Day 268 - 25th of May

12:00pm　地下鉄　－　半蔵門線
天気：晴れ
We’re in 押上 (Oshiage), waiting for the train to depart. We got off to a late and bumpy start this morning, but it’s all good; it’s been go, go, go every day, and it’s taking its toll. It’s a sunny and quite warm day, and I’m glad we’re underground now… After getting up at about 10, we got ready slowly and then made our way over to the Sky Tree, which we can actually see from our hostel. After getting some breakfast from an am/pm, I realised I’d left my camera behind. So, we walked all the way back, got it, and then enjoyed our fruit and jelly in the kitchen. Take two and we once again made our way to the Sky Tree, its ridiculous height becoming more and more overwhelming with each step. Since it was still under construction, we couldn’t get that close, the ground around it littered with cranes and materials. As it stands, it’s already 338m, just surpassing the Tokyo Tower (333m) as the tallest structure in Japan. It still has a while to go though; when completed, it’ll be 648m. It’s definitely something I want to come back and see once it’s finished in 2012; I can’t imagine the height it will be when doubled what it is already!!! From there, we walked to a nearby station, and realised that this one wouldn’t take us where we wanted to go. So, we found a map to Oshiage station, and headed there, the Sky Tree ever looming. It was incredible; people would be just stopped in the street, staring, craning their necks and taking pictures of it. Now, we’re bound for Harajuku, to visit 明治神宮 (Meiji Jingu), the shrine of the Meiji Emperor. Since we’ve just bought an all day pass for the Tokyo Metro (subway), we’re free to do as much train travel as we like, and we’re more than ready to get our money’s worth…

5:39pm　シェーキーズ　－　新宿

We’re in Shakey’s Pizza, and it’s a lot different than I expected. Unlike the one in Kyoto, there’s no buffet and the all-you-can-eat only lasts 90 minutes. So, we’re going to try to make the most of it. The quality of the pizzas is certainly much better, but the waiting kinda ruins it; I guess there has to be a trade off somewhere. Anyway, I’ll write more about the rest of the day when I get back to the hostel…

9:07pm　浅草スマイル

We just got back from Akihabara; only there for a short time. It was, I don’t know… I guess I just wasn’t in the mood for shopping; my energies all but left me. Also, since I’m leaving tomorrow, I’m really not that fussed anymore; I guess all I can thing about is home. Still, I really enjoyed all the sightseeing we got to do today, and I’m looking forward to a bit more tomorrow. So, the rest of my day… As soon as we got out onto the street in Harajuku, I recognised my surroundings; the Meiji shrine turned out to be one of the places I went 5 years ago. Not much had changed, and soon we were walking through the grounds, beautiful camphor and maple trees shading our path from the hot sun. We decided to check out the garden, and found ourselves taking a pleasant walk through the scrub; it reminded me of bush walking in Australia so much. The forest gave way to a small lake that was brimming with koi; what a wonderful escape for the Emperor and Empress. After traversing the garden, we made our way over to the main complex, where they are now enshrined; yes, they can become gods too. I took plenty of video, and then we continued on the vast forested park to 代々木 (Yoyogi) station.

We found a museum along the way, but it was closed. After getting to the station, we tried to figure out where the statue of ハチ公 (Hachiko) was. He’s probably the most famous dog in Japan, known for his unwavering loyalty to his master. Go to Wikipedia if you want to read about him; it’s a really beautiful story. Carly used her phone, and found out that the statue was actually in Shibuya; I thought it had been close-by. So, instead of going there right then, we decided to go to 六本木ヒルズ (Roppongi Hills) first. Here we found the impressive 54 storey Mori Tower, which had an observatory on the 52^nd floor, and art museum on the 53^rd; we had to check it out. After a look around the base (it was so futuristic with some really cool statues), we made our way up the observatory, after purchasing our tickets in the lobby; we got a discount since we’re students. The view was really spectacular, and I got some great shots of Tokyo Tower and the bay. It was just such a shame there was a haze in the air though; I had hope we’d catch a glimpse of Mount Fuji. Tokyo Tower was definitely the stand out in the city, but there were also so many other interesting buildings, some with really funny shapes. As part of our ticket, we got to look round a contemporary art exhibition, and boy was it out there. It was just so… weird!!! The theme was, “So what is art”, and I definitely think some of the exhibits really pushed the boundaries. There was one were you slid into a room through a small corridor to find this man in a dark room, moving around objects like buckets of water, and flowers and balls in an absurd fashion; it was actually quite creepy. That would have to be closely followed by the Japanese guy impersonating Hitler; that one was restricted to a screen at least. Some exhibits were really nice though; some beautiful sculptures, paintings, and photography. There was also a room where you could sit surrounded by the ringing of crystal cups; I thought that was quite cool. After all that our brains were aching, and we were ready to go find Hachiko.

From Roppongi, we went to Shibuya, emerging from the subway to find ourselves at the infamous scramble crossing, where 100s of people cross at every green light; it’s probably the busiest in the world. We soon located Hachiko, and after taking a picture with him, we made our way to Shinjuku for Shakey’s Pizza. That actually turned out to be quite satisfying, and I think we got our money’s worth. I got to sample five different pizzas, including two dessert pizzas, lots of potato wedges, and a bit of pasta. And like I said, the quality was amazing; it was so fresh, straight out of the oven. We stayed until almost 7, and then took the train to Akihabara, and apart from Book Off, we didn’t go into any other stores. Well, I’d better get to packing now; leaving tomorrow night. Asakusa Smile will keep our bags for us, which is really great; means we can be free to do whatever tomorrow. I think we’ll go to Sensouji once more, just to pick up a few souvenirs, come back, check out, leave our luggage and then take it from there. Carly’s looking for accommodation since her flight’s not until Thursday. She’s thinking about staying at a manga café, which I think is a really a really cool idea. Anyway, I’d better go. Today was good, but I’m so tired. Kinda just want to be on the plane now...

Day 267 - 24th of May

9:11am　地下鉄　－　銀座線

天気：雨天

We’re on the Ginza subway line, from Asakusa to Shibuya. From there, we will change to another line, get to Shinjuku, and make another transfer for 三鷹 (Mitaka), where we will find the Ghibli Museum. It’s a bit of a late start, but I think we’ll make it on time…

9:29am　山手線

Now we’re on the Yamanote line for Shinjuku. Wow, the trains here in Tokyo seem so much longer than those of the Keihan line. I’m thinking, “Isn’t that train coming up too fast?” but no; two extra carriages really make a difference. Also, the city train system is so complex; there are so many different routes you can chose to get to your destination. The trick is, is to find the most efficient, and economical way; I think we’re doing an okay job of that.

9:41am　快速

Finally on the rapid express to Mitaka. The tickets we have are for the 10 o’clock admission, and I don’t know how strict they are with the time. At this point I’m freaking out a bit; what if we don’t make it in time?

1:59pm　快速

We’ve just got back on the train, and we’re making our way back to Shinjuku to see if we can find the Square Enix building. The Ghibli Museum was amazing… After getting off at Mitaka Station, we walked briskly through the rain towards the museum, which was about 15 minutes away in a basically straight line past the waterworks. Every 200 metres there would be a sign saying how much further the museum was, and this only spurred me on; it was a little frustrating too. It was already 10 past by the time we made it, but I had nothing to worry about; they let us in no problem. As soon as we got inside, all the stress lifted, to be replaced with giddy excitement. I really did feel like a little kid again, entering a magical house of spiral staircases, corridors and cubby holes. It was such a wonderful experience, and I’m sure it’s one of the most kid friendly museums in the world; so many things to see, do, and touch. They even had a huge Cat Bus to play on and in; too bad it was for primary school kids or younger. We leisurely explored the entire building, learning about the history of animation, the animation process in an interactive and hands on manner. There were so many beautiful stained glass windows, and even the bathrooms were impressive; there were a lot of them too. On the roof there was a garden, and a statue of the robot from Laputa (I dare say life size), looking right at home. In fact, the whole building was covered in greenery, and it was surrounded by trees; a secluded world all of its own. The highlight of the museum would have had to have been the short film. We got to see こねこバス (Konekobasu – Kitten Bus), which was an adorable 14 minute story about Mei’s adventures with the kitten bus; it made me so happy. The language was really easy to understand too.

After that, we did a bit more exploring, and then of course, went to the gift shop, “Mamma Aiuto”. I didn’t go too overboard, I don’t think. We got really lucky, getting to the counter just as a huge line had dispersed. They even gave us an extra bag, just in case one got wet; so considerate. By this point, we were very hungry, so after we backtracked for our umbrellas, we went looking for something to eat. We found a Lawsons just across the road, and decided that that was more than satisfactory. After we finished making our purchases, we had the challenge of trying to find somewhere dry to sit and eat. The next 20 minutes consisted of us wondering around the nearby park, trying to find seats that were actually undercover; it was a little ridiculous. Eventually, we came to a Benzaiten temple, and ate at its base. It was a beautiful building, painted in a vibrant red. After eating, we spent some more time enjoying the park and the lake in the rain, and then made our way to 吉祥寺 (Kichijouji) Station. We’ve almost arrived at Shinjuku now. After the Square Enix building (if we can find it), we might also visit the Pokémon Centre…

2:41pm　銀座線

Realising it was taking too long, I went over to the map and realised that this line didn’t actually pass through Shinjuku; whoops. So, now we’re making our way back the other direction…

4:54pm　地下鉄　－　都営大江戸線

Now we’re on the Toei Oedo subway line, heading to 大門 (Daimon), to see if we can find the Pokémon Centre. Finding the Square Enix building was a success, although a little anticlimactic… Once we got to Shinjuku, we found an information kiosk, and soon had a map showing us to the “Square Enix Building”; it was a bit of a walk. This turned out to be the actual headquarters of Square Enix; just the 12^th floor of the massive building. The two women at the reception desk looked very confused, and I don’t blame them. I was a bit confused too, until they explained to us that this was the headquarters, and directed us to the goods shop; this was the place Rachael had actually been referring to. The way she described it, it had sounded really big. In fact, it was a single, small floor of goods; in the end I didn’t even buy anything. There really wasn’t anything that jumped out at me, and it was all quite expensive; I did get to take a picture of the semi-naked Sephiroth statue in the floor before the clerk came back though. So while it didn’t exactly live up to my expectations, I can now say that I’ve been to the headquarters of Sqaure Enix in Tokyo!!! I’m hoping it’ll be a little less hassle to find the Pokémon Centre, and that we have a good amount of time to browse…

6:40pm　ラメン屋　－　大門

We’re in a ramen shop near Tokyo Tower, which is almost entirely shrouded in fog; only the base is visible. Walking around Shinjuku this afternoon, it was also very foggy, the sky pressing down on the skyscrapers. I can’t wait to see it when it’s lit up… Anyway, we did the Pokémon Centre with relative ease; it was just up the road from Daimon station. It was definitely the largest of the three I’ve been two; makes sense since its Tokyo. I didn’t buy that much; just a few more things for my brother. I wonder if I’ll ever get around to visiting the other Pokémon Centres in Japan; there are at least two more that I know of. Well, it’s been a super day; Ghibli, Square Enix, and Pokémon. And to top it all off Tokyo Tower is on the menu next. I have to eat the rest of Carly’s ramen now; she says she’ll spew if she has another bite. I’m not complaining; more for me!!!

9:00pm　浅草線

We’re on the train back to the hostel now from Daimon. The tower was amazing… We didn’t bother going up to the top, but we took plenty of photos from the base; the orange glow looked so cool in the fog. We made our approach through 増上寺 (Zoujouji) Temple, the tower a beautiful incandescent backdrop; a fusion of ancient and modern. We made our way around the main building, and through a cemetery, before reaching the tower. It was massive, and the first 4 floors were dedicated to shops; there was a Makkas of course. On the bottom floor, there was actually a Michael Jackson exhibition, the annoying voice over disturbing the otherwise quiet lobby; there was hardly anyone inside. After buying a few souvenirs, we exited and had a crepe each for dessert; my first and last in Japan. After waiting out a sudden down pour, we made our way back to the station… I think that’s it for the night; when I get back, I’m going to collapse!

Day 247 - 4th of May

11:31pm　セミナーハウス

天気：晴れ

Never thought I’d be saying this but I’ve got the air con on in here because it’s too hot; winter has definitely left us. It’s been such a warm day today, and while storm clouds were threatening this evening, it hasn’t rained at all. I’ve been working on my Japanese presentation pretty solidly all afternoon, and I’m still not finished; I’ve only got one day left now. On the plus side, I got out for a bit today to enjoy the weather… After breakfast at 10, I played KH for a while, and then got on my bike and rode down to the station. On the way, I took some photos of the abundance of azalea bushes in full bloom in front of the Komatsu plant, and also stopped at a local shrine I had rode past a few times, but never been in. It’s called 甲鉾神社 (Kouhoko Shrine), and it was small but peaceful. Going down the big hill today was great because the lights were timed perfectly so that I didn’t have to slow down for the traffic in front. Getting to the station, I parked my bike, this time in a proper park. It’s actually an automated “bike rack” (that’s the best way I could think to describe it) that charges you depending on how long you leave it there. The first 90 minutes are free, and had I known this earlier I definitely would have used it; that’s what lack of investigation gets you.

In the 90 minutes I had, I got a lot done. I went to animate and found the Hetalia character song’s sheet music book (I was so happy about that), and also got some Hetalia pins from a gatchapon. It’s funny because they weren’t there on Saturday when I went, and the machine was almost empty already; goes to show how popular it is. I had a look at the clothes on the men’s floor, but didn’t find anything I liked, so I went over to Book Off; I didn’t find anything there either. I got back with time to spare, and soon figured out how to free my bike from the clutches of the evil bike rack; just had to type in the number rack it was in into the machine nearby. Then I made my way back home; that was hot work. I decided I would buy the tickets to the Ghibli Museum in Tokyo today, since I heard they sold out fast. In order to do that, I had to go to Lawsons to use a machine that would print out a receipt that I could give to the people at the counter in exchange for the tickets; sounds complicated right. And it was, especially because it took me a while to figure out how to get the machine to do what I wanted it to do; these girls came up to help me, which was really nice of them.

Carly and I had tentatively planned to go the museum on Sunday, pretty much as soon as we get to Tokyo, but that day was sold out, so I went for the Monday. Thinking about it now, I’m actually happier with that. It means we don’t have to rush at all on Sunday; I’m sure we’ll be tired after being on the night bus for 8 hours or so. Simon was telling me about his trip to Tokyo this afternoon (he just got back), and it sounds as though he had a really great time; I’m looking forward to it. I worked on my presentation until about 7:30, and then went up to make dinner; pasta bake. I ended up making enough to last three meals however it wasn’t quite saucy enough, so I think I’m going to have to buy some more to put in it. After dinner, I was bombarded by more food; Julie was giving out cake, and Sam mochi. I also had another orange, and it wasn’t as sour this time; still really messy though. I stayed up there until about 9, and then got a bit more done on my presentation. I’m learning words like symbiosis and photosynthesis in Japanese, which is kind of cool even though I’m probably never going to use them outside this presentation; oh well. I’m mostly worried about being able to remember it all, as some of the sentences are pretty full on; I think I might get Yuji to check it over for me when I’m done. Anyway, I’d better get some sleep now; last day of holiday tomorrow…

Day 204 - 22nd of March

6:44am　マック

天気：晴れ

I’m sitting in the Makkas in Makino. We’ve been for about 40 minutes, and enjoyed a small breakfast. Karaoke was the best!!! We staying until just after 5, when they finally realised we were still in our room; we were literally the last people there. Getting out, the funniest thing ever happened… we decided to do purikura, and the photos turned our really well. But, as we were embellishing them, the power went out; thinking that everyone was gone, they shut everything down! They soon realised we were still in the booth, and a bit shocked, promptly turned the power back on. We were really worried that the photos would be lost, but after everything loaded back up they were there. We beautified them as quickly as possible before printing them off, and left feeling pretty bad; we had a good laugh about it soon after. Anyway, we’ll be making our way back to the seminar house shortly…

8:34am　枚方市駅

Now we’re in the waiting room at Hirakatashi; going to take the train back to Kyoto. Basically as soon as we got out of Makkas, I decided I would crash at the hotel tonight, so we could spend some more time in Kyoto. So we walked back along the river, enjoying the beautiful cool morning, and got to the Seminar house. Unfortunately, despite my efforts, Alex wasn’t allowed into the Seminar House since it was before visiting hours. So I had to make her wait outside while I quickly got changed and packed a few toiletries for tonight; trying very hard not to disturb Hugo. I emerged feeling a lot better; ready to face the day. We walked over to the uni, so I could show Alex, and I think she was really impressed; we didn’t go in since we just wanted to get back to Kyoto. Catching the bus across the road from the uni, we soon arrived at the station; getting on the train now…

10:44am　ホテル

I just had a bit of a rest in the hotel room (couldn’t sleep). Alex crashed on the bed as soon as we got here, and now we’re waiting for Sandy and Nan to get back from breakfast. Apparently we’ll be going to the imperial palace today, which should be great; ever better because I haven’t been before.

12:09pm　ホテル

Suprisingly, although not so surprisingly, I’m still in the hotel room, waiting. Out of boredom, I made a quick trip around the block and through a shopping centre, before coming back just in time; Nan and Sandy had just gotten in the door, with more clothes. Now they’ve gone back down to reception, because Sandy lost the key. So yeah, hopefully we leave soon, before the whole day has gone…

1:53pm　地下鉄

In the subway; finally!!! We’re making our way to the imperial palace, getting off at 丸太町 (Marutamachi)…

3:42pm　京都

I’m sitting on the pavement outside of Makkas. Alex and Nan are getting something to eat; I’m not too keen on eating Makkas again today. The palace grounds were amazing, and although we couldn’t enter the main complex (it’s only open on special occasions), the trip was definitely worth it. There were so many massive, old trees, including a huge, weeping cheery blossom in almost full bloom; it was really incredible. After walking a fair way down, we stopped at a small souvenir shop, and Nan and Sandy picked up a few things. After getting a photo of a beautiful young girl dressed in kimono, we exited through a side gate and made our way back down along the main street, looking for somewhere to eat. On the way, we came across the 護王神社 (Goo shrine), dedicated to the 猪 (Inoshishi – boar). Also, it was apparently a shrine for feet protection; something I’ll definitely need after all this walking around. We’re on our way back to the station now…

5:17pm　京都

On the move; walking back to the hotel… They all decided to get Makkas in the end, and I just settled for a few onigiri; I’m really starting to like them. However, it can be a bit of a gamble when it comes to the filling, since I can’t always read it; I got a few weird flavours today. After getting to the entrance of the subway, the girls decided to make their way back to the hotel. I on the other hand, wanted to explore some more, so we separated and I continued down the street. After a bit of videotaping, I stumbled upon the Kyoto International Manga Museum; what luck. I decided I had to check it out, and promptly made my way in. Because of copyright and all that jazz, no photography was allowed, so I’ll try my best to explain what it was like. Basically, it was a huge three storey building packed with manga, which people could look at, and even read at their leisure; so many people were doing just that. They would be sitting at tables, in the stairwell, on the floor, or just standing; there was even an outside area of artificial grass, for people to read and play on. I had a sneaking suspicion that the building was a converted school building, due to the layout and architecture…

5:30pm　京都

I’ve just made it to the intersection in front of Nijo castle; turned left and now heading back towards the station… So yeah, I wandered the corridors, and marvelled at the sheer amount of books. On the second floor, I found chairs set up for something, and decided to sit down. It turned out to be a 紙芝居 (kamishibai – lit. “paper drama”) performance. Basically, it’s a mode of storytelling that uses illustrated boards inserted into the stage. These are withdrawn one by one as a story is being told; it actually originated in the 12^th century in Buddhist temples so the monks could convey stories with moral lessons to a mostly illiterate audience. The storyteller, noticing me, asked if I wanted him to speak in English, and I said no Japanese would be fine. I was really happy that I could understand a lot of what he was saying, and he was speaking really fast; he was a very energetic speaker too, using lots of vocal techniques and hand gestures. He started off with a quiz that involved word play to get the kids (and the adults) involved; while I could understand what he was asking, I couldn’t comprehend the contextual meaning behind it. When they answered correctly, the kids would receive tickets that they could exchange for gifts after the show. After the quiz, he went on to tell a few stories, one about two siblings using their mums “mixer” i.e. blender, to create bubbles and getting in a lot of trouble.

The other stories and illustrations had been devised by primary school children, and admittedly they were very clever and funny. He finished off with a bunch of “countdown sequence” boards (best way to describe it), getting the audience to count down from 5 to 0, showing a consequential sequence of events. My favourite was a piece of toilet paper that ended up pooping out a toilet roll. Others included, a beer bottle that when shook up exploded with bottle caps, and a boy blowing up a huge bubble, with him eventually exploding not the bubble; they were all very dramatic and unexpected. Very satisfied I continued exploring, and confirmed my suspicion, finding a memorial room for the primary school it once was. It made a lot of sense, the floor boards were squeaky, there was a central stairwell, and the doors were very typical of primary schools. After coming out of a room that showed the timeline of manga (with books from every decade of the 20^th century), I had a little look around the gift shop, and not finding anything I liked in particular, collected my bag from the coin locker (well it was free, so I guess you would just call it a locker), and exited feeling very happy. I haven’t really seen anything else of interest yet. Oh well, it’s getting dark and cloudy, so I need to get back anyway…

6:34pm　ホテル

Finally back at the hotel; my feet are killing me!!! I ended up walking past the 西本願寺 (Nishihonganji – the Western equivalent to Higashihonganji) before finally getting to the station. I walked down into the subway, emerging just out the front of the hotel, and dragged myself up to the 6^th floor, to Alex’s and my room, which ended up being right next to Nan’s and Sandy’s. I’m not hungry at all now, but I guess we’ll go out for dinner soon…