Picking up the 'rents
"The Lewins are coming! The Lewins are coming!" Although I wasn't yelling this on horseback like Paul Revere, this phrase kept running through my mind as I tried to fall asleep the night before Katie's parents arrived in Japan for their 8 day visit.It was guaranteed to be a full throttle week jam-packed with everything Japan has to offer: squeezing through its crowded train stations (Tokyo), sitting atop its highest mountain (Mt. Fuji), and swimming in its crystal clear waters (Sea of Japan). All the while, we would be taking in the both traditional and contemporary culture. However, before we could do all of this fantastic stuff, we had to rent a car and pick up Hal and Nancy from the airport.
Our 'swagger wagon' with maximum luggage capacity
Honestly, I wasn't too nervous about renting a car with the steering wheel on the right side and driving on the left side of the road. It was very black and white for me: I'm either going to kill us within 5 minutes, or we will be fine. Once we got the first couple of white-knuckled turns over with, it became second nature. Actually, not driving any sort of motorized vehicle for 5 months probably helped me with the transition.
Just before I went through our 1st intersection.
We cruised to the airport and were happy to see that Hal and Nancy made it here without incident. After a brief Hallmark moment, we loaded their/our luggage (we made them bring about 50 lbs. of food) into the car and puttered back to Tsukuba. On the way back we spotted a BIG Buddha towering over the treeline. Since we had the car for 24 hours, we planned to seek this out the following morning. Once we were back to the Ninomiya House, Hal and Nancy unpacked and went to bed. Katie and I frantically unpacked our ridiculous amounts of American food such as popcorn, green chili, and beef jerky. Christmas came early for the Walkers!
The Big Buddha, Mt. Tsukuba, and The Communication Salon
The next day everyone woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed. Hal and Nancy seemed relatively unaffected from jet lag so we made short work of breakfast and headed to the big Buddha. I don't think you understand when I say big Buddha...its really big, like Guinness Book of World Records big! Its about 430 feet tall, which is more than twice the height of the statue of liberty. Once again...BIG!
Size comparisons
There were some gorgeous flower beds and paper lanterns all around the area so we took pictures.
The gang + big B in the background
Kate and Nancy enjoying the flowers
While we mozied on around to the back side of the Buddha, we noticed that there was a tour to go inside him, so...naturally we did. All in all, it was a fairly standard temple-esque experience with hundreds of golden Buddha statues, brief Buddha history, and more information about the construction of the huge monument. Some added bonuses included viewing windows from Buddha's chest and a photo-op with a big metal toe (below). We spent a little more time walking around in the gardens then said sayonara to the big B. Next on the agenda was to return the rent-a-car and visit Mt. Tsukuba.
Long before reaching the mountain everyone agreed to save their climbing ambitions for the big daddy, Fuji. This meant that a 1.5 hour hike up the mountain was substituted for a 10 minute cable car ride (A wise choice indeed). One factor that reinforced our decision was the uncharacteristically hot weather. In a way, Mt. Tsukuba was simply an opening act for a more grand mountain performance. I knew it...and so did everyone else. Perhaps that is why I didn't take very many pictures. I already knew that looking back, Hal and Nancy would hardly remember going to Mt. Tsukuba at all. Either way, I suppose if you wanted proof, Kate snapped this photo of Hal and me at the southern peak.
Later that night we had a reservation at the apartment for the 9th floor "Communication Salon" which is spacious room with a small kitchen, pool table, piano, big screen TV, and a stellar view of Tsukuba. The Haines family joined us as we enjoyed sushi, wine, cheese, and sake. I had a wonderful time relaxing and shooting the breeze with everyone for a couple of hours. I tried to savior every moment because the next day was TOKYO.
Taking it easy on the 9th floor
Tokyo, Tokyo, why so hot thou Tokyo?
Tokyo, Tokyo, why so hot thou Tokyo?
It doesn't matter what I plan on doing in Tokyo, it always obliterates me emotionally and physically. Initially, we had major plans for our day there. However, the 'to do' list quickly got widdled down to 2 seemingly simple things: visit the Imperial Palace Gardens and Tokyo Tower. Easy enough, right? BZZZZZZZZZZZZ wrong!
It was one of those magical days where the second you step outside to non-air-conditioned air, your skin starts pumping out sweat in a vain attempt to cool your body. This made the two block walk to the Imperial Palace Gardens necessitate several pit stops. Once we got to the entrance of the Gardens we were told that they were closed on Mondays and Fridays, today was Monday. :( We were able to appreciate the beautiful bridges, but the overall mood is summed up in this photo I took of Kate right after we were denied entrance.
'Closed!? Excuse me!'
We needed a break out of the heat. Luckily, there was a park with a bunch of fountains nearby.
Hal noticed Tokyo Tower peeking up in the skyline, so we started trudging toward the it. On the way we found a restaurant in the park and grabbed some grub. We all breathed a deep/humid sigh of relief when we walked up to the base of the Tower.
Hal noticed Tokyo Tower peeking up in the skyline, so we started trudging toward the it. On the way we found a restaurant in the park and grabbed some grub. We all breathed a deep/humid sigh of relief when we walked up to the base of the Tower.
This photo is from a previous visit. It's much prettier than the photo I took that day.
The happiness we had when we reached Tokyo tower was quickly tainted by the realization that 400+ people had similar plans. Actually the lines moved pretty fast, but it definitely looked like a dismal situation. Once we got to the main observatory we had a great view of the city. While the humidity did rob us of the more distant sights, it was still very beautiful. I took this opportunity to capture a full 360 degree panorama of the Tokyo skyline broken up into two.
Northeast view of Tokyo
Southwest view of Tokyo
These small versions of the photos don't do them justice. You can view the full size panoramas as well as dozens of other photos from these days by clicking here. What was supposed to be an 'easy day' turned out to be pretty exhausting, so we headed back to Tsukuba and packed for Mt. Fuji and Sado Island.
-Seth
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