December 10, 2008
Undead Panda, pretty please
Wow, the bathtub just started playing music and talking, to announce that it was at the right temperature. Go Japan.
More interesting facts about Japan
- Well, the singing bathtub is pretty interesting
- Due to the smaller meal sizes and healthy nature of Japanese food, I have already lost something close to a kilo. Japanese food is nice ^^. There will be a separate post describing different types, what I have eaten etc.
- This is less a fact than a warning, and the warning is about creepy people. Today, I accumulated no less than 2 stalkers. One of them approached me on the steps of a temple. The following conversation occured. ‘(In Japanese) It’s hot today, isn’t… oh (upon seeing my face, he switches to English) Hello, how are you? Where are you from? Looking at Ueno park today? I will follow you.’ Clare: *Hurries away* I thought I had lost him , but later he walked by me again, staring and leering. The second man happened to be sitting down near me when I sat to write down, of all things, a draft for this blog post. He started to stare at me, continued to do so, and then disappeared. He then mysteriously appeared in front of me and, standing slightly to my right, he stood and continued to stare at me. These incidences were both, naturally, rather unnerving. Oh and there was a guy on a train with his phone camera aimed directly at me, but that may have just been me being paranoid.
This slightly detracted from my day trip to UENO, specifically Ueno park, which houses many museums, temples, shrines and art galleries and even has a music hall (said to have perfect acoustics) and a Zoo.
Places to go:
- Ueno Zoo: The main attraction of this Zoo was the giant Pandas, but as I bought my ticket I noticed a small sign announcing that the Zoo no longer housed pandas, which saddened me.
Though the Pandas are dead, it seems the merchandise must go on
Apparently the last one they had had died. But, being a fan of animals, I walked around anyway and saw a bird that looked very close to my image of a Jabberwocky.
Do you see it too?
There were also 2 hippos lying in the sun, napping, with the dopiest grins on their faces.
N'aww
Also, I bought a chameleon hand puppet, the significance of which is lost on anyone who has not watched Hanayoridango.
- Ueno Museum of Western Art: Pretty and well laid out, and houses a number of Renaissance era paintings and some Impressionists.
In the front area of the Museum of Western Art
- Ueno National Museum: I did not go there today because of the very long queue but the queue, and other sources, suggest that it is worth looking at. Get there EARLY or face queuing with a bunch of people that will make you feel very very tall and conspicuous.
- Walking along ‘Doubutsuen dori’ (Zoo road) you will come across a number of shrines and temples. The shrines are generally marked by large red ‘torii’, tall gateways/entrances. My picks? Go to Toshogu and Bentendo. Toshogu is, in a word, amazing, though my view may be biased by my love for the Tokugawa period. This shrine was built for Tokugawa Ieyasu’s spirit. Though entry into the grounds
Taken from the grounds of Toshogu
is free, for 200 yen you may enter inside the shrine . and by may I mean MUST. The inside contains a number of artworks and other things from the Tokugawa period (my personal favourite was an old map of Japan, engraved on a round slab of stone). The bulding itself has beautfiul ornate carvings around the edge of the ceilings. The outside of the building is surrounded by a pebble garden, looked after by an old man in a robe wielding a homemade broom.
Toshogu: unaltered since the Tokugawa period.
Bentendo is a temple for Benten, a patron goddess to the arts. It is surrounded by a lake which, in spring and summer, comes to life with beautiful lotus flowers. You can rent a rowboat or paddleboat and go out onto the lake, though you will need a few friends to accompany and assist. While walking between these two places, you will find a shrine, the entrance of which is a tunnel of torii. This makes for both an interesting walk and an interesting photo.
Shrine entrance with Torii
NEW segment: Things you must try
- Japanese bath
- Japanese tempura
- Tachgui soba/udon (literally: stand and eat noodles)
- Ride the Yamanote train line the whole way round; this train stops at all the major hubs of Tokyo, so you can look at the various parts. It is a circular line, so you can rest assured that you won’t end up somewhere crazy.
- Ramen. Find a nice place, sit and eat.
- Japanese sweets are unique, unusual, and utterly delicious. They centre around red bean paste and black sesame, as well as custard type things and sweet biscuits. I found a Rice Bran kit kat today; you will notice that kit kat has a number of special, Only in Japan flavours like Cherry Blossom, Rice bran and green tea even
- Cold tea is delicious in any form, grab some from your friendly local vending machine.
- Dango.
The food items will be explained in tomorrow’s edition: Japanese food, how and what to eat.
That’s all for now; tomorrow will not be very eventful but on Friday I will be going to HARAJUKU; teen fashion capital of Japan.
Good night folks
