Day 15

 . . . . . the Last Hurrah!!!!


Well, today is our last day . . . .  and I am still sulking!!!!  We have one place on our itinerary today and that it Harajuku!


We have been told by people and in all the books that the best time to go to Harajuku is Sunday as it all happens then.  So, we made sure we went on a Sunday . . .  and boy are we glad we did!!


There were a couple of things I wanted to see in Harajuku:-

• Meiji Shrine
• Yoyogi Park
• Jingu Bridge
• Omotesando
• Takeshita-dori

First stop - Yoyogi Park - which leads to the Meiji Shrine.  Today is again absolutely glorious and very warm again, but the walk through the park was covered by trees so it was shaded and quite nice and cool.


It's a lovely walk through the park and the trees are lush . . .  though a lot of leaves were falling (I had to have a shower when we got back to get rid of all the things in my hair!)


There were a lot of women in Kimono's going to the shrine, and the all looked so nice.  We made it to the Shrine, but first we passed two BIG sets of Sake and Wine.  Apparently, the Emperor Meiji tried to introduce a lot of Western influences (ie western clothes and food) and one of the big things he introduced was was to drink wine with their meal.

 Sake

Wine

In his honor, several French wineries sent barrels of the Emperor’s favorite wine, and these barrels are displayed on the side of the path leading to the shrine. The side of the path is adorned with barrels of sake. 


We then passed a huge Torii Gate which means we are coming to the Shrine

Now, I had been told, that if we were lucky, we would see a wedding at the Shrine as they all happen on a Sunday - fingers crossed eh!

The Meiji Shrine

Guess what . . . .  while we were there - a wedding was just coming out!!!  Whooo hoo!!  The bride looked absolutely gorgeous

Everyone was taking photos and the Bride and Groom took it all in their stride!


They moved to a garden to have some official photos taken

The photographer spent ages making sure the Bride and Grooms outfits were perfect

While I was taking these photos, Scott called me over. . . .  there was another wedding just starting

Gorgeous flowers in here hair - the bride looked lovely

I couldn't believe it!!!  It seems as though they go into the Shrine without the hood/veil thing, then come back out with a big hood on.


This was the first bride and groom after they'd had their photos taken and were on their way to their party . . . 

So, Becky and Sean - we have found the perfect place for your wedding . . .  it is beautiful here!!!!


So, seeing these weddings made up for not seeing Mt Fuji and not seeing any Geisha's!!!


We left the Shrine and made our way to Jingu Bridge.  This is where the teenagers hang out dressed as Cosplay characters and the Rock and Roller's do some dances . . . . however, when we got there, there was none of this!  I don't know if we missed it or if no-one turned out today (well it was a bit warm).


So, on into Omotesando and Takeshita-dori.  These are the main streets in Harajuku and are filled with clothes shops - but with very distinctive styles!!  


Takeshita dori is filled with shops selling goth style clothes and very retro stuff

We found a 'Claire's Accessories' down this street!!


Omotesando is a bit more of a designer street, and there there is even a Top Shop and Top Man!!!


I have to say - Scott and I were far too old and far too un-trendy to be anywhere near Harajuku!  We felt even more out of place here than we did in Ginza hahaha!!!


Time was now getting on as I had spent such a long time in the Shrine watching the weddings and we needed to get back to the Bunker as we need to pack and tidy up as we leave early tomorrow morning . . . . .  still sulking!!!!


So, as I type this, we are packed and pretty much ready to go.  We have checked our trains for tomorrow as we have to be at Narita for about 09:30 (flight is at 10:55).  We've checked in with BA already and it looks as thought the flight home is full . . . .  so none of the empty seats we had coming out!


I can't believe two weeks has gone so quickly - there is still so much I want to see and do, but we were never going to do it all in two weeks.  Scott and I have already decided we will be coming back for another visit.


This is probably the last blog now and I hope you have enjoyed reading about our adventures as much as we have enjoyed having these adventures.

Day 14

 . . . . . Where's Richard Gere when you need him??


Today's itinerary was a bit of a mix.  We would be starting off in the part of Tokyo that has the most luxurious shopping districts in the world and we would be finishing in the part of Tokyo well known for it's nerds and maid cafes!


So, first of all - The Ginza!  We almost made it here last week, but due to the rain, we gave it a miss and added it back on the itinerary for this week.  Today, the sun is absolutely blazing and it is very hot, so off to The Ginza we go.


The Ginza has the most expensive shops in one area and a lot of designers have their flag ship stores here.  But, my first stop was the Apple Store, so I could droooool over the latest Apple products.  Scott is now starting to shake a little.  There are four floors in the Apple Store.  The top floor is a 'one-to-one' area where you can go and sit with an expert if you can't work your computer.


The Third floor was a presentation room and the guy  in there was giving a presentation on the iPad, however it was in Japanese, so we didn't stay.


The second floor is full of the lovely new iPhone 4.  Very nice.  There are loads there and you can pick them up and have a good play!


The first floor was full of iPads and LapTops.  I have given Scott strict instructions as to which Mac I want (the MacBook if anyone is interested!!) and I have shown the exact model to him, so I'm expecting that to turn up at some point?!?!?!?!


So, as my drool was damaging the machines, we left . . . .  before I was asked to leave!!!


When we came out of the Apple Store, we noticed there was a bit of a fuss going on in the middle of the road.  Shops were putting tables and chairs in the middle of the street - strange . . . . . but, it turns out that they close the main street off to traffic for a few hours, so the ladies can get from one designer store to the next one over the road quickly and easily!!!!

Nissan has a Gallery here   . . .  with a couple of cars in the window.

We passed shops such as Chanel, Dior, Tiffanys, Dunhill, Harrods, Louis Vuitton . . . .  oh the list goes on!

Very  nice shop front for the Swarovski shop!


It looked like a new Shiseido shop was opening, or there was something going on there today, as there were a lot of people milling round the outside of the shop and staff were handing out balloons.  There was also a man setting up some DJ Decks . . .  so we hung around for a few minutes, but nothing happened so we left!

We didn't go in many shops as I found them quite intimidating - especially when you are dressed as a tourist!


I think Scott had had his fill of designer shops by this point, so time to move on . . . . . 


We have now gone from Designer shops to Akihabara.  Also known as Electric Town, this is where the computer geeks and nerds hang out for all their PC stuff.  There are also a few shops that sell manga and anime stuff (models and toys!)

It was absolutely heaving here today (well it was Saturday!).  


Another thing we noticed, was a lot of girls handing out leaflets.  The are the girls advertising  Cafes.  This what they look like - though this is not my photo as we are not allowed to take photos of them - plus I couldn't even get a sneeky photo cos they were surrounded by too many people!

Maid cafes are where waitresses dressed in maid costumes act as servants and treat their customers as masters!!!  They will do things like kneel at the customers table to stir thwie tea or coffee and in some places, the girls will spoon feed the customer!!!  They are mainly directed to men, but women can go in these cafes.  The girls kept giving Scott their leaflets . . . .  but I wouldn't let him go in one!!!!!


By now, Scott was 'up to here' with shops and the crowds - and to be honest, the crowd was getting to me here as well . . . .  there were a LOT of people and it was very hot!!!


So, we moved on from there and had one more trip past the Senso-ji Temple and down the Nakamise-dori for a spot of shopping as it was on the way back to the Bunker.


I can't believe it was over a week ago since we first went to the Senso-ji Temple and I'm stunned this holiday has gone so quick.  We only have tomorrow left and I am already starting to sulk . . . .  I don't want to leave!!  I am loving everything about this country (tho' the amount of steps in the train and metro stations that we have had to climb the past few days are getting a bit much - they are killing me!!!)


One last day out tomorrow . . . . . . 

Day 13

 . . . . . A Big Buddha and a Plodge


Big (ish) trip today . . . . . .  we are going to Kamakura.


Kamakura is a small city on the coast, it's incredibly popular with tourists as it's perfect as a day out from Tokyo.  Kamakura is very popular with Tokyo-ites during the summer as they all go there to go to the beach.  It's about 55km away and will take us about an hour on the train to get there.  


There are a load of Shrines and Temples to see, but the main thing I wanted to see was the Great Buddha (the Kamakura Daibutsu).


We got the train to Kamakura, then had to change onto the Enoden railway line - which is like  street car type of train to get us to Hase.  As usual, when we got to Kamakura to get the Enoden train, there were a load of school kids (are they following us or what - we are getting a bit paranoid about this now!!!)


On the bright side (literally), the rain has finally stopped and the sun is now shining . . . .  very brightly and incredibly hotly!!  We just can't win - it's either hot and raining, cold and raining or dry but hotter than the surface of the sun.  Where is the dry cool weather that was expected in May???


I think this hot/humid weather has caught the Japanese out a bit and I more people (and shops) are using their aircon's.  Tokyo and the surrounding areas are still on energy conservation - though there have been no black-outs and most of the big neon lights and escalators have been on, but since this hot weather arrived and aircon's have been switched on, some power needs to be saved elsewhere and we have noticed a lot more escalators in the stations have been switched off this week.  We have climbed up a LOT of steps getting in ad out of stations this week . . . . . 


Anyway - back to Kamakura.  It's hot, humid and sticky and we have just spent 10 minutes crammed on a small train with 50million school children!  It was a relief to get off the train.


Just 10 minute walk up the road and there he is . . . . 

Actually, he doesn't look as big in the pictures, but he really is!  If you look at the people below him, you might get some perspective, but trust me - he's big!!!


Here are his stats:

• He is 13.35 meters (43.8ft) tall and is the second tallest bronze Buddha in Japan.  The tallest one is in Nara.
• He weighs 93 tonnes
• His face is 7.7m
• He was built in 1252 and was originally under cover in a Temple
• The Temple kept getting destroyed, so since 1495, he has been out in the open air
• He stands in the grounds of the Kotokuin Temple

The Buddha is hollow inside and you can go and climb up him for Y50, but it was busy (and full of kids) so we didn't do that.


We walked round the Temple, which was very pretty, the made our way back to the main street.  As I have said, there are a lot of Temples and Shrines in Kamakura, but there are also a lot of shops!  Of course we had to check some of them out - especially the ones that have aircon!


We then went to the Hase Temple

 

After our trip to Kyoto, we seem to be all Temple'd out, so this was the only one we went to.


As it was so hot, we decided to go to the beach.  I couldn't come all this way and not have a plodge in the Pacific!


So, on the sand, shoes off and in the water we go

 Scott having a plodge

The sand here was black, but as we went further up the beach it turned into just crushed shells, so it's not like Seaham beach - plus this beach is clean.  There were a few people sitting on the sand but there were loads of people in the water with their surfboards.  The surf didn't look too good to me, but I think the tide was changing and they were waiting for the big waves.


We had a lovely walk along the beach, with our feet in the Pacific.


At the end of the walk, we sat for a bit and let our feet dry so we could put our shoes back on . . .  and I spotted a toilet block.  Now, from experience of toilet blocks at the beach at home, I was a little wary of using these ones . . . . but as usual, they were spotlessly clean, there was loo roll and seat cleaner in each loo and there was soap to wash up after.  I have no idea who looks after these toilets, but they are doing a great job!


There were two types of loo in the ladies - I have come across this a couple of times in outdoor loos .  . . .  there is a western toilet and a Japanese toilet.  We all know what a western toilet is like, but the Japanese toilet . . .  well:

Yes - it's a hole in the ground!  You have to squat over the hole in the ground, facing the pipes and pee!!!  Needless to say, I went in the next cubicle and used the western toilet!


We got back on the street car type train and went back into Kamakura and had a look around.  Kamakura is a strange place and is not too sure what it wants to be.  As it's on the coast, it is full of sea chintzy type things, but in Kamakura itself, there are a lot of shops that sell western style chintz . . . .  white wicker baskets and doilies . . . . . there also seems to be a big French influence there, with a lot of Bistros and patisseries.


The place is also full of 'ladies what lunch'.  A very pretty, if somewhat slightly strange place!


We made our way back to Tokyo and ended up in Asakasua by the Nakamise-dori, so we did a bit of shopping.  Sorry - did I say 'we' shopped . . . I mean I shopped!!!


 Scott is panicking about how we are going to get it all in the suitcases!!!  Plenty of time to worry about that later - there's still another couple of shopping days yet and we are going to The Ginza on Saturday . . .  . Louis Vuitton bags, Tiffany's and Chanel!!!


However, at this point, the sun and heat are starting to take their toll and my feet are killing me!  So, back to the Bunker.


On the way home, we stopped off at quite a large supermarket to get some snacks.  We have been quite good this holiday and have been eating a lot of noodles and sushi, but we needed to hit the crisps and snacks now.


So, we here is what we bought:-

• Cheese curls - Ooooh definitely NOT cheese . . .  slightly sweet then actually quite nasty - went in the bin (well they looked like cheese curls on the packet)
• Strawberry Pocky - I knew what these were (in the UK they are called 'Mikado')
• Choco Pie - wagon wheel type biscuits without the crunchy bit
• Rice crisps - ended up being prawn rice crisps
• Chococo - basically thin half chocolate covered biscuits

So, all in all we did quite well - apart from the Cheese curl things (which I can still taste - urgh!!)  The only thing is - everything is individually wrapped.  All the biscuits in the box have their own wrapping, even the prawn rice crisps are individually wrapped.  It's driving Scott bananas as he has to keep unwrapping things.


But we are now going to relax with our snack corner and put my poor aching feet up!!!


Finally - Happy birthday to my baby bro's . . . . . hope you both had lovely days - love you both xxx

Day 12

 . . . . .  Just taking it easy!


So, after getting back to the Bunker late last night (eventually), and after having three very hectic days, we decided to have an easy day today.  No alarm this morning and a nice lie in.  We are going to go out about lunchtime today - and there was only one thing on the itinerary today . . . .  Yokohama.


Why Yokohama I hear you all shout (!), well, I'll tell you . . . . . . 


Yokohama is the new home of Nissan Head Office.  Nissan moved from Tokyo to Yokohama in 2009, which is a move back to their roots - the first Datsun was built in the Yokohama plant in April 1935.


Awww - leave me alone . . . I wanted to see Head Office!!!


All in all, it would take about an hour to get to Yokohama via two trains.  Of course, as we left the Bunker it was bouncing down with rain AGAIN!!!  This is getting a bit boring now!  The other problem is that it is still very very warm . . .  so it's like a steam room under your brolly.


Onwards and upwards . . . .  we left for Yokohama.


Nissan is right outside the station . . .  in fact the walkway to the building is covered in, so we didn't get wet.

We are able to go into the Nissan Gallery to see the display of cars.  Now I had a plan . . . .  I LOVE the Pivo.  The Pivo is a concept car that was first introduced at the 2005 Tokyo Motorshow.  The car has a 360 degree rotating 3 seater cabin on 4 wheels.  This means there is no reverse gear and makes parking easier!  The perfect women's car (shhh women - I'm only kidding!!!).


Back to the plan . . . .  the plan was to nick the Pivo and bring it home - not overally sure how we were going to get this full sized vehicle in our suitcase and on the plane - but we could figure that one out later!!!


The Gallery has loads of Nissan's and Infiniti's on display . .  including a GT-R.  Had to get a photo of that . . . 

Now - what you can't see too well from these pictures, is that the interior is completely leather . . . . .  baby pink and dark red leather . . . oh yes, baby pink and dark red!!!  Not too sure about that combination, but if I was told I could take it home today . . .  I wouldn't have grumbled about the colour haha!!!

OLD Nissan (or should I say Datsun)


OK, so where is it .  . .  we went all round the gallery, read the history of Nissan (being a good girl - looking for promotion here guys!!), even stopped for a cup of Nissan coffee, but we couldn't find my Pivo . . . .  Its not here!!!  This was what I was looking for:

Maybe they had heard about the Big Pivo plan and decided to hide it today - just in case!!!!!

So, enough of the cars and the bus-man's holiday - I was worried in case I ended up doing some work!!!  Time to move on.

Oh - it's still raining . . . . . .   heavily!

So we went round to China Town.

It was full of school kids again . . . .  are they ever in school???  Most of China Town is restaurants and stalls selling steamed buns with different fillings . . .  couldn't get Scott to try one of them!!!

We passed a Shrine . . 

Very ornate . . . 

There were quite a few shops around filled with Panda stuff.  Guess who we found . . .  'Hello Kitty' as a Panda!!!

The problem was, the rain was getting heavier.  I don't know if I have mentioned this before . . .  but brollies are a big thing in Japan.  They are used when it rains (everyone has a brolly) and the ladies use them in the sun.  However, when it rains, to stop shop floors getting wet and slippy, there is a brolly station at the front of each shop.  There are long plastic bags to wrap your brolly up so it doesn't drip.  Very sophisticated.

We had a walked around for a while as there was other stuff to see in Yokohama, but it was quite chilly (we just can't win) and absolutely pouring down and we were both soaked, so we decided to make our way back to the Bunker.

Yokohama station is very very clean with pictures of maritime stuff on the walls.  This is also something else we have noticed - all of the train and metro stations are very clean - no graffiti or litter. 

This was in the station to advertise the Childrens Museum . . . 

Not a very big day today, but this was a planned easy day and I got to see Head Office which was the plan.  Bigger day tomorrow, so early to bed to prepare ourselves.

Day 11

 . . . . .  . Ohhh Deer!


Today we are going to Itsukushima Island - which is better known as Miyajima (The Shrine Island).  One of the most famous attractions of this island is the Itsukushima Shrine and floating Torii Gate which gives the illusion it is floating in the water at high tide.


Anyway - to get there we needed to get a train from Hiroshima to Miyajimaguchi.  We had checked out of the Hotel, so we needed somewhere to put our suitcase . . .  the perfect solution - lockers at the train station!  Once the suitcase was locked away - off we went.


We got on nice little train to Miyajimaguchi . . . . oh and did I mention . . .  it's still bloody raining!  However, nothing was going to stop me going to the island - bouncing rain included!  Scott even bought an umbrella - that's how bad it is (that and the fact he discovered that his waterproof isn't waterproof after all!!!)


Next came a new mode of public transport . . . .  the ferry!  After spending most of the last week or so queuing for transport, it came as a relief to find that we were first in the queue for the ferry and that only about 6 other people got on!  The ferry runs ever 10 minutes . . . . . 


It only takes about 10 minutes to get to Miyajima and on the way, the ferry goes past the Itsukushima Shrine

We had read a few things about this island:

• As the island is seen to be sacred - trees aren't allowed to be cut down for lumber
• Deer and monkey's roam free (Deer are seen as sacred in the Shinto religion and are considred to be messengers of the gods)
• A style of wooden spoon used to serve cooked rice, without impairing the taste, is said to have been invented by a monk who lived on the island
• The island is only 12 square miles and has a population of 2000.
• There are no traffic lights on the island
• In the past women were not allowed on the island and old people were shipped off elsewhere to die so as not to spoil the purity of the island!!!!

However, today women are allowed on the island - which is just as well 'cos I'm on my way!


The first thing we notice, is that it has finally stopped raining - yippeee!!!!


The next thing we notice is the Deer.  They're not kidding, the deer are just  . .  well they are just there!  We thought they would be up in the mountains, but no, they are in the street, lying on the grass right outside the ferry terminal!  Most of them don't even bother looking at you as they have seen it all before.  However, there are signs all over saying we are not allowed to feed the deer anymore, 'cos the food has given them poorly tummies.  


However, we were warned to be aware that the deer will attempt to eat anything you have in your hands if they get close enough and that includes paper, handbags and clothes!!!!!!

They looked quite bored actually haha

As we walked round the island, we saw a couple of deer following two girls and they (the deer) were trying to eat the girls bags!


We made our way to the Shrine, but it was 'mid' tide, so the water hadn't reached the Shrine and the Torii Gate didn't look like it was floating but there was too much water around it to walk to it.  It's still spectacular . . . . . .  I have a picture of this Gate at home and I love it.


We made it to the Shrine and the famous Torii Gate and looking back, I may have overdone it with the photo's . . . . . but here are a couple of them:

The Shrine is surrounded by water at high tide and looks like it is floating

Mount Misen is the islands highest peak at around 500m above sea level and apparently on a clear day you can see some spectacular views of Hiroshima . . .  however, today we can't see the top of Mount Misen as it is a very hazy day (spotting a pattern here with us and mountains!!) so we decided not to climb the mountain . . .  well when I say climb, we would have used the ropeway to the top, but it was expensive and as we wouldn't see anything from the top, we gave it a miss.


We did carry on round the island and checked out a few of the shops in Omotesando Shopping Street.  Something we have noticed over the past week or so, is that although there are 'tat' shops selling the usual souvenirs, they are still very expensive.  The ever popular phone charms (ALL Japanese have charms attached to their phones and some of them are bigger than the phone!!) start from Y500.


I had been told before we left, that if we were going to Miyajima, then we had to try the local traditional dessert - Momiji Manju.  This is a sweet cake with various filling and in a lot of the shops you can see them being made.  The cake has a maple leaf on the front as Miyajima is well known for it's maple trees.  

I persuaded Scott to trust me for once and have one.  Scott is very wary of buying food from stalls where he can't understand the menu - he's convinced that if he can't understand what the food item is, it'll be horrible!!  So, even though it looks like chicken and smells like chicken, he won't believe it and think it'll be covered in tofu or have bean curd in the middle!!!!


Anyway - we found a stall that sold the cakes and had an English translation .. . .  I had a green tea cake and he had a custard one.  Personally I thought they were delicious, but Scott - well, even though he ate it, he wasn't too keen!!!  Well, you can't please all of the people all of the time - can you???


We went into one souvenir shop and they had this fantastic garden in the back . . . .  just how I imagined a small Japanese garden to be

The Koi in the pond where HUGE

As I'd taken photo's of their garden, I felt obliged to buy something in their shop . . .  though Scott took that as any old excuse!!!!


Now, 'Hello Kitty' is big here - especially as she is sooo kawaii!!!  Outside this shop was a Kitty Shrine . . 

So kawaii


As I mentioned earlier, a monk invented a rice spoon on this island and there is a HUGE spoon on display . . . 

Apparently, this is the largest wooden rice scoop in the world (I know, the photo doesn't really show this, but it is huge).  It's about 7.7 meters long, 2.7 meters thick weighs about 2.5 tonnes.  It  took almost three years to make and went on display in 1996 to commemorate the Itsukushima Shrine becoming a World Heritage Site.


Although this is an absolutely beautiful island and we could have stayed longer, we are now going to have to move on - we have a l-o-n-g journey back to Tokyo and the Bunker.  


However, Scott and I have decided that when we come back to Japan, we are coming back here and going to spend a night on the island in a typical Japanese Ryokan, as we have heard the island is even more beautiful at night when the Shrine and Gate are lit up.  


But today, it would take about 6 hours to get home from here, so we decided to make a break for the ferry.  Plus it was starting to rain again (of course)!!


So, the journey home consisted of:

• a ferry ride back to the mainland
• a train back to Hiroshima (to get the suitcase)
• the Bullet from Hiroshima to Osaka (no direct train from Hiroshima to Tokyo)
• another Bullet from Osaka to Tokyo
• a local train from Tokyo to Okachimachi
• a 10 minute walk

and finally we were back at the Bucker.  Phew . . .  completely shattered!  Though I don't know what I'm complaining about, Scott had to lugg the suitcase on and off all these trains . . . . . and he did a marvellous job! 


Oh - and I think having the cake earlier sparked something in Scott.  During the stop at Osaka, he bought a Bento Box!  He did buy the most inoffensive looking one on the shelf (absolutely no sense of adventure hahaha!) but he ate it on the train . . .  well impressed!!!!!


It's nice being back at the Bunker . . .  I have missed the place.