Japan was such a memorable trip! We are already planning our next trip back.
The Japanese are amazing. The people is the reason why I love Japan. Everyone we met were so polite, and so NICE! It's like southern hospitality (although I've never experienced southern hospitality and can only assume from what has been repeated).
After the Japanese people, I love the country itself and the presentation (???) of Japan. Surprisingly, for a country that populated, there were no trash! It's even more astounding when there are no trash bins! The country is so clean! There were no graffiti or litter (maybe the 3 years in prison or the 300,000 yen fine deterred it).
The subway systems were extremely efficient for the amount of travelers. People get in line to get on/off the trains/bus. There are arrows directing people so everyone can walk without bumping into each other. The country is very automated.
We seriously need some of these things in the US.
Lost in Translation Part I: Tokyo
After a very eventful week in Las Vegas (first time in Sin City on a Monday-Thursday), I met up with my hubby at the SFO airport and we boarded our United flight to Japan. We were lucky enough to fly in business class. Being a night flight, the flat beds were very much welcomed.
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| Hubby and I before take off |
We landed in Tokyo Haneda airport at 10:15 pm and managed to somehow find our way to the Park Hyatt Tokyo. We made it just in time for the New York Sky Bar before it closed. The Park Hyatt Hotel was the setting for the movie "Lost in Translation".
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| I woke up like this - at the PH New York Bar |
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| View from the NY Sky Bar |
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I can't help taking this picture on check out day.
Left: Me copying Scarlett Johansson
Right: Scarlett Johansson in Lost in Translation |
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| First Japanese meal in Japan - breakfast at Park Hyatt Tokyo |
Lost in Translation: Hakone
After checking out of the Park Hyatt Tokyo, we took the Shinkansen bullet train to Kyoto with a one night stopover in Hakone. Hakone is a cute little town near Mount Fuji. I saw Fuji-san on our train ride but we were moving so fast that I was not able to snap a picture.
We originally hoped to stay at a ryokan for the one night in Hakone, but after comparing the options, we decided on the Hyatt Regency. Personally, I felt Hakone was a great start for our trip because it was so relaxing and there was no pressure to start the tourist activities. Thus, we were able to ease into our trip and adjust to Japan time at a leisurely pace.
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| Me wearing a Yukata |
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| The hotel has a happy hour from 4-7 pm. We totally took advantage of that. The lounge was relaxing, which was perfect to help us get settled into the time-zone. |
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| Wayne posing with the view from our hotel. |
The next morning, we checked into our spa appointment at Gora Kadan before continuing our trek to Kyoto. Gora Kadan is a traditional ryokan and was a former retreat, still a retreat today. The reason most people stay at a ryokan is to experience an onsen, spa treatment, kaiseki dinner, and to enjoy Japanese culture and sleeping style. The last part I don't care too much for. Although I appreciate Japanese culture, I prefer my western style mattress and bed. So, we improvised a bit and secured an onsen, treatment and kaiseki (lunch) at Gora Kadan.
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| Google Image picture of Gora Kadan |
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| The walk around Gora Kadan was our first taste of the beauty of Japanese landscape. |
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| Entrance to our Onsen (volanic hot spring) |
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| This is a picture of the onsen before we jumped in (buck naked). It was a good experience but too much nature for me. I prefer Burke Williams indoor jacuzzi. |
After the spa appointment, we checked out of our hotel and said good bye to the property's resident dog, Haru. If I have a dog, this is the one I want. A very well-trained, friendly, and mild-tempered black Labrador Retriever.
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| Haru let me pet him! |
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| Doesn't my hubby look like he'll be a good future dog owner??? Let him know that please! |
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Good-bye Hakone!
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Lost in Translation: Kyoto Part I
After the onsen and spa treatment, we were ready to start our tourist activities, and took the Shinkansen to Kyoto. Our welcoming party in Kyoto was a gush of hot air. Kyoto weather was in the high 80s, and extremely hot for two San Franciscans!
We checked into the Hyatt Regency Kyoto, and rushed straight to Kiyomizu-dera temple before it closed at 6:00 pm. The temple was established in 778 A.D. and is the temple of the Goddess of Mercy, Kannon. Or in Vietnamese,
Đức Quan Thế Âm Bồ Tát.
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| Kiyomizu-dera temple, a view that was in Memoirs of a Geisha |
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| Kiyomizu-dera - view of the stage |
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| A nice stairway that was blocked off |
That night, we dined at a very good grilled beef restaurant. It was a hole in the wall, and there were no English menus. I highly recommend this place, because the food was good, cheap, and it MUST be authentic. Although, I don't know the name of the place and they do not have an English translation. After some googling, I think it's called "Yamadaruma".
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| DELICIOUS!! |
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| The meat we had in Japan were very marbled. It was for sure not Kobe or Wagyu, as it's only $50 for both of us (plum wine included), but equally yummy |
Lost in Translation: Kyoto Part II
We woke up bright and early for our second day in Kyoto for some sight seeing. Kyoto is home to the most UNESCO world heritage sites, so we did not visit all the sites that was on my original list, but did manage to make it to some of the more famed sites.
We saw (not experienced) a lot in one day though:
- Bamboo Forest in Arashiyama
- Rock Garden at Ryoan-ji Temple
- Golden Pavilion (Kinkaku-ji Temple)
- Sanjusangendo Temple
- Red Gates (Fushimi-Inari Taisha)
- Gion District
Bamboo Forest - As the name suggests, this forest is full of bamboos (no pandas, just bamboos). There was also a temple there that we did not have time to see, Tenryu-ji. There were also several grave sites as we walked, which we also did not stop to see (for obvious, paranormal, spooky reasons).
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| So many bamboos! |
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| Brief stop |
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| In front of Tenryuji Temple |
Ryoan-ji and its rock garden - I don't know much about this temple, except that it has a famous zen rock garden. It looks like a buddhist meditation temple from what I can see.
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| Rock garden |
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| Meditation room |
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| A nice pond on our way to the next site |
Golden Pavilion (Kinkaku-ji) - This temple was once a villa that belonged to a famous statesmen. It was later purchased and then converted to a temple. The gold seen on the pavilion is supposed to be covered by pure gold leaf. I'm surprised that the gold lasted this long and no one managed to steal it all these years!
By the time we reached the Kinkaku-ji, we were too tired from the heat and hunger. So it was a very quick walk, or as fast as we could walk with the many people ahead of us on the sight seeing path! Given that Kinkaku-ji is probably the most famous temple in Kyoto aside from Kiyomizu-dera, it attracts a lot of visitors.
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| Wayne in front of the temple and very tired from the hot weather |
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| pretty shot of the Kinkaku-ji |
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| Me behind the temple |
After lunch and some time in the air-conditioned hotel room, we continued our UNESCO self-guided tour. Next up was Sanjusangendo Temple.
Sanjusangendo Temple - This was my favorite temple. It is also another temple for Kannon. According to the guide sheet, there are 1001 bronze statues of Kannon, one large one of her, and 28 guardians. We were not allowed to take pictures. So we settled for some nice ones of the smaller garden outside.
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| Me at the Sanjusangendo Temple garden |
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| a picture I found on google image of the statues inside the temple |
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| Outside of the temple |
Fushimi-Inari Taisha - This was number one on my must-see list, as it looks pretty and was filmed in "Memoirs of a Geisha". This shrine was built for the rice god.
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| very hot day, so we got ice cream! |
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| There are thousands of red gates |
That night, we dined in Gion Corner. We had a popular pancake dish that originated from Osaka. I don't remember what it's called, but it was just okay. I liked the experience of sitting on the floor to eat, at least for the first time.
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| Wayne walking in the alleyway towards dinner |
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| I think this was a film setting for "Memoirs of a Geisha" |
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| I got a picture of Wayne by that bridge in "Memoirs of a Geisha" |
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| Gion at night |
Lost in Translation: Kibune
Our third day in Kyoto consisted of a day trip to Kibune, which is a small northern village in the outskirt of Kyoto City. The purpose of traveling here was to eat at Kibuneso, a Kawadako (river restaurant). We basically ate on a board over the Kibune river. This created a cooling effect, which was much welcomed because temperatures were somewhere in the 90s that day.
Dining at a Kawadoko was a very unique experience, although the Kaiseki meal wasn't too good (but better than Gora Kadan) and was also the priciest meal of the whole trip. On top of that, there were some mosquitoes!!! Thank goodness I brought my DEET. With all that said, I still highly recommend it for the experience and scenery alone.
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| The Kibune river behind us |
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| Google image of the restaurant |
After dining at Kibuneso/Kibunesou, we packed up our bags and hopped into the Shinkansen and made our way back to Tokyo. This time, we stayed at the Grand Hyatt Tokyo in Roppongi Hills.
Lost in Translation: Tokyo Part II
On our second day in Tokyo, we went to the Japanese Fish Market, Tsukiji, toured the Imperial Palace, and saw a show at Robot Restaurant.
Comparing
Tsukiji to Sydney's fish market, I like Sydney's fish market more. Tsukiji was an interesting experience as it's a fish market, and that's where people work. They are not very tolerant of tourists. There were these electrical buggies/cart that they used to transport fish amongst other things, and they WILL RUN YOU OVER! It was a bit of a scary place for me, BUT...we got fresh sushi!
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| Probably the freshest sushi in the world. Toro, tuna, and salmon |
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| That is toro and tuna |
Next up is the Imperial Palace. What is the Imperial Palace? Well, it's where the Emperor lives. It's like going to Washington DC and seeing the white house. Yeah, I was confused too...or maybe I'm the only one confused. I really wanted to see the inside of the Palace, but we only toured the outer portion. The tour was free and we got some pictures of the outside buildings, so I can't really complain. However, the Imperial Palace is not that interesting.
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| A compound of some sort. |
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| The grounds of the Imperial Palace |
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| Imperial Palace entrance gate |
The most exciting part of our second night in Tokyo (or maybe even the whole trip) was
Robot Restaurant. It's a restaurant show with robots! The robots were not half as interesting as the half naked girls dancing! The setting is like Lisa Frank meets Ed Hardy. It is the most random show. There was no story line, just a bunch of lights, music, fit girls dancing, and quirky props. Highly recommend!
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| The drink counter is like someone on something.....dot dot dot |
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| Only in Tokyo |
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| Saltiest fries! |
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| Waiting room |
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| Like I said, Lisa Frank meets Ed Hardy |
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| Waiting room - performers dressed as robots |
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| The show begins with rainbowed colored hair girls playing the bright colorful drums |
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| WTH...dancing panda bear. Maybe we can take him to Kyoto's Bamboo Forest |
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| Intermission - happier because of robot restaurant? Like a reviewer said, "have you ever done LSD? Me neither, at least that's what I thought until I went to Robot Restaurant". This must be how an acid trip feels like. |
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| Yay a robot finally! |
The finale for that night was the BEST RAMEN EVER!!! The location was somewhere underground in Shinjuku. There was a machine, in Japanese, with the prices next to it. Press, pay and pray! I couldn't tell you how to get there if you wondered, but believe me, it was GOOD RAMEN!
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| AWESOME RAMEN! No, I was not drunk nor on LSD or any forms of drugs. Just a Robot Restaurant high. |
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Goodnight Shinjuku!
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Lost in Translation: Tokyo Part III
Lost in Translation: Tokyo Part IV
Last day in Tokyo *sniff* was roaming round
Harajuku, buying souvenirs, and experiencing an earthquake. We did get to try
Ippudo Ramen, which was better than any ramen I've ever had in the US, but not as good as that underground place we stumbled upon.
The earthquake was a 7.8, and the epicenter was somewhere in the middle of the ocean. Fortunately, it was about 500 miles deep down so there was no tsunami warning. I freaked out so bad that the hotel's lounge employees were holding my hand and hugging me. My face was also bright red and my hair somehow managed to get frizzy and was standing up everywhere. Thank goodness it did not delay our flight home, and thank goodness Wayne did not take a picture of me!
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| Ippudo Ramen near Ebisu Station |
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| With extremely long term planning, a bit of luck, some credit card points, and a second career/hobby as a points enthusiast, we managed to score two seats on Japan Airlines First class (Best flight I've ever had the fortune to fly) |
BYE BYE JAPAN!!!!
(we'll be back!)
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