Day 14 - Ueno

 . . . . . . So this is good-bye!


So - all in all, today was a good day and a bad day.  Good - because we are still in Tokyo and we have been to Ueno and had a good day out . . . . .  Bad - because this is our last day in Japan and we are flying home tomorrow!!!!


Our final day in Tokyo was spent in Ueno Park and the surrounding areas.  The last two times we had been to Ueno Park it had rained (very heavily), however today . . . . .  it was hotter than the surface of the sun!  I'm not too sure which is worse now??


We got to Ueno and it was packed.  It seems like everyone is getting the last of the Cherry Blossoms in before they are go.  The Cherry Blossoms are now falling at an alarming rate and apparently this will be the last good weekend for them.  The ground is covered in petals . .  . . 


Everyone is still out sitting on their tatami mats and tarps under the trees and partying - and at 11am this morning  . . . .  partying a little too hard!!!  Yeah - I was a little jealous.  Everyone looked so comfortable and cool sitting under the trees with their family and friends.

We had planned to go to the National Museum in Ueno Park, but it was too nice a day, plus we didn't think it could top the Edo-Tokyo Museum from yesterday, so we gave it a miss.


We spent a good while just wandering round the park, looking at all the small shrines that are dotted around and checking out all the fantastic food stalls that have been set up around the park.


After finishing with the park, we went off to Ameyoko  . . . . this is the large market street that runs along side the train lines and was initially a 'black market' area after World War II.  

However, now it a very popular market that sells everything from food, bags, shoes, clothes and spices.  I had one very particular shop I wanted to go to and that was the Green Tea stall so I could stock up on my tea.


After a chat with the incredibly friendly owner and a taste and smell of a lot of his teas, I bought a lot of different types of tea . . .  

• Green Tea and Sakura (Cherry Blossom) - Just had to!!!  It was a limited edition and in season!!
• Green Tea and Apple
• Green Tea and Rose
• and a BIG bag of Green Tea Leaves
• I have also bought a new Tea Pot!!!

Oh  - yes, I am spoilt!!!


I have to apologise at this point as there are no more photos to share!  I was so involved looking at everything that I forgot to point and shoot!


We don't know what it is here in Japan  . . . but the fruit is HUGE!  An Apple costs about 250Y, but it is big enough to feed a family of 4.  Scott was completely fascinated by the size of the grapes - they were like basketballs!  I stopped by one stall and had a bowl of Strawberries  . . . .  they were also huge and soooo very sweet and lovely.  We did notice at one point - that a Watermelon was going to set you back about 1350Y (around about a tenner!)


It was like Nishiki Market in Kyoto all over again . . . . there were some amazing food items out on the stalls - some we recognised . . .  crab, squid, octopus, tuna and salmon . . . .  and some we couldn't even put a name to!!!!


So - it was one more last bit of shopping - I have to be careful as Scott is now trying to work out if we can get everything I have bought so far in our bags!!!!  He's got a point a I have bought a LOT of stuff but I'm sure we'll manage!


One quick stop off for ice cream . . . .  well it is VERY warm!  I had green tea and vanilla and Scott had Strawberry and Vanilla . . ..  nice!!


We needed to make one stop before we went back to the apartment as we needed food for tonight.  All this week, we have been using the 7-11, the Lawson's and the Convenience Store and picking up bits and pieces . . .  and of course on our last day, we find a huge supermarket that is a meat heaven for Scott!!!  He is absolutely gutted!  He's been paying a fortune for meat, where in this supermarket, there were packs of fresh chicken on sale at 2 for 500Y!!!!!  Oh well - at least we know where is it for next time!


We now needed to make our way back home as we need to organise the apartment and pack . . .  and try to get all my stuff in our bags.


So - as I do this final entry of the blog . . .  we are all packed (yes, everything went in our bags!) and I am typing with a huge pet lip!


We have had the best time ever . . .  we have seen loads of new places and re-visited some of our favourite places.


Some of the highlights of our two weeks have been . . . . 

• I have seen real life Geisha singing and dancing and also seen Geisha walking to work
• I have never used a bus so much since I was a teenager and couldn't drive
• The weather in Japan in March is very unpredictable  . . . .  we have experienced ever type of weather these two weeks from blistering sun to snow
• CHERRY BLOSSOMS!!!  Finally got to see them and Love them!
• Cherry Blossom Hanami parties look like fun
• Scott is too tall for traditional Machiya houses
• We have had a full on Japanese meal in a traditional restaurant (with thanks to Haruna san)
• Scott had eaten tofu (I'm still stunned)
• We have been squeezed onto a subway train during morning rush hour
• We have been squeezed onto a subway train during the evening rush hour (though it was 8pm!!)
• We have given our JR Passes a real good bashing and have definitely got our money's worth
• We have been on the real bullet train (Nozomi) even though we weren't supposed to haha!!!
• We have seen some amazingly beautiful shrines and temples
• There are a lot of weird food available from stalls in parks on sticks (remember the octopus on a stick???)
• I have bought a LOT of stuff
• I think we may have walked about 500 miles in total (or at least it feels like it)
• We have climbed a million steps (both in Kyoto and Tokyo) . . . who needs a thigh master???
• Scott's sense of direction is second to none
• My sense of direction is non-existent
• Japanese television is hilarious . . . .nuff said!

I could go on for ever.  I love Japan and can't wait to come back again.  However, for the time being, we are coming home tomorrow with some fantastic memories . . . .  and a serious aversion to steps!


So this is Scott and Nic signing off (until next time) . . . .  . with love n hugs xxx

Day 13 - Ryogoku & Shibuya

. . . . . Museums and Shopping!!!


Now - before I start . . . I must correct a wrong I made yesterday.  In the blog about Nikko I said we were 125m above sea level . . .  but that was wrong - we were actually 725m above sea level!!!  Makes a bit of a difference eh?!?!?


Ooooh - it's been a long day today . . .  though I have to admit - it's all my fault!  I planned these days and Scott just gets me there.  I think I may have stretched it a bit today as I have broken both of us!!


We started the day going to the Edo-Yokyo Museum in the Ryogoku district of Tokyo.  When we got up this morning - the weather was very hit/miss.  It was raining before we left the apartment but it seemed to stop when we got outside . . .  this meant the subway stations were like saunas!  I don't know how the Japanese do it . . . they look so cool and collected!!


So, a quick (ish) subway journey and we were in Ryogoku.  This is also known as the Sumo district and the Sumo Stadium is next to the museum.  Unfortunately, the next tournament is in May, but I think if there had been one on today, we would have gone - Scott was interested in sumo many years ago, plus I think I would have liked to have seen it.


Never mind (maybe next time!!).


Now though, we were concentrating on the museum.  This museum shows the history of Tokyo (formally known as Edo) from it's early Edo period, right through to recent years.  We had been told it was an interesting   museum with lots of really good exhibits, so we were expecting a good time . . .  . and we got it!


The museum is great!  There are a lot of small scale models of what Edo would have look like and how the people lived and worked.  As you make your way round the museum, there are a lot of 'hands on' stuff to play with . .  . the kids were having a great time!


As we came into the exhibition hall, we could see an exact replica of the Nihonbashi Bridge and a Kabuki Theatre.  The smell of the wood in the hall was present everywhere.

There were these models of Edo life all over the place.  By each model, there were shelves with binoculars so you could really look closely at the model.  The figures were  perfectly made.

There were also larger models of houses . . . 

 Man working!

This one was all about a woman giving birth . . . .

These show the model of a Dry Goods shop . . . . 

These were actors in a Kabuki play . . . . 


The museum continues on, then goes onto the early 1900's when the America's landed and tried to take over . . . .  but left a huge western influence.  Many Japanese adopted western dress styles, learned how to foxtrot, buitl western style buildings and ate more western style food.


We then move on to the introduction of more technology, the huge Kanto earthquake of 1923 which flattened Tokyo and killed thousands of people . . . . then the war, their surrender and how they have built themselves in later years to become a huge economic power.


We were in the museum for ages . . .  we really enjoyed it.  However, it was time to move on.


A 30 minute train journey and we were in Shibuya!  I love this place  . . .  however, it's a bit too crowded and too full of shops for Scott's liking!  


Just outside the station, there is the statue of Hachiko.  Hachiko was an Akita dog who would walk to the train station with his master every day and then be back there to meet him when he finished work.  One day the master died at work and didn't come home . . . .  however, Hachiko waited for him for nine years, until he died!  The statue is there to commemorate his loyalty.  The statue is also a popular meeting point.

First things first . .  . a stop of at Starbucks to watch the crossing!  I didn't have to fight anyone for a seat today - but it was really busy.  We managed to get a seat and enjoyed our coffee while watching the crowds below .. . . 

Shibuya crossing . .  . total organised chaos!!!

Enough of the coffee . . .  where are the shops??!?!?!


We went to one of my fav's . . .  Tokyu Hands.  There is nothing you can't get in this shop!  I spent ages looking at all the gadgets and kawaii (cute) stationery, books, bags and lunch boxes (yes I know - but their lunch boxes are fantastic!!).  Scott spent an age looking at all the kitchen gadgets (I wouldn't know what half of them were for!) and he bought a new glove to get things out of the oven!  Don't need one of them for the microwave!!!


There is music playing (very loudly) all around outside . . . I have a song stuck in my head but I don't know what it is or who sings it!!!


It was starting to get a bit dark now, so the lights were shining more brightly.  It changes the whole perception of the place . . . .  it became a younger crowd, now out to hit the town and the clubs rather than the shops.

 A popular girlie shop.

We now made our way to Shinjuku .  . . . which is also a popular entertainment district and now that it was late and dark, the clubs were all starting to get busy.


We were going to the Metropolitan Government Building Observatory to check out the view of Tokyo in the dark.  The lights are spectacular . . .  however, my camera is not and my photos didn't work at all!!!


We had one more stop to make.  Before we do this, a little background.  I LOVE Studio Ghibli.  Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio founded by Hayao Miyazaki.  The studio's logo is Totoro, who is a large forest spirit) and the features in the wonderful film My Neighbour Totoro  . . . . (they are also the studio that created Ponyo)

We went to the Studio Ghibli museum last year . . .  but I have since heard that Hayao Miyazaki has created/designed a clock that stands outside the Nippon Television  Tower - I just had to see it.  It had 4 special wind up times a day when all the bells and whistles come out to play . . . . . we were going to see the 8pm showing.


By now, it was absolutely p'ing down with rain . . . Japan doesn't do drizzle - it's either bouncing down with rain or not raining!!!  It's currently bouncing!


Needless to say - when we get there, there are only another 2 people waiting in the rain like children waiting for this clock to do it's biz!  3 mins and 45 seconds before 8pm, the show starts.  Because it was so dark and the clock light weren't brilliant - I haven't been able to get a good photo or good video of the clock . . . but this is what it looks like during the day . . .

 

I don't think it is well known about as it's not in any books and internet info is very limited - plus there was no one else there to see it!!!  I thought it was absolutely magical . . .  the music is really loud and all the little men inside the clock dance and do different things - there are loads of whistles and bangs . . . . it must be a nightmare for the people who work in the Nippon Tower haha!  


If you search for the Ni-Tele Clock on Youtube, you can hear the music and see the movements by people who were smarter and watched it during the day!!!!


So, now it's just after 8pm and we had a bit of a journey home - we are also soaked to our bones and my feet are killing me!  So we are now back home drying out!


Tomorrow is our last day in Japan and I am going to make the absolute most of it . . . I am going to try and see as much as I can!  I really really don't want to leave!!


Finally - today's blog has been brought to you by the power of . . . well these!

I don't know what they are called, but they are crunchy potato sticks (these one are veggie flavour) - rather nice, and because I bought two boxes of them I got a baby one (a mobile phone charm) as a freebie!  It's soooo kawaii!!!


So, until tomorrow . . love n hugs xxx

Day 12 - Nikko

. . . . Please no more steps!!!!!

Big day today . . . we are off on a day trip! We are going to Nikko. Nikko is about 125km from Tokyo and is a popular day trip. As we have our magic train passes, we are taking the slightly longer route, which includes another (and our last) trip on the Shinkansen. It'll take about 90 ~ 100 minutes to get there.

This meant an early morning . . . . not a problem?!?!!? Well apart from the fact that we were getting the Shinkansen from Ueno station and it was rush hour!!!! My god . . . we felt like we were swimming against the tide . . . all these suits coming for us!!! And we saw people getting shoved onto the Subway - just to squeeze that one last person on!!!!!

Unfortunately for Scott, I turned into a bit of train spotter this morning! As we have only used the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto, we haven't seen the other types of Shinkansen . . . until today! When we got to the platform, there was a double decker train . . . .

Then our train turned up and it was two Shinkansen kissing!!! Awwww . . . .

This leg of the journey would take a while, so we had a bit time to kick back and relax and watch the scenery go by. We got off at Utsunomiya station to transfer onto the Nikko line . . . . 20 minutes later, we were in Nikko . . .

This was the view from the station . . . we are now about 125m above sea level - but it was an absolutely lovely day . . . the weather was perfect.

Nikko Train Station

Nikko is known for it's crystal clear water and there are these fountains for anyone to drink (it was deliciously cold and lovely).

Now, you may be aware now that Scott does not follow convention! So, while everyone got off the train and dashed off, my hubby stopped for a while and came up with a cunning plan. Nikko is FULL of hills (my poor legs!), so he decided we would do the tourist route back to front (There's a surprise, I hear you all cry!!!).

So, we got on a bus and went right to the top of Nikko to the first shrine. There is a Worship route round all the shrines and you can buy a combination ticket that's heavily discounted and gets you into all the shrines . . . so one combination ticket later - we were ready to hit the first Temple.

Futarasan Shrine
This was first on the list and at the very top of Nikko. This Shrine was founded in 782 by Shodo Shonin who introduced Buddhism to Nikko. Futarasan Shrine is dedicated to the Shinto Gods of Nikko's three most sacred mountains . . . Mt. Nantai, Mt. Nyoho and Mt. Taro. Should have been a clue there . . . . the Shrine itself was up an absolute mountain of steps (and I'm not exaggerating - honest!) Shodo Shoinin must have wanted to build this shrine on a mountain but instead put on top of some steps!

Steps . . .

More Steps . . . . 

Scary men!

Worth climbing the steps . . .

Taiyuinbyo

Next stop was The Taiyuinbyo. This is the mausoleum of the third shogun - Iemitsu.

Oh come on! You've got to be kidding me!!!!

 More scary men!

 Drum Tower

 Actually - we think he looks a bit camp!!!

 The mausoleum

 Now at this point, I have chucked a picture of snow . . . this is to show that over the past 10 days, we have experienced the full range of weather . . rain, hail, stormy winds, thunder, lightening, blistering sun and now snow!

Going down the steps . . . 

Apparently this was his sword! HUGE!

These two Shrines were quite close together, but the next one was a bit of a walk away. But it was a gorgeous path (and flat!)

Toshogu

The Toshogu is the mausoleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu, founder of the Tokugawa shogunate.  This is an amazing shrine and is beautifully decorated - obviously no expense had been spared here! There are more than a dozen Shinto and Buddhist buildings set in the beautiful forest. The Shrines have been decorated with carving and gold leaf.

The first carving we saw was this one . . . 

Now apparently, the guy who carved the elephant did so from his imagination and from descriptions he had been given . . . he had never seen one before! I think he did quite well!

Also, here are the famous 'monkey carvings'. They tell a story of the circle of life . . . . I may have taken liberties with some of the descriptions as I can't remember the exact words of the all!!!

Mammy monkey looks into the future for her baby monkey . . . 

Children monkeys are taught 'Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil, See No Evil'

The monkey child preparing for independence

Looking up to the sky with ambition

Depressed with his life, monkey looks over the edge of a cliff while his friend tries to cheer him up  (my favourite!) 

Flirting . . . well falling in love!

Two married monkeys - Life is tough like a tidal wave (their words - not mine!!)

Pregnant monkey (where's the daddy gone?!?!?)

I loved the Monkey carvings . . . and obviously we all know the 'hear no, see no and speak no' monkeys, but I didn't know there were other carvings to go with them!

We now made our way down to the last Temple - The Rinno-ji Temple.

See . . . long way down, but with Scott's clever thinking, we were going down the hill . . and not up it like everyone else!

I was now a bit thirsty and my legs were hurting, so Scott said he would buy me a drink . . . . he came back with a can of coffee for him and a can of tea for me! Both cans were nice and hot (fresh from the vending machine) though and mine was nice - but you know how weak I have my tea! My man knows how to show me a good time!!

There was also a small shop by the vending machine, so we popped in to have a look . . . . and Scott bought me another Kokeshi Doll!!! She is gorgeous . . . Pink with Cherry Blossoms!! I love her.

Oh - we passed a pagoda along the way!

Rinnoji Termple
The Rinnoji Temple is currently being renovated. It should look like this . . . 

However, today it looks like this . . . . 

This is really clever . . . the whole temple has been covered up, but they have imposed an image of the Shrine on the cover!

We were still able to go in (but no photos).

Rinnoji is the biggest and most important temple in Nikko. In the main building (the Sanbutsudo), there are three large, gold lacquered, wooden statues of Amida, Senju-Kannon ('Kannon with a thousand arms') and Bato-Kannon ('Kannon with a horse head'). Scott thought the Senju-Kannon was the 'Swiss army knife' of the Kannon world as she had loads of arms behind her, each holding a different item!!!

So, we are now making our way (still downhill) to the train station. Last stop along the way was the Shinkyo Bridge. It is ranked as one of Japan's top three finest bridges!

However, if you want to cross it you have to pay 300Y . . . . . Hmmmm! Didn't do that!

So, a nice long walk back to the station down the main street gazing in all the shops. we hd to go back now as the we needed to catch the 4pm train so our connections would work.

The Shinkensen that took us back to Ueno had Cherry Blossoms on it . . .

Told you I had turned into a train nerd today!!

Anyway - we made it back to the apartment with aching feet, so time to relax and prepare for tomorrow.  We are going to try the museum that we couldn't do on Monday 'cos it was closed!  I also want to hit Shinjuku . . . .  . not too sure how's that's going down - Scott is already complaining we won't get everything in the suitcase!  Ahhh - we'll cross that bridge when we come to it!!!!!

Finally - tonight's blog was brought to you by the power of McVities Uji Matcha Digestive Biscuits (Green tea chocolate biccies)!!!  Lush - even better when dunked in green tea (though I'm sure you are not supposed to dunk anything in green tea!!!)

So - until tomorrow . . . . . the holiday is almost over - I'm sooo sad :-(


Love n hugs xxx