We got to Kyoto in about two and half hours. The station is amazing as well. Well lit and modern it has wide open spaces. What we do notice, though, is that it's not as well marked in English as Tokyo. Tokyo you could literally go anywhere using only the rails. Here you usually have to use the buses which are written only in Japanese and most people here don't speak English. I guess the locals here are either repulsed or afraid of the gaijin. It's unfortunate. Not what I was expecting as far as Japanese to show disdain openly. Friendly is going too far to describe their attitude. More like polite because they have to be. They openly chat with each other including other touring Japanese, but as far as outsiders are concerned they won't help or say hello to you if they think don't have to. There is definitely a change in attitude towards westerners here. It completely makes sense that the people in Tokyo are more accepting of outsiders since it is a major stop for traveler's. Kyoto is definitely more in line to what I was expecting as far as the culture is concerned. There are more parks, museums, shrines (or jinja) than Tokyo. It's more of a rural setting on teh verge of becoming a large city. Within minutes of leaving Kyoto Station we can see homes and mom and pop vendors.
Monday, November 08, 2004
On the way to Kyoto and Nara
The next morning we had to repack and get ready for the next leg of journey to Kyoto. Kyoto, known more for it's shrines and temples, is something I've really been looking forward to. We've taken close to 400 decent pictures of what we've seen so far, but this is one area I'm hoping will turn out great. We checked out of the hotel and walked to Shinjuku Station to take the Chuo Line to Tokyo Station where we would board the shinkansen (bullet train) To Kyoto. The trains here are the most efficient and cleanest in the world and this should be a relaxing experience.
The weather is expected to be clear and sunny, although the adverse weather has given El something of a cold. She sounds miserable and I hope she get better before we head out touring. While I'm thinking of it, we may upgrade our airline tickets to first class for a more pleasurable experience home. No more screaming kids for me and cramped leg room! Slippers and gourmet food is all we need home.
The weather is expected to be clear and sunny, although the adverse weather has given El something of a cold. She sounds miserable and I hope she get better before we head out touring. While I'm thinking of it, we may upgrade our airline tickets to first class for a more pleasurable experience home. No more screaming kids for me and cramped leg room! Slippers and gourmet food is all we need home.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch...
Bailey decided to do a little light reading at nights while we were away. I guess he figured if he couldn't join us, he could at least learn something new...
Monday, October 25, 2004
Sunday, October 24, 2004
Saturday, October 23, 2004
Back At The Keio Plaza Hotel
The train took about 45 minutes on the Marunouchi Line to Tokyo back to the Keio Plaza Hotel. Once there we checked in and our bellhop took us to (surprise, surprise) THE EXECUTIVE FLOOR. THe room was far nicer than the previous room. King size bed, lazy boy, awesome view of the city, hooked up with yukata kimonos and slippers, and more importantly INTERNET access. I let El take a nap while I took a hot shower and got ready for dinner. Since the storm had literally put a damper on our plans we decided to get dressed up for a nice dinner and hang out at our hotel. She had chosen for the hotspot to be Glass Court, a modern buffet style restaurant. Much, much nicer than any other buffet we've ever had we feasted. Foie gras with risotto, roast beef, smoked duck, fresh sea scallops, crab puree, seafood fritti and such with wine to to wash it down. For dessert we sampled several cakes and green tea ice cream. Stuffed silly we headed up to the 45th floor to have a night cap at SkyBar Polestar, a jazzy little cigar bar with an amazing view of downtown Tokyo, that would put Manuel's on 28th to shame. Afterwards we retired to our suite and passed out.
Friday, October 22, 2004
Exploring After The Typhoon
The next morning we set out to try and salvage what was left of our stay in Hakone and do some exploration. The morning fog covered everything up in the mountain and made everything feel surreal. Even with the sticky humidity, the area was incredibly serene. We took a short nature walk and decided to head back. By this point I was ready to hop onto the bullet train, or shinkansen, back to Tokyo for another shower and something to eat.
We were met by a pleasant elder taxi driver who was instructed to take us to the train station. He even tried to point out peaks, but soon gave up since he couldn't speak English at all. An hour later we arrived and our driver went inside to the station to check on our passage back. After a bit he came back frazzled making various phone calls and speaking to us in machine gun Japanese. We tried as best we could to make out what he wanted us to do motioning us to stay in the cab. Finally I made some hand gestures and motioned for him to find someone who could speak English. Ah-ha! Running inside he found a young man fluent in English and had him explain to us that the bullet train was cancelled due to bad weather. He quickly refunded us money and reissued a new set which made us take the regular subway back to Tokyo (3x longer to arrive).
From there our driver took us to the correct line and wanted to wait with us to make sure we got to our train safely and on-time. I felt bad for him and instructed him not to worry and we would be ok if he left. Even then he initially refused wanting to wait. Wow! Talk about service! I gave him 1000 Yen which he refused:
(Driver)) "No, no!"
(Me trying to pass him the bill) "Domo arigato" ("Thank you very much", long bow)
(Driver) "No, no" *(bowing back)
(Me) "Chu-soku." ("lunch", still trying to pass money)
(Driver) "no, no, ok"
(Me) "onegai shimass" ("please")
(Driver) (Takes money, long bow again and a handshake from El) My first semi-successful conversation. What a great feeling.
We were met by a pleasant elder taxi driver who was instructed to take us to the train station. He even tried to point out peaks, but soon gave up since he couldn't speak English at all. An hour later we arrived and our driver went inside to the station to check on our passage back. After a bit he came back frazzled making various phone calls and speaking to us in machine gun Japanese. We tried as best we could to make out what he wanted us to do motioning us to stay in the cab. Finally I made some hand gestures and motioned for him to find someone who could speak English. Ah-ha! Running inside he found a young man fluent in English and had him explain to us that the bullet train was cancelled due to bad weather. He quickly refunded us money and reissued a new set which made us take the regular subway back to Tokyo (3x longer to arrive).
From there our driver took us to the correct line and wanted to wait with us to make sure we got to our train safely and on-time. I felt bad for him and instructed him not to worry and we would be ok if he left. Even then he initially refused wanting to wait. Wow! Talk about service! I gave him 1000 Yen which he refused:
(Driver)) "No, no!"
(Me trying to pass him the bill) "Domo arigato" ("Thank you very much", long bow)
(Driver) "No, no" *(bowing back)
(Me) "Chu-soku." ("lunch", still trying to pass money)
(Driver) "no, no, ok"
(Me) "onegai shimass" ("please")
(Driver) (Takes money, long bow again and a handshake from El) My first semi-successful conversation. What a great feeling.
Thursday, October 21, 2004
Palace Hotel Hot Springs
Since we had booked an overnight stay here at the Palace Hotel we had to part ways with our new traveling companions. Our travel agent arranged for a taxi to take us to the hotel. Palace Hotel is a resort known for its hot springs. Unfortunately, we were forced to stay inside because the typhoon had closed down all shrines, museums and shops. With nothing left to do we decided to go low impact and chill out. Personally I was glad to since we had been moving at a pretty hectic pace since we arrived. We ate dinner at the Humming Cafe Restaurant and crashed out. El took advantage of the wee hours and everyone asleep to try out the hot springs. Why wait so long? The onsen, or hot spring baths, require that you share a common changing room, clean yourself thoroughly and soak in your birthday suit with everyone else. Of course, men and women have their own baths. El came back around 6:30am trying to get me to try it out. Unfortunately, I didn't feel like "comparing notes" with the locals and chickened out.
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
I Think I'm Turning Japanese...I Really Think So!
With nothing better to do in our hotel room during the typhoon in Hakone we decided to immerse ourselves introspectively...
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Most of the tour rained throughout and made visibility on the rides zero percent because of the fog. We enjoyed chatting with everyone though and made the best of it. Only a handful of us braved the typhoon weather to make a trek in Owaku-duni Hot Springs, or Valley of Great Boiling. The springs are a natural occurence from a collapsed volcano 3 to 4,000 years ago and made up all the springs in the town of Hakone. Many corporations including Nissan and IBM kept summer homes here.
Monday, October 18, 2004
Mt. Fuji and Hakone
We checked out of the Keio Plaza Hotel and headed out towards Mt. Fuji and the town of Hakone for an overnight stay. The weather was already looking a little grey and we are having doubts about it. We met a woman from California, named Patti, who came with her brother who was in the music business. Apparently she was very well versed in Japanese culture and gave us great information in exchange for me helping her figure out the rail system when her guide fell sick and she had to travel alone.
The coach ride to Mt. Fuji was guided by a pleasant woman, named Chizi-ko, or "Cheese" as she allowed some to call her. Immediately we figured out who was cool to hang out with and who was a pain in the ass from the get go. One Indian man and his wife deserved a great kick in the ass as he thought he was better than everyone else and barked orders to Chizi-ko, including stopping the bus so a woman sitting in his brother's seat would move somewhere else. What an a$$hole. Chizi-ko never conceded to his demands with certain foods ("We want curry for lunch, make sure the coffee is hot, go ahead and make the cream hot, too."), seating arrangements, etc. Since it's not customary for Japanese to scold or complain she kept a tight lip. We met two women from Maryland who we spent a good part of the tour with since they made good conversation and had a great energy. Plus, it helped that they yelled at P.I.T.A. guy whenever he got whiny. Eventually, he got the idea he was being a d*ckhead when nobody wanted to speak to him or sit with him on the cablecar or the ferryboat or...
The coach ride to Mt. Fuji was guided by a pleasant woman, named Chizi-ko, or "Cheese" as she allowed some to call her. Immediately we figured out who was cool to hang out with and who was a pain in the ass from the get go. One Indian man and his wife deserved a great kick in the ass as he thought he was better than everyone else and barked orders to Chizi-ko, including stopping the bus so a woman sitting in his brother's seat would move somewhere else. What an a$$hole. Chizi-ko never conceded to his demands with certain foods ("We want curry for lunch, make sure the coffee is hot, go ahead and make the cream hot, too."), seating arrangements, etc. Since it's not customary for Japanese to scold or complain she kept a tight lip. We met two women from Maryland who we spent a good part of the tour with since they made good conversation and had a great energy. Plus, it helped that they yelled at P.I.T.A. guy whenever he got whiny. Eventually, he got the idea he was being a d*ckhead when nobody wanted to speak to him or sit with him on the cablecar or the ferryboat or...
Guardhouse at the Imperial Palace Gardens
The Imperial Gardens was not at all what I expected. I guess hanging out at Epcot or Yerba Buena Park in San Francisco threw me off a little. Japanese gardens are stereotyped as flowering gardens with fountains and ponds loaded with medium sized koi fish. Wooden bridges and trellises are plentiful with stone carvings and red and gold-painted Tori gates. Not so. This time of year foliage is going thru a transitional stage and what flowers were still left were probably blown off by the previous week's typhoon. Nonetheless, we were lucky with beautiful cool weather and a clear sky. The gardens themselves were clean and simple. People everywhere were either on their lunchbreaks or having picnics with family. Digging a little deeper into the 173-acre area we found streams and small rocks with falling water. The koi here aren't medium-sized, they're GIGANTIC! Easily two feet long I know they live for quite a long time so these fish must be ancient. by fish standards.
The new palace is also on this property and is where the royal family reside, but it's closed off to visitors. The only exception is on the Emperor's birthday and New Year's Eve. It was pretty interesting to see some of the original samurai guardhouses,
The new palace is also on this property and is where the royal family reside, but it's closed off to visitors. The only exception is on the Emperor's birthday and New Year's Eve. It was pretty interesting to see some of the original samurai guardhouses,
Saturday, October 09, 2004
Ginza at night
The Ginza district at first seemed similar to Shinjuku with it's department stores, restaurants, and bars. But that was quickly dismissed upon entering our first department store underground via the rail station. Two floors of the most beautiful dishes imaginable from various vendors. This is not the food courts like back home AT ALL with your choice of Olive Garden Express, California Pizza Kitchen, McDonald's or Manchu Wok. This is the Mecca of food which they called the FOOD GARDEN. Here vendors only specialized in certain food items be it plates of lacey tempura shrimp, fish and vegetables; bentos of sashimi; roasted duck; barbecue; vegetables; butcher meats and an artery clogging selection of pastries, cakes, chocolates and other sweets. EVERYTHING was amazing. People shuffled up and down aisles of counters sampling everything. I broke down and bought us a snack of tempura and desserts from Giotto's of Mango Tart and a gold dusted chocolate mousse cake. INCREDIBLE. We're coming back here for sure.
The rest of Ginza is every high end boutique you've ever heard of - Burberry's, Gucci, Prada, Armani - and the latest cars on display, computer equipment. A couple we met later in Hakone from Palms Springs told us of 29" flat panel tv's at Sony for only $200. Our Aquos for the master bedroom at home cost $500 for a 15". I gotta go back to see if this is true. Voltage here is similar to U.S. with about 10 cycles less, but it should still be US compliable, Hmmmm...souvenir anyone?
Around 9:30 we were beat up pretty good and decided t hit the rail back to Shinjuku to pack for our trip to Mt. Fuji and Hakone via motorcoach. The typhoon is almost here so it'll be heads or tails of what kind of weather to expect tomorrow on the mountain.
We had dinner tonight down the street from the hotel at a local pub/eatery. Our rule of thumb has been is if it's packed with locals, eat there. This was a prime example. We had no problem getting a table we just had to share it with 3 other groups - two couples and a set of three older businesswomen who obviously were not amused by our presence. After a quick nod hello to them they immediately asked for another smaller, more intimate table. This on some instances has been the normal attitude from the older generation. Even at our hotel, which apparently caters to businessmen we were often given very short, undetailed answers to our questions. On the other hand, the younger staff went out of their way to explain things or give directions and make sure we did not get lost. I've read that slowly the older generation is becoming more receptive to western culture, but SL-O-O-OWLY.
The rest of Ginza is every high end boutique you've ever heard of - Burberry's, Gucci, Prada, Armani - and the latest cars on display, computer equipment. A couple we met later in Hakone from Palms Springs told us of 29" flat panel tv's at Sony for only $200. Our Aquos for the master bedroom at home cost $500 for a 15". I gotta go back to see if this is true. Voltage here is similar to U.S. with about 10 cycles less, but it should still be US compliable, Hmmmm...souvenir anyone?
Around 9:30 we were beat up pretty good and decided t hit the rail back to Shinjuku to pack for our trip to Mt. Fuji and Hakone via motorcoach. The typhoon is almost here so it'll be heads or tails of what kind of weather to expect tomorrow on the mountain.
We had dinner tonight down the street from the hotel at a local pub/eatery. Our rule of thumb has been is if it's packed with locals, eat there. This was a prime example. We had no problem getting a table we just had to share it with 3 other groups - two couples and a set of three older businesswomen who obviously were not amused by our presence. After a quick nod hello to them they immediately asked for another smaller, more intimate table. This on some instances has been the normal attitude from the older generation. Even at our hotel, which apparently caters to businessmen we were often given very short, undetailed answers to our questions. On the other hand, the younger staff went out of their way to explain things or give directions and make sure we did not get lost. I've read that slowly the older generation is becoming more receptive to western culture, but SL-O-O-OWLY.
The Imperial Palace Gardens
The Imperial Gardens was not at all what I expected. I guess hanging out at Epcot or Yerba Buena Park in San Francisco threw me off a little. Japanese gardens are stereotyped as flowering gardens with fountains and ponds loaded with medium sized koi fish. Wooden bridges and trellises are plentiful with stone carvings and red and gold-painted Tori gates. Not so. This time of year foliage is going thru a transitional stage and what flowers were still left were probably blown off by the previous week's typhoon. Nonetheless, we were lucky with beautiful cool weather and a clear sky. The gardens themselves were clean and simple. People everywhere were either on their lunchbreaks or having picnics with family. Digging a little deeper into the 173-acre area we found streams and small rocks with falling water. The koi here aren't medium-sized, they're GIGANTIC! Easily two feet long I know they live for quite a long time so these fish must be ancient. by fish standards.
The new palace is also on this property and is where the royal family reside, but it's closed off to visitors. The only exception is on the Emperor's birthday and New Year's Eve. It was pretty interesting to see some of the original samurai guardhouses, artillery storage and defense houses. Almost all of them have been destroyed and only a handful remain.
The new palace is also on this property and is where the royal family reside, but it's closed off to visitors. The only exception is on the Emperor's birthday and New Year's Eve. It was pretty interesting to see some of the original samurai guardhouses, artillery storage and defense houses. Almost all of them have been destroyed and only a handful remain.
2004 Tokyo Designer's Week
At every turn in Japan I've been surprised by something new. No matter how outrageous or unusual an experience seems there is no end to what comes around the corner. Today we decided to explore Central Tokyo and its outlying areas, more specifically The Imperial Palace Gardens, the Ginza district and the fish auction/market along the river.
We started out fairly late so we missed almost all of the fish auction (5am-10am) and still had a 30-40 minute commute by rail so we gave up on the river for another time. We were starving and had our Hawaiian breakfast of white rice, spam, poached egg, salad and tea across the street at Royal Host. All the food is portioned much smaller than by western standards which makes sense why they are all slimmer in build and considering all the walking they do. Aaah those damn Gaijin with their oversized everything...homes, cars, food (Supersize please!) and waistlines.
Before we left our room I noticed an exhibition below across the street. After breakfast we decided to see what the hub bub was all about. The local art and design university were hosting outdoor furniture design exhibits. These were to be solutions to the parks and transportation stations lack of seating. The students hung out nearby to encourage people to try out the designs for themselves. All of them utilized clean, modern lines with innovative solutions. One in particular caught my eye. The student used cut tree stumps and bamboo limbs sanded down to a super smooth surface while still maintaining all the natural knots and imperfections in the wood. To me it reflected the traditional Japanese philosophy of incorporating all things without disrupting it's natural environment. I did enjoy all the other exhibits, but this particular one impressed me because of the student's ingenuity to maintain his culture's roots while solving his task.
We started out fairly late so we missed almost all of the fish auction (5am-10am) and still had a 30-40 minute commute by rail so we gave up on the river for another time. We were starving and had our Hawaiian breakfast of white rice, spam, poached egg, salad and tea across the street at Royal Host. All the food is portioned much smaller than by western standards which makes sense why they are all slimmer in build and considering all the walking they do. Aaah those damn Gaijin with their oversized everything...homes, cars, food (Supersize please!) and waistlines.
Before we left our room I noticed an exhibition below across the street. After breakfast we decided to see what the hub bub was all about. The local art and design university were hosting outdoor furniture design exhibits. These were to be solutions to the parks and transportation stations lack of seating. The students hung out nearby to encourage people to try out the designs for themselves. All of them utilized clean, modern lines with innovative solutions. One in particular caught my eye. The student used cut tree stumps and bamboo limbs sanded down to a super smooth surface while still maintaining all the natural knots and imperfections in the wood. To me it reflected the traditional Japanese philosophy of incorporating all things without disrupting it's natural environment. I did enjoy all the other exhibits, but this particular one impressed me because of the student's ingenuity to maintain his culture's roots while solving his task.
Shibuya Kabuki
Even through the madness of Shibuya's neon lit nightlife, vestiges of the old culture maintain a foothold. Here performers dressed as kabuki advertise an upcoming show.
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