Tokyo.

Sunday, 21 August, 2005
Day 2 –Tokyo tour, Ueno, & Akihabara

Realized today how hot Japan could get – humid, tops of 35 degrees and lows of 25/26. Half my clothes now obsolete. Lots of vending machines.
Had to get train tickets (ICA Prepaid cards) to get to our Hato Morning Bus Tour. Another lovely train employee got out from behind his glassed-in booth and showed us how to use the ticket vending machines. Now a pro.
One bus later we met with our guide, Yuki. We were both rather taken by Yuki – very Japanese cute and really re-affirmed the research Mark had put into the holiday. He was top of the class.
We went to
• Tokyo Tower – 150m up the 333m tower. Great 360 degree views and lots of images taken. Level below had 2 areas of glass/see-through flooring and was quite a challenge to stand on it. Have an image that shows I 90% made it (for about 2 seconds)
• To Imperial Palace for outside view. Stone wall design interesting and amazing. Saw throughout castles and moats in Japan. Some ideas for garden already.
• Asakusa Kannon Temple–Amazing street markets leading up to the temple. Bean curd cakes…mmmmm. Sweet little cake packets of sweet bean curd paste.Nicer cold. Incense (wave in direction of body that want to enhance). Japanese parents (from 50km out of Tokyo) encourage young son to converse in English with us. Photos, bowing (what a wonderful artifact) and handshaking all round – really chuffed.
• Pearl making thing in Ginza – been there done that but interesting to see how it is done.

We are really big people. I wished I could appear smaller to others in Japan, I was scared sometimes that I was intimidating.

Got a bento(a boxed lunch with a little taste of Japan really) at JR Tokyo and back to the hotel. An interesting meal.
Couple of drinks, shower and back on the train off to Ueno.

Ueno – Getting good at the trains and got to Ueno Park with ease. Aquatic section full of wildlife and lotus – Mum would love this. Coolest part of day in terms of temperature.

Night – Akihabara walk-a-round (Electric Town – just 2 blocks from hotel) which we managed to get in everyday. Really liked this part of town – electronics gone mad and we did too. Looked at everything and bought a few things too. USB fans and lights for laptops, souvenir type things, dirt cheap USB hubs….
Dinner at a restaurant in Ochanomizu after walking around for a while finding something that we wanted. Were heaps of restaurants but we had no idea what the menus meant and thought that a proper restaurant was going to be easier. My first (and only) experience of removing shoes; a private booth; great food; huge beers which I couldn’t drink (but Mark helped out); a surprising cheap bill (3300Yen approx).

A view from Tokyo Tower.
A Lotus Pond in Ueno PArk.
Mark in shopping street leading to Asakusa Kannon Temple.