Sayonara

This was a bittersweet day.  As we made our way back to Tokyo from Kyoto at over 300 km/hr it really hit me that in a relatively short amount of time, Jes and I had seen and learned quite a bit.  Our last day would take place in once of the busiest prefectures of Tokyo, the entertainment district of Shibuya.   Famous for its shopping and more so for the scramble crossing featured in so many cinematographic shots of Tokyo.  We checked in to our hotel, the luxurious Cerulean Tower but could only check our luggage as our room wouldn't be ready for another few hours, taking this opportunity to explore.

It was at this point that I was able to guilt Jesse into letting us hop on yet another subway to go visit a landmark I didn't have the time to see on our first few days in Tokyo, the Imperial Palace.  The Imperial Palace grounds themselves are closed to the public except on special occasions but tourists are able to roam around the Imperial Palace's East Garden on a daily basis.  Although the East Gardens are impressive in their own right, I still expected to be able to actually SEE the Imperial Palace itself.  But no.  Nothing.  Not even a glimpse.  Best I could do was pull up an aerial shot from Google Earth.  Slightly disappointed, we made our way back to our hotel as we would now be able to get our room.

When planning this trip I decided to splurge on this hotel as it would be our last night here and the views were said to be extraordinary.  The website pics would not do it justice.  And unfortunately, my pics won't do this view justice either.  From the 27th floor we're staring at city scape as far as the horizon, giving us a real grasp as to the true gargantuan footprint of this magnificent city...and that's just from one side of the building.

I had a short nap then we walked towards Harajuku which is a fashion district where teens hang out in far out clothing, resembling more cosplay getups from comicon then every day attire... that's what japan-guide.com had to say about it anyway.  What we saw wasn't too crazy except for a few that stood out... but not enough to take out the camera to snap a shot.  Plenty of shopping though, with high end stores such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, etc...  Jac would've enjoyed herself here.  This would be where Jes and I would have our last Sushi meal in Japan.  But first we made sure that the chefs behind the counter were at least 60 years old.

Our final stop would be to the Statue of Hachico.  This is a statue that Jes really wanted to see.  He explained to me the legend behind this statue is that.... something.... something... then something else...  Anyway, now I'm here, writing what is sure to be my last entry in this blog from Japan itself.

It is a bittersweet day.  A bittersweet entry.  As much as I've enjoyed this beautiful and amazingly rich culture and country, I do miss home.  I miss my beautiful wife like crazy and the comforts of my own very beautiful and amazingly rich country.  I feel extremely lucky that I had the chance to take this trip, in the way that I was able to, and to have had the opportunity to share this experience with my son.

So finally, to you my new friend;  The land of of vending machines and umbrellas, and umbrella vending machines.  The land of bullet trains, cable trains, subway trains, and more trains. Of dormant but so alive volcanoes and record breaking roller coasters.  To the land of men in suits, women in suits, garbage men in suites, and cab drivers in suits.  You brought us sushi, and rice, and Takoyaki... mmmm. Takoyaki, you delicious balls of octopus and fried dough you.  You're the country that gave us Ninjas, and Samurais, and Karate Kid... ok, maybe that was Hollywood.... but you gave us Karate and that's pretty cool too.  You also gave us Shiatsu massage... and who could forget... Penis massages.  I salute you Japanese architects who created the 8 story shopping centres, 8 story arcades, and 8 story record stores.  I see you, you 60 year old man in a suit reading that comic book of animated girls being fisted by giant squid.  It's all good, I don't judge.  And lets not forget the video game urinals and the heated toilet seats that also wash your bum when your done.  But most of all I thank you, Land of The Rising Sun for giving us the most humble, polite, and welcoming people I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing.  I really do hope I get to see you again some day but if not, I say to you, good afternoon, good evening, and Sayonara.

Domo Arigato Gozaimasu Japan!

Panorama from our 27th floor room... You can't even see where the city ends. It goes on forever.

Anyone go see Sky Mission yet?

Our hotel

Hey why not. I'm on vacation!

At the gates of the Imperial Palace East Gardents

Our last Sushi Restaurant in Japan :-(

Rare sea creature.  Raw of course.

Scramble crossing in action

Jesse and the statue of Hachico

And then this happened.... Yes, that's a man and his 8 cats in a baby carriage.

Our view at night.

I have the secret to the Japanese people's success

Please read on as I reveal the secret to the Japanese people's success at the end of this blog entry.

I'm a strong believer in that the best adventures are the sometimes the ones we don't even plan.  Today was a perfect example of that as we ended up doing much more than we originally planned and none of it was on our list of things to do.

Originally we were supposed to head out to Osaka around 9 or 10 this morning and spend the day touring there.  However, since we didn't get enough time yesterday to do everything that we wanted to do in Kyoto we decided to hold off on Osaka and if we made it we made, if not, no big deal.

We started off with a quick breakfast at the hotel, nothing special really, and headed off to the train station.  Now, I'd like to tell you that yesterday's "wrong train" snafu was the only time that happened but I'd be lying.  Ok, well technically we were going the right way, but we went way past our stop.  Again, the problem is that they have two trains... one called the Local and the other the Rapid train going to the same end destination.  The Local makes all the stops while the Rapid only makes certain stops.  Turns out we got on the Rapid.  Anyway, no big deal... get off at the next stop, cross over to the other side and wait for the Local train to come.  As we were waiting at this unknown location, a young Chinese girl came and asked me for directions.  Ya, me.  Reason I know she was Chinese is because when I asked her where she was going (I figured I'd just punch it in to Google Maps and help her out) she said she wasn't sure as she only knew the word in Chinese.  Told her "Sorry, we're kinda lost too.  Kinda like the blind leading the blind." Wasn't sure she'd get the reference but she laughed.

Anyway, at the top of this entry I mentioned that the best adventures are the ones we don't plan.  Well, had we gotten on the correct train to begin with we would've missed some amazing scenery from the train.  Photos I only captured on my SLR but will eventually post here.  Some things just happen for a reason.  We finally got to our destination station where we proceeded to walk through this little suburb to the Kyoto Studio Themepark.  Highlighted by Ninja's and movie sets and props from old and more current Japanese movies and TV shows.  We were lucky enough to get there just in time for a behind the scenes presentation.

The previous night at the hotel I saw a brochure for the Bamboo Forest and thought it would be cool to check out so we headed right there for what would be a quick in and out.  When we arrived in Arashyama, we saw signs for "Path of Bamboo" pointing one way, but Google was telling me that the "Bamboo Grove" was a completely different way.  I wanted to go where the signs were telling us to go but Jes insisted on listening to Google (by the way, I was right, but I'm thankful I listened to Jes).

Following Google's path we crossed the Together Bridge and took a detour when I saw a sign for the "Monkey Park"... squirrel!.... Jes muffled some obscenities under his breath and when questioned explained he'd never met anyone veer off course so often in his life.  I explained that I didn't know if we'd ever get to do this again so I wanted us to fit as much in as possible.  Besides, who doesn't like Monkeys.  So I paid the 550 yen admission price for each of us after which the clerk mentioned it was JUST a 20 minute walk tot he monkey park.... up hill.... 160 metres, or 524 feet up hill.  Thanks for telling us that AFTER we paid.  And this is in 80 degree heat.

We began our arduous trek up Mt. Fuji.... well, may as well been Mt. Fuji.... erupting.  This was not an easy climb but as people were coming back down the mountain they all confirmed that the journey to the end would be worth it.  Well "worth it" doesn't even come close to describing what was waiting for us.  Aside from the second best view of our trip (the first being Mt. Fuji outside our room), we were met by dozens of free roaming monkeys.  Picture the goats at the Canatara Park animal farm, but with monkeys.  It was pretty amazing.  One young monkey even came and grabbed at my camera lens as I was shooting him.  Unfortunately, my camera wouldn't snap as it wasn't able to focus but Jes got a great shot of him grabbing the lens.  Again, accidental adventure that just made our day.

So by this time it's 3 pm, we still haven't seen the Bamboo Forest yet and have yet to make it to Osaka.  We stop for some udon for lunch, take a quick stroll through the Bamboo forest, which was impressive in its own right, and made our way to the a bus stop that Google told us we'd be able to catch a bus to our next train station. 

Google is great for many things but it's not so great at telling you which side of the street to catch the bus on..... by the way, I'd like to thank the nice old lady who let me use the bathroom in her cafe before catching the bus... those udon noodles didn't not sit well in that heat.... anyway, I digress.  As we're waiting for the bus I realize that we may not be on the right side of the street.  There's an older 70 something year old man and a group of kids waiting for the bus as well... I figure my best shot with english is to ask the young kids... as much as they wanted to help, it was the older man who interrupted and in his best english was able to tell me we were on the wrong side.  Again, Japanese people are the nicest people on the planet.  Finally on the bus, we meet Dane from Australia who guesses we're Americans and apologizes for calling us Americans when I tell him we're from Canada.  Dane is on full scholarship in university for Electrical Engineering and has been in Japan for 4 and a half months on a work placement.  He's actually been trying to get his second placement in Canada but has had no luck so far.  We actually learned quite a bit from Dane as he convinced us that we shouldn't get off at the stop Google was telling us to get off at and simply ride all the way to Kyoto station.  We learned for instance that Raw Horse Meat is delicious.  Go figure.

Yes, we finally did make it to Osaka.  We toured the Dotonbori Street region which was pretty impressive.  We waited in line for a sushi restaurant that we figured had to be good since.... well, we had to stand in line for it.   While right next door was a restaurant that served the famed Fugu or Poisonous Puffer Fish... I couldn't convince Jes, and the sushi restaurant we waited in line for was actually less than mediocre.  I guess when the combined age of all three sushi chefs behind the counter is what the age of a true sushi master should be, we really shouldn't be surprised.  After a couple hours in Osaka it was time for us to make the 30 minute train ride back to Kyoto Station and catch some well deserved sleep before grabbing the Shinkansen in the morning for a bittersweet last day in Japan.

Today was a great day.  Captured some amazing photos, videos, and memories.  Whenever I think we've had the best day yet... we have another.  Tomorrow night we spoil ourselves and the last blog entry in Japan will be coming to you from Cerulean Tower in Shibuya.

Hope you all enjoyed this edition of Berubes In Japan as we come to the conclusion of this amazing once in a lifetime experience.  Enjoy the photos...

Jes confronting a Ninja at Kyoto Studio Park

Goofing off at Kyoto Studio Park

The view from Monkey Park - That's Kyoto down there.

Jes feeding the monkey

Aparently this one likes cameras.  He wouldn't let go until the monkey guy came and got him.

Mmmmmm... Udon and Tempura.

The Bamboo Forest

Jes in the Bamboo Forest

Dotonbori Street in Osaka.  Notice the big Puffer Fish sign in the background.

Waiting in line for Sushi.

Mediocre sushi restaurant we stood in line for.

Although mediocre, we still managed 21 plates between the two of us.

More Dotonbori Street

Guess where this was.

Osagka.

AND THE REASON YOU'VE ALL KEPT READING THIS LONG.... THE SECRET TO THE JAPANESE PEOPLE'S SUCCESS.....

THEY GET ONE MORE HOUR THAN US EVERY DAY!!!  MIND... BLOWN!

What do you mean this train doesn't go to Kyoto?

Another day, another adventure.... and what an adventure it's been.

As all of my days start off, I woke up to this view of Mt. Fuji from the balcony of my room. Meh... no big deal.  Ha!  Anyway, after just staring at this breathtaking view for what seemed like an eternity, and would've been happy if it had, we made our way down to the dining room where we were served a traditional Japanese breakfast of rice, udon noodles, boiled egg, salmon, nori paper, various vegetables, yogurt, and some things which I had no idea what they were.   Some items were better than others but all and all it was all pretty good.... just an odd breakfast.  I know there are a couple things Jes wishes he didn't bother trying.

After breakfast we retrieved our luggage, requested a shuttle to the train station and purchased our bus tickets to Mishima where we would then hop on the Shinkansen for Kyoto.  Tip: I had already mapped out my route but taking 2 seconds to simply ask the lady at the information desk for the best route saved me about 2 hours.  The hour and half long bus ride to Mishima was amazing; as far as bus rides go.  That's the great thing about traveling by bus and train.  You get to see things you don't see by just flying everywhere.  The scenery was beautiful and I just couldn't get enough.  We also got to see all sides of Mt. Fuji as we circled it on our way to Mishima.

Once in Mishima we purchased our Shinkansen tickets to Kyoto for 11,000 Yen each (about $112) and asked which platform we needed to go to catch the train.  Track 5 he said.  Great.  That's easy enough.  Track 5.  Wait for the train to stop at track 5 and hop on right?  We got this right?  Hey dummy, ever think that more than one train stops at the same platform?  Tip:  Pay attention to the LED signs displaying the times of the arriving trains and the time on your ticket.  You want to get on the one that matches the time on your ticket.  Anyway, it didn't take me long to realize that we may not be on the right train and when I asked the nice lady beside me who didn't speak a lick of english she tried frantically to tell me to get off the train but I just couldn't understand a damn word she was saying.  At this point the doors were still open but we still weren't sure.  A couple nice Indian gentlemen also tried to help, saying that we could just take another train at Nagoya to get to Kyoto but even they couldn't agree on which train.  We also had a group of 4 elderly Japanese ladies weigh in on our little predicament (at this point there's still time for us to get off)... then the conductor came by, I gave him our ticket and he took it and said "wrong train" as the doors were closing.  He left with my ticket and came back later with my ticket and a hand written note explaining which station to get off, and which train to hop back on to get to Kyoto.  He also had exactly what time we'd get there and what time the train was leaving.  As we got close he came by to tell me our stop was next and that the train was at the same platform... he made sure to tell me to pay attention to the time on the LED sign.  Go figure.

Just realizing that this is going to be a long post.... hopefully you're not bored yet.

Anyway, we got to Kyoto, only 20 minutes later than scheduled I might add and made our way to our hotel on foot.  We decided to go check out the International Manga Museum but first a quick bite at a conveyor belt sushi restaurant where I saw the most bizarre thing roll by me... the sign next to the plate that was passing us by read "Raw horse meet and mane".   I've always said that I would try almost anything that was food to another culture at least once.  However, out of respect to family who work with horses I opted NOT to eat the raw horse meat and mane.... and yes, that's a cop out and I'm not ashamed to admit it.

The Manga museum was pretty cool... I'm sure... for Jes.  I could definitely appreciate the art work but I really had no idea what I was looking at.  Jes seemed to soak it all in and even found something in the gift shop he just had to have.  Next was my turn.  On to the Kiyomizu Temple.  As we were making our long treck on foot to this Temple, Jes asked me why this particular temple as Kyoto is filled with them.  Once we got there, he understood why this particular temple.  Besides the temple itself, the road to the temple is part of the fun.  Tiny little streets intertwined up and down hills and filled with shops and restaurants.  It was quite a nice surprise as I wasn't expecting it at all.

Just to touch on a point about Kyoto.  Where Tokyo is quite modernized, Kyoto, although still quite a large city, still retains it's old world charms.  Shrines and Temples are strewn throughout this city and even what google maps calls "streets" are nothing but double-sidewalk-wide pathways with residences or store fronts on either side.  This has definitely been one of my favourite parts of the trip so far.  We even got to see a real live Geisha walking down one of the little streets.  I tried to get my camera out in time but I only managed to get the back of her.  I really gotta keep that thing ready at all times.

Anyway, after navigating the tiny streets for about an hour I could tell Jes was getting a little anxious so we stopped at an Irish Pub of all places for a pint of Guiness then made our way to the nearest bus stop to grab the 202 to our hotel.  Where in Tokyo we had to master the rail system, in Kyoto we had to learn the Subway and Bus Transit system.  And I must say that Google Maps definitely saved the day again.  I can't stress how useful an iPad Mini, Pocket Wifi, and Google Maps has been on this trip.  I really don't know what we would've done without it.  Probably not half of what we've been able to do.

So, now it's 9pm and we're just resting in our hotel room before heading out for a bite to eat.  Tomorrow we check out the Kyoto Studio Park which has served as a back drop for many Japenese films.  Then we make our way to Osaka for the rest of the day before hopping on the train back to our hotel in Kyoto.

Enjoy the few photos I capture on my trustee Lumia 1020.

Morning View

Traditional Japanese breakfast

Rice paddies

Typical country home

In my defense, how am I supposed to read that ticket?

Finally made it to Kyoto

Now that's an efficient use of space

International Manga Museum (photos are not allowed)

Nope.  No photos allowed here either

Photos were fine here

and here

Remember when I told you that the Japanese were crazy about their umbrellas and vending machines.... Here's an Umbrella Vending Machine.

Kiyomizu Temple

Night cap at "Man In The Moon" Irish Pub.

"Dad, I'm the type of person who likes his two feet planted firmly on the ground"

Wow.... wow....wow.  What a day.  If the Tsukiji Fish Market was an Ice Cream Sundae, the Mt. Fuji trip was the cherry on top.

Although we had a rough start, the day certainly did end on a high note.  We hopped on a train to Otsuki at approximately 7am where we were to transfer to the Fujikyu Line.  However, as we got off at Otsuki everyone was running to catch their next train and a woman, apparently noticing we had no clue where we were going asked if we were going to "the mountain" and rushed us on a train that was just leaving and said we could pay on the train.  Alrighty then, easy enough.  Or so I thought.  After about an hour, the conductor came by to collect payment and asked for our ticket.  I told him we didn't have a ticket because the lady said we could by our ticket on the train... He just kept repeating "ticket.  JR pass. ticket".  Urgg. Argg.  Thankfully, a nice Japenese woman who spoke english, because god forbid the guy who drives the train no more than the word "ticket" was able to help.  But who am I to talk. The only words I know in Japanese are "arigato gozaimasu" (Thank you).  Anyway, she was able to tell me that what he was looking for was the JR pass from the first train we took so he could figure out how much we owed for this trip. OK, great, mistery solved.  I did manage to meet Mike from Chicago on this train.  He to was just hoping he was on the right train to go see "the mountain".  We exchanged a few stories of our trip and he got off a couple stops before ours.

Once we reached our station we walked to our Ryokan which was only about 15 minutes away to check our luggage as it was only 930 and we wouldn't be able to check in until 3pm.  Our hotel is situated right on Lake Kawaguchi and our room has a balcony with a full view of Mt. Fuji.  Incredible. The plan was to then head to Fuji-Q Highland, an amusement park.  I know, not very Japanese, but as a huge fan of roller coasters, I couldn't come to Japan and NOT ride the not one, not two, but three record breaking coasters that Fuji-Q Highland is known for.  This part was entirely for me as Jesse clearly stated on more than one occasion that he just wasn't an amusement park kinda person, and as you can also tell from the title of this entry, not a fan of roller coasters. 

Now, I was able to convince Jes to walk to Fuji-Q Highland which was supposed to only take 20 minutes, but ended up taking more like 60 minutes after a few wrong turns and some photo stops.  The walk was AMAZING.  We walked tiny paths, sometimes unpaved, through this little town, behind all the traffic.  We were the only 2 people around.... and right ahead of us... with each corner turned... a Mt. Fuji made itself more and more visible.  And as the clouds cleared it finally came in full view, again, just for the two of us.  It was breathtaking.

Well, after riding Fujiyama, Takabashi, and Eejanaika we grabbed a crazy cab ride back to our hotel where it just got even better.

We grabbed dinner at the cafe next door. I got some nice photos outside from the lava rocks then went in and slipped into my Yukata and headed for the public baths.  The public baths at this ryokan are filled with onsen (natural hot spring) water.  It was amazing.  I couldn't get Jes to join me as he still hasn't gotten over the whole being naked in public fear.  Anyway,  I have no problem being naked in public.  Definitely the most relaxing time on this trip.  I can't even describe how nice it was.  After about an hour I decided to treat myself to an in-room shiatsu massage to complete this relaxation cycle.

If you'd asked me to describe who I imagined would be showing up at my door to give me this massage, I surely wouldn't have described the woman as a 4 foot tall by 4 foot wide octogenarian with one eye, but that's what I got.  Now, despite her less than ... Lets call it youthful looks, the woman sure knew what she was doing.  But come on, who wouldn't be good at their craft after practicing it for 97 years.  I'd never received a real japenese shiatsu massage before (nor the kind we have in Sarnia).   You could tell this woman didn't learn her craft from no school.  She learned that shit from a monk or something.  And before you ask, no, I was not offered a penis massage.  But that butt massage felt fantastic.

Finally, to cap it all off, Jes and I went down to the Karaoke lounge for some Sake.  What's more Japanese than Sake and Karaoke.

Tomorrow we have our traditional Japanese breakfast at 7am then hop on  a bus to Mishiama where we'll ride the Shinkansen to Kyoto for a 2-night stay (but I really wish we were staying here for one more night)

Talk to you then...

SIDE NOTE:  I have many more pictures that I've taken on the SLR that I will post when I return.  I've taken them all in RAW format so they're not easily converted and posted from this tablet I'm using.  I'll have a final post a couple weeks after we return to summarize the whole trip in a photo blog format.  The pics I've been posting are only those I've taken with my trustee Nokia  Lumia 1020.

Scenery from the train

More scenery

As the clouds cleared

That's us

Just one of the 3 World Record coasters I rode today

This is the view from the balcony in our room

Closeup from our room

That's me and Mt. Fuji

Two for the price of one

Today you get two blog entries for the price of one.  This one won't be long but just wanted to share a bit more as well as some more photos since we called it an early night with a long day to Mt. Fuji tomorrow.

After our well deserved rest we needed to go out and find Jes a new backpack as his was falling apart and the zipper broke beyond repair.  Right outside our hotel is a HUGE electronics store/shopping centre, Yodobashi-Akiba is Tokyo's largest electronics store focusing primarily on electronic goods.  Cameras, phones, TVs, computers, etc.  It's 9 floors of absolute heaven for a gadget geek like myself.

Once we found Jes a backpack, which he'll be able to use for college as well in September.  We continued touring Akihabara until capping it off with conveyor belt sushi before coming back to our hotel to rest for the night.

Tomorrow's blog will come to you from Mt. Fuji (well, at least the surrounding area).

6 floors of gaming

Akihabara at night

We spent most of the day looking at these things.  Don't ask.

Akihabara at night

They really do love their Anime.  This was the 4th or 5th car we saw like this.

The first Anime bike we saw.

More Akihabara at night