Tokyo Walkies

 We arrived in Tokyo by midday, so we decided to visit the Imperial Palace after checking into our hotel. Alas, it was shut for the New Year. Bummer. However, this meant we could wholeheartedly devote our entire Tokyo leg to window shopping and atmosphere-soaking. 

We tootled off to Asakusa and the Sensoji Temple.

The massive paper lantern at Sensoji

The beautiful Dempoin temple gardens, right next to Sensoji, which no one seems to talk about, but is SO much prettier and SO much more tranquil

 The Asakusa area is the very heart of the tourist population, and it comes a very close second to Dadar station at peak hours. The temple itself was beautiful, and we tried to catch a glimpse of the main hall and the Pagoda. This being one of the oldest and the most significant in Tokyo, we knew that it would be near-impossible to get in after the New Year. The Baa-lamb, of course, had had its fill of temples; however, the lure of the best matcha ice cream in Tokyo close to the temple was enough temptation for him to tag along. 

Guess what- that was closed too (Matela ice cream), but we didn't realise that until after the Sensoji visit, so while that put a damper on the Baa-Lamb's spirit, we were absolutely fine with it. Towards evening, we headed out to Akihabara - the electronic beat of Tokyo. 

The army of stormtroopers with Vader

Godzilla!

While this held little appeal for me, I can understand why Manga and Anime fans could go into sensory overload here. Turns out child 2 wasn't immune to its charms either and ended up picking up a Pokémon plushie for an arm and a leg. We headed back to our hotel for a much-deserved R&R to recharge our batteries for Day 2.  

The last day of 2024. Not that it slowed us down. The intrepid Arunkumar family. We were up bright and early to head over to Team Labs Tokyo for an unforgettable experience. I must say, it did not disappoint. 

the light exhibit

This was one of my favourite exhibits 
in the water section

The garden exhibit

The exhibits were divided into the outdoors, garden and water sections, and my favourite by far was the water section. I could easily see myself spending the entire day here, and only the temptation of a hot bowl of Ramen lured me out of there. Next on the agenda - Takeshita street, which is full of: 1. Tourists 2.Pet cafes 3. Street Fashion 4. Thrift Shops in that order. 

Crowded, but totally fun!

The many pet cafes along the street with the cutest little piggies!

On the way there, was the entire row of designer labels at Omotesandō Dori - fabulous window display and even more fabulous prices. We then headed back to our hotel, all shopped out (at the thrift stores, people, not at the designer stores), just so we could rest up for the night's revelries. 

The Louis Vuitton x Murakami Cafe

I absolutely loved the bit of greenery atop the Dior showroom - and to those of my architecture friends who have in the past accused me of bias against glass facades- this  I love! 

In our wisdom, we decided to bring in the New Year at the most crowded place we could think of- Shibuya Crossing. This, despite newspapers and social media repeatedly informing us that there would be no activities there, except for the police directing traffic. Still, when has the Arunkumar clan done anything that sounds remotely logical on holiday? Optimistically, we arrive at Shibuya crossing at half nine. While we were wondering how we were going to spend 3-odd hours in the biting cold wandering the streets of Shibuya, we spotted a Nightcub still allowing last-minute entries and which looked halfway decent, as far as nightclubs go. Its biggest selling point was the fact that it was out of the cold. Plus, it seemed to have a large-ish dance floor and some fairly decent music. 

A very disciplined Shibuya crossing- before New Year's

Child 2's first night club experience

And thus it was, that child 2 had her first taste of a night club - with her mum and dad in tow! The Baa-Lamb and I were by far the oldest folks here by a mile. Not that that stopped us from embarrassing our offspring by taking to the dancefloor with gay abandon. It was close to midnight when we decided to make our way to Shibuya Crossing in the hopes of encountering a raging street party. We didn't account for the fact that we were in Japan. There wasn't. What we got instead was a group of cops determinedly managing the foot and vehicular traffic with enviable efficiency. 

A bunch of random strangers wishing you a Happy New Year

The countdown happened sagely along the sidelines and all we got was a Mexican Wave of cheer that ran down the crowds. And an arduous struggle to get back home through closures, crazy crowds, sudden detours and more chilling examples of Japanese efficiency by the cops. We finally got back at half-two, exhausted, but satisfied that we'd had the whole New-Year-in-a-big-city experience. Do I want to do it again? Not in a million years. thanks. 

A series of suggestions left by other
tourists on places to visit

This simple painting of melons...

... and the poem it's based on. 

locations for smoking and toilets

I'm going to skip straight to the third day of the New Year, where both Child 2 and I decided to stay back in Tokyo while the spouse decided to make a trip to snowier climes by rail. We started our day with a leisurely trip to the Asakusa Culture Tourist Information Centre -it affords a great view of the surrounding areas from the observation deck. I loved the exhibition space, which had Child 2 at her goofiest best.

The still-crowded streets leading to Sensoji

 

Met a few strange characters on the street

You've got to love the signange

The Asahi flame and Tokyo Skytree. The Asahi flame also goes by another name. Can you guess what it is? 

How about now? Yeah, that's the famous ' Golden turd'

We always approve of anime pennants

Child 2 wanted to check which palm print 
fit her best. I think she found one. 

Sumida river promenade

The very cool graphics on this vending machine.

We then walked all around Shibuya, window shopping to our hearts' content (without the impatient tsk-tsking of the baa-lamb) with some amazing street food options. We also happened to meet some of the friendliest folks on the streets who were willing to drop everything they were doing to help us with everything from helpful directions to measuring how tall child 2 has grown in the 3 days since the new year began. We walked slowly along the banks of the

This really friendly gent, who was returning from
a marathon but stopped to help measure child2
and give us helpful directions.

Sumida River (it was a pretty sunny day) for views of the Asahi Flame and the Tokyo Skytree. 

We ended the day with a trip to our local Shawarma shop that was manned by a desi, where we caught up with Baa Lamb (who was caught in a snowstorm and had to cut his trip short).

Somehow, Tokyo felt like a city where you'd never have enough days, and you would always discover something new with each trip. 

Hajimemashite FujiSan

 Another early start to the day (the Japanese work ethic must really be rubbing off on us) saw us heading to Hakone, the Mt. Fuji—or Fujisan region of the country. 

Imagine getting people excited about drain covers. 
Yup, with each new region, I'm actually looking forward
to discovering what the drain covers in the region 
would look like. 

Hakone is known for its scenic beauty, so we decided to hop on the Hakone Tozan train for the ride. This involved a bus journey, a ferry, a couple of cable cars to the top and a funicular back to the bottom, followed by a train ride back to the station. 

The freezing ferry ride across Lake Ashi to the first cable car.
We were supposed to have our first glimpse of FujiSan from the ferry,
but I didn't even bother peeking. Too cold. 

First stop, Ubako station.
Child 2 decided to flop down and
read for a bit. I understood completely.
I just wish I had the good sense 
to carry a book, too. 

Sulfur fumes are visible on the mountainside 

from Ubako.

Our first glimpse of Fujsan from the cable car

Clear views from Owakudani

The very beautiful Fujisan. It was a lovely day too, blue skies
and sunny. 

All thoroughly enjoyable, beautiful and very, very touristy. However, this time, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. The region has some of the most volatile mountains on the planet and they've found a way to make it interesting and approachable, and that is really commendable. Coming from a country that's indescribably beautiful, but frustratingly inaccessible in spots, you tend to appreciate all the more. 

There were enough and more folks waiting in queue to try the famous Owakudani black eggs (which were just regular boiled eggs, but the shell turns black because the water contains sulphur and iron). A bit pricey and too much effort for something that (to me) adds nothing to the taste. 

Each of the stops had a different stamp

The mountain at the back of each is Fuji san

The relative position of the ropeway to Fuji
in height.

This was the cogwheel 

We did, however, find a lack of places we could explore on our own and finished the day relatively early, prepping ourselves for the last leg of the journey, commencing the following day. 

A final farewell from the Hakone train to Mt Fuji

Kyotosaka Jam

 Boxing Day 2024. We've just left Hiroshima to catch a JR train to Kyoto. We'd heard that's the cultural capital of Japan. Apparently, the whole world and their sisters got the memo. Kyoto was by far the most touristy city we'd visited thus far, and it looked like the entire student population of Korea, China, and Japan had descended en masse to enjoy the holidays. Still, we're from India. Forget avoiding the crowds. We are the crowds. 

Kyoto station vista

Kyoto station - huge, self-contained and beautiful. 

As usual, we only stopped long enough at the hotel to drop our bags off before heading to the Bamboo Grove. Lovely place, but oh-so-touristy! We had people queuing up for Arabica coffee and matcha tea like it was the last cup for the foreseeable future. The few temples that were in the vicinity didn't particularly spark any sense of awe or wonder. 

Bamboo grove

One of the temple complexes at bamboo grove

pretty winter vistas- bamboo grove

Matcha ice cream

Tourists flocking to the bamboo grove

We took it relatively easy on the day since we'd had a pretty punishing schedule since we'd arrived. We did, however, decide to visit the Fushimi Inari Taisha shrine later in the day, we were told it would be much less crowded in the evenings, and the lights in the evenings were said to be beautiful. 

The shrine at night

The Torii Gates at the shrine

The play of light across the toriis

Not only were the lights beautiful, it was also far less crowded; we'd successfully avoided intrepid Instagrammers, posing endlessly in front of the thousands of vermilion toriis, and we got to experience the temple in all its serenity. 

The following day, we decided to skip the originally planned trip to Nara in favour of spending a couple of days in Osaka. The Osaka Amazing Pass was great for our 2-day exploration of the city. Our first stop was the Umeda Sky building to experience 360 degrees of the city on a clear day (and what a beautifully clear day it was!). The observatory was 140 metres up and we could see clear to the mountains. 

View from one side of the Umeda Sky Building

The Observatory. Can you spot me? 

Me.

Also in the sky tower, we caught a special art exhibition by contemporary Japanese artist Koji Kenutani Tenku. It was brilliant and immersive, and I loved the use of mixed media and vibrant colours in his work to depict his message. 

An angel in New York

Kenutani Cafe

We then travelled halfway across town to what appeared to be the heart of Kitsch Osaka to slide down the exterior of a building. Such fun. 

Osaka kitsch

Tsukenkaku tower

But that's not all you can do at Tsutenkaku Tower. You can also do the dive and walk- which essentially lets you do just that - walk around the top of the tower, tethered to ropes where you could choose, if you so desire, to 'hang out' and then dive (admittedly a very short distance, about 40 metres or so) off the tower. If you're anything like our thrill-seeking family, this is a must-do! 

The walk was rather fun

Another traipse halfway across town (in the other direction, this time)  saw us at Osaka Castle, a 16th-century edifice built by a warlord- Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and steeped in a very turbulent history (which is beautifully explained within the castle). The many floors of the castle house costumes, artefacts and historical dioramas. 

The Osaka castle

The castle pictured on the drain cover

A war diorama

We also took a very forgettable sunset ride around the castle moat. lasted all of 20 minutes and could've been wrapped up in 6. We ended the day at a lovely local joint at Osaka station, where Rahul, our friendly Nepali server, hooked us up with some excellent, authentic Japanese grub before crashing at our Kyoto hotel. 

Osaka cityscape from a Ferris Wheel.

The restaurant at Osaka station with excellent grub. Ask for Rahul. No. Don't say it. I know you're thinking it, but don't.  

We had every intention of heading back to Osaka the next morning, but not before we were up at the crack of dawn to cover two famous temples in Kyoto- Kiyomizu Dera and the Kinkakuji temple. The Kiyomizu Dera temple is over 1200 years old and halfway up Mt. Otowa - so if you're using public transport, be prepared for a short uphill trek. There's a fair bit of uphill walking within the temple complex as well, but the view of the city laid out before you makes it worthwhile.  

Sai-Mon or the west gate

City lights from the temple

One of the massive chandeliers in the main hall

The main hall, built on the steep cliff

The Kinkakuji temple, or the golden pavilion had the upper two stories covered in gold leaf, and is achingly beautiful to behold. It's not just the temple, but the setting of the temple, in the grounds, surrounded by water that makes it special. 

The pavilion in its picture-postcard setting

Another view

...and another

...and another. I couldn't stop. 

This temple wasn't purpose-built, but a retirement villa that was converted to a Zen temple, and that could explain why there is so much emphasis on aesthetics here. Most tourists come here to get their pictures clicked (understandable), but that makes the entire complex treated towards the tourist trade. The lettering of your name/ fortune in red ink (for a fee) and vendors selling everything from keychains to wasabi peanuts (admittedly, the wasabi peanuts were very good). 

Anyhoo, a quick trip to pick up a snoozing child 2 later, we were back in Osaka, at the pier, which, considering it was the weekend, and the holidays, and in close proximity to Legoland, Disneyland and the aquarium, was heaving with children. We gave ALL of these a wide berth and hopped on the Tempozan ferris wheel to take in the city views. This was apparently the largest ferris wheel in Asia and had helpful stickers on the glass pointing out all the key landmarks of the city. What a fun way to get your bearings, eh? 

The Tempozan Ferris Wheel

The Santa Maria

The Santa Maria cruise along the Osaka provided another perspective but we all but froze our faces off in the cold. We planned to head to the Osaka Botanical Gardens a bit later in the evening, but we had a bit of time to kill, so we decided to take in the Osaka Figure museum, and boy was I glad we did. 

The traditional Kaiyodo

...with pop culture references

It started with each of us receiving a gacha toy (included in the ticket price) - and then we came across room upon room of Kaiyodo figurines. The beautifully crafted, detailed figurines from various genres, from Star Wars to Japanese Mythology, were a collector's wildest dream come true. One could spend hours wandering the exhibits and marvelling at the perfection. We didn't realise how long we spent here until we happened to glance at the watch and realise we were running late for our Team Labs interactive exhibits at Nagai Botanical Gardens. 

This one was inspired by the movement of birds in the wind on a giant sculpture. The movement in the sculpture will stop if birds and insects do not fly around the garden. 

Lines radiating across the Nagai Satoyama forest.
Each person walking across the forest creates
a brand new set of lines that intersperse with 
the previously formed lines, creating ripples

Floating, reasoning lamps on Oike Lake.
The light and sound of one lamp resonates with
nearby lamps, spreading the light.

Resonating microcosms in the common camellia garden. 
These orbs are reflective during the day and radiate with light at night. 

Autonomous orbs in the eucalyptus park.
When you touch these orbs, they change colour and resonate with a particular frequency of sound

Despite it being bitterly cold with biting winds, it was one of the most enjoyable hours we'd ever spent in any garden at night. All the artworks on display were inspired by the trees and birds that live in the garden. Creating an interactive light and sound experience integrating nature into it was absolutely magical, and we couldn't have asked for a better finale to this leg of our journey. While Kyoto is considered the more beautiful of the two cities, Osaka has an undeniable energy all of its own and perfectly juxtaposes the old-world charm of Kyoto. A perfect Kyotosaka Jam.