Bikes, Buds and Plastic Ebi

So here it is, our final day touring Japan. Sunday the 19th of August. It seems like only yesterday that we were meeting Hachiko the dog bleary eyed and frightened. Tokyo seems so familiar now. What to do on our last day? We have a list and most things were crossed off. We did want to return to Ueno Park to see if the lotus buds had finally blossomed. Oh yes, and the plastic food....



On our way to the train station Jen and I did a few errands. One of which took us past this bicycle parking lot. It is a good example, if a bit small (!). We have seen mutiple storied lots, jammed full of bicycles. The bike culture in Japan is amazing--but I am still not sure about this riding on the sidewalk thing.



Here is a good shot of our kind host/tourguide/interpreter/chef/friend/sister



I can't remember if plastic food has been mentioned at all in our blog. Almost every restaurant in Japan has a display outside full of plastic models of the food it serves. The plastic models are extremely realistic, and are true replicas of the meal you will receive.

Here is the display in front of Subway.






Doesn't that look tasty? I especially like how the shrimp are pre-dipped in special sauce!

But where does all that plastic food come from? The gang was willing to humour me and so we visited the area of town that speciailizes in kitchen/restaurant supplies. The stores that handle the plastic food are amazing--but it ain't cheap. A plate of noodles can run you 10 000 yen ($100)! I bought a skewered shrimp wrapped in bacon (sorry Jo).




Kitchen District. Those tea cups are actually balconies!



You gotta love Japan!


Back to Ueno, a park we visited some weeks ago (!) on a rainy afternoon.



The lotus blossoms are bigger, but not quite open yet. Too bad, the fully open flowers must be gorgeous. It was not a wasted trip, however, as the scene is still beautiful.



Jenny G and the Lotus buds.





This is the last shrine we were to visit. And a good one to end with. It is stunning--covered in gold, surrounded by a 400 year old fence structure. We sat inside for a bit, enjoying the quiet and the ancient decor.







Did I mention Sunday was hot? It was so hot even my eyes were sweating!

After Ueno, we hit the nearby old black market area. After the war, when goods were in short supply, this area developed into a thriving black market. They say today it retains some of that old seediness, but it just seems like another busy shopping area.





We closed out our day with a nice supper among friends in Nakano. Thoroughly exausted, we returned home to the Arms.

Imagine all the Sweet Potatoes

Saturday the 18th, perilously close to the end!

This day we (Karen, Koki, Jo, Jen and I) headed off in the direction of Koki's town Kawagoe. We made a stop, however, in Saitama to visit the John Lennon Museum. This is close to Yoko Ono's hometown, and she is largely responsible for this stunning museum. I think even the non-fan would be impressed. She has donated a large quantity of memorabilia including the famous New York City t-shirt, guitars, song notes, a Sgt. Pepper's outfit.... Jen says it was one of the highlights of Japan for her (she has been a fan for years!).



A good shot of friends!



The Saitama train station won an architectural design award when it opened.




Here we are grabbing a bite before museum-going.



No photos allowed inside the museum--but, John and Yoko are willing to pose with you for a few shots!







After the museum we hopped back on the train and completed out journey to Kawagoe. It is, from what I can tell, a small city and has a section of town that is very old. This is where we headed. We did some touring and some shopping. It is very picturesque. Jen and I wished we had had more time to explore--it got dark way too soon!



The main old shopping street in Kawagoe.



There are so many amazing old buildings here.




Next we hit "Candy Alley" where Koki treated us to some traditional Japanese sweets. These are made from sweet potatoes and are rather yummy.





Looks yummy, no?




I was so happy to spot another outlet of this store! I am thinking about applying for a Canadian franchise--how do you think it will go over? And no, it isn't a Viagra depot you twisted little monkeys, it's dicount electronics of course!



On the train back into Tokyo we picked a rather exciting car. We were joined by a rather confused and upset cicada! It did some swooping and shrieking before Koki the Cicada Hunter grabbed it and held on to the next stop!

Three Museums and a Square.

Friday the 17th.

Jen really wanted to visit the JCII Camera Museum. The Japan Camera Industry Institute was established in order to maintain and improve the quality of Japanese cameras. This collection is made up of almost 4000 cameras! They possess one of only a few original Daguerreotype cameras (the world's first camera 1839), the first digital camera prototype and tons of other cool cameras. Jen was freaking out. Entire displays traced the development of the camera, all in Japanese (!), from the humble beginnings all the way up to the Nikon D40. It was really interesting.

Ironically, you could not take any pictures.

This oldie was set up outside, no doubt to satisfy the desire to photograph.

Say "Cheese".

Hey! Don't move-the exposure takes 10 minutes!

After the camera museum we took a couple of subways out to the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo. Well, almost--we had to walk for about ten minutes. We ate boxed lunches in the adjacent park and then had cool iced coffees. Only then did we head inside. Oh my god. There were so many people. A sea in fact. A sign indicated that it was an 80 minute wait just to get in! Not interested in standing around for that long, we bailed.

Instead, we headed for the Tokyo-Edo Museum.

The building resembles the OCAD table top building.

This museum was great. Lots of quality displays, artefacts and lots of english signage.

The theatre displays were particularly good.

Just 5 more minutes....

The Lonely Planet was made a liar once more, as it promised the museum was open until 8pm. In fact, it closed at 5:30 much to our dismay. We ended up rushing through the last sections of the museum and Jen was ushered out of the building last--a fact she is quite proud of.

From there, yes our day continued, we went to Shibuya to experience the controlled chaos one last time. When I first saw it, I wanted to have a coffee in the window of the 2nd story Starbucks overlooking the square. So, we bought iced coffees and actually scored a window seat. It was great. You cannot even imagine the scene. Every time the lights change thousands of people cross the intersection. Seriously, thousands.

Shibuya station is at the top left--check out the crowd building on the corner.

GO!!!

Imagine being in that cab?

This is what it looks like from a crowds-eye perspective.

Two wheel touring.

Thursday was the day that my desire to go bike riding was indulged. On the bus to the onsen the previous day, Joanne spotted a bike path she had never seen before and so decided perhaps we should explore it. It was fantastic. No cars, just bikes and pedestrians. Which is pretty much how bike riding goes here in Japan--you ride your bike on the sidewalk!! It makes for some interesting (harrowing) walking. I have come to accept it here, but when I get home I will return to cursing anyone riding on the sidewalk--after all, it is called a side-walk, not a side-ride!




When you stop riding, the breeze stops, therefore, stop in shade!

Plenty of storage, no need to wear backpacks.

Maximizing airflow!

Jenny loves her new sunglasses.

Along the way we came across a bamboo garden in a park. So idyllic.

Also along the way, we passed an historic village recreation. What was marked post office in Japanese was not in fact a post office as Jen found out trying to mail a post card! We went in and toured around. This lonely lotus flower was blossoming in the back of a pond.

The bike ride was a lot of fun--we rode about 10km roundtrip, which like the humidex, when it's this hot feels like 25km! It was definitely a highlight.

Hotter than yesterday!

The beauty of having five weeks is that you can go hardcore and then take rest days. That's what we did on Tuesday. We spent the morning chilling out, blogging, drinking coffee and then went to Starbucks to meet Karen for some more coffee. After that Jen, Jo and I went to UniQlo to do a bit of shopping. From there we caught the free bus to the onsen--a hot spring spa where you lounge in different hot pools, saunas and have a thorough scrub.

On Wednesday it was back to touring mode. We swung by Meguro and visited the Nature Study Park, which preserves the rainforest flora of the Edo Plain. It was gorgeous--so lush and quiet and in the middle of Tokyo!




Taking a quick break from turtle watching.



Flowers = butterflies, bees and hummingbirds



A chilled out Joanne.



This pond was full of crawfish!


Even though it was close by, owing to the insane heat we took the metro to Tokyo Tower. It is an Eiffel Tower look-a-like. However, it was built in 1958, is red and white and is 13m taller than Paris'. We were going to go up, but the line was a bit long.

After the tower we toured the area known as Roppongi. We sought out some contemporary art galleries, but they were closed as this week is a Japanese holiday.

Then we were attacked by one of Tokyo's many roving mad robots!!!

This is Maman, in front of Mori tower. This is a new development that has transformed the neighbourhood. It is very fancy, full of fancy shops and fancy restaurants--too fancy for us.

Awww, aren't we cute?