October 20 - 26, 2008

Sunshine City Elevator: Oooo, aaaa. I'm so glad we got a picture of the inside of this one. This was the underwater scene, for the ride down. We were too slow on the way up to get a picture of the astronomy scene, complete with zodiac signs (the ride is only 34 seconds long, so it's understandable that we missed the boat)!

Following a relaxing evening watching the sunset from the observatory and eating dinner at a tapas restaurant, we spent some time at Ueno Park. The city lights on the water were absolutely beautiful and we enjoyed the peacefulness of an evening walk....This is definitely a city that takes on a new life at night--fuelled by neon lights, live houses, host clubs and karaoke spots, of course. Parks are one space, however, that are able to maintain a quiet demeanour....and, after a certain hour, the parks belong to the 'blue tarp' people, Tokyo's fairly invisible homeless population.

On our 'weekend' with Kiran, we took two day-trips. The first was to Kamakura (most famous for Daibutsu, a huge bronze buddha), and on the way we stopped in Enoshima. Enoshima is the sweetest seaside town we've ever been to. You can tell immediately that it is a surfer's mecca and there is an island that is home to several fascinating spots. The picture above is the torii at the entrance to the island. From here, you walk up a hill to a shrine and then there are all sorts of paths around the island. The island also has a very modern lighthouse, fishing spots galore, and a cave system that has several ancient deity statues. The caves were quite the experience. At the mouth of one of the openings, we were each given candles to light our way down the paths....It was very difficult to see and some of the stone was covered in plexiglass so the candlelight was reflected in a haunting way.

On our second day, we went to Hakone, a well known area for hot springs (onsen) and panoramic mountain views. Using a Hakone 'free pass,' you are able to utilize various forms of transportation (e.g., a bus, old-fashioned trains, a cable car, a gondola, or a pirate ship). On the way to the pirate ship, we spent some time at the Hakone Open Air Museum (a must see!!!!):


The picture to the left portrays only a small segment of the grounds that are utilized for the museum. They also have 3-4 indoor exhibits-- it's huge!








We happened to be at the museum on my sister's birthday, so we toasted to her longevity and good fortune while eating a scrumptious buffet lunch overlooking the museum grounds....Sigh, what a life :)


Then, it was off to the pirate ship part of the trip--yar!! The boats were quite hilarious, actually. They kind of looked like the Ocean Motion ride from Calaway Park for anyone who is familiar with that wonderful landmark near Calgary ;) It was a bit chilly on the water, however the views were spectacular. We came upon this torii just before we docked and the red absolutely popped!


My work weeks were quite nice, really. I always started ~4:45 PM on my 'Mondays,' which meant that Kiran and I could spend the day exploring Inokashira Park. We enjoyed a tasty lunch at a Thai restaurant right in the park and then I made a weak attempt at a self-portrait of the two of us with the pond/lake behind us. The leaves were just starting to turn at this point.....