Japanese Food in Japan

Matcha mochi 

Sinbei haven

rice bowls

Yayoi Kusama Museum, Tokyo

When you plan to visit Tokyo and you wanted to visit Yayoi Kusama Museum; do make sure that you have purchased your tickets in advance through the museum's website! Tickets are not available on the door, and sometimes it is fully booked--so you have to book them way in advance.
The entry is timed and only valid for a specific 90 minute time-slot. 

Nezu Shrine, Tokyo

Ever since I planned my Tokyo trip this 2019, I was aiming for April or early May. Within that period, I knew that the Nezu Shrine will have their famous Azalea Festival (Tsutsuji Matsuri). Nezu shrine is one the city's "most spectacular spring scenes". But then holiday shifted to later...

This Shinto shrine is located in the Bunkyō ward of Tokyo. You can take the train and stop at Nezu, then walked about 700 meters towards the shrine.

Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo

Opened in 1966, The Idemitsu Museum of Arts is an exhibition hall that is located on the 9th floor of the Imperial Theater Building. When you did a round tour for it's displayed collections, you will arrive at the museum shop on your left near the museum lobby on your right.

The lobby has a huge window that looking down over the beautiful Imperial Garden in Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo.

Free tea vending machines are available in the lobby and drinking is limited only in the rest area with sofas in the Lobby, which for me is the perfect place I wanted to be after the tour of the exhibition.

Mount Fuji, Japan

At some point along the way while I was 

planning the itinerary for my Japan trip; I wanted to have one day of joining a group tour. So I bought from home a one day tour to Mt. Fuji with combination of Lake Kawaguchi and the onsen experience. Here goes the trip,

Harajuku, Tokyo

Harajuku is an area around Tokyo's Harajuku Station. Harajuku station was opened October 30th, 1906. It is a train line between Shinjuku and Shibuya on the Yamanote Line. Harajuku is the center of Japan's most extreme teenage cultures and fashion styles, but aside from the shopping, it is also offers some historic sights.

The main  point of Harajuku's teenage culture is Takeshita Dori (Takeshita Street) and its side streets, in which lays many trendy shops, fashion boutiques, vintage clothes stores, crepes stands such as Wolfgang Puck and fast food outlets that are trendy these days.

The shops along Takeshita Streets are open daily from 11:00 to 20:00. It is a narrow, roughly 400 meter long street lined by shops, boutiques, cafes and fast food. Because of the street's popularity, it becomes extremely busy and crowded on the weekends. Interesting shops and restaurants can also be found along some of the side streets.

Ueno, Tokyo Museum Quarter

Ueno is a district in Tokyo's Taitō Ward, best known as the home of Ueno Park.

The park was established in 1873 on lands formerly belong to the temple of Kan'ei-ji (the park was founded following the western example as part of the borrowing and assimilation of international practices that characterizes the early Meiji period).

Ueno Park is also celebrated in spring for its cherry blossoms; the park's attractions have drawn over ten million visitors a year, making it Japan's most popular city park.

Tokyo Disneyland

Tokyo Disneyland is a 47 hectare theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture.

The Tokyo Disneyland main gate is directly adjacent to both Maihama Station and Tokyo Disneyland Station. It was the first Disney park to be built outside the United States, and it opened on 15 April 1983. The park was constructed by WED Enterprises in the same style as Magic Kingdom in Florida and Disneyland in California. It is owned by The Oriental Land Company, which licenses the theme from The Walt Disney Company. Tokyo Disneyland and its companion park, Tokyo DisneySea, are the only Disney parks not wholly or partly owned by the Walt Disney Company (however, Disney has creative control).

The park has seven themed areas: the World Bazaar; the four traditional Disney lands: Adventureland, Westernland, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland; and two mini-lands: Critter Country and Mickey's Toontown. Many of these areas mirror those in the original Disneyland as they are based on American Disney films and fantasies. Fantasyland includes Peter Pan's Flight, Snow White's Scary Adventures, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, based on Disney films and characters.

Asakusa Nakamise, Tokyo

Nakamise is the most famous shopping street in Asakusa. The street runs for 250 meters on the main approach to Sensoji Temple and is lined on both sides with shops selling traditional souvenirs, snacks, and sweets.

This street is actually on temple property and so it starts and ends with a temple gate: at the southern end is the outer gate of Kaminarimon, and at the northern end is the inner gate of Hozomon. Between these two gates are 89 shops, with 54 shops on the east side, and 35 shops on the west. “Nakamise” is a traditional name given to shopping streets on the grounds of temples or shrines, so this is not the only “Nakamise” in Japan, but it is one of the oldest and most famous.

Asakusa’s Nakamise shopping street is believed to have got its start sometime between the late 17th and early 18th centuries when local people in Asakusa were granted permission to open shops on the temple grounds. In return, the new shopkeepers were expected to perform cleaning services and keep the temple precincts nice and tidy. 

Sensoji Temple, Tokyo

Jigen (vision) is when the gods appear in different ways to save the people. Sho-kannon bosatsu appeared in Sensoji Temple in March 18th, year 628.

• The kannon (=deity, deity is a god or goddess in polytheistic religion) 
• Bosatsu (=bodhisattva, bodhisattva in Buddhism is any person who is on the path towards Buddhahood but has not yet attained it) 
• Guanyin (=goddess of mercy, the one who perceives the sounds of the world).

The legend says that in the year 628, two brothers fished a statue of kannon, the goddess of mercy, out of the Sumida River, and even though they put the statue back into the river, it always returned to them.

Sensoji temple was completed in year 645, making it the oldest and most significant temple in Tokyo. The temple is located at the Asakusa area, built to honor deity of Guanyin.

Kon'nichiwa Tokyo!

 

I am so sorry for the silence since my last post, it has been hectic! 

Between work, chores, pottery, and other life stuff; I am planning a trip to visit Tokyo, Japan! I was quiet surprised when a question was thrown at me before I leave for Japan.

"How long is the flight Denpasar Bali to Tokyo Japan? What is the season in June? And if its more than 3 hours flight; why is it that far since it is within South East Asia?"

Surprised and shocked actually!

Please google the map of the world, click preference to image and find a shape of elongated string of islands in Asia by the Pacific Ocean.

Think about it, World War II, the movie Pearl Harbor? Do you have clue already where Japan is?

Yes, yes please note that the world is round and that when you see a flat map, you have to bend it in tubular shape (well rounded, but that'll be tricky).

Anyways, Japan is an island nation located in East Asia (NOT South East Asia). The country occupies a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Korean Peninsula. These islands stretch from the East China Sea in the south to the Sea of Okhotsk in the north.

Tokyo JAPAN (not a must list, but seriously...)

If you’ve been to Roppongi Hills in Tokyo, you would have encountered the gigantic spider in Roku Roku Plaza. The ten metre bronze sculpture called Maman is the work of French artist Louise Bourgeois who passed away in May 2010 at the age 98. She was born in Paris and later moved to New York. Known for controversy in some of her works which have been inspired by her childhood experiences. Her series of spider sculptures have featured around the world. If you see closely in the body of this statue, it carries eggs. :)

###

You can spot this in Asakusa area, on top of Tokyo's Asahi Beer building is the famous kin no unchi, Japanese for “Golden Turd” (Locals also call it the unchi biru or the "poop building") The 300-ton stainless steel sculpture designed by French architect Philippe Stark was meant to look like foam rising from a beer mug... :D

###

Asakusa Ekimise is a building linked to Tobu SKYTREE. EKIMISE revives the Neo-Renaissance architecture of the original structure completed in the early Showa period (Des 1926 – Jan 1989). The symbolic grand clock has made a comeback, too. EKIMISE comprises a total of 177 stores, including Matsuya Asakusa, which enjoys a presence there since the original building first opened, and 52 new shops. The biggest attraction is East-Tokyo Market Wanoichi, on the seventh floor. It features a collection of varieties items representing quality design and honoring the tradition of Japanese craftsmanship. Be sure to check out the rooftop terrace, offering good views of the nearby Tokyo Skytree.

Ok, wait. This is a compulsory photo opt, behind me is a major Japanese character shop, at Ekimise ground floor. :D

###

TOKYO SKYTREE is designed in an original color "SKYTREE White", representing harmony with the surrounding scenery, its name and the design concept: "The creation of city scenery transcending time: A fusion of traditional Japanese beauty and neo-futuristic design". It is an original color based on "aijiro", the lightest shade of Japanese traditional indigo blue. The color of SKYTREE also replicates the technique of indigo dyers, with a hint of blue added to the white color, giving a delicate pale blue glow, like that of white celadon ware.

Colors created by indigo dyers represent the legacy of Japanese traditional craftsmanship as conserved in the downtown area housing the tower. Encounter the tower and this artisan culture will become the starting point for the creation of a new culture. Dressed in "SKYTREE white", the new tower will stand tall against the blue sky in downtown Tokyo and transcend time with eternal brightness. (source here)

Kotoku-in & Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, Kamakura (Kanagawa Perfecture, JP)

Walking from Hase-dera towards Kōtoku-in,  a Buddhist temple, renowned for its "Great Buddha" (Daibutsu), a monumental outdoor bronze statue of Amida Buddha, one of the most famous icons of Japan. 

And from there we walked to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu

Hase-dera (Kanagawa Perfecture, JP)

We were taking the train outside of Tokyo and went for an hour ride towards Kamakura in Kanagawa Prefecture. Kanagawa is a prefecture located in southern Kantō region of Japan.

For anyone who is interested in my post here, Kantō region is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa. Within its boundaries, slightly more than 45 percent of the land area is the Kantō Plain. The rest consists of the hills and mountains that form the land borders. In official census by the Japan Statistics Bureau, the population amounting to approximately one third of the total population of Japan.

Kanagawa is part of the Greater Tokyo Area. Kanagawa Prefecture is home to Kamakura and Hakone, two highly popular side trip destinations from Tokyo.

Yayoi Kusama: My Eternal Soul (NACT Tokyo JP)

I am obviously a sucker for art! Yayoi is one of my fave, among others... Visiting the National Art Center Tokyo for Yayoi exhibition is definitely one of the highlight from my Tokyo trip,

The "My Eternal Soul" series, begun in 2009, is an ongoing project currently comprising over 500 paintings. In the early stages of production, Kusama used several sizes of canvas, measuring 162×130.3cm, or 162×162cm. Later, the size standardized to a quasi-square canvas measuring 194×194cm. The series is marked by astonishing variety, incorporating abstract patterns as well as natural forms. It represents the essence of Kusama’s art, and is an embodiment of all the elements of her corpus of work.

Mutekiya Ramen (Tokyo JP)

This is not an advert, this is because Mutekiya is worth the visit...

http://www.mutekiya.com/world/english.html

I must say, best ramen thus far...

Sensoji Temple & Asakusa Nakamise (Tokyo JP)

Sensō-ji temple is an ancient Buddhist temple located in Asakusa, Tokyo. It is Tokyo's oldest temple, and one of its most significant. Adjacent to the temple is a Shinto shrine, the Asakusa Shrine.  The Sensoji Kannon temple is dedicated to Guanyin, the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy, and is the most widely visited spiritual site in the world (over 30 million visitors annually).

Disneysea Tokyo (Tokyo JP)

I honestly don't know where to start! So just enjoy the picture after the jump, as all I know I am having so much fun the whole day at Disney Sea. Highly recommended!!