Japan (April 2023)
Day 1
After sitting in a middle seat for 14 hours, I arrived in Tokyo for my two week stay of assisting with another, my 3rd (4th if you don't count my own center), SAP Go-Live. I was able to take the limousine bus, not a limo but really just a bus, from the airport to the hotel. Traffic was bad and it took 2 hours. I was hungry but too tired to go searching, I just made a decision to crash and fill up tomorrow at breakfast.
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| Even the plane had a bidet |
Day 2
After waking up a 1am and thinking it was 7am I tossed and tossed some more before actually getting up at 8am and heading downstairs for some breakfast. My coworker Catrina happened to be in town early and was exploring Tokyo's Imperial Palace. Before I messaged her, I was considering a trip down to a Japanese aquarium or finding something else but luckily for me her idea was better than mine and I just had to figure out how to get back into Tokyo as where I was staying was essentially an hour outside the city.
I headed for the train station, well at least where I thought the train station was and after 15 minutes of back and forth because I cannot read Japanese I stumbled into the station. Headed to the ticket machine, which even though it had English as an option, I couldn't quite make out which station/line I was trying to get on. They have a system where you pay for how far you go (which is normal) but I couldn't make sense of that either. After failing at the machine, I got a young woman to assist me at the machine and I tried to tell her my card didn't work, she had to try for herself which resulted in her taking me to the desk and trying my card there, which worked finally. Then she tried to direct me to the train but she left out one minor detail. See there are local trains which stop at every stop and express trains which only stop at the larger stations and of course are much faster when trying to get to the city. Guess which train I got on, and after snailing my way to the next express station, I switched trains.
I made it into Toyko and over the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace. Truly an amazing park/garden, which has open spaces and all sorts of flowering trees and plants.
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| This is the protective moat outside |
After the East Garden I strolled through the main road of the Imperial Palace, which I'm still trying to figure out why everyone walks down that road, there was literally nothing to see unless I totally missed it. Granted I was jet-lagged so it is a possibility.
From there I walked passed the Nippon Budokan, and then over to the Yasukuni Shrine. First shrine of the trip and wow it was really interesting with the large Torii gates.
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| First Torii |
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| Cherry Blossom Trees |
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| Yasukuni Shrine |
I then caught up with Catrina and we formalized a plan to head over to the Shibuya section of town to experience the craziest intersection in the world and to do a little shopping for her family. Her kids are into anime/manga so I tooled around and helped her locate a few things in the store.
We then walked over to Yoyogi Park for a quick glance before getting stuck in a 20 minute pedestrian traffic jam. Yep, we were stuck on the sidewalk for 20 minutes as people tried to cross the street. Imagine the pedestrian log jam that you experience when trying to leave a concert...but worse. It finally cleared and we go over to Meiji Jingu Shrine, a gem of a shrine hidden back in the woods behind 3 massive gates.
For dinner we found a sushi joint in the Shinjuku area, luckily we beat the rush and the wait. After finishing we realized it was a cash only establishment and I had to scramble over to an ATM to pay the tab. The cashier guy was totally calm about it, we totally could have dashed (not that that is something I would do) but he was really nonchalant about it.
Then it was back to the hotel for another night of horrible sleep.
Day 3
Catrina and her Tokyo guidebook recommended we head south to Kamakura area for the Daibutsu Hiking Trail. The trail leaves from the tiny village near the Kita-Kamakura train station.
Side note: Getting to the Kita-Kamakura train station was 2 train changes, during the second transfer we somehow went down a stop and sat on the train waiting for it to continue to our final destination but when the train got to the the next stop we got off the train, USED THE RESTROOM (thinking we were in the final destination), and then noticed we were back at the location of the 2nd change (back where we got on). So then we caught the final train to Kita-Kamakura.
Along the Daibutsu Hiking Trail there were multiple shrines to visit and a few hills to traverse and tree roots to dodge.
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| Tunnel through a rock wall (50m thick) to a shrine |
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| Area of the temple after the tunnel |
The trail finished on the northern side of Kamakura proper, so we stopped and had lunch at Mokichi. Apparently this place was popping on a Monday because we couldn't get a table for 1245 at lunch, and had to wait 20 minutes just to sit outside. It was a nice day so we enjoyed the fresh air.
We then went down to the Kōtoku-in Shrine which has a very large Buddha statue. More souvenir shopping happened around here.
Now it was time to head over to the bamboo forest, as we were waiting for the bus to show up we noticed that the forest closed at 4pm, and we were going to get there at 345. We got there and rushed to see this forest and turns out the forest was really a garden and by 405pm we had seen it all. Granted it was a very nice area, just not quite big enough to be considered a "forest". Oh and my bus pass ran out on money on the bus, which becomes an ordeal to settle up with the bus driver before getting off.
Pics from the bamboo garden
We caught the bus back into Kamakura to check out the cherry blossom lined main street and the amazing Hongu Shrine, again with giant gates and a view from up on the hill over looking the tree lined street. There were a few other temples in the area too.
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| Main Street and Torii in Kamakura |
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| Women walking in park before Shrine |
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| Above the lower shrine over looking cherry blossom lined street |
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| Lake in park near shrine with more cherry blossoms |
Dinner on this night was at Ginza Kagari, a ramen joint hidden on a backstreet. Even the signage was poor but apparently people know about this hidden gem as there was a line outside when we showed up. It was a chicken broth based ramen with chicken, but I got the pork and egg add-on to make the epic dinner even better.
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| Beautiful Ramen |
Day 8
Today was the day where our local Japanese friends/coworkers had offered to drive us to Mount Fuji and have a day outside the Tokyo area. Mount Fuji is the tallest mountain (volcano) in Japan and only 3 hours from Tokyo so it was perfect for a day trip.
We started with an earlier than normal breakfast in order to fill the day with all the activities and we were picked up at 8am. We hit the highway and caught a bit of traffic but finally made it to our first destination which was Lake Kawaguchi. As a side note I must mention that on the way to Lake Kawaguchi we drove by Fuji-Q Highlands which is home to Eejanaika which is an epic 4-D roller coaster. I tried my hardest to convince the others but no one was biting, I promise them I just needed an hour but they just did not bite.
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| Fuji-San hiding in the clouds |
At Lake Kawaguchi our friends had reserved electric bikes for us and let us ride around the lake to take in the sights. Along the lake the cherry blossoms were in bloom and Mount Fuji, just like all other big mountains, tends to suck up all the clouds in the area. So while we were riding around, the mountain was coming in and out of the clouds. While we were riding we stopped at Nagasaki Park to take in the trees and to check out all the people doing their best Instagram poses. We met our friends at Oshii Park took in slightly different views of Fiji and a bit of shopping, because of course tourism.
Pics from the lake bike ride
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| Mitsu, Me, Catrina, and Halim (Housh was kind enough to take our pic) |
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| Gardens at Oshii Park |
On the bike ride back from Oshii Park we actually got lost, but with a little creativity we made it back to the bike shop. By then it was lunch time and the Mount Fuji area is known for Hōtō noodles, so of course we had some along with some tempura shrimp and veggies. Damn it was good and filling.
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| Hōtō Lunch |
After lunch we made our second stop for the trip which was to visit the Arakurayama Sengen Park, which is home to the Arakura Fuji Shrine and after climbing what felt like 1000 stairs you are rewarded with the best views of Mount Fuji. Sadly for us, the mountain was covered by clouds but still it was a beautiful overlook. And just like most tourism spots in Houston that we haven't been to, our friends had never been to this location either. They definitely enjoyed this spot, though one of the friends really didn't enjoy all the stairs.
Pics from Arakurayama Sengen Park
If only the clouds would have let us have a better view.
In my research of what else we could do in the Mount Fuji area I found a waterfall on the southwest side of the mountain that was definitely off the beaten path but it was definitely worth the visit. This again was another spot where our friend hadn't been.
Then it was the long trek back to Sagamiono for dinner at a Japanese BBQ.
Day 9
My last day of touring Japan was spent in Tokyo with my coworker Halim, he was not with us the previous weekend so he didn't get to experience Tokyo. So I agree to explore some new areas with him and visit some of the areas I had been before.
We started the day in the Asakusa area to visit the Sensō-ji Buddist Temple, the temple is surrounded by a market that is full of wares for tourist.
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| Sensō-ji |
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| Markets |
We then ventured over to the Tokyo Skytree and since we were free-wheeling we did not plan ahead and buy tickets. The line was 70 minutes long just to buy tickets and then we might have had to wait another hour just to go up to the top. It was nice enough at the bottom and of course there was a mall at the bottom of the Skytree. My coworker did a bit of shopping and I tagged alone while eating a puff pastry. I was also approached by a local (assuming here, he could have been a foreign non-Japanese Asian) who said "hi" and then asked for a selfie. I gave him the stink eye and told him no.
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| Tokyo Skytree |
From the Skytree we made our way over to Ueno Park, the biggest park in the city. There was a peonie festival so we stopped to take a look at that in addition to having come curry rice as a snack.
We continued on over to the Imperial Gardens, my second trip to the gardens and they were just as nice though I feel some of the blooms had died in some areas but the azaleas were still going strong. We had been walking a good bit they this time of the day and since it was a nice day and both of us were tired I suggested Halim and I take a nap in the park. And yep, we both laid on our backs in the middle of the park and caught some z's. It was nice and refreshing and got us energized for the rest of the day.
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| Azaleas in bloom |
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| Tokyo Station near the Imperial Gardens |
Next stop was the Electric City or Akihabara, the area is known for all the electronics retailers that are there and for the "maid cafes." What's a maid cafe you ask, well think of it as a Japanese Hooters where the waitresses are dressed up like cleaning maids and cater to your weird desires. So of course we had to try it out and it was about as you would imagine, though they charge by the hour, no free photos and subpar food and drinks but definitely an experience if you are in the area.
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| Streets of the electric city |
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| Akihabara |
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| Maid on the street soliciting |
Last stop was the Tokyo Tower, or the Eiffel Tower of Tokyo. Again we didn't plan for this but just wanted to see it and it is smack dab in the middle of a neighborhood and it wouldn't be a tourist spot without a mall underneath.
From there we attempted to go to dinner but the first two restaurants we had picked out were closed on Sunday nights. Ended up at an Indian joint for some decent food, not Houston good of course.
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