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  • Trip start
    September 29, 2016
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    Arrived in tokyo

    October 6, 2016 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    So after a lengthy flight we have arrived in tokyo and boarded the skyliner about to depart to the city. It was a pretty good flight with great service but we are both super hot and tired as it's very humid compared to AucklandRead more

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    Shibuya by night

    October 6, 2016 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Out and about for a quick taste of the nightlife, it's insanely bright in shibuya at the aptly named scramble crossing. The transit options are very well used and with great signage (even in English) it made finding our way around easy.Read more

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    A trip to the market, Tsukiji Market

    October 7, 2016 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    A taste experience at the fish market is a must for the tokyo traveller (or so everyone I spoke to told me) and so we decided to start the day there. It's not often I have a fish breakfast which consists of such items as:
    - scallops with sea urchins (flamed to finish)
    - various fruit and nut tasters
    - tuna skewers
    - bbq squid skewers
    - local eel skewers

    The eel was really good and surprisingly our favourite of all. While not a standard breakfast it was a great way to start the day. The key to enjoying the market is avoiding being run over by the many vehicles in the narrow streets.

    Tsukiji Market (築地市場, Tsukiji Shijō) is a large wholesale market for fish, fruits and vegetables in central Tokyo. It is the most famous of over ten wholesale markets that handle the distribution of fish, meat, produce and flowers in Tokyo. Tsukiji Market is best known as one of the world's largest fish markets, handling over 2,000 tons of marine products per day.     Read more

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    Hama-rikyu Gardens

    October 7, 2016 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    After the visit to the market we took a short trip to a local gardens which are located right beside the river and also connect to the sea. The gardens are the real version of the Japanese garden in Hamilton but the layout is similar (albeit on a massive scale). It was getting super hot leading up to lunch and the shade offered by the trees and various tea houses and outer buildings was appreciated.

    As per Google the official description of the gardens is:
    Hamarikyu Gardens (浜離宮恩賜庭園 Hama-rikyū Onshi Teien?) is a public park in Chūō, Tokyo, Japan. Located at the mouth of the Sumida River, it was opened April 1, 1946. The park is a 250,165 m² landscaped garden surrounding Shioiri Pond, the park itself surrounded by a seawater moat filled by Tokyo Bay. It was remodeled as a public garden park on the site of a villa of the Shogun Tokugawa family in the 17th century.    Read more

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    A view from the top (Skytree)

    October 7, 2016 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    We spent the lunch period taking the Asakusa line to the skytree tower which is essentially Tokyo's sky tower equivalent. The tower is 350 metres up to the first observation deck with an option to go higher up to 450 metres.

    The view takes in the whole city with a fair amount of smog on the horizon. It shows the shear scale of the city and given the strive for cleanliness throughout it highlights the human impact on the land. It was worth the visit although no one view was what you would call spectacular.    Read more

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    Asakusa and the Senso-ji temple

    October 7, 2016 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Sensō-ji is an ancient Buddhist temple located in Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan. It is Tokyo's oldest temple, and one of its most significant. Formerly associated with the Tendai sect of Buddhism, it became independent after World War II. It reminded us of the botany temple and given the era in which the botany one exists it's fair to call it a good copy.

    A shopping street of over 200 meters, called Nakamise, leads from the outer gate to the temple's second gate, the Hozomon. Alongside typical Japanese souvenirs such as yukata and folding fans, various traditional local snacks from the Asakusa area are sold along the Nakamise. The shopping street has a history of several centuries. While we didn't find anything to buy the street was abuzz with locals and tourists alike and there were plenty of kimono's on show.    Read more

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    Day 2 photos

    October 7, 2016 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Day 2 was action packed with small trips around tokyo followed by a lovely Spanish inspired tapas meal with a beautiful malbec. We completed the day in a small bar near our hotel (Gyobar standing bar in Kyobashi) where a kiwi expat paid for all of our drinks. With both Asahi and a lovely local craft beer on tap the selection was basic but very enjoyable. Needless to say that was the ideal way to complete a busy day

    https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B4G7mEP…    Read more

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    breakfast of sorts

    October 8, 2016 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    We started out at the hotel with breakfast and the options were tasty but bizarre with standard yogurt offered along side a chicken dish, burger patties, salad bar, scrambled egg, octopus and rice. It was very tasty but certainly not something I've tried at breakfast beforeRead more

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    Imperial Garden and tokyo station

    October 8, 2016 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    We started the day with a stroll to get our tickets for the train to yokohama and decided to visit the imperial gardens at the same time. The palace was off limits and all tours were booked out already so we just strolled the gardens. At this point the rain joined us and the act of taking photos while holding the umbrella was mastered.

    Before leaving we visited an important monument of Kusunoki Masashige who was a 14th-century samurai who fought for Emperor Go-Daigo in the Genko War, the attempt to wrest rulership of Japan away from the Kamakura shogunate and is remembered as the ideal of samurai loyalty.    Read more

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    Meiji Shrine in the pouring rain

    October 8, 2016 in Japan ⋅ 🌧 18 °C

    Well it was raining cats and dogs by the time we arrived at Harajuku and wandered down the tree lined road up to the main shrine but by now we were masters at remaining dry while exploring.

    The shrine and grounds are a very peaceful place and under better weather would be even nicer. The shrine itself is very popular but it seemed that they were trying hard for donations from tourists to help maintain the buildings. Anything from a simple inspirational quote for 500 yen that you could write on a board and hang by the tree through to the option of buying a copper roof tile that could be engraved for 3000 yen.

    We stopped at the cafe and had a pork bun which was rather tasty also.    Read more

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    Harajuku shopping and mad crowds

    October 8, 2016 in Japan ⋅ 🌧 19 °C

    This was a massive change from the peace that was the shrine area. As we headed back towards the main street the wash of people become even more crowded and the rain did nothing to dampen anyone's enthusiasm for shopping.

    It was at this point that we found an acceptable Italian coffee and had lunch

    Harajuku is to Tokyo what rodeo drive is to LA and the shops on offer are seriously high end. It was a great experience to wander and do some very light shopping with the kind of crowds I'd only seen on TV till that point. Unfortunately we didn't get to see many Harajuku girls but we did stop and interact with a robot which was cool.    Read more

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    Akihabara tech craziness

    October 8, 2016 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    So if you ever want to see crazy sales and hundreds of electronics shops then Akihabara is the area for you. The shops attempt to lure guys into the shops with women dressed in what I can best describe as a maids uniform. The shops inside are packed with everything from usb sticks through to high end AV gear.

    We also got to experience a demonstration of new tech which was being run in a purpose built area where all the latest NAS options were being shown.    Read more

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    Dinner and drinks in Roppongi

    October 8, 2016 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Dinner was a traditional Japanese affair after a few craft beers at BrewDog in Roppongi. Apart from the guest taps(which included NZ beer) your local offerings were a bit bland which I think is more to cater to local tastes. Even their IPA was a bit average, although it was very easy to drink.

    We then headed to Maimon where we ordered tempura, dumplings, skewers and sashimi. It was very tasty and although communication with the waiter was a bit average we had no issues with anything. Tempura pumpkin is really good!    Read more

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    Day 4 breakfast

    October 9, 2016 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    On a super wet morning we ventured out in the rain to a local cafe, the breakfast options were excellent and cheap. Certainly this was a different take on bacon and eggs but it was super tasty and filled us up for the day ahead

    Next up is making our way in the pouring rain, might have to test the taxi services today!    Read more

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    Our adventure to the pier

    October 9, 2016 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    After waiting for the rain to clear we finally decided on the taxi option to get to Tokyo station. The directions were a little confusing so after arriving at platform 9 as advised we were lucky to get someone who helped explain it was actually platform 9 we needed for our non reserved class tickets. After lining up on platform 10 we thought again best to ask a local and it was fortunate as we were waiting in premium queuing. Eventually we had the right place and were off to yokohama.

    After arriving at yokohama we then found others who were a little list and also going to the boat. Next was the challenge of getting the minatorimai line to our final stop and getting the tickets and onto the train was without a hitch but we had gotten on a limited express train so arrived at the other end having missed our intended destination. We figured it out and went back the required 1 stop to our final destination. A short walk later we were at Osanbashi pier and are now beginning check in for the cruise    Read more

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    Departure time from Yokohama

    October 10, 2016 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    So after spending time getting through check in we were soon unpacking and sitting out on the balcony in our room. The cruise allows a bottle of wine per passenger to be brought onboard without any charge so we quickly got the champagne into the fridge while unpacking.

    As we left the port we had a local brass band and hundreds of locals out waving us off. The music was excellent from the brass band, if only they were onboard.

    The boat itself is fairly large but not massive, the bars have a fairly good menu (incl craft beer!) And there are plenty of pools etc but it's certainly aimed at charging for extras and catering to the American market. We had expected a more Japanese clientele but I think instead they have targeted Americans and Australians to fill the boat as there are lots of fairly obnoxious groups around who boast about having done 30+ cruises. The service is not as good as the South America cruise we did in 2010 and the entertainment seems to be done on a very small scale. The band were the only highlight from the first nights show.

    In any case we have spent plenty of time relaxing and as I write this I am sipping a glass of champagne and sitting back relaxing so compared to working it's no contest    Read more

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    Nara Buddhist temple

    October 11, 2016 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    We started out from Osaka by bus and headed for Nara Prefecture. The trip showed the massive scale of the motorways and a 5km tunnel connecting Osaka with Nara.

    The weather is perfect for our tour and it should make for some great photos

    We first visited the Todai-ji Buddhist temple where the number of deer was immense and they were very keen on tourists with food. The deer had recently had their antlers removed in a local ceremony during Autumn, otherwise they could have been very scary as they ran fat at each other but seemed to avoid tourists

    Tōdai-ji (東大寺?, Eastern Great Temple)[1] is aBuddhist temple complex, that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples, located in the city ofNara, Japan. Its Great Buddha Hall (大仏殿Daibutsuden?), houses the world's largest bronze statue of the Buddha[2] Vairocana,[3] known in Japanese simply as Daibutsu (大仏?). The temple also serves as the Japanese headquarters of theKegon school of Buddhism. The temple is a listed UNESCO World Heritage Site as one of the "Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara", together with seven other sites including temples, shrines and places in the city of Nara. Deer, regarded as messengers of the gods in the Shinto religion, roam the grounds freely.    Read more

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    Kasuga-taisha Shinto shrine

    October 11, 2016 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Next up was the local shrine in Nara and the deer were also prevalent. The area is beautifully maintained and had recently retrieved it's latest refresh which occurs every 20 years

    Kasuga Grand Shrine (春日大社 Kasuga-taisha?) is a Shinto shrine in the city of Nara, in Nara Prefecture, Japan.[1] Established in 768 AD and rebuilt several times over the centuries, it is the shrine of the Fujiwara family. The interior is famous for its many bronze lanterns, as well as the many stone lanterns that lead up the shrine.

    The architectural style Kasuga-zukuri takes its name from Kasuga Shrine's honden (sanctuary).

    Kasuga Shrine, and the Kasugayama Primeval Forest near it, are registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the "Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara".

    The path to Kasuga Shrine passes through Deer Park. In Deer Park, deer are able to roam freely and are believed to be sacred messengers of the Shinto gods that inhabit the shrine and surrounding mountainous terrain. Kasuga Shrine and the deer have been featured in several paintings and works of art of the Nambokucho Period.[2] Over three thousand stone lanterns line the way. The Man'yo Botanical Garden, Nara is adjacent to the shrine.    Read more

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