Travel with Me: Konnichiwa Nippon こんにちは日本~ Hello Japan! ^_^ {Pic Heavy}

Pardon my poor Japanese - my trip to Japan has inspired me to take up Japanese class down the track this year.

I woke up in utter disappointment to find myself in my own bed. My boyfriend and I landed in Sydney on the 14th. In the last few days, we realised how much we have adapted to the culture and customs during our trip. We started cruising around in a Sydney car with no seat belts on, slurping our noodles in satisfaction, answering phones in a different language, bowing instead of saying thank you, expecting shops to be open at 10pm and wondering why the streets are so lonely with no pretty lights. One month went too quickly.

Our 10.3 hours worth of plane ride was painful... we sat in the most uncomfortable seats, zombified and unable to sleep. The view was beautiful though.

I'll make separate posts for food, makeup, my tour in China and my weeks in Shanghai.

We had activities jam packed during our week in Japan. The subway was really easy to use, lots of roman characters. Japan is a fast paced country, but Japanese people are incredibly polite. We got lost at the subway station once and started swarming around like headless flies, a subway worker came to us for assistance, we pointed at the suburb and said "Mitaka", he realised we didn't speak much Japanese and walked us to the correct platform.

Studio Ghibli @ Mitaka, Tokyo

Studio Ghlibi was amazing, the museum did not allow photography as they displayed all the intricate techniques (graphics, clay etc) on how Miyazaki put his animations together. There were street signs (such as the picture above) directing you to the studio from Mitaka Station. If you are keen to go, make sure you book your Ghibli tickets with your travel agent (approx $25AUD pp).

Suwa Lucanidae Museum @ Mitaka, Tokyo

We went to the Suwa Lucanidae (Stag Beetle) museum in Mitaka (2mins from Studio Ghibli). The Museum was tiny, probably equivalent to the size of my conjoined kitchen/dining room and living room put together. Very cosy, the Museum worker was very welcoming and polite. Approx 200yen ($2AUD) entry fee per person.

Menji Jinju Shrine @ Shibuya, Tokyo

If you go to Japan, you should probably visit one of their shrines, I'm not a religious person, but I found this to be a very interesting experience. It was more spiritual than anything.

Parasitological Museum, @ Menguro, Tokyo

Menguro is the home of the world's only Parasitological Museum in the world. Look at those parasites! Entry is free.

Saku Garden Parada Ski Resort @ Saku City, Nagano

My first time skiing, I slid backwards down the hill and fell on my face. I thought I was gonna die or fracture something.. but it was kinda fun. If you pre-book with Saku Garden, your full skiing experience will be under $100AUD - including return transport, gear hire and entrance to the ski resort.

Takeshita Street @ Harajuku, Tokyo

This reminds me of Newtown in Sydney a little bit. I wouldn't recommend shopping here, products are very touristy and prices are jacked up. If you want to do some clothes shopping, I recommend 109 department store in Shibuya.

**Note** Make sure you take your shoes off in the change room, one of the sales assistant got very upset I wore my shoes in there.

Robot Restaurant @ Shibuya, Tokyo

We thought this would be a great place to see robots in action, but it wasn't exactly what we expected. Due to it's touristy nature, the service was probably the worst I've experienced in Japan - make sure you book in advance, otherwise they'll make you stand outside in the cold for half an hour. Entrance fee costs 5000yen per person ($50AUD), this includes a tiny portion of the most distasteful Japanese food. The performance was "interesting" a lot of half naked girls in bikinis and fish-net stockings, a great place for seedy men and perverts. It got better and a bit crazy when the dancing robots came out.

Hot Spring @ Ogawa-machi, Tokyo

Finally went soaking in the hot spring, it's just like how you would see it on tv, minus the towels. Yup, you strip down naked O_O. Don't fret! Men and women have separate springs. I went in by myself and had no idea what to do, but figured it out eventually. 

To maintain the cleanliness of the spring, you need to strip down and wash yourself first - they provided Shiseido shampoo, conditioner and body wash!!! Once completed, I soaked in an indoor spring for a few minutes so my body can adjust to the temperature. Few minutes later, I went and soaked in the real outdoor hot spring.

Once I finished and got dressed in some white cottony clothing, I met up with my uncle and boyfriend in the waiting area, we went into a heated room - ridiculous temperature - to lay for 10 minutes. We were drenched with sweat - and hopefully all the toxins came out too. I went back to the separate dorms for a wash and another soak. My body was aching from the skiing and falling, this pretty much cured it. 

We sat in the dining area and had some complimentary tea once we were done with soaking. The venue was amazing.

Mount Fuji @ Shizuoka, Shinzuoka Prefecture

 I'll let the pictures do the talking.. oh by the way, the pond is 70m deep... check that clarity!

Wish I can tell you where this was. We went 21m underground to see how traditional Japanese people would store blocks of ice underground and deliver it to their king, post-refrigeration.

Again, pardon my memory, can't tell you the location of this Monkey Show. But it's about 20 mins from Mt Fuji. The monkeys were very cute and talented, although I'm not sure how much I agree with putting animals in human clothes.

My wonderful family in Japan, they showed us so much gratitude ^_^

I'll finish off with some cat photos. Meet Maru ^_^ she loves chewing on this stick!

Websites:
Studio Ghibli: http://www.studioghibli.net/
Menguro Parasitological Museum: http://www.kiseichu.org/Pages/english.aspx
Robot Restaurant: http://www.robot-restaurant.com/E/

Have you been to Japan?

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