Japan 2.11: One Piece and Ninjas

We started the day early, boarding a set of trains headed back to Tokyo.  I ended up meeting a seventeen year old Australian kid who had been backpacking through Japan, and we talked all the way through the first two trains.  Once in Tokyo, we unloaded our suitcases and headed out for the day.

I hadn't told Miles what we would be doing today, so I navigated us over to Tokyo One Piece Tower.  There is a small 3 floored "amusement park" of One Piece, a cartoon and comic, of which Miles has sporadically both watched and read.  Before entering, you watch a movie presented on all sides which was cute.  Inside, there are many statues, for lack of a better word, of the characters.  The theme was impeccable.  It was also a Thursday afternoon, so the place was nearly empty.  We never had to wait for anything.



The park was made up of walk through areas, which have a combination of statues, videos, and other special effects.  Additionally, there are free games to participate in.  We started with a catapult game.



We also participated in a gambling game, where we had 4 colors to enter as our guess in three different games.  There were only five people in the room, including us, and I won.  I received a card as a reward.



The park offered a live show, and when we entered, we were ushered to the front, where kids were given preferential seating.  I have never been a fan of these kinds of shows and have seen plenty of Disney's shows in the past.  This show, however, was incredible.  Even though it was all obviously in Japanese, the dancing, choreography, energy, and creativity were all incredible.  The specialeffects were also really unique, including the use of movable screens that added videos that the actors interacted with and moved around and a blow up fist that shot out from the back to make it look like the main character had expanded his hand in a cartoonlike fashion.



There was a haunted house to walk through, and in the most memorable walk through experience, there were two mirror mazes and a bridge with fire swirling around it, that gave a believable effect of us spinning.



Even the escalators had pictures of the characters on it.



We finished our time at the park by taking part in a scavenger hunt.  We were given a sluglike creature and were given the task of looking for circular runes on the walls all over, and then to press a button that lit up when you put the slug against that spot.  We found about eight or nine, and got a high score, but did not find the one that was needed to "win."  It was still fun though.

Next, we stopped briefly at a traditional craft store that had crafts from all over Japan.  There were many beautiful pieces and some of them were extraordinarily expensive.  The only ones that happened to jump out at me happened to be the latter.  Miles sat himself at the entrance of the store, to watch a video of people making different crafts and showing the process.  He surprisingly found this to be fascinating.

We ended the night by having dinner at a restaurant called Ninja Akasaka.  The entrance is a locked door on the street.



While waiting for this door to open, as my attempts had failed, four Australians in their mid 20s, who were also waiting in line, struck up a conversation with me.  I wish we had more time, but all of a sudden the door opened and we were ushered in.  The place was dark throughout, and therefore I really got no usable pictures, so I will have to describe it in words.

First, you walked down a flight of steps to a receptionist that asked that we wait for our ninja  We then heard a voice, and someone popped in through a trap door, to escort us to our table.  He showed us that the wall we were standing next to was not what it seemed.  Once through, we walked down narrow stairs and low ceilings until we reached a break in the floor, with a large treasure chest down the hole.  By snapping his fingers, or something similar, a bridge came down from the wall, allowing us to cross.  I told him that the treasure was preferable.  We continued on until we were in the restaurant, which was a dark, winding street with little alcoves for tables.  Ours was up a flight of steps which let us overlook our part of the neighborhood.



The food was served in many small courses, with ninja themed foods, served by a ninja that spoke like she was revealing a ninja secret with each meal.



Once the main course was brought out, another ninja visited our table and performed magic tricks that bedazzled Miles.  In the end, he was allowed to keep a card that he had written his name on, which was involved in one of the card tricks.  They even themed the exit well.  Our host ninja opened a door into a flaming wall(on a screen, not real flames) and then made the flames go away so we could exit.  As we walked out, a nonja ran out behind us and opened a scroll that said something to the effect of "Please come back soon!"  It was all very unique and incredibly well put together.

Tomorrow, I have another surprise awaiting Miles.

Japan 2.10: Monkeys

This post will have a ton of pictures and a few videos on monkeys.  If monkeys bore you, skip to the next post.

This morning we woke up early, ate breakfast, and took the hotel's shuttle to the entrance to Jigokudani Monkey Park.  From the entrance, we had to walk 1.3 kilometers before we reached the actual entrance. Since the monkeys are allowed to roam free, we saw some as we approached the real entrance.

If you look closely, you could see a monkey on the roof.

Once inside, there were monkeys all over the place.  Sometimes they shrieked and chased after each other.  On other occasions they would play in the water or climb the mountain.  The most advertised part us a small hot springs where monkeys bathed.  We had a blast just watching them all.

Videos first-

We walked back through another route, to a neighboring area known for its hotsprings, Shibu Onsen.



 It is a tiny neighborhood, with narrow streets.  We stopped to look at a public foot bath from the hotsprings, but ended up continuing on to a nearby ramen restaurant.  Again, I had miso ramen soup, which was incredible.



We walked just past our hotel, in order to look at a local craft store, which was closed for lunch.  On the way back to the hotel, I took note of the local ping pong club.



We are just relaxing for the rest of the day.  Tomorrow we head back to Tokyo, for an action packed final leg of our trip.

Japan 2.9: A day of travel and rest on the way to the snow monkeys

Since the other side of the mountain was still shut down, my plans for going to the city there and seeing some points of interest had to be missed.  We came back down the mountain the same way we came up.  One of the observation platforms was partially open and some of the snow at the dam was melted.



We arrived in Nagano around 1:45pm.  I gave Miles the choice between going to a place with gyudon(beef bowl) or a ramen restaurant across the street(presented as "soup.").  He chose ramen.  I had actually never had ramen before, so I was interested to try it.  The restaurant was rated highly on google maps.  The food ended up being excellent.  It was of the miso variety of ramen.



We continued on to Yudanaka.  Our hotel had a shuttle waiting, to pick us up.  The staff is extremely friendly and the place looks very nice.

There is origami on the tables near the reception area

The hotel looked like a regular hotel, but the rooms are Japanese traditional inn style, though ours includes a private bathroom.  We are on the 4th floor and have a great view from our room.



We had a traditional Japanese dinner.  One interesting part f the meal was that we picked our own mushrooms and cooked them on the table.  The waitress asked me if we were siblings, which I always find funny and kind of odd.



Unfortunately, they were not told ahead of time that we do not eat seafood.  They were able to give us a few alternatives and tomorrow we will be able to have chicken instead.  It was a bit too exotic for Miles, but luckily I had bought him snacks ahead of time, just in case.

Tomorrow morning, we will be going early to see the snow monkeys that this area is known for.

Japan 2.8: A morning ceremony, a trip up a mountain, a long hike through snow, and a great day for losing things

We woke up the next morning at 6 am, for a short walk through Zenkoji temple with a guide.  Her English was just so so, but it was still an enjoyable walk through the area.   The high priest arrived at the temple, and people bowed while he hit them in the head with a rosary.  We sat for a ceremony, with similar chanting as to what I had heard on Mount Koya, except mercifully shorter.  Then, we went down in search of the key.  Underneath the temple it is pitch black.  We walked while touching the right wall before finding the "key," that did not feel at all like a key.  Miles very much enjoyed the tunnel.  I always like walks in the dark as well.

A monument for people who have lost children to pray at

You are supposed to spin this wheel while praying

We left immediately afterwards.  We ran towards the nearby train.  After a very short trip, we emerged near the main Nagano Station.  We ran across the street, up the escalator, down the elevator, and arrived three minutes too late for the bus.  The next bus was forty minutes, so we waited.  While waiting, I realized that one of our filtered water bottles was missing.  I retraced our steps and found it.  It was on the ground, crushed, right where the street met the station, where the buses line up.

The bus ride was about an hour and forty minutes long, leaving us in Ogizawa.  Next, we transferred to an electric bus that brought us up and into the mountain for a short fifteen minute ride.



It dropped us off at the Kurobe Dam, the tallest dam in Japan.  We climbed up to the observation deck, but it was closed off due to snow.  I still took a picture from the snack area just below it.



We walked back down, grabbed our luggage from a coin locker, and headed out onto the dam itself.  Miles was enthralled with the snow.  I loved the view on both sides. 



After taking plenty of time on the dam, we entered a short tunnel before reaching our next form of transportation, a cable car, which would bring us up at a steep angle.   Miles was disappointed that the trip was entirely inside a tunnel.  I, on the other hand, was relieved.



There was another small station at the top, with another observation post that was closed to snow.  Next was the ropeway.  Entirely suspended without support posts, it is the largest of its type in Japan.  It was a surprisingly smooth ride and didn't bother me nearly as much as I expected, or even as much as the one that I had taken in Onimichi.



We checked into the hotel and then looked for lunch. I only saw one restaurant.  I quickly ran into the bathroom right next to it, and when I got out, the restaurant had closed until dinner.  The hostess directed us to a snack lounge across the way.  Besides for a beef curry, the only thing edible was a cake with whipped cream.  We begrudgingly went for the latter.



Our room still wasn't ready, so we decided to go outside.  The front desk let us know that the hotel offered free snow boots to borrow, so we headed down to the rental room.  We put our shoes in the locker and grabbed some boots and ski poles. We exited on the fourth floor, onto a beautiful snowscape. 



We were able to see the clouds below us in the distance.  We followed a trail to a nearby area where many people were setting up camps.  I was given a map at the front desk and there were posts marking the route around a pond that was now completely covered in snow. 



Before heading off, I spoke with a couple that was standing nearby.  I asked if he was Australian, but it turns out he was from New Zealand.  From now on, I will ask people with a similar accent if they are from Australasia or something.  He suggested a route that was nearby, that was the same route around the pond.  We began our journey.



I went a little crazy taking pictures, and I got a warning on my camera that the memory card was full.  I usually take two spares with me while travelling, but could not locate them after dragoncon.  Luckily, I back up things regularly, and found some videos to delete in order to free up space.

About halfway through, my hands were getting cold.  I reached into my pockets and only one of my gloves was present.  I hadn't fallen down, so I have no idea where the glove went.  A while later, Miles was complaining about his hands getting cold.  He had played so much in the snow and had fallen enough times that it had soaked through his gloves.  I gave him mine. 

We struggled through the last part of the trail, as we had lost site of the markers and I saw them a bit in the distance.  It was getting dark, so I decided to just shortcut it to the camp, which was not far from the hotel.  Miles had an easier time, as his weight wasn't enough to have him fall into the snow nearly as much as me.  The last 50 feet or so were troublesome for me, as I had gotten some snow or ice in my boot.  Miles was able to easily walk ahead, while I kept sinking entirely into the snow.  I asked him to ask someone in the camp to help me out.  Someone was nice enough to bring those snow shoe contraptions that you hook your boot into, that distributes weight evenly, allowing you to walk on snow more easily.  Within five minutes we were back at the hotel.

We arrived at our room, which was the most spacious yet.  It did not have a thermostat that could be adjusted however.  The booklet in the room explained that the hotel was set to a fairly warm temperature in order to keep the pipes from freezing.  They suggested using a small space heater in the room if you were cold or to open a window if you were hot. 

I started uploading all of my pictures from the trip to my internet backup, so I would be able to completely delete everything off my memory card so that I would not run out of space for the rest of the trip.  Miles also point out the sunset going on outside our window.  I grabbed my camera, leaned out the window, and took some shots.  Not many came out that great, unfortunately.  Here is the one that I liked the most.



Then, it was time for dinner.  Miles has been pretty apprehensive when it comes to the traditional Japanese meals.  It was part buffet style and part served.  He loved the crab tempura as well as some of the other dishes.  He ended up very happy.