Tokyo (Oshiage) - May/June 2018

Photo album

Monday 28th June

Mariko had booked a hotel in Oshiage, adjacent to the SkyTree, which had the advantage of having a direct train from Haneda. It took us a bit of practice to work out the correct exits though. We checked in to our very snug room, admired the SkyTree-shaped water bottles, and then out to get our bearings. First up we made sure we knew where the Skytree bus terminal was - important for our plans for the next day. We walked along the canal, admiring the public art, then past the Asahi buildings ("oh, it's a flame"), to Asakusa. We called into the Tourist Information Centre which was a little sparse but we still picked up a few ideas for the week. A quick look at Nakamise Street but we veered across to the shopping mall. We called into the taiko shop and had a good look around, but we were a little too late in the day for the museum. Another item on the list for next time.

We continued on our walk to Akihabara; I was rather surprised that the streets seemed to have very light traffic throughout most of this week, apart from sections of our bus journey. Mariko found an Animate store, and we also had a good look through BicCamera.

We looked around for somewhere nice for dinner and found a great restaurant with a fantastic view back over Akihabara's neon signs (and the derelict Manseibashi station). I also worked out we were just a few blocks downriver from the music instrument district I'd explored in 2011. Afterwards we took the train back.

Tuesday

DisneySea day! We took the 8am bus from SkyTree to the park and got stuck in to a fun day out. We had a go on most of main rides, although the Tower of Terror and Journey to the Centre of the Earth rides were not operating. We had a queue of 45 minutes for the Indiana Jones ride, and maybe 20 minutes for Finding Nemo (even with a FastPass). All the rides were good fun, especially Toy Story; but weren't quite as high-adrenaline as other parks - I got to loop-the-loop on Raging Spirits while Mariko sat that one out, meaning I could take advantage of the Single Rider queue and skipped the 30 minute wait. Big Band Beat was a fantastic show; I noted that they changed the lyrics for "Cheek to Cheek" from "gambler's lucky streak" to "dancer's lucky streak"; I was particularly impressed by the drummer who was doing some fantastic solos while wearing a full Mickey Mouse costume. Weird that they still had an Easter Parade show though...

All of the cast and staff were amazing in maintaining joyful vibes, we weren't sure we'd have the stamina to be able to smile so much! As it was, our energy levels started to wane in the late afternoon so we headed back to Oshiage. Mariko introduced me to another new style of dining in the SkyTree complex: monjayaki, where ingredients and sauces are combined and cooked on a hotplate at the table; we then scoop morsels straight from the pan and eat them.

We managed to catch some of the French Open tennis on the TV in our room during this week; Naomi Osaka and Kei Nishikori were getting some prime-time coverage.

Wednesday

We took the train to Shinjuku, and walked along endless tunnels to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building to enjoy the free observation deck - it's become a ritual on my visits to Tokyo. And, as per usual, it was very grey and hazy. The Sumitomo Building next door seemed to be undergoing renovations, and I'm not sure whether their observation deck was operating.

We headed back to Shinjuku for a coffee, and then had a bit of a wander around the shops, particularly Tokyu Hands, then through all the connected department stores, down to Subnade (I didn't go for a foot massage this time), and other retail streets. It didn't take too long before we were both ready to escape the craziness, and jumped on the train to Mitaka, bought a picnic lunch, and walked down to Inokashira Park. It was refreshingly peaceful, with just a few walkers, joggers and tennis players, and one girl doing some quite demonstrative choreography in the middle of the sports field. We walked around part of the lake, getting some Miyazaki-style inspiration, and again managing to resist the allure of the swan boats.

It was time for the day's main attraction, a visit to the Ghibli Museum. It was very exciting to get an insight into these fantastical animation films, although it was often a challenge with the crowds. Photos were not permitted inside, but it was amazing to see one visitor getting around this by rapidly sketching one of the rooms in incredible detail. I'm not as much of a Ghibli fan as some, but it's definitely worth a visit, and we're keeping an eye out for news about the Ghibli theme park.

We proceeded to Shibuya, crossing at the scramble intersection, and catching a brief glimpse of the Hachiko statue while trying to avoid the rain. We had dinner at Genki Sushi which had a very nifty sushi train delivery system and apparently I ate some raw horse; and then Mariko took great pleasure in introducing me to the local Don Quijote department store.

We also ducked into a pharmacy, and Mariko was tempted to buy an umbrella for ¥200, but I suggested that if we needed one, we could borrow it from the hotel.

Thursday

It was looking like it might rain, so asked the hotel if we could borrow an umbrella. They said no, we'd have to buy one for ¥500... so we did... We ended up barely using it and it wouldn't fit into our luggage. We went for a coffee in SkyTree Town and I was fascinated by the brewing process which was siphon style, with the water heated in a bulb, boiling up through the coffee grounds, then filtered back down into the bulb.

We took the train to Yokohama station, and after a bit of a search (it's a big station!) we found the meeting point for our rendezvous with Mariko's father, and his sister. It was great to meet them! We went back on the train to Minaromirai station, then they took us up Japan's fastest elevator to see the views from Landmark Tower - although it was even greyer than the previous day - but this meant we received a free coffee in compensation. We were treated to a yummy Chinese lunch, and then had a lot of fun posing in improbable settings in the "Trick Art Cruise". We then proceeded to the Second Dock, Red Brick Warehouses, past the Visitor Information Centre and Elephant Nose Breakwater, to Osanbashi Pier - all familiar, and plenty of nostalgia from my previous visits.

We took a slight detour to the Sister City Plaza so I could show the others the plaque commemorating the Port of Melbourne, and I was perplexed and slightly disappointed that all the plaques had been replaced by new, very minimalist ones. I did a quick bit of searching through my photo archive which confirmed that we were in the right place, but I really felt a bit ripped off.

Mariko's dad was treating us to a dinner cruise, and we headed out along Osanbashi to enjoy the views, and a cuppa. We exchanged some gifts, with Mariko and I finally parting company with some very well-travelled jars of honey. I saw the Royal Wing ship which I'd recalled being alongside, hosting a wedding, when I was at the same pier in 2015. It dawned on us that that's where we'd be having our dinner - exciting! It was all very elegant and refined, taking us on a slow loop around Tokyo Bay. We ventured out to have a look around the ship and discovered a few dozen school kids were having the time of their lives on the next deck and up top; Mariko translated them for me: "ships are THE BEST!". It was a lovely evening. On the way back to the station, a Japanese guy jogged past us and I noticed he was wearing an "I ♥ Melbourne" T-shirt - but I was too slow to react. A few minutes later I saw him completing a subsequent circuit of his course, and we gave him a rousing cheer as he passed us.

Friday

It was a gorgeous spring morning. After going through the routine of reloading our travel cards, which had become a daily event, we again took advantage of the direct connections from Oshiage, taking the subway train that then heads on to Zushi. (First, sushi train, then Zushi train!) I was imagining a nice quiet day amongst the hills and temples, but we were joined by half the school population of Kanto.

Mariko's fitness tracker had been somewhat of a motivator during our trip, and our explorations were measured in numbers of steps and equivalent flights of stairs climbed. Incidentally, we noted that many railway stations had directions on which side of the stairs were for going up and down, but these were rarely consistent; I suggested it might be to do with which direction the turns would take us during an ascent or descent. On our final full day, Mariko had found a walk that started off from Kita-Kamakura station, so after grabbing some breakfast (and noting an upcoming ukulele show), we set off through the forests. We passed many school groups, and all the students were having a great time and happy to exchange greetings. We visited the Giant Buddha and had a look inside. Then on to Hasedera Temple - there were large crowds at both, and we were glad to be on foot as the traffic was very jammed up.

We took the local train from Hase to Enoshima station - although it seemed more of a tram at times; at one station, the last carriage hangs out over an intersection, and for a while the train line goes up the centre of a street. We walked over the bridge to Enoshima itself, running the gauntlet of the big crowds in the main street, and taking the forest trail up and back from the summit. We avoided the loop path because it looked like it was just the way to the escalator - must try it next time.

We went up the Sea Candle, bouyed by the thick odour of the varnish being applied around the ground floor decking - amazing views over the Shonan region, I was really hoping to see Mt Fuji but there were just too many clouds in that direction. Back on the mainland I couldn't resist having a quick wade in Sagami Bay; not quite brave enough to join the few other swimmers.

We turned for home, and our next mode of transport was a bit unusual: a suspended monorail, taking us back to the main line. It's a great approach to the tricky terrain and existing development, but it gave quite a bouncy ride.

Back at Oshiage, I ducked out to grab a quick afternoon tea, and discovered that the small hill adjacent to our hotel was a multi-level bicycle parking area. We then walked the couple of kilometres to Kinshicho, had a nice dinner (quietly admiring the litre-plus beer that the adjacent table ordered!), and stocked up on all things that we didn't realise we needed from Daiso. It was raining quite a bit so we took the train back and got started on packing.

Saturday

We checked out, abandoning our purchased umbrella. We decided to have a nice relaxing day and so after having breakfast at the Solamachi food court, we caught the Yurikamome to Odaiba. We walked around the shore and through Shiokaze Park - there were quite a few people enjoying the non-swimming beach, playing volleyball, walking their ubiquitous minuscule dogs, and BBQing. We had a bit of lunch at a shopping centre, entertained by an aspiring J-pop star launching her new single in the adjacent space. We were puzzled by the number of people wearing Tshirts that said "My Hair Is Bad"; it turns out it is the name of a band that were performing that afternoon. We had a look at the Toyota Showcase, which was kind of interesting, then our final point of interest was the Miyazaki Big Clock.

We collected our bags and again were able to enjoy a direct train to Narita from Oshiage - it's a really good hub to consider if you're not worried about using a JR Pass. At the airport we farewelled our sturdy mobile WiFi gadget and posted it back - we'd consumed just over 10GB in 22 days, well within our 25GB plan. It'd been a really handy part of the trip, although it had meant that each evening we went through a bit of a routine of recharging all our devices and backup batteries, and I'd had to ration my use a couple of times to preserve power. I enjoyed a final Hokkaido soft serve just before boarding, and then we were on our way home. Arigatou Gozaimasu, Japan, hope to see you again soon!

Huge thanks to everyone who helped out with our trip, and massive thanks to Mariko for being a fantastic travel buddy and altogether awesome!


Next time:
Maybe go-karting, Tsukiji Market, a Sanrio store (though we did get to Smile Road in New Chitose airport), Shinkansen, Nikon museum