China - Forbidden City

Imperial Garden

Steve and Craig have both been to China on business and they want to show off the highlights to the rest of us.  Beijing is less than 4 hours away, so it's an easy trip to make from Tokyo.  The flight over on Japan Airlines is great - we even get a meal in coach.  (Side note: a few weeks later Steve flew them to Germany and said it was the best coach seat he'd ever been in.)

My first view of the Forbidden City...not so forbidden anymore!

Nice art work!

We land, our driver is waiting, and we're off to the hotel.  By mid-afternoon we're all checked in and ready to so see some sights.  It's an easy walk to the Forbidden City. (Why do I always want to say Forbidden Palace?)  We're able to get audio guides (love them!) so we learn some history and details about the domain.  For example, the animals decorating the roofs were only allowed on official buildings, and the number of animals indicated how important the building was.  Only at the Imperial Palace were they allowed as many as twelve creatures.

There are statues located throughout the grounds...

I wouldn't want to run into this turtle at the lake.  He looks vicious!

...and lots of gorgeous carvings.  These are open to the elements, and you can see they're wearing away.  I'm amazed they don't do anything to protect them.

I wonder if I can quilt this?

Fighting dragons

Of course, I find many quilting design ideas, too - in the ceilings, the floors, and the windows!

Lots of good ideas, here!

Window "screen"

They even show you how to quilt the border on this one!

It's crowded, but not too bad...

Forbidden City selfie!

...and certain parts aren't crowded at all (the audio guide doesn't have much to say about the outbuildings, plus they all start to look the same).

Not so crowded.

The best part is the Imperial Gardens.  It's not your typical garden, and it's gorgeous!  It was built around 1417, so it's had some time to develop.

This rocks!  (ha, ha)

There are rock formations scattered throughout the area, breaking up your view and forming little nooks.  Who knew looking at rocks could be so interesting?

Even the walkways are embellished.  

Scary bat

Pumpkin vine

The caverns and arches formed by the rocks and trees encourage lots of picture taking.

These trees are over 400 years old.

Steve, you can only do that pose in Japan.

Family photo!

Do you think they allow rock climbing here?

New Places in Tokyo - Part 3

At a new station on our way to Koishikawa Korakuen Garden

Once again, with new guests we make stops at new places.  At the Meiji Shrine we decide to visit the Inner Garden.  There is a pond with lotus blossoms - you have arrive in the morning if you want to see them blooming!

Pretty!

 We take a rest stop, and are visited by some feathered friends. 

I feel like Snow White!

I wonder how he'd taste after cooking on my grill.

We finally make our way to the well, the most famous spot in the garden.  It's supposed to be a place where you can feel positive energy.  It became famous after some tv programs featured it with people claiming their luck improved after they used pictures of the well as a background for their cellphones.  Sounds like those tv shows that are on at 3:00 am in the US...  I do like the English translation on the sign by the well: "This well is famous for the ingenious way of sinking and the superiority of water's quality."  I'm not able to figure out what is ingenious about the sinking quality of the water.

Maybe I should put this as my cellphone background, just in case!

I'm glad we only signed up for 30 minutes!

Speaking of water, Steve's been dying to try the pedal boats in the moat around the Imperial Palace.  One very hot morning we go out.  During sakura season the area is covered with cherry blossoms - it's very pretty in the pictures.  I think you have to enter a lottery to get a ticket for the boats during that time.







Steve and I decide we'll go to the end of the moat to see what's there.  It's a nice view of a guard tower.

the end of the moat

Peddle boat selfie!

Naturally we stop for refreshments, and a taste of the US!  Krispy Kreme is in Tokyo.

Yummy!

We also try out the Escape Hunt Experience.  You are "locked" in a room for 60 minutes and have to find clues and solve a mystery.  We all play the Samurai Espionage, though we split into two teams (they have two different rooms set up with the same puzzle).  None of us are able to figure it out without help from our guide.  However, it's a fun way to spend some time in an air conditioned area (and it's in English, too).  This is the same company that created the Underground Mystery game that we liked so much.

I think we've exhausted our guests!  Mini-naps are taken at the Great Burger...which does have really great burgers!

Dreaming of sugarplums...or burgers?

Dreaming of a white Christmas?

The girls get to party one night in Tokyo, as the adults go off for a kaiseki dinner.  We never did hear the whole story of what they did...

We clean up nice!

pretty restaurant garden

We experience a little of Europe by visiting the Renoir exhibit at the National Art Center.  You have to love it when you can walk from your apartment to a major art museum in less than 15 minutes.

I am too cute!

Emily has fallen in love with Marutaro, the most popular dog on Instagram (something like 2 million followers!).  He lives in Tokyo, and we search for him, but unfortunately we can't find him.  Five days after our visit to Sensoji Temple, he's there - we just missed him!







Another evening we decide to stay in and watch a movie.  It's appropriate though, since we chose Memoirs of a Geisha.  Tie-Dye is tired of hearing about this other dog, and he makes sure everyone gives him lots of attention!

Steve, can you put the camera down and get us some popcorn?

Old Places in Tokyo

At Lake Ashi - beautiful family!

We have friends visit us!  Craig, Michelle, Hannah and Emily all manage to fit in our apartment...and even with only one shower, it works out.  Of course, it helps that they're the perfect guests.

Steve took advantage of their expat assignment to the Netherlands in the 1990s and visited on many occasions.  So they make sure to return the favor and come see us.  We have a wonderful time showing them around the Tokyo. We see all the highlights, and with more people you have more fun with the photos!

Breakfast on a stick!

We even remember to take pictures at the Tsukiji Fish Market.  There's lots of "fast" food available on the streets outside the main fish market. 

Beer for breakfast?!?

At the  Koishikawa Korakuen Garden the girls enjoy the stone bridge...

Superwoman pose

Model pose

Not a selfie

...and have fun photobombing our selfie!











While the girls are shopping in Harajuku, Steve amuses himself with a mascot.

Japanese pose (seriously - every time we see Japanese kids taking a picture, they do this)

Experiencing the subway is part of the enjoyment of visiting Tokyo!  Everyone got to feel the rush hour sardine effect.

There are ten people touching me at once.

And they learn to act like the locals - take a little cat nap when you can!

We would have woken you up if you started to drool.  No, really, we mean it. (Okay, we would have taken a picture first.)

Yum - I want one now!

We make a stop one morning at our favorite doughnut shop - Good Time Doughnuts! 

There are no pagodas in this picture.

Sensoji Temple is always on the list of places to see.  Craig was looking forward to seeing the 5-story pagoda here.  Unfortunately, it was under construction and completed covered with tarps.  It was visible just a month earlier when my sister was here. 







Some new things happen while visiting all the "old" places.  Our friends got to see a ceremony taking place at our local shrine.

Do the musicians take requests?

There's no way we'll miss a Swallows baseball game! Somehow, we manage to get tickets that allow us to get a free green jersey (they sell for $90 in the shop).  Thankfully, Steve saw someone getting in a line and asked some questions. We hop in a line, show our tickets, and get the jersey.  I'm starting to feel like a real fan!

Swallow fans

Why a mini-umbrella?  If they were full size we wouldn't get wet!

I think the mascot looks for Steve at every game.  See his pose...

We finish up one night with a home cooked "Japanese" meal.  Yes, we all fit around the table! 

Good friends, good food!

Everyday Shopping & Eating in Tokyo

So this is just a random collection of items....no deep or intellectual ramblings, just observations on how living in a foreign city is different/unexpected from the US.  Some of this may be the difference between being in a big city versus a large town....but either way, this is the stuff they don't include in the guidebooks!

Signs to help you find your way!

People walk on the left side of the sidewalk/stairs/hallway here....except for when they don't.  I've noticed in countries that have cars driving on the left (like Japan), people walk on the left.  And they do that most of the time, but every once and awhile you run across a sign directing you to walk on the right.  We think it deals with the flow of traffic (through a busy subway station), but it doesn't always seem to make sense.  Either way, tourists are easy to recognize because they're usually fighting their (wrong) way through crowds of people.  

After eight months of living here, I'm finally picking up the habit of looking to the right first, before crossing the street.

I miss you!

Though having international grocery stores (and Costco) help to find food items common in the US, you can't get everything here - I searched all over for egg whites (in a carton) and all purpose flour.  I came to the conclusion that prepackaged egg whites are just not "fresh" enough for the market here.  I have better luck with all purpose flour.  I'm able to buy bread flour and cake flour, then mix them in a 1:1 ratio.  This apparently makes all purpose flour!  I don't know if it's identical, but it works well for baking scones.

Other items that are hard to find - women's shaving cream and stick deodorants.  Japanese women shave their legs (and their arms, too?), but I cannot find any shaving cream marketed to them - just men.  I end up buying a neutral smelling shaving cream, and it's fine.  I haven't asked anyone, but I don't know what women use here.  Maybe just soap, because there's no items with the women's razors at the store.  I've also only found spray deodorants and little bitty (1-inch diameter) roll on deodorants for women.  Luckily I came prepared for this when we moved to Japan, and brought a bunch of stick deodorants with me!

My $10 bottle of rubbing alcohol

You won't be creating your own cleaning items here.  It's next to impossible to find white vinegar, and most people have never heard of it (or try to direct you to the white wine vinegar).  Luckily Costco finally came through and had a big jug of it.  Otherwise I can only find a small bottle at the Precce supermarket at Tokyo Midtown.  In a related note, rubbing alcohol and hydrogen peroxide (called oxydol here) can be found, but are very expensive.  My bottle of rubbing alcohol cost $10.  However, baking soda is at almost all grocery stores.

There are other items that you can find, but are much more expensive here.  My best example is of a clock radio.  I didn't bring mine from the US because I was worried it wouldn't keep time correctly with the different voltage in Japan.  I wanted one that uses LED lights so I can see it during the night without having to push a button.  I search many different stores (both physical and online), and I have to spend over $60, and they don't have a radio, either. (I don't really care about the radio, but it is recommended to have one to receive information during a natural disaster.  I end up spending $10 on the cheapest radio I can find - but it doesn't have a clock).  It's been a long time since I bought a clock radio, so maybe they've gone up in price?  So I check amazon.com for US prices - yes, you can buy an LED clock radio for $12.  Finally after more searching I found one for $40 and bought it (thank you, Tokyu Hands).  Obviously, China is not allowed to ship cheap electronics here.

After a long search, I finally found my (still expensive) LED clock.  Unfortunately, it's so bright at night, I have to cover it with paper so it doesn't wake me up.  I can still read the numbers when it's dark!

 
Speaking of expensive, it costs more to buy items in the city than in the suburbs - everything from groceries, cleaning products, drug store items, and plants.  I would have thought the city had more competition (and less transportation costs - doesn't it have to be brought to the city and then distributed?), but apparently in the city you're a captive audience.  When I've traveled about half an hour from central Tokyo I've found prices (for the exact same thing) to be 25-30% cheaper.

You need to be careful when using the ATM, too (well, at least if you have a Japan bank card).  They charge ATM fees based on the hour of your withdrawal, not just the day.  The chart explaining the different fees took half a page - basically, you wouldn't want to use the ATM outside of regular banking hours.  But isn't that kind of the point of the ATM??  So the fee is higher at night, on the weekends, and at lunch hour.  The only explanation I have for this is they are concerned about the ATM running out of money, so they want it used when they can replenish it if necessary.  Luckily if you keep a high enough balance in your account the fee is waived.  

Lots of foam - very fresh!

Buying alcohol in a restaurant is more expensive than you think.  Beer is served with a lot of foam (almost 1/3 of the glass).  I've read that they feel it indicates freshness, and they'll purposely add foam to the glass.  But it's usually a small glass, so you spend $5 for maybe six ounces of a draft beer.  Wine is also served in similar small portions - you usually get four ounces or less.  Some restaurants do have special "all you can drink" options, but you usually have a time limit.  In fact, that's very common with almost every buffet or "all you can eat" food option (or a very popular restaurant).  They have a time limit and at the end of your time you have to leave the table.  I understand why - it's very common to see people sitting in a casual restaurant for a few hours with just a cup in front of them (similar to what people do in Starbucks).  I think because people's houses are very small in Tokyo they tend to stay in public places often. 

My Mexican wine!

Buying liquor at a store is actually less expensive in Japan than the US!  We think it's due to less taxes.  However, beer is still expensive - Japanese beer is taxed heavily by the government (You might think you're getting a deal if you see a lower price, but it's probably because the beer is a lower alcohol content.  The Japanese government taxes beer at a certain alcohol level, so the companies respond by coming out with a new beer with a lower the alcohol content.  Then the government starts taxes at a lower level.  So the beer companies lower...you get the idea.  But there's about four different "levels" of alcohol content of each beer.)  Wine also tends to be expensive.  It's shipped a long way, plus there's taxes.  Chilean wine isn't too expensive, though - apparently there's a trade agreement.  You can also find a lot of French wine - it's pretty popular in Japan.  So far we haven't had a lot of luck with finding good, relatively inexpensive wine (less than $20/bottle).  However, I do like a $7 bottle of Mexican sparkling wine!  (Did you know Mexico made wine?  I didn't!)  Otherwise, it's $50 to find a wine that tastes good...luckily we still have the wine we shipped with us and the New Zealand cases!

You don't get to have it "your way" in the restaurant - they serve it one way, and that's it.  So your salad only comes with the one dressing they serve, and you can't get it on the side.  And I have yet to figure out how to get a cheeseburger with only mayonnaise and onions at McDonalds (okay, I've only gone in twice since I've been here).  If I try to order it that way they just look at me funny, so I end up with everything on it (but no mayo).  The chefs do work with you if you have allergies, though!

Good luck finding a trash can, paper towels, or napkins in public.  For a city so clean, I'm amazed at how few trash cans you see.  Right beside the (thousands) of vending machines you usually have a place to recycle your plastic bottle (because you're supposed to drink it right there, not walk around with it).  But if you have a scrap piece of paper you want to throw away, there's no place to put it.  In bathrooms you occasionally see paper towels at the US fast food restaurants (Starbucks or McDonalds), but that's usually the only locations.  I see more hand dryers now than I did when visiting in 2011, but it's still not common (more in nice department stores and tourist locations).  That's why people carry around their own personal washcloth to dry their hands.  They're easy to find in different shops and make a fun souvenir.  Napkins are not normally in restaurants.  You receive an oshibori when you sit down - a small, damp, rolled hand towel (or something like a large wet wipe in a casual restaurant). This is used to wipe off your hands at the start of your meal.  It's also okay to use on your hands during the meal, though you're not supposed to use it on your face.  I haven't figured out the "polite" way to wipe your mouth in public.  At the store, you might find decorative napkins - what you would use for a party.  But no square paper napkins for daily use.  Costco came through for me at the end, and I finally found paper napkins to have at the apartment.

That about sums it up for now!