Japan Day 6

During our second day in Kyoto, we visited Nijo Castle and the International Manga Museum. The castle looked a lot like the temples...



But it had a moat so it was definitely a castle...



It started raining and we made our way to the International Manga Museum which was basically a library of manga in a super cool building with exhibits and other stuff...



I am glad we visited on a Saturday because the cosplayers were in full force. They don't allow pictures near the books so cosplayers usually gather on the yard for photos. Since it was raining on the day we visited, they were all inside doing clandestine photoshoots in stairwells and other corners of the museum. A lot of them had some hardcore photography equipment and their costumes were all awesome...







There was also a cool exhibit of figures from a particular artist...



After the museum, we had a super tasty lunch at the hotel steakhouse. It was one of those where the chef cooks in front of you...



We had two different kinds of beef and they were both delicious...



More cosplay photos and the rest of my Kyoto pics are here.

Japan Day 5

Even though our trip was only one week long we decided to stay in Kyoto for one night and it ended up being a good deal. We got round trip tickets on the bullet train and one night the the Hotel Okura for about $500. Considering that train tickets alone are about $240, this is great. Here is what the inside of the train looked like...



Although we could not make it to the Tezuka Manga Museum, I got my dose of Black Jack and Dororo love at Tezuka World near the station. The first thing I saw when we arrived was this...



I had my picture taken with the doctor himself...



After checking into the hotel we had lunch in one of those restaurants where you take your shoes off and you have your own little box...



This was my food which was so good that I ate half of it before remembering to take a picture...



After lunch we visited the Tofukuji Temple. I actually liked the grounds better than the buildings although the whole thing was very peaceful...





The guy who took this picture was an older Japanese man who was so excited when we told him we were from Seattle because of Ichiro Suzuki...



At night we headed out to Gion for some dinner and attempts to gawk at geisha.



I didn't manage to get a geisha pic because they walk fast! However we did see a super fancy poodle (also too fast to get a pic) and these women in traditional dress were gorgeous...



And we finished the night out with a tasty multi-course dinner...



Yummmmmm....

Japan Day 4

On Day 4, we took a day trip to Hakone. We set out around 10 AM and took a train from Tokyo (Shinjuku station) to Hakone. We purchased the Hakone free pass which gives you a return trip to Hakone and free access to all the public transport there. They have rail, buses, cable cars, rope lines, etc. so it is a good deal. Here's the train we took...



We paid extra for seats on the "Romance Car" which is basically a bit nicer than the regular train and has seats paired in twos. Here is a crazy pic of Charles that shows the inside of the train...



Once we arrived in Hakone, we stopped at a restaurant near the station for some excellent soba...



After lunch we utilized our passes to take a train to Gora, a cable car, and a rope line...



Apparently sometimes you can see Mt. Fuji from the rope line, but we didn't. The scenery was gorgeous however...



At around 5 PM, we visited a nearby onsen which had good reviews. Here is the entrance...



Obviously I could not take pictures in the hot springs, but trust me when I say they were awesome. The men and women were separated and in the women's area there were about 6 different pools and a sauna. One thing I loved about the sauna was that it had a window and you could see into the woods. After about an hour there by myself, I met a Colombian woman who was traveling with her husband. She and I were the only two English speakers there so we hung out together and chatted. It was nice to have a chat buddy since most of the women there seemed to be doing the "bathing with their girlfriends" thing. After the hot springs bit, we had tea at the bar...



And then we returned to the train station where I proceeded to photograph Japanese vending machines and the odd drinks inside them...



If you want to see more, my entire set of Hakone photos are here.

Japan Day 3 = Phoenix Wright

Day 3 in Japan was mostly centered around seeing the musical version of the Phoenix Wright video game, but we did do other things. The show was at 2 PM so beforehand we walked around Akasaka, the area where our hotel was located. It was a really cute neighborhood with lots of little restaurants and shops. I loved this painted sewer sign...



And this pic which shows a store called "Bear Hug" and a fancy poodle going for a stroll...



I should do an entire food post because I took a picture of almost everything I ate in Japan. Food is just so cute there! Here was my lunch that day...



After lunch we headed to the theater. The subway station had this awesome light display on the stairs...



A huge crowd of people were gathered around the stage taking pictures of the banner...



I couldn't take any pictures during the show, but I must say that watching women dressed as men playing Japanese lawyers trying a case in California is highly entertaining...even if you don't understand what is going on.

After the show, we went to Shibuya, which lived up to all my expectations from The World Ends With You...



We followed the footprints...



But it still took us a while to find Hachiko...



I even got a pic with a fake commercialized version of the most loyal dog in the world...



For dinner we had sushi at one of those conveyor belt places which was full of hipsters...



We also visited the Tokyu Hands department store where we considered buying a language translation device for the poodles...



Finally we stopped by one branch of Mandarake...



Seriously Shibuya was one of my favorite places. I didn't feel quite cool enough to be there, but it was still amazing. I love areas full of energy, business, and activity.

Japan Day 2

Day 2 (September 8)
Day 2 was Akihabara. Lots of flashing lights, electric stuff, anime/manga toys, and other geekery.

Before heading out, I fit in a quick run on the treadmill which tracked your calories burned based on food...



I did actually exceed the candy level and made it to Chinese dumplings.

And example of the shiny in Akihabara...



Some girls from a maid cafe advertising (we didn't get to go to one)...



We had Korean BBQ for lunch which was yummy...



We didn't buy much. Charles got some electric geek stuff and I got a Dr. Black Jack figurine...



At night we got yakitori with a friend-of-a-friend (Misako) who absolutely rocked by helping us get our Phoenix Wright tickets. She also showed us around Ginza...



We went to a ridiculous small cute puppy store where pictures were not allowed. Apparently poodles are really popular in Japan right now. Unfortunately, The Barkery was closed.

Here's my summary pic for Day 2...random toys at one of the stores in Akihabara...

Japan Day 1

We're back in the US safe and sound with lots of great memories from Japan...and poodles back from the pet resort. I took about a million photos so I am not sure how many posts this summary will consume, but here we go with #1. At the end, I will post links to the relevant sets on Flickr.

Day 1 (September 7)
We arrived at the hotel around 5:30 PM so did not do too much. Here is a pic of the outside of our hotel, which was huge...



We chose this hotel because it was part of a flight/hotel package on Orbitz. It is mainly a business hotel and is very Western, but the location was good and the price was right. We were pretty tired the first day, but did make it out to Roppongi for a bite to eat.



And then we snoozed after getting cozy in our New Otani robes...





Day 2 coming up next...

The story of the iTouch from Otter to Bamboo

Just in case anyone ever receives an iTouch with the inscription "To Bamboo from her Otter" on it, we thought we would post this little story...

For Christmas in 2007, Charles gave Rachael an iPod Touch for Christmas. At the time they were in England visiting Uncle Mark, Aunt Marylin, and Elliot (yay, Elliot gets another tag in the blog). You can see the pictures here.

The iTouch has a funny engraving on the back which is an inside joke between Rachael and Charles. Because Charles likes to lay on his back in bed with his laptop on his belly like an otter, Rachael sometimes calls him Otter. Because Rachael was obsessed with this cute picture of a puppy on a piece of bamboo, Charles sometimes calls her Bamboo. Thus, the iTouch was given to Bamboo from Otter.

So that's the story. Our wedding rings also have references to these wacky names.

Going to Japan!

In just about one week Charles and I will be taking off for a week long vacation to Japan. We will probably stay in Tokyo the whole time, but may try to do a night in Kyoto.

We''ll be leaving September 6 and staying at the Hotel New Otani. We would like to take it easy, but have a few goals for the trip...

1. See the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney musical. We have tickets for September 9.

2. Geek out at Akihabara.

3. Check out Shibuya...and definitely get a picture of Hachiko!

4. Go to as many onsen as possible. Ooedo-Onsen seems like a must, but there are other more city onsen: Jakotsu-yu Onsen and Azabu Juban Onsen seem to be good options.

5. Maybe try to catch some sumo. The Grand Sumo Tournament season runs September 13 to September 27. According to this guide, it looks like some of the action starts early on the first day...like 8:20 AM. There are still some box seats for 4 available so I am wondering if we should try to the airport, check in super early, and maybe we could catch some action from about 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM before our flight at 5:30 PM.

Pictures and crazy adventures to come.