Japan

Day 15: Tokyo

~ tanlandia ~ Leave a comment

Sunday, March 20th, 2016

Ever since I was a small girl, I (Mere) had always wanted to visit Tokyo. My father would travel there for work, and while my mom was working, I was cared for by the wife (Chiaki) of one man (Mitsunori) my dad worked with who were living in DC from Japan for 3 years – see pictures below! My childhood was filled with lots of Japanese culture and traditions from this. Me running around in kimonos, watching Chiaki fold 1,000 crane origami, and reading Japanese children’s books which she translated. I was fascinated by the culture (and all the cute cartoon animals) from a young age.  So, now that we were IN Tokyo, I had to meet up! Having last seen them in 1990, it was over 20 years since seeing Mitsunori and Chiaki, but after meeting them in the hotel lobby that Sunday morning, it was like being reunited with family!  We were lucky in that they took us around, and our the first stop was Kamakura.  We jumped on the train for the 45 minute journey there.  One thing about the public transportation – it’s so crowded, but you never feel unsafe!  And it’s so efficient, clean, and always on time! Nick was happy with that.

Getting to Kamakura in the late morning, we step out of the station and the main street is almost around the corner.  Throngs of people fill the shop-lined street.  Shops filled with locally-made goods, amazing pastry and baked goods shops, ramen houses, sushi, and more.  We walked down the street, snacking on a couple of local treats along the way, and then as it was about time for lunch we stopped at a great little soba/udon shop that had some of the best noodles I’ve had!  We then continued exploring the streets and got on a bus to the Kōtoku-in Temple, a Buddhist temple from the 13th century.  The centerpiece of the area is a great outdoor Buddha, cast out of bronze and standing over 13 meters tall including the pedestal and weighing almost 100 tons.  The Buddha is hollow, and you’re allowed to walk inside. We also got lucky and saw more of the blooming cherry blossoms! Cherry blossom trees are EVERYWHERE, so I can only imagine how all of Japan looks when it is full bloom, which we are missing by about 3 days! I couldn’t convince Nick to stay…

We then went to the nearby local train station to hop on a train to the nearby island of Enoshima.  Enoshima has a shrine, some parks and gardens, an observation tower, and a hot spring.  A bit of a hike up to the top, and there are escalators (which there is a charge for), but skip the escalators and walk up as it’s a very nice, scenic walk.  The view from the top of the island is the nearby city of Fujisawa, and on clear days you can even see Mount Fuji!

For dinner, we went to a delicious tempura spot on the way back to the hotel.  We sat around the bar (kind of like a sushi bar, except with tempura) and the chef (Akai) cooked up a coursed meal for us.   The main meal was capped off by this delicious dish, called tendon, which is tempura on a bowl of rice (tendon is a combination of tempura and donburi).

The next morning, we were flying out in the evening, so had to rush to see more places in the morning.  We took the metro to the ferry building, where we would take a one hour river cruise up to Asakusa.  We went to Asakusa primarily to see the Sensō-ji Buddhist temple, featuring a giant red and black paper lantern at the outer gate.  This temple has been around in some form since ~600 A.D., and is generally very crowded with the Nakamise-Dori (the street leading from this front gate to the temple) lined with many small shops.

For lunch, we had tonkatsu (well, ebi katsu… but my first time!)… so good!  As we were running out of time, we only had a chance to see the outside of the Edo Museum and the Ryōgoku Kokugikan, or indoor Sumo hall… next time!

Our visit to Tokyo (and Japan) was too short, but we’re hoping to see all the things that we missed the next time.  Japan’s truly a wonderful, fascinating country and we’re really looking forward to the next time we can come back (and hopefully for longer). We were very sad to leave Japan, and put an end to our travels – for now!

From Dubai (which seemed like months ago!), to Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Philippines, and Japan, we really had the most amazing time traveling around together. We saw so much, but also were able to relax and reflect on not only the cultures, but how lucky we were to experience all we had. Now, back to San Francisco…. which isn’t so bad a place to end up.

Day 14, Tokyo

~ tanlandia ~ Leave a comment

Saturday, March 19th, 2016

After a nice breakfast at the Aman Tokyo, we were off for more sightseeing! Everyone had always been raving about the Tsukiji Fish Market (one of the busiest fish markets in the world), and the tuna auctions there.  The market is open everyday except Sunday, so today would be our only real chance to see it!  The auctions start at ~5:30am, but only 120 people are allowed into this part each day.  People line up starting as early as 3am for this!  Of course, we elected to skip that part and just go visit the fish market.  The atmosphere can best be described as “frenetic”, with fish mongers yelling and using finger signs to communicate efficiently and electric fish carts whizzing by.  The sheer variety of the sea life there is incredible and I don’t think I had ever seen such large clams.  One thing our guide told us was that along with the large number of tourists came a host of issues and incidents, including one situation in which a still-drunk British tourist in his 20s decided that he wanted to hug a tuna at Hicho (an 8th generation, family-run 155 year old Maguro company) and then proceeded to drop it.  This tuna was reportedly valued at 2,000,000 Japanese yen (or somewhere in the vicinity of $20,000).  One other thing we explored were the stalls and shops in the Outer Market area, which was also very much abuzz with activity.  You can find everything from incredible knives (we got one), souvenirs, and treats here (our favorite, rolled omelette!).

After this, we went over to Ginza for a quick stop at the Sanrio store (which was huge), then on to the Akihabara district.  This now-modern area found its roots through the sale of basic electrical components from the period after World War 2 when people wanted to build their own radios.  Today, it is the center for video game, anime, and computer / electronic shops, as well as what are called “maid cafes”.  There are also several arcades here.  It’s incredible, because not having been to Tokyo before, my impression of the city had always been shaped by movies and I felt Akihabara best represented that view that had been formed, with the buzz of activity and the lights and some of the small, low-ceiling passageways.  What a cool place.

We then went to a bunny café (yes, this is a thing).  We were thinking of the owl café (yep, also a thing), but it was booked.  These places came up to address the need for affection, and bunnies / cats / owls fit that need.  We played with our new friends for a bit and then went to Kitchen Town to see all the fake display food for restaurant windows (so lifelike!) on our way to a demonstration by a couple of retired professional sumo wrestlers.

Sumo wrestling is a huge sport in Japan, and has been around for over a thousand years, with the first professional sumo wrestlers appearing during the Edo period (1600s).  This is sport steeped in centuries of Shinto tradition, and wrestlers follow a highly-regimented training program.  It’s very trying on their body and most retire by the time they’re 35.  The explanation of the importance of the sport and a demonstration of the rituals was very enlightening.  We even had some audience participation, with two of us (including Nick!) getting to… “wrestle” with the professionals!

Tonight also marked the last night our group would be together, and we had a wonderful cocktail reception (including a slideshow of Nick’s photos!) and sake dinner at the Aman.  This has been a wonderful group to go on this adventure with, Catherine Heald and the Remote Lands team did a great job planning the itinerary and executing on the whole trip. The experiences we gained and relationships we created were nothing we could have planned for or expected to happen. This trip will be one we will remember forever and look forward to our next adventure!! However, it’s not over just yet for us since we decided to stay an extra night in Tokyo. 🙂

Day 13: Tokyo

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Friday, March 18th, 2016

On Friday, we got an early start and our guide took us to the Imperial Palace, where the emperor / royal family still lives.  We then headed off to experience a traditional Japanese tea ceremony (chanoyu) at a very traditional tea house that is one of the very few remaining freestanding tea houses and has been around for more than 60 years.  It was a very touching experience that was akin to a full performance, with such particular aesthetics, movement, gesture, and etiquette. We felt very lucky to experience this.

After this, we went on to see Omotesandō street, a tree-lined avenue famous for the multitude of fashion flagship stores and a showcase of architecture (for example, the LV store designed by Jun Aoki and intended to look like a bunch of LV trunks stacked on each other, the Prada building by Herzog & de Meuron, Tod’s, and many others).  Harajuku (where Omotesandō is located) is a huge shopping district and also the center of Japanese youth culture and fashion.  Another major street is Takeshita street, an extremely crowded and happening pedestrian-only thoroughfare that’s lined with small boutiques and a ton of cafes and restaurants.  Mostly catering to the youth demographic, we noted a lot of photosticker shops, crepe and cotton candy spots, and other leading indicators of Japanese cultural trends.

After that, we went off to our sword fighting lesson (kenjutsu)!  We got to wear the robe, and we learned tons about body positioning, how to hold the katana, and we finally graduated to the real, sharp katana which we used to do an overhead slice of bamboo rods.  It’s an incredible skill to have (and probably even more enjoyable once you have more experience) and undoubtedly takes years and years of practice!

We next went to the Meiji Shrine, constructed from 1915-1926 and built in the traditional nagare-zukuri style.  It’s located in a forest covered by a forest consisting of >100,000 trees which were donated by people from all parts of Japan back when the shrine was established.  Our guide then brought us to Shibuya crossing, the busiest crosswalk with supposedly more than 2,000 individuals each light change, and also the site of (supposedly) the busiest Starbucks in the world.  We also saw the statue of Hachikō the dog, who had always waited for his owner at the Shibuya train station, even for years after his death.

We went to New York bar at the top of the Park Hyatt (where that early scene in the movie Lost in Translation took place) for drinks, before heading to Sushi Zanmai in the Tsukiji Outer Market area for a sushi dinner which was EXCELLENT! We had to wait 20 minutes outside for a table and I think the only Americans there, yay.

Day 12: Tokyo

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Thursday, March 17th, 2016

It was our 12th day after starting our trip in South East Asia, where we woke early to travel back to Manila where we’d take our jet to Tokyo (a ~3 hour flight).  It’s a bit sad to be leaving the peace and calm of Amanpulo, but we’re also very excited about getting to Tokyo and exploring all the wonders the city has to offer.

We land at Haneda Airport, one of the two primary airports in the Greater Tokyo area, and arrive at the Aman Tokyo by around 3:30.  Aman Tokyo is located on the top 6 floors of the Otemachi Tower a block east of the Imperial Palace grounds, and is also very close to the Tokyo Train Station (one of the busiest in Japan), Naka-Dori Street (filled with shops and office buildings), and the Tsukiji Fish Market.  First impressions… this was one of the most impressive lobbies in any hotel we’ve stayed at, the design throughout (lobby, dining area, hallways, our room, the pool, and spa/fitness center) is so beautiful and classy, and the staff is incredibly attentive and helpful. The Aman Tokyo is a destination in itself.

We spent the rest of the afternoon acclimating before our welcome cocktails with a special guest, Ambassador Tsuneo Nishida, the Japanese ambassador to the UN.  We had dinner along with some of other couples in our group at Ginza Sushikoh, a 15 minute walk from the Aman – this first sushi experience in Tokyo was so great!  It’s better than any sushi we had eaten in San Francisco, with fish that was just so fresh and delicious and such diligent, thoughtful preparation.