Wednesday 28th April
This is really the last word, I promise.
I thought I should mention the sensational value that we got from our JR passess. We purchased the 'all regions' passes for 14 days at a cost of about Australian $600.00 each. The cost of the shinkansen journeys that we made during the 14 days would have been $840.00 each if paid for individually, so we more than recouped the cost just on those trips. In addition to the shinkansen, we made a number of long distance trips on express or limited express trains as well as many small local trips within the cities. These trips would have totalled a few hundred dollars more, so we really got great value from the passes. JR passes cannot be purchased in Japan. They are only for temporary visitors and the 'exchange order' for the pass must be purchased in the country of residence before departure. The exchange order is then swapped for the actual pass after arrival in Japan.
Travelling with a pass is so easy - we just flashed the pass at the staff on the gates and they waved us through. For the longer trips, including the shinkansen, we were able to go to the booking office a day or two before the trip and booked seats in advance (no cost to do this).
THE END
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Summary of Scooter Trip
Wednesday 28th April
During the scooter part of our holiday we covered about 850km in 12 days. This allowed an easy-going pace with plenty of time to stop off for rests and sightseeing along the way.
John rode a Honda Spacy 100cc 4-stroke scooter and I rode a Suzuki Address 100cc 2-stroke. Both scooters performed well and didn't give us any trouble except for the time when we expected them to go up an almost vertical road on the first day. The Address needed a bit of a firm hand and got there in the end. Most of the time we were riding on fairly flat or more gently sloping terrain and the scooters handled that very well.
Most of the roads that we travelled on, even though they were highways, had a speed limit of 50kph, or 60kph at the most, so we didn't have the worry of speedy vehicles blasting us off the road. People who want to get somewhere in a hurry use the expressways where little scooties aren't permitted to travel. The Japanese are very considerate drivers and we've already noticed how rude and pushy Australian drivers are in comparison.
We were a bit slack about keeping records of the fuel costs as they were so minimal. Both scooters used regular fuel which cost about 130-140 yen per litre, which at the current exchange rate is about $1.50 - $1.60 (Australian dollars). The Address used one small can of 2-stroke oil for the journey.
The scooters were hired from a business in Osaka called "Asit". We asked Mr Tanaka, the proprietor, where the name came from and he said that it doesn't mean anything, he just chose a name that would be listed at the beginning in the telephone directory.
The hire costs were as follows:
2 scooters 33600 yen $392.00
2 locks 600 yen $ 7.00
2 helmets 3000 yen $ 35.00
2 top boxes 4000 yen $ 46.70
1 portable GPS 1800 yen $ 21.00
Insurance 2600 yen $ 30.35
2 x deposits 60000 yen $700.00 (refunded in full)
The hire company's details are:
ASIT, 1-7-1 Nakazaki, Kita-ku, 530-0015 Osaka
Phone +81 6 63771110
http://http//www.asit.co.jp/rent/English/English.htm
The website is a little tricky to follow as it has been machine translated. Online translators don't cope very well with Japanese to English, but the prices and contact details are all there.
Our route was as follows:
Day 1: Osaka to Nara (via Route 308, an old road which now has little use)
Day 2: Nara to Otsu
Day 3: Otsu to Kyoto
Day 4: Kyoto to Hikone
Day 5: Hikone to Ano (near Obama)
Day 6: Ano to Amanohashidate
Day 7: Amanohashidate to Toyouka
Day 8: Toyouka to Himeji
Day 9: Himeji
Day 10: Himeji to Kobe
Day 11: Kobe to Osaka
Day 12: Returned scooters
Overall, the scooter trip was great. The one day that was cold and rainy, when we nearly froze off our extremeties, was really unpleasant, but one day out of 12 was better than we might have expected. The scooters allowed us to go to places and experience things that the average tourist can't manage due to transport restraints.
If we do return to Japan in the future, we'd both be happy to use Mr Tanaka's service again.
During the scooter part of our holiday we covered about 850km in 12 days. This allowed an easy-going pace with plenty of time to stop off for rests and sightseeing along the way.
John rode a Honda Spacy 100cc 4-stroke scooter and I rode a Suzuki Address 100cc 2-stroke. Both scooters performed well and didn't give us any trouble except for the time when we expected them to go up an almost vertical road on the first day. The Address needed a bit of a firm hand and got there in the end. Most of the time we were riding on fairly flat or more gently sloping terrain and the scooters handled that very well.
Most of the roads that we travelled on, even though they were highways, had a speed limit of 50kph, or 60kph at the most, so we didn't have the worry of speedy vehicles blasting us off the road. People who want to get somewhere in a hurry use the expressways where little scooties aren't permitted to travel. The Japanese are very considerate drivers and we've already noticed how rude and pushy Australian drivers are in comparison.
We were a bit slack about keeping records of the fuel costs as they were so minimal. Both scooters used regular fuel which cost about 130-140 yen per litre, which at the current exchange rate is about $1.50 - $1.60 (Australian dollars). The Address used one small can of 2-stroke oil for the journey.
The scooters were hired from a business in Osaka called "Asit". We asked Mr Tanaka, the proprietor, where the name came from and he said that it doesn't mean anything, he just chose a name that would be listed at the beginning in the telephone directory.
The hire costs were as follows:
2 scooters 33600 yen $392.00
2 locks 600 yen $ 7.00
2 helmets 3000 yen $ 35.00
2 top boxes 4000 yen $ 46.70
1 portable GPS 1800 yen $ 21.00
Insurance 2600 yen $ 30.35
2 x deposits 60000 yen $700.00 (refunded in full)
The hire company's details are:
ASIT, 1-7-1 Nakazaki, Kita-ku, 530-0015 Osaka
Phone +81 6 63771110
http://http//www.asit.co.jp/rent/English/English.htm
The website is a little tricky to follow as it has been machine translated. Online translators don't cope very well with Japanese to English, but the prices and contact details are all there.
Our route was as follows:
Day 1: Osaka to Nara (via Route 308, an old road which now has little use)
Day 2: Nara to Otsu
Day 3: Otsu to Kyoto
Day 4: Kyoto to Hikone
Day 5: Hikone to Ano (near Obama)
Day 6: Ano to Amanohashidate
Day 7: Amanohashidate to Toyouka
Day 8: Toyouka to Himeji
Day 9: Himeji
Day 10: Himeji to Kobe
Day 11: Kobe to Osaka
Day 12: Returned scooters
Overall, the scooter trip was great. The one day that was cold and rainy, when we nearly froze off our extremeties, was really unpleasant, but one day out of 12 was better than we might have expected. The scooters allowed us to go to places and experience things that the average tourist can't manage due to transport restraints.
If we do return to Japan in the future, we'd both be happy to use Mr Tanaka's service again.
We're back!
Wednesday 28th April
Well, it's all over :-(
My theory about staying awake so I'd sleep from Kuala Lumpur to Adelaide turned out to be unsuccessful. I already knew that I can't sleep on planes, so I don't know what I was thinking. By the time I remembered that I had sleeping pills in my bag, it was too late to take one. Our flight was delayed slightly, so arrived a little later in Adelaide than expected, but our dear friend Colin turned up as promised to bring us home. Marie (our friend who looked after the house) left it in a cleaner, tidier state than it's ever been in and it was lovely to walk in through the door and not see our usual mess and clutter!
Everything seems so very quiet here - which is just what we need after such a full-on month. There really is no place like home, but I'd be happy to go back to Japan anytime. The whole trip was a real blast. We came in well under budget, so the next holiday fund is already underway.
Here is a list of the things I'll miss about Japan:
Well, it's all over :-(
My theory about staying awake so I'd sleep from Kuala Lumpur to Adelaide turned out to be unsuccessful. I already knew that I can't sleep on planes, so I don't know what I was thinking. By the time I remembered that I had sleeping pills in my bag, it was too late to take one. Our flight was delayed slightly, so arrived a little later in Adelaide than expected, but our dear friend Colin turned up as promised to bring us home. Marie (our friend who looked after the house) left it in a cleaner, tidier state than it's ever been in and it was lovely to walk in through the door and not see our usual mess and clutter!
Everything seems so very quiet here - which is just what we need after such a full-on month. There really is no place like home, but I'd be happy to go back to Japan anytime. The whole trip was a real blast. We came in well under budget, so the next holiday fund is already underway.
Here is a list of the things I'll miss about Japan:
- Warm toilet seats
- The huge variety of food choices
- The uncluttered life of travelling
- Polite ATMs that say "Thank you, we hope we can serve you again"
- Super-convenient public transport
- Vending machines in every nook and cranny
- Genuine customer service
- The multitudes of fashion queens
- Calpis soda
- 100yen stores
- Pedestrian crossings that make bird sounds
- Talking elevators
- Talking emergency vehicles (I don't know what they were saying, but it was probably something like "Please excuse me, I need to get to the hospital rather urgently. I hope you will forgive my intrusion")
- The lovely friendly, polite and helpful people
This won't be the last blog after all, as I'm going to post a summary of the scooter part of the trip, but for those who aren't really interested in such details, sayonara. Thanks for all the comments that we've received along the way. We hope you've enjoyed travelling with us.
Kate & John xxMonday, April 26, 2010
Greetings from steamy Kuala Lumpur
Monday 26th April
We were up and at 'em bright and early today to have a quick breakfast and jump on the shuttle bus to the airport. We had a bit more of a shop at the airport (sorry everyone, not in the Gucci shop or anything remotely like it). We eventually got on the plane and had a very 'good fright' to Kuala Lumpur. I made a big effort to stay awake, in the hope that I'll sleep on the second leg of the journey. I watched 'The lovely bones', followed by 'Sherlock Holmes' and then a bit of 'Toy Story 2' (this one in Japanese, which was interesting!). John watched something else, which I can't remember, but I'm sure he enjoyed it whatever it was. He also took a few good photos from t
window to remind us of the final stages of our adventure. I had to battle the eyelids, but made it to Kuala Lumpur without snoozing. At the airport I made a very feeble attempt to do some of my homework, but I'm too tired and there's too much going on. I'll tell my teacher that the dog ate it. If I tell her that in Japanese, I'm sure she'll forgive me. We were pleased to discover that the Hotel within the airport allows non-checked-in guests to have a shower (for a fee) so that's what we're about to do. It's very hot and sticky in the airport so a shower will be very welcome. The next post (the last post?) will be from Adelaide.
We were up and at 'em bright and early today to have a quick breakfast and jump on the shuttle bus to the airport. We had a bit more of a shop at the airport (sorry everyone, not in the Gucci shop or anything remotely like it). We eventually got on the plane and had a very 'good fright' to Kuala Lumpur. I made a big effort to stay awake, in the hope that I'll sleep on the second leg of the journey. I watched 'The lovely bones', followed by 'Sherlock Holmes' and then a bit of 'Toy Story 2' (this one in Japanese, which was interesting!). John watched something else, which I can't remember, but I'm sure he enjoyed it whatever it was. He also took a few good photos from t
window to remind us of the final stages of our adventure. I had to battle the eyelids, but made it to Kuala Lumpur without snoozing. At the airport I made a very feeble attempt to do some of my homework, but I'm too tired and there's too much going on. I'll tell my teacher that the dog ate it. If I tell her that in Japanese, I'm sure she'll forgive me. We were pleased to discover that the Hotel within the airport allows non-checked-in guests to have a shower (for a fee) so that's what we're about to do. It's very hot and sticky in the airport so a shower will be very welcome. The next post (the last post?) will be from Adelaide.Sunday, April 25, 2010
Our bags are packed, we're ready to go
Sunday 25th April
Well, here we are at the Narita Airport Hotel. I'm having a Sapporo Beer while I write and John is getting his last dose of Japanese television.
We had a bit of concern this morning. We logged into the Malaysia Airlines website to check our flights and found that there wasn't one coming up for Monday 26th April. Aaarrrgghh!! We tried to call the Japanese office of Malaysia Airlines, but got a 'call back later' message. I tracked down the Australian office and gave them a call. It was really strange to hear the Australian accent! Anyway, all is apparently well and the flight is going ahead as scheduled.
Crisis averted, we checked out and made our way to Harajuku. Harajuku is the place for fashionable girls to be on a Sunday. They come out in their droves to show off their latest fashions, including the 'cosplay' outfits. There were squillions of shops selling clothing, accessories and various knick-knacks, including a second-hand shop that sold everything for 700yen. We strolled the length of Takeshita Street (I kid you not!) and then back up again. We have almost perfected our precision pedestrian skills by merging into the human traffic and crossing over without bowling anyone over. We saw a number of shops with i
nteresting names. I can only put a couple of them here, but there were many more that made us smile. The banner above the ILL Store says "Extra Dope Wear Select Shop". (Who knows??) We finished off our Harajuku experience by buying a decadent crepe each. John's contained custard, slices of banana, caramel, whipped cream, a slice of cheesecake and ice cream, all wrapped up into a cone shape in a thin crepe. Mine wasn't quite so spectacular - it was just fresh strawberries and ice cream, but was really nice anyway.
Our next adventure was to Ebisu, which has the largest English-language bookshop in Japan. John had finished the book that he brought and wanted one for the flight home. When we came out of the railway station, we were uncertain about which way to go, so we asked at the little police box nearby. I'd been told that the police in these mini police stations can always be relied upon to give directions, but the largest English-language bookshop in Japan was beyond their knowledge. We took a punt and walked off down the street, only to be waylaid by a Subway store. We went in for a cup of tea and a Veggie Delight and when we came out, John looked a bit further down the road and saw a big sign that said 'BOOKS'. There it was, just around the corner and down the road a bit from the police box! We went in and found the science fiction section and John soon found a suitable book for 630 yen (around $7), which was considerably better than if we'd bought one at the airport.
We then went back to the hotel in Ikebukuro to collect our baggage. John noticed that the little pocket in the strap of his pack was unzipped and his mp3 player wasn't in its correct place. We checked around the floor where the baggage had been stored and asked at the desk about it, but it had disapeared. A little disappointed that our last day should end like that, we made our way to the railway station. As we were walking along, I had a sudden brainwave, and checked the little pocket in the strap of MY pack and felt a little rectangular shape. There it was, in my pack! Our apologies to whoever we were thinking badly of! At the station, we discovered that not only do Japanese people use their train journeys to catch up on their sleep, they can even do it while waiting for the train. The woman on the opposite platform was having a good snooze while standing on the platform!
We got onto the Narita Express train and had an 80 minute ride out to the airport. For the majority of the journey we saw kilometre after kilometre of tall buildings in all directions, but about 15 minutes out from the airport we started to see big areas of rice paddies. The hotel runs a free shuttle bus service between the airport and the hotel, so we had a 5 minute wait and were then driven to the hotel, where we had a pleasant surprise. The Toyoko Hotel chain has a loyalty points system which offers a free night for every 10 paid nights. Because we had accumulated 12 points, we were entitled to the price of a single room off the price of the double room which we had booked. Not only that, tonight was 'discount night', so the double room price was discounted, and then the price of a single room was taken off, which left us about $35.00 to pay for a night in the biggest hotel room we'd seen on the trip so far. Then the receptionist pointed out that dinner of curry and rice was included in the cost! All Toyoko Hotels also include a free breakfast, so our $35.00 bought us two dinners, two breakfasts and a big hotel room. We're a couple of pretty happy customers. (I'm even happier now as I've just finished downing my can of beer).
After checking in, we rang our friend Colin to make arrangements for him to collect us on Tuesday morning. We made a Skype call, and it was fun to be able to chat with Colin and see him as well. Before making the call, John couldn't find the little earphone that we use when making Skype calls, which has its own special pocket in John's pack - but this time we had a good idea of where to look - and there it was in my pack! It seems that our little gadgets are playing games with us.
Once we'd had our curry dinner, we went for a stroll to the local convenience store to buy ice creams and my can of beer, so we walked off a little bit more of our crepes but I still think I'll be needing to put a bit of effort into my flab when we get home. We then sorted out all our goodies and distributed them between our bags in readiness for the journey home. We'll have quite an early start tomorrow, but I'm hoping that this will mean that I can sleep during the night-time leg of the flight between Kuala Lumpur and home.
The trip has been a fantastic adventure with so many new experiences. To finish off our story, I'll write a bit of a summary once we get home. But for now, it's good night. xx
Well, here we are at the Narita Airport Hotel. I'm having a Sapporo Beer while I write and John is getting his last dose of Japanese television.
We had a bit of concern this morning. We logged into the Malaysia Airlines website to check our flights and found that there wasn't one coming up for Monday 26th April. Aaarrrgghh!! We tried to call the Japanese office of Malaysia Airlines, but got a 'call back later' message. I tracked down the Australian office and gave them a call. It was really strange to hear the Australian accent! Anyway, all is apparently well and the flight is going ahead as scheduled.
Crisis averted, we checked out and made our way to Harajuku. Harajuku is the place for fashionable girls to be on a Sunday. They come out in their droves to show off their latest fashions, including the 'cosplay' outfits. There were squillions of shops selling clothing, accessories and various knick-knacks, including a second-hand shop that sold everything for 700yen. We strolled the length of Takeshita Street (I kid you not!) and then back up again. We have almost perfected our precision pedestrian skills by merging into the human traffic and crossing over without bowling anyone over. We saw a number of shops with i
nteresting names. I can only put a couple of them here, but there were many more that made us smile. The banner above the ILL Store says "Extra Dope Wear Select Shop". (Who knows??) We finished off our Harajuku experience by buying a decadent crepe each. John's contained custard, slices of banana, caramel, whipped cream, a slice of cheesecake and ice cream, all wrapped up into a cone shape in a thin crepe. Mine wasn't quite so spectacular - it was just fresh strawberries and ice cream, but was really nice anyway.
Our next adventure was to Ebisu, which has the largest English-language bookshop in Japan. John had finished the book that he brought and wanted one for the flight home. When we came out of the railway station, we were uncertain about which way to go, so we asked at the little police box nearby. I'd been told that the police in these mini police stations can always be relied upon to give directions, but the largest English-language bookshop in Japan was beyond their knowledge. We took a punt and walked off down the street, only to be waylaid by a Subway store. We went in for a cup of tea and a Veggie Delight and when we came out, John looked a bit further down the road and saw a big sign that said 'BOOKS'. There it was, just around the corner and down the road a bit from the police box! We went in and found the science fiction section and John soon found a suitable book for 630 yen (around $7), which was considerably better than if we'd bought one at the airport.We then went back to the hotel in Ikebukuro to collect our baggage. John noticed that the little pocket in the strap of his pack was unzipped and his mp3 player wasn't in its correct place. We checked around the floor where the baggage had been stored and asked at the desk about it, but it had disapeared. A little disappointed that our last day should end like that, we made our way to the railway station. As we were walking along, I had a sudden brainwave, and checked the little pocket in the strap of MY pack and felt a little rectangular shape. There it was, in my pack! Our apologies to whoever we were thinking badly of! At the station, we discovered that not only do Japanese people use their train journeys to catch up on their sleep, they can even do it while waiting for the train. The woman on the opposite platform was having a good snooze while standing on the platform!
We got onto the Narita Express train and had an 80 minute ride out to the airport. For the majority of the journey we saw kilometre after kilometre of tall buildings in all directions, but about 15 minutes out from the airport we started to see big areas of rice paddies. The hotel runs a free shuttle bus service between the airport and the hotel, so we had a 5 minute wait and were then driven to the hotel, where we had a pleasant surprise. The Toyoko Hotel chain has a loyalty points system which offers a free night for every 10 paid nights. Because we had accumulated 12 points, we were entitled to the price of a single room off the price of the double room which we had booked. Not only that, tonight was 'discount night', so the double room price was discounted, and then the price of a single room was taken off, which left us about $35.00 to pay for a night in the biggest hotel room we'd seen on the trip so far. Then the receptionist pointed out that dinner of curry and rice was included in the cost! All Toyoko Hotels also include a free breakfast, so our $35.00 bought us two dinners, two breakfasts and a big hotel room. We're a couple of pretty happy customers. (I'm even happier now as I've just finished downing my can of beer).After checking in, we rang our friend Colin to make arrangements for him to collect us on Tuesday morning. We made a Skype call, and it was fun to be able to chat with Colin and see him as well. Before making the call, John couldn't find the little earphone that we use when making Skype calls, which has its own special pocket in John's pack - but this time we had a good idea of where to look - and there it was in my pack! It seems that our little gadgets are playing games with us.
Once we'd had our curry dinner, we went for a stroll to the local convenience store to buy ice creams and my can of beer, so we walked off a little bit more of our crepes but I still think I'll be needing to put a bit of effort into my flab when we get home. We then sorted out all our goodies and distributed them between our bags in readiness for the journey home. We'll have quite an early start tomorrow, but I'm hoping that this will mean that I can sleep during the night-time leg of the flight between Kuala Lumpur and home.
The trip has been a fantastic adventure with so many new experiences. To finish off our story, I'll write a bit of a summary once we get home. But for now, it's good night. xx
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Shop till you drop
Saturday 24th April
We started today by booking tomorrow's 'Narita Express' tickets to get to the hotel next to the airport. From there, we went to Akihabara. We had decided that if we were going to do some shopping, it would have to be somewhere less known than Shibuya and Shinjuku. I did some research on the Internet and found that there is a chain of discount stores called 'Don Quijote' (yes, that's how it's spelt). The stores are commonly know as 'Donki' and I found that there is one at Akihabara. Our main aim was to find a small bag which we could put our gifts and souvenirs into to bring home, as our baggage is now over the 5kg each limit for carry-on baggage. We were able find a decent bag at a Duty Free shop that we passed on the way to Donki. The shop also sold some very nice souvenirs, so we had a good time selecting some things for ourselves, family and friends. When we'd finished, we were given a free voucher for 1000 yen to spend, so we were able to go back for another round! We had fun browsing at Donki which is like our discount stores (Cheap as Chips, Neds, Cunninghams, etc.) but BIGGER (of course) and we picked up a couple of novelty items. We then got back onto the train and stopped off at Tokyo Station to look for a toy Shinkansen for my grandson Jake. I really didn't expect this to be a problem at the Tokyo Railway Station, but there seems to be a distinct lack of toy Shinkansens. Several places sold plastic Shinkansen tape measures, but I didn't think these would be of much interest to Jake
(not for a few years anyway). I finally found one at a kiosk which sold mainly snacks, drinks and newspapers. Then it was back on the train again to the Shimbashi Station. From here we changed to the new Yurikamome Line which runs a train service to an island in Tokyo Port. The journey over was a sightseeing experience in itself, with many futuristic looking buildings and interesting things to gaze upon. The railway station was anther example of the Japanese art of making the most of available space. It sit
s above t
he road in a suspended box with escalators to take passengers to the terminal. The island is the location of The Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation. We spent some time browsing there, but our legs were quite worn out so we probably didn't make the most of it. Maybe one day they'll develop technology to enable middle-aged tourists to walk around sightseeing all day without wearing out. John did manage to make a couple of new friends, though.
We made our way back to Ikebukuro and after a rest, decided to try a different direction for dinner. Just around the corner from the hotel we struck it lucky once again (yes, it was good and yes, it was cheap).
We had a bit of a sort out of our new purchases and discovered that they fill more than our new bag! Hopefully we'll be able to squish everything in somewhere.
Tonight is our last night at Ikebukuro. We then have one night at Narita and it's up, up and away.
We started today by booking tomorrow's 'Narita Express' tickets to get to the hotel next to the airport. From there, we went to Akihabara. We had decided that if we were going to do some shopping, it would have to be somewhere less known than Shibuya and Shinjuku. I did some research on the Internet and found that there is a chain of discount stores called 'Don Quijote' (yes, that's how it's spelt). The stores are commonly know as 'Donki' and I found that there is one at Akihabara. Our main aim was to find a small bag which we could put our gifts and souvenirs into to bring home, as our baggage is now over the 5kg each limit for carry-on baggage. We were able find a decent bag at a Duty Free shop that we passed on the way to Donki. The shop also sold some very nice souvenirs, so we had a good time selecting some things for ourselves, family and friends. When we'd finished, we were given a free voucher for 1000 yen to spend, so we were able to go back for another round! We had fun browsing at Donki which is like our discount stores (Cheap as Chips, Neds, Cunninghams, etc.) but BIGGER (of course) and we picked up a couple of novelty items. We then got back onto the train and stopped off at Tokyo Station to look for a toy Shinkansen for my grandson Jake. I really didn't expect this to be a problem at the Tokyo Railway Station, but there seems to be a distinct lack of toy Shinkansens. Several places sold plastic Shinkansen tape measures, but I didn't think these would be of much interest to Jake
(not for a few years anyway). I finally found one at a kiosk which sold mainly snacks, drinks and newspapers. Then it was back on the train again to the Shimbashi Station. From here we changed to the new Yurikamome Line which runs a train service to an island in Tokyo Port. The journey over was a sightseeing experience in itself, with many futuristic looking buildings and interesting things to gaze upon. The railway station was anther example of the Japanese art of making the most of available space. It sit
s above t
he road in a suspended box with escalators to take passengers to the terminal. The island is the location of The Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation. We spent some time browsing there, but our legs were quite worn out so we probably didn't make the most of it. Maybe one day they'll develop technology to enable middle-aged tourists to walk around sightseeing all day without wearing out. John did manage to make a couple of new friends, though.We made our way back to Ikebukuro and after a rest, decided to try a different direction for dinner. Just around the corner from the hotel we struck it lucky once again (yes, it was good and yes, it was cheap).
We had a bit of a sort out of our new purchases and discovered that they fill more than our new bag! Hopefully we'll be able to squish everything in somewhere.
Tonight is our last night at Ikebukuro. We then have one night at Narita and it's up, up and away.
Shagged out in Shibuya
Friday 23rd April
We started out the day by catching a train to the Mitaka Station. From there we had a pleasant 15 minute walk to the Ghibli Museum. Mitaka is a very nice area with larger houses and gardens than those usually found in these parts. Studio Ghibli is the company which has produced many animated films which have gained popularity outside of Japan including Kiki's Delivery Service, Spirited Away and My Neighbour Totoro. Most of the studio's films have been produced by Hiyao Miyazaki, who is the Executive Director of the Museum. There were many young children at the Museum and they were having a ball climbing all over the 'cat bus'. The cat bus was a character 
from the film My Neighbour Totoro. The Museum had some very interesting exhibits showing the processes involved in making an animated film, as well as a huge robot (from 'Castle in the Sky') on the roof. We also saw a new short animated film. The laughter of the group of young school children in the cinema was priceless! The Museum visit was something I had been looking forward to and I wasn't disappointed.From Mitaka we caught the train to Shibuya Station as we planned to do some shopping. I did the tourist thing by posing for a photo next to the statue of Hachiko, the faithful dog who waited at the station every day for his master to come home. I'm a bit lost for words about Shibuya. If we were there to buy Louis Vitton or Gucci products, we would have done very well, but we were only after a few souvenirs. Still, the sight of just another ordinary day in Shibuya was worth the time spent. Shibuya has an enormous intersection criss-crossed with pedestrian crossings. The lights for all the pedestrians change at the same time, so when the 'green 
man' appears a HUGE wave of people surges from the footpaths and swarms across the intersection. Then the cars get their turn, and by the time the pedestrian lights change again another huge crowd has accumulated ready for the next swarm. I can't imagine how these people can live here without going absolutely mad. Anyway, after browsing in a few shop windows, we realised that this wasn't going to be the place for a few souvenirs. Although we were quite tired by this time, we decided that we should visit Roppongi, which involved a change to the subway system. Roppongi turned out to be more of the same - noise, people and shops. There were more karaoke bars than I could have imagined, but we were a bit early for the night-life to have started. After walking around Roppongi for a while I had really had all I could take for one day, and we still had to get back to Ikebukuro, which involved going by subway back to Shinjuku, then changing to a JR train to Ikebukuro. John did his civic duty again by waking a man up when we reached the Shinjuku Station. The man had been snoozing with his head back and had been 
snoring loudly, much to the amusement of his fellow travellers. John made the assumption (correctly, as it turned out) that this man might have wanted to get off at Shinjuku as this is the station where many lines meet and transfers are made. John gave him a shake and said 'Shinjuku' and the man woke up and bounded out of his seat. You didn't know that John could speak Japanese, did you! Maybe Shinjuku is Japanese for "Wake up and change trains". We finally made it back to Ikebukuro Station and found a nice place for dinner (it's getting a bit monotonous saying how good and how cheap it is). By the time we dragged ourselves back to the hotel, I was ready to collapse in a heap. Which I did.
man' appears a HUGE wave of people surges from the footpaths and swarms across the intersection. Then the cars get their turn, and by the time the pedestrian lights change again another huge crowd has accumulated ready for the next swarm. I can't imagine how these people can live here without going absolutely mad. Anyway, after browsing in a few shop windows, we realised that this wasn't going to be the place for a few souvenirs. Although we were quite tired by this time, we decided that we should visit Roppongi, which involved a change to the subway system. Roppongi turned out to be more of the same - noise, people and shops. There were more karaoke bars than I could have imagined, but we were a bit early for the night-life to have started. After walking around Roppongi for a while I had really had all I could take for one day, and we still had to get back to Ikebukuro, which involved going by subway back to Shinjuku, then changing to a JR train to Ikebukuro. John did his civic duty again by waking a man up when we reached the Shinjuku Station. The man had been snoozing with his head back and had been 
snoring loudly, much to the amusement of his fellow travellers. John made the assumption (correctly, as it turned out) that this man might have wanted to get off at Shinjuku as this is the station where many lines meet and transfers are made. John gave him a shake and said 'Shinjuku' and the man woke up and bounded out of his seat. You didn't know that John could speak Japanese, did you! Maybe Shinjuku is Japanese for "Wake up and change trains". We finally made it back to Ikebukuro Station and found a nice place for dinner (it's getting a bit monotonous saying how good and how cheap it is). By the time we dragged ourselves back to the hotel, I was ready to collapse in a heap. Which I did.
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