Japan Trip: Day 9
Japan Trip: Day 9
November 17, 2013
The weather on our last day was at its finest; bright blue skies without a sign of storm clouds or cold wind. With the numerous places we've been to in this country in the last couple of days, it seemed like we been here for a month or two. Now that’s what I call traveling.
As I was soaking in the view, I can’t help but notice a sunken boat to our right. I hope they got everybody out safely because it was freezing cold last night.
Once we checked out of our hotel, we walked around Odaiba one last time. Hiroshi took a couple of last pictures of his favorite life-model Gundam. He was sure happy we stayed closed by and as for me, I like the location because we were on an island rather than in the middle of a busy city. It’s nice to get away from the crowd.
Goodbye pretty hotel! So long gargantuan Gundam! Farewell Odaiba!
Back on the main city, we dropped off our check-in duffel bag in a public locker at the train station and headed out with our backpacks.
Our first stop was at Hiroshi’s favorite TV station: NTV - Nippon TV Tower. The first thing he bought there was the freaky-looking “Obachan” t-shirt that had a picture of the dancing old lady from the comedian show he watches. While he looked for other weird Gaki no Tsukai merchandise, I looked through some Ghibli merchandise and bought some handkerchiefs for my sisters (Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery, & another theme I forgot).
Hiroshi was so happy with the things he bought that he reminded me of a kid out of a toy store. He had to sit down on the bizarre bench and put his big shopping bag in his backpack.
We walked around Tokyo and I have to say it was pretty quiet; the total opposite of the last couple of days we’ve been there. Perhaps stores open late on Sunday? Or it just gets packed at night.
Another place Hiroshi has been dying to go to was a model shop called Tamiya Plamodel Factory. He reverted back to a little boy and studied most of the models in in deep awe. The Japanese are pretty darn accurate with their details. He told me he always wanted to shop here when he was a kid. I was expecting him to buy a model or two but he just bought two shirts (one for this friend) with the company logo in it. Before we left the store, he wanted me to take a picture of him in front of the store with his Cannon camera. Yup, he’s definitely a kid at heart.
Our next stop was one of the places I was looking forward to: Tokyo Tower. I love looking at towers but I wasn’t thrilled with the building underneath it since that’s my favorite spot to look from. I still got somewhat of an angle that I like.
Since the Tokyo Skytree was built in 2010, it attracted most of the tourists away from the Tokyo Tower hence going through the line was an easy breeze. We would’ve gone to the Tokyo Skytree as well but there was a 2-hour wait line and we pretty much over-exceeded our waiting-in-line quota for the year all thanks to Tokyo Disney.
Unfortunately, the Special Observatory was closed so we were mainly on the 1F and 2F Main Observatory. We still got a nice clear view of the city.
Also from where we were, we could see the Zojo-ji Temple where the movie “Wolverine” was filmed.
I also got some good pics of the bottom view. There was glass section where one or two guests can stand on a glass and look at the bottom. This type of view didn’t terrify me like the ones in the National Park mainly because it’s very secure. I’d only be worried if there’s a crack or a heavy-set person standing next to me. Other than that, it was pretty interesting to look down.
After Tokyo Tower, we headed off to Zojoji Temple which was where the movie “Wolverine” was filmed. It was a close and easy walking distance from Tokyo Tower.
Sayonara Tokyo Tower!
Right off the bat I could tell why they filmed the movie here; a Japanese temple with Tokyo Tower in the background. The area was quite big but the temple itself wasn't as big as I thought it would be like in the movie. It doesn't help that I also saw the great Tōdai-ji temple with the giant Buddha. Still, it was a peaceful temple since there weren’t much people around.
We were starting to get hungry at this point so we decided to have lunch at McDonalds. I was rather curious as to what else they would have in the menu. In Philippines, the extra choices was Filipino spaghetti and other Filipino dishes. I couldn't remember what Hiroshi ordered but I have the teriyaki burger… Man that stuff was good! The presentation looked like a typical fast food but the meat was tender and the sauce was awesome!
We made our way to Harajuku and much to my disappointment; there were no cosplayers whatsoever. The bridge was so dead that I didn’t even bother taking a picture of it. However, we weren’t exactly there for that. Our final destination in Japan was a well-known Shinto shrine called Meiji Shrine.
Seriously, I was surprised how this shrine was in the middle of a city. I practically felt like I was in the middle of the forest back in the countryside. No sirens, cars, and other noises you would hear in a city. There was quite a walk from the entrance to the shrine but it was just so peaceful. It made me want to go back to the countryside again.
The shrine was very simple and quite old looking. It was built on 1920 in the traditional nagare-zukuri style and primarily made up of Japanese cypress and copper. Unfortunately the original building was destroyed during WWII Tokyo air raids. The public funded and rebuilt the shrine on October 1958.
The biggest highlight was the Shichi-Go-San Festival which takes place in November. Parents take their five-year-old boys or seven-year-old girls to the shrine to thank the gods for keeping them healthy. The children are dressed in kimonos for the occasion. There were so many of them that many random photographers took pictures of them. The parents didn’t mind so much since the photographers asked for their permission first.
An added bonus was the traditional Japanese wedding. Hiroshi told me these type of wedding were really expensive and that the family must be very rich to afford such a wedding. Talk about perfect timing, we saw the bride and groom walk down the shrine with their family following the priest. Our timing was absolutely perfect and I’m so grateful I was able to get a glimpse of this special occasion.
We walked around for a while in Harujuku shops and man, by this time it was crazy packed. It was a little harder to get around people this time since the streets were pretty darn small. Still, people were able to maneuver around easily without bumping to each other. Within 20 minutes, we were tired and worn out so we decided it was time to head to the airport. We went back to the train station to pick up our duffel bag in the public locker and made our way to the airport. This was the last time we saw Tokyo Tower through the train.
Siiiiigh
It was a bit disheartening being at the airport knowing we’ll be leaving this beautiful country. We walked around and used up our remaining yen on green tea ice cream and delicate food souvenirs. Hiroshi bought some cake for his mom while I bought traditional Japanese snacks for my parents and coworkers. We had to move some of the things from our backpack to the duffel bag since we needed space for the new souvenirs. Good thing we mainly bought small souvenirs like charms so space wasn’t so much of an issue.
Once we checked in and gone through security, we still had plenty of time to explore since our flight leaves on midnight. Hiroshi regretted spending our remaining yen when he saw rows of capsule machines on the other side. So we goofed off for a bit.
Then we headed outside to get one good look of Tokyo. From where we were, we could barely see both Tokyo Tower and Tokyo Skytree. Yup we’re definitely going to miss this place. Sadly we couldn't stay out long to admire the view because of the freezing weather.
Back inside we had our last meal in the Japan using Hiroshi’s credit card. I had Tendon with Miso soup and pickles while Hiroshi had the salmon rice bowl with the same sides.
After dinner we headed to our gate and spent our remaining hour and a half waiting there. We each took very much needed naps and just waited until we boarded the plane. Once we took off, we had no trouble sleeping on our flight back to the US.
This trip by far has surpassed my other international trips. If I were given a chance to fly anywhere in the world, it would definitely be Japan. I’ve never imagined we would see so much in just nine days. Japan is one beautiful country and I would love to come back here again and again with Hiroshi.
November 17, 2013
The weather on our last day was at its finest; bright blue skies without a sign of storm clouds or cold wind. With the numerous places we've been to in this country in the last couple of days, it seemed like we been here for a month or two. Now that’s what I call traveling.
As I was soaking in the view, I can’t help but notice a sunken boat to our right. I hope they got everybody out safely because it was freezing cold last night.
Once we checked out of our hotel, we walked around Odaiba one last time. Hiroshi took a couple of last pictures of his favorite life-model Gundam. He was sure happy we stayed closed by and as for me, I like the location because we were on an island rather than in the middle of a busy city. It’s nice to get away from the crowd.
Goodbye pretty hotel! So long gargantuan Gundam! Farewell Odaiba!
Back on the main city, we dropped off our check-in duffel bag in a public locker at the train station and headed out with our backpacks.
Our first stop was at Hiroshi’s favorite TV station: NTV - Nippon TV Tower. The first thing he bought there was the freaky-looking “Obachan” t-shirt that had a picture of the dancing old lady from the comedian show he watches. While he looked for other weird Gaki no Tsukai merchandise, I looked through some Ghibli merchandise and bought some handkerchiefs for my sisters (Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery, & another theme I forgot).
Hiroshi was so happy with the things he bought that he reminded me of a kid out of a toy store. He had to sit down on the bizarre bench and put his big shopping bag in his backpack.
We walked around Tokyo and I have to say it was pretty quiet; the total opposite of the last couple of days we’ve been there. Perhaps stores open late on Sunday? Or it just gets packed at night.
Another place Hiroshi has been dying to go to was a model shop called Tamiya Plamodel Factory. He reverted back to a little boy and studied most of the models in in deep awe. The Japanese are pretty darn accurate with their details. He told me he always wanted to shop here when he was a kid. I was expecting him to buy a model or two but he just bought two shirts (one for this friend) with the company logo in it. Before we left the store, he wanted me to take a picture of him in front of the store with his Cannon camera. Yup, he’s definitely a kid at heart.
Our next stop was one of the places I was looking forward to: Tokyo Tower. I love looking at towers but I wasn’t thrilled with the building underneath it since that’s my favorite spot to look from. I still got somewhat of an angle that I like.
Since the Tokyo Skytree was built in 2010, it attracted most of the tourists away from the Tokyo Tower hence going through the line was an easy breeze. We would’ve gone to the Tokyo Skytree as well but there was a 2-hour wait line and we pretty much over-exceeded our waiting-in-line quota for the year all thanks to Tokyo Disney.
Unfortunately, the Special Observatory was closed so we were mainly on the 1F and 2F Main Observatory. We still got a nice clear view of the city.
Also from where we were, we could see the Zojo-ji Temple where the movie “Wolverine” was filmed.
I also got some good pics of the bottom view. There was glass section where one or two guests can stand on a glass and look at the bottom. This type of view didn’t terrify me like the ones in the National Park mainly because it’s very secure. I’d only be worried if there’s a crack or a heavy-set person standing next to me. Other than that, it was pretty interesting to look down.
After Tokyo Tower, we headed off to Zojoji Temple which was where the movie “Wolverine” was filmed. It was a close and easy walking distance from Tokyo Tower.
Sayonara Tokyo Tower!
Right off the bat I could tell why they filmed the movie here; a Japanese temple with Tokyo Tower in the background. The area was quite big but the temple itself wasn't as big as I thought it would be like in the movie. It doesn't help that I also saw the great Tōdai-ji temple with the giant Buddha. Still, it was a peaceful temple since there weren’t much people around.
We were starting to get hungry at this point so we decided to have lunch at McDonalds. I was rather curious as to what else they would have in the menu. In Philippines, the extra choices was Filipino spaghetti and other Filipino dishes. I couldn't remember what Hiroshi ordered but I have the teriyaki burger… Man that stuff was good! The presentation looked like a typical fast food but the meat was tender and the sauce was awesome!
We made our way to Harajuku and much to my disappointment; there were no cosplayers whatsoever. The bridge was so dead that I didn’t even bother taking a picture of it. However, we weren’t exactly there for that. Our final destination in Japan was a well-known Shinto shrine called Meiji Shrine.
Seriously, I was surprised how this shrine was in the middle of a city. I practically felt like I was in the middle of the forest back in the countryside. No sirens, cars, and other noises you would hear in a city. There was quite a walk from the entrance to the shrine but it was just so peaceful. It made me want to go back to the countryside again.
The shrine was very simple and quite old looking. It was built on 1920 in the traditional nagare-zukuri style and primarily made up of Japanese cypress and copper. Unfortunately the original building was destroyed during WWII Tokyo air raids. The public funded and rebuilt the shrine on October 1958.
The biggest highlight was the Shichi-Go-San Festival which takes place in November. Parents take their five-year-old boys or seven-year-old girls to the shrine to thank the gods for keeping them healthy. The children are dressed in kimonos for the occasion. There were so many of them that many random photographers took pictures of them. The parents didn’t mind so much since the photographers asked for their permission first.
An added bonus was the traditional Japanese wedding. Hiroshi told me these type of wedding were really expensive and that the family must be very rich to afford such a wedding. Talk about perfect timing, we saw the bride and groom walk down the shrine with their family following the priest. Our timing was absolutely perfect and I’m so grateful I was able to get a glimpse of this special occasion.
We walked around for a while in Harujuku shops and man, by this time it was crazy packed. It was a little harder to get around people this time since the streets were pretty darn small. Still, people were able to maneuver around easily without bumping to each other. Within 20 minutes, we were tired and worn out so we decided it was time to head to the airport. We went back to the train station to pick up our duffel bag in the public locker and made our way to the airport. This was the last time we saw Tokyo Tower through the train.
Siiiiigh
It was a bit disheartening being at the airport knowing we’ll be leaving this beautiful country. We walked around and used up our remaining yen on green tea ice cream and delicate food souvenirs. Hiroshi bought some cake for his mom while I bought traditional Japanese snacks for my parents and coworkers. We had to move some of the things from our backpack to the duffel bag since we needed space for the new souvenirs. Good thing we mainly bought small souvenirs like charms so space wasn’t so much of an issue.
Once we checked in and gone through security, we still had plenty of time to explore since our flight leaves on midnight. Hiroshi regretted spending our remaining yen when he saw rows of capsule machines on the other side. So we goofed off for a bit.
Then we headed outside to get one good look of Tokyo. From where we were, we could barely see both Tokyo Tower and Tokyo Skytree. Yup we’re definitely going to miss this place. Sadly we couldn't stay out long to admire the view because of the freezing weather.
Back inside we had our last meal in the Japan using Hiroshi’s credit card. I had Tendon with Miso soup and pickles while Hiroshi had the salmon rice bowl with the same sides.
After dinner we headed to our gate and spent our remaining hour and a half waiting there. We each took very much needed naps and just waited until we boarded the plane. Once we took off, we had no trouble sleeping on our flight back to the US.
This trip by far has surpassed my other international trips. If I were given a chance to fly anywhere in the world, it would definitely be Japan. I’ve never imagined we would see so much in just nine days. Japan is one beautiful country and I would love to come back here again and again with Hiroshi.
