Prior to coming here Melissa had been reading up on all sorts of craft blogs - because you know, Japanese people have rich history full of crafts. She didn't have illusions of spinning silk for kimonos or fashioning a sword, but rather partaking in the new "kawaii" style of doing things. Because of this we thought it best to devote a day to searching through craft stores, but things didn't quite work out that way.
There was rather large laundry list of places to go, and just as it would be, all of them were rather far apart, but thankfully connected by one train line. First on the list was a crazy super awesome store called "Kiddy Land." The name may lead you to assume that it's a pedophiles dream, but there were in fact very few kids. Instead there were a lot of cutesy toys made for the child inside of every adult. Thanks to the lack of craft materials we were on a start to a disappointing day for crafts, but a great for shopping as a whole.
Next on the list was a fabric store located near the Tokyo Parasite Museum, but sadly I was unable to find an easy route there so it was skipped in light of another fabric store called, "Tomato."
Tomato would bring us for the first time into a calm part of Tokyo, where people are free to ride bikes and the elderly can wander safely. Due to hard to follow directions we ended up wondering though the back streets, through a market, near a school, and by a really neat car park that held cars above the ground in a ferris wheel style holder. It was a nice walk eventually leading us to out destination, which as it would happen to be was - closed. Up to that point I hadn't seen a store closed durring the day, but oh well, it was a Sunday afer all.
Heading on down the line we were to visit a mega-store called "Sunshine City." At one point in time the tower was the tallest building in Tokyo, housing a five story mall, a Cold Stone Creamery, and a rooftop observatory. Once ariving there we weren't actually sure how it was in any way craft related and after getting home I'm still not sure.
The observetory was awesome though, allowing you to see really how massive of a city Tokyo is. You actually can't see to the end, a haze in the horizion prevents it, but I can imagine that even if it wasn't there you still wouldn't be able to find an end. A bad side note - when trying to walk and look out the window I tripped over a large platform used for looking through a telescope. It messed up my knee, chest, and shoulder, but I'm fine.
With all of the views that we could handle we ate some Cold Stone, tipped the server to get a song (Zippidy Doo Da), and headed on home. Once again a great day, one in which Melissa managed to find two whole store devoted to Hello Kitty.
To see the pics click here.
P.S. - for the next day we simply rested and worked on a Gundam model I purchased. You have to rest sometime, right?
Monday, April 6, 2009
Craft Shopping?
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Game Show!
So, one of my goals coming here was to try and get on a game show. I wrote every television station that I could find in Tokyo, which is quite a few, but never did I get a response other than an automated, "Thank you for leaving a massage."
Today was a good day though, as I was approached on the street by a game show crew. It was crazy. We were at a vending machine trying to purchase 500 ml Pepsi cans when a lady and a camera crew came up to us and wanted to know if we would help with a game show. Melissa didn't want to, but I knew I had to give it a try.
The gist of the game goes like this: a Japanese celebrity who was an actor (the guy with the bowl cut) was to try and use charades to explain to me that "something" in the "something" in 60 seconds Guess two words in 60 seconds - sounds easy. Wrong. The catch was that the actor had horrible English, which the hostess (girl with tie-die) was well aware of.
At first he said "A warrior in the air." So I said, "Superman." He said, "No, no, no. To infinity and beyond," while pointing in the air. "Oh Buzz Lightyear!," I exclaimed. "Okay, sounds like buzz, in the air." "Buzz Lightyear in the Sky?" "No, like Buzz." ...and the time was up. I was asked for my final answer, which was "Buzz Lightyear in the Sky." I was told by the hostess that I was actually really close. The answer was, "Bus in the Sky." Hopefully I can now bring laughter to generations of Japanese to come.
That was pretty much the highlight for the day. Oh, well that and buying a new Gundam Model. Woot. For todays pics click here.
Giant Wooden Buildings Oh My!
This was a day of lots of firsts. It was our first time taking the Shinkansen (bullet train). First time outside of Tokyo. First time visiting a world heritage site. A good day in general.
We started out by boarding the Shinkansen in a risky move by taking an unreserved car. Fortunately we arrived at a very unpopulated part of the track and had no problems what-so-ever securing a seat.
At first it seems like just another train, but when they finally pick up speed you really start to realize how fast you are going. Buildings - blink of an eye. Whole farms - maybe two blinks. The best part though is when one Shinkansen passes another. The intense winds from the two trains passing causes the cars to buckle sideways. The feeling never gets old.
With a transfer at Kyoto to a slower city train we found our way in Nara, home to the Daibutsu, a 67 foot tall statue of Buddha.
For some of the people this was a sacred trip, filled with many hand clapping, hand washing, mouth rinsing, incense burning, and coin throwing. For most though it was a day in the park with a chance to see a World Heritage site and the worlds largest wooden building. Being Christian we were in the latter, and seeing how there was a gift shop selling "I Love Japan" shirts I'm not sure how anybody could be in the prior.
The statue and it's housing, although amazingly cool, wasn't the highlight of the park - no, that my friends belong to the deer. You see, all throughout the park there are "wild" deer that roam around, waiting for you to feed them food cakes sold by the natives. The Shinto people believe that the deer are messengers from their gods, but I believe they are just plain cute.
With lots of temples, lots of statues, and even more deer, we decided to head on home. Unfortunately we jumped on a local route instead of an express, which lead to longer ride. Then coming home we took a Kodoma Shinkansen instead of a Hikari Shinkansen, which stops more frequently and ends up taking much longer. Oh well, all turned out right and we made it home.
To see the pictures from the day click here
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Ye olde Nippon
Today was our first day in "old" Japan in the form of Tokyo district of Asukusa. Sure, there were large buildings all around, and they were doing construction -with scaffolding and the like - but it did have a different feel than the yest of the town.
Asakusa is currently one of the last holding out places for single story buildings with it's quaint open air market filled with many wooden shops along the narrow streets beckoning tourist from the Japan and beyond to taste their wares. Want a baby kimono? They have it. Want a wooden sword? They have it. Want a samurai wig? They have that too. In fact, if you want something something stereotypically Japanese you have no further to go than Asakusa. It's a haven for this kind of stuff.
Asakusa is not just for touristy gifts though; no there is a whole lot more.
Once you pass through the market, under the giant lantern, you are swept away to a land of temples, shrines, statues and fried bananas dipped in chocolate. Although in no way a spiritual part of the trip it was actually rather nice to have a chance to sit down and look at a time gone by. Buildings were several hundred years old, and some of the shrines looked even older.
It was a quiet day, with great weather, a lot of history. Tomorrow shall be the same, but instead we will be just under 300 miles away.
To see some of the wonderful sites at Asakusa click here.
Disneyrandu!
"Disneyrandu, Disneyrandu, Disneyrandu!" - that is the sound of a train full of kids about to get off at Imahara Station, just outside of Disneyland. The Japanese language doesn't truly have the letter "L" or single consonants other than "N," which leads to a lot of funny words. So, with funny words we were led to fun times at Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea.
Like most days we started out a train, but this time we weren't so blessed as to simply catch one train and call it good. No, we had the pleasure of finding the Keiyo, which was a treacherous walk through the underground labyrinth at Tokyo Station.
Not only was a it a long and confusing walk, we were led down escalators that were steep enough that you could simply lean back and fall asleep and wouldn't have to worry about falling forwards. Seeing how Tokyo station is regarded to by locals to the be the most confusing of stations I find it rather cool that we managed to get to our destination on time. Oh, and speaking of cool things - ever heard us talking about how we think we have been blessed with good timing? Well, we happen to be here for the 25th anniversary of Tokyo Disneyland.
Pulling into the station you are immediately greeted by the wonderful site of the Tokyo Disney Hotel - it it's self a work of art. In fact the whole park is, thanks to the staff who are always in a rush to keep things neat. The employees are constantly keeping things cleaned (one person with a broom, one person with a dustpan - how's that for productive hours), constantly monitoring lines, constantly yelling "welcome" to you.
Other than looking great, having great rides, there are a few drawbacks.
Now the fourth one only makes sense, but it does take a tad bit off of the ride.
Despite any setbacks though we managed to have a great time hitting up many an awesome rides - including the amazing Tokyo Disneyland exclusive, "Pooh's Honey Hunt," which takes you on an adventure through the hundred acre wood.
Fast forward now onto the next day we continued our adventure by visiting Tokyo DisneySea, which in my opinion was the greatest theme park I've ever been too. As soon as you step through the front gate you receive this feeling that you have arrived at somewhere very different than your regular Disneyland.
A giant harbor sets in the middle of the park with a volcano jutting out of the skyline, spewing out real fire. Around the park are more themed areas, such as large scale city walls around Agrabah and a faux Taj Mahal, a Myan temple, Mexican marketplace, and an underwater city.
All of the rides, with the exception of the Tower of Terror, were original creations. Although The Tower was in fact my favorite there were many that gave it a run for it's money.
Journey though the Center of the Earth is a great case in point. It is a dark ride, where you travel though a steam vent down towards the earth's core. Along the way you run into odd creatures, lot's of hot air and real fire. The climax of the ride though is a fast exit through the top of the parks volcano.
Once again; great rides and some amazing times. Sure, there was a lot of walking and a crazy train ride, but I guess that was all part of the fun too.
To check out our photos of the two parks click here.
