My day started at 4:30am. From there it was driving through the mountains, getting lost and then taking a train to arrive exactly two hours before my flight to the airport. And then waiting all that time as it took barely five minutes total to check in and go through security at such an hour (11am on a Monday must be a really unpopular time to travel...). Arriving in Tokyo and then waiting some more until finally mom is through customs and we can start our adventures together after 4:30pm (how's that for neat timing?).
Our Hostel was a nice little place in south Asakusa, and after depositing our things and catching our breath, we set off in search of food and to acquaint ourselves with the surroundings. Dinner was had at a lovely little bar that served great Indian style curry with a barkeep most surprised and relieved to have a foreigner able to converse in Japanese. After dinner we walked and caught up, seeing the city illuminated by night.
Day One:
First stop, Shinjuku-gyoen.
A mother fond of gardens and the outdoors is easy to please in such a green-conscious land. Armed with subway map and little red book (filled with directions), we made our way into the sun and heat and jungle--both concrete and verdant.
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| (This little turtle friend swam up to us and stayed posed ever so politely~) |
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| "Who's been painting my roses red?!" and orange, and pink, and.... |
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| Lovely green house |
Next up, Meiji-jingu.
Having been to Tokyo before with a class and again with friends, there were a few staples that I had to return to. The Meiji Shine was the first (after a ramen pit stop, of course).
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| (my excellent selfie-skills are truly my artistic calling) |
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| Flawless |
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| (at least she puts up with me~) |
Next up, Harajuku.
When one is already at the subway stop for the Meiji Shrine, why not take a short jaunt across the street (and down memory lane) to Harujuku and Takeshitadori?
While we traversed the streets and window shopped a bit, we were beginning to feel a bit fatigued, and a garden topped Starbucks provided just the oasis to re-charge.
I don't really think the fashion-y things were too enthralling for Maman, though she did seem bemused by the drastic difference in denizens and dresses observed. We were on our way to our next destination, which was:
Shibuya
Shibuya Crossing, famous for the flood of people swarming its streets as well as the sweet nostalgia of the Hachiko statue in it's tiny park, was a natural "stop" on our list.
After delving into a Lush store we then made our way to Shibuya 109, the shopping monolith (and apparent base for defenders of justice).
After delicious Freshness black-bean burgers and a few more perusals, we made our way home for the evening.
Day Two:
First stop, Imperial Palace Gardens.
I, in my infinite wisdom, gave myself the advice not to bring sneakers since it would make my one carry-on bag heavy and I'd be too hot to wear them. Of Course. I follow the Not-So-Good advice I give myself, but I can't be bothered when I give myself Very-Good Advice to even seldom follow it... Thus, my feet felt awful from a full day prior walking in flat-soled sandals and I caused us to lag throughout the day.
But no matter! They still managed to observe that the D'Yer Wall(s) held soundly!
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| Imperial Lamp! |
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(Imperial Koi! and really dirty water...) |
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| The representative Hokkaido tree in the Imperial glade looked rather like a cousin to Charlie Brown's Christmas tree ^^;; |
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| Imperial Music Hall! |
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| View from the Imperial Lookout! |
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| (yes... okay.. I'll stop~) |
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| Matching Scouts~ |
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IMPERIAL MOAT :D
can't stop, won't stop |
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| .....Zombie-PacMan Fountain, anyone? |
Next stop, Tokyo National Museum.
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| WITH GIANT WHALE! |
...and obligatory pictures of Japanese-y things (that I actually think are pretty cool)
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| Like detailed armor... |
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| Complete with cool face mask... |
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| And extremely uncomfortable looking pine saddle... |
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| Also lovely screens... |
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| Filled with wonderfully preserved detail... |
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| And creepy masks....................O_____O |
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| (that one isn't even as bad as the previous one even though the other one is supposed to be the human...) |
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| Courtesans gossiping |
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| And lovely treasures, indeed. |
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| It helps that the buildings looked rather lovely, as well... |
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| And that we sat for breaks often... |
Next up, Kaminarimon and Senso-ji.
This day was filled with firsts for me as well, and we kept a decent pace for traversing the city to see them all. Last in the little red book's pages of destinations was actually a place I heard mentioned from the English textbook I use in my classes, and it so happened to be connected to our other destination. So after deliciously rejuvenating pizza, they continued on to the Gate of Thunder.
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| Which, apparently, we should have tried to reach earlier in the day than 5pm, because the various shops had begun to close. |
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| But it was still a lovely place |
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| (and I apologize for the zillion pictures of the pagoda I took...) |
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| Gargoyle at the peak~ |
Bonus: Sky Tree
One of my co-workers had a request, so we stopped over at the Sky Tree for a quick purchase and the reward of crepes,
The next day was spent traveling back to the airport, flying to New Chitose, dropping off mom's suitcases at my car, then taking another train into Sapporo proper and checking into our hotel. It was hot and gross and exhausting, but we ventured back to the JR Tower shopping center to catch an English voiced (and Japanese subbed) version of Godzilla (AND IT WAS THE BEST THING EVER, OKAY?!) and some delicious curry before turning in for the night.
Sapporo Day
First stop, Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art: Sapporo International Art Festival.
We finally made it inside after an unnecessarily confusing encounter at the ticket counter (Yes, I speak Japanese and realize I'm telling you I only want admission to
this museum. No, I didn't misspeak and no, you don't need the college volunteer to repeat to you what I just said and try to persuade me to purchase different tickets. No.)
*sigh*
The exhibit itself was lovely, and the Colorado women we met at the ticket window (also being misunderstood) was charming to speak to, so all was well.
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| infinity swirl~ |
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| Over-all, a pretty neat place |
Next, Sapporo Summer Festival Gardens
We had the whole day to kill, and so we wandered (and then I got us lost ><;) Sapporo's streets, now in the height of their Summer Garden and Beer Garden glory.
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| busy little bee... |
We meandered our way through the multiple storied and complex-ed shopping center around Sapporo station, but eventually returned early for an evening of reading and recuperating (one of us jet-lagged and the other foot-sore).
The next day we set off early and returned down through the mountain road to Shimizu. All-in-all, we are pretty proud of our whirl-wind "urban" explorations, and it was great being able to show off my new home.
