Hakone.

We left Tokyo for a day and a half to head over to Hakone, a picturesque mountain town. It was absolutely gorgeous there, despite the fact that it was incredibly rainy.



We walked around downtown for some lunch. Hakone is also famous for its kamaboko (fishcake).


We walked up a steep hill to our hotel. Of course, I was the one trailing behind. I hate hills. But the views made it worth it.


A zoomed in view of the kanji for "big" (ookii) on the mountain across from where we were.


The hotel rooms and baths were awesome. Our group pretty much took over the hotel. I don't think there were any other guests staying there that night. It kind of reminded me of The Shining -- us being all isolated like that. Except without the hauntedness and the crazy Jack Nicholson and creepy twins.


The view from our room.


And the view from the lobby.


It's a getaway location for not just us gaijin, but for the people of Japan.

Akihabara and Shibuya.

I walked around Akihabara and all I could think was, "My father, uncle, and boyfriend would really enjoy this." There are so many gadgets and computer things and newfangled machines. No wonder they call it "Electric Town."


Yodabashi Camera is a 6-floor department store that has everything under the sun. Including these capsule toy dispensers.


Cha, this one's for you!


Yeah, I could probably spend a full day in this store alone.




We also visited Shibuya, where there exists an iconic crossing.

We're about to participate:


It kind of looks like we're about to run into a huge mob of Japanese people.

The statue of Hachiko, the legendary Akita dog who came to Shibuya station everyday to greet his master, even after he passed away.

Behind..

I'm about a week and a half behind. I have several more posts on Tokyo, but have since left and have been in Yoron Island for about a week. The beaches here are beautiful, the people are friendly, and the bugs are abundant and huge. There's so much to tell, and so little time. It's difficult to get access to internet, so my posts are pretty sporadic (obviously). But still more to come on Tokyo. I'm headed back to Tokyo in a few days to stay there until I head back home!

Tokyo bus tour.

The half-day bus tour was on one of the rainiest days of the trip thus far. Our tour guide was a endearing older man with a dry sense of humor. He talked about how KFC's Colonel Sanders has become somewhat of an iconic character in Japan, more so than Ronald McDonald (and I believe it -- I think I saw a comedy show where one of the characters dressed up like Colonel Sanders). Then he said he wished he had maybe "10 percent" of Colonol Sanders' success, but "when you're older, it's not so easy." And then he laughed to himself. It was awkward.


We stopped at Tokyo Tower, built in the 1950s as a TV broadcast tower supporting a giant antenna. Sorry I don't have better photos of the actual tower.


Views of Tokyo from inside the observatory.




On clear days, you can apparently see Mt. Fuji in the distance. Since it was so cloudy, I still have no pictures of Mt. Fuji.

There are look-down windows that were creepy because I am afraid of heights.


On the way out, I took a picture with this guy. And I hugged him. I have no idea what he was.


The next stop was Tokyo Imperial Palace Plaza. It started pouring and I was not dressed properly. But I was able to borrow an umbrella.



The statue of General Masashige Kusunoki.


Next we visited Sensoji/Asakusa Kannon Temple. There was a marketplace with lots of shops that I didn't get a chance to explore because I was really cold by that time.




Afterwards I changed into pants.

Backtracking: Nishiki Market.

I forgot to write about Nishiki Market, which was back in Kyoto. Read my post on Food Blahg here.

Harajuku.

We're in Tokyo now. This morning we visited the Harajuku district before our bus tour.




It was pretty early in the morning, so I didn't have many opportunities to take pictures of the locals. Although they probably get a lot requests for photos from foreigners..

Hiroshima and Miyajima.

We took the Shinkansen to Hiroshima the other day (behind again!)


We arrived at just about lunch time, in search for some "Hiroshima-style" okonomiyaki, which I guess means they stuff it more with cabbage and bean sprouts. There is a whole floor here dedicated to okonomiyaki restaurants.


It, too, was delicious.

Next: the Hiroshima Peace Memorial. We breezed through this museum -- somewhat of a challenge because I got pretty emotional at one point. Many of the images and artifacts were sad and disheartening. Outside, you can see how much the city has grown from the ashes, though the "atomic dome" is left as a reminder.


Afterwards, we took a ferry to Miyajima, an island famous for its beautiful shrine that sits out in the middle of the ocean -- when the tide is in, that is.

Here, there are deer that run rampant.


Itsukushima Shrine:


And I didn't even get boat sick.