Japan

Japanese Baseball!

Posted on August 18, 2012 by Phil

Tokyo Dome ScoreboardIf you had asked me back in June what was a “must do” on our trip, I would have said hitting up some international sporting events. Cricket, Rugby or even Sumo Wrestling. Want to see some sports live and in action. Yesterday, our evening in Tokyo brought us the highlight of the day and one of my favorite moments of the trip so far – attending a Yomiuri Giants baseball game at the Tokyo Dome!

Holy crap on a stick, this was cool! It was baseball…in Japan. Brooke and I had an amazing time watching the game against The Hiroshima Carp (one of only 12 other teams in the league.) Wow, what an experience. Our seats were relatively high up, but the entire space was relatively small for a dome so we could see it all. The Giants wear the exact same colors of the San Francisco Giants and the team had six mascots running around the field. Six of them! Also of note were that ALL of the beer vendors were women. There were working hard: hustling up and down the aisles with min-kegs strapped to their back and big smiles and colorful outfits. And, yeah, the beers may still cost $10, but at least it was a high quality Asahi brew served by a very cute girl!

...And there were two more mascots after this!Tigers fans are loud and amazingBut the most eye-popping part of the baseball game was the crowd. Through every inning, a small brass band and loud drum led the entire stadium in a wide variety of cheers, songs and chants. Hard to do it justice in this post, but the enthusiasm and energy was infectious and constant. Every batter had his own song and when a homerun was hit – look out – the roof almost came off the place. I’ve never seen anything like it! It was like a college football game with a drum corps and even a vocal (but polite) visitors section. Remarkable. I love baseball in the states, always have, and now I think I love baseball in Japan.

The game play was exactly the same as in America and it was a high-quality competitive match up. As good as any MLB game (and there were some American players on each team). No 7th inning stretch, but there was plenty of singing. We never could find the bullpen- believe it to be behind the stands. And, sure, the Tokyo Dome is a little bit on the older side, but who cares?  With a nearly sold out crowd and those never-ending chants, the good guys won 5-0. To celebrate the win, the home team lined up and bowed to the fans! We never knew what was going to happen next. After the game, player #25 Takahashi was honored for hitting his 300th home run. At least we think that’s what was going on…baseball may be an international language, but the signs and announcements were still in Japanese. After a small ceremony, he rode on the back of a golf-cart and threw out several autographed baseballs to eager fans waiting in the outfield stands! The game is so fan friendly that it’s dizzying. A night out at the ballpark was anything but ordinary and an absurd amount of fun. Go Giants!

-Phil

Brooke and Phil at Tokyo Dome!

Categories: Destinations, Eating, Exploring, Japan, Landmarks, Self Guided Tours, Sports, Temples, Tokyo | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Tokyo, Towers, Temples and Back Alley Restaraunts

Posted on August 18, 2012 by Phil

Our first Japanese TempleI begin this update from Japan by asking for your forgiveness in advance. This is going to be a long blog post. There is just no way around it. Our second full day in Japan was so full and amazing, that we have a lot to share. Today was our designated Tokyo day and the entire day was spent exploring just a bit of this mammoth, expansive city. Even had an encounter with a giant Pikachu. We spent the better part of 13 hours absorbing Japanese culture from district to district. Lucky for us, you can’t really go wrong in Tokyo. With a town this gigantic, just about every neighborhood offers something capitivating, interesting and worth mentioning in a ridiculously long blog post.


Eating in TokyoWe started our day in the well-visited district of Asakusa which is likely best known for it’s Senso-Ji temple complex and hundreds of tiny, cute shops in Nakamise-Dori. Once off the train, we grabbed lunch at a beckoning seemingly-Japanese restaraunt. The language barrier struck again because I’m pretty sure that we might have actually eaten at a Chinese restaurant. The jury is still out. We had pangs of regrets later on because we passed dozens of food booths that we’re hawking delicious smelling, exotic street meat. We strolled from shop to shop, investigating endless keepsake and souvenier options (we’re overdue for some new chopsticks and Brooke thinks I would look good in a Kimono) and enjoyed the sites despite the scorching sun. We even saw some interesting plaques that gave us some handy pointers on how to Ninja Proof our new home in Louisville.

Five Storied PagodaWe finally happened across the giant, bustling temple complex. Although rebuilt in the 1960’s, Senso-Ji had an impressive collection of gates, temples and pagodas. We even took part in some rituals when we threw 100 yen in the well, said a prayer, and received a fortune based on the Japanese character for luck. There were also rituals involving burning incense and washing with temple water that were popular among the visitors. The temple complex, complete with giant lantern that could replace Lady Liberty’s torch, was a great visit.

From Asakusa, we set our sites on the newly-completed Sky Tree Town tower. Opened this past spring, Sky Tree is…well…a giant tower. Impressively tall, notably modern and complete with an entertainment complex that includes an aquarium, planetarium and crazy toy store that looks like a Tim Burton dream (this is where I saw Pikachu). The tower was packed with excited, massive crowds to fill every space. The cost to get to the top of to the tower was enough alone to dissuade us, but if that didn’t do it, the ridiculously long line would have.

The Sky Tree Town Tower Thing

Two distinct nickname: Memory Lane or Piss AlleyOur last stop of the night, was in the neighborhood of Shinjuku – with 3 million commuters going through here each day, it is home of one of the city’s largest train stations. The hustle and bustle of Shinjuku at 10:30 PM on a Friday night makes Grand Central Station look like a backwater bus stop. Once again, we learned that just taking that extra step around the corner will take you all kinds of places. We looked down a narrow and appealing alley and ended up in what they call a Yakitori style restaurant. We learned later that the alley has been called both “Memory Lane” and “Piss Alley” – which should tell you something right there. After being beckoned into a itty-bitty restaurant smack-dab against a dozen clones, we were ushered upstairs to an even smaller dining area that barely held eight people.

Kempai for New FriendsThis was a dinner like no other made up of kebabs and long sitting crowds. You know you’re having an authentic experience when the other guests are so fascinated by your presence that they ask to take pictures of YOU! The various chicken kebabs we’re tasty and “oyshikata.” When we ordered beer, we received a “White Hoppy” and “Black Hoppy” in a bottle. The waitress, in broken English, suggested we mix it with at least 1 to 2 parts water that she had brought to the table. I loaded my glass with this water, poured in the beer and sampled. Hilarity (and a touch of drunkenness) ensued when it turns out that the water….was Sake. Let’s just say it was a much stronger “beer” than I was expecting. On the long train ride home in the middle of a beautiful summer night, Brooke and I reflected that the Yakitori were shady enough to be fun, but not shady enough to make you nervous.

Today was the epitome of what we want out of our Round The World trip. Sensational new discoveries and unexpected cultural experiences. Just a great day! And it is only our second day in Japan! We’re finding our way around with greater ease by the hour. The endless amount of well marked signs is a big help. Although it’s an interesting puzzle trying to find a pattern of why some signs are in English and why some have zero English. As a bonus, we’ve even able to master a few handy phrases. As we shut down for the evening, I asked Brooke, “What will see tomorrow?” Her answer: “Everything!” Tomorrow: Kyoto!

-Phil

Gates welcoming us to shopping/temples in Tokyo

one small restaurant

Table for 10? How about restaurant for 10! I look like a giant in this place…

Pika Pika

Holy crap, it’s a life size, hugable pokemon. Pika Pika!

Categories: Destinations, Eating, Exploring, Japan, Landmarks, Self Guided Tours, Sports, Temples, Tokyo | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Yokohama, Japan

Posted on August 17, 2012 by Phil

Yokohoma!There is no doubt about it…we are definitely in a foreign country. Sure, in New Zealand there were cute little differences like saying “toilet” rather than “restroom,” but that was nothing compared to Japan. Okay, it’s true that Starbucks, McDonalds and KFC are almost inescapable, but otherwise the vast differences have quickly thrown us into sensory overload. It has been great, but very intimidating.

Ito's hideout

On the base of Camp Zama, Gaye showed us this: A secret (unused) bunker for the Japanese Emperor during World War II. When Americans claimed the based, this was found!

Today, we took care of a little bit of necessary business before really sinking our teeth into Japan. Gaye, my cousin who is the most gracious hostess ever, drove us around Sagamihara City and took us over to Camp Zama, the U.S. Army Base where she has taught for the last 25 years. Here, we visited the tourism office, stopped by the ATM and had a nice lunch by the golf course. There were far more Japanese working on the base than I expected, but overall US dollars could be used and in a lot of ways it did feel very American. We can understand why Gaye has chosen to stay here for most of her adult life–it is the perfect balance of living in a foreign country, but still having your own culture close by. However, this American culture stopped as soon as we said sayonara to the guard at the gate.

One of our biggest feats today was figuring out, at least a little bit, the train lines. Our pre-trip research led us to the JR pass – a train pass which allows us unlimited access to the national JR train line for seven days. This isn’t a subway, it is more like a combination of regional rail and Amtrak. The train line will get us around Tokyo and its suburbs, but also travels to all areas of Japan. Luckily, Gaye lives right next to the Sagamihara stop on JR Yokohama line. We decided to venture to Yokohama, a city of 3.5 million just south of Tokyo. Gaye walked us to the station and pointed us in the right direction, which actually turned out to be the wrong direction (to her credit, she usually uses a different train line–there are SO MANY trains here). Luckily, Phil and I checked the map, and even though most it is written in Japanese, the station names are also written in English and everything is well marked with arrows and time tables.

Donut Plant Tokyo

Amazingly, we never made it inside the Donut Plant in New York City, but to our shock we saw this store at the ShinYokohana Train Station!

Once on the train, it wasn’t much different from riding the train in New York–it is filled with people weary from a long day of work or tired out from the heat who just want to get where they are going. Except for us, of course. We were bright eyed and smiling, reading every sign we could to make sure we were headed in the right direction. The train moves fast, so catching the one word written in English on the sign was not as easy as we thought it would be. Luckily, we made it into Yokohama with no problems at all–we didn’t even have to ask for help!

Once off the train, we did what we do best–we wandered around looking for interesting things to see. It took us all of two minutes to happen across a large crowd of people gathered on steps watching a street performer. This wasn’t the same crappy dance group you see in the Times Square subway station who spends 15 minutes gathering a crowd to watch their performance but they never actually do anything. No, this guy was pure entertainment. He was cracking up the crowd, telling jokes, singing little bits–sure, we had no idea what he was saying, but we laughed when everyone else did and joined in clapping when it seemed appropriate. Adding onto his joke telling, he began juggling–of course. But then he lit the juggling sticks on fire, then he juggled fiery sticks while balancing on a rolling cylinder, then he spit fire! It was awesome! Being a part of this crowd of all Japanese people, and having no idea of the words but still getting the message just the same, was really neat.

Crazy Street Performer below Landmark TowerWe left the performer and wandered around Yokohama taking in the sights, the coolest of which was Yokohama Stadium. We know the Japanese love their baseball, and man was it obvious just walking by the stadium. A game had just begun and already the crowd was chanting, cheering and singing. The energy from the crowd inside was electrifying the air outside–it was almost contagious. As we walked around, we saw a big screen set up outside the stadium with tables, chairs and food vendors where people could sit and watch the game without having to buy a ticket and go in. The atmosphere was awesome, and got us even more excited for tomorrow when we get to have our experience at a Tokyo Yomiuri Giants baseball game at Tokyo Dome. We can’t wait to tell you about it!

For now, we go to bed with Japanese phrases swimming in our head, yen conversions fogging up our brains, and the question of how we can possibly retain all that we’ve learned confounding us.

-Brooke

Japanese Vending Machine

There are vending machines everywhere! For Cold Drinks, Hot Drinks and more. All sorts of unique goodies stocked inside

Categories: Destinations, Discounts, Diversions, Family, Japan, Self Guided Tours, Tokyo, Trains | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Hello from Tokyo!

Posted on August 16, 2012 by Phil

Note: Sorry for the delay on getting this post live and the lack of photos. We’re having a bit of trouble getting online in Japan. More to follow once we get set…

Konnichiwa from Japan! Brooke and I have completed the journey from Auckland, New Zealand to Tokyo, Japan trading in a quiet pacific island nation for a much busier pacific island nation. Our two flights on China Southern (11 hours from Auckland to Guangzhou and then another 4 from Guangzhou to Tokyo) were easy going, luxurious and comfortable. We embraced the opportunity to spend some quality time in the China Southern First Class Lounges in both airports. Man, that lounge in Guangzhou is like traveler’s Shangri La. Private shower room? Yes, please. Sure, we may be making our way through each country in hostels and shared bathrooms while on the ground, but we’re living in the lap of luxury and doing it in style while we’re flying on this SkyMiles reward business class ticket.

We did face a small roadblock when we were told that only one carry on bag would be allowed while flying out of Auckland per the airport’s universal best practice. Completely new info. Part of our whole packing structure was based on the plan to never have to check a single bag, so that went out the window. No harm done – our bags arrived safely in Japan. Landing at Narita International Airport, we sailed through customs and immigration. In fact, aside from an episode regarding Beef Jerky confiscation (seriously), we haven’t had a single issue or question while arriving in any country so far. Fingers crossed that keeps up.

To make our arrival even sweeter, we were greeted by Brooke’s second cousin the minute we walked out of customs. Gaye has lived in Japan for twenty-five years teaching English at Camp Zama – a U.S. Army base just outside of Tokyo in Sagamihara City. She’s been an informative, excited, local guide who has already provided a wealth of information (probably more than we can remember!) on life in Japan, the military base and even the language. For example, “Don’t touch my moustache” is a helpful way to remember the phrase for “You’re welcome.” That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Gaye, who Brooke hasn’t seen in over two decades, has been kind enough to let us stay at her place on base in Tokyo while we’re here. What an amazing re source we’re lucky to have! We even found a welcome gift bag on our bed that included, among other things, Asparagus Cookies.

Earlier tonight, we took the long but scenic bus ride on the Camp Zama shuttle from Narita to the base passing through Tokyo and Yokohama which saved us some cash. Gaye pointed out the sites, told stories about last year’s giant earthquake and gave us the rundown of life in Japan. We got our first taste for how large and populated the area is. curiously enough, we saw two (and possibly three) gargantuan Ferris wheels driving through town. We’re back to being in a hot climate which gives us a chance to break out the shorts. We must concede that we are a little overwhelmed upon arriving in a truly foreign country.We’ve been attempting to digest complicated, involved looking train maps, reviewing our options for what to explore and absorbing the sites, sounds, language and more. Whew! The first eight hours in Japan have been quite the immersion!

So, now on to the second leg of our trip, the itinerary tells us that we have nine days to explore, discover and immerse ourselves in Japan. We’ve got our money belts loaded and locked on us, our JR Rail Pass ready to be cashed in and eager to burst out and explore this new land. In short, ready to get our Nippon on!

Categories: China Southern, City Visits, Customs, Destinations, Exploring, Japan, Tokyo | 2 Comments

Our Last Day in New Zealand

Posted on August 14, 2012 by Phil

The scenic coast!Well, our time in New Zealand has just about wound down to a close. Last night, Brooke and I jetted about an hour north of Auckland to have dinner in Warkworth. We dined with another set of new friends whom we had met when we first arrived in the country. Our last dinner in New Zealand was at an upscale pub where we finally had a chance to sample the fish ‘n chips we had been salivating over from town to town. Deliciousness followed. Driving back, we were greeted with the gorgeous site of the Auckland nighttime skyline welcoming us across the bay and into our final New Zealand hotel stay. I know I’ve said this a dozen times in a dozen posts, but it is a beautiful country.

We leave New Zealand about a thousand times more knowledgable about the culture, people, geography and history than we were when our plane landed in here thirteen days ago. And we’re still learning new things. For one, it turns out that when a sheep gives birth, the result is always twins. Never just one baby lamb, but two. We’ve also determined that given the Kiwi bird’s propensity to sleep up to 20 hours a day, Brooke might actually be part Kiwi. (Note from Brooke: “At least I wish I was. At least then people wouldn’t judge. Oh, they judge.”) Last night, we also learned about the Feijoa: A fruit that boldly claims to be like none other. Since the feijoa are out of season we won’t get to sample. But I’m continually surprised by the sheer number of fruits that I’ve never heard of. Last week, Brooke discovered and fell in love with the Tamarillo. A tart citrus fruit with the essence of a tomato. Unique, no?

Post Cards writing and Long Black Drinking BrookeWe managed to see a little bit more of Auckland on our last day including stumbling across an adorable shop called The Garden Party in the Ponsonby section of town. We limited our purchase to an Andy Warhol styled Sheep Coaster set (trust me, they’re awesome. Come to our new place for drinks and we’ll break them out) but the store had some endlessly great gear. We ordered one last Long Black coffee at one last café, sent a few postcards, and I even found a respectable enough looking barber to give me a much needed haircut. Our last day to-do list included wanting to try a Meat Pie for lunch which, despite it’s off putting name, is a much beloved local favorite. No stranger sounding than a Sloppy Joe, I suppose. We weren’t able to make that happen, but we’ve added it to our next time list. Our to do list for when we return to New Zealand is getting longer by the hour! We have a whole Southern Island to explore!

I think one thing I’ll remember most about New Zealand is the roads. We’ve been told that an old Kiwi joke is that road builders here get paid not by the mile of road they lay down, but the number of curves they install. Every day outside of the cities is a bit of adventure driving. Yesterday, we came across the commonly seen sign for “falling rock ahead.” Less than a mile down the road, we nearly plowed into a giant friggin’ boulder the size of a small Honda Civic. The mammoth rock was firmly situated about a third of the way into the road. Yikes. Also, in driving over 1,200 KM we saw a singular Kiwi Bird Crossing sign. Ah, I should have taken a picture of that one. Moving forward, my stress dreams may consist of riding around curvy mountain hills that you can’t see around, only to discover a double-long logging truck barreling down the other side of the two-lane road with 300 foot drop-offs.

Off to the AirportIn our next post, Brooke and I will share our favorite moments from New Zealand. But for now, Vela has been returned to the Spaceport, we’re at the Auckland International Aiport well in advance of our flight and will board our China Southern flight back to Guangzhou and then to Tokyo, Japan. Brooke and I are looking forward to our path to Tokyo and our stay at Camp Zama tomorrow. Next stop: The land of the rising sun! Onward to new discoveries and new adventures.

Categories: Driving, Eating, Japan, New Zealand, Reflections, Transportation | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Reading on the Road

Posted on July 12, 2012 by Brooke

Great Japan RTW Travel ReadingIn an attempt to make the very best of our forthcoming trip, we’re constantly soliciting advice from others who have traveled on this kind of scale. Last week, we met a guy who had attempted a year-long sojourn several years back, but cut his trip short after about six months when all of his gear was stolen in the Czech Republic. Bummer.

Anyway, when we pressed him to give his single, best piece of advice, he offered the same counsel that we’d heard a few times before: Take the time to read books written in the countries that you’re going be visiting. Immerse yourself in the culture by connecting through some of the classic written word. The theory is that by diving into a world created by a legendary author, you may add level of depth to your visit. For example, one might want to read Kafka while sitting in coffee houses in Prague or plod through crazy-looking Tolstoy while riding on a train between Russian cities. Admittedly, it is not the most original or creative advice, but we’re still taking it to heart.

Great New Zealand RTW ReadingToday we picked up two books for the first two legs of our journey: New Zealand and Japan. We prefer fiction and after some research we picked up The Bone People (a Booker Prize-winning Novel by Keri Hulme out of New Zealand) and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (a lengthy but seemingly fascinating novel by prolific and renowned author Haruki Murakami out of Japan).

I’ve always been one of those guys who says that he enjoys reading, but never seems to be able to make time for it. So, I’m looking forward to jumping into to these first two books and start dog-earing the pages immediately. I’ll be reading thick, heavy paperbacks that I can attack with a pen and flip through at will. Brooke, on the other hand, will be enjoying both on the convenience of her Kindle. Well, only if she can find The Bone People. Amazon may not have it available…load of bunk.

We are always seeking advice and input, so let us know if YOU have a must-read classic suited to one of the countries we will be visiting that we should pick up and start bookmarking.

-Phil

Categories: Diversions, Japan, New Zealand, Packing, Reading, Trip Prep | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

More Prepping for our Japan visit

Posted on July 4, 2012 by Phil

Continuing our post from yesterday, we’re looking forward to our time in Japan – our second stop on our Round The World trip.

To get set, we recently bought a pair of seven-day JR Rail Passes to help us transverse Japan which has a land area about the size of California. After doing some research, The JR Rail Pass seems like our best bet for getting around Japan. While the cost of the second-class ticket set us back a sweet $350 per pass, it looks like it is going to be money well spent. The pass covers you for a seat on just about any long-distance train (including the famed Shinkasen bullet train), intra-city travel and ferries. There are exceptions on locations, but overall this is designed for tourists. You must purchase the pass before you get to Japan. The handy staff at the Morningside Heights 112th street STA helped get us set.

Yesterday, we shared some feedback from our friend Dax who lived in Japan for a number of years. Below are some more of his incredibly helpful tips based on his own extensive experiences:

Like New York, trains in Tokyo run local and express (plus sometimes super-express). Unlike New York, the trains don’t run at night, so make sure to find out what time your last train leaves. The last train often doesn’t go all the way to the end of the line, so also make sure that it will stop at your station.  If you end up stranded, though, no one minds if you sleep on the station floor. When buying tickets, the price varies depending on the distance, even inside the cities (New York felt like an all-you-can-ride-buffet after Japan), so you have to put your ticket in the turnstile both entering and leaving the station.

 Just for the hell of it, I recommend riding a train at rush hour, simply for the adrenalizing madness. It literally feels like being at the very front of a music festival crowd. I would try to convey the crush to friends and family, but when they visited me, they would still get on a mildly crowded train and say: “Wow, this train is crowded!” And I would say: “Haven’t you read my emails? Do you have both feet on the floor? Does your body not feel like it’s wrapped with a python? Then this train is not crowded.”

 Summer is festival time in Japan, so if you ever see crowds of people and music, go in. The Japanese never mind foreigners entering their festivals. If you see people doing a coordinated dance in a circle, jump in and try to follow along. The Japanese around you will probably laugh and show you how to do the dance.

 For train travel, Excellent portable snacks are onigiri, which are seaweed-wrapped rice balls with a little filling like tuna or pickles. You can buy these in any convenience store. The plastic wrappers are very conveniently designed if you know the correct way to open them, so ask a Japanese person (like the clerk) to show you how.

I think Lonely Planet makes the best guidebooks for Japan (and just about every other country).

Have fun and good luck!!

 

Categories: Japan, Rail, Tokyo, Trip Prep | Tags: , , | 9 Comments

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