Shinjuku, Ueno, Hanami, Onsen and a non-visible Fujisan
I started my second day late. While I had no strictly fixed plans it was still a late start when I left the hostel at 11 a.m. It was a lovely sunny day and the sky was as blue as the ocean turned upside down. Hence I figured this might be the ideal day to get a good view from the top and see the giantness of Tokyo. So, I headed towards the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building. The most popular and highest tower in Tokyo to take a look around is actually the Tokyo Sky Tree but it is not for free while the government building is. Who cares about a few meters less after 45 floors when you don't have to pay anything. It is located in Shinjuku and I must again say, this train station is just MASSIVE! It took me 20 minutes to walk from one exit to the other and then I still continued walking through an artificial underground corridor directly from the station leading me to the government office. I saw a lot of suits running around an not as many foreigners as I thought. There are two towers you can choose from. Both go up to the 45th floor where an observatory , little shops and a cafe awaits you. But the most stunning thing is to take a look at Tokyo from a Birdseye. The city never ends! It is everywhere. I am so not used to this. Once I went up the TV tower in Berlin and at the outskirts of the city you could see some green places and less skyscrapers or even a mountain. Not so in Tokyo, it never ends. If you stare at one spot for a very long time, you can eventually see the earth's curvature ;-).
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| the never ending city ... |
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| Hanami! |
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| traditional Japanese Hanami gatherings |
After this amazing late start it was already lunchtime. So, I headed for Ueno Park and grabbed some supermarket lunchboxes with Tonkatsu and Onigiri on the way. As you might know, it is cherry blossom season. The sign that spring has arrived! Ueno Park is one of the biggest Parks in Tokyo and it has a lot of cherry trees, a small temple and a lake. It was crowded at the beginning but since the Park is so big, people scatter as you enter deeper inot the Park. Hanami in Japan is the Art of enjoying cherry blossoms. You simply gather with your friends and family, bring plenty of food, drinks and a blanket to sit on. Eventually a camera should not be missing either. The rest is just about enjoying the view and company. I was sitting by myself and it was fun to watch all the different people gather with their friends. On the one side sat a group of old grannies chatting about while next to it was a small family with two children running around, then there was a group of funky punky students with weird dresses and green hair while some salesmen on their lunch break just came around the corner. After I had eaten my lunch I began to strawl in the park. I took a look at the beautiful temple and discovered a small festival at the end, where I bought HUGE grilled Sakura Dango (a kind of sweet grilled dumpling). I took the opportunity to buy a fortune ticket at the temple and I got super-awesome good luck! This day was gettin better and better! Aparrently my loved one will arrive soon and I will earn a lot of money! Yay! At the other side of Ueno Park was a small Flea Market, selling anitques and old jewelry.
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| without words |
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| A huge pink Sakura-Dango! |
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| Flea Market discoveries! |
When I exit the park I made my way towards the Ameyoko (candy store alley), a kind of market like alley selling everything from food to clothes. I took a walk along its interesting shops and eventually ended up entering an accessory shop. While I was looking at the glittering jewelry, two Japanese sale girls approached me, lingering behind my back. I decided not to be bothered by them. Well, not for long. One girl stand behind me and measured herself aginst my height. "Wow" she said, " You are very tall". "Thanks, yes, that is true". I am tall even for European standards so I was not so surprised by her jaw-dropping reaction. "Please, give me, too". I though she meant I should give her some of my tallness. "Well, sorry honey but many have failed before. I recommend you to eat more Fruchtzwerge!" Is what I thought. I ended up imganiatively handing her over some of my tallness in a weird exagerragting hand gesture. It looked like an eagel with with broken wings landing on her head. I hope that satisfied her. No, of course not. While I was contiuning to look at some earrings, she said:"Sugoi! Bigu da!" (awesome, thei are big). Pointing a finger at my breasts. This was getting slightly more awkward than I expected. I made a weird embarrased but thankful laughing and snorting sound. "Can I touch?" she suddenly asked making a grapping gesture with both hands towards my breasts. I did not know what to say. Is it normal for Japanese to compare their breast size by touching them? The girls were pretty cute at first but now I was speechless. What would you have done? I couldnt come up with any weird gestures this time so I just said "No" laughed weirdly and left the store. That was my weird moment of the day.
At the evening it was again time to watch cherry blossoms but this time not lonely by myself but with the 30 people from Kahosan Hostel. They had organized a Hanami Party for all its guests with free food and drinks. Thanks guys! I met some very interesting people and the food and snacks were delicious!
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| Awesome Kahosan hanami-party! |
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| an Onsen! only for myself! |
The next day I headed for Hakone. Three hours out of Tokyo with beautiful spots to see and famous for its Onsen (Japanese Bathhouses). Unfortunately, it was pouring down with rain that day and fog as wavering around the hills so I was not able to see Fujisan. But the Onsen was awesomely relaxing! The first thing to do is wash yourself before entering the hot water. An Onsen is supplied with water from a fountain while a sento (a normal bathhouse) usually uses tap water. Sometimes they even have thermal ingredients mixed into the water. You have to be naked all the time too so you better reconsider going because it usually is not as empty as it is here. After the Onsen I want to see Fujisan but it was impossible :(....
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| rice cracker in form of "Lebkuchenherzen", as a comfort for not seeing Fujisan |
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