Jenner & Kaiser - Honeymoon Pics
Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2012 6:02 am
Hi everybody! We're finally posting our honeymoon photos from Japan. (Yeah, three months late, but hey we've been busy.) Anyway, in all, we went to about six to seven different cities. I have five sets of pictures to put up, so I'll have a new one up each day in this same thread, with some commentary.
TOKYO
The first set is our pics from Tokyo, our first and last stop on the journey. This was my fourth or fifth time in the city, but of course Jenner's first. Even then, in one of the best cities in the world, there's plenty for the both of us.
We have a larger set of pics up at http://www.lunar-net.com/wedding/photos.html#tokyo
Click on any of the thumbnails below for larger versions.
Shibuya
After we checked into our hotel, one of the first places I wanted to show Jenner around was Shibuya. This is where I spent most of my time back in 2004, and the only area I know pretty well by this point. So yeah, one of my favorite spots...
This is also where the famous Hachiko statue is. It really is a lot smaller than you'd imagine.
I wanted to go to this one kaiten-sushi place that one of my friends took me to in 2009. I remembered exactly where it was, but didn't find it... After asking around a bit, we find out that the place has closed down {..}. In its place, there's this other restaurant called "Genki Sushi". It's ok (all automated orders and stufF) but not really as good as what was there before... Oh well.
Shinjuku
Another area we went around was Shinjuku. Train-lovers might know this as the busiest train station in the world. It's no exaggeration.
Yet we found this pretty rooftop garden in the middle of the city.
I asked one guy to take our picture while we were there. He was hesitating a sec; I said I spoke Japanese, so he continued, pointing out that the first place we asked for a photo had the rooftop fence and construction in the background--there was a place just a bit up the path with flowers in the background that'd make for a much better backdrop. See, the thing is, everyone we asked to take a picture of us was this nice -- like, making sure it was a good background, that the picture came out clear, etc. etc. Definitely brightened my day.
Roppongi and Tokyo Midtown
We stopped by Roppongi Hills on another day. This is like a high-end (and rather nice) shopping area -- even though we're not much for shopping it was still worthwhile.
We also strolled through the park nearby. BTW, Jenner is very good at recognizing animal breeds (comes from years of working as a rehabilitator). Every single time, without fail, she could spot a breed from half a block away. (Though there was one time, and only one time, when I got lucky and guessed that one guy's dog was a greyhound instead of a whippet. But that was 100% luck.)
A little further down, in Tokyo Midtown, we found the Konami building! Jenner wanted to sneak into the building inside of a cardboard box, so I had to stop her.
Other Areas - Harajuku, Ueno, Meiji-jingu, Yoyogi
Here are a couple other areas: Harajuku (Takeshita-dori), Ueno Park, Meiji-jingu-mae, and Yoyogi Park:
Edo Museum
Since I love museums, we decided to take a trip down to the Edo Museum to see the exhibits they had there:
Cat Cafe
And since we both love cats, on Jenner's insistence, we visited a cat cafe in Shinjuku:
Though to be honest, the cats are kind of only interested in you if you have food. They're a bit too... complacent. Nevertheless it does combine two things I love the most: cafes, and cats.
More Sightseeing - Tsukiji, Asakusa, Skytree, Tokyo Tower
One day, we met up with my host sister from back in 1999, Noriko. It was a lot of fun, and we went around various other parts of the city, including Tsukiji-shijou, Asakusa, and the Tokyo Skytree.
Here's a shot of us at Honganji (note the Indian, as opposed to Buddhist, design of the temple). Unfortunately, it was under renovation the day of.
More of us around Asakusa, one of the more traditional and historic areas of the city.
And on the opposite end of the scale, we have the Skytree: Tokyo's newest landmark, finished just earlier this year, it's twice the height of the diminutive Tokyo Tower. This thing is so huge that it's impossible to fit the whole thing in one camera shot without going panoramic.
A few days later, we decided to take a trip to the Tokyo Tower anyway. Man, this is really underwhelming now that the Skytree is in town. The Tower seems a tad upset over it, though, so we thought that the next time we visit we'll be sure to get a bunch of Tokyo Skytree t-shirts and stuff to wear and carry with us when we go. Because we're jerks like that.
Akihabara
We also went to Akihabara. We caught an ACTA protest while we were there, and then browsed around the shops a bit. I did buy a new, very nice, electronic dictionary while I was there.
But... ...ok, to level with you: I really hate Akihabara. This wasn't always the case, so lemme explain...
See one of the things I love about the Japanese marketplace is that it lends itself towards niche markets way more easily, even well before everyone had internet (which is why you can have even the most minor video game spawn off a few comics, videos, soundtracks, figurines, etc. -- and that's just one example). Back in 2004 (and presumably much earlier), places like Akihabara were great for that. If you were into obscure music, there were stores for it. If you loved DIY computer building, there were stores for that. If you loved 10-year-old video games, there were stores for that. And so on.
In the last... I'd estimate 4-5 years... that's not really the case anymore. If you're into collectible card games and whatever the latest manga is, great! But anything else that isn't 'in' right now? Forget it. And that's not even getting into the... ...for lack of a better way of putting it, 'infestation' of maid cafes. Just a few years ago it seemed small enough to ignore if you didn't care. But now you can't go half a block without passing by 2 cafes and 20 girls dressed as maids advertising for it. It really soured Jenner to the entire area, and considering that I really hate the concept of maid cafes also, didn't do much for me either.
Now there're other places around the city, and around the country, that are great electronics havens or places for niche markets (Nakano Broadway in Tokyo, or Den-Den Town in Osaka). If you check comments about those places online(at least the Japanese ones), you'll even occasionally see something like "it's like Akihabara used to be" (or, the contrary, "it's becoming like Akihabara", which is synonymous with a glut of maid cafes and the same CCG stores left and right).
So yeah... My next time through there's a decent chance I may not even stop by this part of town...
Studio Ghibli Museum
Ok, how about something more pleasant now? The Studio Ghibli Museum. This place is beautiful (and packed, too -- I had to get tickets three weeks in advance). The thing about it is, the entire place is designed with the same kind of feeling and playfulness that's in a lot of Miyazaki's films. There is so much attention to detail in the most random places. The "map" that they give you at the end isn't really so much a map, as a bit of information and a request to (to paraphrase) just get lost in the beauty of the museum and feel your way around. They don't allow photos inside the building, so we just have a few of the outside. But trust me, inside is even better:
Miscellaneous
Also, Jenner likes taking pictures of random graffiti.
And I love cafes. It's sort of my thing -- if I see a place that looks like it has good ambience, coffee/tea, desserts, or any combination thereof, I have to stop in for a drink. We usually went to one or two per day the entire time we were there...
That's all for this go-around. Our next stop is Nagoya and Kasugai! KF
TOKYO
The first set is our pics from Tokyo, our first and last stop on the journey. This was my fourth or fifth time in the city, but of course Jenner's first. Even then, in one of the best cities in the world, there's plenty for the both of us.
We have a larger set of pics up at http://www.lunar-net.com/wedding/photos.html#tokyo
Click on any of the thumbnails below for larger versions.
Shibuya
After we checked into our hotel, one of the first places I wanted to show Jenner around was Shibuya. This is where I spent most of my time back in 2004, and the only area I know pretty well by this point. So yeah, one of my favorite spots...
This is also where the famous Hachiko statue is. It really is a lot smaller than you'd imagine.
I wanted to go to this one kaiten-sushi place that one of my friends took me to in 2009. I remembered exactly where it was, but didn't find it... After asking around a bit, we find out that the place has closed down {..}. In its place, there's this other restaurant called "Genki Sushi". It's ok (all automated orders and stufF) but not really as good as what was there before... Oh well.
Shinjuku
Another area we went around was Shinjuku. Train-lovers might know this as the busiest train station in the world. It's no exaggeration.
Yet we found this pretty rooftop garden in the middle of the city.
I asked one guy to take our picture while we were there. He was hesitating a sec; I said I spoke Japanese, so he continued, pointing out that the first place we asked for a photo had the rooftop fence and construction in the background--there was a place just a bit up the path with flowers in the background that'd make for a much better backdrop. See, the thing is, everyone we asked to take a picture of us was this nice -- like, making sure it was a good background, that the picture came out clear, etc. etc. Definitely brightened my day.
Roppongi and Tokyo Midtown
We stopped by Roppongi Hills on another day. This is like a high-end (and rather nice) shopping area -- even though we're not much for shopping it was still worthwhile.
We also strolled through the park nearby. BTW, Jenner is very good at recognizing animal breeds (comes from years of working as a rehabilitator). Every single time, without fail, she could spot a breed from half a block away. (Though there was one time, and only one time, when I got lucky and guessed that one guy's dog was a greyhound instead of a whippet. But that was 100% luck.)
A little further down, in Tokyo Midtown, we found the Konami building! Jenner wanted to sneak into the building inside of a cardboard box, so I had to stop her.
Other Areas - Harajuku, Ueno, Meiji-jingu, Yoyogi
Here are a couple other areas: Harajuku (Takeshita-dori), Ueno Park, Meiji-jingu-mae, and Yoyogi Park:
Edo Museum
Since I love museums, we decided to take a trip down to the Edo Museum to see the exhibits they had there:
Cat Cafe
And since we both love cats, on Jenner's insistence, we visited a cat cafe in Shinjuku:
Though to be honest, the cats are kind of only interested in you if you have food. They're a bit too... complacent. Nevertheless it does combine two things I love the most: cafes, and cats.
More Sightseeing - Tsukiji, Asakusa, Skytree, Tokyo Tower
One day, we met up with my host sister from back in 1999, Noriko. It was a lot of fun, and we went around various other parts of the city, including Tsukiji-shijou, Asakusa, and the Tokyo Skytree.
Here's a shot of us at Honganji (note the Indian, as opposed to Buddhist, design of the temple). Unfortunately, it was under renovation the day of.
More of us around Asakusa, one of the more traditional and historic areas of the city.
And on the opposite end of the scale, we have the Skytree: Tokyo's newest landmark, finished just earlier this year, it's twice the height of the diminutive Tokyo Tower. This thing is so huge that it's impossible to fit the whole thing in one camera shot without going panoramic.
A few days later, we decided to take a trip to the Tokyo Tower anyway. Man, this is really underwhelming now that the Skytree is in town. The Tower seems a tad upset over it, though, so we thought that the next time we visit we'll be sure to get a bunch of Tokyo Skytree t-shirts and stuff to wear and carry with us when we go. Because we're jerks like that.
Akihabara
We also went to Akihabara. We caught an ACTA protest while we were there, and then browsed around the shops a bit. I did buy a new, very nice, electronic dictionary while I was there.
But... ...ok, to level with you: I really hate Akihabara. This wasn't always the case, so lemme explain...
See one of the things I love about the Japanese marketplace is that it lends itself towards niche markets way more easily, even well before everyone had internet (which is why you can have even the most minor video game spawn off a few comics, videos, soundtracks, figurines, etc. -- and that's just one example). Back in 2004 (and presumably much earlier), places like Akihabara were great for that. If you were into obscure music, there were stores for it. If you loved DIY computer building, there were stores for that. If you loved 10-year-old video games, there were stores for that. And so on.
In the last... I'd estimate 4-5 years... that's not really the case anymore. If you're into collectible card games and whatever the latest manga is, great! But anything else that isn't 'in' right now? Forget it. And that's not even getting into the... ...for lack of a better way of putting it, 'infestation' of maid cafes. Just a few years ago it seemed small enough to ignore if you didn't care. But now you can't go half a block without passing by 2 cafes and 20 girls dressed as maids advertising for it. It really soured Jenner to the entire area, and considering that I really hate the concept of maid cafes also, didn't do much for me either.
Now there're other places around the city, and around the country, that are great electronics havens or places for niche markets (Nakano Broadway in Tokyo, or Den-Den Town in Osaka). If you check comments about those places online(at least the Japanese ones), you'll even occasionally see something like "it's like Akihabara used to be" (or, the contrary, "it's becoming like Akihabara", which is synonymous with a glut of maid cafes and the same CCG stores left and right).
So yeah... My next time through there's a decent chance I may not even stop by this part of town...
Studio Ghibli Museum
Ok, how about something more pleasant now? The Studio Ghibli Museum. This place is beautiful (and packed, too -- I had to get tickets three weeks in advance). The thing about it is, the entire place is designed with the same kind of feeling and playfulness that's in a lot of Miyazaki's films. There is so much attention to detail in the most random places. The "map" that they give you at the end isn't really so much a map, as a bit of information and a request to (to paraphrase) just get lost in the beauty of the museum and feel your way around. They don't allow photos inside the building, so we just have a few of the outside. But trust me, inside is even better:
Miscellaneous
Also, Jenner likes taking pictures of random graffiti.
And I love cafes. It's sort of my thing -- if I see a place that looks like it has good ambience, coffee/tea, desserts, or any combination thereof, I have to stop in for a drink. We usually went to one or two per day the entire time we were there...
That's all for this go-around. Our next stop is Nagoya and Kasugai! KF