Bob In The City

So finally I'm getting around to putting up some pictures of what Bob and I have been doing in Tokyo. Unfortunately the old man was a bit sick when he came and we didn't do as much sightseeing as I had originally planned. But we did however do some very important things --

We ate sushi at a 'kaiten zushi' restaurant, where the little plates go by on a conveyor belt and you grab it when it passes...




We went drinking and gallavanting downtown in the busiest areas...




Bob learnt about the history of Tokyo at a great museum...




We rode the last train home and laughed at all the sleepy people resting on each other's shoulders...




But by far I think the best thing we've done so far is go to Koganei Park to see some cherry blossoms, or 'sakura', in bloom. Note two very, very Japanese things in the picture below - one is the dog in the t-shirt, and two is the woman in the mask!




Everyone told me how beautiful the cherry blossom season is, but I really didn't understand how fantastic it is until we went to the park this morning. The sakura trees only bloom for two weeks, and it is like an announcement that winter is finally over, and the warmth of spring is officially here. Everybody - and I do mean everybody - heads outdoors with picnic blankets, food, sake, badminton rackets, frisbees and dogs to relax under the blossoms.



Today was also particularly lovely because there were a number of people performing music at various locations in the park, and it was really sweet to hear some violins playing classical music.



There was even a band all the way from the Andes, Peru, performing traditional Peruvian folk songs on their instruments. They certainly attracted quite a crowd.




Here you can get some more detail, up close and personal with the cherry blossom.




This weekend we have plans to go do some more sightseeing at some very famous and historical areas, so stay tuned for more pictures next week!

Welcome to Japan

Tomorrow is the big day - my dad arrives in Tokyo in the morning! I hope to god that he will be able to take the train alone and make it to my station. I think he will be okay... the Tokyo transit system is very user-friendly with signs in English and all of the dudes who work in the station are always helping people who are lost. I'm sure he will be fine. Then again.... my dad DID lose his house keys on a daily basis during my stay in Thailand.... hmmmm.........

Trip to Mitake-san

Yesterday myself and two friends, Jana and Phillipe, made a trip to Mt. Mitake - or Mitake-san as the Japanese tend to call their mountains - for a day of hiking high in the mountains and deep in the valleys.

We met in Kokubunji station at 9 am sharp, and headed east by train to the small, quiet, secluded area of Mitake. Mitake-san is located in the Chichibu-Tama-Kai National Park, which covers more than 1250 square kilometers of pure bush. I was amazed at how, within 45 minutes, you are transported by train into rural towns, surrounded by mountains, and you can even catch glimpses of people kayaking in the rivers. It is really a different world compared to the neon chaos of downtown Tokyo.

The first step of our journey was taking the cable car up a very steep slope which, according to the guide book, climbs 420 metres in 6 minutes at a gradient of 47%!




At the top, there were, of course, some tourist traps with lots of little goodies for sale, such as this lovely hat.




Or for the very hungry, there were roasting dango - a sort of sticky ball made from rice flour that is very tasty when roasted on an open flame.




Say cheese!!! Yay! I got to be the cable car driver.




After all that horsing around, we were ready to get our butts up the mountain and start the real hike.



First we had to walk through the Mitake town, which was a really, reaaaally small little village with a few shops for tourists and a handful of restaurants. Most of the houses were old fashioned, many made from wood.



We also came across an example of small town life - the trust system.



You will see this is a road-side vegetable stand, but if you look in the top right corner you will see a box. This is where you put the money when you buy something. In rural areas - and even in some places in my own town - you will see this trust system in place.

According to my guide book, Mitake-san has been a popular site for mountain worship for about 2,000 years. Indeed, there were many, many shrines around, such as this one (sorry I didn't get the name).



In the town, we saw a building called 'Oshijutaju' - a ceremonial lodging house for pilgrims going up into the mountains to worship at the Mitake Shrine. The thatched roof was incredible. Unfortunately, the sign did not say how old this house was, but I've never seen a house like this in Japan until now.




After checking out the shrine, we were off again and up the mountain. The trails were very clean and easily marked in both Japanese and English (thank god) so it was really very nice. Further up the trail we came across the most famous shrine in Mitake, the Musashi Mitake Jinga Shrine.



According to the guide book, this particular mountain is considered sacred, so many ascetics would make a pilgrimage to Mitake-san to do rigorous religious training. Indeed there were people of all ages climbing the mountain to this shrine to pray. Below is a view of Tokyo, with fortunes tied onto the wire outside the shrine.



Shortly after that, we decided to stop for a bit at a picnic site and have a bite to eat. Phillipe was kind enough to bring fresh French bread and liver pate direct from France (can you tell he is French?), Jana brought the cheese, and I brought some inari - rice stuffed into these sweet tofu sleeves. The only thing missing was a bottle of wine! During lunch it was so cold and windy it actually began to snow - the only snow I've seen all winter in Tokyo!

After our break, it was back on the path, and deeper into the mountains.



Jana gives this tree a nice hug, saying it was perfect for 'yasumi' - rest! And here is another view from the trail.




Our next destination was Nanayo no Taki, a small waterfall. It was really quite small but the pool would have been nice for a quick dip, if it wasn't freezing! Below, Phillipe ponders his deepest thoughts.



Then it was back on the trail, which got quite steep actually, and higher into the mountain through a long stone trail called the Rock Gardens.



The Rock Gardens led us to the next stop - the Ayahiro no Taki, another small waterfall, but this one was complete with tori , the gate that marks the entrance to a shrine.



Apparently in the summer time, people come to Ayahiro to worship at this small wooden shrine, and sit under the waterfall to cleanse their souls. There was one man there, deep in prayer, and we tried not to disturb him.

After Ayahiro, we had the choice to either head back to the Mitake town, or to keep going, so with Jana the Map Master leading the way, we decided to climb to Mt. Nabewari. Climbing up the steep trail made me realize how out of shape I am, because I was huffing and puffing and easily out of breath. Not good!

But it was worth it when we got to the top, and stood there at an altitude of 1084 metres, and looked down on the world below, feeling the cold wind blowing on our faces, surrounded by nothing but mile after mile after mile or virgin forest. We found a small mountain shrine and decided to take a rest there and eat some cookies.



You will see that in this shrine someone has put a small bottle of sake as an offering, and many people have put coins too. The five cent coin with the hole in the middle is especially auspicious, but I didn't have one, so had to settle for a one cent offering to the mountain gods.

By then it was getting late, and we had been hiking for about six hours and soon it would be getting dark. So back down the mountain we went, from Mt Nabewari to Mitake-san again, and into the Mitake town for some rest and a cold beer in a tiny izakaya run by an old woman whose back was so badly bend her body resembled a question mark.

After we rested our weary feet, we walked back through the town, hopped onto the cable car, got on the bus, got on the train, and instantly fell asleep on our way home.

All in all, the hike was fantastic, very very enjoyable, good exercise, and with lots of different attractions... waterfalls, rivers, rock gardens, 1000-year-old trees, shrines, temples... the only thing I am disappointed about is that we didn't get to see the famous Flying Squirrels that apparently live in the forests! Maybe next time we will be so lucky.

Things That Make You Go 'Ewww'

Yesterday was a day of total freeness. You would be amazed at how many free attractions they have in Tokyo! We started our Freeness Tour at one of the most unique attractions in Tokyo -- the Meguro Parasite Museum -- which holds the honor of being the only official museum in the world dedicated entirely to the study of parasitology.

The museum was small, taking up only two floors of specimens, but its variety was quite incredible and was full to the brim of things that make you go 'eww'. It had every type of parasite imaginable, from things that fly and suck your blood, to worms that crawl deep, deep into your intestine, growing slowly, slowly, making you lose weight. It truly was stomach-turning, but morbidly fascinating!

Here are a few pictures that I snapped:




The creepy crawly alien-looking creature above is actually part of a dolphin's stomach that is infested with parasitic growth. Ewww.





Here is a tapeworm found in a Japanese man's body. It measured 8.8 metres long and the man had no idea he was host to this creature. Hanging next to the real thing is a white rope which shows you the full length of 8.8 metres. It was more than enough to stretch across the room. Eeew.




This one was almost enough to make me never want to eat sashimi again -- a fish with a massive parasite growing in its stomach. Some of the other fish had parasites growing on their eyes and in their gills. Ewww.




This picture, which I have simply named 'balls', is also taken in Japan, but the best part is the drawing on the left, which shows a man walking with his massive, parasite-swollen balls in a sling attached to a bamboo pole. Ewww.




This is enough to turn anyone off of curry crab and dumplins... Ewww.

The Parasite Museum was certainly an interesting and even educational attraction, but we didn't have the stomach to stay too long once we saw all the specimens. In fact I didn't feel like eating after that at all.

So we jumped on a train to Shinjuku and I was treated to the joy of trying out massive new golf drivers for free in the Victoria Golf shop. The best part of this store is the practice range room with equipment that measures your distance and speed. I was quite proud when, on the Ladies Clubs floor, I tried a driver and the lady working there said that I hit just like a man and need heavier clubs! So then we went to the men's floor and again I tried a few more clubs. God it felt good to walk off the street and hit 40 balls just for the heck of it. And I felt like a shiny shilling when the guy showed me the computer statistics, and said I actually hit the average distance of the typical Japanese male who comes into the store. Do I rock or what. When I have some more money I would love to buy some of the clubs I tested, especially the Mizuno which let me drive 200 yards! I can't wait.

After I was through stroking my golf ego and I was glistening with a light sheen from hitting the hell out of those drivers, we took a stroll through Shinjuku.




I tell you, I know I am a beach girl but I really get a kick out of this busy city. Sometimes it is too crowded and you feel you might go insane from the claustrophobia of human traffic. But I love when the evening is drawing near and all the neon lights start coming on downtown. Good fun.

We then walked to the free Government Observatory tower 45 floors up to take in the bright lights of the city as the sun was setting. Later, after deciding that our stomachs were strong enough to handle some food, we went to a small Chinese spot for gyoza and happy hour beer. God how I love gyoza, Chinese dumplings. I must have been Asian in a past life, I just know it.

Anyways, if anyone is coming to visit me, just let me know if you feel strong enough to handle the Parasite Museum! Do you think I should take my dad there???

Shop Till You Drop

Today I did what all young, hot blooded Japanese people do on a sunny 16-degree Saturday -- I went on an exhausting shopping spree! My destination today was the ultra-trendy Harajuku, the place in Tokyo considered the absolute mecca of youth culture.

Harajuku is famous for shopping, yes, but also for the 'Harajuku Girls' -- those kooky chicks who dress up in a variety of crazy costumes on the weekend and hang around by the Harajuku Station.

There are have different types of costumes: there are the Goths dressed in black with purple hair and multiple facial piercings, Lolitas dressed up like little girls, French Maids complete with aprons and frills, Schoolgirls in naughty uniforms, Sexy Nurses (sometimes also scary nurses, with blood on their uniforms), Superheros, and my personal favorite, the Anti-Goths, who wear a hell of a lot of neon colors, preferably in pinks and yellow.




Anti-Goths and a happy tourist. The baby is the best part of this picture - 'Ooooh! What's this in her hair? Let me grab it!'




Hmm.... what is she? Lolita? Semi-goth? I am not sure. What do you think?

This is the entrance to Takeshita Dori - a tiny, narrow pedestrian shopping street, insanely busy, jam packed with human traffic, and full to the brim of funky shops, quirky clothes, loud music and crepe cafes.



This is also, of course, a place full of stores selling outrageous costumes and accessories.



You too can become a Harajuku Girl!

I found some pretty funky things, but I was looking especially for some funky gifts for my dear knocked-up sister at home, particularly one of those little dangly things that you MUST have hanging from your keitai (cell phone).

But I was especially happy to find a particular item I have been looking for -- masu.



Note: I stole this picture from another website.

These are square cups for drinking sake, and may I say it is THE best way to drink sake. When you are in a restaurant, they put the masu on a small saucer, pour the sake and let it overflow onto the plate. It is meant to be a gesture of generosity. You pick it up carefully and drink from the corner of the cup. These cups are also made of wood, but the ones I bought are made of lacquer.

By evening time, my big toes were killing me as though it were Ash Wednesday, and I felt like joining this guy:



Then, it was back on the train, and home again, home again lickety split. I swear to god Tokyo is waaaaaaay too big and waaaaay too crowded on a weekend. You really do start to feel claustrophobic on the sidewalks because of the massive swarm of people surrounding you at every step. Going downtown is fun but it also makes me glad to live in the peace and quiet of the suburbs!