Simon has started a separate blog on his adventures in Lille, France, where he is on an lengthy business assignment.
Check it out at http://blog.droscher.com
This was our last full day in Tokyo, so it ended up being a reprise of many parts of our trip so far. We started out by going to Harajuku, as a toy Simon had bought was not functioning correctly so we had to get it swapped out for a working one. Luckily we were able to find an English speaking assistant in Kiddie Land and he carefully tested the toy and agreed it wasn't working, then got a replacement off the shelf and tested that one, and then gave it to us. We even scored a free set of extra batteries out of the deal. Although we also managed to buy several more things while we were in the store. While we were in Harajuku we also did another walk up Takeshita Street to double-check for any new amusing t-shirts but no such luck.
We didn't take any photos while we were there so here's some unrelated pictures of Simon's uncharateristic new habit of drinking small cans of hot coffee from vending machines in the mornings:
In the morning we headed off to a not-too-distant suburb called Ryogoku - home of the Edo-Tokyo Museum. This is a 30,000 square metre museum dedicated to Tokyo's history and culture and includes authentic models and scale replicas of many historic stuctures.
We spent the first half hour watching a show performed in front of a replica Kabuki theater, which featured musicians playing traditional instruments and some interesting but incomprehensive dancing and singing. We then spent a few hours looking around the museum. It was very interesting and quite detailed, showing life in Edo (as Tokyo was originally known) when Japan was closed to foreigners, the opening of Japan in 1853 by demand of the United States, and the consequent westernisation (and renaming) of Tokyo, plus the devastation caused by bombing in World War 2. We enjoyed the museum and would recommend it to anyone else visiting Tokyo.
Started the day with a walk through the Okachimachi markets to try and find a temple we had seen on the train previously when passing through Okachimachi station. We managed to find it without too much trouble. What makes it interesting is the fact it is nestled in amongst the various shops of the markets. We took a few photos and then continued on our way towards our destination for the morning - Akihabara.
We took a train to the rural district of Kamakura which is about an hour ride south west from Tokyo station. We then changed to a quaint local train which practically travels through people's back yards to a place called Hase. After visiting the 100 yen store right next to the station exit, we headed off on a 15 minute walk to our actual destination for the day - a giant statue of Amida Buddha.
The statue was built in 1252 A.D. along with a temple that housed it, but the temple was washed away in a large tidal wave (tsunami) in 1498, leaving just the undamaged statue and the foundation stones. The statue is hollow and for a small fee you can venture inside (for no apparent purpose).
Had an uneventful flight from Vancouver to Narita airport, and then caught the express train to Ueno. We found our hotel - the New Izu Hotel - without any problems. Here's some pictures of our room (including the very short door):
Been ages since we sent an update, and obviously each week that we leave it longer to send an update makes the task even more daunting. So we decided to skip a whole 19 months of stuff since the last update - for now - and just write about what we've been up to recently. We'll try and get around to filling in the gap eventually :) More importantly, we'll make a serious effort to send out new updates every month!
I know it took me a while, but I have finally got around to adding a collection of pictures from Autumn 2007 to our online gallery. Take a look when you get a chance.
