Double Ueno

I've been too busy to write! (by internet law, any amateur blog must post that at least once; with a 80% chance of it being the last thing ever posted).

So; I'm going slightly out of order. This post is of the two days I spent in Ueno and Yoyogi park, both of which are in Tokyo. The first time I went to the zoo, and to scout out the rest of the area. Ueno has a whole cluster of museums, art galleries, and park space... but everything closes around 5:00pm. Given the ~2 hours it takes from when I walk out of my hotel, till when I step foot inside Ueno... that means I can't get a ton of stuff done in a single day.

 Ueno Zoo entrance

 I'm not going to post a thousand animal pictures; but I really love owls. 

After the zoo closed, I hopped back on Tokyo's circular train line (the Yamanote), and made for Yoyogi park. I didn't get far in as people were mostly emptying out; but I did see some awesome lighting.

Round two! I head for the national museum. I don't know what I will find, but for 600 Yen (~$7.50) I figure I can't go wrong. 

 These are all Buddhas from around the 6th century. 

 The pottery on the far right is from the Jomon period - it dates to 10,000 BCE.  

10,000 BCE.

Those jars kinda blew my mind.

Anyway; tons of OLD stuff; amazing art, swords, paintings, scrolls. Good historic museum fare. Two different buildings were open, and I hit both of them. After, I wondered through the areas in between museums looking for food, and settled on a curry-pizza. It was boss.

 The park area surrounding Ueno.

After food, I went to the science museum. Sadly, very little was translated. I did attempt to look for their offerings on nuclear energy (since it's such a hot topic around here) - and either was unsuccessful, or it was conspicuously absent.

 I looked underneath for a potted plant. If it had been there... I would have lost it.

Then; round two at Yoyogi. It was an amazing day out, so I assumed people would be out in droves - and I was right. Everywhere, people just laid out blankets or tarps, and hung out with people. Lots of food, lots of alcohol, and lots of music. It actually feels a little backwards; about what's acceptable and where. America is rude just about everywhere, but parks are alcohol free and quiet. In Japan, open alcohol is acceptable just about everywhere, and people set up amps in the park to rock with their band. I do like Japan's version more, for the record.

I heard something that appeared to be ska at one point, and just started to follow the music. I ended up at a free outdoor concert series towards Shibuya. There was also a massive free trade bazaar going on... everything from candles to underwear.

Half the photos ... the other half. 

Rainy Season

So; June is the rainy season in Japan. Which just means I have to take what nice nights I can, and dart out to explore as I can. Last weekend, I decided to check out Roppongi on Friday night. The tricky part is; Roppongi doesn't really start to get going until after 11pm; so I would be there till the trains started up again at 5am on Saturday.

Worth it!

I started out in Shibuya. There is a street crossing there that is absolutely hypnotic. It crosses in a bunch of different ways, and all the street crossings go green at the same time.

This means that the streets just flood with people; all of whom are able to get where they are going, and not run into each other. I liken it to when you see a massive flock of birds in the air that can bank and turn without colliding. And then the light goes red... and the streets are empty. It's magic.

I got dinner at a TGIF's, because I had heard that they were something else. This happened, spontaneously...

The rain came sooner then I expected, so I ducked into a bar once I got to Roppongi. It was absolutely the right one; I ended up meeting some fantastic people, and spending the night talking and drinking. You would never believe it; but the girl in the below picture is a scotch fan.

When 5am rolled around, I deposited myself on a train, and got myself home. I even somehow tapped into the ancient art of sleeping on the train, and waking up right before your stop comes! I proceeded to sleep a bunch more Saturday; and the did productive things around the hotel on Sunday.

Then on this last Thursday, the weather got awesome out again - so I ran back to Tokyo. I do really love Tokyo. I had mapped out a route between Shinbashi and Akihabara to walk, that went through Ginza (Ginza being the super high class shopping area of Tokyo).

 This is Ginza

It was good stuff. I ate at a cafe/panini place somewhere along the route... and got to Akihabara with just enough time to play a game of DDR that almost made me miss the last train back.

All the Pictures

Hakone

Last weekend, I went to Hakone. It was amazing. Let me explain...

The tour bus left at ungodly o'clock in the morning. Good: It left from right outside a Starbucks! Bad: The Starbucks was closed. Yeah... that was salt in my very sleep wounds. I fell asleep on the bus. BUT - when I awoke, to what did my wonder eyes did appear? A Japanese highway stop... that had a bakery in it! It was what I imagine a Sheetz/Wawa is in Japan, but a billion times nicer. I got milk tea, a donut-thing, an a baseball sized onigiri for the road.

Our first destination - the Hakone open-air museum! I had not known what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised. I'm not necessarily an art buff, but when you combine that with woods, and winding paths, and hills... yes please!

 This may be the best picture I've ever taken

There are a ton more pictures in the link at the bottom; check them out!

Anyway; back on the bus, and to the volcano! Hakone has an active volcano that pumps out sulfur and natural hot springs. We made our approach via hanging cart things.

Our card looked like that, but with a dozen tourists pressed against the side.

Magma dome. Made of once molten hot mag-ma. You are reading this in Doctor Evil's voice.

We stopped here for lunch. The local specialty are eggs which are hard boiled in the boiling springs (see above). The eggs end up black on the outside, on account of the sulfur in the water. They looked awesome, tasted normal, and supposedly add seven years to your life. Here's to an underutilized life insurance policy...

 There was a boat ride on a pirate looking ship. We couldn't see much out of it on account of the fog.

Shrine! We ended up at an amazing waterside shrine. The Torii was gorgeous. I could honestly just spend hours at places like this, soaking in the quiet majesty.

Afterwards; we headed back. I was exhausted. My camera was dead. My kindle even bit it on the ride back. I slept well that night.

All the pictures!

Yokohama

Back on the 31st, I headed in to Yokohama - a relativly large city right to the north of Yokosuka. I had browsed some maps, but didn't have a real plan.

(Spoiler: this is going to be a short post, in anticipation of the next *huge* post where I write about my *awesome* trip to Hakone).

Nissan has a huge building, which includes a public walkway. I was heading from the train station / mall towards the pier, and it took me smack dab through their corporate headquarters, which includes live presentations on their new developments. When I got there, there was a woman talking about their new taxi.

Two pictures of amazing architecture. The first one is Landmark Tower.

I knew I was doing a good job exploring, when I found the world's only museum dedicated to Cupnoodles. Sadly, it was closed (or at least not admitting new visitors) - so I would have to return later. I don't think I'm that hardcore a Cupnoodles fan, though...

The Redbrick Warehouse was amazing looking from the outside... but lacking inside. Shops with stuff, and food. It all kinda reeked of location-based price inflation... so I didn't stay near as long as I thought.

Without planning it, I hit nearly every major sight in Yokohama, I believe. There was a massive Ferris wheel at an amusement park... and a ship... and then I hit China town. At that point, I'd walked five miles... and was tired. So I jumped a subway back to the train... and the train to work... and then walked back to the hotel.

Tokyo!

Back on Saturday; I took off for Tokyo! (Technically I was in Tokyo when I went to Asakusa; but I'm not going to count that). I had done some preliminary research, noted some districts that I wanted to visit; but it was more or less unplanned (at least as "unplanned" as I go...)

I didn't get out till the afternoon - so I headed right for Harajuku. Harajuku is a younger/fashion district, that attracts all sorts of wild dress, including cosplayers - but I had heard that it was pretty quiet at night, so I wanted to make sure I didn't miss anything there. When I got off the train, it wasn't apparent which way to go - so I just followed the largest crowd of the most interesting people... and found Takeshite Street (above)! It was crowded, and full of crazy little shops.

 (I was able to snap one shot of this store, before I was waved off)

I eventually emerged from the river of people to a main road... where I saw a fragmented portal into another dimension. The other dimension turned out very mall like; but that made the entrance no less awesome. It was all high fashion inside, with a Starbucks at the highest level. There are many, many Starbucks.

 But, since this is Japan - I also had the option of crossing the street, and disappearing into a thick, beautiful, serene forest. Meiji Shrine stood behind an impressive Torii; and I could not resist.

 (Outdoor museum / history exhibit)

At the shrine; there was a wedding. At the other shrine I visited Saturday... there was a wedding. I'm noticing a trend here. So far it hasn't stopped me from getting inside any shines (I usually get there in advance of the wedding party), which is good.

After Harajuku, I made a quick stop in Shinjuku - the "downtown" area. It had less to do (at least, that I was able to ascertain with a shallow investigation - so I snapped a picture, and moved on).

 Finally, I arrived at Akihabara - the "electric town" district, full of arcades, manga shops, internet cafes, maid cafes, electronics shops, and sex toy shops (which I had to investigate for "professional" reasons, *ahem*).

I almost didn't leave (actually... I sort of didn't; but wait for those details). The arcades were smoky, but full of lights and sounds that made them appeal to me. It was like a Las Vegas that was full of people like me (sorta), playing games that are anything but mindless lever pulling... it was amazing. The sex toy shop was seven stories tall, and... exhaustive in its selection.

I floated around until I ran into a girl from Ohio, who looked a little out of place (to be honest; all non-Japanese people seem out of place, but this girl had a certain "I'm looking for something" stare going on). Turns out the object of the search was reasonably priced food - so I took her to a sushi-go-round I had spotted earlier, and we ate and chatted.

Now; somethings to know before I continue...

• Trains are effectively the only way in and out of Tokyo; cars are prohibitively expensive to get in (via tolls), and park. 
• Tons of people work in Tokyo, and commute in - many from two to three hours away.
• Japanese "salarymen" love to cut loose after work at bars, arcades, doing karoke, ect.
• All the trains in Japan stop running at midnight.

These factors have lead to some unique business types in Tokyo, that cater to people who miss their last train home (which, as you could have figured out, could involve leaving as early as 9pm) - or are too drunk to attempt the journey. Capsule hotels are one option - they are (approximately) 3'x3'x8' tubes with beds in them, stacked several high, where you can sleep the night relatively cheep. The other option, is to find a 24x7 internet cafe (which generally have private booths/rooms), and check in till the trains start up in the morning (or you have to return to work). Both of these types of establishments have even evolved to provide the option for showers, breakfasts, and even fresh shirts and ties out of vending machines.

I knew I wanted to have this experience at some point this trip.

By the time my Ohio friend and I finished sushi, sake, playing dance-dance-revolution in the arcade, and briefly flirting with the idea of going into a karaoke bar... it was well past when I would have had to start the transit back to the hotel. She was able to make the subway back to the hostel she was staying at (it was nearby) - and I found this...

Since I was getting in later the peak, the private rooms were taken - but this reclining seat, with computer, was relatively secluded at the end of the row.

I spent some time online (using my masterful Windows XP knowledge to navigate an Operating System that was in Japanese), but wanted to attempt some shut eye before I roused myself for a 5:00am train, there were snores coming up from a number of adjacent cubes, and I could not figure out how to type an apostrophe. With my hat over my eyes, and the provided headphones blasting white noise into my ears, I was able to doze off.

Sanja Matsuri Festival

Saturday went nothing like planned. 

I got on the train headed towards Yokohama; a large city on the outskirts of Tokyo, that has a pretty cool  looking district with museums, parks, ect. I was just going to wonder around, and see what I could find.

On the way there, I ran into a young guy from Portland, Oregon. As we're the only two people on the train car that can reasonably converse with each other, we get talking. He's trying to make his way to this festival in Asakusa, to meet a friend - and that sounds even more interesting then what I have planned (I didn't know it was going on, but Google confirmed it) - so I decided to tag along.

Right choice. The Sanja Matsuri ("Three Shrine Festival") is one of the three major Shinto festivals each year, and (according to Wikipedia) - "...the wildest and largest".

 This is a street.

Far as I can tell, it's all about these people in green outfits (with little to no pants), carrying around shrines and chanting. This isn't incredibly descriptive, so I took a video! Shrine comes in at about a minute in.

Still shot of the shrine

The shrines seemed to aim to pass through the gates. 

It wasn't all just pants-less revelry on the streets. There was also lots of activity going on around the major shrine in town (I say major, because there are shrines and temples every time you turn around). This one was amazingly green - and like everything else in Japan, super well kept and clean. 

I ate some different street foods here, including some oddly candied strawberry on a stick. Oh, and went into some mini-amusement park. It had one of the towers that shot you straight up, that looked to give a great view of the town. It did; but I was prohibited from bringing my phone along with me to capture it. Still was worth it.

When everything was said and done, I was exhausted... and then I had to ride the trains. Everything going out of the festival was packed, so it was standing room only on the subway and train. Then I had to walk back to the hotel, which was probably another two miles. Being out so late, I did get a great view of what the night is like in Yokosuka, on a Saturday.

I've not made it out to Yokohama, as originally intended. But that will persist, and this was a fleeting chance. I'm just happy that when presented with the chance to go the extra (couple dozen) miles, that I took it.

All the pictures - including some unmentioned baseball hijinks.