Adventures in Japan! Part 5: Tokyo

The final stop on our journey was Tokyo.  Our first mission was to check out the Ghibli Museum.  If you love Studio Ghibli films, then this is a very charming place to visit.  A life sized Totoro greets you at the entrance.  Inside, you can watch a Ghibli short film, exclusive only to visitors of the museum.  See concept art from your favorite Ghibli movies, sit inside a life sized cat bus, and stand next to a life sized robot from "Laputa: Castle in the Sky."

"Balse"

My favorite part of the museum is an amazing 3D zoetrope.  Tiny sculptures of Ghibli characters in a progression of poses are placed in a circle and then spun around quickly while a light strobes, giving the illusion of movement.  Girls are jumping rope while bats fly around and Totoro's friends disappear and reappear... it's quite amazing and I urge you to see it with your own eyes!

Our next stop was Akihabara, "The Electric City," and the Mecca for hardcore otaku.  We navigated through various anime themed stores and eventually found some great treasures.  Zer07 got himself some One Piece figurines and I got a One Piece stuffed animal that I've been wanting for a while:

Chopper!!  My favorite One Piece character.

After Akihabara, we met with some friends for shabu shabu in Shinjuku.  On our last day of fun, we met with some of my old friends from ninja animation school at Asakusa.

Kaminari Mon

Agemanjuu - Deep fried sweet bean pastries

Later, we explored Harajuku and were amused by the interesting use of English on shirts and signs:

Then we ended the evening with dinner in Shibuya.

What a fun adventure we had!!!  I can't wait to visit the homeland again soon.

If you missed them, be sure to check out the other parts in our Adventures in Japan series:
Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Adventures in Japan! Part 4: Hakone

Private garden outside our room at Hana no Yado Fukuya inn.

What Japanese adventure is complete without a trip to some hot springs?? After all that exploring and walking around outside in the freezing cold, we were definitely ready for a relaxing dip in Hakone's famous hot springs. We took a long, winding bus ride to our "ryokan" (Japanese style inn) called, "Hana no Yado Fukuya," nestled away in some woods, surrounded by beautiful Japanese gardens, and overlooking a picturesque lake. Upon arrival, we were treated like royalty. We were immediately served tea and treats and encouraged to take advantage of the baths. Most ryokans have communal baths, as did this particular one, but we also had a very special room with a private "rotenburo" (outdoor bath).
Most ryokans provide "yukata," as pajamas (a light, cotton kimono). Zer07 had never seen me in a yukata, so he convinced me to dress up in one of the pretty ones the ryokan had to offer:

Zer07 also dressed in the pajamas provided. Our hostess told him he didn't need to wear the "obi" (belt) because he looked like he was about to do some judo, but Zer07 insisted on wearing it this way:


After learning that we were huge anime fans, our hostess brought us some special gifts and proceeded to share a bit of fascinating trivia with us! You may be familiar with the series, "Neon Genesis Evangelion," but did you know that this story is supposed to take place in a real place in Japan? Yes, it takes place in none other than Hakone!

(Map shows where Nerv Headquarters is located as well as all the other key locations in the story.)

Our hostess then proceeded to serve us an elegantly arranged 10 course traditional Japanese dinner! I should have taken pictures of the beautiful and delicious food!! (>o<) I ate fugu (blow fish) for the first time, and survived! It was such a special treat to stay at Hana no Yado Fukuya. The food was amazing and the atmosphere was relaxing. I hope to visit this ryokan again sometime!!

The next day we were served a wonderful traditional breakfast, then we left Hana no Yado Fukuya to go explore Hakone Sekisho. Hakone Sekisho was a border checkpoint located along the main road between Edo (Tokyo) and Kyoto. One of the main roles of Hakone sekisho was to control 'incoming guns and outgoing women', which means to prevent weapons from being brought into Edo and wives and children of feudal lords from fleeing from Edo.
Feeling rejuvenated from the hot springs, we moved on to Tokyo...

(to be continued...)

Check out the previous chapters of Adventures in Japan:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Adventures in Japan! Part 3: Kyoto

We arrived in Kyoto by shinkansen and eventually made our way to what looked like an old town with traditional architecture. This is Higashiyama district. It's a very charming area with lots of shops and restaurants that celebrate the flavors and styles of traditional Japan:
(Food vendor selling croquettes and bread)
(Higashiyama at night)

Working our way through Higashiyama's shops and narrow streets, we found our way to an impressive temple called, Kiyomizudera:
The temple has a huge wooden terrace and an amazing view.

Our next mission was to infiltrate Nijo Castle. This castle was the residence of the shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu, and was built in 1603. It is maintained carefully with lots of beautiful carved wooden room dividers and painted screens inside. Unfortunately, we weren't able to take pictures or even sketch in the interior of the castle, but one of the most interesting features for me was the "nightingale floor," floors that squeak when you walk on them. You have to be a pretty skilled ninja to walk around the inside of this castle without making a noise! The exterior is pretty too:
(Nijo Castle front gate)
After completing our mission in Kyoto, it was time to move on to Hakone, an area famous for hot springs! To be continued...

Other Adventures in Japan :
Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Adventures in Japan! Part 2: Hiroshima

(Samurai armor displayed at Hiroshima castle)

Our adventure continues as Zer07 and I got on a plane to Hiroshima. Our first visit was to the Peace Memorial Museum located in Hiroshima's Peace Park. I recommend everyone who visits Japan to check out this museum. It chronicles the progression of events leading up to WWII and the fateful dropping of the atomic bomb. There are firsthand accounts of what it was like for the many victims of the blast, and models of the city show the shocking before and after images.

Outside the museum, There is a beautiful statue of Sasaki Sadako, one of the atomic bomb's younger victims. Sasaki Sadako was two years old when the bomb dropped. She survived and went on to be a strong and healthy young girl, but at the age of 11, she developed leukemia as a result of radiation exposure. Her best friend encouraged her to fold 1000 paper origamai cranes, which would allow her to make a wish to the gods to be cured. (In Japanese mythology, the crane is said to live 1000 years.) Sadako wasn't able to complete all of the 1000 origami cranes, so her classmates folded the rest for her after her death. Today, the statue of Sasaki Sadako is a tribute to her life and stands as a wish for peace.

(Sadako holding a large paper crane.)

(A man rings a bell for peace.)

(People from all around the world send paper cranes to Sadako's statue.)

Walking away from the Peace Park, you can see the A-Bomb Dome, a building that was just feet from the hypocenter of the blast and one of the only structures to barely survive. It has been maintained in its exact condition to show the atomic bomb's devastation.


As we continued to explore Hiroshima, we stumbled upon a cool looking castle! This is Hiroshima castle.

(Moat outside of castle.)


This castle was actually destroyed during the bomb, but was rebuilt to completely resemble its original. Inside, the castle is now a modern looking museum, with many artifacts from feudal Japan like samurai armor and weapons. No photography was allowed inside, so I tried to sketch a picture of some cool samurai armor.

Our adventure continues as Zer07 and I ride the shinkansen (bullet train) to Kyoto...

Other Adventures in Japan :
Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Adventures in Japan! Part 1: Sapporo

(Petite Lou Lou Cafe in Sapporo, Japan)

Gobusata shimashita! Apologies for the long absence! Zer07 and I have been on a whirlwind adventure in Japan! It has been over 5 years since I've been back to the homeland, and it was Zer07's first time, so we decided to pack the maximum amount of adventuring into a 2 week span.

Our first mission was to infiltrate the annual "Yuki Matsuri" (snow festival) in Sapporo. Sapporo is located in Japan's northernmost island, Hokkaido, so it was very cold and snowy! The annual snow festival features lots of giant snow and ice sculptures as well as snow slides. We first explored Odori Koen, a park that stretches out for about 1 mile. The professionally made sculptures were very impressive:





There were plenty of anime-themed sculptures as well!


Hurray, One Piece!

At night, the sculptures are lit up with colorful lights:



Later, we explored Susukino Street, a long street closed off for exhibiting hundreds of ice sculptures. These are lit up at night too:







On our third day, we took it easy and found an adorable cafe called, Petite Lou Lou Cafe, where we relaxed and did some drawings. Finally, it was time to leave Sapporo and get on a plane for Hiroshima. Stay tuned for Part 2 of our Adventures in Japan!...

Other Adventures in Japan :
Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5