Japan Trip Part 2

Ok everyone.....here is the second part of the trip.

The day started with an early morning Shinkansen ride to Tokyo but I didn't set off too early because of the peak hour rush. It gets crowded in Osaka in the morning but this was nothing comparing to what I was going to experience in Tokyo.

After arriving in Tokyo and dropping the suitcase and checking in at the hotel, it was time to head to Shibuya 109. I didn't really get to see this place in too much depth the first time I was here so this was my chance to have a look at it properly. Shibuya 109 is a fashion department store for women and it has around 12 floors although I only saw shops for the first 7 or so. Oh and for the guys.....there is a Shibuya 109 store around the corner so don't fret.

Second day in Tokyo was a change from shopping as I went to Yokohama and Kamakura. Kamakura is a town that is famous for its bamboo forest and Daibutsu(buddha statue) although it is not directly in Kamakura. I started off by visiting Daibutsu although I thought it was in the Kamakura township itself at first. Then I realised that I had to catch a train to get there. When I finally arrived where the Daibutsu was, it was a 5-10 minute walk to get there but it was worth it as the stature is quite beautiful. However, I didn't stay there long though as a) there was many tourists crowding around the statue including schoolchildren and b) I wanted to see the bamboo forest as well.

It was time to head back to Kamakura township before taking a bus to see the bamboo forest. I needed a matcha latte fix first though so I decided to grab one at Starbucks before going anywhere.

This bamboo forest was much nicer than the one in Arashiyama. I think this is where Cate Blanchett filmed the SK-II commercial. It was really green and beautiful. Drinking matcha tea inside the forest was a bonus. Incase you haven't figured it out yet, I'm a matcha and green tea addict.

There is no better way to end the day than a trip to Yokohama Chinatown. It was interesting as some aspects of it looked like a typical Chinatown but others were different. One example was selling food on the street at 3pm. They were selling a bun that had a chicken filling in it. The buns were also larger than the ones back here in Sydney. There were also soooo many restaurants as well but I think most places are like that.

I decided to spend the weekend in Tokyo. On Saturday, I went to the Tokyo fish market, Shinjuku, Ikebukuro and back to Shibuya again! The Tokyo fish market was not what I expected. I saw mostly just restaurants specialising in sushi, nigiri and sashimi there. Nevertheless, the food was delicious there, especially the fish karaage. I also liked the nigiri. I don't really mind raw fish but not too much of it.

I headed to Ikebukuro afterwards but I didn't stay there long as I never found Sunshine City. I decided to go back to Shibuya instead as there was a top there I really liked. I also managed to find a pair of earrings there as well.

I really enjoyed meeting my friend and her family on Sunday. We started off by seeing Harajuku. I had always wanted to go there to see the fashion that some of the young girls wear there but I must of obviously come there on the wrong day as no-one was wearing those outfits. :(  We had a look at Takeshita street first as that is where the fashion is before heading to Meiji-Jingu shrine. Meiji-Jingu shrine is a Shinto shrine. The Shinto religion is the original relgion of Japan before Buddhism came along. Unlike other religions, the Shinto religion has no holy book or concept of religious conversion. We saw a Japanese wedding at the shrine before making a wish and placing it just outside the shrine.

Odaiba was the next stop of the day. We went to Diver City. It was unbelievable. The place had recently opened and it was soooo packed. There was hardly any space to walk as there were people always infront and behind us. It was a large shopping complex though and it seemed okay. Maybe it will be better when there are not as many people around. It was a slightly uncomfortable experience.

It was off to Nikko and Utsunomiya on Monday. Nikko was a lovely town but unfortunately it was raining so it was not a good day to see a lot of temples and explore the town. The visit had to be cut short. So I went to Utsunomiya for a bit before going to Saitama. I had arrived at Saitama at around 5pm so it was time to grab a bite to eat. I ended up having McDonalds in Japan. It was not bad. I had a Teriyaki Chicken burger. It is different to Australia, that is for sure. Before heading back to Tokyo, it was time to look around the shops.

The next day, it was off to Nagano and Ueda. Nagano was a really beautiful city and the cherry blossoms were still blooming as well at the time. I went to Zenkouji temple. Prior to visiting Nagano and having a look at their travel brochures, I have never heard of Zenkouji temple. It has been stated that the Zenkouji temple was found around 644 AD. It was one of the few temples that were open to women historically as well. I never knew that. I did go inside the temple. It looked similar to the one in Nara but smaller.

Wednesday, I went back to Kamakura and visited the temple there before going to Gifu and Nagoya. It took over 2 hours to get from Kamakura to Gifu but that is mainly because the Shinkansen stopped at every stop from Odawara to Nagoya. Gifu was interesting and I stayed there for around an hour before going back to Nagoya.

I found the next day to be one of the most interesting experiences in my time in Japan. I was woken up by an earthquake.This was the first time that I had experienced an earthquake or tremour in Japan. Anway, I visited Morioka in Tohoku region. As many of you know, the Tohoku region was struck by a 9.0 earthquake and a tsunami. I decided to visit Morioka anyway as I didn't know when I will next visit Japan.

Unfortunately when I arrived there, it was sooooo cold and I was not dressed for the weather. This was also in the middle of spring. It was too cold to do any sightseeing so I headed straight for Aeon Mall instead. This was probably about the fourth Aeon Mall I had visited in Japan. I had lunch at the food court before doing a bit of shopping. This Aeon Mall was fairly smaller than some of the other ones I have been to but it was still larger than many of the shopping centres in Sydney.

I had an interesting dish in Morioka. I'm not sure if this kimchi ramen is one of their specialities in Iwate prefecture but I do know there is a heavy use of kimchi there. I think this dish may be Morioka ramen but the place did not specify whether this was Morioka ramen or not. Oh and I took out the egg as I don't really like boiled eggs that much.

The Shinkansen on the way back to Tokyo was also interesting as there was a train waiting at Morioka station when I was arriving at the platform but the carriage I was suppose to sit in was not there. Then I realised that the other train was arriving and the trains were joining together. As the service is called the Hayate-Komachi, I think the Hayate shinkansen from Shin-Aomori joined on the Komachi shinkansen from Akita. I was almost going to visit Aomori that day by the way but was not dressed for the weather. Dang!

I didn't do much on the last two days before going back to Australia. I went to Chiba on the Friday and then stayed in Tokyo on the Saturday as I was meeting up with a couple of other people. I also had a look at Yodabashi camera shop in Shinjuku. The shop is great but the song can get annoying as the same song plays all day. I think the Yodabashi camera song is the official store song. I also had an experience of purikura. Purikura is a photo booth where you can decorate the photo and for some reason, in the photo my eyes looked bigger.  If I can find the photo, I'll try to upload it sometime.

Here is a random photo of me by the way in Chiba:

I don't wear glasses by the way, not yet anyway!

Unfortunately all good things come to an end and it was time to go back to Australia. But not before one last trip to Aeon Mall in Narita airport. I would like to visit Japan again sometime, maybe I will go to Hokkaido next time. I also want to go to Taiwan so it is time for me to starting brushing up on my Mandarin skills and improving my knowledge of Chinese characters.

Travel tips:

• Bowing is a sign of respect in Japan. You usually bow when you greet peers or are saying goodbye. The deeper the bow, the more sign of respect. Be careful with hugging as some people may be overwhelmed by it. In my opinion, it is best to let the person initiate the hug rather than you.

• Make sure that you have the correct change as it can be difficult to pay for things like the subway and the especially the bus if you do not. Bus drivers expect you to have the right change when you are paying them. Oh and by the way, you pay the bus driver when you get off the bus, not when you get on.

• Using the toilet can also be another problem for those who are not accustomed to the Japanese way. Every toilet has a different location for flushing and can get confusing. I made this mistake in Fukuoka as I pressed the emergency button instead of the flush button. In addition to this, there are still toilets that require you to squat as these are the traditional Japanese toilets. Make sure that you look for the Western toilet unless you do not mind squatting.

• If you are going to be travelling around the country as I have done, make sure that you purchase the JR rail pass. For example if you are going to stay around Kyushu, then you purchase the Kyushu rail pass but if you are going to visit the entire country, then it is best to purchase the JR rail pass. It costs around AUD$560 for 2 weeks. The pass lasts for around 13 days from the time you validate it so make sure that you only validate it when you are going to use it.

• This one is an obvious one but I think it is best that you learn some Japanese before going there as it can be quite difficult to get by if you have zero knowledge of the language. I had studied Japanese at uni for about a year and still found it difficult to get around. I found that even many tourist places do not speak English that well so it is better if you have a grasp of the language. Also many people will appreciate your attempts to speak the language. Almost everything is written in either kanji, hiragana, katakana or a mix of the three.

I think that is about it for now. Have a nice day everyone and see you soon!I promise the post will be shorter next time.

Laura xx