Soaked in Tokyo

Tokyo let us down on the weather front yesterday, it rained all day so we still didn't get to any parks. We did however meet some amazing locals who helped us find our hotel.

We got off the train with very detailed directions to the hotel in hand, our still rather large bags, in the pouring rain. We were doing well and knew that we were within a block of our hotel when we made a wrong turn, just as the rain got a little heavier. We were stood at a road intersection doing that lost tourist thing of peering at a map then a road sign, then turning the map round and staring some more.

A young couple came over to us and asked where we were going, we told them the name of our hotel and they looked a bit puzzled, they whipped out an iPhone got up a map and started to lead us off in what I guessed was the wrong direction. I think the woman thought it was the wrong direction as well as she kept trying to show the phone to the guy but he dashed off and started speaking to an older lady who happened to be walking past. After 5 minutes of chatting and checking of the iPhone the older lady started to lead all of us along a side road back to an intersection that we had past 20 minutes earlier, at which point I realised where we had gone wrong and realised where the hotel was. I couldn't explain this in Japanese so we waved goodbye to the old lady and carried on following the young couple. 5 minutes later we found the back door to the hotel which had a handy map showing us the way to the front entrance, after a chorus of Arigato's we parted from our guides and were soon in the dry.

We spent the rest of the day running in and out of shops and coffee shops around Ueno, Shibuya and Harajuku.

In half an hour we are back on the Shinkansen to Hiroshima.

Trains, Trains and Fuji San

We have so many things that we want to do in Japan that it is hard to choose what to do next, we have also slightly moved our date for coming home which gives us less time. We wanted to go and see the monkeys lazing about in the hot springs but just couldn't find any accommodation for the dates we were after so decided our next stop would be Fuji San. Here I made a slight calculation error on how long it would take us to get north from Nagasaki. We had 11 hours of train rides and 5 train connections to make, and make them we did.

It is very early

I could go into super detail about the trains but I think anymore train talk and I will lose a lot of readers so I will leave it at it was a long way and we never waited more than 20 minutes in between trains, I am amazed by that.

Fuji San (Mount Fuji) has a reputation for being a bit shy which is why we decided to say in the area for a couple of nights to give us more than one change to catch a glimpse. As it turns out we were really lucky, on the train from Osaka to Tokyo we got a perfect blue sky and a totally uninterrupted view of this beautiful peak. Fuji is so symmetrical that it looks like it has been sculpted by an artist, the snow white peak against a blue sky is one of my favourite views from the trip. We had this view off and on for over 2 hours as we traveled from the east, south of Fuji to Tokyo on the west and then from Tokyo to our hotel north of the mountain. Unfortunately my camera was too deeply packed away to get a good shot but my camera phone was on had to help out.

Fuji from the train

After all of that excitement we went straight to bed after tea ready for an early start.

The next day we went up to Kawaguchi-ko to get a closer look at Fuji, the day started out very clear and we got some great views but by the time we were off the train Fuji decided that we had had too much luck and turned the sky grey. We could still see the mountain but it became impossible to get a good photo.

Fuji is hiding there in the middle

Aimee hiding from the wind and Fuji hiding from us

Fuji in a grey mood

We had a really fun time walking around the lake and eating oranges.

We have to count ourselves very lucky that we had two days with such great views as today it is drizzling and we can't see the next hill over let alone a glimpse of Fuji from the train. We are spending the night in Tokyo so we can try and get to the cat jazz bar that we have been aiming for then tomorrow we are off to Hiroshima.

It seems very real now that we have fixed our date home we will be back in sunny Brum before the post cards get home, lets see what else we can cram in before then. 

Nagasaki

As our JR pass that speeds us around Japan is quickly running out we decided to make our last stop on Kyushu island Nagasaki, a name I'm sure that everyone will know for all of the wrong reasons.

A goat in the city having a nap!

Nagasaki is chock full of history during Japan's period of isolation Nagasaki was one of the only areas in contact with the outside world, Nagasaki was one of the first areas of Japan to get Christian missionaries. Parts of Nagasaki are very pretty, there are hundreds of small temples, shrines and churches and dozens of small bridges that cross the numerous rivers and lots of interesting architecture. There are admittedly parts of Nagasaki that are not so easy on the eye (like the chemically factory thing behind the station) but just down the coast there are also some beautiful fishing villages.

The spectacles bridge, so named for its reflection

Nagasaki is tucked into the hills so there are lots of great views

Topiary like this appears frequently in peoples front gardens

We are still holding our for the blossom, things are starting to look good

So there is a lot more to Nagasaki than the Atomic Bomb but it is a huge part of its history so we spent our first day paying our respects at the Atomic bomb museum and Nagasaki Peace park. Having been to the museum at Hiroshima before I knew what to expect from the tales of devastation and suffering but watching and reading people tell their stories and seeing exhibits of what was left behind was still just as moving. There is a strong theme of promoting peace and nuclear disarmament at the museum and it is very hard to see how you could leave the museum and not sign the petition (we both did as the exhibits only reenforced our existing views but we still have the weapons so someone must disagree). We sat in the peace park and reflected while listening to the splashing of the fountain.

There are a number of sculptures in the peace park each with the idea of promoting peace

These origami cranes are so beautiful they make a brilliant counter to the sadness of the museum

After the peace park we spent the afternoon in Mister Donut eating sugary treats to renew our faith in mankind, how can a species that invented a strawberry flavoured Donut with strawberry cream in the middle be bad.

Nara

Nearly up-to-date now, after modern Osaka we decided to get a bit more history in Nara. Nara was the Japanese Capital for 74 years from 710 and a large portion of the city is covered by a Unesco World Heritage site. It is also a rather pretty city that is easy to walk around with lots of nice food. Win, win, win. Oh and it is only 45 minutes from Osaka.

It is hard to miss the history in Nara, it is everywhere

There are so many parks and open spaces that we spent the afternoon just walking around, enjoying the landscaping.

It is easy to find the tourist information offices, most of them have sculptures outside.

Although it was very over cast we had a nice sun set

The blossom is still trying to come out but it is just not time yet

The other thing that is hard to miss about Nara are the Deer, thousands of them.

Aimee should have been watching this one closer

The guy in the picture below is laughing so hard because I am laughing really hard, just before this picture Aimee was getting bitten on the bum by a very persistent Deer that wanted the Deer cookies that she had just bought. And no I didn't help her because I was laughing too hard.

We made him smile anyway

We were really lucky to arrive in Nara when we did because we were able to go and experience the Omizutori ceremony. The ceremony seems to last for several days but the part we witnessed involved carry burning bundles around the balcony of one of the temples. It is very hard to explain and was equally hard to photograph but it was spectacular and the crowd had the sort of energy you normally get at live music, there was a lot of noise as people reacted to the falling embers, which are supposed to keep away evil.

Waiting

The ball of fire is on the end of a long pole waved by a monk.

We were rather hungry after all the walking so we decided to try a Kansai speciality Okonomiyaki. This is basically a massive pancake/omelette with cabbage in it and other stuff on top (the other stuff is up to you that is what the name means). This batter is then cooked on a Japanese hot plate at your table, it was delicious and incredibly filling.

Okonomiyaki - Whatever you like, fried

The perfect accompaniment was a nice hot bottle of Sake which left Aimee a little.. shall we say drowsy on the walk home!

The next day we went to see Nara's main claim to fame Tōdai-ji the worlds largest wooden building and the Nara Daibutsu (large Buddha image).

This building just feels massive

This Buddha image is big, the expression of peace on the face is very beautiful.

Neither disappointed; the building was just monumental, because it is in a large open space it is difficult to take in the scale at first but it finally hits you when you come back out again and you realise it is all wood! The Nara Daibutsu is big but it is the pose and the style of the carving that are most striking, the expression on the face is so peaceful that we found ourselves just stood there looking at it for ages.

We came out feeling very zen and spent the rest of the day walking around the parks taking pictures of Deer.

Kichijoji to Kyoto

We spent our last day in Tokyo wandering around the park in Kichijoji a suburb of Tokyo. The weather was so much better and there were lots of people out enjoying the park, walking their dog and browsing in the quirky shops, so we did the same (except for the dog part obviously).

There was a ceremony happening in the shrine so drum sounds drifted through the park.

The pond was a full of huge Koi Carp who had it in for the ducks. The ducks didn't seem to notice who was biting them.

It was even warm enough for painting in the park

Kichijoji is a little way out of central Tokyo so by the time we had stopped off for some food it was time to find our over night bus to Kyoto. We only had a vague idea where we were supposed to catch it from so we headed over early, this was a good idea as we had to be directed buy a brilliant JR rail employee who spoke no english with the use of our map that has no street names on it! We still made it to the stop a little early so we stopped by 7eleven for the heating (it seems so long ago that 7's were islands of aircon) and a hot lemon tea from a vending machine. On a side note hot drinks in cans from vending machines on street corners are the most brilliant things ever when waiting for a bus and should be imported to the UK by next winter, I am not sure how we live without them.

We were not sure what to expect from our night bus experience as it was cheap and the stop was at a normal bus stop rather than at a bus station. No need to worry, with typical Japanese efficiency the bus company attendant appeared from nowhere 15 minutes before the bus was due to depart, 10 minutes from departure the bus arrived, then bang on departure time we were off. The bus stopped for three toilet breaks in the night at exact 2 hour intervals and we arrived in Kyoto 20 minutes early at 0550.

This was a bit early to check into the hostel so we stopped and had a bowl of Ramen. After dropping our bags at the hostel we spent the day wandering the palace gardens and bumping into places that I recognised from the last time I came here.

The palace gardens are beautiful and look suspiciously like someone did a painting of them before actually laying out the gardens.

I always smile when I see the trees with crutches

There is not much blossom about yet but a few buds are breaking through

Kyoto is so full of beautiful, peaceful spaces it is very different from Tokyo. There is a lot of history to see here as well (there are 17 world heritage sites here!), but we are just enjoying wondering the parks and quiet streets full of surprising buildings.

Art and arctic winds

I am not sure whether we have gone soft after all this time in the heat or it is just bitterly cold here but yesterday was very cold again, I don't think February is Tokyo's best month.

So we decided to do an art gallery,  we had a brisk wander through the palace parks again to the Momat, one of Tokyo's many modern art galleries. We had spotted a poster which seemed to suggest that there was a big Jackson Pollock show on and were rather pleased to find it open. The Pollock exhibition was really good and very inspirational, if you want to know my opinion on what Pollock's work is about ask me when we get back as I found it educational walking though his work from art school through to his final pieces. The signage in the Pollock show was not in English but in the permanent collection the signage was good and we had an interesting time looking at 20th century Japanese art. The we enjoyed hot chocolate from a can, yes enjoyed!

Gallery done we headed across town to Shinjuku to the Tokyo Government towers to get a free bird's eye view of the city.

Tokyo doesn't really have a skyline as it is too big and has several centres so it makes for an different landscape than New York or Hong Kong.

The towers obviously had a gift shop like all good tourist attractions so we had a quick look around before we headed off to get food.

Amy is Excellent Beautiful

Matt is Truth Capital

I really wanted a Lightsaber Umbrella

Last night in Tokyo so we are off to brave the cold then Jump on an overnight bus to Kyoto.

Miraikan

Quick bit of background, Aimee and I love space stuff, Aimee has never been to a planetarium, so we have tried on a couple of occasions to get to one, we failed again but it was a good day out.

Yesterday the weather was really rubbish here, very cold, windy and raining so rather than trudge about in the cold we opted for a museum day. We found out about the miraikan (and its supposed planetarium) in our guide book and navigated 3 trains to get there.

The experience was a slight disappointment to start with as the planetarium show was fully booked and instead we had to pick a 3D film about world heritage sites at the end of the day. While we waited we went to check out the rest of the exhibits. We go to a lot of science museums and it has to be said the the exhibits here are some of the best that we have seen, almost all of the signage is bilingual, nothing was out of order and there was a wide range of hands on stuff. There was also a lot of exhibits on cutting edge science which was really cool, like a holographic mirror (although I did guess how it was done which amused the guy working the exhibit).

A simple fish, no he is a descendant of the first fish bred in space!

Talking of cutting edge I couldn't believe it when we spotted there was a live demo of Asimo, the little robot chap that you see on the telly from time to time when they have managed to get him to do something new.

Geek out! It's Asimo!

I can't really say a lot about this as it blew my geeky mind check out the video.

Genuinely still can't believe we have seen him.

We rounded out the day with the 3D show which was good, there was some really nice helicopter shots in New Zealand, but I was still thinking about how to get my hands on my own Asimo.

We finished off the day in the Akihabara, Electric town, with a meat free meal.

Off out now as it is not raining.

Shibuya and Harajuku

Err so we woke up a bit late, I sort of forgot to set the alarm, it was cold, it was really raining but we finally got to the local JR line stop at about 11.30. We are on the eastern edge of Tokyo, well sort of the edge of the middle really, Tokyo is so massive that it is really hard to describe where you are in it at any point in time. Like London and LA, Tokyo has a lot of centres and even more sprawl, it seems to never end, no wonder the public transport system is a bit confusing. We are starting to get the hang of the transport here now and have never actually got lost but it has been a bit 'jump on the train and hope' a couple of times. There are about 8 different maps to the Tokyo rail system each with different line colours, a different layout and sometimes even different spellings.

Those noodles are cold and get dipped in a bowl of soy and wasabi. It is really good.

The rain stopped some time while we were eating brunch so we were able to enjoy wandering around Shibuya discovering why Tokyo is one of the worlds fashion capitals. When we tired of looking at clothes we can't fit into our back pack we stopped for a coffee to people watch ... at Shibuya crossing, if you don't know it by name you will have seen it in a movie.

Every 4 minutes or so

It was difficult to move ourselves from that view but we had more to see.

Aimee waiting to cross at Shibuya

Hachiko. The meeting spot, a bit like Birmingham's Bull

The street vendors in Tokyo are a little different

We always find the Disney store

Although this one was a bit different, can you see the hidden Mickey's?

After checking out Shibuya we walked a couple of blocks to Harajuku and even more mad shops. Harajuku has a really odd mix between Teen-pop culture, Hip hop Tokyo style and High fashion shops.

The shop sold pretty girly clothes!

Getting a bit chilly, better find some food

Then on the way home we spotted this giant snow ball, how very odd. We are going to try and get an early start again tomorrow lets see how it goes.