Since it’s been 5 months since my mom and dad came to
visit, I feel real silly about just getting around to the last part of this
blog! Oh well. Life is busy. I promise to try to be better and do shorter blogs
that aren't so invasive! That’s what’s got me down about it!
Day 14: 6/26-Tuesday
The morning after our meeting with the celebrities we made
our way to the oh-so-very-famous Tsukiji Fish Market!
It was a short train ride to the bay where the market is
held and it was incredible to see! The way I understand it is at 4:30am they
let about 100 tourists into the market to see the famous auctions. I’d heard
they pick and choose people and we were not terribly interested in waiting
around at 4:30am hoping to be chosen to smell some fish. So we got there around
8:00am instead. We were met by craziness. To the untrained eye it would look
like total chaos, but to a Tokyo insider you knew it was very organized. (Still
crazy, just not total
chaos).
We walked to the building that held the auctions and were
promptly met by a security guard of some sort instructing us to go back to
where the outside markets were and at 9:30 (??? See, this is why I shouldn’t
have waited so long to blog about this!) the large fish market would be open to
the public. Who knew? So we looked at the outside markets which sold
vegetables, fruits, and souvenirs. There were also lots of sushi restaurants. I’m
telling you- the sushi breakfast is something that sounds a little strange, but
I’ve been promised that it’s the most delicious thing in the whole world. I was
so excited to wait in line to have the world’s freshest sushi. My mom and dad?
Not so much. 1, my dad was really not into the whole ‘sushi’ concept and 2, my
mom was much too frugal to spend 2,000yen on a sushi breakfast. So I didn’t get
my breakfast. Grrrr.
People waiting in line for a 'sushi breakfast'.
We made the best of our time and despite the fact I wasn’t
even inside the fish market yet I was totally nauseous. That place smells
fishy. Real, real fishy.
We got inside, and saw lots and lots of fish. Tons!
Literally! All the restaurants around Tokyo get their fish from this market. It’s
huge, the floor is wet, there’s fish guts all around… really gross, but also
one of the coolest experiences I’ve had in Japan. You should definitely check
it out!
It wouldn't be a trip to the fish market without making a 'fishy face'!
Before we got on the train for our next adventure we had to walk to the river and see the boats passing by. Dad loves boats.
We took lots of rests!
I think I'm turning Japanese, I really think so!
After we were all fished out we hopped back on the train and
took it to the Tokyo Government Metropolitan Museum. It’s 2 huge towers, taking
you to the top at 202 meters, or 662 feet! Yes, I did have to google that. We
saw some incredible views and my parents finally got a good glimpse of what a
concrete jungle Tokyo really is.
We walked to the heart of Shinjuku and found ourselves a
McDonald’s to eat at. After a couple of weeks of Japanese experiences, you've just gotta have a little Mickey-D’s! I’m not sure my parents were as impressed
with it as I always am.
At this point in the trip I had thought of everything. We
had done everything. I know we hadn't really done everything but I was out of
ideas on what to do next! I flipped through one of the guide books I’d been
hulling around and found the advertisement for the Imperial Palace!
I still don’t know a lot about it but I do know it’s the
home of the royal family. You can’t tour inside, but can get into the grounds
of it 2 days a year. We were not there on one of those 2 days but we did manage
to find our way there and walk around the famous gardens on the outside of the
walls. That was a treat to see. Beautiful landscaping and architecture, of
course.
This was a high school track team (or so I thought) that was running laps around the palace. We enjoyed cheering for them as they ran by and waved at us.
Day 15- 6/27- Wednesday
The next day I was still out of ideas but did
want them to see Ryogoku, the sumo town. We took the train, and when we exited
into the Ryogoku train station we found this little gem.
There was even a spot for 3 heads and I wanted a picture
with it. The train station was super busy and crowded with people rushing off
to do whatever it is they had to do that day. The only person we found
approachable was a lady about 90 years old. Bless her little heart. We asked
her to take our picture, and after about 6 tries, this is the best we got. We'll take it!
We found the tiny sumo museum and watched a few
rounds of recorded sumo, saw some cool stuff and then were out of things to do.
I always think the sumo museum is more exciting than it is. Oh well! At least they still got to take pictures with the cool murals outside!
We took a walk along the river and saw some more boats. Dad
was particularly proud of this photo he took that has a train and a boat in it.
His favorite things!
This was another fascination of Dad's. How on earth they got the cars like that. You'll have to come to Japan for a visit to find out.
We had lunch at a Chinese restaurant and then headed back to the hotel to check out, get our car and drive back to the base. That's just me being silly.
Day 16- 6/28-Thursday
We had the privilege of being taken to my sweet English student, Michiko's vacation home in Yamanashi Prefecture. We took the train to Tachikawa where she picked us up in her car and then drove us out to the mountains. What a site! We wound up on a winding narrow two-way, but should have been one-way kind of road. I was sure we would die. Spoiler: we did not.
Michiko took us to a museum that featured the artwork of local artist, Hiroshi Yagyu. It was really beautiful and very neat to see how he had layered paper, cut it out and then lit the backgrounds. It was very creative!
After the museum we had a short walk down to the Senga Waterfall. It was a really cool area and definitely something we would have never found without being with a ‘local.’ We even met some shop owners who let us fill out a wish to hang on the tree. I believe each is later picked off of the trees by religious leaders and then prayed over.
We also ran into a baby Godzilla. Mom and Dad had too much fun with this.
Senga Waterfall.
Our wishes hanging on the tree!
Mom and Dad with an adorable depiction of the 7 gods.
A pretty view driving around Yamanashi Prefecture.
We had dinner at a delicious local Japanese curry restaurant and then back to Michiko’s house to play a game of “Unbalance” (which is basically Jenga) I think we played 3 games. I never won.
Day 17: 6/29- Friday
The next morning we woke up to a wonderful and beautiful
breakfast served on Michiko’s back deck.
We went out exploring and
walked across an incredible bridge that stretched across the valley that held
the river we visited the day before.
We drove down the hill into the valley and did a little
hiking to another waterfall, the Doryu Waterfall. We ran into a group of Korean
middle school aged kids who were there on a summer camp field trip of some
sort. They all spoke a little bit of English so we had fun chatting with them
for a few minutes! Mom kept laughing at me because I was bowing to the kids and because they were Korean and not Japanese, they didn't bow back.
We were off again, and drove in a big loop to Keep Farm. It’s a farm that was founded by an American sometime after WWII and they have the best soft cream I’ve had since my trip to Hokkaido last February! Yum! There was a museum there to learn about local animals and nature, which is right up my mom’s alley. It was unfortunate it was mostly in Japanese, but we were lucky to have Michiko with us to do some translating!
Our last stop of the day was at a restaurant, store and
garden owned by a famous Japanese gardener. I will need to ask Michiko his
name! I can’t remember and can’t seem to find the paper I wrote it down
on! She was telling us all about him and
he was actually there that day! It was so exciting to meet 2 famous Japanese
celebrities in one trip!
We made it back to the base by dinner time where I made (if
I do say so myself) a delicious Anniversary Dinner for my parents! 32 years!
Wow! Melissa was sweet and made them this cake!
Day 18: 6/30- Saturday
The next day we decided to wake up early and drive to
Kamakura. So we did. I had taken the train there once before which took a
little over 2 hours. We were advised to drive because it’d be cheaper, we could
take Cheyenne-dog and it would take about the same time. Whelp… 4.5 hours
later, we were there to see the Buddha. They gave me the Gaijin-X when I tried
to take Cheyenne into the temple, so I sat outside and let my parents go into
the gates to see the giant Buddha.
We were starving and really concerned about
finding a restaurant that allows large dogs, but lo and behold! As we walked
along the street on the shore, we came upon a restaurant that actually had a ‘dogs
welcome’ sign in the window. My mom believes in the power of positive thinking
(don’t we all?) and she still thinks we created that restaurant in our minds.
My dad took this picture of an unfinished highway. Funny huh? Another 4.5 hours later, we were back home. Oh my word, Tokyo traffic can be SO frustrating!
The last few days of my parents visit are a blur! We apparently stopped taking pictures! I know that we went to a Japanese mall, made another run to the Daiso (the 100 Yen Store), and my dad fixed my broken car. It was a relaxing last two days just enjoying each others company. It was SO very wonderful to have my parents come to Japan and visit me. As you all know, I love Japan with my whole heart and have had such a great time here. I am so pleased I was able to let my parents experience the fun and excitement of this crazy country, and share those experiences. What a blast!
Tokyo Time