Konnichiwa!
Well folks, my brain is utterly fried. I've tried to learn the pleasantries in too many Asian langauges too quickly. Even though I already knew hello and thank you in Japanese, I stumble through the Korean and Chinese before my brain finds the right one. People must think I'm crazy here! I got in late evening yesterday, so I had a simple dinner in the hotel and turned in early so I could do a full day of sightseeing today...and boy howdy I did. Here we go.
First off, I have to say that the Tokyo subway might be even better than the London one. Not only does it have more lines and have everything with numbers and in English, but it costs about half as much! I started my day at the Yasukuni war memorial shrine. The lady at the travel desk in my hotel said I should only go see one shrine because they pretty much all look the same. I'm guessing that means that they have ENORMOUS gates and some cool buildings. There was a really cool spot before you went in that had a little raised pool with lots of dippers, and people came and washed their hands with them. It appeared ceremonial, but there was not English signage indicating why. I also felt a little out of place because there was a very solemn ceremony going on in the pavilion in the middle of the complex.
Next stop: Imperial Palace! The shrine was just across the street from the East Gardens, which are the only portion of the Imperial Palace that is open to the public. The gardens are quite picturesque, and several of the trees were even blooming due to unseasonable warmth. It was also cool because some weird race was happening with both bicycles and runners, and the uniforms of the participants ranged from track to baseball...the ages ranged about as widely.
So the guidebook said that if you stroll down through the Eastern garden into the Outer garden that you can get a great view of the palace at Nijubashi bridge. Well, the exact wording was that you get to see the palace peeking over its fortifications behind the bridge. I should have realized this translates to, "You can't actually see the palace." I think this is one of the few royal residences where the royals actually still live, so it makes sense that they won't let the public anywhere near it...but I thought you would at least be able to see it! Check it out:
After spending the morning strolling outside, it was time to visit the Tokyo National Museum and warm up a bit. When I got off at Ueno subway stop, I accidently stumbled onto some crazy market in a search for lunch. Apparently at least half of Tokyo stumbled onto it at the same time because I couldn't walk without running into somebody. From the market, you just cross the street to enter Ueno Park, which is kind of like the Mall in DC. It has a main thouroughfare with all kinds of museums, and the zoo, etc. My favorite things in the museum were the Bhuddist sculptures and the Noh/Kabuki costumes. The most touching thing was to see a display of Bhuddist artifacts that were rescued from destruction in Afghanistan. The wildest thing was seeing really amazing teracotta and metal work from like 2000BC.
At this point I was exhausted, so I decided to head home, but when I got on the subway, I realized that Tokyo tower was on my way home. Oh what the heck. It's a replica of the Eiffel tower, only it is bright orange and white. It only cost about $8 to go up in it, and I got some really great sunset/night shots of the city. It is crazy how big the city is when you can see it extend beyond sight in 360 degrees.
Again, I decided it was time to go home, but I'm a glutton for punishment. I next realized that Rappongi Hills (the shi shi shopping district) was also on the way home. Oh come on, I had to eat! and eat I did. I ordered up a fabulous sushi dinner a la carte, and managed to drag my butt back to the hotel approximately 12 hours after I left it this morning. I plopped said butt directly in the bathtub for a good long soak. Now for a good long sleep so I'm ready to visit Mt. Fuji tomorrow.
:)
First off, I have to say that the Tokyo subway might be even better than the London one. Not only does it have more lines and have everything with numbers and in English, but it costs about half as much! I started my day at the Yasukuni war memorial shrine. The lady at the travel desk in my hotel said I should only go see one shrine because they pretty much all look the same. I'm guessing that means that they have ENORMOUS gates and some cool buildings. There was a really cool spot before you went in that had a little raised pool with lots of dippers, and people came and washed their hands with them. It appeared ceremonial, but there was not English signage indicating why. I also felt a little out of place because there was a very solemn ceremony going on in the pavilion in the middle of the complex.
Next stop: Imperial Palace! The shrine was just across the street from the East Gardens, which are the only portion of the Imperial Palace that is open to the public. The gardens are quite picturesque, and several of the trees were even blooming due to unseasonable warmth. It was also cool because some weird race was happening with both bicycles and runners, and the uniforms of the participants ranged from track to baseball...the ages ranged about as widely.
So the guidebook said that if you stroll down through the Eastern garden into the Outer garden that you can get a great view of the palace at Nijubashi bridge. Well, the exact wording was that you get to see the palace peeking over its fortifications behind the bridge. I should have realized this translates to, "You can't actually see the palace." I think this is one of the few royal residences where the royals actually still live, so it makes sense that they won't let the public anywhere near it...but I thought you would at least be able to see it! Check it out:
After spending the morning strolling outside, it was time to visit the Tokyo National Museum and warm up a bit. When I got off at Ueno subway stop, I accidently stumbled onto some crazy market in a search for lunch. Apparently at least half of Tokyo stumbled onto it at the same time because I couldn't walk without running into somebody. From the market, you just cross the street to enter Ueno Park, which is kind of like the Mall in DC. It has a main thouroughfare with all kinds of museums, and the zoo, etc. My favorite things in the museum were the Bhuddist sculptures and the Noh/Kabuki costumes. The most touching thing was to see a display of Bhuddist artifacts that were rescued from destruction in Afghanistan. The wildest thing was seeing really amazing teracotta and metal work from like 2000BC.
At this point I was exhausted, so I decided to head home, but when I got on the subway, I realized that Tokyo tower was on my way home. Oh what the heck. It's a replica of the Eiffel tower, only it is bright orange and white. It only cost about $8 to go up in it, and I got some really great sunset/night shots of the city. It is crazy how big the city is when you can see it extend beyond sight in 360 degrees.
Again, I decided it was time to go home, but I'm a glutton for punishment. I next realized that Rappongi Hills (the shi shi shopping district) was also on the way home. Oh come on, I had to eat! and eat I did. I ordered up a fabulous sushi dinner a la carte, and managed to drag my butt back to the hotel approximately 12 hours after I left it this morning. I plopped said butt directly in the bathtub for a good long soak. Now for a good long sleep so I'm ready to visit Mt. Fuji tomorrow.
:)
posted by Claire | 9:08 PM
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