Right, we've got a few minutes left until the internet runs out so just a quick one and then that's almost definitely it unless we find a wifi hotspot somewhere!
Had a lovely lie-in this morning and then headed for Akibahara which is where all the nerds hang out. Full of electronics shops, manga shops and a few maid cafes. There was so much computer gear and little toys and comics and little manga style characters. It was really good fun and we had a great time looking around - Thom would love it there in amongst all the geeks!
Craig wanted to go to RC Champ - a shop that sells radio controlled car bits but rather annoyingly it turns out that it's closed on Monday's so we're going to head back there later in the week.
Pretty much got the rest of our stay here sorted, going to head to Asakusa where there is a big temple and the Asahi Tower which is the headquarters of Asahi and apparently the building is clad to look like a glass of Asahi - golden all the way up with a white top like a head! We've been told that we can go up to the top to an observation deck to a bar and have an Asahi whilst looking out over Tokyo!
Also on our list of places to go is the Imperial Gardens which we can actually see part of from our hotel window!
We'll do an update of our last few days when we get home and post lots more pics.
Gill, Craig has managed to get reception on his phone so if you need to get hold of us for any reason then send him a text - he's not receiving calls.
Monday 6 April 2009
Sunday 5 April 2009
Back in Tokyo
So we're back in tokyo in another swanky hotel, the Grand Prince Akasaka. Its pretty nice, had some people carry our bags. Room is on 35th floor with a bit of a view but nothing compared to the last two hotels.
Only thing is this could be our last blog post before we go home as the internet is ridiculously three times the price of the other two hotels! its just mental!!!! So one night so we can plan the week and thats it!! Bit miffed actually as the rest of the place is so nice.
Had a quick trip round the castle again this morning, fighting our way through the hordes of j-pop fan girls wearing all sorts of mad outfits, and annoying pushy Chinese tourists.
We then got the bullet train and jumped off at Nagoya to meet an old friend of Caz's called JP, for an hour or two. JP is over here, again, teaching english. Shame we couldn't contact him earlier but it was good to see him anyway and sit off under the blossom trees of his local park. Had some octopus dumplings which were alright.
Just made a bunch of calls to family and now looking to plan the next couple of days. Annoyingly some of the places we want to go aren't on JR lines so we'll have to pay to use the Tokyo Metro.
Looking forward though to going to Asakusa to get some plastic food they have in the all the restaurants.
Anyway here are some pics from today and Kyoto. Gonna have lots to work on when we get back...
Don Quixote in Shinjuku...
Kyoto
Bullet train view
Caz and JP in Nagoya
Only thing is this could be our last blog post before we go home as the internet is ridiculously three times the price of the other two hotels! its just mental!!!! So one night so we can plan the week and thats it!! Bit miffed actually as the rest of the place is so nice.
Had a quick trip round the castle again this morning, fighting our way through the hordes of j-pop fan girls wearing all sorts of mad outfits, and annoying pushy Chinese tourists.
We then got the bullet train and jumped off at Nagoya to meet an old friend of Caz's called JP, for an hour or two. JP is over here, again, teaching english. Shame we couldn't contact him earlier but it was good to see him anyway and sit off under the blossom trees of his local park. Had some octopus dumplings which were alright.
Just made a bunch of calls to family and now looking to plan the next couple of days. Annoyingly some of the places we want to go aren't on JR lines so we'll have to pay to use the Tokyo Metro.
Looking forward though to going to Asakusa to get some plastic food they have in the all the restaurants.
Anyway here are some pics from today and Kyoto. Gonna have lots to work on when we get back...
Don Quixote in Shinjuku...
Kyoto
Bullet train view
Caz and JP in Nagoya
Saturday 4 April 2009
LAZY SATURDAY AFTERNOON
Well after a hard day yesterday we got up late and decided to have a quiet one as we both have sore legs. Not to bad as its been raining all day!
Went to the doctors as Caz has some weird thing going on with her hand after an insect bite, all red, itchy and bumpy. Doc, in very broken english, said it was something like allergic dermatitis and gave her some cream to use everyday. Hopefully it will go down as when mum had something similar she ended up in hospital..
Next up was a mission to find an ATM we could actually get cash out of. Found one in the post office which annoyingly gave us a 10,000yen note when we asked for that amount!
Then we headed off to the shopping part of town on the underground as I wanted to go check out a camera store. Ace shop crammed with used kit but couldn't quite decided what to do about the cams i was looking at so left it :( Did get a mate a cheapo cam out of the broken bin though which seems fine except for the meter! Something not right there though considering i've not bought myself anything!
Had a little wander round on the covered street they had there which was good as it was peeing down. Had lunch at Lotteria burger which we've been calling lottery burger!!!! had to try it really with a name like that.
Back to hotel for rest as yesterday was catchin Caz and we've just been out for a nice meal at a place over the road. I had Chicken Katsu Curry, Caz had some beef thing with barely cooked meat, just how she likes it.
No pics today really and not done anything with yesterdays!!!
Back to Tokyo tomorrow, will try harder to get some pics sorted!
Went to the doctors as Caz has some weird thing going on with her hand after an insect bite, all red, itchy and bumpy. Doc, in very broken english, said it was something like allergic dermatitis and gave her some cream to use everyday. Hopefully it will go down as when mum had something similar she ended up in hospital..
Next up was a mission to find an ATM we could actually get cash out of. Found one in the post office which annoyingly gave us a 10,000yen note when we asked for that amount!
Then we headed off to the shopping part of town on the underground as I wanted to go check out a camera store. Ace shop crammed with used kit but couldn't quite decided what to do about the cams i was looking at so left it :( Did get a mate a cheapo cam out of the broken bin though which seems fine except for the meter! Something not right there though considering i've not bought myself anything!
Had a little wander round on the covered street they had there which was good as it was peeing down. Had lunch at Lotteria burger which we've been calling lottery burger!!!! had to try it really with a name like that.
Back to hotel for rest as yesterday was catchin Caz and we've just been out for a nice meal at a place over the road. I had Chicken Katsu Curry, Caz had some beef thing with barely cooked meat, just how she likes it.
No pics today really and not done anything with yesterdays!!!
Back to Tokyo tomorrow, will try harder to get some pics sorted!
Friday 3 April 2009
Kyoto - We came, we saw, we collapsed!
Got up fairly early this morning and headed straight for Kyoto for a day of culture. As we don't read any Japanese we can a little unstuck at the station when trying to decide which train to get on, we got on the one that was terminating at Kyoto but was the local train so stopped absolutely everywhere - at least we knew we were going to end up in Kyoto though!
First stop in Kyoto was the Toji Temple which is a five storied pagoda, the highest in Japan, measuring 187 feet (and a national treasure). Whilst there was also saw statues of the Yakushi Triad and Twelve Heavenly Generals, and a set of twenty one Buddhist statues.
From there we headed for Sanjusangen-do (another national treasure) which has 1001 statues of the Buddhist deity, Kannon, and 28 guardian dieties - also the first place we've had to take our shoes off for! It was amazing but I think Craig was more impressed with the fluorescent orange paint along the outside wall - there will be pictures of that to follow.
Next we jumped on the train to Nijo Castle whch was built at the begining of the 17th Century by the Shogun at the time. The most memorable part of it for me was that the floor boards creak really loudly as you walk down them, it was a security system to hear intruders! There were loads of grounds and gardens so spent a while wondering around them.
Lastly we headed for the Imperial Palace Gardens for a look around. You can only get into the Imperial Palace (former) if you book onto a tour in advance so we had a quick look around the gardens and the wall surrounding the palace.
By this time it was about 5:30 and we were both dead on our feet so we headed back to the station and came back to Osaka. Ready for bed now so photos to follow as and when.
First stop in Kyoto was the Toji Temple which is a five storied pagoda, the highest in Japan, measuring 187 feet (and a national treasure). Whilst there was also saw statues of the Yakushi Triad and Twelve Heavenly Generals, and a set of twenty one Buddhist statues.
From there we headed for Sanjusangen-do (another national treasure) which has 1001 statues of the Buddhist deity, Kannon, and 28 guardian dieties - also the first place we've had to take our shoes off for! It was amazing but I think Craig was more impressed with the fluorescent orange paint along the outside wall - there will be pictures of that to follow.
Next we jumped on the train to Nijo Castle whch was built at the begining of the 17th Century by the Shogun at the time. The most memorable part of it for me was that the floor boards creak really loudly as you walk down them, it was a security system to hear intruders! There were loads of grounds and gardens so spent a while wondering around them.
Lastly we headed for the Imperial Palace Gardens for a look around. You can only get into the Imperial Palace (former) if you book onto a tour in advance so we had a quick look around the gardens and the wall surrounding the palace.
By this time it was about 5:30 and we were both dead on our feet so we headed back to the station and came back to Osaka. Ready for bed now so photos to follow as and when.
Thursday 2 April 2009
Thurs 2nd, Castle, Ferris Wheel and Whales
First thing on our must see list in Osaka was the Castle and gardens so we headed back there first thing and went into the Castle building. It's slightly mis-named as the original castles over the years were destroyed during various wars so the one that stands today is a concrete replica. We got amazing views from the top that made the 8 flights of stairs worth while, although it was full of rather rude and pushy Chinese Tourists! The rest of the floors on the way down are a museum and full of artifacts and the history of the castle. Very interesting but again full of the same rude and pushy tourists who thought nothing of standing infront of us whilst we were reading information on the walls.
The largest stone used in the walls of the moat is the Tako-ishi or Octopus Stone (no idea why) and it's thought to be 130-tonne - see the pic below.
After a walk through the gardens and a visit to the shrine, we jumped on the train to the centre of Osaka for a wander around. We had a nice lunch and wander around and then headed back to the hotel for a rest - all this running about and traveling around on trains takes it's toll on me if we don't have a rest!
Headed back into the centre for a very yummy noodle soup tea and then went to the Hep Five (STI anyone?) shopping centre which is strange for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it has a ferris wheel on the top (eh?) and secondly it has a massive red and white plastic sperm whale and calf hanging from the ceiling next the all the escalators (again, eh?). No pictures of either of these so you'll have to take our word for it.
And speaking of pictures, we were a bit mean yesterday and posted a picture of what we said was the Castle, it's actually the Former Osaka City Museum and was originally built as Army Barracks sometime after the Second World War. Was mean of us but we just couldn't resist, it does look more like a Castle as we would imagine one than Osaka Castle does!
The largest stone used in the walls of the moat is the Tako-ishi or Octopus Stone (no idea why) and it's thought to be 130-tonne - see the pic below.
After a walk through the gardens and a visit to the shrine, we jumped on the train to the centre of Osaka for a wander around. We had a nice lunch and wander around and then headed back to the hotel for a rest - all this running about and traveling around on trains takes it's toll on me if we don't have a rest!
Headed back into the centre for a very yummy noodle soup tea and then went to the Hep Five (STI anyone?) shopping centre which is strange for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it has a ferris wheel on the top (eh?) and secondly it has a massive red and white plastic sperm whale and calf hanging from the ceiling next the all the escalators (again, eh?). No pictures of either of these so you'll have to take our word for it.
And speaking of pictures, we were a bit mean yesterday and posted a picture of what we said was the Castle, it's actually the Former Osaka City Museum and was originally built as Army Barracks sometime after the Second World War. Was mean of us but we just couldn't resist, it does look more like a Castle as we would imagine one than Osaka Castle does!
Wednesday 1 April 2009
Osaka
We're now in Osaka.
We got the bullet train which really wasn't that exciting, fast, but there was no baggage storage!! so we had to use our ample leg room to squeeze the cases in!! was ok trip though, the 3 hours didnt drag to long.
The hotel is ace, the people are so friendly, they insisted on having a porter carry our bags. Got a nice large room with a great view of the castle. Decor is a bit 80's but its cool.
The park with the castle is literally over the road, so we went for a little stroll. We're gonna check it out properly tomorrow.
Hotel is a little out the city center and our mission to find food ended with a trip to the Spar equivalent to get some boxed stuff, had a nice mix of things including spicy squid/octopus which i thought was tasty but caz wasn't to impressed by.
Only a quick one tonight as we're both feeling lazy. Will try and catch up on the pics soon as!! Here are a couple of little ones from today that aint goin on flickr
We got the bullet train which really wasn't that exciting, fast, but there was no baggage storage!! so we had to use our ample leg room to squeeze the cases in!! was ok trip though, the 3 hours didnt drag to long.
The hotel is ace, the people are so friendly, they insisted on having a porter carry our bags. Got a nice large room with a great view of the castle. Decor is a bit 80's but its cool.
The park with the castle is literally over the road, so we went for a little stroll. We're gonna check it out properly tomorrow.
Hotel is a little out the city center and our mission to find food ended with a trip to the Spar equivalent to get some boxed stuff, had a nice mix of things including spicy squid/octopus which i thought was tasty but caz wasn't to impressed by.
Only a quick one tonight as we're both feeling lazy. Will try and catch up on the pics soon as!! Here are a couple of little ones from today that aint goin on flickr
Osaka Castle
hmm squid
Tuesday 31 March 2009
Last full day in Shinjuku
Decided to have a quiet day in Shinjuku today, looking round the shops and generally having a bit of a mooch. Started off with the camera shops and then had a look around some department stores. After a quick bit of lunch we headed for one of the many 0101 stores where there is loads of gothic lolita stuff. We had a great look round and there was some really nice clothes but they're really expensive (like £200ish for a skirt).
We then went to an everything store that literally sells everything, with one of the strangest things being adult sized character suits, like a frog or a bear. They also sold everything from luggage to tights, lightbulbs to jewelery and dvd players to sex toys! Craig managed to get some sly pics so hopefully they'll be up later.
Sounds like it's been a quiet day but we've been doing loads of walking and people watching so rather tired now. Just waiting for things to quieten down a bit outside (not that it ever really does round here) then we'll be going out complete with tripod to do some more pics.
Not sure if we'll manage to get any pictures online tonight, if not we'll try and do them tomorrow.
We then went to an everything store that literally sells everything, with one of the strangest things being adult sized character suits, like a frog or a bear. They also sold everything from luggage to tights, lightbulbs to jewelery and dvd players to sex toys! Craig managed to get some sly pics so hopefully they'll be up later.
Sounds like it's been a quiet day but we've been doing loads of walking and people watching so rather tired now. Just waiting for things to quieten down a bit outside (not that it ever really does round here) then we'll be going out complete with tripod to do some more pics.
Not sure if we'll manage to get any pictures online tonight, if not we'll try and do them tomorrow.
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