After Mike and Hiromi’s wedding, we drove back to Sagara from Hamamatsu. I have not really said anything about driving in Japan. To be brief, it was very easy. The speed limit is very low and people are super polite. Despite driving on the left, there were few problems. There are no roundabouts, so that helps a lot!
We stopped for lunch at a restaurant along the highway. This is a typical Japanese meal. On the near side is my meal of local clams (some eaten already!) in a broth, a piece of fish, rice, deep fried giant prawns (tempura batter), a small egg custard with small shrimp in it (in bowl with lid), some pickles and another small bowl of miso soup. This would cost about $18.
Since we are on the topic of food…. We stayed at a sort of pension/bed and breakfast in Sagara. Quite rustic but the breakfasts were great. Going clockwise from the bottom, there is green tea, a sort of solid custard thingy, tofu in a broth in a paper bowl that is actually on a flame, some small sausages, a small smoked fish that took forever to eat but was delicious, a small sweet banana and some scrambled eggs. And of course there was rice and miso soup, which had not yet been set on the table.
The next day, went for a picnic at noon to Omaezaki, which is just south of Sagara. It was a clear, cool day and you could see Fuji, even from Omaezaki point.
When we got back to Sagara (about 10 km north of Omaezaki), I walked out on the pier to take the following picture. Fuji is about 85 km northeast of Sagara and Tokyo is about 180 km in roughly the same direction. Note that Tokyo is 300 km southwest of Sendai where they had the big earthquake. So Mike was about 500 kms from the quake. Not to say that they don’t get quakes in the Sagara region. They are waiting for a big one there as well. We felt one quake while we were there but it was only a little one.
In Sagara we walked up to the Bouddhist temple. I believe that I have this same picture from a former visit.
A nice picture of buckets and brooms.
There is also a nice Shinto Shrine….
With its big bell/gong.
After three nights in Sagara with Mike and Hiromi, we drove back to Shizuoka City to turn in the car and take the train back to Tokyo. In Tokyo, I had managed to get a room in the Blue Wave Inn in Asakusa (suburb of Tokyo). Hotels in Jpana are sometimes hard to find at a good price, especially in Tokyo. I really like agoda.com for such booking despite having to prepay. We got a very nice room with twin beds for about $110 CDN. Quite amazing. We were just a hundred meters from the Temple at Asakusa. There are tons of shops and restaurants and we stayed in the same area for the two days that we were there. They also have a direct train to Narita (Tokyo airport) for about $10 each (Asakusa line).
The cerry blossoms were in full bloom….
and although it does not look crowded in these pictures, there were tons of tourists around.
The gate to Asakusa temple.
Asakusa temple itself.
Incense burner in front of temple where people “cleanse” themselves in the fumes.
Good looking tourist!
Another tourist in a beautiful kimono.
Nice Pagoda.
Note the bicycle pull cart for tourists. There were lots of them although we never took one. Should have!
Side view of the temple.
Bouda statue with the Tokyo tower in the background.
Our last day in Tokyo was beautiful and we went down to the Sumida riverbank where there are lovely parks along the river.
There were lots of tourist taking pictures.
Primarily of the Tokyo tower which makes a nice pciture from the north bank of the river.
It was a Sunday and everyone was having their annual picnic under the cherry trees. This special celebration is called a Hanami… and often considerable beer is consumed, along with the picnic lunch.
Another couple of well dressed ladies in Kimono.
Eating dinner in a noodle restaurant in Asakusa.
Walking back to the hotel in the darkened city.
Past the temple guards!
The next morning, walking to the train station (10 minute walk) and observing the eclectic clothing choice of the young woman ahead of us.
