I'll do some mobile microblogging today while we climb Fuji-san.
We're on the express bus from Shinjuku to the Fuji 5th station where the climb will start. We probably won't make it to the top as the trail to the summit is closed due to excessive snow.
Today is the first day of the official climbing season. The bus is only about 20% full, and all but 2 are Westerners. It's ironic in this land of so many trains that the fastest way to the climbing station is by bus. But, this bus is direct - no transfers.
We'll have to return by a less direct route as we will finish after the last direct bus. Most people stay overnight to watch the sunrise, so there are few returners at the end of the day.
Next stop - Fuji!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Edo-Tokyo Museum and Tokyo Tower
Today was our last day in Tokyo for sightseeing. Tomorrow, we climb Mount Fuji (or at least as far as we can -- the summit is currently closed as there is an inordinate amount of snow!).
We visited the Edo-Tokyo Museum first. What an incredible place to learn about Japanese history. It has artifacts that are almost 20,000 years old, but most of the exhibits cover the 1600-1800s, the Edo period.
The most striking part of the museum are the large and very detailed models of the Edo castle and what typical towns were like. The pictures don't do them justice, but here is a small sample.
The museum is a must-see for anyone who visits Tokyo.
In addition to the Edo period, it also covers, in more brief form, the history of Japan through modern times. This includes the 1900s and the firebombing of Tokyo during World War II. Although there is virtually no discussion of the causes of the war, the effects of the civilians of Tokyo were devastating. I actually met a man at the exhibit who lived through the Tokyo bombing when he was four. He said it was terrifying.
It was interesting to see how the early history of Japan has still had an impact on how Japanese society is organized today. I could have spent many more hours there (but Sam had her fill after about 2 1/2 hours).
We then went to Tokyo Tower, which has great views of the city and includes a bunch of hokey tourist stops. The views from the tower were great, but, unfortunately for us, were obscured by clouds today.
We're going to bed early since we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. We have an early start for a bus to the climbing station for Mount Fuji. Not sure when we'll post that update, but we'll write it up eventually, even if it is after we get home. We don't have a lot of time free between our return from Fuji and our return flight to the US.
We visited the Edo-Tokyo Museum first. What an incredible place to learn about Japanese history. It has artifacts that are almost 20,000 years old, but most of the exhibits cover the 1600-1800s, the Edo period.
The most striking part of the museum are the large and very detailed models of the Edo castle and what typical towns were like. The pictures don't do them justice, but here is a small sample.
The museum is a must-see for anyone who visits Tokyo.
In addition to the Edo period, it also covers, in more brief form, the history of Japan through modern times. This includes the 1900s and the firebombing of Tokyo during World War II. Although there is virtually no discussion of the causes of the war, the effects of the civilians of Tokyo were devastating. I actually met a man at the exhibit who lived through the Tokyo bombing when he was four. He said it was terrifying.
It was interesting to see how the early history of Japan has still had an impact on how Japanese society is organized today. I could have spent many more hours there (but Sam had her fill after about 2 1/2 hours).
We then went to Tokyo Tower, which has great views of the city and includes a bunch of hokey tourist stops. The views from the tower were great, but, unfortunately for us, were obscured by clouds today.
We're going to bed early since we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. We have an early start for a bus to the climbing station for Mount Fuji. Not sure when we'll post that update, but we'll write it up eventually, even if it is after we get home. We don't have a lot of time free between our return from Fuji and our return flight to the US.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Shinagawa Aquarium, Tokyo Dome City, and Kushiage
I can't top Sam's description of the rides at Tokyo Dome City, so I'll write mostly about the rest of the day yesterday. We started off by traveling to the Shinagawa Aquarium. This attraction is certainly not aimed at Western tourists, mostly because of location. It's off the main train lines, and it required a few train transfers to get to the station. Then, there are vitually no signs from the station to the aquarium. We were able to ask for directions from a police officer who communicated well enough where it was. Luckily, we found it, as it was very nice.
It's a small aquarium by US standards, but had some nice exhibits and was on very nice grounds.
There were two highlights from the visit -- the dolphin show and the underwater tunnel. The dolphin show as packed with school kids on a summer field trip. The dolphins did some tricks, and the kids loved it.
The tunnel under the water was also really nice. There were turtles, rays, and all sorts of fish swimming around you. You could walk through and see the sea life from many different angles.
The aquarium also featured penguins, sea lions, sharks, octopus, and many types of fish. It tooks us about 90 minutes to see it all, which isn't bad since we couldn't understand most of the text on the exhibits.
On the way back to the train station from the aquarium, we stopped for lunch at Yoshinoya. This is a Japanese fast food place that everyone visiting has to try once. It has a very limited menu, good, basic food, and lightning fast service.
We went from there to Tokyo Dome City to ride the rides, as Sam described. As a roller coaster lover, I have to say that Thunder Dolphin was a good ride. Kudos to Sam for overcoming her fear and going for the ride. I think she opened her eyes at least once or twice.
It's a small aquarium by US standards, but had some nice exhibits and was on very nice grounds.
There were two highlights from the visit -- the dolphin show and the underwater tunnel. The dolphin show as packed with school kids on a summer field trip. The dolphins did some tricks, and the kids loved it.
The tunnel under the water was also really nice. There were turtles, rays, and all sorts of fish swimming around you. You could walk through and see the sea life from many different angles.
The aquarium also featured penguins, sea lions, sharks, octopus, and many types of fish. It tooks us about 90 minutes to see it all, which isn't bad since we couldn't understand most of the text on the exhibits.
On the way back to the train station from the aquarium, we stopped for lunch at Yoshinoya. This is a Japanese fast food place that everyone visiting has to try once. It has a very limited menu, good, basic food, and lightning fast service.
We went from there to Tokyo Dome City to ride the rides, as Sam described. As a roller coaster lover, I have to say that Thunder Dolphin was a good ride. Kudos to Sam for overcoming her fear and going for the ride. I think she opened her eyes at least once or twice.
We then met some friends for a wonderful kushiage dinner near Shinjuku station. We had all sorts of fried delights: chicken, shrimp, beef, quail eggs, fish, fish eggs, asparagus, and more. Although all of the dishes are fried, there were very light. Sam tried them all, although she shared later that she hated some of them.
We also stopped by at an amazing store -- Takano Fruit Parlour. The web site doesn't get the message across -- this place sells $50 bunches of grapes and $100 melons. They grow each melon on its own tree (you can also buy one still on the tree). Not sure who buys such things, but there were people there buying things -- not us!
Tokyo Dome City
Today, after going to the aquarium and before meeting with Kiyomi and Ayaka, Dad and I visited an amusement park called Tokyo Dome City. There is a roller coaster, a giant free-fall tower, a inverted ride, and a water flume ride that we rode on. The tower rose extremely high, then dropped down extremely fast. Straight down. Free-falling. Dad said it was a rip-off, because usually those rides bounce up and down a little. But this one just went up, then down. Straight down. Very fast. It was the first one of those rides I'd ever been on, but I guess it could be worse: my friend once went on a ride like that (one that bounced, I'm sure) in a thunder storm. The water ride was really mild; just a small hill up, and then a drop. The inverted ride was like the pirate ship rides, where you swing up to one side, then fall down and go to the other side and do it over agian, except in this one your feet are hanging off down, and you go completely vertical. I screamed the entire way. (Actually, on the tower ride, which was the last ride we went on, I ran out of scream. I screamed at the beginning of falling, then just kind of petered out.) I think I was the only one screaming, too. Now, the roller coaster. See, I really wanted to talk about this because I don't usually go on scary coasters, because I am afraid. But today I went on one, and yes, it was scary, but yes, I did have fun. But one of the best parts was last night (or this morning, I really forget with the time difference) I was talking to my mom, and she said she didn't believe I would go on the roller coaster, because it went straight down. The coaster took a picture while you were on the ride, so we bought that as proof. But, in case that was not enough, I want to say (or type) here and now that I, Sam W-F, went on a Scary Roller Coaster (and lived through it), and had fun on it. SO THERE!!!!!!!!! I have enclosed pictures of:
The roller coaster:
The inverted ride:
The tower:
The water ride:
And the tower with this giant ferris wheel that moved about an inch per hour:
And this kiddy ride that mimmicked the tower:
The roller coaster:
The inverted ride:
The tower:
The water ride:
And the tower with this giant ferris wheel that moved about an inch per hour:
And this kiddy ride that mimmicked the tower:
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Old friends in "Little Edo"
We met some old friends in Kawagoe today. It was a pleasant place with some temples and traditional small shops. We also had some wonderful eel for lunch! We bought some sweets and caught up with some old friends. It was a great day, until the rains returned in mid-afternoon. That cut our visit short.
Here's the Bell of Time ringing at 3 PM today (sideways...)
Here's the Bell of Time ringing at 3 PM today (sideways...)
Saturday, June 27, 2009
No Joy in Korakuen
We had a great time at the baseball game tonight, but the Giants lost to their crosstown rivals, the Yakult Swallows, 6-1. The pitchers for the Swallows really shut down the Giants, who only got 3 total men on base and scored their only run on a solo home run. But, the fun was taking in the atmosphere.
In Japan, the fans are very organized. You only cheer when it is your team's turn to do so. Each player has their own cheer, mostly playing with their name. So, Masmoto's cheer was (I think) moto-moto-Mas-a-mo. You can hear this type of cheering in the background of this video:
Here's a clearer view of the field from our seat.
And, the food at the ballpark is pretty different. Here's my dinner:
Of course, you can still get a hot dog. And, there's plenty of beer (and whiskey) for sale in the stands. Giants fans very enthusiastic until the end, and most stayed until the last out was made even though they had virtually no chance to come back.
I'm also happy to report that there's plenty of merchandising at these games. There's a wide variety of souvenirs available, and the fans are decked out in jerseys, hats, and various incarnations of the Giant's mascot, Giabbit.
In Japan, the fans are very organized. You only cheer when it is your team's turn to do so. Each player has their own cheer, mostly playing with their name. So, Masmoto's cheer was (I think) moto-moto-Mas-a-mo. You can hear this type of cheering in the background of this video:
Here's a clearer view of the field from our seat.
And, the food at the ballpark is pretty different. Here's my dinner:
Of course, you can still get a hot dog. And, there's plenty of beer (and whiskey) for sale in the stands. Giants fans very enthusiastic until the end, and most stayed until the last out was made even though they had virtually no chance to come back.
I'm also happy to report that there's plenty of merchandising at these games. There's a wide variety of souvenirs available, and the fans are decked out in jerseys, hats, and various incarnations of the Giant's mascot, Giabbit.
High Above The City
We didn't see a lot today. I spent quite a bit of time doing research for our climb of Mount Fuji on Wednesday. I had to figure out the schedules for the express bus to get there, and I determined that we have to take a series of trains home as we will finish our climb after the last express bus. And, we had to make a reservation for the express bus. We tried to do this in person, but couldn't find the bus office. So, I had to do my best to get it done over the phone. I think I was successful, but we'll find out on Wednesday morning when we try to get on the bus!
We did eventually find the bus stop, and then walked around town. One of our stops today was the Tokyo Metropolitan Government office (TMG). This tall building has an observation deck that gives you a great view of the city. Since today was a relatively clear day, we decided to go for it. You couldn't see too far from the city, but it gave us a nice overview.
Tonight, we're going to the Giants baseball game at the Tokyo Dome!
We did eventually find the bus stop, and then walked around town. One of our stops today was the Tokyo Metropolitan Government office (TMG). This tall building has an observation deck that gives you a great view of the city. Since today was a relatively clear day, we decided to go for it. You couldn't see too far from the city, but it gave us a nice overview.
Tonight, we're going to the Giants baseball game at the Tokyo Dome!
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