One of the items high on our list for our time in Tokyo was to attempt to get a look at Mt. Fuji. It is probably the most iconic symbol associated to Japan and as we learned, well deserving of that recognition. There are lots of suggestions online as to how to see the mountain without spending a lot of money. However, when we looked at it, it was less than $60CDN per person to be driven in a comfortable, uncrowded coach to 3 or 4 different locations.
So worth the money. This was from Lake Kawaguchi.By the afternoon when we got to the last location the clouds were starting to move in, but after the climb up the hill we still got some nice shots with the Chureito Pagoda. The guide explained that statistically the mountain only shows itself 100 days a year. While we were walking down from the pagoda it must have been shift change as we had some monks following us. Such a gorgeous area to spend some time.We went for a walk along the Sumida River, in Tokyo just to relax and escape the crowds. I had noticed that we had seen practically no graffiti anywhere in the city. These gentlemen helped explain that. No time is lost in removing graffiti. A lot of cities could learn from this. Overall, the cleanliness of the public spaces in Japan is beyond anything we have seen in the world. It is wonderful.We also got a view of the Tokyo Skytower. The cool building in the foreground is the Asahi Beer headquarters. This was one of the few times we actually saw the tower.Most the time it appeared like this. So glad we never bought tickets to go up. Looking at clouds 350 or 450 metres in the air would have been frustrating.We did go up to the 45th floor (202 metres) in the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, it is free, and had a look at the city. Sadly I have to give Tokyo a low score on its panorama. There are some great buildings in the city, but viewing from a height I found it a bit underwhelming. On the upside there was live piano music being played the entire time we were up there, and that was fantastic.
We also choose to do a day trip out to an area called Hakone. It is highly advertised in the travel brochures and we felt it was something that had to be done. My suggestion if you do ever do it is to spend a day or two in the Hakone area. It is truly beautiful. But to do it as a day trip, in our experience, is a solid 12 hours of taking one form of transportation after another while waiting in lines between each movement. Very much a let down.
We very much enjoy train travel and you do get to travel by, train and tram. The tram is very impressive as the angle of ascent is at the extreme end of what rail traffic can handle. And there is a cable car ride involved as well.There is also a boat trip included in the Hakone travel ticket you buy. The pirate ship takes you across Lake Asahi. After the boat trip it is a bus ride back to the train station and Tokyo bound you go. Like I said, take 2 or 3 days (the regional tickets come in 2 or 3 day choices) and take the time to enjoy the area. A day trip is an exercise in endurance. In my opinion.There is a stop after the cable car ride where you can buy hardboiled eggs cooked in the steaming ground. Remember, Japan has a lot of volcanic geothermal activity going on. In the end, it is a hardboiled egg.
You may be picking up that I am beginning to tire of the touristy aspect of Tokyo. That would be a correct assumption. I love travel, but honestly, I hate full on tourist stuff. However, I will put on my big boy pants and focus on the things I did enjoy here.
Due to their love of big signs, neon, and general garishness, Tokyo is a great place for nighttime street photography. And when it rains it is perfect.I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the toilets here. They are fantastic. The majority of toilets have heated seats, yes, even in public bathrooms. They also all have built-in bidets. Get over it you North American prudes, They are fantastic. The female washrooms even have optional music that the toilet will play to give you privacy during your tinkling moments. Who thought of that? Genius. Yes, nearly all toilets have some form of this control panel right beside them. They also have toilet paper just in case you were wondering. I did initially.The Japanese’s forthright honesty with dealing with problems is refreshing as well. The country is incredibly safe (i.e. it is normal for elementary school age children to take the public transit to school unaccompanied), however, given the young ladies preference for wearing rather short skirts, there is a tiny deviate section of society that likes to use camera phones to take up-skirt photos on escalators. I loved the fact they post signs with built in mirrors so ladies can check and see if anyone is standing too close behind them on escalators. Back to more pleasant subjects. The parks here are lovely. Beautiful Torii gates are everywhere with pathways and peaceful settings are free to enjoy.We have found it a bit of a challenge at times to find a simple place to enjoy a cool beverage. However we hit the jackpot at the Lion Beer Hall. Modelled after a German Beer Hall it was a fun place to refresh and cool down.In the Asakusa district we found an abundance of restaurants to feed us in the evening. The fact that a lot of the streets were covered allowed you to ditch the jacket and umbrella (mid 20’s and 80% humidity) and walk around comfortably.After dinner one night we thought we would try the taiyaki treats. We went with the custard filled ones and they were delicious.As I am a bit of a closet Kit Kat addict, I was excited to experience the variety of Kit Kat flavours I had seen advertised. Honestly, stick with the original. The dark chocolate was ok, and the matcha green tea one was a disappointment. Don’t get me wrong, I still ate all of them.You know you are in a busy city when all the underground parkades and loading docks have between 1 and 4 crossing guards to control vehicle/pedestrian traffic crossing the driveways/sidewalks. Very efficient and courteous. I believe one of the things that make a city of this size so civilized and efficient is the fact that 99.9% of the people follow all the rules to the T. When you are standing at a marked crosswalk with not a vehicle in sight in any direction with 4 – 20 other pedestrians and not one person steps off the curb until the green walk sign appears. It took me a few days to adjust to this way of operating.
All in all I enjoyed Tokyo, however I am not sure I’ll be in any hurry to return. It is an incredible place with great people and certainly should be on any travellers list. Just be ready for people, lots of people.
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