Advertisement
Published: March 24th 2006
Edit Blog Post
arrived safely at Narita Airport
Dad, Gramma and Mom......after a looooooooooooong flight My family (Dad, Mom, Gramma and Aunt Sue) visited Japan for a week....and it was a great vacation! It was a first visit to Japan for all of them, so we had ambitious plans of what to accomplish in such a short time. We started in Tokyo and traveled to the Mt. Fuji/Hakone region, Nara and Kyoto, and finished in Hiroshima. We saw and did so many things that there is too much to mention in one blog entry....so I've divided it into four. Enjoy the pictures, and have a read of our family vacation.
Tokyo Our first day in Tokyo was meant to be relaxed, so everyone could recover from such a long flight. However, we ended up keeping ourselves really busy. We first visited the
Tokyo Metropolitan Governmental Offices, which are the tallest buildings in Tokyo. They offer a fantastic view of the city.
We figured out the subway system and headed to the
Koishikawa Koraku Gardens. It was a beautiful sunny day, and perfect to spend outdoors. It's 'blossom' time in Japan....plum blossoms first, and then cherry blossoms. The plum blossoms were in full bloom.
We visited the controversial
Yasukuni Shrine. It's a shrine decicated to those
Koishikawa Koraku Garden
Plum blossom Grove
Tokyo who have died fighting for Japan. It became controversial in 1978 when 14 class A war criminals were enshrined amoung the 2.5 million others. Also the visits by the most recent Prime Ministers has caused problems because it violates the principal of the seperation of church and state. For other Asian countries which have suffered in the past because of Japanese imperialism, this shrine has become a symbol of Japanese militarism. The
Yushukun Museum next to the temple was particularly interesting. It's the oldest museum in Japan, and commenorates Japan's wars. There's a lot of history that can be learned there.
Our last stop of the day/night was
'Abbey Road' in Roppongi. It's a bar where a Japanese band called 'The Parrots' performs Beatles songs all night long! It was recommended to me by a co-worker, and of course being the Beatles fanatic that I am, I had to check it out! The club has been there for 10 years, and they perform almost every night of the week. They're not an imitation band...they just sing and play the music. Unfortunately, we couldn't take pictures. (booo) It's a little pricey....but if you're a fan of the Beatles, it's worth a
visit to see some of their biggest Japanese followers perform!
The second day in Tokyo, we took a bus tour of the city. Our first stop was the
Tokyo Tower. It is a florescent orange, smaller version of the Eiffel Tower. We took the elevator to the observation deck for a panoramic view of the city. It was a beautiful day, so the view was quite spectacular. The 'Lonely Planet Guide' says it's not really worth a visit....but we all enjoyed it!
The next stop was
Meiji Shrine. Here, we were very lucky to see a wedding procession take place. At first I felt a bit awkward taking pictures of them. However, according to our tour guide, the bride and groom expect many photos by strangers when they choose such a popular tourist attraction for their wedding location....so I snapped away!
Our last stop before lunch was the
Imperial Palace East Garden. The Imperial Palace is the home of the Emperor and Empress of Japan. It's a 250 acre fortress for only two people! It's surrounded by a tall, thick brick wall as well as a moat. The East Garden is the only place that's open to the public.
Gramma and Dad having a break
at Koishikawa Koraku Garden, Tokyo We enjoyed a short walk through the Japanese style garden.
We had a
kushiage lunch at a restaurant in the Ginza shopping district. Kushiage is deep-fried pieces of meat, fish and vegetables that are coated with fine-breadcrumbs and served on skewers. It was the first major test of everyone's chopstick skills....way-to-go Gramma. You did it!
In the afternoon, the weather was a little off so our cruise of the Sumida River was cancelled. Instead, we headed straight for our last stop, the
Asakusa Kannon Temple. It is a famous cultural landmark in Tokyo, and considered to be Japan's finest Buddhist temple. Leading up to the temple is the
Nakamise Shopping Street. It's a brightly lit street with masses of souvenir shops.
We ended our stay in Tokyo with another Japanese meal. We sat around a large table at an udon restaurant, which you share with a number of other people. Apparently the McLean's are a scary bunch, because the people that were sharing the table with us would be seated, and then transfer to another table! I think we sat with about three families throughout our meal! We started to develop a complex! Haha!
Next stop, Fuji-san!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.285s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 11; qc: 76; dbt: 0.0956s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Roothie
non-member comment
Good Overview!
Sounds like the group got a good overview in general for their first days! AND a place to SHOP too! Okay, 'fess up! What did you all buy?!! Well, I'd sit with you, but I'd probably embarrass you by not being able to eat with chopsticks - in fact maybe I'd have to order a hamburger!!! Neat to see pics of the clan all there with you, Heather!