George Johnson's Visit to Japan

A night shot of the Tokyo Tower from Roppongi Hills Building

George Johnson, my former boss came to visit us for a few days in November. As an avid world traveler who had never been to Japan before, it was a perfect opportunity for him to visit knowing we were here. George stayed in Shinjuku, one of the busiest locales of Tokyo. On his second evening, Rodney and I took him to Asakusa for a view of the Sensoji Temple. After our stroll through the temple, we had a traditional Japanese tonkatsu dinner (breaded pork) and dined on a tatami floor restaurant.

The following day, Keiko was kind enough to accompany us to Roppongi Hills to visit the beautiful Mori Museum of Art to view the Bill Viola Video Art Exhibit. It was a first-time visit to this museum for all of us, including Markus.

Enjoying the city views from Roppongi Hills Building

Kawagoe & Hakone

When dad Frijas arrived, we visited some new sites including Kawagoe, a town in the Saitama prefecture, which resembles much of Japan's Edo period. There we visited the Bell Tower - a town landmark, and a temple with a Japanese zen garden that surrounded. The structures of the wooden buildings and areas where we strolled reminded me of Kyoto.

Besides the must-see visits including Asakusa's Sensoji Temple, The Sony Building and Akihabara's "electric town", we took a day trip to Hakone to view Mt. Fuji upclose. Rodney took the day off and again, we rented a step wagon (mini-van). It was a beautiful drive to the mountains, but unfortunately too cloudy to see Mt. Fuji. We did however, enjoy a relaxing ferry cruise on Lake Ashi (Ashinoko), one of five lakes around the mountains. One of the highlights of the trip was riding the Hakone Ropeway cable car, which took us up the mountain ridge at a 45 degree angle and provided a view of the natural hotsprings, as well as a potent whiff of the sulfur vapors. Markus thoroughly enjoyed the ride.

Enjoying the view

Here we are aboard the ferry boat ride on Lake Ashi. It was very breezy on deck. It's obvious that Markus preferred being inside the boat.

Our view this evening

It's been a while since we've seen Mt. Fuji from our balcony, due to the summer haze. Tonight, the evening sky was clear as ever. Here is a crisp view of Mt. Fuji at approx. 5 o'clock.

Nikko

Nikko's autumn foliage was as beautiful as we imagined. We rented a van for a day and took to the road on October 20th. After driving for about 2.5 hours along side the mountains, we made our first stop to the Ryuzu Waterfalls, which we viewed upclose from within a souvenir shop and cafe deck. Markus was just happy to finally get out of the car seat and run free (lately what he loves to do best).

Our next stop were the dramatic Yudaki and Kegon Falls followed by the Chuzenji-ko Lake. We had such spectacular views as you can see in the photos.

Some History of Nikko:

Nikko means "sunlight". This is defined by how the sun's rays play upon Toshogu Shrine's wood and gold leaf design. This specific shrine was completed in 1617 in honour of the first shogun in Nikko, Tokugawa Ieyasu (see photo on left). There are over a dozen Buddhist and Shinto buildings within the Toshogu Shrine located within 200,000 acres of sacred land. Majestic cedar trees surround the land known as Nikko National Park. Looking up close you can see such intricate detail in the construction. It amazes me how these structures can withstand all sorts of weathering, yet still look as beautiful and sacred as they do. Imagine how they must have looked brand new.










After spending a whole day of walking, we soaked our tired feet at a natural footbath onsen (hotsprings)- the perfect way to end our day trip.

Mom, Rochelle and Keith - Japan Vacation Part 2

10 days didn't seem to be long enough for Keith and Rochelle's stay. There is so much to do and see in Tokyo and unfortunately a good amount of time is spent on trains, subways and buses enroute to your destinations. However, they did get a good taste of the Japanese customs and also learned basic Japanese language that they used daily.

One highlight of vacation was our road trip to Nikko. I'll set up a separate post for those photos. The following photos are from a trip to Meguro where we visited a temple and the Meguro Gajoen convention hall/hotel. We also did some more shopping in the Harajuku and Omotesando area. The often crowded streets are lined with designer shops. Among many include Harry Winston, Chanel, Hermes, D&G, Jimmy Choo, and not to mention one of the largest Louis Vuitton luxury stores in the world.

Taking a break and catching up on real current events prior to going out

Takeashita Street in the Harajuku shopping district

Outside a temple in Meguro dedicated to miscarried children.

The stunning waterfalls of of Meguro Gajoen located in the beautifully designed courtyard of the hall. Plenty of large Japanese coy inhabit the man-made ponds of Meguro Gajoen

A common site around Omotesando/Harajuku area

Major Shibuya crosswalk

A dancing Elvis at Yoyogi Park, near Harajuku

Gas Panic nightclub in Roppongi

One evening Mom stayed home with Markus and the four of us partied in Roppongi. It was my first experience in Roppongi since we moved here so I was definitely going to make the best of this rare occasion. Most bars and clubs are overcrowded with foreigners and Japanese alike. Since trains stop running after approx. 12:30am, most people venture out late in the evening and stay out in Roppongi all night till trains resume at about 5:00am. Three nightclubs later, we stopped by McDonald's and had Egg McMuffins, then headed for home finally arriving at 6:30 am. You can imagine we spent the next morning and early afternoon sleeping.

Pseudo Rochelle rockin' to the beat

Markus giving Keith and Rochelle a lesson on how to use chopsticks

Getting a little out of hand at the supa! We're riding exercise machines that jerk you around, emulating a bull.

Kanpai!

Dinner at a Japanese Restaurant called Han the night before Keith and Rochelle left

Mom, Rochelle and Keith - Japan Vacation Part 1

We were very happy to welcome Mom (Frijas), Rochelle and Keith on October 14.

They couldn't have asked for better weather. During the 10 days of Keith and Rochelle's stay, it was sunny and warm - just perfect for our daily sightseeing travels.

They seemed to have adjusted to the time change with no problems. Markus also shared in the excitement of their arrival.

He was showered, or shall I say spoiled with new toys and clothes. Again, the week-and-a-half flew by so quickly, yet our days were filled with nothing short of excitement. There seemed to be no rests in between.

Keiko was especially kind enough to take us on one of our first excursions to a town called Shibamata, which is little over an hour away from home by trains. It had the ambiance of old Tokyo and areas of Kyoto. There we visited the beautiful Taishakuten Daikyo Temple and also strolled through a lovely Japanese Suikeien garden. Along the exterior walls of the Taishaku Hall there are ten wood-carved panels that depict scenes from the Lotus Sutra. These pictures do not do our experience justice. It was such an amazing sight to see. One highlight of the trip was Keith eating a grasshopper delicacy saturated in some kind of sauce.

Bowl of grasshoppers sauteed in mystery sauce!

Going...Going...
Gone!

Of all people, I would never have expected Keith to pull off such a Fear Factor-ish stunt! Yikes!

The beautiful Suikeien Garden

Wall art in Asakusa Station

The following day, we took the Sumida River boat cruise then ventured to Asakusa to see the infamous Sensoji Temple and shopped down Nakamise Dori for traditional Japanese souvenirs. (For more info on Asakusa, check out previous posts.)

On Wednesday, Keith, Rochelle and I toured and shopped in Shinjuku. It didn't take them long to realize just how much Tokyo really is a shopper's paradise. We then enjoyed a 360-degree view of Tokyo high atop the Tokyo

Metropolitan Government Building then ended in Ginza at The Sony Building where we checked out the latest and greatest technology and gadgets which included home theatres and PlayStation3.

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building

Hey, we're on TV!

Keith testing out PlayStation3, due out in November

.