Nagano – December 27th/28th, 2012

After leaving the relative warmth of Tokyo it was heading north to Nagano. It was a smooth drive getting up there. At one point we were able to see Mount Fuji as we passed on the highway.

Getting closer to Nagano it was great to see the landscape changing. The snowcapped mountains of the “Japanese Alps” started to pop up on the horizon. It was quite a beautiful site to see from the car.

We found the hotel and settled in. That evening because we had time we went to see Les Miserables. As those who read my blog know I have already seen it, my Dad hadn’t so this was for him. He really enjoyed it.

The 28^th was the real fun day. We started out early with a trip out to Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park.

This was an amazing stop. We had to park the car and walk for about 30 minutes, but it was a nice walk through a snow filled forest. Even before going into the park proper we saw a few of the monkeys.

After entering the park we saw even more of the creatures. It was another little bit of a walk to finally get to their little hot spring bath. Here there were quite a lot of the macaques, from tiny little babies to full grown male leaders.

The park area is currently home to one clan of monkeys, a group of about 160 monkeys. This group tends to hang around the park area and will force and keep out any other monkey. These monkeys also get fed and that keeps them around the humans and makes them feel ok to have people close to them.

We spent a few hours at the park and then made our way back to Nagano City. Here we went to Zenkoji Temple. As we got to the temple it started snowing quite heavily. The snowflakes were huge and coated the land in a nice layer of snow. It also made the temple grounds really nice to walk through.

Overall Nagano was a nice stop on this trip.

Going Up 350m – December 26th, 2012

Our last day in Tokyo and the weather was still nice if just little bit windier.

Our first stop of the day was at Ueno Park. We had gone there to see if we could visit the Tokyo National Museum. It was a beautiful park to walk through, filled with shrines and temples. In the spring the park is also a great site to see the cherry blossoms. We spent some time walking through the park before heading to the museum. Unfortunately when we got there we found that museum was closed, so we didn’t get the chance to explore.

After finding out that we couldn’t get in, we hopped on the subway and made our way to Asakusa.

Asakusa is a small part of Tokyo that is home to the Senso-ji, a temple dedicated to Kannon. The lead up to the temple is a massive gate. It’s known as the Kaminarimon (Thunder Gate) and hanging in the gate is a 4m tall lantern. After passing through the gate it’s a walk along a street lined with small shops selling souvenirs and treats. This street and area also has some of the oldest buildings in Tokyo. This makes this part of Tokyo a great place to visit and to shop.

 From Asakusa we decided to go up to the Tokyo Skytree. It was a nice day so we decided to walk from Asakusa to the Skytree. The Skytree is currently the tallest tower in the world. It was built to serve as a radio and television-broadcasting antenna – to act as a replacement for the Tokyo Tower. The tower has two observation decks one at 350m and one at 450m. We only went as high up as 350m and it was great. We got to once again see the entire skyline of Tokyo, but this time during the day. It was amazing to see how far out this city spreads.

After seeing the city in the setting sun we headed back to the hotel. Before going back though we got a delicious dinner of sushi. Which is always really well done in Tokyo.

Shopping, Shopping, Shopping and More Shopping – December 25th, 2012

Christmas Day was a late start for us. We began the day with a Skype call home to see the family. It was great to see everyone and to be able wish a Merry Christmas – considering this is the first one I have missed and one of the few that my Dad has missed it was nice to able to share it with everyone in a small way.

After the quick call it was off to the subway where we headed for Harajuku. I had decided that it would be a shopping day and we would visit a couple of the major shopping areas within Tokyo.

Line up for Ben & Jerry's

 The last time that I had been in Tokyo I had looked forward to going to Harajuku, however on that trip it started to rain so my friend and I didn’t get the chance to really explore the area, this time though Dad and I got to see the area. We started off walking down Omotesando road where they have more of the high end shops. Here we stopped into the Oriental Bazar and purchased a few things. Dad bought a Yukata and Happi Coat, I bought a Happi Coat. We also stepped into Kiddy Land which is a huge toy store.

After walking along that road we then turned off to head into the main shopping road of Harajuku. Takeshita Street is where there are a lot of stores that are small and cater to the fashion senses of those who frequent Harajuku. The other place that I wanted to stop into in Harajuku was the Daiso. It’s one of the biggest Daiso’s in Japan – and since I love Hyaku en shops I had to see this one. After my quick stop into the Daiso it was onto the JR train and heading north to Shinjuku.

Takeshita Street

Shinjuku is the world’s busiest transport hub with well over 3 million people using it a day. This area is also has a huge collection of the skyscrapers in Tokyo, it’s even known as Skyscraper district. It was here that we went to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. On the 45^th floor there is an observation deck that is open to the public. From here you can see the entire city spread out below. Also on clear days you may have the chance to see Mount Fuji. We went though after dark, which was cool. It’s nice to see the whole city lit up, the Sky Tree and Tokyo Tower and all the wards give off this glow.

After seeing the city all lit up we got back onto the JR and this time we went east. We got off at Akihabara, which is affectionately known as Electric Town. In this area you can find great electronics, comic book stores and the AKB48 theatre. If you are into anything to do with electronics or Otaku goods (a Japanese term that is applied to people with obsessive interests particularly [but not limited to] anime or manga) this is the place to visit. We stopped into a Don Quijote – a discount store found across the country. It was another great place to look around a pick up some small things. This building is also home to the AKB48 theatre. AKB48 is a J-pop group made up of over 60 girls… I’m not really into J-Pop but they do have one song that is quite catchy so I wanted to see where they perform almost daily.

Pepsi White!

After quite a packed day of shopping it was back to Akasaka and to a Pizza Hut pizza. Something that I have sorely missed since moving here.

Kamakura and Shibuya - December 24th, 2012

 The first excursion on my Christmas break with Dad was out to Kamakura. The city is about an hour train ride outside of Tokyo.

It was a spur of the moment decision to visit this place and I am glad that I made it.

Kamakura lends its name to a historical period of Japan. During this time the capital was centered in the city and shogunate rule started. This period was the beginnings of samurai culture and feudalism in Japan. It is also known for the flourishing and establishment of new Buddhist sects, that rose up during this period of disunity.

The city is also very well known for it’s Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. The most iconic and famous being the sitting Amida Buddha statue.

This statue is the reason that I chose coming to Kamakura. It is one of the largest icons of Amida Buddha and one of the most well known images of Japan. The statue is 13.35m and weighs 121 tonnes, it is also hollow inside so you can go in and just stand inside this gigantic statue.

Inside the statue

Amida's sandals

The statue was initially constructed around 1252 – during the Kamakura period. It and the temple that it used to be housed in are part of the Jodo-shu sect of Buddhism. As for the temple hall that used to house this Buddha it was destroyed three times, and after the 3^rd destruction in 1498 by a tsunami the statue has sat in the open air.

From seeing the statue it was a quick walk to Hasedera temple, a temple dedicated to Kannon – who is a bodhisattva and known to be one of mercy. It is believed that Kannon can hear everybody’s thoughts and wishes and carry them out; that is why it has 11 faces to heed all peoples wishes.

I also bought my first ever fortune. The thing is I got a bad fortune, that is why I tied it up and left it at the temple. Leaving it shows that you are not taking the bad fortune with you.

According to a legend there once was a tree in Nara, Japan that was so large two full statues of Kannon could be carved out of it. The smaller of the two once completed was enshrined in Hasedera Temple of Nara and the larger one thrown out to sea with a prayer that it return to save the people. 15 years later it is said to have washed up on the shores near Kamakura and a temple was built to enshrine it.

Unfortunately I wasn’t allowed to take photos of the giant gold statue, but I can describe it. The statue stands at just over 9m and is covered in gold. On top of the head of the statue are the 11 other faces of Kannon. It also holds a tin cane representative of the Bodhisattva Jizo.

After seeing the statue of Kannon, we went into a cave where Kobo Daishi was rumored to have carved a statue when being influenced and inspired by Buddha.

Then it was down to the hall of Jizo. This hall holds the image of “Happy” Jizo and is surrounded by miniature statues of Jizo. These statues can sometimes have red bibs or trinkets. These statues are meant to comfort the souls of unborn children – most images of Jizo are for this purpose.

The beach

After a long day of seeing the sites of Kamakura it was back to Tokyo. We decided to go to Shibuya for dinner. This is one of the main shopping areas in Tokyo.

What it’s known for is it’s main pedestrian crossing, which allows people to flood the street as they make their way across. This is the second time I have been to this crossing. The first was in 2009 when I went to Shibuya to get a tattoo.

The Colonel dressed as Santa at KFC

Motorcycle Santa

Christmas Eve was spent as a busy and tiring day!