Land of the Rising Sun

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  Tokyo, Kanto, Japan
Sunday, November 9, 2008

We touch down in Japan, The Land of the Rising Sun for a quick 2 day visit before flying out to Hawaii. On our way into Tokyo on a transfer coach ($30 each, rather than $250 for a cab, or 6 changes on the metro about twice the size of the Tube) the city isn't what we expect, less hi-rise and more spread out than imagined. It's still impressive though, as the coach takes the two tier motorway straight through the middle of the skyscrapers to drop us off at the Hyatt, a five minute walk from our hotel, The B Roppongi.
 
Thanks for the recommendation on the hotel Little Al, as promised it was central and close to everything we needed. The hotel room was a little small, but space in Tokyo is at a premium, we saw a 4 sqm apartment going for $2k a month. Plus the toilet was a little disconcerting as it flushed as soon as you sat down and had little buttons on the side saying front and back with the appropriate pictures

Shibuya Crossing

. Other than that we were in a great spot, with free coffee and breakfast and at last a comfortable bed than didn't feel like we were sleeping on a piece of wood.

We were a bit knackered after the flight so went to the local 7-eleven got some lunch, had some food and then hit the sack for a couple of hours. After waking up we decided to take the metro to the famous road crossing at Shibuya to see Tokyo lit up at night and all the crazy Japanese crossing the road with their favoured see through clear plastic brolleys. We wandered around for a while, at one point walking into a 6 floor electronics store, the whole ground floor being dominated by mobile phones - thousands of them (they love their mobiles and the accessories that go with them), before getting something to eat and heading back to the hotel. I was a bit disappointed with the electronics, because although they had some cool stuff it was still quite pricey, I think because the Yen is now so strong against the dollar. Anyway, time for a good night sleep as we had a full day trip to Mt Fuji the following day.
 
Our trip to Mt Fuji with return journey by bullet train was sponsored by Little Al and Rich, so thanks again guys for the Viator voucher and suggestion for the trip, we had a great day out

Shibuya Crossing

!
 
The tour started by meeting the coach at a hotel and then being transferred to another coach before the 2 ½ hour drive out to the Mt. Fuji area. Once we got there Helen and I were looking a bit glum as it was very misty and we couldn't see much at all, plus our guide told us that the previous day there had been snow and it had been cloudy. As we drove up to the fifth station though (the highest accessible area by road at about 2,000m) the sun began to shine and break through the mist and clouds. Just before the fifth station the coach stopped and we got our first clear view of Mt Fuji's Northern slope which had a smattering of snow on it. It was a majestic sight, but more to do with the shape of it (the traditional volcano cone) rather than the altitude as it only sits at 3,778 metres high. Maybe after the Himalayas our expectations have increased somewhat, and after the Inca Trail our abilities are known better (we have trekked at higher altitudes than Japan's highest mountain), so it wasn't as awe inspiring as we expected but still picturesque all the same. After a wander around the fifth station looking at the bizarre foodstuff on offer and the multitudes of mobile phone accessories you could buy, it was time to head down for lunch at a local hotel.
 
Lunch was a reasonably tasty bento box, which had enough variety to make at least a few items edible for Maud, I wasn't to sure about the cold spring roll soaked in vinegar though, but the rest was nice enough

Japanese Maple

. After lunch we made our way to Lake Ashi to catch a ferry to the cable car station for the Mt. Komagatake cableway. It was an enjoyable boat ride with some pleasant scenery on the way, especially the vibrant colours of the maple trees dotted across the slopes of the mountains of the Hakone National Park. As we arrived at the cable car station it was beginning to cool down quite a bit and I think we both wished we had brought additional fleeces and I had forgotten my beanie hat which would have been a life saver. Less moaning though and up the mountain we went via the cable car, to get some views of the Southern slopes of Mt. Fuji. The ride up was fairly amusing though, as on the tannoy the ladies voice informed us "on the left hand side you would normally see Mt. Fuji, but due to it being so cloudy today you will not be able to see it at all."  Funny that, as on my left I could definitely see the famous Mt Fuji profile quite clearly. We shouldn't laugh though because apparently only one in seven trips will actually see the mountain, so I guess we had been very lucky that day to see anything at all.
 
Up on the mountain top it was absolutely freezing, so we only spent 5 minutes taking a few photos before taking the cable car down to relative warmth, well the heated toilet seats were quite warming to be honest. Our Mt. Fuji viewing complete we set off on the coach to the train station to take the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Tokyo central station. Waiting at the station at least 4 bullet trains came through in the 20 minutes we were there which was quite weird as we only thought they had 2, but it seems they have loads of them. We took some video of them coming through the station at 200km per hour, but it doesn't really look that fast on film to be honest. Once our train arrived we hopped on, took our seats and enjoyed the 45 minute train ride to Tokyo which was over 200km away

Mt Fuji

. We both agreed that Branson's Virgin tilting trains have nothing on the speed, comfort and efficiency of the Shinkansen and that the UK's rail system would be far better with these types of trains. I could actually commute from Chester to London daily and we might even catch a train to Gatwick or Heathrow rather than a plane, but I think it will be a long time coming. We both really enjoyed the Shinkansen train and it was a fantastic ending to great day.
 
Arriving at Tokyo station we took a look outside to find something to eat, saw nothing, so came back inside to find a really good pizza restaurant in the station. After dinner we then spent about half an hour trying to find the metro station in the overland train station, all very confusing, but we finally managed to get the metro back to the hotel. After a long day it was time to get some sleep but not before watching some sumo on TV and marveling at the toilet operations once again.
 
The next day we were flying to Hawaii, so weren't up for doing much. We had a wander around the shops of Roppongi, going into a weird store that sold everything from fruit and veg, to xmas decorations, to joss sticks to electronics, it may sound like an Asda to you, but all this stuff was next to each other with no organization, very random

Mt Fuji

. We also went to a store that sold nothing but classic car memorabilia hence the pic of the cool car, that Helen's dad tells me is very rare. Not much to report after that apart from getting to the airport for our flight to Hawaii.

We didn't have much time in Tokyo as it was just a stop off before Hawaii, but it was good to see Mt Fuji, the Shin square and ride on the bullet train. It's not at all what we expected architecturally, with less giant skyscrapers than we thought and being more spread out rather than high rise. The people are nice though, even though they have some crazy fashion sense and weird poses for photos. I'm not really sure whether Maud would come back (she might be mentally scarred from the WC's), but I think I'd like to visit again just to see a bit more of the place and culture. Perhaps when I've saved some more dollars as this place is very expensive.

Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures

This was really for sale for US$8 !	Lake Ashi	Lake Ashi & Hakone National Park	Mt Fuji from Lake Ashi
Our guide and his beloved flag	Mt Fuji	Lake Ashi & Hakone National Park	It was as cold as it looks
Mt Fuji	Shinkansen (Bullet Train)	Shinkansen	Rare car
Back on the cakes - the first in 2 1/2 weeks	Japanese Toilet	Japanese Toilet Instructions	Japanese Toilet Instructions

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