11 Jan 2005

Mount Fuji


Lake Hakone





At the second station, Mt Fuji



On 5th January 2005, we went to Tokyo - my two girls and I. Repin was already there attending a meeting so we took a flight - which had been all arranged by Dira -and flew to Japan. This is our first trip there, the overnight transit in Narita way back in 1984 not counted. Anyway we arrived late in the evening - around 6pm. After buying tickets for Sunshine City we waited for the bus outside the airport and it came about half an hour later. Our hotel is in Sunshine City. Repin would be waiting for us there. It was a fairly long journey - almost an hour I think, to reach the place. The bus stopped directly in front of the hotel which is good because our bags were quite heavy and we were all tired. It was almost eight now and after checking in we went out for a small meal.
Plenty of time tomorrow for checking out the place. Sarah and Sasha are sharing a room which is next to ours.

10 Jan 2005

Japan, Tokyo




Asakusa




With Sara and Shasha at Asakusa




In Tokyo on 8 January 2005


We went to Tokyo in January - still winter. Lovely






















8 Jan 2005

Third day in Tokyo




Oeno Park in Tokyo is simply delightful. Granted its winter and the trees are bare, the lake is covered with brownish reeds, and there are no flowers anywhere. However its still beautiful. There is a kind of serenity and quietness that calms and relaxes. We walked all around the lake, crossed the quaint little bridge and had tea in a cozy little tea house beside the lake. It was cold, in spite of the fact there is a watery sun. We had a lot of fun feeding the ducks here and Repin took a picture of a funny looking building - it looked like a robot!

A picture file of Tokyo, Japan

Feeding ducks at Oeno park





My girls in front of tour bus










Fujiyama in a distance









































































7 Jan 2005

Picture file of Tokyo




Punks at Harajuku Standing infront of tour bus Fujiyama

6 Jan 2005

Asakusa







The next day we took the train to Asakusa, a lovely place where we can buy all kinds of traditional craft as souvenirs. Its also a shrine. The entrance to the shrine is this huge lantern like structure - in fact it is a genuine lantern I think. The shrine itself is further in. There are rows of little shops on both sides - mostly selling traditinal Japanese craft. We bought lots of fans, little trinket boxes, bevelled mirrors, pictures and so on to give as souvenirs. The place is bustling with people, both tourists and locals. The weather is cool with a slight breeze - perfect weather for a little walk. After visiting the temple and taking pictures we walked to the park, which is about 200 metres away from the shopping area. It is a large park. Outside there is a statue of a hunter and his dog, beautifully carved in bronze. The story is that the hunter died and after his burial, his dog refused to leave his grave and sat there waiting for his master to come back to him. Since the master was dead, the dog waitied for a long time and finally died of a broken heart. The story was sad and touched our heartstrings. If man can be as faithful, life would be easier I think.

The park would be lovely in the spring I think. I hope to be able to visit Japan in Spring one day - I'll come back to the park and see the cherry blossoms bloom.