Day Trippers

Today we took our first day trip from Tokyo. We went south to Kamakura, a small city full of Buddhist temples and shrines. The most famous is Daibutsu, a huge statue of Buddha.

We visited the large Buddha, both outside and inside. We also went to the other two major temples in town, Tsurugaoka Hachimangu and Hase-dera. I think we've had our fill of temples and shrines, but Hase-dera stood out because of the huge number of hydrangeas that were in bloom on the side of the hill

We had a wonderful lunch at a small place that we walked into at random. I love the Japanese experience of ordering your food by pointing at the plastic food on display outside the restaurant. It worked out great today!

We decided to stop in Yokohama on the way back to our hotel. I hadn't been there since 1982, and much of it seemed familiar. Our main destination this time was Sankeien Garden. This is a lovely garden with old buildings from the 1400-1600s that were moved there in the early 1900s. Although we've had our fill of gardens, too, we did enjoy the winding paths and beautiful lake.

After that, we headed home for dinner and some rest!

Catching Up

Okay, sorry I haven't been really posting anything lately, but you see, I've fallen asleep immediately upon arrival back at the hotel the first few nights, and then I bought a journal, and have been writing down whatever Dad and I did that day (except when I fell asleep, then I did it the next morning). So, I admit I have not been very constant with the blog. Now. About the last couple entries I posted. They say that they were posted by Dad, but they are signed by moi. This is because I wrote them from Dad's mobile phone when we first arrived here in Japan (which is fantastic, by the way). When one (me/Dad) posts from the phone, it say it is posted by Dad. A couple days after settling in, Dad set up this thing on his phone that lets me post something on it and have it say it was posted by me. Of course, now we have access to a computer, until at least we go home, but that is more than a week away (YAY!!!! MORE THAN A WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and by then this blog will most likely be terminated because Dad and I will be back in the U.S. =( So what am I worrying about? Nothing. Now, what was I going to talk about... oh yes. The Lucky Cat. Everywhere you go in Japan, there is a cat (either in gold, white, or black) that is highly decorated and is waving its arm to us all. I saw a sign once that said is a Lucky Cat. I enclosed a picture (asked Dad to do it for me) of the cats.

Sorry it is not high quality. They are in a store window. Now, I am going to look up the Lucky Cat and get back to you on what it is...because it is bugging me, seeing it everywhere and not knowing what it means... ok, so "Lucky Cat" is a nickname. The cat's real name is Maneki Neko, which means "beckoning cat" in English. It brings good fortune, happiness, and prosperity. They are placed at the opening of shops and homes. The white cat invites happiness, the golden cat brings riches (apparently there is no black Lucky Cat), the one raising its left paw is inviting customers into businesses, and the one raising its right paw is inviting prosperity. So now I know about the Lucky Cat. Interesting. I doubt I will forget this soon... wait, what am I not forgetting? (Just kidding!)

Garden tour

Today we toured two gardens, Rikugien Garden and the Imperial East Garden. We actually got very tired from the walking. You'd think that after all the walking that we've done that it would be getting easier!

Rikugien Garden is a real find. It's a bit off the beaten track, but was gorgeous.

The garden has a lake in the center, with paths that curve around it. There are nice walks through some woods, up and down hills, and past some old tea houses.

It was very pleasant, and not very crowded at all. After stopping for a lunch at a local, small spot that we wandered into off the street, we went to the Imperial Palace. You generally can't go into the palace, except for a couple of days per year when it is open to the public. So, we took pictures from the outside before going to the East Garden.

The main part of the East Garden was somewhat boring. Nice trees and lawns, but not very interesting. At the end, we found the most beautiful section, and had a lovely walk through it.

We both prefer the gardens that have winding paths through the woods, bridges, waterfalls, and flowers. After enjoying this for a while, we went back to the hotel to rest. We plan to have dinner at a place specializing in okonomiyaki.

Kappabashi-dori

After Asakusa, we stopped by Kappabashi-dori, the kitchen supply street. There was store after store with everything you would need for your kitchen or to set up a restaurant -- plates, chopsticks, decorations, tables, chairs, kitchen equipment, signs, and even plastic food.

Outside of most Japanese restaurants, it is traditional to display plastic representations of the dishes on the menu. They can be very realistic. We went into several of these stores and enjoyed seeing the plastic ice cream, glasses of beer, pizza, steak, noodles, etc. Here's a couple of pictures of this unique Japanese item.

Asakusa

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Originally uploaded by mike_feinstein

We've been going full speed since we got here. Since we got our best night's sleep last night, we decided to take it easy this morning and just hang out in the hotel.

This afternoon, we went to Asakusa. This part of town is best known for the Senso-ji Buddhist temple. The temple grounds are beautiful, with several buildings, gardens, and a large pagoda. We wandered through the area for a while. It was beautiful and peaceful.


The approach to the temple is full of small shops. We enjoyed the lively atmosphere. The guy below had a machine that automatically baked little cakes and wrapped them in little plastic bags as soon as they were cooked. We bought some for a snack. They were still warm from being baked and were delicious. There were also plenty of people making cakes by hand, cooking all types of food, and selling everything from shoes to souvenirs. Overall, an enjoyable afternoon.

DisneySea

Since the weather was nice yesterday, for a change, we spent the day at DisneySea. This is part of Tokyo Disneyland that has a water theme. My daughter is 13 and a bit too old for the Disney thing. But, we still enjoyed the experience. There are some good rides, including a couple of roller coasters. And, it'a all with the well manicured Disney touch. It was very pleasant and, since it is unique from Disneyland, which is a mini-copy of Disneyland in California.

In the evening, we saw Cirque du Soleil at Tokyo Disneyland. It was incredible. They have a resident company there in a dedicated theater. It was spectacular. If you haven't seen Cirque du Soleil anywhere, you really should. It appeals to all ages and has incredible performers, with wonderful music, laughs, and thrills.

Tsukiji Fish Market

Yesterday (Tuesday) was a big day for us. We had trouble sleeping and were up at 4 AM. Luckily, we had fallen asleep a bit early, so we actually had a decent number of hours of sleep. Since we were up early, I decided to head to the Tsukiji Fish Market. The market is a hotbed of activity in the early morning, with an auction that is available for public viewing from 5:30 AM to 6:15 AM.
It's impossible for photos to capture the scale of this market. It's in a huge building with fish vendors along all sides selling fresh fish of all varieties. I think that it is mostly a wholesale business, with restaurant owners buying fish for today's sushi, etc. The auction was impossible to follow, but the video shows the auctioneer doing his thing.
The area also includes many sushi restaurants where visitors stop for breakfast after wandering through the market. The whole thing was quite a spectacle. I didn't spent a long time there, but it was definitely worth seeing.