It's always important to enter into things with a glass half full sort of attitude. And of course, when you are heading out on holiday this feeling should, and almost always is, prevalent. But we left for Tokyo with an anticipation that we hadn't really had for a while. Our intention was to visit japan back when we lived in Beijing and when we were in Vietnam but we never got there. It was always too expensive or we didn't have enough time. But in he end we just thought 'stuff it'.
In the end this will surely go down as one of our best holidays ever. As Roma put it, "It was epic". She was referring to her first day skiing, but it pretty much summed up the whole trip. |
The Aarons' are not known for their physical stamina, often stopping for a breather on our 500m walk down to the local shops. But we certainly all gave that stereotype a little bit of a work out this trip. On a recent trip to Decathlon (the Chinese version of Rebel Sports) to buy walking boots for Ruth and the kids we picked up a couple of pedometers. Ruth's lastest approximately two days before it packed it in. She blamed shoddy workmanship on the manufacturers part. I'm more inclined to believe that dropping it on the unforgiving school hall floors twice might have contributed to its failing. So I was able to see the number of steps, kms and calories taken on the trip. Over the 6 days in Tokyo we racked up an amazing 55km. Great work. And, according to Roma, that was much more for her because she has a smaller stride.
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The StreetsDid I say this place rocks? So much to see and so much to buy. And the people are so friendly.
We were standing around outside Takadanobaba stationon the first night (say that quickly 10 times) as this was where we were staying reading a map and looking mildly lost when two boys (maybe about 17 years old) came up to us and asked us if they could help us with directions. Yep, 17 year old boys. They checked directions on their phone and sent us on our way. Exactly the same thing happened when we were looking for a pottery shop in Kappabashi when a lady on a bike 'asked' to help us. She got off her bike and walked us to our destination - about 10 mins away. And everyone is quiet on the train. No talking on a carriage with 300 people packed on is eerie. Tough for Roma and Charlie to handle too, I might add. |
The Culture - OldJapan is a such a contrasting place. It's as old as old and newer than new.
We saw some great history in both Tokyo and Kyoto. We checked out the Shinto Shrine (Meiji Jingu) in Tokyo. Like many things in Japan it was either lost to fire or bombed during the war, so this was rebuilt in 1958. In Kyoto, we saw the Golden Pavillion at Kinkaku-ji, Tenryū-ji and the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove. |
The Culture - NewI don't know what that guy to the right was trying to be but I saw him do laps around Takeshita Dori, always stopping to get his photo taken. The kids really liked all the things on offer down this street. I almost purchased a pair of tartan pants but they didn't have my size. Shame really. Would have added to the collection nicely.
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For the KidsOn wet and windy and cold days in Tokyo it's good to find inside things to do. The happiest place on earth wasn't an option as Ruth is the only human being on the planet who hates Disneyland.
So we had a chance to check out Kidzania, where the kids got to try out differnt jobs, The Science and Natural history museum and the home of electronics and Akihabara - the home of electronics and anime and manga. Lots of video games and pokomon and Yoshi. |
A gourmand's paradiseThis would have to be the best place we've visited for food. And we never made it to a Michelin starred restaurant either. It's hard to think of a bad meal. Even the fast food joint we visited at Kidzania made these burgers that were beautiful.
We managed to binge on Sushi (at least 4 times that I can remember), Udon noodles, Tempura, Ramen, Yakitori, Tonkatsu, Yakiniku, Gyoza. Each meal was better than the meal before. And we got to walk around the Tokyo fish markets before dining on sushi that must have been so fresh it has ruined the experience of eating sushi at any other restaurant. |
If you asked the kids for their highlight, it would have to be, without a doubt, the snow.. Not only did they get to see snow fall (in Tokyo actually), but they got the chance to throw a snow ball, make a snowman, slide down a hill on a sled and make snow angels.
And then they got to ski for the very first time. Ruth, also, put on skis for the first time ever, and surprisingly (1) didn't break anything and (2) didn't half mind it. But the kids were excellent. After two 2.5 hour lessons, they were both going up the ski lift and going down green runs. And to top it off, they got to see their friends from Saigon - Margaux and Sasha (and we got to see Helene and Russ) who were skiing in Hakuba at the same time. |