Japan Trip Day 4: Gojira! (Pictures)
Before I start on the stuff I am bringing over from the original blog, I want to stop and shake a fist at Squarespace. Seriously, typing in titles for these posts is damn near impossible. I get like 2 characters in, and it decides to focus elsewhere. I am literally typing up the titles in a different window and copying and pasting to get them in here. With the fist shaking over, let’s move on, shall we?
So today, I am almost positive I have some things out of order. Because I think Waldo was day 3, but well... I already posted day 3 sohe is now part of day 4. Today saw me visit the Toho Theater Shinjuku, The SkyTree, and I also visited the Senso-Ji temple. I should have really done a better job of notating which temples I went to. But I took a photo with my phone, and the GPS coordinates attached to the photo seem to indicate Senso-Ji.
It may have taken many years but I finally found him! Apparently he was hiding at home this whole time! Damn you, Waldo. (Sorry to steal your joke, Gier.) The next two pictures are why I feel these are on the wrong day.
This is Kaeru (The Japanese word for "Frog") and a small collection of various denominations of yen. I was told going into this trip that there would be a lot of coins. As such, I had this guy to hold my coins. The single yen coins on the left, are perhaps the most insubstantial feeling coins I have ever held. They feel like they might be made of plastic. They are also worth less than a penny. Now Kaeru acts as guardian of the sacred sake!
These are the complimentary slippers that were part of the hotel room. I knew they wouldn't fit, but... damn this was painful. Leave it to the Japanese to make me feel like my feet are huge! Not pictured are the complimentary pajamas. Those were also too small, and I would never subject people to seeing me in overly tight clothing… at least if it can be helped. Thank me for I have spared your eyes the sight of horrors that would lead you down the path to madness.
I spent 30 minutes wandering around trying to find Godzilla. I knew he was around, I had plotted my course for the day to theoretically go past him. However the rain was making the day a little blech, and having an umbrella obscuring my vision, I didn’t see him until like the third time around the block. Because of the rain I didn't stick around the theater. I’ll revisit this guy when things clear up.
Near the SkyTree, was a Kirby Cafe. I didn't eat here, but I had to snap a picture of the giant Kirby. Honestly there was practically a mall here. So many things to buy all around. I think there may have even been a store dedicated to Ultraman. As well as a store that had a slew of gachapon machines.
Look up at the SkyTree! It is so tall. Now I know how everyone feels walking next to me! The Skytree is the world’s largest tower, clocking in at 634 meters. That top point is over half a kilometer above me!
It wouldn't be a visit to Japan without running into Pokemon, right? Getting in a good angle was difficult, this was a rather crowded spot. Everyone seemed to want to take their picture with this display, so I had to stand around and wait for a clean shot… what you get is this instead. Looking behind these guys you can see the sheer amount of Pokemon stuff for sale. If it weren’t for the huge crowds, I might have left this store with a plush Eevee to sit on my desk… But, crowds + me are not a good combo, so I moved on very quickly.
Inside the Tokyo tower, I learned that the elevators of the tower apparently had seasons. I got the joy of going up in autumn. When it comes to elevators, I'm glad they chose autumn as opposed to fall... I think this particular post is making me rethink redesigning my blog, but I’ve made the financial commitment, so I will persevere!
High above the city of Tokyo, I look down and have the stomach wrenching feeling of being 350 meters above the ground. There is no particular focus in this picture, just trying to give a sense of the distance down. Honestly, that is the point of a lot of the pictures in this section. Honestly, most of the following pictures are just to show the immensity of the city, as can only be experienced by being high above it.
This last one has nothing to do with the height, and everything to do with anime characters apparently jumping off the top of the tower... Because nothing advertises better than anime characters committing suicide I guess? And they all jump to their death armed with swords. So they can stab the ground into submission I suppose?
Back to the heights...it's so far down! Sooooooo far! What would cause those anime characters to jump from way up here? I will never know… unless they did manage to halt their fall by stabbing the ground.
This is actually later in the day, but I mislabeled the picture. But hell, I also managed to ride down the tower in winter! It sure felt like winter, even if it was technically spring. And you know, redesigning things, I COULD put this in the right spot, but… I’m going to preserve the original order for the hell of it.
Cake! Random cake ordered so I could eat staring down at the city. Not necessarily the greatest idea when the view is giving you a churning stomach. Not pictured is the beer that I had to go with it. As a random aside, the Japanese word for cake is Keki which is pronounced “Cake-y”.
Look down again! This was above the cake, I believe... Did I mention that this city is home to over 30 million people? Looking out at all the tall buildings, it is not hard to figure out how they cram them all in.
You wanted straight down views from a glass floors? Check it out! I decided to move this caption from its place in the original post… Because it makes more sense here.
The outside sign of the Kirby Cafe! I wanted to eat here, but I also wanted to keep moving. I wasn’t particularly hungry, so I moved on. Honestly, the cake up above was only ordered so I could say I ate something up in the Skytree.
Just a bird in a small river. That bird is just chilling there while the pipes jet out water like a damned fire hose. I admire this bird’s calmness.
Sakura as I walk toward Senso-Ji. Did I mention I planned my vacation for this time of year specifically so I could see the sakura in person?
I liked these boats, and another river. Based on my view on Google Maps in the other window, and plotting the basic course I would have taken to get there, this is very likely the Sumida river.
Entering the street market in front of Senso-ji. Look at all the people. So many people. Wall to wall people! There should be at least one yukata in that crowd, can you find it. The person at the bottom of the screen doesn't count. This is the Kaminarimon gate, which leads into the nakimase shopping street.
The entrance to the temple. I avoided taking any photos of the inside of the temple, I thought I would try to be a little respectful. I may be some random baka gaijin (Stupid foreigner) but I don’t want to push my luck.
This is a Buddhist symbol for peace, not the symbol of hate used by certain Austrian-born German dictators. This also might be one of the most potentially offensive pictures I took. I know how much a similar symbol was used to hurt millions of people, and it honestly pains me to know that it is a symbol of peace that got horribly perverted.
Time for more Sakura! Look at them! 4 more pictures of the Sakura. Still on the Senso-ji grounds at this point.
An impressive large tower. I was actually asked to take a picture of a couple with this in the background. The lady was offering to take my picture, too... but then she looked at the camera. I'm fine with that, though. I hate having to look at myself, and I try to avoid making others look at me more than necessary. You're welcome! This is one of the 2 five story pagodas I remember seeing.
No one person is the focus of this picture... rather it is the cumulative nature of these people that was the focus. I had to walk through that tide of humanity. Gods this did nothing to aid my turning stomach. This day was a true test of my desire to see things in this country. This day I stood in defiance of my fear of heights and crowds, and insisted that I would not let them stop me this day! I really wish I could have stomached going out into that again to potentially try some street food.
These two images serve the same basic purpose. That purpose is to show that human pulled rickshaws are still a thing! I only took the pictures because I had had a conversation about rickshaws with my father not long before I left for the trip.
Souvenir photos! Chopsticks and a commemorative medal from the SkyTree! The chopsticks I have mounted to the wall… well, not exactly mounted. I set up two screws that they rest on top of near some other wall-mounted things. The coins are sitting next to my sake and keeping my printer company.
3 charms I bought at Senso-Ji. Well... two charms and some Buddhist prayer beads. More about things down below. And there is an entire post later that will tell why I bought these particular items.
The red charm, is a charm to ward off evil (It has since gone AWOL… I think it might have got lost with some garbage. I am saddened by this). The bell is a charm to bring on good luck, and the prayer beads. These beads are wrist beads I believe. The beads have remained in their box since I got them. Oh, and would you look at that… a picture of the hat that would go missing in the not to distant future. Of the six items in this picture, only three are still in my possession. The bell was given to my mom.
SUSHI! It is hard to describe how much I wanted to get sushi at an actual sushi place in Japan. And to be fair, I can't tell you what half of these are. I just chose a combo, and ordered that. The 4 on the left are tuna. There is a shrimp in there... some salmon roe. Egg. ...and grass? I didn't get the grass but, hey this was all worth it! Not pictured in this picture, a large beer, some sake, a glass of water, and some Coke. I ordered an excessive amount of drinks, because free refills are not a thing, and I wanted to try things. This place was called Itamae Sushi (I believe) and it was worth the visit. My research into this spread says it is called “Best Sushi Combo” and one of the unidentified items is apparently sea urchin. I also ordered something called Warabimoshi, which was chewy and interesting. Enough about food. On to what you all really want to see!
Mini Godzilla that is at the entrance to the large roof Godzilla! This guy was a little shorter than me, if I recall… I didn’t get too close for fear that my clumsy ass would break something.
Big Godzilla head. This head is located above the Sushi place from a few pictures ago. This is attached to a hotel, which is attached to a movie theater, which is attached to a food court… This was truly a multipurpose building. If you know me, the size comparison will make sense, but I believe I could have stood upright inside Godzilla’s mouth. It was massive.
The miniature buildings in front of the miniature Godzilla. Complete with miniature people running away in terror.
There was no caption for this one in the original post. I honestly just wanted another shot of the miniature Godzilla framed up better with the background.
I'm pretty sure this was just a random picture of a street in Shinjuku. Giant signs everywhere! I am told Shinjuku has some great nightlife… I was a little bit on the nervous side when it started to get dark, though. Maybe next time I visit Japan, I can try and sample the nightlife.
his was located in front of a hotel. I liked it, so I snapped a picture. This took nearly an hour to format and upload… before adding in the actual pictures. I actually find myself looking forward to the days with very few pictures.
