Shibuya crossing photos from Jared

Just to remind you of where you were last Saturday, here are a couple of photos from Jared of Shibuya. We hope you have all rested up and recovered from your time in Japan. Can you believe you were actually there?

Waiting

On the last leg

We are all now at Narita Airport more or less in one piece. We have checked in and are doing last-minute feeding of vending machines and boosting the Japanese economy with more shopping. This morning we left our bags at the Youth Hostel and made a short visit to the Tokyo Metropolitan Office observatory in Shinjuku, for a last view of the city. Some of us appreciated the view of Mt Fuji, which was clearly visible, more so than from the train the other day. Others found that having a toy shop 45 floors up was  much more fascinating. Then we returned for our bags, caught a couple of trains and made it to the airport. Hopefully, the

Air NZ flight will be smooth and uneventful, and we can all get back home to catch up on TV soaps, what's been happening to friends and maybe talk to parents about the experiences of the trip. But  probably the one thing that we all will do is appreciate our own beds for a good sleep.

Disneyland

We set off at 8:40am for our day at Tokyo Disneyland. The trip involved 3 changes of trains but lasted less than 30 minutes. The crowds were already pouring in as it was Sunday, but we managed to go through the Group Ticket entry without any trouble. We split into smaller groups depending on where we first wanted to go. Most of us got a "fastpass" for The Space Mountain roller coaster, for 1:35pm. This meant we could go off to other attractions for the morning. Space Mountain proved a winner, followed by Big Thunder Mountain and Space Tours. The crowd made it difficult to move quickly between different rides and we had to adjust to queuing for reasonably long periods of time for rides, food and toilets. By the final meeting time at 8:30 , most of us were pretty much worn out, and some of us were heading home lighter in the wallet but sporting a variety of odd Disney head wear, gloves and souvenirs. 

Tonight will be spent packing and weighing bags, as tomorrow we will be on pur way home.

A day in Tokyo

Today we experiienced what it is like to be in a really big city, and for some, it was overwhelming. Our first stop was Asakusa and the famous Sensoji temple. We arrived and took a detour to look at Tokyo Sky Tree, which is the tallest tower in Japan

Then we ventured down the souvenir strret on the approach to Sensoji. Though there are hundreds of shops, some of which have been there for generations, Most of the "shoppers" in our group seemed to think they all sold the same thing. This didn't stop money being spent.

The street was very crowded if you have been brought up in Christchurch, but was relatively quiet as it was early in the day.

Then we took trains to the other side of Tokyo, to look at Shibuya crossing and the statue of Hachiko, the loyal dog.

There was some free time after lunch in order to experience bigger crowds and Japanese shopping. 

Forever 21, Loft and Tokyu Hands seemed to be the pick of the stores, and despite the seething mass of humanity which crosses the Shibuya intersection every change of lights, no one got lost and all made it back to the meeting point on time.

Following that we took the train again to Harajuku, the centre for young people in Tokyo. And this was really crowded!

One feature of today was using public rail to get around Tokyo. Sometimes we had seats and space and other times we were packed in and strap-hanging.

By the end of the day we were all glad to get back to the YH and be far from the madd(en)ing crowd. 

It is no wonder Mr Kuze suggested we stay only a short time in Tokyo.

More crowds but perhaps more interest is in store tomorrow as we head off to play at Tokyo Disneyland, the happiest kingdom of them all.

On the Hiroshima tram to the station

We had a smooth getaway this morning, taking the tram instead of the city buses.

At Shin-Osaka Station waiting to transfer to the train for Tokyo

We were back at our first "home base" at Shin-Osaka this morning, to transfer to the Tokaido Shinkansen for Tokyo. We are getting used to this station and to traveling by train,

Fujisan from the shinkansen

We took a Shinkansen from Hiroshima to Shin-Osaka then changed to another to go to Tokyo. On the way we were looking forward to seeing Mt Fuji. Unfortunately, Fuji-san was feeling a little shy, so she had her hat pulled down over her face. This is what we saw:

This is what we didn't see (photo 18th Dec 2012)

Waiting at the station

Lucky we are in Japan.

Is anyone looking after the luggage?

Trip to Miyajima island

We visited one of the top sightseeing spots in Japan

today, travelling across a small part of the Inland Sea by ferry. It was a fine but a cold sea breeze meant we needed to wrap up warm. We looked round Itsukushima Jinja and then took a cablecar to the top of the hill for a clear, wide view of the surounding sea and Hiroshima city in the distance. 

Riding the trams

We took the tram to the station this morning. The trams criss-cross Hiroshima city. They a frequent(every 10 minutes) quick, clean, new and easy to use. 150 yen for any distance on the same line. Ust what Chch needs. They all run to thevstation where the buses, trains and taxis meet. A central transport hub. 

What free wifi does to dinner conversation

Eating okonomiyaki for dinner

For dinner we had okonomiyaki, which is the thing to do when visiting Hiroshima. We were able to sit at the counter and watch as it eas being made.

Then we walked back along a street of illuminations.