Day 8: The Imperial Palace

Saturday morning we woke up, left Abe snoozing in the room, I got breakfast at Starbucks, and Martin decided to eat this disgusting waffle-with-cream-in-a-package from the convenience store.

Not good.

We then headed back to the apartment and forced Abe to get up because we were taking a free tour as per his recommendation. Apparently, Abe does this in every city he visits--takes a tour of an area of the city given by volunteers. At 1 pm we were planning to take one such tour of the Imperial Palace.

Before going on the tour, however, we decided it was a good idea to have some lunch in Tokyo Station (plus Abe hadn't woken up for Starbucks and was starving). We wound up having Indian food again in the very fancy mall across the street from Tokyo Station.

Abe with giant naan bread

We then crossed the street and met with the very friendly tour guides at Tokyo Station.

Tokyo Station

Volunteer tour guide in front of Tokyo Station

Concerned about how hot the day was, we ran to buy some waters at the nearest FamilyMart before making it back in time for the tour. We were split into several groups. Martin, Abe and I were in a group with two guys about our age, one Canadian and one Californian. We had three tour guides for our little group, and they were super friendly and enthusiastic about our tour of the Imperial Palace.

Now before you get any ideas of what the Imperial Palace must have looked like, I have to mention that there wasn't any palace to speak of. The history that we understood from our tour was that the Palace (and most of Tokyo, for that matter) had fallen victim to fires over and over and over again. We were surprised that after a while someone didn't recommend they stop building entire cities of wood, especially after a metal dragon spirit meant to ward off fires became a lightening conductor and started a fire itself.

A spirit supposed to shoot water out of its mouth in the event of a fire...

...except it's metal so it actually started fires.

The tour was very interesting, though, especially learning about the many checkpoints and defense systems that the Imperial Palace had. Every ten feet we walked there seemed to be another wall with another elaborate mode of defense (holes through which to drop rocks, ways to trap intruders, etc.). After hearing about their extensive defense system, Martin finally asked whether the castle had ever been attacked. Embarrassed and laughing slightly, the tour guide said that no, the castle had never been attacked and none of these extremely complicated systems had been used. This was hysterically funny to everyone on our tour. Turns out the Tokugawa period was very peaceful, and that the only threats castle security were the fires and earthquakes.

Arms storage/ lookout

We learned about three different kinds of stone walls, and which kinds hold up best in an earthquake.

We learned that the Emperor had an entire section of the city for his harem (their word, not mine), in which no other man was permitted to set foot. We also spotted some strange looking carp in a pond, and were informed that the current Emperor has studied fish and suggested this unique crossbreed.

Now for some assorted pictures from our tour:

Trees look like they're from Dr. Seuss 

 Abe adapts well to local customs.

During a coffee break: Refresh your tired body and soul.

Old and new

Martin, three is company. 

After a draining tour (mostly because of the heat), we returned to our apartment for an afternoon nap before meeting up with Martin's father's friend, Dick, who lives just outside of Tokyo with his family. Dick generously invited the three of us to the Press Club, which has a restaurant on an upper floor of a tower in downtown Tokyo, with an impressive view of the city below. We met his wife, Akimi, and his son, Gen, over a sake-tasting meal with traditional foods. We had a great time chatting and finding out how he ended up in Japan after a chance study abroad experience.

After our meal we headed to a bar under the subway tracks called Andy's, an expat bar where we snacked on tempura and drank Sapporo. Around 11:30 Dick called it a night but encouraged us to continue drinking with Gen. Reluctantly, we declined the invitation because we'd already had a long day. Gen showed us the vending machine that dispenses beer on our way out, informing us that drinking in the street is perfectly legal in Japan. We thanked Dick for the meal and the company and headed back to our apartment.

Martin with Dick, Akimi, and Gen

Day 7: Kamakura

Update: Because I finally got the pictures from my good camera onto my computer after the trip, I'm going to start going back and putting nicer pictures in the blog, too.

Before we had set in foot in Japan, I knew that I wanted to go to Kamakura. Martin insisted that we wouldn't want to take day trips from Tokyo, that we would be too busy exploring the city itself. But I knew that I wasn't going to Japan for its metropolises-- I was going for the historic sites that could be found in their outskirts. Kamakura is one such area, known among tourists for its giant metal Buddha (Daibutsu) and among locals for its beach island of Enoshima.

We woke up and got moving quickly in order to make a day trip worthwhile. Abe had elected not to join us, preferring instead to meet his friend for the day, so we took off without him and headed to Tokyo Station. At the station (after slight confusion regarding the map and the train system) we caught a JR train to Kita-Kamakura.

Once on the train, we were surprised at how beautiful it was. The seats were a deep green, there was plenty of space, and the giant windows that lined the train afforded expansive views of the scenery around us. It took us about fifteen minutes to realize that we were sitting in First Class, which we had definitely not paid for. In a moment of panic, I accidentally showed our tickets to the woman offering refreshments, even though she was definitely not asking for them. Apologizing profusely, she showed us our part of the train, which looked like a regular subway car.

Once at Kita-Kamakura, Martin called T-Mobile to clear up some worrisome texts he'd gotten about international data roaming, while I tried to figure out what path we should take through the various temples that dotted the walk to Kamakura proper. Having settled the false alarm text messages with T-Mobile, Martin joined me and we walked by several temples before electing to go to Tokei-ji. This temple was known as a refuge for women who wanted divorces from their husbands in a time when only the husband could ask for a divorce. They were able to earn their divorces by living on the temple grounds for three years. Sounds like a rotten deal but the temple grounds were absolutely beautiful, and it was moving to imagine the women that were forced to seek refuge there.

Martin sleepy at divorce temple

Martin trying to wake up at divorce temple

Small shrine at divorce temple

After the beautiful, shady temple, we walked along the street under the hot sun, too tired and sweaty to be tempted by very many other temples. We stopped to buy water from a woman who was literally half my size and who eagerly pointed out the difference in Japanese. Part of our walk to Kamakura involved crossing a steep hill which was a historical crossing that could only be traversed on bicycle or on foot.

Flowers along the historical crossing

Finally, exhausted, we found Kamakura Station and bought tickets for the Enoshima Train, a historic wooden train that would take us where we wanted to go for the rest of the day. We got off the train at the Hase Station, from which we would be able to see both the giant Buddha and Hasedera Temple.

We walked alongside a pack of elementary school children until we reached Hasedera Temple, which had beautiful grounds and statues.

Incense at Hasedera

Rows of Buddhas at Hasedera

Courtyard and ocean at Hasedera

Smiling friends

Zen Garden at Hasedera

In addition to having the standard temple features, Hasedera turned out to be full of surprises. The biggest surprise (literally) was a giant golden Buddha statue that we didn't even know was at Hasedera when we decided to visit. Pictures weren't allowed but this is a link to someone's weird blog who has a picture of it: http://www.traveladventures.org/continents/asia/kamakura06.html. Legend has it that two such statues were made, and the second was thrown into the ocean to help ease suffering in the world.

The second surprise was much smaller (literally). We entered a cave at the temple site that was a small Shinto shrine, and happened across a side path that took us to a room full of miniature Buddhas! I wrote an intention on the back of a tiny Buddha myself and put it there to live with all his little buddha friends.

Martin with the little budhas

My little buddha ( by the flower)

We left Hasedera Temple and made the short walk over to the Daibutsu, which we incorrectly called Daibattsu (like the Americans we are). The sight of this giant, seated Buddha is completely astounding, and really feels like something out of a movie.

We took the requisite pictures with the Buddha before paying two cents to go inside the massive structure, a hollow chamber in which sound reverberated and we read a panel about how the buddha had been assembled.

 Inside Daibutsu

Hanging close to Daibutsu were his giant straw sandals, which obviously made us imagine what it would be like if the huge statue stood up and slipped them on.

Hot, tired, and hungry, we went back to Kamakura Station and took the train to the Enoshima stop. From the stop, we took a short walk until we reached a long bridge that stretched from the mainland to the small island town of Enoshima. We reapplied sunscreen before heading out into the glaring sun again, then crossed the bridge and arrived at the island. Our cameras were dead, but the walk looked like this: http://www.guillaumeerard.com/images/stories/japan/sightseeing/enoshima/Enoshima-159.jpg

Once at the island, we stopped to eat in the first restaurant that looked like it might have something the Martin could eat. We settled on a restaurant where we sat on tatami mats and I ate shrimp tempura and hot udon while Martin ate delicious tuna sashimi.

Enoshima is basically one big hill (see picture), so after lunch we climbed up it, past shrines and little shops, until we got a great view of the Pacific. The end of the Enoshima loop has an oceanside cave that is supposed to be very interesting, but recent inclement weather made the ocean too rough for cave visitation when we were there. We did still get to go by the water, though, and from this far side of Enoshima we managed to see the elusive Mt. Fuji in the distance.

Our only picture from Enoshima because our phones and my camera were dead.

After heading back the way we came across the bridge, we walked along the beach around sunset to the next Enoshima line stop, and took two trains back to Tokyo. When we arrived at the bottom of our apartment building, Abe was leaving for a pub crawl and told us to come join him later.

We rested, got some very spicy Indian food, and then almost bailed on going out because we were too tired. Somehow, we managed to rally after an exhausting day and join Abe for a drink at one of the bars (named Milwaukee) where we met his new Australian friends.

Day 6: Harajuku

After several unsuccessful attempts to wake Abe, Martin and I went to the local Starbucks to caffeinate me and plan our day. Martin showed off his basic Japanese as I nodded mutely beside him, a pre-caffeine zombie. After chugging coffee and inhaling a chocolate chip scone, I became useful and suggested Harajuka, Tokyo's famously crazy shopping district. Martin agreed, so we stopped by the apartment to pick up Abe.

Our time in Harajuku is better explained with pictures than with words. Needless to say, the shopping was completely insane.

I had an interesting experience in the dressing room at one particular store, in which the salesperson tried to put a paper bag over my face without my consent. What I took as attempted murder was actually the way that Japanese stores prevent makeup from getting on clothes when girls try things on. I let her know that I wasn't wearing makeup and she bowed several times and left me in peace, taking her paper bag with her. 

 

We paused for lunch at a recommended Chinese restaurant, where a nice Japanese man helped us navigate the menu and sent a dessert to our table (almond tofu pudding) with his regards. Our only mishap was asking for the food to not be hot (spicy) and instead receiving a spicy cold chicken dish.

After lunch we resumed our shopping.

We stopped at a famous chips place, where they serve chips drizzled with chocolate. We were more impressed with the decorations than with the chips.

After a long day of shopping (including an hour in which I abandoned the boys in  order to get real shopping done) we headed to Meiji Shrine, a Shinto shrine dedicated to the Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shoken. The shrine's trees were donated from all over Japan and placed in the shrine.

                                       

Sake offerings at the shrine

Nervous about what looked like massive storm clouds, we went back to the apartment and got ready for dinner. We went to a sushi restaurant in Roppongi Hills, a fancy mall in the neighboring district to our apartment. We removed our shoes and sat in a booth through which the sushi conveyer belt  passed. This was incredibly exciting to me, and I was totally entranced by the passing food. The pricing at these restaurants works by color of plate, and at the end of the meal the servers count up how many and which kind of plates you've accumulated.  

                                     

After dinner we stopped by McDonalds, where Abe had a hamburger and a shrimp burger--local McDonalds fare in Japan. I had a tiny McFlurry, just one example of the small portions we've been getting used to on this trip. A McFlurry in the US would easily be three times the size of the one I was given. 

Following McDonalds we spent some time wandering Roppongi unsuccessfully, looking for a place to get a drink, before returning back to the apartment.