After the two busy days in Disneyland, we headed into Tokyo for a two night stay in a hotel which would work out to be quite a surprise. More to come on that soon... We headed out first thing next morning to visit the Imperial Palace...without having read anything about where to go, so we headed to what we thought was the palace, but was in fact the East Gardens (from which you can't see the palace)...
Keira was really getting into the Japanese Karate spirit...(or Kung Fu as she referred to it)...at every opportunity, she would stop and pose for a while...
Here we are at the gardens. It may not be clear, but its pouring down with rain...which isn't very good when you are in the middle of a park without umbrellas!
A friendly guide, and a kiosk later, and we were all covered, and with the rain reducing to a light shower, we thought it would be safe to venture further into the gardens.
Three umbrellas... With the assumption being that one of the girls would share with daddy.
What happened next was as we passed through the fortified walls of the inner garden, the skies opened up and we were soaked. We stopped in another kiosk, where the girls slept for two hours, then ran back out of the gardens in the rain.
We did manage to find a nice restaurant for lunch... Not sure what Claire is doing here...
The rest of the day involved a failed attempt at Ginza (it too was waterlogged), so we went into one of the malls and stayed in the kiddies playground for an hour or so!.
Then back to our hotel...and here's where we can explain the surprise. The room was, somewhat small. 13sqm in total (including the entrance and bathroom), which is smaller than our bedroom... Whilst the girls initially thought it was funny...
The stress of having to stay in the corner of the bed whilst we opened the luggage on the bed (there was no where else to open it)... We didn't really think this one through when we booked it!
The next day (Sunday) we headed to Harajuku, for a chance to see the famed goth and cosplay teens... Alas, another failed attempt, with us walking into the wrong park (albeit a beautiful park leading through to a Shrine).
But as we only had until early afternoon, we didn't make the long walk to the Shrine, rather we enjoyed the gate and the entrance park, before the kids collapsed once again.
Sunday evening, we boarded a "RomanceCar", which to be honest was just a normal train, headed for Hakone.
Keira has two smiles these days, and both of them involve pulling faces at us.
Claire loved the idea of sitting by herself on the train.
Which meant mummy was sitting by herself too... The window on the left is the driver's cabin...We were right at the front of the train.
Welcome to Hakone... After crossing the road from the station, we could begin to see why this area is a major destination for Tokyo-ites every weekend.
We spent the night in a traditional Ryokan, which the girls thought was a blast.
During the evening, we strolled through the town buying snacks (as if we hadn't already eaten enough).
We saw these fish cakes, and both girls demanded one.
Which they quickly finished off.
Waiting for breakfast. Grandma will remember the last photo of daddy in a yakata (some 19 years ago)...
During breakfast, we saw the girls sitting quietly in the corner... could they be worshiping a shrine...
Of sorts... The Wiggles!
The girls were enjoying the window ledge (which looks down on the same river from the first shot from Hakone).
Monday morning, we took advantage of the area, and headed on an adventure... Which first involved a train which treks up the mountain.
Mummy and Claire took the time to have a deep and meaningful.
After the train, which Claire loved (because it had to keep changing directions to work its way up a single track up the mountain (the direction changes are to allow trains coming down the mountain to pass).
We then took a Cable train (no pictures), which pulled us backwards up a steep incline.
Next on our public transport adventure, a cable-car ride across the valleys.
Claire explained to us that the colours on the trees, and the leaves on the ground was due to it being Fall.
A rare shot of mummy and daddy (without the kids).
Even the cable-car had interchanges. This one atop a sulfur field (note the steaming ground behind). We were going up a volcano.
To commemorate the occasion, what better way that a sign which we cannot read!
Everywhere in Tokyo, these ice cream cones were outside the restaurants, drawing the kids (and daddy) to them. Daddy was tempted to buy one as a souvenir. Mummy wasn't too keen on the idea for some reason.
After the cable car, it was time for a cruise in the volcanic lake, Lake Ashi. Yes, they are pirate boats in the background. Not sure of the story there, as surely there wouldn't ever have been pirates in a lake you can see across (and is atop a volcano).
Made for a beautiful scene though.
Back inside, and the call to ice cream was just too strong!
Then it is off to the pirate ship.
Claire wanted to know if he was real... She realised very quickly that he wasn't, and then was quite surprised when an actor (in costume) showed up on board as a 'real' pirate.
Claire loved being up on deck with the wind in her hair (Keira unfortunately missed out on the fun as she was asleep in the pram).
Another beautiful day.
As soon as we docked, Claire collapsed. Yet another scene of mummy and daddy in a restaurant / cafe with two sleeping girls.
Finally, after a long day in Hakone (which unfortunately for mummy and daddy, didn't involve a soak in the onsen (hot springs), which the area is famed for), we headed back into Tokyo.
This time around, the train was full, so we had the girls on our laps for the two hour trip. Between the iPad and the camera, we just about made it through.
Our little fish...
And our first night in Shinjuku... and what a welcome relief the hotel was...big enough for all of us, and little yakata for the kids.
Keira's photo doesn't show her true form, the video is definitely worth a watch. Claire however took to it naturally, and very quickly formed her pose...
Followed by another... We have no idea where she learns these things.
Daddy's three matching girls.
The next morning (Tuesday), we awoke to this view...
And so headed out to Asakusa to visit the famed shrine and market.
It was such a joy wondering through Tokyo with blue skies, crisp air...
Keira seemed to have picked up this pose from one of the locals.
Claire's version of the same pose at the Sensoji temple.
And again with mummy.
All the time whilst Keira slept.
Afterwards, we wondered the streets (whilst Claire slept).
That evening, to give mummy a chance to shop (which would be her only chance), daddy took the girls to a curry house...
Followed by a late night ice cream, which we ate on the way to the observation deck of the Metropolitan Government Building (the twin towers directly outside our window). From which you can see great swathes of Tokyo (and freeze on the way there with your ice creams!).
Wednesday morning, and our holiday is approaching its end, so we decided to do something traditionally Japanese and...
Ramen for breakfast, followed by...
Hello Kitty.
After a quick rest in a cafe (Keira's sleeping)...[And a pose from Claire that is half daddy and half Auntie Karen]..
We headed to Shibuya... the famed busy intersection...
And the super-kawaii Keira...
Whilst shopping, we passed a couple of 'Claire's' which Claire was quite excited about. We also passed a store called Beaver...but it wasn't that interesting, so we didn't bother.
Shibuya at night...
And again.
Our last day in Tokyo quickly arrived, and so we made a trip out to Harajuku again.
Where we saw lots of crepes...and photo booths... the sign on the right leads down to a room full of photo booths that manipulate the output...see next shot for the results.
It's not very clear, but the machine did funny things to the girls eyes... Apparently this makes them more beautiful... somehow they look like robots...
Next stop was to try one of the famed crepes...
Which Claire quickly selected and ate..
We spent a couple of hours, first in the 100Yen store ($2 store)...and bought a lot more stuff than we expected (or should have bought), then went to a large toy store...so the kids could get something for themselves...
Afterwards, we shared a curry-rice in the park near the station.
At night, we headed once again to Shibuya to do a bit of shopping and wondering around (which ended up being just wondering around)...
Followed by a nice dinner...
And then back to the hotel, on to the airport and back to Singapore...
Overall, a great holiday, and we'll definitely head back to Tokyo one day again soon.
0 comments:
Post a Comment