June 4th: Mount Fuji & Hakone

I've wanted to see Mount Fuji all my life. Utagawa Hiroshige (Japanese Ukiyo-e artist) 36 Views of Mount Fuji color woodblock prints have always been my favorite artworks. The Great Wave off Kanagawa is the most recognized.Funny story: During my 1st year at college I took a drawing class. The professor assigned us a large project for our final. We were to take our favorite famous artwork and alter it to become our own. Of course I chose The Great Wave off Kanagawa. I decided to begin the drawing the night before my 8am class. We had a gigantic blizzard and my hallmates dragged me out of the study hall away from my drawing to go sledding. This carried on until 2am! Everyone dried off and went to bed. I went back to the study lounge. I finished the drawing at 7:30am, just in time to turn it in. Sheesh! At the end of the year our resident advisor gave out awards. You'd never guess but my award was 'biggest procrastinator.' I gave the drawing to my brother. I put the great wave in a martini glass. It was pretty cool.

We were picked up by coach at 8:10am for the Mt. Fuji and Hakone Day Tour. We were taken to a bus station and boarded our bus at 9am. There were about 30 of us onboard and our tour guide was Hiro. Fraser kept saying she was his Hero ha ha.
The drive to the Mt. Fiji Visitors Center was 1-hr & 40-min. It was very small. We watched a short video (Fraser & I had the pleasure of seeing the ass crack of a larger American man who decided wearing a belt was not necessary). There was a cafe, shop, and information about the mountain, the hikes, history, etc.
Hiro rushed us because she wanted to make sure we actually saw the top (at the moment it was covered in clouds). It was a 50-min drive to the top. We kept looking out the window and could only see white. We got to the top and as the bus was parking all the clouds disappeared! Within an instant Mt. Fuji appeared. It was beautiful. Hiro had mentioned the weather can change rapidly and we may be able to see the top if we we're lucky, or not see it at all. We figured she was joking or did not know what she was talking about. Obviously when we got to the top and it cleared, and 20 minutes later it disappeared again we felt stupid for doubting her. Regardless, we were so lucky to have seen it! Fraser and I want to return in a few years and climb Mt. Fuji. You can only climb during summer months and must reserve a spot well ahead of time. At the 5th station (the furthest up the bus was allowed to go) there was a cute village of shops & restaurants, horses to ride, and a path to a waterfall. Unfortunately the waterfall was snow melting= a puddle! Perhaps it gets bigger later when more snow has melted.

We walked back to the bus (avoiding stepping in horse-shit) and drove about 30 minutes to a resort for lunch. The resort was beside a small amusement park which had a few roller-coasters. Apparently the hotel hosts a lot of weddings, conferences, and family vacations. Fraser & I both enjoyed a Japanese lunch (salmon, rice, miso soup, vanilla ice-cream, green tea, and other tiny dishes).

Back on the bus again and off to Hakone. Our first stop was Lake Ashi to catch a ferry to a cable car ride to the top of another mountain. We had time to walk around the gift shop in-front of the ferry before it boarded. Apparently I did not have enough ice-cream yet, because I got an ice-cream sandwich. Fraser did not want one (until he took a bite of mine) and realized it was the best ice-cream sandwich ever! We enjoyed a short ride over the beautiful lake with gorgeous surroundings. It reminded me of Kauai. We had 25 minutes to walk around in a small village with tons of shops before boarding the cable car. It could hold 110 people so it was fairly large. Thankfully I found a 'western' toilet & we walked around the insane arcade.
We boarded the cable car and took a slow ride all the way to the top. We had great views of the surrounding mountains and Mt. Fuji (covered in clouds). We got off the cable car and were covered in clouds/mist. We had 30-45 minutes to walk around. There was a beautiful temple (covered in mist) so 6 of us got brave and hiked through the mist. I'm still surprised we found our way there and back! We hurried back and caught the last car down to the bottom & back on the bus.
Next stop: 1 hour bus ride to the bullet train! Only a 25 minute ride back into central Tokyo. The bullet train was sooooo fast and the inside cabin was very nice.

June 3rd: Sumo, Beer, Photography & Tower

It was raining pretty hard today so we borrowed umbrellas from the hotel. We walked to the Tokyo Sumo Museum first. It was very small but we learned about Sumo wrestling from its beginnings. At the end we watched a competition on the tv. We would have rather seen a sumo match in person but the Ryogoku Kokugikan (sumo stadium) was not open in June. As we were leaving we passed 2 Sumo Wrestlers who had to walk through the rain in wooden flip flops (high heel) with special socks. They were huge (flip flops and the men)!
We walked around the corner to the Edo-Tokyo Museum. It provides a glimpse into both past and present Tokyo. The inside was full of exhibits and a ton of school children on a field trip! Unfortunately we rushed through because they were extremely hyper, loud, annoying, obnoxious, misbehaved, and most likely have ADD.

On our last night in Hong Kong (at airport hotel) I saw a purse that I really wanted in the mall. Unfortunately the store was closed and our flight was early the next day. I researched Agatha Paris online to find stores elsewhere. There were a few in Tokyo. We walked through a mall to grab lunch and found a huge department store. There was a Agatha Paris booth but they only had jewelry. Do'h. The calzone we had was worth the stop!
Next stop: Sapporo Beer Museum. Unfortunately the museum was hot and everything was in Japanese. We rushed through and enjoyed the photographs. We've been to breweries before (Guinness Brewery in Dublin, Ireland) so we understood the beer making process. We were on fire and only wanted cold beer, who cares how you make it! ha ha. The tasting platter (4 beers) was only $3.50. What a deal.

As you know, I love photography. I was very excited to visit the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography. We bought tickets for 2 exhibitions of Daido Moriyama's work. Ⅰ. RETROSPECTIVE 1965-2005’ and ‘Ⅱ. HAWAII’. The photographs in the Hawaii exhibition were impressive but not as outstanding as his earlier works. I have a bad habit of being bias since I should be a famous photographer. Totally my fault though. I need to submit work to get attention. Duh! Daido used the same gritty film that I did for my senior porfolio in college.
We took the train/metro to Roppongi Hills. This was a new posh area that opened in 2003. 'Built by building tycoon Minoru Mori, the mega-complex incorporates office space, apartments, shops, restaurants, cafés, movie theatres, a museum, a hotel, a major TV studio, an outdoor amphitheatre, and a few parks. The centrepiece is the 54-story eponymous Mori Tower. Mori's stated vision was to build an integrated development where high-rise inner-urban communities allow people to live, work, play, and shop in close proximity to eliminate commuting time. He argued this would increase leisure time, quality of life, and benefit Japan's national competitiveness. Seventeen years in the making, the complex opened to the public on April 23, 2003.' We had a great time window shopping. The restaurants looked mmm mmm good but we were not dressed appropriately.
On our walk towards Tokyo Tower we found a restaurant called Monsoon Cafe. The atmosphere & decorations were great. Felt like we were eating in a jungle. We had chicken satay as an appetizer. Fraser had Chiang Mai-Style Coconut Curry Noodles & I had Shrimp & Deep Fried Tofu in Chili Sauce. I was a little scared about deep fried tofu but it was great. My Fresh Mango Mojito was yummy and I tried a Umaimono-wa-Umai (Miyazaki) Shochu. It tasted similar to vodka mixed with sake (not very good).

A short walk to the Tokyo Tower. It resimbles the Eiffel Tower and is covered in bright lights. Apparently (we did not see it ourselves) a Statue of Liberty replica is also in Odaiba, Japan. The 1st stop was 150 meters (not high enough) so we paid extra to go up to the observation tower (250 meters). There was a little fog but we still had fantastic views of amazing Tokyo. Next month they are going to start building another tower, Rising East Project. When completed it will be the tallest artificial structure in Japan at 610.58 m (2,003 ft) tall.
As if Tokyo was not perfect enough, the people are wonderful. So friendly and helpful. While we were waiting in the subway station for our train, a woman gave us her subway ticket. She said she did not need it anymore and we may find some use for it. It was an unlimited subway pass! How sweet.

June 2nd: Shrine & Tapas Molecular Bar

I was expecting crazy hair color, haircuts, and dressing already so i was not surprised when I saw it. It made me feel pretty under dressed and boring! Tokyo is absolutely beautiful and clean. Transportation is great (subway, bus system, bullet trains, taxis) and it is easy to walk everywhere. We took advantage of the JR Yamanote Line. We took the train & walked to Meiji Shrine. It was located in Shibuya, Tokyo. It is the Shinto shrine that is dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shoken. We walked through botanical gardens beforehand. There was an Iris Garden. When you approach the shrine you stop and bow your head, drop change into the holes, and clap your hands twice. As expected it was breathtaking. You could also write your hopes and wishes on a piece of wood and place it on a hook. I was nosey and read a few. Many Americans asked for peace, health, and the war to end.


We took the train back to Ginza. We stopped by a Breitling shop. We walked out empty handed, thank goodness! We toured the Sony Building and drooled at all the high tech gadgets we do not have. The LCD HD televisions were huge! My 42" LCD Sony TV looked puny compared to the 72"! ha ha. We continued to walk around Ginza and by the time we got back to our hotel we had walked about 8 miles! I'm glad since we were going to stuff ourselves silly at Tapas Molecular Bar for dinner.
We had reservations for the 8pm sitting at Tapas Molecular Bar at the Mandarin Oriental. Only 6 per seating. We enjoyed 5 different glasses of wine & champagne to compliment the dishes. We were served around 28 different dishes. They were all unbelievable! The Chef would explain each dish and put it together infront of us. He went to school in NYC and moved back to Tokyo due to marriage. He said he missed NYC but the food (although more expensive) is much more organic & local/easily available in Japan. The world famous fish market is only a few miles away & Japan is covered in organic farms.


All of the dishes were spectacular but the dessert got even more interesting. As always I'm trying to become more health conscious and eat more vegetables and fruit. I'm absolutely horrible at eating fruit. My Dad eats an apple a day. I wish I would do the same. The Chef gave each of us a plate of fruit. Strawberries, lime & lemon slices, melon, apple slice, and orange slice. He asked us all to eat 2 pieces of fruit. Then he handed us a small red piece of fruit. He told us to put it in our mouths for 1 minute and then to swallow it. Next he instructed us to eat another piece of fruit or to drink some wine. I ate the orange slice. Holy crap! It was sooooo much sweeter! It tasted amazing and within 2 minutes I had eaten the entire plate of fruit. Even the melon, lime and lemon slices! The chef explained the fruit was called the miracle fruit. No joke. When I return home I am going to order some. It is fruit, so it is not unhealthy. It will definitely help me eat more fruit. Amazing!

June 1st: 日本へようこそ

We had an overnight flight to Tokyo on Japan Airlines. Even with flat beds & melatonin I still have problems sleeping great on airplanes. I enjoyed a Japanese breakfast and was so excited to arrive in Japan! Unfortunately the Narita airport is far away from Tokyo. We took a 1hr 20 min train ride to the subway in the city center.

We eventually made it to the Conrad Tokyo & took a nap. The room was amazing & we had awesome views of Tokyo from our large windows.
We decided to grab some dinner so we walked to a nearby area called Ginza. This was a major shopping area. The Sony Building was there as well. Obviously sushi is the thing to eat in Japan. We finally narrowed the 1000 sushi restaurants down to 1. We had to take our shoes off and leave them at the door in a locker. We also had to push a button/buzzer for service. Never experience this before. I wish we had buzzers at restaurants in the US so we'd receive better service! The sushi & wasabi were delicious. We enjoyed fried biscuits with butter and honey for dessert. I was beginning to fall in love with Tokyo!