After the 2.5 hour train ride to Tokyo we all met with my host Daitsuke, his wife Miki, and their baby Uto. We lucked out because they were on their way to visit one of the most famous shrines in Tokyo, so we joined them. The Meiji shrine was built in 1920 (destroyed during WWII and rebuilt in 1958) by Emperor Meiji and his wife the Empress Shoken. During their reign they spent a lot of time at the shrine and the nearby garden. I found it interesting that one of the large torii (gates) leading up to the shrine was made from a 1,500 year old cypress from Mt. Tandai in Taiwan. There were also several plaques honoring the friendship between the French and the Japanese. I am assuming this has something to do with the French supporting the Emperor long ago at the end of the Shogunate Period.
We also walked along Yoyogi Park, which disconcertingly had signs posted warning about Dengue Fever. On the way home we stopped by Shibuya and took some photos of the famous busy intersection.
The next two days were spent at Disney Sea and Disneyland. Tokyo’s Disneyland is very similar to all other Disneylands except for the fact that everything is in Japanese. I didn’t even think about that because when we went to Disneyland Hong Kong everything was in English with Cantonese subtitles. The only thing that felt different from other parks was their new Monster’s Inc. ride. The whole park was decorated for Halloween and there were many performances with skeletons and ghosts. We had a great time, but definitely noticed that there were much longer wait times than other parks. Having grown up with a mother and godmother who are Disney fans, I knew how to strategically attack the park. First thing you do is get a list of all the rides that accept single riders. To fill all the rides they will allow people riding by themselves to cut the line completely!
Tokyo is the only place in the world with a Disney Sea. I personally found it very very very disappointing. It was pretty small and didn’t have many rides. Best rides were Journey to the Center of the Earth and Indiana Jones. One of the shows I found a bit culturally insulting. The premise is that Mickey went on a world cruise and brought back food from all over the world. France had sexy desserts, Mexico has spicy tacos, Japan had sophisticated sushi, and the US has hamburgers carrying French fries as guns. The worst part was the hamburgers were doing belly flops off the ketch bottle. REALLY? I bet you I eat double the amount of vegetables the average Japanese person eats. One of our hosts told me that the running joke is that Americans think pizza is a vegetable because it has potatoes. My pizza doesn’t usually have potatoes does yours? The same host also told me all Americans like to shoot people because of video games…
Day four in Tokyo was spent at the Tokyo National Museum. We were really excited to see the 17th century wood block prints of the famous landscapes of Mt. Fuji and with our luck none of them were on display. It would be like the Louvre placing the Mona Lisa in the back just to freshen up the collection. This museum is supposed to be the best in Japan (I liked the Edo-Tokyo museum better). It has a nice collection of Kimonos, Noh and Kabuki masks/costumes (Kabuki is a form of theater dating from the early Edo period and Noh predates that by several hundred years), Buddhist sculptures, calligraphy, samurai armor, and not so exciting tea utensils. I did find the floor with Japanese archeological artifacts interesting. There were pieces dating back to Jomon Period (14,500-300 BC). It is amazing to compare the artwork of the people living on the Japanese archipelago to the Greeks. I have to say the Greeks were light years ahead. The building to the right of the main building houses archeological finds from outside of Japan (several pieces were gifts from other governments like Egypt and Iraq). There is also a gallery of Buddhist treasures gifted by the Horyu-ji temple in Nara. After the museum we trudged through the rain to a famous Japanese fast food style ramen restaurant (Ichiran). We sat at a long counter with stools. Each seat was divided by a small swinging door to separate you from the stranger next to you. In front of us were blinds that would open when the waiter delivered your food. Before entering we had placed our money in a vending machine like machine and pressed the button that corresponded with the meal we wanted. The machine printed off a small slip of paper which we then slid under the blinds. Pretty interesting form of fast food.
The last day in Tokyo we visited the Tokyo-Edo Museum. I highly recommend visiting it! Before the Meiji Restoration (1860’s) Tokyo was named Edo, hence the name. It has creative displays that make envisioning life in the Edo period plausible. There was a model of the city with merchants, farmers, fishermen, and everyday people walking through the streets. The buildings definitely had the same architecture we saw in Takayama. There was a life size reconstruction of one of Edo’s most famous theaters and one of Nihonbashi (a very famous bridge). The museum had a lot of information on the water system of that era and how they fought fires, the currency/economy, and the lengthy process of publishing copies of famous wood block prints (Ukiyo-e). I thought it was interesting that they used wood pipes during that time because wood was the easiest and cheapest material to fix after any of Japan’s many earthquakes. I was taking my time and reading everything only to discover there was a whole section dedicated to the 1900’s. It was a shame to run through that part of the museum. There were life size models of homes and information about what life was like in Japan during WWII. They have the original Japanese Instrument (Declaration) of Surrender! I was surprised to see it. It was signed on September 2, 1945 on the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. They also had the newspapers from the US on the day after surrender. This is absolutely a must see. If you do visit, also check out the National Sumo Stadium next door. Miki and Uto joined us for the museum and dinner. We took her to have her first Cinnabon and enjoyed hanging out with the baby. Throughout our time together I was amazed by how quiet and calm he was even if he was hungry or tired.
The next day was a 12 hour bus ride to Osaka. My recommendation is don’t be cheap and just take the train J. We stayed with a very nice host named Takao.
We also walked along Yoyogi Park, which disconcertingly had signs posted warning about Dengue Fever. On the way home we stopped by Shibuya and took some photos of the famous busy intersection.
The next two days were spent at Disney Sea and Disneyland. Tokyo’s Disneyland is very similar to all other Disneylands except for the fact that everything is in Japanese. I didn’t even think about that because when we went to Disneyland Hong Kong everything was in English with Cantonese subtitles. The only thing that felt different from other parks was their new Monster’s Inc. ride. The whole park was decorated for Halloween and there were many performances with skeletons and ghosts. We had a great time, but definitely noticed that there were much longer wait times than other parks. Having grown up with a mother and godmother who are Disney fans, I knew how to strategically attack the park. First thing you do is get a list of all the rides that accept single riders. To fill all the rides they will allow people riding by themselves to cut the line completely!
Tokyo is the only place in the world with a Disney Sea. I personally found it very very very disappointing. It was pretty small and didn’t have many rides. Best rides were Journey to the Center of the Earth and Indiana Jones. One of the shows I found a bit culturally insulting. The premise is that Mickey went on a world cruise and brought back food from all over the world. France had sexy desserts, Mexico has spicy tacos, Japan had sophisticated sushi, and the US has hamburgers carrying French fries as guns. The worst part was the hamburgers were doing belly flops off the ketch bottle. REALLY? I bet you I eat double the amount of vegetables the average Japanese person eats. One of our hosts told me that the running joke is that Americans think pizza is a vegetable because it has potatoes. My pizza doesn’t usually have potatoes does yours? The same host also told me all Americans like to shoot people because of video games…
Day four in Tokyo was spent at the Tokyo National Museum. We were really excited to see the 17th century wood block prints of the famous landscapes of Mt. Fuji and with our luck none of them were on display. It would be like the Louvre placing the Mona Lisa in the back just to freshen up the collection. This museum is supposed to be the best in Japan (I liked the Edo-Tokyo museum better). It has a nice collection of Kimonos, Noh and Kabuki masks/costumes (Kabuki is a form of theater dating from the early Edo period and Noh predates that by several hundred years), Buddhist sculptures, calligraphy, samurai armor, and not so exciting tea utensils. I did find the floor with Japanese archeological artifacts interesting. There were pieces dating back to Jomon Period (14,500-300 BC). It is amazing to compare the artwork of the people living on the Japanese archipelago to the Greeks. I have to say the Greeks were light years ahead. The building to the right of the main building houses archeological finds from outside of Japan (several pieces were gifts from other governments like Egypt and Iraq). There is also a gallery of Buddhist treasures gifted by the Horyu-ji temple in Nara. After the museum we trudged through the rain to a famous Japanese fast food style ramen restaurant (Ichiran). We sat at a long counter with stools. Each seat was divided by a small swinging door to separate you from the stranger next to you. In front of us were blinds that would open when the waiter delivered your food. Before entering we had placed our money in a vending machine like machine and pressed the button that corresponded with the meal we wanted. The machine printed off a small slip of paper which we then slid under the blinds. Pretty interesting form of fast food.
The last day in Tokyo we visited the Tokyo-Edo Museum. I highly recommend visiting it! Before the Meiji Restoration (1860’s) Tokyo was named Edo, hence the name. It has creative displays that make envisioning life in the Edo period plausible. There was a model of the city with merchants, farmers, fishermen, and everyday people walking through the streets. The buildings definitely had the same architecture we saw in Takayama. There was a life size reconstruction of one of Edo’s most famous theaters and one of Nihonbashi (a very famous bridge). The museum had a lot of information on the water system of that era and how they fought fires, the currency/economy, and the lengthy process of publishing copies of famous wood block prints (Ukiyo-e). I thought it was interesting that they used wood pipes during that time because wood was the easiest and cheapest material to fix after any of Japan’s many earthquakes. I was taking my time and reading everything only to discover there was a whole section dedicated to the 1900’s. It was a shame to run through that part of the museum. There were life size models of homes and information about what life was like in Japan during WWII. They have the original Japanese Instrument (Declaration) of Surrender! I was surprised to see it. It was signed on September 2, 1945 on the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. They also had the newspapers from the US on the day after surrender. This is absolutely a must see. If you do visit, also check out the National Sumo Stadium next door. Miki and Uto joined us for the museum and dinner. We took her to have her first Cinnabon and enjoyed hanging out with the baby. Throughout our time together I was amazed by how quiet and calm he was even if he was hungry or tired.
The next day was a 12 hour bus ride to Osaka. My recommendation is don’t be cheap and just take the train J. We stayed with a very nice host named Takao.
