Journal 2011
Arrival, part one
Well, this is the first entry in our Japan Trip 2011 Journal…. After our trip in 2009 we knew we had to go back. This time, we made it a family affair, taking our two kids, ages 8 and 11 with us. We figured there’s no time like the present to get them “broke in” [...]
Arrival, part two
(Continued from Journal 2011: Day 1, Arrival, part one….) Once you finally take that seat on the NEX you let out a big heavy sigh. WHEW. We made it. Thank god. Words really can’t describe that feeling. From doorstep to here it had been (does the math, carry the one) almost 20 hours. The ever-so-polite [...]
Home Sweet Home
(Continued from Journal 2011: Day 1, Arrival, part two) On our last trip, we holed up in the Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku. It was OK, but as we quickly learned during the planning process for this trip, finding an inexpensive hotel room in Tokyo, for four people, is just not possible. Two rooms? Yes. Inexpensive? Maybe, [...]
Familiar Ground in Asakusa
(Continued from Journal 2011: Day 1, Home Sweet Home) We awoke to the sounds of the drums from one building over. It wasn’t like we were jarred awake or anything. Jet lag had us up early, and we were just trying to catch a few more Zzzz’s before finally getting up. Four bangs, and a [...]
Sensoji Temple
(Continued from Journal 2011: Day 2, Familiar Ground in Asakusa.) Yes, we were back at Sensoji. Admittedly it is one of (if not) the biggest tourist destinations in Tokyo for locals and foreigners alike. But, we were also on a mission of education, so we wanted to make sure we covered some of the major [...]
Sumida River Cruise
(Continued from Journal 2011: Day 2, Sensoji Temple) The last time we were here, we’d planned on just jumping on one of the Suijobus river cruise boats out to Odaiba to end the day. What we hadn’t counted on was everyone else having the same idea on a Saturday evening, in addition to the grand [...]
The Great East Japan Earthquake
(Continued from Journal 2011: Day 2, Sumida River Cruise) (First off, this one is pretty long, so apologies in advance. It’s a day none of us will likely forget!) We were in the small clearing just off the docks at Hamarikyu Park, and just to the east of the plum trees. An old tree that [...]
Stranded in Tokyo
(Continued from Journal 2011: Day 2, The Great East Japan Earthquake) We decided at this point we needed to get to the nearest, and largest, station, which from here was Shinbashi. A quick glance at the map near the exit of Hamarikyu Park sort of pointed the way. So we headed out. Along the way [...]
The Day After
(Continued from: Journal 2011: Day 2, Stranded in Tokyo) We slept in the next morning. The jet lag was still affecting us, and combined with the excitement of last night…. it was required. We woke up, and started gathering more information. Trains not running, sights not open. We were reading news reports and watching the [...]
Return to Takaosan
(Continued from Journal 2011: Day 3, The Day After) First thing we did upon waking up on Sunday was to check the Keio rail company’s site for outages. Thankfully, the lines we would need to get to Mt. Takao were running! We’d been to Mt. Takao on our first trip, in the middle of July, [...]
