Bullet train

When we first started talking about taking a trip to Japan, Tommy got VERY excited about the idea of riding the bullet train.  He had a great time in Tokyo, but he was definitely counting the days before he got to ride the bullet train.

The Shinkansen has maximum speeds between 150 and 200 mph.  Once we got out in the country, and it got up to full speed, the view out the window became quite blurry.  The trains in Japan are very clean.  You are allowed to eat on the train, but there is no trash.  There is an area between the cars, enclosed by doors, to use if you need to make a phone call.  The bathrooms are large and clean.  Everything is automated.  You press buttons to open, close and lock the door.

Japan is a country with deep traditions and rituals.  When the train worker entered each train car to check tickets, he or she would bow before starting.  Then he or she would bow again, before leaving to go to the next car.  The flight attendants did a similar thing.  Before our flight, a group of flight attendants entered the gate to get on the plane and prepare for our flight.  They all stood in a line and bowed before entering the aircraft.

On the bullet train

The doors at the end of each train car.  

Oreos with green tea filling

cherry soda

Riding the bullet train was a fun experience and one more thing to check off Tommy's list.

Tokyo Sea Life Park, Ferris Wheel, Rainbow Bridge

Today was our last day in Tokyo.  We wanted to make it a fun one.  First, we went to the Tokyo Sea Life Park.  It was a really nice aquarium.  The fish displays were arranged by body of water.  The kids loved looking at all the colorful fish.

Hamming it up outside. Tokyo Disneyland is in the distant on the far right.

After a good lunch at the aquarium restaurant, we walked across the park to the Diamond and Flower Ferris Wheel, Tokyo's tallest Ferris wheel. 

Next, we took the train to Odaiba.  Odaiba is full of attractions and fun things to see.  First, we went to the Toyota Centre.  It is a glorified showroom, with interactive displays.  The kids had fun sitting in the different cars and driving a simulator.  Tom really liked looking at all the new cars. 

Tommy

Charlotte

driving the simulator (with Tom's help with the pedals)

new technology

Then we walked over to see Rainbow Bridge.  Rainbow Bridge is an iconic bridge in Tokyo.  It got its name because it uses solar energy accumulated during the day to light it up with red, green, and white light at night.  Pictures show the bridge illuminated in true rainbow colors, but according to the reviews online that is only for the holidays.  On the way over to get a better view, we came across a beach.  The kids had a great time playing in the sand.  There is also replica Statue of Liberty and we had to take a picture.  We ate at a restaurant inside and Tommy ordered for us in Japanese.  He was quite proud.   

The kids on the beach with Rainbow Bridge in the background

Tommy building an elevated train track in the sand

The bridge has 2 levels, the top level is for cars and the bottom level has train tracks in the middle and pedestrian pathways on the outside.  Tommy really wanted to walk across the bridge, but it is at least a 45 minute walk and after another long day of walking, we convinced him to settle for riding the train across the bridge instead.  The kids got to look out the front window of the train on the ride.  It was a great end to our time in Tokyo.

Fire Museum, Akihabara

Today we started at the Tokyo Fire Museum.  It is attached to the train station, which was great after all the walking we had done the day before.  The museum was free and really nice.  They had many vehicles to climb in, including a helicopter.  The kids had a great time.

Then, we went to get some lunch.  Many of the restaurants have displays outside the restaurants with plastic models of the dishes they serve along with the prices.  It makes it really easy to pick a restaurant.  Also, the restaurants here are very kid friendly.  Almost every restaurant we went to brought special dishes for the kids, many had separate dishes for boys and girls.  

Their kid's meal.  It was huge!

yummy food

After lunch we went to see the Shibuya Scramble Crossing.  It is a spectacular intersection.  Traffic is stopped in all directions at the same time, and everyone crosses at the same time in every direction.  There are 3 huge television screens.  The Scramble Crossing is often compared to Times Square in New York.  It has appeared in several movies, including Lost in Translation, and Fast and Furious. 

Then, we headed to Akihabara, an area of town famous for electronics and anime.  We had fun checking out the shops full of electronics and anime figurines.  They close the main street so you don't have to worry about traffic.

After shopping, we stopped for dinner.  We had to take off our shoes when we got there.  The had little lockers to put them in.  Instead of sitting on the floor, the floor was raised to the level of a bench.  The food was good.  The kids even got to pick a toy with their meal. 

It was a great day!

Fish Market, Tokyo Tower, and Imperial Gardens

We woke up in the morning and headed to the Tsujiki fish market, which is the largest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world.  We didn't go to the live auction. They only allow a limited number of visitors each day.  The auction starts at 5 AM, so you have to get there between 3 and 4 AM to get a spot.  We decided a visit to the outer market at 9 would be just fine.  The market was crowded. There were many stalls set up selling various types of seafood, as well as dried fish and seaweed. Several of them gave samples and were amused to see all the different things Charlotte would try and liked.  All the lines for the restaurants were all really long, so we just bought a few snacks from vendors and decided to get lunch somewhere else.  The market was crowded and at one point a lady and I bumped into each other.  I turned around and apologized, she bowed at the same time.  I love how polite the Japanese are!

Tsujiki maket

Next, we headed to the Tokyo Tower.  The Tokyo Tower was designed to look like the Eiffel Tower, except they made it 13 meters taller so it would be the tallest tower in the world.  The kids had a lot of fun looking at the views from the observation deck. 

view from the top

After the tower, we went to the gardens of the Imperial Palace.  This is a popular time to visit Japan because the cherry blossoms are in bloom.  Some of the parks had hundreds of them and they are breathtaking.  On the way, we stopped to see the Zojo-ji Temple.  The path to the temple had little statues.  They each had brightly colored hats, flowers, and outfits. 

overhead view of Zojo-ji temple from the Tokyo Tower

 

Zojo-ji Temple

decorated statues

Cherry blossoms with the Zojo-ji Temple in the background

We took a train to the Tokyo station, which is a beautiful and huge old building.  Then we walked to the Imperial Palace.  It was a long walk.  We stopped at a park on the way, with lots of fountains

Tokyo station

Beautiful fountains

  

I was surprised how many people were enjoying the Imperial Gardens.  I thought they would be considered sacred, instead there were hundreds of people lounging on the lawn and enjoying the beautiful spring day. 

Imperial Gardens

The walk around the gardens was long, about an hour.  The kids were pretty tired by the end.  We decided to get some ice cream from the snack shop.  They had ice cream bars covered in chocolate with a waffle around it.  They were delicious.