Kyoto

I took a bus to Kyoto. It took 8hrs to go 231 miles. There is just not a straight road there.

I decided to stay at a ryokan (Japanese style inn) rather than a hotel. This is the Hiiragiya Ryokan in Kyoto.
I got a very traditional style room. Tatami on the floor. Shouji. Tokonoma. It was very relaxing. Nakai (female wait staff) brought me dinner and breakfast. They also laid out the futon for me to sleep on while I was at the theater.

I got lucky and got a private ofuroba. It was fed by an onsen (hot spring). I was also given a yukata (loose cotton kimono) to wear around my room. Super cool. I felt like a movie star at a spa.

For dinner I had kaisek-ryori. This is traditional a vegetarian meal (mine had some fish). Its flavor is enhanced with natural herbs. It was the best thing that I had eaten so far.

What has been your favorite type of food to eat on a vacation?

What would you like to try if you could have some Japanese food tonight?

I also had dessert. I had wafu-ice (Japanese ice cream). They have some really weird flavors, like green tea, black sesame, and melon. They are really sweeten with sugars like ours. They allow the different flavors of what they add to sweeten the ice cream.

After stuffing my face, I went to experience the kimono. I got to dress in the 12 layer kimono that geisha and maiko wear. Complete with make-up and hair. The hair part hurt. They real pull the crap out of it and cake it with wax to keep it in place.
Not me in the photo. No way are you seeing that!!

If I was a guy I could have gone and tried on their outfits too. Poor me.

Last, I went to see a kabuki theater at Minami-za Kabuki Theater. Only men can be the actors because it can get a little ...questionable. They always were masks, called Noh. They were quit amusing.

Next up??? You will have to wait and see...

City dome and Kokyo

So I followed everyone's advice and went to the Tokyo City dome. It was awesome! And huge. I had to have a map to find my way around. I rode some roller coasters too. This is the Spinning coaster.

There were many many restaurants there. I opted for something more traditional this time and ate at the Sushi Soba Ginzo and had soba noodles (because I am still too chicken to eat real sushi.) Eating soba noodles with hashi... very difficult. And you have to make slirppy noises as you eat (proper etiquette). Really wild to here so many people making a lot of noise while eating.

This next day I decided to visit the Kokyo (Imperial Palace) which is in the center of the city. I had to take the subway. Wow. I don't know that I want to do that again. It was very crowded. They employ "pushers". People whose jobs are to shove everyone onto the train. Not fun.

Plus the train and subway system is a pain to figure out. There are private train companies, subways and commercial trains. They all intersect, share and cross lines. It was really confusing to pick the right one. And then you have to make sure you buy the ticket from the correct station and train or they won't let you on the train. Again really a pain. Check out the subway map I had to figure out.

So I took the right train and made it to the Tokyo station. From there it was a 10 minute walk to the Kokyo.
Here is view from one of the office buildings near by. It is weird how this ancient garden paradise can be in the middle of such modern buildings.

You need a map to get around the palace grounds because they are so vast.

This is the main genkan to the palace. Major tourist hot spot.

This palace is made up of what used to be the Edo Castle in the 17th to 19th centuries. The original moats, gates and stone walls still remain. The other structures were built later.

The gardens were very tranquil and beautiful.

So next I would like to do something and see a little more of the traditional side of Japan. So help me choose again Kyoto or Osaka and why?

Tokyo at last...

So I am here, in the capital of Japan. I have rented a very expensive condo in the Shoto district of Tokyo. It is fabulous. Lush. Super expensive. But money is no object on this year's trip around the globe!

The Shoto Grand Hills is close to some super nice museums, shops and restaurants. So I took the train and went to Bunkamara.

It was amazing! The architecture here is uber modern and not very "Japanese" but it is definitely a cultural center. This building houses an art gallery, art museum, cinema, a modern movie experience theater (you have to see it to believe it: nice seats, food and drinks served to you and a movie presented in parts!), French and Italian restaurants, book store, French owned flower shop and an Austrian jewelry store. Fabulous!

This is the uber modern movie theater. It was super cool! I watched some show about Utopia. It was about salvaging treasure under the sea. It looked great on the huge screen in this theater.

From there I took the train to nearby Daikanyama district.

Daikanyama (代官山) is one of the districts of Tokyo, Japan’s Shibuya ward. Known as a hot spot of shopping for locals, Daikanyama is home to a wide variety of fashionable boutique shops and sidewalk restaurants and cafes. Multiple courtyards are located between restaurants and homes and the low rise buildings give the neighborhood a more subdued classic style than the hyper-modern high rises of Tokyo’s other shopping districts (one of which I had just come from).

Some of the shops in this area include Jean Paul Gaultier, Paul Smith, Vivienne Tam, and Martin Margiela hold court in Daikanyama alongside local designer shops converted out of old homes and vintage clothing shops spilling out onto the sidewalks. Main streets with well known names such as Kyu Yamate Dori and Hachiman Dori are well traveled but side streets and alleys often have just as many if not more shops of their own.

Some of the more trendy shops.

Ok. Folks I need help deciding where to go to next. I will give you two options and you pick which one you think sounds best and why. You see I am not a decision maker so I need you to really sway me one way or another.

Your choices are... Ueno Park
or

Tokyo Dome City?