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Hi All! Unlike my last blog entry I have quite a bit to report. Dan and I flew to Tokyo this past weekend since I had a three day (Monday was Children's Day, which rings funny in my head, because as I child I would ask my parents, "If there is Mother's Day and Father's Day, how comes there's no kid's day?" and my Mother would quickly reply, "Because
every day is kid's day.") Friday night we headed an hour south to Itaewon to hang out with a couple we know, then stayed in a hotel there so as to be closer to the airport. We took a nauseating taxi ride (my body can't handle Korean liquor, and after only three drinks I can get pretty hungover) to the aiport, left on the 10am flight and arrived in Tokyo at 11:45am. We flew Asiana Airlines, and just like Korean Air, it was an extremely pleasant experience. (On the flight back home I was actually
disappointed to land- the food we were given was outstanding, the service was wonderful, and Dan and I had a pretty serious "Battleship" video game tournament going on.)
We took a shuttle bus from Narita Aiport
to our hotel, the Grand Palace Hotel, where we unpacked, showered, and dressed for an early dinner. We walked 6 blocks to a small sushi restaurant called Umi, where the small plates travel around the bar on a little conveyer belt (just like the one in Syracuse for those of you who know). It was excellent, and I tried sake (cold) for the first time. It was something I will probably never try again, because it was so sweet and strong, but I'm glad I did. After dinner we strolled around admiring the city, which is
breathtakingly beautiful, a description which does this city a great disservice. The Shogun Palaces and Buddhist Temples look as though they were carefully planted amongst modern skyscrapers and structures with architectural influences derived from Europe. The hodge-podge of styles blend seamlessly along winding streets, whose width is subconsciencly dwarfed by the abundance of trees, shrubs, and flowers encasing the sidewalks and dressing the medians. The greenery is pruned and shaped to perfection and yet appears completely natural. The small bodies of water that appear nearly everywhere are inner and outer moats dredged to protect the Emperor’s Palace. They were once salt water, but now
Fish Market
Just a little glimpseare fresh, a term that can also be applied to its shockingly pleasant fragrance. In Seoul there is only the Han River that runs through the center of the city, and all the other canals are dry or extremely low (except during monsoon season) and look and smell horribly dirty and polluted. In Tokyo, many of the moats were home to beautiful white swans and large fish.
We took a tour on Sunday and learned lots of fun facts about Tokyo and Japan:
- 400 years ago Tokyo was a small village. 100 years later it was the largest city in the world.
- The men and women here boast the longest life spans in the world.
- Although Japan only constitutes 2% of the world's population they consume 10% of the fish, which means they eat 5 times as much seafood as the average Earthling (possibly why they live so long).
- There are very few cops, we only saw them at the airport and at Police Boxes. Our tour guide said crime is so low there is no need for patroling police, which I believe... it feels incredibly safe. They don't even lock up their bicycles.
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The Japanese seem to be very concerned with health because we saw people running everywhere, as well as rollerblading and biking.
- On Sundays some roads are blocked off from vehicular traffic and people are given bikes to ride for free.
On the tour we visited the Tokyo Tower, which is a TV tower and has observation decks open to the public. I got some great pics that I will be sure to include in this blog. We also went to a Palace, a small festival, and to a pearl gallery where we were shown how cultured pearls are made. The oysters used in culturing peals are taken from the Mississippi River, which I thought was pretty interesting, and of all the oysters that they place beads in and let sit in salt water for three years, only 30% will result in an actual pearl. Of those, only a small percentage are truly good pearls, as they are rated on their luster, size, color, shape, and degree of flaws.
We jumped off the tour bus before it took us back to our hotel and found ourselves in Ginza, which is where the fresh fish market is. Here we
Ginza Center Avenue
Just a few of the designer shops had a sushi lunch in a tiny restaurant (only two tables and probably 12 seats at the bar), then got pastries, much like fried dough (mine was coconut, and Dan's was lemon) from a street vendor. We wandered around and found ourselves at a cool looking building, so we went in and it turned out to be a Buddhist Temple. We sat and listened to the monk chanting (almost singing) a prayer and hitting a gong. The temple was beautiful, and the alter (?) was ornately decorated with rich golds and reds, chandeliers, statues and flowers. It was incredible, and the service, which we only caught the end of, was enchanting.
From there we made our way to Japan's oldest beer hall, built around 1899. Here we had some seriously expensive beer (a
small Guiness for me at 600 yen ($6) and a Japanese beer for Dan at 700 yen) but enjoyed the German architecture that was dark, warm, and cozy despite the vaulted ceilings and large stone columns. It was on this street, with Hermes, Bvlgari, Coach, and Burberry to name a few, that real estate is the most expensive in the world, peaking at $334,000 a square
Tokyo
A view of the city from the Tokyo Tower foot. It's no wonder my cup of tea at the Indian Darjeeling Tea House was $6 and the miniscule pastries we had were $5 a pop.
We decided to walk all the way to our hotel, which turned out to be only about an hour and a half, and it was one of the nicest walks I can recall. The early evening was warm, it smelled of sweet flowers, and we walked by the Palace with its calm water and swans. I felt so overwhelmed by the beauty of the city and so grateful for my good fortunes, that I couldn't keep from smiling as I reflected on the treasures that adorn and enhance my life. I have been so blessed, with the most phenomenal parents, loyal and devoted friends, and a husband of whom I shouldn't dare to lay tribute, because I know I could not do him, nor our relationship, justice. But to travel these places and share these experiences with my best friend is a blessing and one I do not take for granted.
Our Japan weekend getaway was over far too soon, but now that we've had a taste of Japan and I am
At Tokyo Tower
Looking through the glass floor, about 20 stories up! convinced we will return. If anyone is looking to go to Asia, I absolutely suggest it, even though we saw only a sliver of what the country has to offer. Next time I would like to get to Osaka, Hiroshima, Mt. Fuji, and to see more of the traditional side, like Geishas, theater, and music.
Take care, and hope you are all well!
-Erin
P.S. I believe you can click on the pictures to see them bigger. This is helpful for the panoramics, which get squished into the smaller box.
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Kim
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Hey girl
Wow the sights look beautiful! Someday I hope to be as lucky as the two of you and get to travel to peaceful places!!! You two have come along way and still have a long life ahead of you.. You are very blessed and the two of your deserve all the happiness in the world!! Mike and I Miss You Bunches!!!!!