The interior of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo is off limits to the public, The inner grounds can be visited by joining the official tour. Only offered twice a day in Japanese with English audioguides available. The application process for the tour must be completed at least four days ahead but you’ll be lucky to…
Author: Ella
That’s a wrap on udon
Yesterday we concurred that we’d both love a bowl of udon as our big meal of the day. We sat in comfy chairs in the National Art Center and googled for udon restaurants in the area. TsuruTonTan popped up and was only an 11 minute walk away. Google maps led us to the location and…
Robotic security
At the National Art Center, this robot rolled along, stopping as it passed people to wink its lights. Maybe take a sniff looking for illegal substances or weapons. Its head swiveled continuously and I suppose it was producing a continuous live stream feed to whomever was monitoring the cameras. Or, maybe it had no need for…
Machine Love
Our first foray into the gigaplex that is Tokyo was for the Mori Art Museum located on the 53rd floor of the Mori building in the Roppongi neighborhood. We realized today that in Tokyo, we had to be a little more clever with Google maps. Or maybe Google maps needs to get more clever. Tokyo…
Bits and pieces
We are in Tokyo now but I thought I’d share some last photos from Toyama and Takaoka Most of the manhole covers in Toyama were painted. Is there a more generic name these days? Where did “manhole” come from anyway? School zone. Beware of speedy kids. A typical street in Toyama. What to drink? Why…
Shazam, we’re in Tokyo
A massive city. The largest city on earth. Could be its own country. Bustling, busy, lots of people looking trendy. Big City, Earth. That was our last ride on. Shinkansen (from Toyama to Tokyo). Last stop on our 6 six week blitz through Japan. First day of Golden Week. Kind of a spring break for…
Big Buddha
Having become fascinated with the notion of infinite Buddhas, I couldn’t resist suggesting an outing to one of the great bronze Buddha statues in Japan. Located in Takaoka, a mere 20 minute train ride from Toyama station, this giant 16 meter high bronze statue of Amithaba Buddha was quite a sight. The statue originated in…
Hotel room cleaning and safety
Every regular hotel room we’ve stayed in comes with some version of these signs (photo below) on the back of the door. There is also often a small control panel in the wall next to the door with a button to push if you want the room fully cleaned. It turns on a tiny green…
Glass
A 20 minute walk from our hotel got us to the Toyama Glass Art Museum where there was a special small exhibition of Chihuly. I love the stuff. The rest of the exhibit space was devoted to other glass artists, many local. The building itself, designed by Kengo Kuma, was quite spectacular with open spaces…
Last stop before the last stop
From Kanazawa to Toyama. We are in Toyama for 2 nights only. By Shinkhansen, it was under a 30 minute ride. Toyama is our last stop before Tokyo. Below. Sign in the Kanazawa train station. Japan has a reputation for being very safe. BUT, with the influx of millions of tourists, well, not all tourists…
Kanazawa hodgepodge
Claw games are a big deal. We stepped into a claw game arcade to check it out. Each try costs 100 yen (US 70 cents). You can grab anything from a big stuffed animal to a package of cookies to a transformer car. Yeah, I was tempted to try but..oh well I have no excuse….
Saiyoji Zen Temple
Saiyoji is a Zen temple In the Utatsuyama district of Kanazawa and is noted for its bell tower which dates to the 1850s. The architecture, the sign said, uses fan raftering where the elements are arranged radially. It seems this is a typical structure for Zen Buddhist temples. I got a not so great photo…
A quiet morning
Utatsuyama is the quietest and oldest of the temple districts in Kanazawa sporting 100 temples. After today, we have 96 to go. You won’t find any crowds in this neck of the woods. No cutesy cafes or souvenir shops. In Utatsuyama, nestled in the foothills of the Japanese Alps, is Shinjoji Temple. A bit of…
Do you believe?
I believe the sign is honest. There is a guy in the rabbit costume. Made me so sad. Grubb does not believe. He thinks it’s a hoax. What say you?
Flapping wings origami
Yesterday’s roaming took us first to the Nagamchi area, aka the Samurai district where warriors chilled when they weren’t out battling. Our first stop was the restored Nakaya Chinese Pharmacy, established 1579. The pharmacy occupied the first floor of Shinese Memorial Hall. The second floor used to be a residence for the shop owners but…