The Dark, Dirty Side of Tokyo

My day continues touring Tokyo with Tag, Matt, & Fred. 

Here is Yoyogi Park in Harajuku, one of the few "green spaces" in Tokyo.  This one even has an extensive rose garden!

What is that?!  Grass??  I haven't seen it for months!!  This is amazing!  Most parks have dirt or cement!

A beautiful fountain of Yoyogi Park.  This place is traditionally known for crazy "hippie" entertainers wandering about.  We did see some cool stuff (like wannabe Michael Jackson back-up dancers and Frisbee Olympics), but nothing too bizarre.

On to Shibuya, were I always love to eat dinner at TGIFridays!!  First, I also love to stop by and see Hachiko the famous dog statue.  Today he is being decorated for the Japan World Cup game that was being played a few hours later that day.

Crazy Japan World Cup Fans.  BTW - Japan lost the game and Fred (from France) was impressed that there was no rioting or looting!

Quick break in a silly photo machine!  (LOL... Tag decorated it with "We love Transfreight"!)

Here's Kabukicho in Shinkjuku. 

This is an entertainment district that isn't advertised to foreigners, so I've never been there.

It's a world of difference from all other areas of Japan.  There is trash every where, and it's like law doesn't exist in this area.  It's also known as the "red light district".  Here's a seedy club called Glitter designed exclusively for women clientele.

I can even check out the "working boys" before I enter.  My first thought was... "These are guys?  What's with the long hair?"  Yikes!!

Here's a poster for just a few of the "working girls".  I'm kind of disturbed by the one with the machine gun...

Quite an education for me, and I can see why they don't want foreigners hanging out in this area.  It was decidedly creepy and sleazy. 

I leave you with one more fun photo booth pic.  Can you believe that it wasn't even my suggestion to take these pics?!  That is definitely one cool thing about Japan :)  They love pics maybe even more than me!!

We have another full day of exploring Tokyo left, so stay tuned!!

Tokyo = Endless Entertainment

The fun continues with our foreign visitors from USA & France!  We packed a lot of action into one short weekend. 

We stayed at the Tokyo Dome Hotel, which is inside Tokyo Dome City.

"What exactly is Tokyo Dome City" you ask?  It's an small amusement park with rides and shops and restaurants!  I never had a chance to go on the roller coaster, but it looked cool. 

Cool colored-pencil shaped amusement park directory!

Let's play Pachinko!!  It's the Japan's version of casinos, yet gambling is illegal.  It's the middle of the day, so no one is here, but the clanking and ringing noise once you step inside is unbelievable!  I am told that old unsavory chain-smoking men like to hang out here at night.

Kerri's first time playing Pachinko.  You have a tray of small balls, and you must launch them into the machine.  It's half pinball, half slot machine.  In the end, you can take your "balls" to another establishment and exchange them for prizes.  I don't quite see the allure of this game.  You don't even get cold hard cash back when you win!

Next stop is also a first time for me: Akihabara. 

This is the electronics district of Tokyo.  All of the computer geeks hang out here.

I love touring Japan with a true Japanese person because they can read the signs and know the local hot spots.  Tag took us to "@home cafe", which is a very bizarre cafe that allows socially-inept computer geeks to interact with their cute waitress, who is dressed in a maid uniform.

I suppose it's like a Hooters for Japan, but the outfits are much more innocent.  They had a lot of rules in this place, like no touching the waitresses or asking for their personal information, no pictures, and a $7 cover charge just to get in and see what it was all about!

We had a great time watching the computer geeks in this place.  The clientele definitely had social issues which is kind of sad, but this place was making a total gold mine by exploiting their weaknesses.  They even had an "entertainment menu" where you could play a silly 1-minute children's game with the waitress of your choice for $7 or get your picture taken to prove that you were actually with a girl for $5!  

That last one had my name written all over it.  Here's my photo with "Karin".  We got to go on stage for the photo and select from a variety of props.  I got my pic taken for the benefit of the guys I was with, too.  They are all married, and figured they didn't need this type of souvenir but I certainly want to remember this nutty place!

Okay, back to Japan culture...  We went to Meiji-Jingumae Shrine in Harajuku.  The Shinto shrines in Japan are beautiful because they are set in the forest on a lot of acreage and it gets you away from the busyness of the city. 

They had a large bonsai collection, and this flowering tree was my favorite!

Inside Meiji-Jingumae Shrine. 

We even got to see a wedding procession and photography session.  This is a pretty common thing in the Spring and Fall, but it's risky business to plan an outside wedding during the rainy season.  As you can see, they newlywed couple lucked out and the weather was very nice.

Matt, Kerri, & Fred at Meiji-Jingumae.

We decided to check out the gift shop.  (Not my suggestion, but I always like the opportunity to shop for unique Japan goods!) 

Another reason I like travelling with a Japanese person is because he suggests cool things to buy.  Tag told me this place does free personalization.  So guess what this guy is engraving for me?

My very own "KERRI" chopsticks!! 

I thought about getting them done in Japanese Katakana characters, but at the last moment I decided against it because most of my American friends can't tell my name from a restaurant logo in Japan.  These are much more fun!

That was only half of the day, so please wait patiently for the rest of our fun weekend :) 

Fun with foreigner visitors

After a hard day's work in Tokyo, where do you take foreign visitors during the rainy season?

The answer we came up with was a baseball game at the Tokyo Dome!!

By some odd chance the Yomiuri Giants (a.k.a. Tokyo Giants) were playing the Chunichi Dragons (Nagoya's team).  I was happy to cheer on my hometown team, and check out the Tokyo stadium. 

The Yomiuri Giants are based off of the NY Giants of the 1930's (now San Francisco Giants).  They even have the same uniforms and team colors.  The Yomiuri Giants are the oldest and most popular team in Japan, and they have won the most pennants and Japan series titles. 

Take me out the the ballgame... buy me some beer and ... Pocky?!  It was a special Pocky promotion day.  Each free box featured a Giants player.  (Pocky is tiny chocolate-covered sticks.)

I was very happy because the food in Tokyo was a little more Westernized than Nagoya.  I had my first hot dog in 8 months!  It was delicious!

Here's one of the beer girls.  They carry small kegs around on their backs, so you can have draft beer in the stands.  Also notice that no ladies actually wear their baseball caps.  They fold it in half and pin it to their hair. 

Matt (from North America) and Fred (from Europe) in town for some training.  Fred hasn't been to a baseball game since he was a child living in New York in the 1970's!

When the Giants hit a home run, the crowd goes wild waving their orange towels.  Who knows, they might do a similar thing in Nagoya, but I've never seen them score a run, much less a home run!

Fan section with all of the orange towels.

Out came this giant Giants banner during the 7th inning stretch.  It truly felt like a college football game!

There was no "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" song at any point throughout the game. I was really disappointed because I was ready for the cartoon Wii voice this time!

Here is the Giant's mascot.  She's half "YG" logo and half rabbit.  Therefore, her name is "Giabbitt".

The Dragons played better today, but not good enough to beat the Giants.  Since the home team won, they had a MVP ceremony and interview after the game.  Notice the MVP on the jumbotron is holding a big "Giabbitt" stuffed animal!!  LOL.

Kerri is fist-bumping with a Giants player!!

Next stop on our Tokyo evening of fun is ... Karaoke!

It took a little convincing to even get Matt and Fred to agree to karaoke, but it's a true Japanese tradition! 

I thought they were going to pee their pants from laughing so hard when Tag asked me if I had my karaoke club members card with me!  I like karaoke, but unfortunately I'm not part of the "club".

Kerri and the giant wall of Zima bottles when we enter karaoke.  Who even drinks Zima anymore?

Apparently, we do!

Tag ordered us all Zima because we could get 10% off of our total bill, but I'm pretty the cost of 4 Zimas was more than 10% of our bill... 

Tag sings the Japanese national anthem.

We all had an awesome time singing the night away. 

Even though the foreigners were hesitant to karaoke at first, by the end we were all rushing to get our choice of songs in.  We even extended our time after the first 90 minutes because we simply weren't ready to leave!

Finally made it to Kyoto!

I've been in Japan over 7 months, and people (not just locals) are constantly shocked that I've never been to the city of Kyoto.  Truthfully, I've just been waiting for a Japanese friend to offer to be my tour guide, and that day has finally arrived!!

Kyoto was the capital of Japan for over 11 centuries and is known as the best preserved city in Japan since it was spared by bombing during WWII.  Kyoto has over 1600 Buddhist temples and 400 Shinto shrines.  It is also home to 13 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.  (Remember we learned about these when I went to Europe?)

Since the city is so full of old world Japan history and culture, I wanted someone Japanese to read the signs and tell me the stories that go along with these amazing sites.  A friend from work gathered up 3 more people from her English class, and we rented a "family car" for a day.

Here's our Toyota "Noah" mini-van.

The drive took about 2 hours, but we played plenty of games to pass the time.  They really liked practicing their English vocabulary, so we played a lot of word games where you have to name things in English without repeating what others had already said and without taking too long.  Categories included: fruits, vegetables, flowers, automobile makers, countries, world capitals, etc.  When we ran out of categories, we simply switched to name any word that begins with the letter "T"!  Obviously, I should have been really good at this game since English is my official language, but it was also kind of tricky to make sure I understood what they were saying with their accent so I didn't repeat it.

First stop is Nijo Castle. 

Here is Ko, Kerri, Shinichi, & Eai ready to explore.

I kept looking for giant castle like Nagoya or Inuyama, but it doesn't exist.  Instead, that one-story building in the background is the Ninomaru Palace built by Japanese samurai.  It is 33 rooms and over 800 tatami mats (which is huge on a Japan scale).  Pictures inside the Palace were strictly forbidden.  My favorite part was the specially designed floors that squeak when they are walked on so your enemies could not sneak up on you!!  They are called Nightingale floors because it sort of sounds like birds chirping!

Ninomaru Garden.  In the center is the Island of Eternal Happiness, designed in 1626. 

Oddly, no one can reach this island because it's not like you're allowed to swim across the pond.

Honmaru Palace inside the inner moat.

Stop #2 is Rokuon-ji Temple (a.k.a. Golden Pavilion or Kinkaku-ji)

As you can see, the rainy season of Japan decided to start, while I was hoping it would hold out for one more day.  I bought my 5th or 6th umbrella from Japan and got on with the sightseeing.

Breathtaking view, built in the 1220's but restored with a new coating of gold in 1987. 

Kyoko-chi (Mirror Pond) containing many large and small islands.

The public is not allowed inside, but it's still a great view from the outside.  Even in the rain it was very shiny!!

My travel buddies say that the rainy season is the best time to visit Kyoto because all of the moss turns green.  Hmm... I'm not sure how to respond to that one...

At the temple, they had English fortunes you could buy.  Mine was rated "Very Good", and therefore I am supposed to take it home and hope it comes true.  If it was a bad fortune, I would have tied it to a tree and hope it doesn't come true.  (Remember from the New Year's shrine visit?)

Here's my fortune.  (Click on the pic for a larger image.)

It's interesting that for Business it says "no loss, little gain", and for Love it says "Good.  Tell your parents". 

I love you, Mom & Dad!!

Stop #3 is Daitokuji Temple, which is home to 33 small temples.  We went to only one: Ryongen-in Zen Temple, which is famous for its five gardens.

Constructed in 1502.  Did I mention they were all rock gardens?

Kerri next to the world's smallest rock garden.  Considering how small everything else in Japan is, I expected this thing to be the size of a shoebox.  Imagine my surprise!

More rocks and symbols of life.  Very zen, so they say, but I'm not going to on and on about it in my blog!

Dragon painted on the sliding doors, from the 16th century.

Another small temple inside the garden grounds.

I loved the stone walkway.

More "green" moss that everyone but me was so thrilled about!!  LOL

Snack time!  We decided to stop for Japanese sweets, which is always risky business considering they like to hide red beans in everything.  Same as usual, I couldn't read the menu, and there wasn't any pictures, so I just let someone order me something.  As it turns out it was very yummy ice cream!  From the left the flavors are: soybean (tasted sort of like coffee), blueberry, and green tea.  The other ladies ended up getting 3 other flavors of ice cream, which were terrible: egg, red bean paste, and wheat grass.  (Seriously, there were blades of grass sticking out of it!).  I tried them all, too, and goodness was I thankful even more for my flavors!

Last stop is Kiyomizu-dera Temple. 

Here is the entrance.

It's still raining, and surprisingly, I was the only one who was cranky about it.  I was sick of my soaking wet spongy shoes and socks.  And I was tired of trying to find hands to hold my umbrella, take pictures & keep my camera dry, all while constantly pulling my pants up.  (I finally got out the summer clothes, and surprise... they don't fit so well.)

Dragon fountain :)

I didn't really "get" what this place was all about at first.  It just looked like a big forest, but eventually I figured it out.

View from the Kiyomizu-dera stage

And finally it all makes sense!  Here is a view of the main hall Kiyomizu-dera, and the stage that I was on earlier.  This temple is from 778, and Japan has an expression "to jump off the Kiyomizu stage".  It's kind of like "taking the plunge" in English, but they used to let people jump off the stage, and legend was is if they survived the fall then all of the person's dreams would come true. 

This place was also one of the top 21 finalists for the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007.  (Obviously not a winner, but still incredible.)

Lastly, we walked to the bottom to get in line for some holy water!

Kiyomizu means "pure water" in Japanese, so here I am filling up a tin cup from the waterfall.

And drinking it for good luck.  With me are Okada (friend from Mitsui) and Eai.

Finally, at the end of the day I was rewarded with souvenir shopping!!  A crazy sake-drinking bear.

One good thing about the rain:

No crowds in Kyoto!!  I was very thankful for that after my busy Tokyo trip during Golden Week.