Kanto Trip Part 3 - Osaka and Tokyo (November 2015)

Part 1 here
Part 2 here

Day 5: Transit to Tokyo, Gourmet Ramen with Friends, and Senso-ji at night

Beyond bargain value, hostels also have a kind of counterintuitive good point- they're usually just uncomfortable enough to incentivize you to get up early and get out into the place you're visiting. My hotel room on the 17th floor of the Sheraton had neither of those upsides, but it did have a fabulous view (see Part 2), a luxurious private bathroom, and a pillow-top mattress like sleeping in a cloud. Also free delivery of the Japan Times. Checkout was at 12 and I stayed until 11:45.

The most comfortable bed in Japan

I realized I hadn't gotten enough omiyage in Kyoto, so I changed my shinkansen ticket departure from Shin-Osaka to Kyoto Station, and took an earlier local train to Kyoto. From the local train I caught a glimpse of the tall buildings around Osaka Station and felt a pang of regret that I didn't at least walk around that area. Ahh, that pillow-top mattress.

Once I got to Tokyo, I checked into my hotel in Asakusa and met up with Roxy, who had taken an overnight bus from Osaka the night before. We went to Kojimachi, to the ramen shop Soranoiro, to meet up with my Tokyo friends Mina, Gaku and Natsuko, and to eat the unique vegan (!!!) ramen.

Vibrant and flavorful vegan ramen at Soranoiro

Re-uniting with friends for ramen ; )

After a relaxing and delicious meal, Roxy and I headed back to Asakusa just in time to catch the last ten minutes or so of the nighttime illuminations at Senso-ji, and then we headed off to our separate lodgings.

Kaminarimon Gate with Raijin and Fuujin (gods of thunder and wind)

The giant lantern (提灯, chouchin) at Kaminarimon Gate

Nakamise-dori shopping street, emptied for the night

Five-storied pagoda

Hozomon Gate and Skytree in the distance 

Senso-ji Main Hall (本堂, Hondou)

Day 6: Senso-ji, Skytree, Freshness Burger and Ekiben

Roxy took an early train back to Aomori while I stayed in Asakusa for some sightseeing. My hotel was really well-placed and convenient to seeing some of the more popular sights in the area.

I really liked my Asakusa hotel room- it had some neat decorator touches from the surrounding area, including a translucent print of the Skytree on the bathroom door, and the silhouette of the skyline on the window shade.

I went back to Senso-ji for the daytime experience. I couldn't find the pancake restaurant we had stumbled upon the night before, so I "settled" for the best melon pan in the world made fresh in front
of my eyes in a shop on the western edge of the temple grounds. I've had cold, day-old melon pan from the konbini and I'm not exactly a fan, but when it's fresh, it's warm, a little crisp on the outside, soft and steaming inside, and just really good.

The weather had been pretty chilly in Kyoto and Osaka, but it was warm enough in Tokyo to go without a jacket, and sunny enough to pull out the shades. I got another page filled in my stamp book, bought omamori for health, and decided against waiting in the long line to ring the bell and make my requests to Kannon. When I'm traveling solo I really hate getting in long lines unless there's a bowl of ramen at the other end...

Senso-ji in the daytime

Incense burning in front of Hozomon Gate

Line of visitors heading in to offer a prayer and a contribution

I wanted to make the most of my last few hours in Tokyo, so I took the train one stop from Asakusa Station to the Skytree. The situation in the ticketing hall was extremely confusing- instead of just buying a ticket to go up to the main level, there are multiple ticket windows, various queues of ticketholders wrapping around the outside of the building waiting for their timed entry, and just too many signs and options. In terms of wayfinding, I think there is an ocean of room for improvement...

In the end, I opted for the "foreign tourist" ticket, seemingly the most expensive ticket of all, only available to foreigners, and the fastest way to get to the viewing platform with only a 15-minute wait instead of a two- or three-hour wait. On principle, I dislike these kinds of special deals that aren't available to local residents... but I had a Shinkansen ticket for 3pm, and it was the easiest ticket window to find (just follow the other non-japanese visitors).

Heading towards Skytree

Looking back down at Asakusa, with Senso-ji in the middleground

Skytree shadow is like a giant sundial

Afterwards, I took the train back to Asakusa and had lunch at Freshness Burger. By chance I passed a store that sold taiko and taiko accessories, and managed to buy a special bag to hold my new taiko bachi (sticks). Then I headed to Tokyo Station to be early for the Shinkansen back to Aomori.

Freshness Burger, coleslaw, and a Sprite (or maybe 7up?)

Tokyo Station is massive and confusing, so I made sure to get there more than an hour ahead of my train. I got to the Shinkansen transfer zone easily enough, but couldn't find the gates for the Tohoku Shinkansen that goes to Aomori, only the ones for Tokaido line heading west towards Osaka. I stood in front of the station map and furrowed my brow. Momentarily I was approached by a very kind businessman in a suit with a rolling briefcase and a serious face. "Do you need help?" he asked. I explained that I needed to find the Tohoku Shinkansen, and he seemed surprised when I said I was heading to Aomori. He took me around the corner to where the Tohoku gates were hiding, and had a brief conversation with the station attendant on my behalf. Then he invited me downstairs to the shops for coffee and a chat about living and teaching in Japan, what Americans think about Asia, learning languages and other things. It was a really nice way to end my trip, and made me glad I was early.

Finally, I grabbed a grilled chicken ekiben (train station bento) before getting on the three-and-a-half-hour train. Ekiben are just one more reason why Shinkansen is the best travel method of all...

Yakitori Ekiben from Tokyo Station

More Information:

Senso-ji
Soranoiro (in Japanese)
Soranoiro (Review in a travel magazine)
Tokyo Skytree (Official Site)
Freshness Burger (Frivolous news story)
Ekiben (train station bento)

Kanto Trip Part 2 - Kyoto and Osaka (November 2015)

Part 1 here

Day 3: Sanjusangen-do, Fushimi Inari, Sou Sou and Osaka Aquarium

After checking out of the hostel and putting our bags in the luggage room, we made our second attempt on Sanjusangen-do, the home of the 1001 gilded wooden statues of Kannon. It's said that if you look at each of the 1001 statues, you'll find one with the face of a loved one. Each statue has 21 pairs of arms, with each hand holding a different implement representing the buddhist tools of salvation.

Sanjusangen-do, also called Rengeo-in, built in 1164 and rebuilt 100 years later. No pictures allowed inside. 

As an architect, really happy to see a path for wheelchairs around the site. 

The orange covered walkway was built at a later time

Japanese garden (looks like a Chinese garden)

The far end of Sanjusangendo

At the entrance we had to put our shoes in cubbies as directed by the docents before walking the length of the 400-foot-long building in our socks. Visitors walk along a wide corridor and observe the 1000 slightly smaller than life size statues arranged on a stepped incline kind of like bleachers, with one giant statue in the middle. Behind the statue room was a 400-foot-long corridor with various exhibits about the construction and history of the building and the statues and a couple large kaleidoscopes, and finally a small gift shop. By time I reached the gift shop, my feet were two little blocks of ice. We put our shoes back on and headed to Fushimi Inari.

But first we took an hour's detour by accidentally getting on an express train heading to Osaka. Thankfully it stopped about a third of the way there and we got turned back around.

Illustrated map of Fushimi Inari Taisha - not to scale and not too terribly accurate 

Getting started with a big torii

I visited Fushimi Inari on my trip three years ago, wandering in the side entrance (as it turned out) around Golden Hour, climbed up to the halfway point by sunset, and then came back down in the eerie darkness. It's an experience I recommend, but I also wanted to see it during the day.

I stopped to get a page filled in my 集印帳 (shuuinchou, stamp book for temples and shrines) and then we headed up the hill through the endless procession of red torii (gates). Individuals or groups can purchase torii of varying sizes to be installed, I assume for some sort of divine rewards or other spiritual benefit.

Choose your adventure

Looking uphill, only black and orange 

Looking downhill, the name of the patron on the left and the date of installation on the right

The creepy part of the property- the family shrines

Some of the torii have succumbed to dry rot

Up up up

We climbed up the hill, with the orange gates growing more faded and far apart, until we didn't feel like climbing anymore and came back down.

The first torii is also the last torii

After spending a little time in the shopping street leading to the shrine, looking for a fox mask for under 2000 yen and eating custard-filled taiyaki from a cranky curbside vendor, we headed for the flagship location of my favorite Japanese clothing and textile designer, SOU SOU.

To my amazement, it wasn't a single store, but more like a constellation of storefronts. SOU SOU village. One storefront had purses, bags, furoshiki and other accessories; another had women's clothes; one for men, one for uncut textiles, and the best for last, tabi shoes and socks.

Each department is in a different storefront

SOU SOU Universe

Candy-colored tabi socks

Funky tabi shoes. Drool.

Time was running short and we had one last agenda item for the day, so we picked up our bags from the hostel and asked the desk staff to call us a taxi (luxury!) to take us to the station, where we took a train to Osaka.

Osaka Aquarium KAIYUKAN in the rain

We took the train all the way to Osakako Station, and set off on foot in the rain for Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan, one of the largest aquariums in the world, on the waterfront just across the river from USJ. Although we got there about an hour and a half before closing, after we bought our admission tickets the staff handed us a paper in English that stated that it was impossible to see all the exhibits in less than two hours and we should take care to exit by closing time.

Entry to the Kaiyuukan

Sharks swimming overhead in a tunnel aquarium tank

Sea otters in a rare still moment

Whale shark and its reflection

The big "Pacific Ocean" tank in the middle of the building

A sample of the 30cm thick acrylic used for the giant tanks 

Jellyfishes

Jellies in the jellyfish exhibit

We perused souvenirs in the gift shop (ok, I perused, Roxy waited for me) until closing time, then we retrieved our bags from the lockers. At this point the aquarium staff practically pushed us into the elevators to be rid of us. I've been in Japan long enough that I was surprised at how abrupt and forward they were in their effort to close as quickly as possible, but I guess that's Osaka hospitality. On our way out we did manage to stop to ask about where we might find food at 8pm, and got pointed in the direction of the mall next door for okonomiyaki.

We took the train back to Nippombashi station, where Roxy headed south to her hostel and I headed north to my business hotel, walking through the edge of Shinsaibashi in the pouring rain. When I crossed the Dotonbori canal, I could see all the brightly lit activity a few minutes' walk away, but alas, I was just too tired and wet to walk over and check it out.

Looking down Dotonbori canal toward the interesting part of town

Day 4: USJ and a luxury sleep

I'm not typically an amusement park person, but Universal Studios Japan, or USJ, has an attraction that I found irresistible: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (tm). Ever since the first one opened in Orlando, it's been on my mind. I figured it would probably be fun to ride the rides in the rest of the park, and eat some stuff, and whatnot, but I just wanted to go to Potterland.

Chapel Christmas Love Hotel looking pretty bizarre in the light of day, on my walk to meet Roxy at Nippombashi Station

We met up early at Nippombashi station and took the train out to Universal City, a shopping and entertainment center around the gates of USJ and a tiny slice of the American experience. We got coffee at Starbucks while we waited for Alize, who Roxy had hosted as a couchsurfer in Hirosaki earlier in the fall and who happened to be in Osaka.

Hogwarts Castle and the Black Lake

Butterbeer in Hogsmeade Alley (fake snow on the roofs)

Once the gates opened we rushed along with the excited crowd straight into Harry Potter World, right into the line for the super-popular Harry Potter ride inside the scale reproduction of Hogwarts Castle. I was full of excitement and anticipation and the scenery was amazing and it was all so magical and that was all over as soon the shoulder restraint came down in the little box-like ride contraption and the attendant stuck a pair of 3d glasses on my face. I felt trapped and I wanted off right then and it was too late.

The line for the Harry Potter ride at USJ

I won't go into detail, I'll just say, if you're over 25 or so you should probably think real hard before riding a "4D" or "multi-dimensional" ride, and if you're claustrophobic at all you should just forget about it. Large portions of the "ride" are actually in front of a huge 3D video screen while the little carriage kind of rocks and twists. My brain knew it wasn't real but my stomach and inner ear were totally convinced in the worst way. It took about a half hour of sitting and then wandering slowly through Hogsmeade before I was sure I wasn't going to lose my breakfast or fall over. Rides were not going to be a thing for me to do at USJ.

If you take the rides out of the equation, pretty much the only other things to do at USJ are shop, and eat. I was traveling light, so that left eating... While Roxy and Alize rode the rides, I must have eaten a month's worth of sugar in the form of churros, caramel corn, cakes and sugary beverages.

"Fisherman's Wharf" in the San Francisco uh... attraction? I guess.

While you're eating caramel corn you can also watch an hourly Christmas parade

The whole park was Christmas themed with nonstop Christmas music blaring and a giant Christmas Tree. 

Sunset over USJ

After dark the giant tree lit up in a constantly changing pattern of LEDs

Universal movie logo monument

We stayed around to watch the evening Christmas lights show and parade, and then headed back to Shinsaibashi for a half-hearted dinner (who can eat after all that sugar). I had splurged on a room at the Sheraton Miyako hotel, mostly because I waited until too late to book my lodgings for the second night and I didn't want to stay in a sketchy hostel (non-sketchy hostels were all booked up). Up on the 17th floor I had the most comfortable bed in all of Japan, and a great view too.

The view from my fabulous hotel room

Informational Links:
Sanjusangendo
More about Senju Kannon
What is Senju Kannon holding in each hand?
Fushimi Inari Taisha
SOU SOU Kyoto - US page (Japanese page is in, well, Japanese)
Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan
USJ