Last day in Tokyo and a long journey home

We were all tired after such a big day at Disneyland so had a slow start. That meant a very welcome 8am alarm - one of the longest sleep-ins of the trip!

We had a tour of Akihabara booked for 10am so after breakfast, we made our way to meet the group. Akihabara is the electronics/tech/ anime area of Tokyo. Rather than try and figure it out for ourselves, we decided to go with a guide who would take us to some of the key locations and explain what we were seeing. Stepping out of the metro felt like a different world, as it so often does when we go somewhere new in Tokyo. This world was bright lights, anime posters everywhere and teeming with people (Saturday morning I guess!). 

We learned that the area began as a black market in electronics after World War 2 and evolved over the decades to what it is today. We wandered through stores several stories high, each floor specialising in something different like anime figures, painting figurines, replica trains, Pokémon cards, arcade games etc. Often the display cases are rented by collectors looking to sell their figures. Our main take away was a sense of volume- there is a lot(!) of stuff, how specialised it gets and how deep you can go. Scale effects when your city is 38 million population allow for that. It is absolutely overwhelming! 

The kids had a great time learning how to play pong in one of the arcades. Eleanor and I battled it out in the final of our family tournament - in the end Eleanor was crowned champion, but it was close. I’m keen to have the final scoreline noted - at 10-9 it could have gone either way!

Akihabara is full of Maid cafes, so the tour stopped at one for morning tea. The theme of our cafe was romance and chaos, and also cats, so it was decorated in a lavish way with flowers and wall decorations that were decidedly quirky like framed teddy bear heads. Our waiters were cat maids so we all wore cat ears, if we wanted something ‘meow, meow’ was the call to attract attention and there was a little ritual of hand gestures before we started  our drinks. It was one of life’s interesting experiences, and took us out of our comfort zones. We finished the tour at a photo booth shop for a tour photo session. The airbrushing and add ons you can play with is amazing. While the others on the tour seemed nice, we hadn’t really established enough of a bond to get truly creative with the photos. 

Once the tour ended we grabbed a quick lunch at a tasty but non-descript sushi and ramen restaurant then headed to Yodabashi Canera, an enormous tech store. This is what Leo had been waiting for the entire trip… and it didn’t disappoint. The store was seven floors of tech, again with each floor specialising in something different. Leo is now the proud owner of some very good earbuds and a new gaming mouse. Almost all his savings in the lead up to the trip went into these purchases and he’s extremely happy about it! Interestingly it was me rather than Adrian who made a purchase… I will enjoy my new headphones too!

That afternoon we walked back to the hotel to do a final pack - it was a 6am departure for the airport and no one wanted to get up any earlier than we had to!

That evening was our grand finale dinner - fine dining at a ninja restaurant. We were greeted at the door and the kids helped find trap doors to get us into the restaurant, then our ninja waiter lead us to the table through winding hallways. All the tables are in private rooms separated from the hallway by sliding doors. It was an absolutely delicious meal - six or seven courses of amazing food - and many of the courses involved some magic, illusion or interaction. Like putting little stones into a box which, when tapped by the waiter, turned into little wafer crackers filled with yummyness or pulling a sword out from under our entree to let dry ice stream out. We were even treated to wagyu beef for the main course. Melt in your mouth delicious! 

Between the main and dessert we were visited by a magician. He really blew our minds, Leo was still trying to figure out his tricks on the way back to the hotel. My favourite was when he turned a deck of cards I was holding between both hands into a perspex cube. I have absolutely no idea how! It was a fabulous way to end our time in Japan. 

The journey home was long - a total of about 28 hours in transit. It gave us plenty of time to reflect on our wonderful trip. 

Japan has been an amazingly rich and fulfilling experience. It is so modern, clean, efficient, safe and people go out of their way to help/make things easy. There are also very deep, rich and interesting history and traditions. Almost everywhere, including restaurants, trains and tourist sites there is some English, and you can communicate using a little sign language, pointing, and using even a little Japanese. If you take the time to learn a few basic words/phrases it goes a long way. 

The food is amazing - such a wide variety of deliciousness. We’ve been so proud of Eleanor who has determinedly tested her boundaries and Leo, who is always keen to try something new. 

The toilets deserve a shout out, not just for how clean they are (even public ones in train stations!), but also for their functionality. Most have two or three bidet options and some come with blow drying, sound for privacy and a deoderising function. 

Almost everything we’ve seen is good quality, whether it’s food, souvenirs, or other products. If you see something you like it’s worth buying it on the spot because while you might see something similar again, it won’t be the same. 

This trip has been truly incredible. Adrian organised us an action packed agenda that really made the most of the time we had, exposing us to so many different experiences and elements of Japanese history, life and culture. It’s been incredible to spend this time together creating memories as a family too. The kids don’t remember much of some of our earlier trips, but their memories of this one will last a lifetime. 

Tokyo Disney

 Disneyland what is it?

Well if you are asking that question then you have not opened a computer or talked to any person in your life. But I will answer your question (because I'm kind).

Disneyland is a theme park, well more than one there are actually five but luckily we went to a city in Japan (Tokyo) that had a Disneyland (wooooooo yay). We woke up very early. I think it was like six o'clock in the morning. We hopped on a few trains for an hour but when we arrived at Disneyland we scanned our tickets and got in. First we  headed to the Monsters Inc ride and It was pretty fun. The line was pretty long though I sat with mum and Eleanor and dad sat next to each other in front of mum and I. So on the ride you sat on a chair that was a part of a Monsters inc bus car kind of thing and each seat had a flashlight and you had to shine the torch on the monsters helmets and they would pop up out of their hiding places. 

So after we had finished that ride we headed over to the wild west area and grabbed a snack of some rice wrapped in bacon. After filling back up on that we headed to critter country and went on splash mountain with this ride you hop on a log flume and it was really cool there were a bunch of animals the main two were a Fox and a bunny where the Fox is trying to kill the bunny the big hill we went down made a massive splash and Eleanor and I were in the front of the flume so the splash would mostly hit us so I ducked down and dad who was right behind me got all the splash. (which was my 2nd favourite ride of the day).

Next we headed to the canoes and we went around the man made lake and we saw a tribe of native americans cooking on a campfire. Then circled back to where we started.

And then we headed over to the BIG THUNDER MOUNTAIN! (very dramatic) Which was a wild west themed roller coaster where there were lots of parallel loop the loops. It wasn't the scariest, it was still very fun.

Since we had an hour before our lunch, we went on a river ride on a boat with a lot of animated animals like Elephants, monkeys, crocodiles and tigers. 

Then we hopped on the train that was going round the lake that we were going round in the canoes earlier and that was good but not as good as the boat ride but that was still nice. 

So then we were all hungry so we went to have some lunch. We had a choice between a beef patty or steak and I chose the patty and it was surprisingly pretty tasty.

So next up was the STAR WARS ride And that was one where you get in a chair and its 4D so air and heat are blasting in your face with what's happening on the screen CP3 PO showed us around some planets and that was my third favourite ride.

And since we were at disney we had to visit a castle so we went into cinderella's castle and that had a hall of cinderella’s prizes and stuff it also had a story book of the Cinderella story so I refresh my memory about what happens in the story. 

Then Eleanor wanted to wait 35 mins in a line for a Dumbo the flying elephant ride where you get on a Dumbo elephant and you could control how high or low it went so that was pretty cool but not my favourite ride.

Then one of the last rides we went on was the small world ride where it has a little area for most countries in the world including New Zealand (yayyyyyy) the New Zealand one had some kiwis and Maori people there as well.

Then we went to a haunted house which wasn't very scary  because little kids go on that ride but it was still fun.

And then it was time for the night time parade that was very cool and very lit up (mickys cart was my favourite).

And I wanted to go on splash mountain again and we were about to que up but we realised it was at the time were you need an express pass type thing so to go on it so I was a bit disappointed but we went on big thunder mountain again and that was my favourite ride because it was really dark and nice and cold going around the circuit.

So after that last ride we went to go see the fireworks. My favourite one was one where it made a sound and then in like five seconds it would explode. We joined the massive crowd heading for the exit. And that's pretty much it. 

By Leo    

 

Back in Tokyo

Arriving back in Shinjuku felt strangely familiar. We were looking forward to putting our bags down for three days and to seeing more of Tokyo. This time we stayed in the Sotetsu Fresa Inn, a similar hotel to the Apa, but with an even better breakfast. Just what we needed to fuel our days. 

The first evening we decided to try Omoide Ikocha for another lane-style meal. It is similar to Golden Gai - tiny restaurants that seat maybe 10 people and serve a particular type of food. The one we picked (on the basis it had four seats available) served yakatori, so we dined on tasty skewers. It was so narrow that if people wanted to get into or out of the far end of the restaurant, everyone needed to either breathe in or step outside to let them through. We sat near the entrance, so were up and down from time to time!

We’d enjoyed our date night in Osaka so much that after we tucked the kids in bed we returned to Golden Gai, just a few minutes away. Adrian had seen a little metal/horror themed bar charmingly named “Deathmatch in Hell” on our first visit almost three weeks ago and was keen to give it a try. It was surreal. The walls were covered in album covers, movie flyers and memorabilia, and a horror movie was playing on the little TV behind the bar. We squeezed in and had a beer standing up, but it was all a bit squished so we moved on and found another bar a lane over, this time with a table all to ourselves and Beatles videos playing. We weren’t gone long, but we did enjoy sneaking in some time together. Eleanor and Leo were deep asleep by the time we got back. 

The following day the forecast was for 25 degrees and sunshine.  It was a beautiful morning so we decided to walk the 50 minutes to Meiji Jingu Shrine. Our last shrine/temple/castle of the trip. It is a beautiful location, in  the Yoyogi Gyoen gardens… a shrine erected to the memory of Emperor Meiji, who was instrumental in leading Japan into the modern age after the resignation of the last Shogun.

From there we went to a nearby owl cafe. They are beautiful birds, ranging from quite small to really big. They seem well-cared-for, they have some space to move around and are taken outside, but I did come away feeling uncomfortable about the ethics of keeping wild animals in captivity for the benefit of tourists. In the end I decided it is not something I’d do again. 

Eleanor had been excited for ages about  visiting Takeshita Street, and this was her day! Takeshita Street is a long shopping street with some uniquely Japanese fashion. We checked out lots of shops, and Eleanor was very happy with her purchase, a black dress with a swirly skirt. It’s the first time she’s worn a skirt in two or three years!

We had tickets to see the Yakult Swallows, one of Tokyo’s baseball teams, play the Dragons from Nagoya. Eleanor, Adrian and I only had a rough idea of baseball rules, so Leo who has played a baseball game on his VR came in very handy! We’d read that there’s a great atmosphere, and it is! Fans sing loudly to support their teams when they’re batting, cheerleaders lift the crowd in breaks and, when they score a run, Swallows fans do the ‘umbrella dance’ - a dance and song with little umbrellas waving in the air. It was such a fun evening, we’d all definitely watch baseball again! And the result? The Swallows won by one run. We’d left after nine innings, rather than stay for an additional three (we had a big big day coming up so needed the sleep), so didn’t see the final run. I bet the umbrella dance was enthusiastic!

Meiji Jingu Shrine.

Owls!

Takeshita Street.

A night at the baseball. 

Hiroshima and Miyajima

We’ve had so much to see and do in Japan that the blog has been neglected and this time it’s a team effort! So, Hiroshima and Miyajima is brought to you by Adrian…

The best thing for stiffening thigh muscles (even if they weren’t actually too bad!) was a good half hour's walk through the early evening, from Hiroshima train station to our flashpacker hostel WeBase in the heart of the fashion district of Hiroshima. Our room was good, hostel decor was agreeably funky, check in was fast, we dropped our bags then headed out for some food.

Research had indicated the place to go was Okonomimura, four floors of okonomiyaki teppan grill stalls all co-located in a building just a few minutes walk away. So off we went and finding it wasn't hard, we just  followed the other tourists. At Okonomimura you can get okonomiyaki (griddle fried egg and noodle pancakes, essentially) with all manner of fillings and toppings. We found a joint with a few spare seats and tucked in. They were great, my pork and shrimp with cheese was to die for, even better than the okonomiyaki we had tried in Osaka. Then it was home for a well earned sleep.

Next morning it was local history time, and of course in Hiroshima, that means the atomic bomb of 6 August 1945. We started at ground zero, the point where the bomb exploded 600 feet above the ground. It's just a plaque in a suburban street but sombre all the same. From there we headed around the corner to the Genbaku Dome. This memorial is the only part of a large trade hall exhibition type building that was left standing due to being so close to the blast (the shockwave went down instead of across at that early point). Here we met a survivor, a man who was still in his mother's womb the day of the blast. He showed us his survivor's card that entitles him to special care. He said he is one of only a few survivors still left. These days he spends his time educating tourists on all manner of blast related facts that may or may not be getting quietly unmentioned by more official sources.

Crossing the river over the reconstructed T-shaped bridge the Americans used to target the bomb, we headed into Peace Park. It's a lovely green park nestled between two arms of a river, dotted with various memorials. There's a reflective peace pond, an eternal flame, several bells, a memorial to the Koreans who died (roughly 10% of victims were Korean conscripts working on the war effort), the childrens monument (heavily covered in paper cranes, left in tribute to the story of Sadako Sasaki, the girl who died of leaukemia while attempting to fold a thousand of them) and several other shrines, memorials and statues dotted around the place. [Jo - I read and reread Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, as a child, so it was quite emotional to see the memorial. The kids and I had read it in the lead up to our original trip too, but didn’t really remember it three years on]. 

You can have a sombre but still pleasant relaxed stroll through the park taking it all in. Then we headed into the Memorial Hall, where they display an ever changing selection of portraits and stories of those who died, and have an eternal waterfall, to honour all those who died begging for water after the fires. Lastly we explored the very well presented Atomic Blast museum, which has may chilling exhibits from the time, detailing stories of the impact on everyday citizens, both at the time and over the years that followed.

By early afternoon, we were hungry so headed off for lunch. As we ate we reflected. It was an achingly sad and at times quite confronting morning, but also felt really very important that we'd taken the time to understand this unique moment in history. We learned some things, like the city was selected in part because the geography would intensify the blast, and that the decision to drop the bomb was made in part to justify to the Aemrican people the expense of developing it, as well helping beat Russia to the punch of defeating Japan (and thereby reinforcing perceptions of American superiority and power). The Americans used it as an opportunity to get real data on the effectiveness of their new weapon, which seems, well, cold in hindsight. Ultimately though, the human tragedy of it all is what lingers. It was a military target, of sorts, but so many everyday people lost their lives. It seems such a senseless loss. All we can do now is hope the world never sees such a weapon used again.

Mid afternoon we collected our bags, and a short train ferry combo later brought us to Miyajima, an island in the Hiroshima bay. If you have ever seen the iconic photo of an orange torii (gate) seemingly floating in water, that's Itsukushima shrine, and that's on Miyajima island. Our ferry cruised near for some photos, although it wasn't far past low tide at that point so the torii was on a beach rather than floating. We were greeted by more tame-enough deer wandering the streets, and enjoyed a pleasant walk through the tourist town (think a bit like Russell) towards our accomodation.

We wanted one overnight stop on our trip to be at a ryokan, a traditionally run Japanese hotel, and Miyajima was that stop. We stayed at Miyajima Morino-yado, which was a gorgeous place far enough around the bay from tourist central that it felt tranquill the moment we arrived. We knew we were in the right place when at check-in they invited us to take some yukata (a summer weight cotton one piece kimono type robe) and informed us it was completely fine to wear them to dinner. Which we did! Then we got to our Japanese room, with its lovely view into the forest surrounding the hotel, and so peaceful. We all took a few minutes just to sit in the quiet. You can completely understand how places like this are so popular in Japan, the contrast with big city life in Tokyo or Osaka couldn't be more marked.

Another reason to choose this ryokan is that it has its own onsen (public bath house) on site. So it was off with the western clothes, on with the yukata, and off to the baths we went. The Japanese bath naked and in separate baths, so Leo and Adrian went as a pair and Jo and Eleanor did the same. There is a thorough showering and shampooing ritual beforehand, then into the very hot baths. It is much like a hot pools experience in New Zealand, other than everyone is naked. But of course, being Japan, no one stares, that would be rude. Adrian wondered that perhaps one of the points of bathing naked is to gently remind everyone we are all the same in the end, we leave our status and all of that at the door. 

The baths were very relaxing indeed, but so hot we only lasted 30 minutes or so. That was plenty enough to completely sort any lingering aches from the two days riding that seemed a world away but was only a day ago!

It wouldn't be a ryokan without gorgeous food. That evening we sat down to a seven course kaiseki meal, a traditional degustation style affair with many fish and vegetable dishes dominating the menu. The oyster in custard and conger eel both stood out (very tastily too we might add) and the sashimi was incredible. We even paired it with a locally made white wine, possibly a chardonnay but difficult to tell. It was nice enough but won't be worrying Marlborough producers too much!

The only downside we discovered to our ryokan experience is that the taditional Japanese flooring (tatami mats) and futons in our rooms to sleep were quite thin and consequently a harder surface than we are used to. So we didn't get the best nights sleep. However, we did make the most of our morning, heading back to the township to explore Itsukushimia shrine (the buildings on shore and this time the gate floating at high tide or thereabouts) and then we capped it off with a ride up another ropeway to the top of Mt. Misen, the mountain that dominates the island, for amazing views across the harbour back to Hiroshima, as well as across the inland Seto sea. Lovely to get some more nature before leaving. After that we grabbed our bags and headed back to the ferry, and then four trains (two of them longer trips on bullets) all the way back to Shinjuku in Tokyo for our last stop of the trip.

Hiroshima and Miyajima provided a lovely, reflective, relaxing and contrasting couple of days - they will last long in our memories.

- Adrian

Genbaku Dome.

Ringing the Peace Bell. 

The Atomic Bomb Memorial Mound. This was the site of a crematorium, and the ashes of tens of thousands of victims are laid in this mound. 

Sadako Sasaki‘s memorial. 

Peace Park. 

Peaceful Miyajima.