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Sunday, September 18, 2011

Tokyo Tower, 東京タワー

How can anyone visit Tokyo without seeing the Tokyo Tower? It is the counterpart of the London Big Ben, Sydney Opera House, Statue of Liberty, so on and so forth. To catch the tower in all it's glory you would need to go there at night because that's when they turn all the lights on the tower. The tower was opened in 1958, standing 333m tall, 13m taller than the Eiffel Tower in Paris, it weighs in at 4,000t, 140 drums of paint was used to paint the tower to orange, also it's an active tower broadcasting 240 waves of which 14 are analog and 10 are digital, and 176 floodlights had been installed on the tower to keep it illuminated with orange light in winter and white light in summer. The tower before you approach it, can be seen a fair distance away and to be honest, the tower actually looks better from the outside, you could also travel up to the top of the tower for a nominal fee. After browsing through the small mall of shops at the feet of the tower we decided to grab dinner before heading back to the hotel, and regret is a strong word but I'd have to use it here (first and only time in Japan we found bad food).

Asakusa, 浅草

Asakusa, 浅草 is a district in Taitō, Tokyo, Japan, most famous for the Sensō-ji, a Buddhist temple dedicated to the bodhisattva Kannon. There are several other temples in Asakusa, as well as various festivals. A hot spot for tourists around the world. Right in the middle of Asakusa is a large cluster of Buddhist temples, surrounding the temples are souvenir and food stores specially catering for tourists. This place, no matter which day of the year is mostly packed to the brim. This is also the only district in Tokyo to have manual rickshaws; they will pull you around the district for a nominal fee.

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Yokohama, 横浜・八景島シーパラダイス

八景島 Sea Paradise is a man made island on the shores of Yokohama. It houses Japan's largest aquarium, also has a parade of rides, shopping arcades, and restaurants. The train ride from Tokyo took us almost an hour to reach Yokohama, then we had to board a special train that goes to and fro the island only, a bit like the train to and fro Sentosa in Singapore. We saw many groups of youngsters having a fun day out on the island. The aquarium is the usual, but it is very nicely done and what impressed me the most was the schools of fish within the aquarium, I have never seen it before in any other aquariums. For lunch we found a nearby restaurant and thought we would have a quick bite before we head back in and see the live show of dolphins and seals. We were very surprised at the quality of the food in the restaurant, the price was stella too but that is to be expected, super happy with the food. After sunset we explored the rest of the island and headed back to Tokyo.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Ghibli Museum, 三鷹の森ジブリ美術館

It takes a little bit of research before you could visit the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka. Why? because you can't buy tickets at the gate, all tickets are pre-purchased and date specific. We got our tickets from a travel agency that officially sells Ghibli tickets, have my sister pick them up, only then could we visit this magical place. Ghibli and his animations has been a huge part of my life, I loved his stories and drawings and often spend many economic lessons in school fantacising myself starring in one of Ghibli's spin offs. Was a very exciting day for me being there. We arrived early at the gate and had to wait a few minutes before we were allowed in. On our way in the employees explained with some off key English that no photography is allowed within the Ghibli building, what a bummer, but rules are rules.

As part of the ticket, we received some colours film negatives and a movie ticket to a special and exclusive show of となりのトトロ Tonari no Totoro. I was a kid all over again while seeing the show. The showcase displays of anime characters in the musuem is simply amazing to say the least. There is also a replication of Ghibli's room where he created all the great animes. Remember pre-purchase your tickets and go early, it's the best money has to offer.

Mitaka, 三鷹

Walking through the streets of Mitaka, I couldn't help but be overcome by a feeling of familiarity. I paused for just the slightest moment to think, why? I was certain I had never been here before. Then it dawned on me, the streets of Mitaka is identical to the preconceptions I had of Japan. Now how did that happen?

That morning we were on our way to the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, 宮崎駿美術館, as a kid I watched many anime drawn by Ghibli. Walking through these streets took me back to these animes and I could see this magical place where Ghibli got his ideas for his stories.