"JAPAN, SUPERB MIX OF THE ANCIENT ..." a Tokyo Travel Page by AusPinay

I cannot begin to tell you how very fond we have become of Japan! It is magical and spectacularly very family-friendly! The Japanese people are respectful, efficient and very organised.

They always make it a point to please anyone, especially the tourists.

I am grateful to my hubby for convincing me to go to this beautiful country- I suspect anywhere it is the same- clean, organised and plenty of food/vending machines everywhere you go!

The time we spent here (and the money) was well worth it!

We hope to come back in the future- maybe Osaka, Nara, Kyoto, etc. and still Tokyo. I booked a tour of Mt. Fuji/Hakone at our hotel- Tokyo Prince (our rooms had fab views of Tokyo Tower,especially at night!- took a bus going there- then bullet/speed train going back and this was awesome for DAve and the kids!

I shall try to post more next time but at the moment, I still have jet lag..our feet got plenty of exercise from the walking we did!

Our hotel was near the train stations (at least three) but the one we used most was around 15 minutes walk. It is not the distance but the station is HUGE and we got lost a few times due to the numerous exit points and other places to go to which made us confused.

In the end we took the taxi which only cost 710 Yen (abut 84 to 90 yen for the Aussie dollar).

Anyway, here's a slide of our trip- it is impossible to post all the photos (I even used my memory card 512 MB and had to change to a 1 GB card,LOL!) Also, a lot of the photos were taken either by me or hubby using his Pentax Digital SLR twin lens camera or my own Pentax digital waterproof camera with 7 megapixels. This was handy during the drizzle as hubby got scared using his equipment,LOL!

Please put this in your browser to check out my slide (a summary of our Japan trip).

http://www.slide.com/r/5KCwhb6W0D-6m_xR5YV5Mpi6KpQGCymy

To sum it up, JAPAN is AWESOME, go visit it soon! SPRING is the best time I think as the cherry blossoms are still lovely despite having bloomed in many places in Tokyo!

Please do click on the travelogues and tips for more insight about this great country and fab Tokyo!

Cheers!

UENO ZOO is simply spectacular! A visit for a family is not a holiday without visiting the zoo.

No offense to my Yankee mates but San Diego Zoo doesn't even compare to this zoo, when it comes to facilities, services and the over-all presentation of exhibits! The leafy ambience and wide open spaces make for a pleasant visual and soothing experience too!

Despite being huge, we got up close and personal to most of the animals here. I shall talk more about this zoo in the tips pages.

ZOJOJI TEMPLE and GARDENS

Just a minute's walk from our hotel is this magnificent imposing gate of the SANGENDATSUMON - main entrance to the ZOJOJI Shrine of Shogun Ieyasu and his family.
The shrine and gardens offer a glimpse of ancient Japan interspersed with the modern technology of Tokyo Tower which is just behind it too! This gate also served as our landmark coming from our numerous walks around this area and from either of the three train stations that service this place! (See our ZOJOJI travelogue for more.)

The gardens are typical of tranquil and sculptured Japanese gardens with glorious flowering shrubs and majestic leafy trees all around! A truly peaceful oasis amidst the chaos of the big city!

Aside from the awesome zoo, other family-friendly places to go to are UENO Park, Tokyo Tower, AKIHABARA electric town, GINZA (for SONY Building), the street near Hammatchuko Station, where the WORLD TRADE CENTRE is, also the POKEMON CENTRE nearby. We also went to Odaiba, the Tokyo Bay area and some parts of Shinjuku.

We also booked a HAKONE/MT. Fuji tour to experience not just the beauty of MT. Fuji but riding the cool speed/bullet train (shinkansen). This tour gives a good idea of countryside Japan, just around an hour from Tokyo.
Other places worthy of visiting for families with kids are the Tokyo Tower with its own aquarium, wax museum, and other amusement/entertainment for kids and adults alike.

Shrines, temples, gardens and parks are always excellent places to go to for families and any tourist to Japan. We were lucky to be near the Jojoji Shrine with its imposing and exquisite temple and lovely leafy gardens.

Our hotel was also just behind Tokyo Tower so we enjoyed good views of the Tower day and night when it looks really fabulous! Around it are more interesting places like the exquisite Zojoji Shrine and lovely gardens, just a minute from us and the surrounding Shiba Park with heaps of flowering shrubs and magnificent trees as mentioned earlier!

FOOD

I have a separate page on this topic as it is mind boggling the way the Japanese view food! They present it magically, artistically and with such flare! It is doubly superb that Japanese food tastes delicious too- even for my fussy eater son! He loves udon noodles and even rice with soy sauce on its own! We have grown to love soba noodles and miso soup as well!

TRANSPORT SYSTEM

Japanese way is superior which is most evident in their excellent rail system- the subway, train and monorail are always handy. We never have to wait for more than 5 minutes for our ride! Even the buses seem to be efficient too as we took the Airport Limousine Bus to and from the airport. (I'll have a separate tip for this as we didn't have to pay for the fares! Unbelievable? Trust me!) Even the motorcoach and bullet train we took for our Hakone tour were also great! Everything is clean and organised!

A visit to Japan/Tokyo should be a must in every VT's list. Even if you've been there, there is always something new to explore around wonderful Japan!