recap of trip to japan

Finally time for my thoughts on japan and and summary of my trip. First of all, I couldn't have a better tour guide! Being able to speak japanese definitely helped me experience more of japan than if I were on my own (plus he's just so cute :) ). We were there right during the peak of Cherry blossom season, which made everything so beautiful. On top of that, there was hardly a cloud in the sky the whole time and only rained once on a travel day, so it didn't even matter that much.

I guess rather than fully describe where I went I will just try to briefly summarize the sights.

In Tokyo

• Meiji Shrine
• Harajuku-Really cool hip area with neat stores.
• Yasukuni Shrine-loads of cherry blossoms. Had food stalls set up all along major walks. Accross the street was a park with even more cherry blossoms. There were hoards of students there for the beginning of their semester ceremony...we were probably the only white people there.
  
• Shibuya crossing- the busiest crossing in the world, a 5 way scramble crossing. Starbucks has a prime realestate looking over the crossing, but didn't allow pictures. (I got one anyway though!)

• Yanaka-a suburban feeling, calmer area of tokyo. Had a pedestrian only street market where I tried this awsome meat bun (don't know what it was called)
• Akihabra-anime district with lots of arcades
• Odaiba-man made island. Big ferris wheel, fuji televeision building and a toyota car exposition. Sat in a 129,000 lexus!
• View from top of government building-Tokyo is so sprawling!
• Tea at the Park Hyatt. Not the same as the Penninsula, although the tea was really good!
• Imperial palace
• Mount Fuji! Saw it from the train to Kyoto. We got the rare chance to see it clearly--it was so clear that even the japanese were taking pictures!
• Had sushi for about the 3rd time in my life. I couldn't leave japan without having sushi! It was really good though! I would definitely have it again, although I don't know if sushi in the US can live up to it....
  

We went on a whirlwind day trip to Kyoto. One should really spend a few days in Kyoto, but we saw most of the major sites in a day. Kyoto is much more historic than Tokyo, as it was the old capital and was spared during the bombings of WWII.

• Kyomizu Shrine-more cherry blossoms and pretty buildings.
  
• Sanjusangendo- Japans longest wooden building filled with 1001 lifesized statures of Kannons. No pictures allowed inside, but the gardens around were beautiful
• Heian Shrine- Cherry blossom overload!
• Golden Pavillion
  
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We spent the last part of the trip in Kanazawa, a small historic town in Western Japan.

• Higashi Chaya District-A geisha district. Although we didnt' se any geishas walking around, we got a feeling for old japan. This area had a lot of cool businesses and shops
• Temples galore! There were multiple temple districts in Kanazawa. Literally, you would turn a corner and there would be a temple only about 50 feet in front of you. They were also so peaceful and no one else was really there.
• Kenrouken Garden-Considered one of the best gardens in Japan and it definitely live up to that!
• Kanazawa Castle
• Ninja Temple-A temple where the king could come and pray, but protected by ninjas! Looked like it was only 2 floors from the outside, but was actually 4! All sorts of trap doors and secret rooms. I felt like if I wasn't careful, a ninja might come and attack me!
• Yamanaka onsen- a day trip from kanazawa. Soaked our feet in natural hot springs (really hot! 43 degrees celsius=110 degrees F). We planned on going in the actual bath, but worried we wouldn't be able to stand the heat!
  
• Walk along the river in Yamanaka onsen, famous for its bridges.
• Had the best gyoza ever! This place has been making gyoza for over 100 years. and it showed!

Japan has a much different feel than Hong Kong. It seems that the people of Japan are heavily committed to their culture, whether it is the women in kimonos, the bowing, family life, or relationships between men and women. A big part of Japan is the salarymen culture. Basically business men in any other city, but there is a whole mindset associated with it. Japanese are just as fashionable as people in HK, but take even greater risks. Some of the outfits were just completely ridiculous, on girls especially! I tried to take candid shots of people, but didn't work out too well.

Japan is also quite expensive, at least compared to other Asian countries and Hong Kong. For example, a ride on the train costs between $1.10 and $3.00, while in Hong Kong the train is usually less than $1, almost always less than $3.

Tokyo is so sprawling, while Hong Kong is very dense. In Hong Kong, there are so many high rises, but in Tokyo most people seem to live in houses. The majority of apartment complexes seemed to be less than 10 stories. The train system is representative of that. It is very extensive, but so complicated! (the picture below is just one of the train systems! there are different systems with different maps!)I'm going to miss the japanese toilets. Heated seats, sprayers, music. Definitely the most technologically advanced things in many places! I'll also miss the udon, gyoza and yakatori. I'll also miss my tour guide!