June 2009
81 posts
WatchOur last $2 in Kansai Airport.
Ultraman Steampunk Train
Well, we’re back in the states after another long travel day. The highlight, without question, was the awesome Ultraman Steampunk Train we rode today, the rapi:t b (rapito beta).
This bad boy whisks you from Osaka over to Kansai Airport, which is built on an artificial island. Pretty cool stuff, and a nice way to end our trip. Sommer, in her infinite wisdom, budgeted perfectly which meant...
Our last day
This will be our last post from Japan, we’re packing our things up and will be leaving for the airport in a few hours. Very sad, I know, but the blogging is not done yet! There are lots of cultural things that we’ve noticed that haven’t really fit anywhere else in our posts, so we’re going to do some residual blogging once we’re back home. In other words, keep coming...
From the top of a mountain to the bottom of the...
The morning started off bright and early with a 6 am Buddhist service. Part of the appeal of staying at a temple on Mount Koya is taking part in their morning service, which is quite an experience. Shojoshin-in, one of the oldest temples in Koyasan, was originally built over 1,150 years ago by Kukai himself (aka Kobodaishi, the founder of Koyasan), which made the service feel that much more...
When hinges creak in doorless forests…
After dinner we waited until just before dark and then headed out for Okunoin, Kobo Daishi’s Shrine, via the 1 mile path through the cemetery. Yes, we waited until dark to visit a cemetery. Yes, we are strange.
The path is lit well enough to walk, but only outlines the silhouettes of the more than 200,000 tombstones here. The entire cemetery is in the center of a centuries old forest, so in...
10,000 torii and a journey to enlightenment
We began our day by retracing our footsteps from last night to Fushimi Inari Shrine. It was much better during the day, despite the rain – we could actually see what was beyond all of the Torii! We found numerous shrines tucked into the wooded trails that meander through the torii pathway, many with stone foxes, which are said to be messengers of the gods. We also found a beautiful lake that we...
Antiques, a Thousand Statues and Tree Top Temples
Today blew our minds. Literally. Right out of our collective left ear. This city is absolutely incredible. We made the tough decision to axe Himeji from our itinerary this morning, figuring there was a ton of things to see in Kyoto and even though Himeji is something we really wanted to see, the trip there and back would eat precious time. It was a very hard thing to decide, but we’re both...
Geishas, Shabu-shabu, and Shopping
After resting for a few moments back at the hotel, we headed out for Gion, a famous geisha district. The district itself looks rather plain at first, especially in comparison to the dazzling lights coming from the nearby shopping and nightlife district. Upon further inspection, we found lots of dining options and shops, and we even spotted a geisha! We were not fast enough with the camera, though....
Oh deer
Today we opted to head out first thing in the morning for Nara, about an hour from Kyoto. I was pretty excited about the abundance of temples and the park itself, but I think we were both most interested in checking out the sacred deer. The nice thing about Nara is that you sort of just get out of the train station and walk north until you run into the park. Once inside the park it is just a big...
WatchSacred Nara deer chomp on Sommer’s map instead of the cookies she bought for them.
Kyoto in one minute
I’m spending one minute on some super quick observations about Kyoto so far:
Definitely a bike city (they dominate the sidewalks, alleys and just about everywhere).
Definitely a different vibe than Tokyo, more laid back and more eye contact (yay for that!).
Definitely easier to navigate than Tokyo (grid street layout with the streets clearly marked).
Definitely has a nightlife (we just...
Bullets and castles
Today started off with one more trip to the Disney mecca of souvenirs, a last look around the hotel and a quick couple of train hops over to Tōkyō station to catch the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Kyoto. We had a bit of trouble locating the ticket exchange counter (we had vouchers purchased ahead of time), but once we did it was quick and easy to get on the train. The Shinkansen platforms are...
WatchLooking out the window of a speeding bullet.
Moving on
Another day, another morning of waking up too early. We’ll be heading down to breakfast in a minute here, and then wrapping everything up and checking out. From there we’ll take the monorail to Maihama station and the Keiyō Line to Tōkyō station where we’ll catch the Shinkansen, which I am definitely looking forward to. As Sommer said in the last post, we had our bags sent ahead...
WatchPooh’s Hunny Hunt. There’s another video here. Such an incredible ride system.
Last Day at Tokyo Disney
Today was our last day to take in all that is Tokyo Disney. We started at Disneyland where we were able to film some of the people running to the fastpass line for the new Monsters Inc. ride, then hopped back over to DisneySea, which is just too incredible to not re-visit on our last day here. We were able to catch a walking tour of the Journey to the Center of the Earth ride line (yes, a tour of...
On being polite
It is interesting to see which of the things we’ve read or heard about Japan are actually true. Americans are really good at thinking we are experts on everything, including other cultures, so we travel expecting to already know how everything will be. The fun part is finding out the truth.
One of the things we had read and heard was that the Japanese are extremely polite, and I’m not...
Contrasty
Today was our first day at Tokyo Disneyland and the theme was contrast, with a sub theme of closed. The park stands in stark contrast to DisneySea, with far less in the way of details and opulence. Don’t get me wrong, the rides are fantastic, but overall the park leaves a bit to be desired. I think part of the problem might be that they designed it to house a ton of people, so the...
WatchThe jokes are just as bad in Japanese.
On Food
Well, another day of waking up hours and hours before everyone else, so I figured we’d talk a little about food. We’ve been trying to take pictures of everything we eat because that’s one of those things that you spend a ton of time doing, but never really document. So, let’s talk about food.
First off, we have yet to have a bad meal. In the interest of full disclosure,...
WatchMount Prometheus erupting, as seen from our room.
A Day at Disney
Have we mentioned how much we like this place? Today was another splendid day at Tokyo DisneySea and it was just as enjoyable as it was yesterday. Perhaps even more so now that we knew where everything was and could make quick time around the park.
I am sad to report that we finally found out that Journey to the Center of the Earth is closed until June 24. Can you believe that? We’ll miss...
WatchGyoza sausage bun being enjoyed at Tokyo DisneySea.
WatchGood morning, DisneySea!
WatchPacked like sardines onto the train yesterday. We had a little extra room because of our luggage, but it was tight!
Welcome to Disney Heaven
For all of you following the blog for the amazing culture and history of Japan, you can stop reading for the next few days - we have arrived at Disney. For many it would seem rather odd to spend time at an American invention while in Japan, but for us it is as natural as when we hit Disneyland Paris while visiting London. We are Disney fanatics, and as Disney fanatics we have found shangri-la.
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WatchGhetto wide angle tour of our room at the Hotel Mira Costa, Tokyo DisneySea.
WatchOh no, there goes Tokyo.
Ninja Akasaka
Tonight was quite an experience - definitely the first time we’ve ever been invited into the secret lair of ninjas and been invited to dinner with them! I located Ninja Akasaka some way or another and I was immediately intrigued, even if it did seem like a bit of a tourist trap. It didn’t help when we asked the concierge to help us make reservations - he said “oooohhh,...
WatchThe railway/subway system in Japan is insanely awesome. Clean, reliable, efficient and extremely easy to navigate. I <3 you Japan!
Mass. Of. Humanity.
Today was a day of being completely overwhelmed. We started off at another museum, and once again it appears that the Japanese are really damn good at putting together incredible museums. The Edo-Tokyo Museum is a government-run museum devoted to the history of Tokyo. Everything about this place was incredible, and we had a great time learning about the history of this amazing city.
From the...