Sha-Sha-Shibuya!

Day 7: January 2

Our morning began with a crazy visit to see the Royal Family. Emperor Akihito appears only on his birthday, December 23, along with January 2 to celebrate the new year. Only on these two days does the Tokyo Imperial Palace open its inner grounds to the public. The experience was similar to Disneyland in that the crowds were extremely condensed and the lines neverending. However, there were no amusement park rides or souvenirs, only an endless supply of paper Japanese flags to wave around. Truthfully, it was a bit awkward to be Chinese American standing amidst intense Japanese nationalistic pride, but if you play the role of a clueless tourist everything works out.

Just like Disneyland! (Without the rides)

After the crowd stood in the sun for around half an hour, the emperor and his family came out onto a balcony protected with bulletproof glass. We were already squished person to person below the balcony, but when the royals stepped out, the intense roar of Japanese paper flags waving filled the air. After speaking in a dignified tone for five minutes (what about, I have no idea ) the emperor went back in, and then crowd dispersed.

Japanese nationalism

Following that slightly strange experience, it was time for all-you-can-eat Shabu Shabu. Contrary to what my dad thought, all-you-can-eat did not mean that plate of food is literally all-you-can-eat. The restaurant provided unlimited plates of raw slices of beef, pork, and chicken, which we cooked in a boiling pot of soup before dipping in a mixture of sesame oil, ginger, garlic, vinegar, and ponzu sauce. The dumplings and udon were also a great addition to the meal.

Lunch traffic. 

The afternoon was spent in Shibuya, the metropolitan area home to the famed Shibuya scramble crossing. At this intersection, hundreds of people build up on four corners (mainly from the subway stations and shops). Once the pedestrian light turns green, waves of people stream onto the road, crossing in all directions, including diagonally. (I suspected that a good percentage were tourists crossing multiple times, especially when I saw a group of people literally plop down in the middle of the street in order to take a picture).

Cool people.

Other highlights on the night included visiting Hachiko's statue, shopping at a 109 mall with crazy shopkeepers screaming about sales, and of course, exploring Daiso.

Daiso haul! -pens, stickers, notebooks...

Tokyo also hosted a large number of cat cafes :D We visited one on the 8th floor of a building, and the cafe met us with a mellow ambiance and cool jazz. After sanitizing our hands and changing our shoes for slippers, it was time to pet cats. Most of the cats rested in cat trees above the adoring cafe guests, but it must have been entertaining for them to watch the humans dance below holding cat toys and treats.

CAT CAFE!!!

Fluffy Tail

Sleepy cat

More sleepy cat

Day 8: January 3

Finally, it was time to experience the tasting of the main culinary item associated with Japan: sushi! At the Tsukiji Fish Market, famed for its tuna tossing auctions, tons of seafood stalls lined the streets, selling items such as scallops topped with sea urchin, broiled crabs, tuna steaks, lobster soup, dried squid, and sashimi. Stores sold out plenty of their products, with Vietnamese tourists literally packing their luggage to the brim with dried cuttlefish.

I see-food! (haha.)

After wandering through the alleyways and pondering which place to go eat at, we decided on a small sushi restaurant on the second floor of a building. Since we sat at the counter, we were able to view the sushi chefs assembling meals right in front of us. With their well-practiced motions, one chef sliced the sashimi, another formed rice mounds for the sushi, and a third artfully assembled rice bowls with slices of sashimi laid across the top. The chefs were amiable and kindly chatted with us on the different types of fish that we had no idea we were eating. The sushi tasted extremely fresh, and it made it difficult to imagine returning to SF to eat sushi made in the USA.

Sushi Masters

Assorted fish

A subway ride later, we made it to Roppongi Hills, the place where the famed scene of the Tokyo skyline was shot. More new year's celebrations were underway and we enjoyed free entertainment consisting of traditional Japanese music, lion dances, and TAIKO. The taiko drumming was especially fun to watch, as the beat of their drums literally shook the audience.

New year's lion biting away bad luck.

BOOM

Taiko is a full workout

Tokyo Tower and a view of our feet standing atop a glass floor :O

 

More food for the carnivores. 

Day 9: January 4

At last, our final day in Japan had arrived. Since we had to reach Narita Airport, about an hour long bus ride from Tokyo, by the afternoon, there was only some time to explore the Tokyo Station after we had finished packing and cleaning the apartment.

Candy rolling station.

The station had a countless number of shops, but the best part was an area called "Character Street." There, stores sold merchandise from all the famous Japanese cartoons and characters, such as Studio Ghibli, Rilakkuma, Hello Kitty, and various animes. I probably would have spent my life savings buying keychains and notebooks, but it was time to eat lunch before traveling to the airport.

ahhh I want all of them!

It was a strange but delicious lunch of Okinawa cuisine, which included a bowl of ramen along with something that suspiciously tasted like Taco Bell without the tortilla. Alas, it was time to head back to the airport for our flight. Thank you Japan for an exciting adventure! 

Ramen and...Taco Bell?

Back in SF! (Featuring the Japanese wrestling team)

Tokyooo

Day 5: December 31:

Instead of falling down Alice's rabbit hole, we traveled to a sort of tunnel that was Fushimi Inari Taisha. At this shrine, yet again full with new year's travelers, we were able to walk along a path of torii (Japanese gates). Hundreds of these vermillion and black gates lined the trail up to various Shinto shrines.

The temple will be packed on New Year's day with pilgrims.

Each torii has unique characters written on it. 

To do a traditional prayer: 1) bow deeply 2) clap your hands twice 3) pray 4) bow deeply. Kitsunes (Japanese foxes) adorned many temples, as they were associated with Inari, a Shinto spirit, and acted as its messengers.

Women dressed in kimonos complete prayer ritual. 

In addition, a bus ride brought us to Arashiyama, a small town home to a bamboo forest. Major sightseeing points here included the forest, the Togetsukyo bridge, and Nonomiya Shrine.

Spot any pandas?

A pretty bridge. 

Green tea and soybean softserve!

To end the day, we explored Gion, home to the famed geisha street. Although I only spotted one powder-faced geisha, dressed in a pink kimono and carrying lanterns, the streets were still filled with men and women wearing traditional Japanese clothing! (Note: not all of the kimono wearing people were actually Japanese)

Dressing up in kimonos. 

Traditional Japanese architecture lines the cobblestoned street. 

Day 6: January 1:

Transportation was an integral and disciplined part of Japanese life, which we learned when riding the Shinkansen (a bullet train) from Kyoto to Tokyo. The journey only took a few hours, but before we finally found our seats, we had wandered from the first class section, to the reserved green cars, until finally we reached the unreserved section that the train conductor would not kick us out of.

A blurry of Mount Fuji on the train ride. 

A busy Tokyo train station. (There are janitors everywhere!)

Arriving in Tokyo felt similar to a movie scene where the protagonist would look with starry eyes and an open mouth at the sheer density of buildings, trains, and billboards. However, in our case, erase all of the people out of that scene. For arriving on new year's day meant that all the Tokyo-ians were inside at home with their families.

9th floor view of an empty street in Tokyo (Marunouchi)

Movie release poster for Kimi No Nawa!

Nonetheless, it was exciting to explore Tokyo's train station and once again look for food to eat.

Japanese cup noodle is way better

Day 2: December 27

The first thing you must do when you arrive in a foreign country is visit the science museum! At least that was what our family did... A brisk walk in the winter air brought us to a large futuristic spherical structure that was the planetarium of Nagoya's science museum

Photo op!

Although the exhibits were mainly in Japanese, science proved its universal nature as I actually recognized concepts from my chemistry, physics, biology, and math classes.

Periodic Table of locker storage

Digital media/interactive exhibits were also very popular. 

After a filling lunch of beef and rice, we visited the famous Atsuta Jingu Shrine. Since the near year was approaching, the temple was preparing for the large rush of pilgrims coming to say their prayers for a fortunate new year. 

Lunch :P

Prayers are written on slips of paper or wooden tablets. Many of them wish for luck, health, and happiness.

A water well allows visitors to cleanse themselves spiritually. 

An interesting measure taken by the Japanese: female-only cars during rush hour on the subway. 

 Day 3: December 28

The third day was a transition between Nagoya and Kyoto. By catching various local trains on the JR system, it was fun to view the Japanese countryside before arriving at our next apartment. This time, we were a few blocks away from the Kyoto tower.

Traditional Kyoto meal: salmon, rice, miso soup, steamed egg, yam, picked cucumber and fungus

The Kyoto tower at night.

Pour soup into the rice bowl and eat together!

Day 4: December 29

Instead of rice balls or noodles, we opted for a very traditional Japanese breakfast at McDonalds. We were on our way to visit Kinkakuji Temple, or the Golden Pavilion. The main attraction was a golden pagoda surrounded by a picturesque garden, and pond that reflected the shimmer of the gold metal-coated building. The secondary attraction was the crowd of tourists edging each other for the best selfie position in front of the World Heritage monument.

Morning jog to McDonalds

The Golden Pavilion

Tourists!!! 

Aside from the pavilion, the temple grounds included many good luck areas where people could toss coins or burn incense for good fortune. Or, a pretty good fortune could be amassed by the temple from all the tourists buying charms and souvenirs.

Steps to ensure a good year: light a candle, burn incense, write some scriptures, pray, rinse hair with smoke, repeat. 

In a different part of Kyoto, the Nishiki Market was fully packed with curious visitors and slightly annoyed locals who were trying to buy food for new year's celebrations. The open air market consisted of stalls on either side of a narrow alley, and vendors were selling things from mochi and fried octopus, to fresh sashimi and soybean donuts.

Tourists: "ooh take a picture" | Local: "Let me buy my dinner =.="

Pictured below is a soybean donut and matcha (a type of green tea) mochi