Trip Report - Japan 5/2019 UPDATED 10/26!! ABD Day 10 - Tokyo in Color

I love that stained glass building. ABD always finds such interesting stops for the long bus rides. I'm a little disappointed that we won't be stopping to see the giant outdoor Budda but the day seems pretty busy. Is the bike ride totally flat ? Still not sure about joining the bike ride. Excited to be leaving in 5 days. :)
 
I love that stained glass building. ABD always finds such interesting stops for the long bus rides. I'm a little disappointed that we won't be stopping to see the giant outdoor Budda but the day seems pretty busy. Is the bike ride totally flat ? Still not sure about joining the bike ride. Excited to be leaving in 5 days. :)
ABD really does do a great job with the stops along the way!

The bike ride is totally flat. If I can do it, I'm sure you can! ;)

5 days? Wow! You are *SO* going to love this trip. I know several people who are going to be on your departure.

Sayhello
 
Thanks so much for your detailed trip report.

Regarding the statue of the dog, his name is Hachiko.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hachikō
He would meet his owner at the train station when he came home from work. But one day the owner died while at work. Every subsequent day, for the rest of his life, Hachiko went back to the train station, hoping to see his owner return. The statue is in his memory. Today, people use it as a landmark to rendezvous with each other ("Meet me at Hachiko")
 


Thanks so much for your detailed trip report.

Regarding the statue of the dog, his name is Hachiko.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hachikō
He would meet his owner at the train station when he came home from work. But one day the owner died while at work. Every subsequent day, for the rest of his life, Hachiko went back to the train station, hoping to see his owner return. The statue is in his memory. Today, people use it as a landmark to rendezvous with each other ("Meet me at Hachiko")
Thanks for the explanation about Hachiko! And you're welcome for the trip report. Glad you enjoyed! :)

Sayhello
 
Very much enjoying your trip report, thanks ! Japan looks beautiful and lush and green..coming from somewhere that is brown and dry 3/4 of the year I always appreciate that!
 
Very much enjoying your trip report, thanks ! Japan looks beautiful and lush and green..coming from somewhere that is brown and dry 3/4 of the year I always appreciate that!
So glad you're enjoying! Japan is so much lusher and more beautiful than I imagined!

Sayhello
 


Day 9 – Soy Delicious

This day started out with a morning guided walk through a Tokyo “metro park”. We walked through Hamarikyu Gardens, a very beautiful, old green space in the middle of high-rise office buildings in Tokyo. It was really quite lovely, and you almost forgot the office buildings were there.

Our luck with the weather had run out just a bit, as it was seriouly HOT this morning. I spent a lot of the walk maneuvering my way from shade spot to shade spot, but there were times when none was available. But considering how lucky we’d been up until that part (with James & Tomomi frequently repeating "This is not normal!") I really can’t complain.

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After a bit, we were taken across a boardwalk to the Nakajima Tea House, sitting on the edge of a small lake.

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We left our shoes at the door, and had the choice of sitting/kneeling on the floor in the traditional manner or sitting at tables. I chose the tables this day. I’d woken up with a stiff neck, and just figured I’d be as kind to my body as I could!

We were given bowls of green Matcha tea, and some really beautiful Japanese sweets.

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We were then instructed in the tea ritual, turning our bowls partial turns as we sipped. I’d really developed a taste for matcha tea by this time, and really enjoyed it, along with the sweet. As people finished up, we were given some time to wander the Tea House, and there were slippers lined up that we could use to explore the large wooden deck that surrounded it. It was quite peaceful, although you got a much better look at the city that surrounded the park.

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Our local guide then led an optional walk around the lake. (I admit, I’ve forgotten what those who didn’t take the walk did). She discussed some of the history of the park, which was originally built during the Shogun period (early 1600s to late 1800s). The tea house was originally built by the 6th Shogun, and was burned down and re-built a few times.

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There were some areas with beautiful sweeps of flowering color, and even an area where people used to go bird hunting.

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Even though it was quite hot at this point, it was a very pleasant walk.

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Eventually, we met up with the rest of the group, and headed out to our next activity. We had been informed ahead of time that this day had been re-arranged, and the Sushi-making class/lunch had been moved up earlier, and the Sumida River Boat Cruise had been pushed back to later in the day (I think it had turned out doing the Cruise first made lunch way too late). It appears this was a permanent change, although now the cruise is apparently completely gone.

We had also been asked ahead of time if we wanted to order a sandwich for lunch. Since I wasn’t planning on using or eating much rice in my sushi, I ordered a sandwich to go with it.

The Sushi lesson seemed to be a similar setup to the Bento Box lesson, where we went to a studio, and were instructed in the making of two types of sushi by several Moms.

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There was actually a bit of ritual around cooling and serving and spooning out the rice (I don’t remember the details, but it involved fanning the rice as it was spooned).

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We were making 2 types of sushi: one with the rice on the inside and another (California roll) with the rice on the outside. We all thought it was funny going to Japan to learn how to make a style of sushi that was not actually from Japan, but it was probably because it would be familiar to a lot of people.

We started by making rolled-up eggs again (this time I was much more successful than the Bento Box class!)

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Next we got our sheets of seaweed (I believe called “nori”), positioned it on our bamboo mats shiny side down and spread some rice on it. We then got some fish and julienned vegetables to line up on the seaweed. We rolled them with the bamboo mats. It was really way easier than I thought it would be.

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We then got a longer & narrower piece of seaweed, placed it on the mat and spread rice on it. We then flipped it over using a piece of saran wrap, and put pieces of crab and more julienned vegetables on one end.

We then carefully rolled up the seaweed, keeping the mat and the saran wrap out of the middle of the sushi roll. This was a little more complicated to do.

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We then sliced up our sushi, and arranged it on our plates with the egg roll slices. Mine definitely looked a bit odd due to the lack of rice, but it tasted great! Other folks’ sushi actually looked quite good!

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We then ate our sushi (and sandwiches for those who ordered them) for lunch. (I was actually kind of glad I’d ordered the sandwich, as I ended up not getting any dinner until pretty late).

After lunch, we had a walking tour along the streets of the Asakusa District of Tokyo, heading towards the Senso-Ji Temple.

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Tokyo Skytree. At 2,080 ft, it is the tallest structure in Japan, the second tallest free-standing structure in the world and the tallest tower in the world. It’s a broadcast and observation tower. Someday I’ll need to go back & head up to the observation deck on it.

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Senso-ji Temple is renowned for it’s 2 *very* large paper lanterns hanging on 2 gates leading up to the temple.

We had our photos taken in front of the first one. It doesn't really do the lantern justice in showing just how large it is.

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We were then turned free for a little over an hour to check out the lively and bustling market that grew between the 2 gates, and also visit the Temple.

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I continued in my quest for a simple pearl necklace. I branched off into one of the side aisles (they were covered!) and finally found my necklace! It was a rather ingenious design, actually. The slightly large, semi-rose-shaded pearl had been drilled like it would be for a string of pearls, but was, instead, threaded by itself on a very nice gold box chain. It was simple, but elegant, and, I thought, very pretty. Being very picky about such things, I looked through all of the versions that were out on the display, including 2 larger ones. I finally settled on one of the larger ones, as it was a nice size, a very pretty color, and not that much more than the smaller ones. Once I made up my mind, I took it to the shop owner, who seemed puzzled that I didn’t want one of the smaller, less expensive ones (although none of them were that expensive). I assured him that was the one I wanted. He boxed it up in a pretty little red velvet box.

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I still had more time, so I ended up browsing in a shop that had very pretty decorated pins that are to be used as hair decorations. I’m not sure when I’ll ever wear the one I bought, but it was very pretty!

Finally, I headed up to the Temple to check it out. There was the second gate with the second large lantern, and a pagoda, and then the temple itself. It was pretty (and relatively cool). All you could really do was walk into the main area where the prayer offerings were done, and then stand on the top of the stairs and look back over the gate and shopping area.

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After that, it was time to meet up with everyone to head out to the Sumida River Boat Cruise. For some reason, people were really straggling in for this one (folks had been relatively timely most other times). Maybe it was the heat. Anyways, fortunately there was shade and bathrooms and bottled water vending machines in the area where we were meeting up, so we all took advantage of that. Unfortunately, the bathrooms were NOT air-conditioned, and were sweltering. I was dripping wet by the time I got out. Between the hand driers and the bit of a breeze outside, I dried off pretty quickly, though.

Once we were all together and had admired each other’s purchases, we headed out on foot to the dock for Tokyo Cruise to take our Sumida River Boat Cruise. We had a bit of a wait for them to open up the loading area for our boat. But it was indoors, relatively cool, and there were a few chairs around if folks wanted to sit.

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Eventually, we headed out to board. The ship was covered, and there was a nice breeze, so it wasn’t uncomfortably hot on the cruise.

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Apparently, a lot of people did not like the river cruise, and thought it was a waste of time. I actually found it a very pleasant trip (but I like this sort of thing) although it could have greatly benefited from some sort of narration of what we were seeing. I do believe people would have enjoyed it much more if we’d had that. James & Tomomi purchased large sodas for all of us, and that was very refreshing.

The gold thing is supposed to represent a flame, but the locals call it the Golden Poop. 😊

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After the cruise, we met up with the motorcoach so folks could head back to the hotel, after which we had the rest of the afternoon, dinner and the evening on our own. I had already made arrangements with James that I was going to depart from the group at that point, and head to an attraction I’d bought tickets to, the team Lab Borderless Digital Art Museum. @WeLoveABD had told me about it (although he was unable to go during his Japan ABD as it was closed that day). Also, the sister of a friend who went to Japan about a month ahead of me highly recommended it. So I had purchased tickets online, and James gave me very easy to follow instructions to catch the trainline that ran right past the parking lot where our motorcoach was parked, and transfer to the train that would take me right to the entertainment area where the museum was.

James sent me off like a proud papa, setting me free to find my way there. It was pretty sweet! 😊

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In order to get to the museum, I had to cut through what seemed like a humongous Toyota car exhibit. I wasn’t sure how far I had to walk, so I didn’t linger there. Out the other side and up just a way was the entrance:

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I got in line, and eventually made my way into the museum.

It’s a multimedia feast for the senses. Sounds, sights, even tastes were included.

You started in a huge floral room, and made your way from room to room, experiencing each room, and trying to find if it had any secret exits (the entrances to some of the rooms were hidden). I had about 2 ½ hours there. I could have stayed much longer, but I did feel that I saw most of it during my stay.

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This room had a very soft, bouncy floor and all these rubber balls that floated around and changed color. Very crazy!

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This area was like a forest of lights, and you were supposed to climb up on the colored knobs and then proceed through it only touching knobs with the same color. I lasted about 30 seconds in here.

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They also had a tea room in the middle. You purchased a bowl of tea, and it was placed on the table in front of you. Flowers were projected onto the tea, and when you raised and lowered it to sip your tea, the flowers would slowly scatter across the table, and then re-coalesce back into your bowl. It was really beautiful and soothing.

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There was a very long line for this room, as they only let a few folks in at a time for a couple of minutes. (They were serious about herding folks out before letting the next batch in). But it was totally worth the wait, and nice to have it not be all crowded. (There were windows facing the line so that you could watch people walking through it). So the wait wasn't *too* boring!

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Sometimes projected characters would move through the rooms, and would even move from room to room.

Some of the projections you could interact with. Like touching a wall would cause the flow of flowers to change direction, things like that.

This area, you colored a picture, then gave it to a worker to scan, and then it would show up, animated, on the wall. It was pretty cool!

That's my fish with the purple snout.

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There was even one room that very effectively simulated a storm without any actual water.

The last room I found was definitely my favorite. This room had beautiful, crashing, stylized waves. They completely encircled the room. You could walk around, or there were beanbags in the center of the room that you could recline on and just take in the motion. I’d have stayed there much longer, but they were starting to shoo people towards the exit as they were getting ready to close. It was SO soothing and beautiful. I really loved that room!

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By the time I got out, it was dark, and I was hungry. I confess, the Wendy’s right down the walkway looked pretty appealing at that point. The burgers were pretty good, and it really hit the spot. I then cut back through the Toyota exhibit (a bit more slowly this time) and headed back to the train station to catch the train back to the hotel.

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James had told me that if I got off the train on the exit before the Peninsula, that it would drop me at the top of the Ginza district, which was the very expensive shopping area just past our hotel. Imagine Tokyo meets Rodeo drive. It was a very brightly lit, very lively area. I mostly window shopped and took in the atmosphere. At this point, a lot of the shops were getting ready to close down anyways. I had made plans to hit this area the next day during our OYO afternoon.

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I finally made my way back to the very welcoming Peninsula Tokyo (and the very fun jello parfaits that had been left for me in my room).

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Tomorrow would be more of Tokyo, and, inexplicably, our farewell dinner already!

Up next: Day 10: Tokyo in Color
 
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There was a very long line for this room, as they only let a few folks in at a time for a couple of minutes. (They were serious about herding folks out before letting the next batch in). But it was totally worth the wait, and nice to have it not be all crowded. (There were windows facing the line so that you could watch people walking through it). So the wait wasn't *too* boring!

View attachment 440476

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Sometimes projected characters would move through the rooms, and would even move from room to room.

Some of the projections you could interact with. Like touching a wall would cause the flow of flowers to change direction, things like that.

This area, you colored a picture, then gave it to a worker to scan, and then it would show up, animated, on the wall. It was pretty cool!

That's my fish with the purple snout.

View attachment 440479

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There was even one room that very effectively simulated a storm without any actual water.

The last room I found was definitely my favorite. This room had beautiful, crashing, stylized waves. They completely encircled the room. You could walk around, or there were beanbags in the center of the room that you could recline on and just take in the motion. I’d have stayed there much longer, but they were starting to shoo people towards the exit as they were getting ready to close. It was SO soothing and beautiful. I really loved that room!

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By the time I got out, it was dark, and I was hungry. I confess, the Wendy’s right down the walkway looked pretty appealing at that point. The burgers were pretty good, and it really hit the spot. I then cut back through the Toyota exhibit (a bit more slowly this time) and headed back to the train station to catch the train back to the hotel.

View attachment 440483

James had told me that if I got off the train on the exit before the Peninsula, that it would drop me at the top of the Ginza district, which was the very expensive shopping area just past our hotel. Imagine Tokyo meets Rodeo drive. It was a very brightly lit, very lively area. I mostly window shopped and took in the atmosphere. At this point, a lot of the shops were getting ready to close down anyways. I had made plans to hit this area the next day during our OYO afternoon.

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I finally made my way back to the very welcoming Peninsula Tokyo (and the very fun jello parfaits that had been left for me in my room).

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Tomorrow would be more of Tokyo, and, inexplicably, our farewell dinner already!

Up next: Day 10: Tokyo in Color

That exhibit was AMAZING! thank you so much for sharing your pictures!!
 
@sayhello I'd love to see a picture of the hair pin you bought if you have time to show us! I'm really enjoying your pictures! :)
 
@sayhello dd and I LOVED Team Lab Borderless. The tea in the cafe was delicious and watching the designs change shape was very cool! Probably one of our favorite experiences in Japan!
 

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