Friday was the day Ciaran had been waiting for ever since we arrived in Japan. We visited Akihabara (Electric Town). This was truly a geek's paradise with shop after shop of multi-level anime and manga material. Frank's office at Harper Collins is in Akihabara so we travelled in on the train with him as he headed to work on Friday. As soon as we arrived, Ciaran was off on his own adventure. He met us a couple of hours later with a bagful of anime character statues. Akihabara is truly a sight to be seen. Every street is alive with pop culture, cosplay characters and maid characters inviting you to dine at their restaurant.
After lunch with Frank, we headed for a Clare friendly destination. Tokyo Character Street is a whole street of shops in the lower levels of Tokyo Station devoted to the characters loved by young Japanese children. Pokémon, Miffy, Snoopy and Hello Kitty were just some of the shops we visited. It seems that, in Japan, every interest gets not just its own shop but a whole arcade devoted to it if not a whole neighbourhood.
After a full day surrounded by the incredibly vivid sights and sounds of Tokyo (not to mention thousands of people), we spent the evening with Frank, Midori and Maeve at their house in Kamakura. Maeve showed us her art portfolio which has earned her early entry into university beginning in April. We also met the famous Hanako, Maeve's cat who we have been hearing about for the last ten years. It was great to finally see them in their own environment but it also brought home the incredible distance between the places we live. Spending this week with them has been awesome but I hate to think it will probably be another few years before it happens again.
On every trip there is the occasional bad day and today was one of those. Problem No 1 was the hangovers Ian and I were nursing after the mysterious Okinawan spirits we drank last night. Problem No 2 was the increasing tension between Ciaran and Ronan. They are not enjoying each other's company.
After a late start, we took the train to Tokyo, successfully negotiating multiple train lines and ticketing systems. We were headed to Asakusa. Our plans to visit the temple went out the window after a bit of a skirmish between the boys outside Burger King. We decided that a relaxing river cruise down the Sumida River would calm everyone down. It was peaceful but not exactly scenic unlike river cruises we have done in other cities. We bailed on the return trip and, instead, walked back to Shinbashi station to catch the train back to Kamakura. A simple dinner, an alcohol free night and early bedtimes for all of us.
Hopefully, we will all wake up happier people ready to enjoy Japan (and each other) again.
Another stunningly beautiful day in Kamakura. Blue skies, crisp air and a great holiday feeling with everyone on their New Year's break. We started our day with a gorgeous walk to see the Daibutsu (Great Buddha) which is a 12 metre tall bronze statue. Then we visited the nearby Hase-dera Temple. Not knowing very much about Hase-dera, we were completely blown away by the beauty and the amazing statues.
In the afternoon, we visited Midori's family who live just outside Kamakura. We had a lovely afternoon tea with them.
After dinner, Frank introduced Ian and I (minus kids) to some of the coolest bars in Kamakura. It was a very full day and night.
After a very comfortable night in the Shinagawa Tobu Hotel, we took the train to Kamakura, home of my brother Frank, his wife Midori and daughter Maeve. Kamakura is the most beautiful place. It has a village like atmosphere with all the conveniences of a city. Frank took us to our first Korean BBQ for lunch, a completely new experience for us. We had a brief look around Kamakura before settling into our apartment in the most perfect location in Kamakura: home for the next 5 days.
Our first full day in Japan. We had an unexpectedly full day. We had thought we would have a quiet day settling into a new country but it turned out that, in Narita, we were right next to a highly significant Japanese religious site. We headed to the Naritsan Shinshoji Temple along with many thousands of Japanese Buddhists. Along the way, we saw a huge range of interesting stalls. At the temple, we wandered through the vast grounds, watched the ceremony in the main hall and learned about the history of the site dating back 1000 years. Despite the enormous crowds, it was easy to negotiate our way around. The calm and orderliness of Japanese crowds is astonishing. It is something we could really learn from.
