Blogs from Ueno, Tokyo, Japan, Asia

Had the hotel buffet breakfast again before leaving at 8:30. We reached Ghibli Museum just before opening time at 10am. Ghibli tickets sell out within an hour or so. They go on sale for a month on the first day of that month at 10am. I had registered but even though I logged in at that time, I was still customer 3,000 plus in the queue. The queue moved quickly and I got on after about 45 minutes, but by then, the days we are in Tokyo were already sold out. I then googled and found out Klook and Trip.com sell them. I already knew about Klook but the price is outrageous, at bout $90 each. Normal prices are just $10 for adults, $1 for toddlers. I paid $130 for ours, so $90 extra, but at ... read more

A couple of hiccups for the start of our journey to Japan. 13 Cabs claim on their web site that they can supply a child’s seat (for Oscar) on request. I had made an online booking with a fixed fee for $44 and made a note requesting a child’s seat, but thought to double-check by making an email enquiry. The reply asked me to call them. The operator said he’d have to cancel the online booking because it was only possible to get a child’s seat by phonr request. Also, there is no fixed fee and we’d just pay whatever was on the meter. We had to get picked up at 3:40am as we had a very early flight at 6am. The people mover arrived in time, but no child seat. The driver said it isn’t ... read more

My next destination after Vietnam was Japan, I landed in Tokyo at an odd hour and just crashed the first night. While end March is spring time in Japan, this year the winter has lasted longer and the cold, rain and the winds have lingered. The next day, I went out in search of Cherry Blossoms to Ueno Park, but due to the cold weather, only a few trees had bloomed. At Ueno Park, I was fortunate to see a Torii Gate without people though. Torii Gates are found at the entrance of Shinto Shrines as a mark of transition from the mundane to the sacred. As I explored more, scattered cherry blossoms trees appeared and I saw both the Yoshino cherry blossoms and the weeping cherry blossoms. Next day, I headed to Sumida Park in ... read more

Those of you who have been following along know of my misadventures in trying to find the Shitamachi Museum. Now, most people who want to visit a museum in a new city usually go to one of the big name museums. I do, too; whenever I visit Chicago, I always go to The Art Institute of Chicago to visit a few of my favorite paintings. But sometimes the small museums are more interesting and memorable. Shitamachi translates literally as “downtown,” but it doesn’t refer to the center of the city. Rather “downtown” refers to the lowlands south east of the Imperial Palace. This was the area where craftsmen and merchants lived. It was also an area where tiny wooden homes and shops were crammed together, making fire a real danger that could wipe out a whole ... read more

As suggested by Travelling with kids - Tokyo, we'd set aside a day to visit Tokyo Disneyland. (my preferred website is tokyocheapo.com). Neither of the kids seemed particularly keen and preferred to see the pandas and monkeys at Ueno Zoo. I honestly didn't influence their decision, but can't hide my glee. Tokyocheapo.com would be proud! Ueno Zoo costs $12 entry and Disney was looking like $220 plus themepark lunch and souvenirs. Ueno and Yanaka was awesome and I'm glad my kids prefer to check out real Tokyo. Ueno revolves around Ueno-koen - a sprawling park with about 3km circumference. Within the park is the Zoo and the Tokyo National Museum. The Zoo exceeds expectations and we luckily time our visit for when the two pandas (Shin Shin and Ri Ri) are feeding. You can't help seeing ... read more