, fish guts and heads around every corner and every conceivable thing that comes out of the ocean you can eat for sale.
The pieces of tuna and salmon were huge, and you got an idea of how big the fish must have been when you saw the head.
05 Water powered clock
We had a great time dodging the carts and people throwing water around the place, the place was a buzz of activity even at the "late" time of 8am..! What better way to start the day than with a plater of sushi, and if u wanted it fresh this would have to be the best place... So Nicole sat down to a sushi feast, easily fit for 2....and enjoyed it all. One recommendation though is to stay away from sea urchin!That afternoon it was off to a "Summer Fireworks festival - Shizuoka". We were with a group called "The Wish Club" that arranges events for locals to meet tourists and make international friends. It was great they put on food and drink arranged a tent at the festival with music etc. you name it. We met some really interesting fellow travellers as well. Nicole saved a kid that fell in the pond, an accident waiting to happen. And we sat through an 1 ½ hour fireworks display along with the 1000's of other people...it was HUGE.
We ended the day in the perfect was with a late night visit 12pm to 1am to the hot baths...it was great after a hot, humid day....pure bliss siting in the outside baths under the waterfall. Matt was game enough to even try the electrified section. No MRI safety checks just a sign that you could die if you have a pacemaker! Sounds like torture?? Well I think he enjoyed it.
DAY 4: Shizuoka -> Ofuna -> Kamakura -> Tokyo
On the way to Kamakura, we had a random stop at Ofuna, literally we spotted something out of the train window jumped out to take a photo....(are we turning Japanese?..i really think so)
What caught our attention was the massive white statue on the top of a hill...she was a protector of the area and very beautiful
06 Subway
.Back on the train to Kamakura where we saw the "Giant bronze Buddha" (Diabutsu) which was pretty impressive, and the "Hasa Dera". The Hasa Dera is home to 100's of tiny statues of Jizo, the patron saint of travellers and the souls of departed children. Women who have lost children cloth the tiny statues, to keep them warm...and they are very cute.
DAY 5: Shibuya (Tokyo)
Shibuya is the trendy area in the heart of Tokyo. It has heaps of small clothes boutiques, juice places, cafes and that sort of thing. We spent the day window-shopping and 'people watching' basically. Some of the fashion is crazy, very individual that's for sure.
We went to "Yoyogi" Park and got to watch some guys practising martial arts outside and laze in the park, the weather was still really hot.
We had heard about the place "Alcatraz ER" a prison hospital theatre restaurant. So we set out with map from the Internet, as addresses are not how they do things in Japan, and found it
07 Homeless swats in park
. From the start Matt was handcuffed and we were lead to our table/cell and the door closed behind. You rattled the chains on the door to get your waiter over, we ordered first round of drinks, "science experiment" and 'blood transfusion" mmm tasty! Matt's came out in beakers and test tubes and mine was blood red and came out in a giving set and was transferred into my glass...sooo gimmicky but cool. We were almost leaving, when they said.."don't leave the show starts soon"...what show we thought?? Suddenly the lights go out and music starts, masked "escaped prisoners" are on the loose...Then they "attacked" one guy at the restaurant, this was hilarious, and very strange, one was holding him down, the other giving CPR to his groin????!!! Weird, but funny...Next the nurse comes along to give him an over sized injection in the arse...! At this stage we were rolling around in our cell in hysterics, for those concerned the guy was fine.
Leaving the restaurant, the scene outside had changed and come alive at night time, we were in the clubbing and red light district. We wondered the "Love motel hill" where u can live out any fantasy eg. Indiana Jones room, Tropical Island room, Medieval room u get the picture all for a "rest - 3 hours" or a "stay - the night"...
08 Ueno park
.DAY 6: Nikko
Nikko was a great day trip out of Tokyo, by that stage we needed a change in pace. It was picture perfect, the temperature had also dropped and there was an eerie fog, which made it really nice. We saw Shin-Kyo a famous red bridge over the Daiya river. Rinno-ji Temple with it's 3 buddha hall. Tosho-gu a huge stone torri (gate). Heaps of other shrines and the famous "hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil" wooden carved monkeys.
DAY 7: Last day in Tokyo - Imperial Palace Gardens and Yebisu
The gardens had been closed the day we visited the Imperial Palace, and since they were free, we decided to go back and see them. More beautifully keep green lawns as far as you could see, perfect to sit on under a tree and enjoy and ice-cream on a hot day.
Next stop was a Junior Kendo Tournament that we stumbled upon; guess what they were rehydrating themselves with? "Thorpedo" the energy drink, yes our very own Ian Thorpe is huge in Japan.
Speaking of hydration, it wouldn't be a Matt and Nicole thing to do, miss the Sapporo Beer Museum, so we headed there where in the "tasting lounge" we enjoyed what is probably Tokyo's cheapest beer $2 a glass.
We said our goodbyes to Tokyo and took the night bus to Kyoto. Stuff the Shinkansen that takes just 2 hours and cost $150, our option was a bit slower but much cheaper.
