Author Archives: mathan

Day 12: Fragrant Harbour

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Originally titled: Day 12: Fragrant Harbour – 香港

Givenchy, Gautier, Darling, names names names!  We even passed by Harvey Nicks, sweetie!  Patsy and Edina would be very happy!

After spending the day away from the central business districts of Hong Kong and Kowloon, we decided to spend time closer to Hong Kong by… going to Hong Kong, the city.  People often think of Hong Kong as the combined entities of Kowloon and Hong Kong themselves, but it’s a much bigger place as evidenced by our visit to Tai O yesterday.  I know I’m guilty of that.

Hong Kong is an autonomous territory, a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China.  Previously it was a British Overseas Territory, handed back to China as agreed to after a 99 year lease in 1997.  An area of 7.2 million people.

It is a vibrant, busy place.  It has no taxes, so shopping is relatively cheap relative to some places.  If you’re looking for a new watch, gold, jade or a new suit, this is the place to be.

MTR is an awesome service.  If you’re a traveller, order the airport express pass in advance and you get 3 days of unlimited travel which was perfect for our needs.

One of the things that struck me about MTR, are the advertisements for safety.  They’re quite funny to me at one level because I can be pretty twisted, but these are very important advertisements especially for mainlanders who may not have the big city experiences that some of us do have.  As MTR’s slogan goes, “Caring for life’s journeys”, and it shows.

Getting up, the day was grey, rainy and humid.  Totally unlike our first day which was beautiful.  When in Rome, do as the Romans – Get yourself an umbrella and make the best of it.

We headed to Causeway Bay which was similar to the area our hotel was in, except for the guys hawking “Copy Watches” and suits – There were none, which was very refreshing!

Ah yes, the guys who love to approach you and say, “Friend!  I’ve got beer for you if you come and look at my suits!  I’ve got ice cream, friend!” or the guys that, right in front of a Rolex shop ask if I’m interested in a copy watch which is a fake watch that might last a year if you’re lucky.  Dude, seriously, I’m wearing an Apple Watch, or a Citizen Blue Angels Skyhawk, or a 25th Anniversary Swatch Club watch… Do you really think I’m going to be wanting to buy a copy watch?  I’m going to go to a reputable dealer and buy that Seiko Astron for $2000 (which I did not), not go for a copy watch.

I do like watches, I have to admit and I will say that the pricing was out of my league despite the tax free/duty free pricing.

None the less, I am amazed at the number of shops that sell jewellery in Hong Kong and amazed that theses businesses are sustainable.

It’s amazing seeing bamboo being used for construction.  I’ve heard about this and seen pictures, but never in the flesh.

The rain soon cleared up as did the fog/mist/cloud coverage on Victoria Peak, so we decided to get the cable car up to Victoria Peak.  Yes, another tourist trap mecca, but has to be done. J   The cable car journey is quite something.  You’re easily at a 45 degree incline.  It’s quite something to experience especially as a big guy.

The view from Victoria Peak is stunning.  Such a beautiful view of Hong Kong, Kowloon and environs.  It has to be done at least once, and take it from me, words do not do it justice, nor pictures.

We stopped for lunch at the Hong Kong Day restaurant at the peak.  Don’t bother with the other restaurants there, they’re expensive and somewhat westernized.  The Hong Kong Day, while probably inflated, has good cheap food relatively speaking and it was tasty!

We got the Star Ferry back to Kowloon.  This, again, is something that must be done.  For HK$2, it’s cheap, historic and you get some amazing views of the CBD.

Sadly, for today, I did not have my good camera on me, mainly because of the rain so had to settle for my iPhone camera.

One of the first people I worked with when I started my career 20 years ago at Nortel, lives in Hong Kong along with his wife.  He had arranged dinner at the Peninsula Hotel, specifically at Springmoon, the Chinese Restaurant within the hotel.

Scott and I knew this was quite an upscale hotel without even walking in.  Heck, after walking into our hotel and seeing some choice luxury automobiles, walking into the Peninsula and seeing the cars parked outside, we felt very out of place.  Very out of place.

The lobby of the hotel was out of this world, just beautiful.

Dinner was off the planet!  Peking Duck served two ways, Hot & Sour Soup, Fried rice, Mango pudding, just amazing, and the service was stunning. (Dinner pictures coming)

It was so good seeing Albert after 17 years, and his wife Natalie; where we’ve gone and the things we’ve done.  It’s weird knowing that I have spent just slightly over half my life in the working world, and not in school.  The time flies so quickly.

After we stopped by the Avenue of the Stars featuring many icons in the Hong Kong movie industry, beyond Bruce Lee.

The one thing I wish we could do is spend more time in Hong Kong, checking out places outside the standard tourist areas.  We only scratched the surface.  That said, that is why, on trips like Scott and I just took, that we sometimes like to go to a place for a small ‘teaser’ to make us hungry to come back.  Believe me, I really do want to go back to Hong Kong.

Tomorrow would be our last day in Hong Kong.

Day 11: Hong Kong, Tai O

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Waking up Sunday morning, we went down to the Concierge Desk to ask if they could help us with reservations we had made with Ngong Ping 360 for the cable car ride up to the Tian Tan Buddha and Po Lin Monastery.  See, we didn’t get an email confirming the reservation and our printer didn’t print out our confirmation properly.  We had forgotten what time the reservations were for.

It was almost 10:00am when we got downstairs, and our reservation was for 11:30am.  It takes about 45 minutes to get to the cable cars and then 25 minutes to get up to the peak.  Aieee!  Scarfing down breakfast (great buffet at the Sheraton here) we rushed and got there well within time.  In fact, our cable car reservation was 11:30am and our tour started at 1:30pm!  Scott also had the time zone wrong on his watch. LOL!

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day.  The first fully sunny day we’ve had on our trip.  Which helped with the absolutely stunning view of everything – the airport, Lantau, just beautiful.  Among the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong, the high density living, you have some amazing greenery and countryside.

Taking the cable car up to the Tian Tan Buddha and Po Lin Monastery, it can’t be described and pictures just don’t do this area of Hong Kong justice.  It’s stunningly beautiful.  Definitely a must-do.  And beware, kind of like the Itzukashima temple with deer everywhere, there are cows everywhere.

We stopped in at a tea shop and got a lesson in various kinds of teas in China.  Of course, we picked some up. You can’t visit China and Hong Kong without tea.

Face it, Ngong Ping, at least the ‘village’ is like a mini Niagara Falls.  Meaning it’s a ‘tourist village’.  While the shops are fun to go through, the real heart of the area is the Monastery and the Tian Tan Buddha.  That’s where the real culture is.

Scott had arranged a tour which took us to Tai O which is a fishing village on Lantau Island directly across from Macau (which is on a future bucket list).   We took a boat ride out to see Chinese White Dolphins, which sadly there were none to be seen, but again, seeing the countryside was stunning.

Tai O has a great market with all kinds of dried fish which is well worth checking out.  You can also find Egg Waffles here, as well there is a funky knock off shop which is always fun to walk into.

After Tai O we headed back to the Monastery.  We then headed back to Hong Kong.

Getting back to our room, room service had turned down the bed, but they had also arranged all the crap on the desk that I had taken out of my bag!  Now that’s service!

We stopped over by Avenue of the Stars for the nightly light show that happens in the harbour.  Again, worth checking out, and a fun time/place to do night time photography.

One thing that struck me about the area where the hotel is, is the number of jewellery and watch shops there are.  Lots of gold and jade to be found.  It’s like the Vegas of shopping here.

Heading to Tai O, the density of ‘mansions’, what people from Hong Kong call a condo is quite something.

Day 10: Hong Kong Bound

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Hong Kong has always fascinated me as a kid.  It probably has to do with James Bond films and the British influences in my life.  Having worked with a people from Hong Kong and China in general, I figured it’s about time we spent some time in China and specifically Hong Kong.

Shanghai and Beijing were on our short list for this trip when panning, but we figured that Hong Kong should be our first experience.

To get there we have to fly through Incheon which is the airport closest to Seoul, South Korea.  We flew Asiana and the itinerary was chosen specifically because of the 747 from NRT (Narita, Japan) to ICN (Incheon, South Korea) and then to HKG (Hong Kong SAR, China).

We took the N’EX aka Narita Express from Tokyo to the airport.  Getting through Narita, for the most part, was a breeze except that they decided to have me empty out my bags and x-ray everything twice despite going through the Gold lane (for those with Priority privileges on airlines).

The lounge was our next stop.  At Narita, Star Alliance folks have their choice of the United lounge or ANA lounges.  Now, the United Lounge is a Global First lounge and was recently renovated.  Still, I’m not about to spend time in a US-based airline lounge.  I want something with local flavour.

The ANA lounge was our first stop. What a treat!  Sushi, the beer pouring robot (okay, it’s really a machine, still…), Sake Bar and the Noodle Bar!  It was a nice place to chill before our flight.

From there, we headed to our gate and were off to Incheon… on a 777.  *POUTS*  And it was understandable that Asiana downgraded the hardware.  There were only six of us in Business Class.

The service was awesome!  The Ssambap choice was great and the Flight Attendant seemed genuinely pleased that we had made that choice.

The Asiana Samarium Business Class seats on the 777 are comfortable and the cabin was quite pleasant. No amenity kit, and I was not expecting one, but you do get slippers and in the bathroom they offer toothbrushes and combs which you can keep.

Connecting at Incheon, we followed the transit signs, went through security where my bag was torn apart and all my bits x-rayed twice.  Once through, though, we headed to the Asiana Business lounge.

When we took our first flight, Asiana has a massive Duty Free catalogue.  It is full of cosmetics and perfumes as one would expect, but a HUGE array of cosmetics and perfumes, as well health supplements and products related.

Looking at the Duty Free shops at Inchon, it is perceived that South Koreans are obsessed with looking good and they’ll do anything to stay looking young.  At least, that’s how it looks from the outside looking in, as well there is a disturbing statistic that many women have had plastic surgery by the time they’re 21.

For a geek like me, there isn’t much out there in terms of electronics shopping. Interesting given LG and Samsung’s strengths in the country.  There is one small shop that sells Samsung hard drives, bluetooth headphones, rice cookers and hot water dispensers.

If you want Omiyage or sunglasses, you’re in luck.  Lots on offer at Incheon.  If you want Louis Vuitton and other high-end names that bore the crap out of me, it’s there.

The Asiana Business Class lounge is spacious, busy, and offers lockers so you can go and shop until you drop if you want.  Food-wise, someone said to me that it’s weird, and it is a bit odd for mid-day.  They have a salad with chicken, chips, breads and a few biscuits on offer.  Later they actually added a lovely vindaloo, spring rolls and a rice dish.

The people of South Korea are very proud of their heritage and it shows.  There are two cultural centres in the airport where you can see presentations of music, dress, and even participate in activities.  They specifically call out that the activities are free to foreigners.

Beyond the lounge, there does not seem to be much on offer food-wise.  There is a very very small food court that has Korean, Japanese, Quiznos and Taco Bell offerings.

There are some airports that excite the heck out of me – Narita, Hong Kong, Chile, Heathrow.  There are airports that I despise – Chicago, Los Angeles (LAX), any airport in New York City.  Incheon I tolerate.  I actually feel like on the return that I’ll want to poke my eyes out if I have to spend 6 hours at that airport.

Thankfully, they offer layover tours!  You also have the option of taking AREX into Seoul.  So if you’re bored at Incheon, it’s you’re own fault! 🙂

 

After about 3 or 4 hours, we jumped on the A380 from Incheon to Hong Kong.  There are only about 8 of us in Business Class.  There were 3 bridges to the plain – First/Business and Economy on the main floor.  Business/Economy on the second.  We were on the second floor.  By the way the business class bathroom on Asiana’s A380 is huge!

I am amazed that a plane the size of the A380 takes off.  It’s an amazing feat of engineering and it’s so quiet on the second floor.  If Boeing thinks a 787 is quiet, which it is relative to single level planes, the A380 is quieter, inside.

Scott and I opted for the Western meals – We had the Ssambap previously and didn’t want the same meal.  Scott had the steak, I went for the seafood option.  All great choices.

Asiana’s service is top notch.  In fact, I felt a bit out of my element, but it was nice being taken care of by the great service.

The ride was a bit bumpy and you can tell the A380 does get thrown a fair bit in turbulence.  We passed by a big storm system on our way with lightning, so the turbulence was not surprising.

Arriving in Hong Kong, Scott and I unlocked another achievement – Landing on a purpose-built island airport.  The new Hong Kong airport is stunning and easy to get through.  Interestingly, Hong Kong Immigration does not stamp the passport, but opts to give a piece of paper instead.  Ahhh!  But I like having stamps in my passport!  The sticker I received in Japan is awesome with it’s QR code!

Apparently it saves three seconds per passenger, and reduces errors.  That is a significant saving of time.

We picked up our MTR Airport Express passes and we were soon on our way to the Sheraton Hotel and Towers on Nathan Road.  We ended up getting out Suite upgrade, which I think, is the biggest room we’ve had to date, and we are completely spoiled here.

Day 9: Tokyo Disneyland

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I became a reluctant Disneyphile about 12 years ago when I finally visited Disneyland in California with some friends.  Since then, Scott and I have kind of made it part of our thing having gone to Disneyworld during our honeymoon, and last year with Scott’s mum and aunt.

Since we happened to be in Japan and Tokyo, why not, while we’re here, go to Tokyo Disney Resort?

The first thing that went through my mind is why would I really want to go to something so western?  Well, Tokyo Disney Resort does have what people have described as the coolest park in the system, Tokyo Disneysea.

I think Scott and I were both surprised.  Firstly, it wasn’t full of western tourists.  Apparently the Japanese love Disney and it shows, and it’s very Kawaii (かわいい), or cute.  Like, way kawaii.  You think that groups going around in the same t-shirts at WDW or Disneyland is cute?  That’s nothing compared to what you see at Tokyo Disney Resort with people dressing up.  Combine otaku and Disney and, uh… yeah, just wow what you see.

The gift shops are decidedly different for the Japanese market.  Pin collecting is not a thing at the Japanese parks, although you can find pins.  We picked up park pins and Hallowe’en pins, and you can find character pins and packages though they can be hard to find.  It’s definitely not common.

Popcorn is a HUGE thing at the parks, and different flavours like the usual caramel, chocolate and salted.  You also see flavours like curry!  Also collecting popcorn buckets is definitely a thing.  I may or may not have specifically gone to Tokyo Disneyland itself just to get a Stitch bucket. LALALA. 🙂

Actually, it was worth it.  More on that later.

While some park staff speak some degree of English, the language spoken at the park is Japanese most definitely.  It’s not like Disney have transplanted foreign workers to work the park.  Some, yes, but the staff is mostly local.  It is mostly Disney run by the Japanese and they do an amazing job of that.

If you think service is kicked up at Walt Disney World, Tokyo Disneyland kicks it up.

The Monorail system is definitely kicked up, and it’s is actually run by the holding company that runs Tokyo Disney Resort.  Interestingly, it’s a pay system so have a SuICA or Pasmo card handy, and plan your days accordingly.  It’s not like Walt Disney World where you have free access to the busses and monorail.  I can’t rave enough about how clean and modern this monorail system is, relative to WDW.  Also, you can ride at the front, and it’s fully automated – not pilot.

From Shinjuku, it takes about 45 minutes to get to Tokyo Disney on the Maranouchi and Keiyo lines to Maihama station.

The parks are not that expensive.  CAD$69 for one park.  After 6pm, CAD$42.  That’s a bargain relative to the US parks where you’re paying well over $100 for just one park and that’s not with a park hopper.

The hotels are expensive, hence why we stayed on points at the Hilton Tokyo near Shinjuku.  Rooms with points were not available at the Tokyo Bay Hilton and I was not about to pay their prices, especially when I had points to use.

Now about the parks.

The attention to detail as you walk into Tokyo DisneySea is stunning.  I can say, without a doubt, it is probably the best part based on attention to detail in the system.  The Mediterranean Harbour, American Waterfront, Port Discovery, Mermaid Lagoon and Arabian Coast – all stunning, but what really got Scott and I was Mysterious Island with the Journey to the Centre of the Earth ride, which was sadly closed

The rides are big person friendly, so the park is designed for all.  The park is also accessible from what I could tell.  In fact, one thing I could say about Tokyo, at least, is that it is reasonably accessible with elevators, escalators, high visibility lines and markings on walkways with people with sight impairments.  Definitely way more than anything I’ve seen in North America.

Do take the boat ride around the whole park.  It’s worth it, and stunning!  Do see the mountain erupt, there’s nothing like it in the other parks.  Definitely try the Sailing Day Buffet – you won’t eat at any other Disney park, like it!

Duffy the Disney Bear – wait who?  Yes, Duffy the Disneybear.  You’ve seen him at Disneyworld, but he’s not a big phenomenon as he is in Japan. In short, Disneysea is Duffy’s park.  He’s everywhere, along with some of the other characters, and he hails from the Cape Cod region of the park with Sally-Mae, his female cohort.  At least, that’s how I understood it.

In Arabian Coast, I saw the Genie from Aladdin and he practically pounced on me!  I got a great picture with him and various characters from the film!

The pop corn buckets in the park run from about CAD$18.00 to CAD$22.00 depending on the intricacies of the bucket, and we’re not talking a bucket.  We’re talking an honest to goodness awesome souvenir.   Hence why we decided to go to the Tokyo Disneyland park itself.  I wanted a Stitch bucket.

Tokyo Disneyland surprised us.  Firstly, the covered walk way on Main St is a beautiful idea.  It makes the area feel like one of those indoor shopping arcades, which it essentially is.

The park, while it has some similarities to the way WDW and Disneyland are laid out, you still have differences that make the park unique and interesting.  Take Toontown for instance, starting with the traditional Disney characters and progressing to “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?”  WHAT?!  Yes, Roger Rabbit!  A staple of my childhood!  Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin is a BLAST!  You must go on it!

Tomorrowland has the original style Starjets which is the original version of Astro Orbitor.  By the way, given JAL sponsors the ride, I’m very surprised they have “USA” written on the side of the ride.  Shouldn’t it be JAXA which is the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency?

We did not make it over to Critter Country, Westernland or Adventureland so I cannot comment on those areas, but one thing is for certain.  Scott and I want to come back and do both parks again and spend a few days.

The highlight was the Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade Dreamlights.  It is a stunning parade, and it totally makes the Main St Electrical Parade look pale in comparison.  I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves, below.  You have to see it, and to think that I didn’t really care to stay and watch the parade, until I saw the start!

We were a hit with the light up ears from WDW and magic wands that I ordered prior to our trip.  You can’t actually get them in Japan (surprising given the land of tech!).  Several kawaii girls stopped us and asked if we could have their pictures taken with us. LOL!

At the end of the night, we headed back to Tokyo DisneySea because Scott wanted a Duffy bear.  Fact: You cannot get Duffy stuff at Tokyo Disneyland!  He’s only available at Tokyo DisneySea, when at the Tokyo park, so keep that in mind, if you become a Duffy fan.

Scott’s photography skills shone through during the trip, and he did an amazing job at the park, and throughout out trip so far.    You’ll see a mix of both of our pictures from the the day below.

All in all, a fascinating experience and one that we really both enjoyed.

It is a bit embarrassing as this is my longest blog on the trip.  That said, I know a lot of people have been asking me about Tokyo Disney Resort.  Do make the trip to Japan, experience Japan, it’s amazing.  If you can include a stop to Tokyo Disney Resort, do it for DisneySea alone.

Day 8: Miyajima & Itsukushima

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Good evening from a Hikari Shinkansen N700A on our way back to Tokyo from Hiroshima via Osaka.  We are currently just arriving at Nagoya Station.

What a day.  Scott and I woke up early to have breakfast and get our selves over to the ferry to the Itsukushima Shrine.

I have to say, I really wish the weather had co-operated more during our trip.  It’s been pretty grey every day with very few breaks in the clouds for blue skies.  That said, the grey has not stopped Scott and I from taking photographs and going up Mount Misen for the spectacular views it offers.

Itsukushima is known for it’s massive Torii.  I wrote a joke earlier that “Disney does’t have anything on this” mainly because the Torii at Epcot, is somewhat of a replica of the one at Itsukushima.  While it’s fun to take photos of the one at Epcot, the real thing is way better and has a much deeper meaning.  The Otorii actually stands on it’s own weight in the bay, with some basic holding down.

Deer are sacred to the area and are everywhere.  You have to watch out because they like eating cloth and paper apparently, and we did witness this as one at the luggage tag off someone’s bag.  They’re also quite friendly and you can actually pet them.

As Scott said on Facebook, we were privileged to see a Shinto wedding.  It is a very neat thing to see, and quite different from what we typically experience in the west.

After walking around the shops and the shrine, we went up to the top of Mt. Missen.  I so wish it were not as cloudy and foggy, as there are some stunning views that can be had from up there.

When we got back down, you could see the effect of the tide on the shrine.  The water, which there had previously been none, was now up to the height of the base of the buildings.

Ferry, commuter rail, feet and then Shinkansen back to Tokyo.  We picked up our Ekiben from Hiroshima station, featuring the local baseball team, the Hiroshima Carp.  Tasty box, I must say!

Day 7: Hiroshima

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It wasn’t until I was reading the news today, on September 3rd, that I realized that yesterday was the 70th anniversary of Japan’s surrender on the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.  Interesting that Scott and I were in Hiroshima.

Whenever world events happen and such, I admit, I tend to keep my feelings close to my heart and I tend not to speak up much.

It feels a bit unsettling when you’re on a tram or bus in Hiroshima and they announce the next stop, or a stop on the line happens to be the A-Bomb Dome.  There’s a but to this.  Reading the sentiments of keeping the dome around after the rebuilding of Hiroshima, there’s a mixed sense of obligation and duty as a reminder to the world what happened – all around – during World War II.  I don’t look at it as a reminder of what the United States did to Japan, or Japan’s role in World War II, I look at it as being about war and peace as a whole.

In short, it should be mandatory that all world leaders should take a full day and spend it at the Peace Park in Hiroshima, seeing the whole park.  Not just the Atomic Bomb Dome, but the Peace Flame, the Childrens Memorial, the Korean Memorial and the museum.   I nearly lost it several times while walking around the park – The children’s memorial, the Korean memorial, the burial grounds near ground zero…

After spending a good two hours or more in the park, we headed out to see the rest of the city, with a population of 1.1 million people.  There is so much more to the city.  It’s the Rijo (Hiroshima Castle), Okonomiyaki, old trams, and for those that like to shop, there’s a great shopping arcade here.

Be sure to jump on the JR-run Hiroshim Meipuru~pu (Japanese Maple) bus.  They have several lines and they take you around all the key sites with explanations on Japanese and English of each place.  You can get on and off, and you can use it with your Japan Rail Pass.

After going back to the hotel with sore feet we chilled out in the lounge (amazing food at the Sheraton lounge!) and then headed out for Okonomiyaki-mura which we had learned about in an “Only in Japan” video featuring this guy who does short videos about Japan for gaijin.

We ended up eating at the place featured in the video, which was amazing!  After that, we stopped at a 7-Eleven, had some ice cream for dessert and then headed back to the hotel as we would have a very early wake up for tomorrow’s journey.

Hiroshima is a great city, and well worth visiting.  So different from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo, still Japan nonetheless.

 

Gaming in Japan

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IMG_1137It’s appropriate that I’m writing this from Kyoto, which is the home of Nintendo.  The card gaming company which became a video game powerhouse in the mid-80s.

There was no way I was going to Japan and leaving my Nintendo 3Ds or my Playstation Vita at home

Nintendo

My 3DS because of all the Street Passes, and believe me you get a lot here. I’m averaging about 30 Street Passes.  a day and could go for more if I were constantly clearing them out!

Sadly, Nintendo region locks the 3DS (and the WiiU), where they had not done so previously. There are ways around this, but still, it’s a pain, and there are some great games to be played in the 3DS which are simply not available in North America or Europe.  I’m definitely not a fan of region locking.

If you’re die hard, then you can definitely pick up a Japanese 3DS, and they have different colours available and face plates which are not available in the rest of the world although the “New 3DS” (smaller version) is coming out in North America soon.

Amiibos from Japan will work with North American hardware, and are not region locked.  I picked up the Green Yarn Yoshi (available individually in Japan along with Pink and Blue), and Pac Man and they work well with the 3DS.

Remember Nintendo Zone where you can go places like Best Buy, connect to their network then you can download stuff for your console or StreetPass?  Well it’s alive and well here in Japan, and Japanese Nintendo gamers can connect and download stuff for the 3DS at 7-Elevens, Tsutaya or Pokemon Stores!  Even McDonald’s is in on the action.

Sony

On the other hand, despite the fact that Sony states a region and “For Japan Only” on Vita and PS4 games, they will all play anyway on hardware outside of Japan. I’ve picked up four games, at the recommendation of friends

  • Puyo Puyo Tetris for both Vita and PS4.  I’m a sucker for Tetris and games like Dr. Mario, the latter which borrows heavily from Puyo Puyo.
  • Hideboh Hero – A dance/music timing game
  • IA/VT Colourful – Another music timing game
  • Taiko no Tatsujin – A music/beat timing game

You can take advantage of Tax Free Shopping at stores within Japan, as well they had a deal where if you paid with a Visa card, you can get 6% off, on top of the 8% saved from the taxes.  A great deal, stock up!

If you’re looking for hardware, Japan is the place to be. You can get different coloured Vitas (admittedly the colours of the first generation Vitas are better than the second)  and special edition PS4s as well.

There are a lot of games here, mostly RPGs which require you to understand a fair bit of Japanese.  It could be worth your while learning the language.

 

If you’re looking for used hardware, then I do recommend Akihabara.  Places like Super Potato have retro gaming consoles, and places like Sofmap also sell newer used hardware like the original Vita.

All in all, Japan is a geek’s wet dream when it comes to arcade and system gaming.

Day 6: Temples & Toriis

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Today our fearless travellers must sample Natto, make their own Kansai-style Okonomiyaki for lunch, and visit three temples, battling the possibility of rain.  

Kyoto – A temple for every week, and an Izakaya for every day of the year.  It’s the Japanese version of Norwich, or so it feels.

A city of 1.4 million people, it has forests and mountains, and seems to have an interesting inner peace that you just don’t find in Tokyo with the bustling crowds.  Unless, of course, you happen to be at a shrine.

We started the day off with a wonderful breakfast where I finally had the chance to sample Natto.  Seriously people, it’s not that bad, mix it with rice and you’re god to go.  That said, I admit it’s not something I need to have again.  I will say, that I love it when people dismiss trying new things.  For years, people have told me how gross Natto is, and people who don’t even know what it is saying, “Eww that looks nasty”.  *shrugs* I’m quite happy exploring new foods and such.

We then headed out and visited three shrines and a shrine of convenience in the day:

  • 7-Eleven – A shrine of convenience where we had to get money from the ATM
  • Heian Shrine – A beautiful shrine just around the corner from the hotel where we are staying
  • Kiyomizu-Dera Shine – In the mountains and provides some amazing views of Kyoto, better than the Kyoto Tower
  • Fushimi Inari Shrine – Which has a two-hour hike to see all the Torii

The first Torii we saw was at the entrance of the Heian – HUGE, you can see that I’m a speck relative to the size of it.

There’s an indescribable sense of peace that you feel when you visit a shrine, and they’re gorgeous.

To get to the Kiyomizu Shrine, you go through a residential area, and then you go through an area of shops selling all things Matcha and Hello Kitty, among other items.  You then see this gorgeous shrine, which you know is going to have an amazing view.

On the way down we stopped for strawberry ice and also Match soft serve ice cream.  All so good!

We headed to Kyoto Station to head over tot he Fushimi Inari Shrine, stopping for lunch at Avanti, for Okonomiyaki.  No we didn’t make it, but we did think it would be a fun for someone during the Amazing Race Canada for the next season to have to serve Okonomiyaki.  *GRIN*

We encountered, what is probably my favourite piece of Jengrish, I had to have a picture taken with it.  You’ll see it below.  There are a few interesting pieces of Jengrish in the picture set below as well.

I’ve mostly picked pictures that Scott took today, as he’s learning to use our Rebel T4i and the various lenses.  He’s done a great job!

I’ve noticed that two of the shrines were actually sponsored by companies.  In one case, FujiFilm, and the other Hitachi.  Also, at the Fushimi Inari Shrine, companies and families will donate a Torii for good luck, etc…  It’s an accepted part of society here.

We ended the day off with an amazing meal at the hotel.  Prior to dinner, we stopped in the lounge for a drink and some cheese. Out of nowhere, the staff brought a small snack of tomato soup, chicken, curry, and shabu shabu. That really impressed us and it was tasty!

Our feet, legs and backs are both hurting.  It’s been worth it, though.

Off to Hiroshima in the morning via Osaka, staying overnight and then back to Tokyo.

Day 5: All about transit

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Today our fearless travellers leave Nagoya and travel to Toyota where they will battle robots as they try to bring home the 2016 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid with Tech Package which hasn’t even been released yet (ok, they can dream). They will then travel through Aichi Prefecture and jump on their next cool transportation method – Maglev – on the Aichi Linimo. From there, subway and Shinkansen to the land of temples – Kyoto.

We actually brought home a Lexus LFA… Well a nice print of one…  They’re only $375,000.

Today’s transit brought to you by shuttle, commuter rail, feet, bus, mag lev, subway and Shinkansen.

We got up early, had breakfast and were soon on our way by train from Nagoya to Toyota – Both the city and the company.

Arriving in Toyota after taking two train lines, you notice something different about the place.  Being a transit geek – it was the fuel cell bus that was at the station. Cool!

The Toyota Kaikan is an educational centre aka marketing centre, next door to Toyota HQ.  This is where the tours of the manufacturing facilities start.

You see pretty much everything here, and you can sit in every car except for the Lexus LFA which happens to be in display.  Even the Mirai Hydrogen Fuel Cell car which is on sale in Japan!

Sadly, they don’t let you take cameras on the tour.  What stood out for me is how clean the facilities are, how fast it is for Toyota to assemble a car, and the fact that it’s 98% automated to make a car these days.  Even on a high end vehicle like a Lexus GS, which we saw being assembled.  2% is by hand.

After a lunch of Nagoya Tonkatsu (the local specialty is that the sauce is made from Miso), we headed back to Nagoya via the Linimo mag-lev line which was created for Expo 2005.  The line’s top speed is 100km/hr, so a much slower system than the one in Shanghai.  It’s not always about speed, and now we can say we’ve been on a mag-lev train!

One of the goals of our vacation was to go on different kinds of transportation.  Shinkansen is obvious because it’s how people get around Japan every day.  We actually considered going to Shanghai just to go on the mag-lev train, but ended up deciding on Hong Kong instead.  Since we were going to Nagoya, Linimo, I think, was a great choice.

Linimo is so smooth and quiet.  It’s quite something – and it was expensive to produce.  I can only imagine what the electricity bill is like.  The views are stunning, I will say that.  The most beautiful transit line in the world I’d say.

Back to the hotel to pick up our bags, we were off to get the 6:48pm Kodoma to Kyoto.  Not without an obligatory stop at Bic Camera to… get another bag as we’ve bought too much crap in Tokyo and Nagoya.  I am so glad of my baggage allowances with the status privileges I have on Air Canada and Star Alliance!

I swear, Bic Camera should be illegal!  That shop is brilliant!

Tomorrow we’re looking at Shrines in Kyoto.

A few things I’ve noticed along the way

  • How many times have I thought that transit in North America needs to step up it’s game?  A lot.
  • Service at hotels in Japan so far?  Amazing.  I’ve never ever been escorted to my room, ever!  I feel like I should have a whole entourage of people.
  • I still have not had Natto. 🙂
  • It is amazing how tightly packed Japanese houses are, next to each other.
  • Robots move so gracefully in the Toyota manufacturing facilities.  It’s amazing to watch.  I’m sure they do in other car manufacturer facilities too, but this is my only reference at this point.
  • I really would like a Toyota Crown in Pink or Blue.  Seriously, the pink looks amazing!
  • Need tissues?  You can get them free from people handing out advertising.  Where we would get post cards for a bar, dance event or something like that, on the streets, you get tissues here.
  • I think I said this yesterday, QR codes are everywhere.
  • Japanese commuter rail trains are comfortable.  They may look old, but they’re not, actually.  They happen to have a classical look outside, but inside they’re quite modern.
  • The Mirai gets 650km on a tank of hydrogen.  That’s pretty much the same as our Prius, so I think Toyota has a winner on their hands – if companies will setup Hydrogen filling stations.
  • I really hope the next-gen Prius that goes on sale next year has internal styling like the Mirai.

 

Day 4: Doing a Dance on the New Trunk Line

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Today our fearless travellers must make their way from The Westin Tokyo and get on the 13:03 Hikari 473 Shinkansen for Nagoya with their bags. They are allowed to send two bags ahead to Kyoto, while they sample the sights and sounds of Nagoya overnight. Will the travellers arrive? Will they figure out what Bento to eat on the train? Will the bags arrive in Kyoto? With the guiding powers of Pikachu, we shall see.

Shinkansen translates directly as “New Trunk Line”.  We took the Tokaido Shinkansen from Tokyo Station to Nagoya.  We took the “Hikari” Super Express which is the fastest train you can take on the Japan Rail Pass.  There is one faster, which is the “Nozomi” which only stops at major stations.

I am in awe of the service.  Keep in mind, this is the first time I have ever been on a high speed rail line, not even in Europe.  The trains are so smooth.  There’s something in the acceleration.  When you see a 16- car N700 set pass by you in a matter of seconds, you know you’re going fast.  My iPhone camera could not keep up with the speed of the other train, and often if I had my phone off and went to turn on the video camera, the other train will have passed by already.

Another thing that stands out is the time it takes for the cleaners to clean the train, AND they do a thorough job, unlike the cleaning job airlines do when cleaning a plane.  These people take their jobs seriously and it’s something I appreciate.  “Domo arigato, gozaimasu!”, truly means thank you from me.

It was amazing knowing we were just over 100kms out and it took us 38 minutes to get there.  This is definitely the fastest I have gone on any ground-based transportation method.

When we head up to Kyoto tomorrow, it will be a very quick journey literally.  Get on train, sit, get up and go.

So with that, we arrived in city #2 – Nagoya.

Nagoya is a city with only just over 2 million people – about 10% of the population of Tokyo, and the size of Toronto.  It’s a very nice city from the brief walk-around Scott and I. With our luck, we saw a number of people in colourful uniforms.  Scott asked what it was and it turned out to be the annual Domatsuri summer dance festival!  After seeing a massive group dance in the main high street in Nagoya, we visited the parks on Hisaya Odori where the festival was being held.

We also visited some of the shops on Otsu Dori.  What really strikes me, beyond the Japanese department stores, which are a class unto themselves, quite honestly, most shopping here in Japan consists of exactly the same brands as you would find at home.  I would say that’s one downside to globalization.

Although I commented to someone recently that in the video games market, region locking is stupid, and the game manufacturers need to realize that there is a market for the games that are region locked to specific regions around the world.  That said, it kind of makes some of the games that I picked up, that much more special as I can’t get them at home.

So it’s a double edged sword, as they say.

Getting back to the hotel, Scott had noticed they had an Onsen – A Japanese style bath.  You shower while seated, you then use a hot tub, and then transfer to a cold one, and you can go back and forth.  Not too much like the Finnish.  We felt very refreshed after.

So far we’re batting 1,000 on hotels.  The Westin Tokyo was beautiful in a classic kind of way.  The Hilton Nagoya, is beautiful in a modern kind of way.  The room we have has an ultra modern feel with classic Japanese sensibilities.  It’s small, but well worth the price we’ve paid (we did this on points and cash).

A neat thing we have experienced here in Japan is that, when you’re checking in with Platinum Privileges, or you’ve booked an Executive Room, you go to the lounge to check in.  You don’t check in, in the main lobby.  You get special handling.  It’s a very nice experience.

A few other things I’ve noticed during the trip

  • Have a QR code reader handy. They’re used EVERYWHERE here.
  • Bread is almost square.  It’s neat to see, and often one piece is more than enough.
  • I wonder how much energy the Japanese waste with their heated toilet seats?
  • Not only is there a Bible in the room, but there is also a book on the Teachings of Buddha next to it.
  • We ended up sending our two big bags on to Kyoto.  This is a service offered in Japan by services like Takyubin (aka “Kuro Neko” with the black cat logo).  The hotel offers the service and it’s cheap and well worth it. Something like CAD$34 to send out bags which would arrive tomorrow morning. Honestly, you don’t want to carry big bags with you, dragging them through Tokyo Station and on Shinkansen.
  • Tokyo Bananas – It’s a thing!  In short, think an amazingly tasty Twinkie.  I’ve not had one, but we have a package we’re going to have tomorrow. 🙂
  • An iPhone camera can’t keep up with the speed of Shinkansen
  • I’m beginning to think that Mt. Fuji really doesn’t exist, given it’s been so foggy and rainy in Japan this week so far. 🙂
  • Do have the White Peach ice cream on the Shinkansen.  Best peach ice cream I’ve ever had!
  • We walked by a department store that was celebrating it’s 400th anniversary.  Take that HBC!
  • We finally saw a Canadian home reference in an ad in one of the Subway stations!  Yes, Japanese have a thing for Canadian-style home renovations.  Maybe Scott and I should become design consultants in Japan!