Japan Trip Day 3
Saturday 14th of March
Got up earlier, checked emails and sent inquiries to Kyoto accommodation before taking off on my first experience with a Japanese shower. Even though I had a fair idea of what I was in for it was even more complicated than I thought! Main problem was trying to find somewhere to put my clothes so that they wouldn’t get wet.
It was another horrible day weather wise so decided to go to the one museum that was on my must do list, the Edo Tokyo Museum. Even though I thought I had the trains under control it look at least 30 minutes to work out what lines I was going to have to take and then around 30 minutes wandering around Shinjuku station trying to find the right line and train. With the help of a young Japanese guy who saw me staring at maps got the right train and eventually got to where I wanted to go.
The Museum itself was pretty interesting for someone like myself who works with buildings and services and also likes history. There were lots of model displays of old buildings and also cut away sections so you could see how they were built. The museum was dedicated to how life was like in Edo (what Tokyo was called before the Meiji restoration) and then how life changed for people in the immediate years after that. A volunteer guide who spoke English was also available to show me around the museum and explain in greater detail some of the exhibits. Three other people jumped in to join the guide and myself as we were leaving (two from Scotland and a Japanese guy with them) but they weren’t to bad.
The guide finished with the Edo part of the museum and I went on to the early Tokyo part of the museum. Altogether I was at the museum for almost four hours taking photos (which unlike some museums they had no problem with), wandering around and reading the display descriptions (with most displays having an English version). Found my way back on the trains okay and got back to the units. Once again I was bad and hadn’t eaten anything all day and as Spacexat and Juunana were tired from work we all just had instant Ramen noodles.
Got up earlier, checked emails and sent inquiries to Kyoto accommodation before taking off on my first experience with a Japanese shower. Even though I had a fair idea of what I was in for it was even more complicated than I thought! Main problem was trying to find somewhere to put my clothes so that they wouldn’t get wet.
It was another horrible day weather wise so decided to go to the one museum that was on my must do list, the Edo Tokyo Museum. Even though I thought I had the trains under control it look at least 30 minutes to work out what lines I was going to have to take and then around 30 minutes wandering around Shinjuku station trying to find the right line and train. With the help of a young Japanese guy who saw me staring at maps got the right train and eventually got to where I wanted to go.
The Museum itself was pretty interesting for someone like myself who works with buildings and services and also likes history. There were lots of model displays of old buildings and also cut away sections so you could see how they were built. The museum was dedicated to how life was like in Edo (what Tokyo was called before the Meiji restoration) and then how life changed for people in the immediate years after that. A volunteer guide who spoke English was also available to show me around the museum and explain in greater detail some of the exhibits. Three other people jumped in to join the guide and myself as we were leaving (two from Scotland and a Japanese guy with them) but they weren’t to bad.
The guide finished with the Edo part of the museum and I went on to the early Tokyo part of the museum. Altogether I was at the museum for almost four hours taking photos (which unlike some museums they had no problem with), wandering around and reading the display descriptions (with most displays having an English version). Found my way back on the trains okay and got back to the units. Once again I was bad and hadn’t eaten anything all day and as Spacexat and Juunana were tired from work we all just had instant Ramen noodles.