J-HOLIDAY DIARY 2014

30 MARCH

おひさしぶり　ですね！

I am in Tokyo again. Flight from Adelaide to Changi was thankfully uneventful. I had an 8 hour stop-over and managed to get 2 hours sleep in the airport lounge. Changi to Haneda also uneventful. Watched a terrible movie called Elysium.

シンガポルガールたちは　ぜったい　ほそい　です。　でも、　うつくしい。

Arrived Haneda at 3:40pm. Customs clearance was very quick. Caught the monorail to Hamamatsucho and the JR connection to Ueno Station. Walk to hotel was only 5 minutes. Very quick and I actually checked in to the hotel at 5:15pm. Very tired !

31 MARCH

Hello to you all ! Today was sunny. The hotel reception said the sakura had been out for 2 days. I thought it would be a good idea to take a trip to Shinjuku-Gyoen for a picnic, so I bought a delicious bento from LAWSON. The park was very busy. Mostly family picnics, cute office girl picnics, grannies, tourists, middle aged men with telephoto lens cameras hiding behind bushes. When you enter the park they check your bags for alcohol, which is banned.

I sat down on the grass and ate my lunch. It was not quite warm enough for T-shirts because of a cool breeze. The grass was not quite green enough because of dead grass clippings. It was very nice. After that I wandered around and took some photos.

In the evening I went to my favourite maid cafe in Akihabara. Fua-chan was still there. All the other maids were new faces to me. It was fun and safe. I ate gyoza, yaki-soba and "love 'reaming parfait". I drank highball and gari-gari kun. Umi-chan was in the cafe as a customer and I sat next to her. I gave her an Australian coin as a souvenir. At the end of the evening two small maids stood on the stage crying.........they were graduating. It was very delightful. I had some chekis taken with the cute maids.

1 APRIL

This morning I took a short walk from my hotel to Ueno Koen. On the way I bought another delicious LAWSON bento. Ueno Koen was very crowded with hanami people. There must have been three times as many people here than at Shinjuku Gyoen. I took a lot of photos. The park is not exactly picturesque, a lot of concrete paths, but it is interesting. There is a small fairground for children and a small zoo. There were about 1000 people queuing to get in the zoo, there are pandas. Someone offered me sake but I refused.

In the evening I went to Akihabara. First I went to into AZONE to buy underwear for Minoko, but they didn't have her size. After this  I went into SEGA and spent money on the UFO catchers. I got a Shinku wall-hanging and a Suiginto wall-hanging. They are rival Gothic dolls in the anime Rozen Maiden. The premise of the anime is that dolls must fight each other and the eventual winner turns into a real girl. It is called the "Alice Game".

After this I went into Maidreamin' to see Mariru-chan. She is extremely beautiful. In the cafe I talked with a customer called Mo-kun. I met him before on previous visits to Tokyo. They had a new menu. with teddy-bear themed food.....two rice teddies lying together covered in a blanket of omelette; pancakes cut into the shape of teddies; hamburger cut into the shape of teddies; teddy parfait etc. Mariru-chan danced and lip-synced to an AKB48 song called "Fortune Cookie in Love". It is my favourite AKB48 song. Very cute.

 

2 APRIL

こんにちは！お元気ですか。 先生、メール　ありがとうございました、ブログ　コメント
ありがとうございました。　今日、電車で、長谷　に　行きました。 長谷　に　行く　途中で
極楽寺　に　行きました。 極楽寺　から、歩いて、長谷　に　いきました。
極楽寺　から　長谷　まで、歩いて、二十分　ぐらい　かかりました。
長谷で、お寺　に　神社　と　見に行きました。 たくさん　写真　を　とりました。
見て　ください。 あとで、電車　に　のって、江ノ島　に　行きました。
江ノ島の島で、ながい　散歩　を　しました。二時間　ずっと　あるきました。
途中で、　おいしい　snack　を　買いました。snack　は　sea-thing-on-a-stick.
江ノ島の島で、たくさん　写真　を　とりました。見て　ください。
五時　ごご、ホテル　に　着きました。ぜったい　クタクタ　を　しました。
ところで、　長谷寺で、monkのカフェ　に　行きました。
カフェで、　fluffy饅頭　と　カーレライス　を　食べました。おいしかった。

It is far too late to go out so I will pop over to LAWSON for yummy snacks.

3 APRIL

Today it rained constantly. It started as drizzle and ended as heavy rain. The forecast is rain till at least Friday. Needless to say I did not do any cherry-blossom viewing today.

I went to Ikebukuro to buy some pencils in Tokyu Hands. They sell some amazing stuff in this store. I will have to be strict otherwise I will end up spending a lot of money in this store on gadgets etc. After this I went into Sunshine City to see some fish. In the centre stage they had a dance competition with small girls and some not so small girls. Photos and video cameras were forbidden.

I bought a set ticket for the aquarium and planetarium. Either the planetarium projector is not in focus or I need my eyes tested again. The aquarium was entertaining for me as I am fond of fish. By the way, I did go into a restaurant in Sunshine City. I was feeling physically a bit run down so I needed to eat veggies. The Japanese restaurants and western style restaurants were mainly meat themed, so I ate in a Chinese restaurant.

From Ikebukuro I took a short train ride to Nakano Broadway, but the weather was so bad that I didn't stay long. After this I went back to the hotel, had a bath and did my laundry. The rain was quite heavy by now, and this was the second evening in a row I did not go out. I bought food at LAWSON.

  

 

4 APRIL

Last night there was a thunder storm with hail and heavy rain. However, this morning it was dry but not so sunny. I decided to take a river cruise from Asakusa to Odaiba.

浅草　で　川船　に　乗りました。　浅草　から　お台場　に　行きました。
途中　で　日の出　に　いきました。　川船　は　おそかった。
川　から　おもしろい　たてもの　と　さくあら　が　見られました。
そして、　TOKYO SKYTREE　が　みました。　とても　すばらし　かった。
川船　に　乗ったら、　かぜ　が　しずか　です。気持ち！
お台場　で、　おもしろい　博物館　に　行きました。

　

Odaiba is a fun place mostly geared towards females with lots of  franchise stores. I went to the Tokyo Trick Art Museum. You look with your camera rather than with one eye closed. You can take fun pictures. There is a lot of themed shopping areas in Odaiba. One place is set up like a seaside arcade with stalls selling trinkets etc. There is a "lucky box shop". There are tubs with boxes of various sizes wrapped in plain paper. The boxes may contain an ipod or PSP etc but mostly contain worthless souvenirs. You pay 300 yen per box and try your luck. Fun!

  

　

　　
　

 

5 APRIL

Hello again. Today the weather was not so bad after all. I went to 代々木公園. It was Saturday and there were too many people: families, office girls, tourists, brooding "gorgeous boys" with cans of beer trying to look like rock stars.  I ate something on a stick that looked like a sausage but it was wobbly and made of an unspecified substance. From here I went to Nakano Broadway and bought a pair of panties for Minoko. They probably cost as much as real girl underwear.

Later in the evening I went to Heaven's Gate maid cafe in Akihabara. One maid is called "Ice" and another maid is called "Sugar". I drew a picture of Pinkie Pie. It has started to rain outside. Never mind.

 

6 APRIL

This morning I went to the flea market in Akihabara. The only thing I bought was a handbag for Minoko that cost 1400円. The weather did not look so bad so I decided to go to Mount Takao via the Chou Line train. However, when I got to Takao it was overcast, drizzling and cold. I went into a small restaurant to escape the weather and eat. While I was in the restaurant it actually started to snow. The shop girl called it something else but it looked like snow to me. Anyway, I ate soba broth with wild vegetables, which were actually quite tame and friendly. Soon it stopped "snowing", but continued to rain. After eating the delicious meal I caught the chair-lift. It was cold and miserable. At the top of the chair-lift it started to "snow" again, also with rain. It was very damp and cold so I gave up and walked down the hill to warm up. I caught the train back to my hotel. I also caught a cold and have a sore throat. I am staying in the hotel tonight as I need to get a good sleep.There is a flyer in the hotel lobby for a robot restaurant.

7 APRIL

This morning it was sunny. I took the opportunity to take a trip to Hakone to see Mt Fuji.

今日は　いい　お天気　だった　ので、　箱根　に　行きました。
／^o^＼ﾌｯｼﾞｯｻｰﾝ　を　見たいん　ですが、　箱根　ROPEWAY　に　行きました。
まず、　東京駅　で　とかいどセン　に　乗った。　小田原駅　を　おりました。
小田原駅　で、　箱根とざんせん　に　乗った。　ごうら駅　を　おりました。
箱根とざんせんの電車は　とても　おもしろかった！
箱根ゆもと駅　から　ごうら駅　まで、電車は　zigzag　ありました。
ごうら駅　で、　SOUNZANのcablecar　に　乗りました。
あとで、　HAKONEのropeway　に　乗りました。
SOUNZAN　から　HAKONEのropeway　で　LAKE　ASHI　に　行った。
途中で、　おわくだに　に　行きました。　とても　おもしろかった！
おわくだに　から　／^o^＼ﾌｯｼﾞｯｻｰﾝ　が　見られました。
ぜったい　うつくしい！　見て　ください。 おわくだに　で、
BOILING　sulphur　pit　を　見たり、　カレnoodle　を　たべたり、
／^o^＼ﾌｯｼﾞｯｻｰﾝ　を　みたり、　おみやげ　を　買ったり　しました。
ひる、　LAKE　ASHI　で、にせpirateship　を　乗りました。
たくさん　写真　を　とりました。　見て　ください。
今日は　とても　たいへん　ですが　おもしろかった。

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8 APRIL

こんばんは！お元気？ 先生、　ブログのcomment　ありがとうございました
今日は　いい　お天気　だった　ので、❀見を　しました。
まず、地下鉄で　九段下駅　に　行きました。
そこから、　歩いて　千鳥ヶ淵　に　行きました。 

千鳥ヶ淵 is a very popular ❀ 見 spot in Tokyo. There are many cherry trees. There are parks and passes, so you can enjoy cherry blossoms from anywhere you like. 

とても　きれい！　たくさん　写真を　撮りました。　見て　ください。

あとで、　Imperial　Palace　Garden　で、　花見を　しました。

今日は　あたたかかった。 (^o^)
 

9 APRIL

Today was warm and dry but not quite so sunny. I was still a bit under the weather so I was not up for any excitement. In the morning I caught the Chuo Line train to Kichijoji. From there I walked a short distance to Inokashira Park to see the cherry blossoms and giant swans (small joke).  Actually, there were in fact giant goldfish in the lake. I paid 400円 to go in. All they had were ducks. After this I took the train and subway to Asakusa and walked the short distance to Sumida Park. The cherry blossom is starting to fall like snow.

10 APRIL

This morning I convinced myself I was feeling better, so I went to Akihabara. But in fact I was not feeling so great after all. Anyway, I went into a maid cafe for a few hours and ate cucumber salad, curry-rice, french toast, and drank cold tea and melon soda.

11 APRIL

こんにちは！Today is Friday. I took a trip to Nikko to see the famous shrines and temples. Nikko is about two hours north of Tokyo by train. I still have a cold even after seven days, but it is not so terribly bad now. I have never, ever had a cold for this long before.

 

12 APRIL

こんにちは。お元気ですか。 今日土曜です。どこでも　こんでいて　すぐ　ので、　
TRIP　を　しませんでした。 そして、　ちょっと　あたま　が　がんがん　いました。(つд⊂)
ひる　で　秋葉原　に　いきました。　買い物を　しました。でも、何も　買いませんでして。　

　
　　

13 APRIL

Hello. Today I went to Mt Takao (again). I am feeling a lot better but cannot shake off this stuffy head. About 9:30am I caught the train go to Takaosanguchi Station. I then walked the short distance to the cable-car but it was very busy and most people seemed to prefer to walk the whole way, so I also said "why not". It was a very steep trail for about 3 kilometres. I was sweating but breathing in cold air. Not very comfortable. However, お年寄り seemed to manage it quite easily. Along the way to the top there are many shrines and temples etc to take photos of. Also food stall and a small monkey zoo. I ate something weird on a stick. It was black and sticky and may have been taro or something. It was a bit like overcooked Yorkshire pudding. As usual Mt Fuji could not bee seen from the summit. There were many people here having picnics. Apart from the small chance of seeing Mt Fuji there is nothing much at the top. The interesting things are on the way up or down.

14 APRIL

おはようございます！お元気ですか。 今日のお天気は　あたたかかったです。

(||´Д｀)の薬　だった　ので、　ねむかった。 池袋　に　行きました。　
ショーピングを　しました。　おもしろかった。 TOKYU　HANDS　で　NEKOBUKURO　
o(^･x･^)o　に　いきました。 かわいそうな　o(^･x･^)o

15 APRIL

Hello. I am much better now, really. Today I went to Tokyo Skytree near Asakusa . It is supposed to be the second tallest structure in the world. The sky was a bit too hazy for good photos. You can just about make out ／^o^＼ in one of the photos I have posted. The top observation deck is very high up at 450 metres and even Tokyo Tower looks tiny.

After this I went to Odaiba amusement island (it was still morning). I didn't want to wait for the ferry so I caught the train to Shinbashi then by monorail. I went into Madame Tussaud's wax works. It was fun. I took photos of some fake AKB48 members: Aachan, Mayuyu and Yukochan. Also some ham actors. After this I went back to my hotel and watched some of the Blade-runner trial on TV and then fell asleep. When I woke it was too late to go out.

16 APRIL

こおにちは！　お元気ですか。　今日は　水曜日。
今朝　地下鉄で　新宿御苑　に　行きました。　しずかだった。
桜の❀は　が　終わりませんでした。　写真を　とりました。
ほかに　おもしろい　何も　ことを　しませんでした。
明日　横浜　に　行きたい。

17 APRIL

Today I went to Akihabara. I went into the AKB48 souvenir shop. They mainly sold overpriced badges and coasters. I also went into Heaven's Gate maid-cafe. One of the cool looking young male customers talked to me. He was born in 1999.

18 APRIL

こんにちは。　お元気ですか。今朝　早く　おきました。
江ノ島　に　行きたいん。　六時半　ホテルを　出ました。
外は　ポツポツ　だったので、　ホテルの傘　に　持って行きました。
まず、東京で　とかいどせん電車　に　乗りました。　藤沢駅　を　降りました。
つぎ、藤沢で　江ノ電　に　乗りました。
んねん、お天気は　良くなかった。　曇り　全体　は　雨と　でした。
そして、寒く　かぜがつよかった。　だから、　ちょっと　時間が　行った。
その時　こんで　いませんでした。　写真を　みて　ください。

After that I thought I might go to the Ramen Museum in Yokohama. However, by the time I got to Yokohama Station I was somewhat unenthusiastic so I stayed on the train until Tokyo. When I got to Ueno I thought I might wander over to the small zoo, so that is what I did. However, it started to rain again so I switched directions back to my hotel. It was still only 11:30am. I had a nice nap until about 2:30pm. It had stopped raining so I walked the short distance to Ueno Park and went to the zoo. You can take pictures of animals taking a poo, relieving themselves against a concrete wall, and repetitively pacing back and forth, which may or may not be natural behaviour?  In Ueno Park a man folded his tie neatly on the concrete and took a photo of it, which also may or may not be natural behaviour? In the evening I went to see Rinna in the maid cafe. She is a cute Chinese maid. It was too quiet to be busy, and too busy to be quiet.

  

     

19 APRIL

Hello. Early this morning I checked out of my hotel. I left my suitcase in the hotel lobby while I did some sightseeing. I walked to Ueno Koen. All the cherry blossom was gone. After this I took the Yamanote Line train from Ueno to Yurakucho. For fun I went anticlockwise, which is the long way around. When I got out at Yurakucho I walked to the Washita shop and bought some stuff. After this I went to Akihabara. I bought some badges of Umeda Ayaka in the AKB48 shop. In the afternoon I walked my suitcase from the hotel to Ueno Keisei Station and took the Skyliner to Narita. I bought a few snack souvenirs etc. Then I flew back to Australia.

 

  

  

 

J-BLOG 12th November 2014

Hello. I am on holiday in Japan (again).I have been in Japan for 3 days. It is either warm or cool. I am wearing a T-shirt. I have tried about 10 times to log into my blogsite with 10 different passwords. I finally have got in but I forgot which password I used. I am sure if I use more wrong passwords it will lock me out for good. Nevermind.

Anyway, I left Adelaide on Sunday morning and arrived in Narita early Sunday evening via HK transit. I got to the hotel about 10:00pm, which was good timing as I was tired and fell asleep after half unpacking my suitcase.

On Monday I went to Shinjuku Gyoen to get fresh air. I did not really expect to see much red momiji and my expectations were realised. However, there was one tree turning red, see photo attached below plus other slightly less interesting photos.

In the evening I went to Heaven's Gate and ate cucumber, fried octopus and caesar salad. I asked one small maid called "Cheshire" where her hometown was and she said "Wonderland". I should have guessed - Cheshire cat - Alice in Wonderland. I asked her if they had fairies in Wonderland and she said no. 

 　

On Monday it rained but it was not cold. I was a bit deflated so I mooched around on a train for an hour. In the early evening I went into Akihabara to buy a doll's wig at A-Zone but they have closed down. The only other doll shop I know of is in Nakano. I went into Maidreamin' in front of the train station cafe to see Mariru先生. A maid called Ria was having a birthday party. She said she was 12 years old (a common maid joke). After the cafe officially closed they had free cake, free maid-champagne and maid worshipping. One maid was crouched down in the corner of the cafe crying. It may have been tears of joy. One customer was crouched down in his chair unconscious. He may have been drunk.

This morning, as I am writing this blog, it is raining. I will not go outside exploring, but I will go inside exploring, probably to Ramen Museum or Sanrio Puroland or Nakano or Sunshine City. Tomorrow I got to Osaka. 

 

　   　　

J-BLOG 17th November 2014

Hello. I have been away from Tokyo for past week so haven't been able to write a blog. Here is an update with photos.

Wednesday 12th November........

Took a 3 hour train ride to nowhere in particular. Then went to Nakano Broadway to buy doll's clothes in Parabox. Unfortunately they were closed.

Thursday 13th November........

Took 3 hour shinkansen to Osaka. Arrived at hotel (eventually) about 2:00pm and slept till 9:00am the following morning.

Friday 14th November........

Went to Minoh Park to see momiji and waterfall, see photos below. Did not go out in the evening but ate Lawson food.

Saturday 15th November........

Went to Namba and had a look around the shops.

Sunday 16th November........

Took shinkansen to Kyoto. Slept until next morning.

Monday 17th November........

Walked from Hotel at JR to Kyoto Temple. Arrived before 9:00am but it was already busy. Walked back to JR and took train to Nara to see cute deer and giant Buddha, see photos.

J-BLOG 21st November 2014

Hello. Sorry for brevity of blogs but I am having some technical issues with posting and composing etc.

Tuesday 18th November to Thursday 20th November........

Went to Hiroshima and Miyajima. Lots of school children on excursions to Peace Park to see Sasaki Sadako 'shrine' and A-Bomb Peace Museum. See photos including photo of Sadako in her coffin, very poignant. Lots of deer in Miyajima, sometimes a nuisance, eating woman's coat and maps. They also try and sneak into restaurants (deer not women that is).