Kyoto, Japan 25.04

Four trains later, we arrived in Kyoto at about 5pm. We had our first experience of travelling on the famous Shinkansen bullet trains - 270km/h! Artur was thrilled like a little boy filming the trains as they passed us on the platform, and staring out the window for at least the first 30 mins of the actual train ride.



On our first train ride, we rushed onto the train just in time. We didn't realise that we'd wandered into the first class carriage. We just assumed that the Shinkansen trains must be pretty flashy on the inside as well as the outside. Eventually we got kicked out, and moved to one of the normal carriages. The trains were incredibly punctual, arriving and leaving at the exact minute they were scheduled at.

Downtown Kyoto

Once we arrived, we settled into our new hostel. Artur was impressed by their use of space. The hostel was about 3.5m wide, but they could fit in 64 beds over 4 floors! Surprisingly they still managed to fit in 2 TV/sitting areas, an outdoor sitting area and a little kitchen.We were very happy with our location, we were right in the centre of everything, so we could walk anywhere that we wanted to go. That evening, we walked to the city area, to get a feel for the place. Loren immediately thought that the city reminded her of Melbourne. The city was located on and around a couple of rivers, and the there were lots of little hidden alleyways with good restaurants and clubs

We had dinner at a beautiful little restaurant which was hidden in a little alleyway. It was decorated in a very traditional Japanese way, and it had an earthy feel to it, with all the stones and wood used to build and decorate it. We ordered some kebab skewers, which are sold everywhere in Japan, and also another hotplate meal, where you cook the food on your own little stove. The food was absolutely delicious! The only problem was that it came in 'Japanese size'- extremely small! Once Loren had cooked the food on the stove, it barely filled the plate that she had, which was the size of a tea saucer.

After dinner we explored the nearby shops and one of the games arcades that you see on literally every corner. The one we visited was 6 stories tall! The first floor had simple games like the ones where you move a claw which drops and hopefully picks up a prize for you. Loren had a go at this game and the bag looked like it was about to drop off, but as usual it never did. Artur played a simulator game which had a curved screen that almostsurrounded him. He had a great time playing it, but there were so many controls, it was hard to master.

They also had several floors dedicated to casino games. There were some pretty cool ones! One game had a big screen set up and lots of desks facing the screen. It was for betting on computerised horse races. It really looked like you'd wandered into a racing venue.
In a nearby store, Loren found her paradise. It was an umbrella store that sold umbrellas in so many different colours, patterns and shapes, with frills, lace and polka dots! She had noticed that everyone seemed to have one in Japan, but these were seriously adorable and intricate. She could have taken the entire store home with her.

We wandered along the river where most of the bars and clubs could be found. It was packed with immaculately dressed people. We also wandered along another little alleyway hoping to spot a Geisha. No luck though. We decided to wait until the following night to participate in the night-time celebrations, as we had a long day of explorations ahead of us.

Shoren-in Temple
The next morning we set off to on a walk recommended by lonely planet. The first place we visited was Shoren-in. It was a beautiful temple set in even more spectacular gardens. The main building had painted screens from the 16th and 17th centuries.

There were many rooms separated by the traditional sliding doors. The rooms were open to the outside gardens, and you could just sit there looking out on the flowers and trees and listen the water flowing down the waterfall into the pond.

There were lots of displays of artefacts from the days when the temple was in use. Several rooms had little shrines set up, and one room had an old wooden person transporter, where one person rides inside a box compartment on the shoulders of four other people.

We wandered through the beautiful gardens, where the cherry blossoms were still in full bloom. We saw a monument of a samurai amongst the trees. The pond was filled with huge carp, and everything was so peaceful.

Tea Ceremony

We came across a tiny house in the gardens, and it said you needed to pay to enter. We figured out that they were holding tea ceremonies in there. It was such a beautiful place, so we decided to try our first tea ceremony. They didn't speak English, so we were a little unsure of what to do. We sat down waiting until they had a room ready for us. There was another couple in there, who were Japanese, but also visiting Kyoto. It was their first ceremony too, and they helped us by translating things for us.

It was incredible, right from the beginning, the hosts and hostesses serving us, were on their knees and bowing very low, just to pass something to someone inside. If they entered the room, they also did it on their knees. We also had to sit on our knees, which was very uncomfortable. After a while, all four of us found more comfortable ways of sitting.

The ceremony itself involved a pot of hot water, several tea utensils and some smaller bowls. The hostess went through several ceremonious procedures before putting ground tea leaves in a bowl of hot water, and whisking them together slowly. We each had a sweet bread to eat, then one by one a bowl of tea was made for us and each person bowed along with the hostess when they received it. The tea was beautiful, and very healthy, as you actually drink the ground tea leaves.

Chion-in Temple
Next on our walk, we visited Chion-in. It was another temple, but this one was enormous! The temple and its surrounding buildings were spread across a huge area of land, with the beautiful mountains just behind. As you entered the grounds, you passed through a huge gate, with massive doors. It was several stories high and very wide. You could pay to go up to the top and see the view.

Inside the temple grounds we found several temples, including a very big one where a group of monks and other important figures were chanting. It sounded really cool, they changed the speed at which they chanted and got faster and faster. It sounded like the chanting in Latin from secret ceremonies like the freemasons.

There were several gardens to visit, but we had already enjoyed one beautiful garden at Shoren-in. There was a huge bell and the typical altar-like water fountain, where you used a long handled scoop to fish out water to cleanse your hands before entering the temples.

Central Park

We continued on our walk and found ourselves in a beautiful park with flowers and cherry trees. There were lots of local people here, just strolling, relaxing or having picnics. There was a guy doing a street show with balloons with a big crowd watching him. He sounded like he was on one of the famous Japanese game shows. Sadly we didn't see any of these crazy game shows while we were in Japan.
As we walked out of gardens, we started to reach a little road filled with courtyard restaurants and little shops. On the side of the road we bought a fish shaped pancake with chocolate custard in the middle. Right next to his stand, someone was selling something that looked like thin noodles or fried rice. Loren tried a sample, and when looked closely, it was actually tiny, tiny little fish! You could just see the eye and the shape of the body, very weird!

As we continued walking, we got a huge shock. Two geishas were walking along the road toward us! Everyone stopped and stared, and took as many photos as possible. We figured out that they weren't real ones when they started pulling out their cameras and taking photos of each other. We had read that you could pay to be dressed up and made up like a geisha.

We kept walking and joined a beautiful cobblestone street that was filled with quaint shops. We had a look at some kimonos that were on sale at a store - very expensive! The problem with kimonos is that you don't just buy the one piece. The outfit is made up of several layers, with at least 3 different sashes for the waist. Then you also need the traditional sandals and socks, and it you really want to look authentic, decorative hairpins, fancy bags and a fan. One outfit not including accessories was sold at about USD 650.

Kyomizu-Dera
After wandering through the little streets, we eventually reached the most famous temple in Kyoto - Kyomizu-Dera. Just as we reached the top of the stairs leading to the temple grounds, we were approached by three local Japanese uni students. They asked us if they could guide us through the temple grounds, so they could practice their English. They were on an excursion for their university's English Club. In most countries, we would of have been suspicious of a scam, but in Japan, people are well off and don't need our money, so when they want to chat, they are genuinely interested in learning English.

We had a great time chatting with them. They told us the meaning of their names. One was 'summer boy', another was 'wealthy smell', and the third was '1000 backgrounds'. At first they took us around to different pagodas and explained what they were and pointed out some of the carved symbols and the roofs. They had a script to read from and an electronic translator, and they answered any of our questions. They were very sweet :)

At the entrance to the main temple they showed us these heavy iron rods which were used to test people's strength. If you were able to lift the heavier one, you'd be popular with girls. So Artur and 'summer boy' lifted it together and succeeded!

There were lots of pieces of paper tied at the front of the temple. They told us that people buy pieces of paper with fortunes on them, and if the fortunes are bad, they tie them to the temple. The view from the temple was absolutely beautiful! We could see the city of Kyoto on the horizon and the forests that covered the mountains beneath us were so lush and green.

Elsewhere in the temple grounds, we came across the famous stones of love. If you walk from one stone to the other with your eyes closed, then your love's desire will be fulfilled. If someone assists you to reach the other stone, you will need someone else's assistance to attain your love's desire.

Artur made the walk between the stones, which was quite difficult as the path between was filled with crowds of people. He was on track the whole way until the very end, when someone had to direct him back to the path.

Next we came to a temple with lots of stone carvings of babies. Each has a different face, and most people who have lost a child can find a statue that looks like their child. Each statue is given a red bib and other little toys to appease their departed souls.

Further down the mountain we saw a waterfall with three streams that fell into a pool of water. People collect the water in long-handled spoons and drink it. The first stream brings beauty, the second brings longevity and the third brings wisdom. You can't drink all three though, you can only choose one.

Paparazzi
After seeing the temple, we parted ways with our guides and exchanged email addresses.
After our sightseeing walk, we headed back along a similar route until we reached Miyako Odori. As we made our way along a little street, we noticed that everyone was standing around holding cameras, as if they were waiting for something. They looked like paparazzi. We decided to wait around and see what the excitement was. After a few minutes, a geisha slipped out of a building and hurried along her way, with everyone chasing her for pictures. Our picture wasn't that great. It was our first sighting of a real geisha though! Seconds later we saw another slipping into the back door of a house.

We realised that we had wandered into the district where you can see geisha dance performances. We tried to get tickets for the last session of the day, but it was completely sold out.

Kimono Shopping
Loren was still keen on buying a kimono, and we had heard that you could get them for decent prices if they are second-hand. After a great deal of searching, we found a store that was packed full of kimonos and all the accessories! It was a great shop, but we realised just how much room a kimono and attachments would require in our luggage, so we browsed, but didn't buy anything.

International Manga Museum
Our next stop was to the Manga Museum. For anyone that doesn't know, manga are japanese comic books. They have a distinctive drawing style, and they are written for all demographics. You are just as likely to see a businessman reading manga as a school-kid. Most manga are written like tv episodes, and you have to keep buying the next book in the series to continue the storyline.

The museum had a 150m wall of bookshelves filled with manga. There were also drawings and posters and early versions of manga. In one room we were able to watch manga on a computer. You had to click everytime you wanted to go to the next frame. It was pretty cool!
The museum also offered to draw your portrait in manga style. We were unlucky though, we missed it by about an hour. At the end we sat down and read some manga that had been translated into English. We wanted to buy some, but they didn't have any in English.

Gion Corner
We rushed back to Gion Corner at Miyako Odori where there was a performance of many different types of Japanese art, music and dance. The first thing they did was to perform a tea ceremony, but it didn't quite have the same feel to it, being performed in front of a crowd of tourists.

The second act was a performance of Koto music. Koto is a thirteen stringed instrument that is played by someone sitting on the ground behind it. While the music was playing, a lady arranged flowers in a vase in the traditional Japanese style. It is a very simple and natural style, with only a few flowers and leaves put into the vase. It seemed strange to be watching someone arrange flowers on a stage, but it was done in a very ceremonious manner, much like the tea ceremony.
The next performance was quite amusing actually, although it wasn't supposed to be. It was called Gagaku and it is a style of music accompanied by a masked dancer. This music has died out everywhere else but Japan. If you heard it, you would understand why. Our ears were a little sore afterwards.

The next performance was Kyogen which is a comic play. The play was about a master who needs to leave the village for business and is afraid that his servants will get into his stocks of sake while he is gone. He ties them up and leaves, and they try to find ingenious ways of drinking sake while being tied up.

We watched a performance of Kyomai, which is the style of dance performed by geishas. The dance is very slow and graceful, and was meant to be performed in small Japanese rooms. Their movements tell a story about a young girl and her lovelife. The costumes were beautiful and very colourful.

The final performance was Bunraku, a puppet play. The puppet was quite large and the movements looked quite realistic. Several people crowd behind the puppet to move different parts of its body. The story that she performed was a love story, it was based on a true story and is very famous in Japan.


Gyoza and Sake!
After the performance we headed out for dinner and found a beautiful area with flowering hedges lining the river. We ate at a tiny restaurant that served only gyoza - which is pretty much the same as the fried dumplings we had in China. Delicious! Apparently they're a Chinese dish, but they serve them everywhere in Japan, so we didn't feel too guilty. We had some hot sake which is surprsisingly cheap! A bottle of sake is the same price as a beer, and sake is very strong!

We decided to visit some of the little bars that are in every alleyway. We struggled to find one that had English menus, but eventually came across a tiny one that we liked. It was so small it only had one couch and some bar stools. Two guys sitting next to us introduced themselves, although they didn't speak much English. They were maths teachers at a girls school, and they were very surprised that Artur was older than me, because apparently in Japan, most guys date older women.

Mt Fuji, Japan 24.04

We had an early start before catching the bus to Kawaguchi-ko, the lake district just below Mt Fuji. The weather was really shocking though. It was freezing, raining and cloudy, so the chairlift was closed, and we couldn't see Mt Fuji through the clouds.

We found some interesting museums that we were keen on seeing. So we decided to explore the area by bus. The next bus left in an hour, so we chilled in the hostel and put on a movie. We watched 'Kill Bill', which was quite appropriate seeing as a lot of it is set in Japan. It was so cozy in the tv room and we got so involved in the storyline that we missed the bus and caught the next one.
The bus was antique and smelled of mothballs. It was called 'Retro Bus'. The ride was beautiful as we drove by the edge of the lakes and saw the surrounding villages. It was so nice not to be out in the rain, but still to be able to see the area from the warm, dry bus. Cherry trees lined the lakes and they were still in full bloom, as the weather in this area was cooler than in Tokyo.
We got off at Saiko Iyashi No Sato, which is a replica village built in the traditional japanese village style.

Saiko Iyashi No Sato The houses had thatched roofs and in each hut there was a display to be seen.
Several of the huts had workshops in local arts and crafts, but you had to book ahead. One was on dollmaking, preparing traditional food, origami, silk weaving etc. Other houses had displays on traditional tools, history of the location and the mudslides that occured there.

One house had weapons, including samurai swords, old rifles and ancient samurai armour. We noticed that there were pictures of people dressed up, on the wall and realised we could try some of the things on! The old man that was in the hut helped Artur put on the heavy samurai armour and let him hold the samurai sword. It was so exciting. Loren got to try on a kimono, and pose with a fan and wear the traditional shoes. He didn't charge us anything to try them on, and we only paid USD 2 for admission! It was so much fun! We had a look at some of the other houses, which were selling handmade crafts of porcelain, silk, paper and homemade food items. We bought some cute little chopstick holders in the shape of a dog and cat.

Local Attractions
We took the retro bus back again, but realised that we didn't have time to get to any other museum before it closed. We went to a local family restaurant, which reminded us of an American 'diner'. There was a buzzer at each table that you rang when you wanted to order etc. It was quite clever, when you rang the buzzer, your table number came up on an electronic board. Loren discovered the buzzer system by accident while playing with things on the table :)

We were going to visit the hot springs that were located almost next to our hostel. It looked very fancy, and Loren was keen to try the traditional Japanese onsen - hot springs. Unfortunately we didn't end up visiting any during our whole trip, so it's a shame we didn't make the most of having one next door that day.

Fabulous Hostel
Instead we made the most of staying at a well-equipped hostel. Their computers were very modern, with fast internet, and even a drive for putting your camera memory card into. They also had a spotless kitchen, an indoor sitting area with dining tables as well, lots of books, games and a playstation. We were very impressed that they even had the current newspaper available each day. They even had some very comfy slippers to wear indoors :)There was also an outdoor dining area for people willing to brave the cold weather. Best of all was the TV room which had an enormous flat screen TV, and a huge collection of DVDs to watch!

Tokyo, Japan 22.04

The security for entering Japan was quite strict. We were fingerprinted and photographed as we passed through immigration. Also, we had our bags opened and checked for the first time since we began travelling. They asked us lots of questions, then told us we could continue on our way.

Artur thought the guy was just curious, but Loren was pretty sure that the seemingly casual questions they ask are just to see if you stumble over your responses or if you seem nervous. Could just be too many episodes of border security in Australia, that she was forced to sit through :)

Finding Accomodation
We had organised to try couch surfing for the first time, but when we arrived we realised that the place was quite far out from the centre of Tokyo. Our trip to Japan is a bit of a whirlwind tour, so we didn't want to waste time in transit. Also, Loren was still quite sick, and it wouldn't have been very nice to pass her cold on to the 60 year woman who was to be our host.

Japanese 'fugu' or pufferfish, very poisonous, but a delicacy in Japan

After a great many phone calls, we found one place with decent prices that could take us for the night. They only had male and female dorms, not mixed ones, but it sounded okay. The place that we arrived at was completely spotless, but had a strange smell to it. It was decorated in a very rustic, traditional Japanese style. However, despite being well decorated, there was more atmosphere on the moon than in this hostel.

From the very beginning, we felt as though we were intruding on someone else's space. There were nazi signs posted absolutely everywhere telling us what we could and could not do. "No mobiles!", "Shoes off here!", "Put your sheets on this way!", "No movies on the computer!", "Clean up after yourself!"It was quite intimidating. The owner just lay on the couch in the communal area where the TV was. But it looked like no one else dared to actually use that 'communal'area.

The place was deathly silent despite being well before midnight. Everyone was already hiding out in their rooms. Loren's room was full of butch American women, so she was a little intimidated, and torn between being in the room or out in the tomb of a hostel.

We had to pay to use the computer 'per person'. So the guy sat in the background watching like a hawk, to see if Artur would touch the computer while Loren was on there. We didn't feel like we were the ones paying to stay there when the guy came into the dorm room later to ask Artur to move back the chair that he had sat on while we were on the internet.

Typical Japanese toilet with bidet and heated seat!

We left in a hurry the next morning, very eager to escape the morgue-like silence of the hostel. Something about the place reminded Loren of a childhood nightmare. We were sorely disappointed when we realised that we had booked and paid for accomodation for our first night in Tokyo, while we were still in Melbourne! This place was a hotel, where we would have had our own room and breakfast provided. How frustrating!

We visited a local supermarket in the morning to get some breakfast ingredients. Surprisingly, the supermarket opened at 10am! We were worried that we were up late, but we had to sit and wait for the place to open. The supermarket had a cafe area, where you could eat what you bought from the supermarket. They had microwaves, hot water etc.

We then left in search of our new hostel in Asakusa. It was pretty funny because the closest station was called Tawaramachi, and Artur kept calling it - Tamagochi station! After a fairly long walk we managed to find the hostel. We were pretty impressed by this one. It was huge, but well run, friendly and clean. We had a view of an amusement park from our dorm window.

The Crazy Metro System

Then we set off to see Tokyo in all its glory! We were so impressed by the metro system! It seems a bit crazy when you first look at it, but once you understand the convoluted mass of subway lines, it's the most efficent system you'll find. There are 3 different subway operators, and they run their own subway lines, whether it's the major lines or the little local ones. Because there are so many options, you can arrive outside almost anything you want to see. You don't have to find other transport to take you closer, the subway will take you straight there.

Cherry Blossoms in Ueno

The first thing we wanted to see in Japan was the famous cherry blossoms. We were lucky enough to arrive in spring, when the trees are covered in the most beautiful white and pink flowers. We took the subway to Ueno, where there is a big park filled with cherry trees. Unfortunately the flowers had bloomed a little earlier this year and not all the trees were covered in flowers, but we found some gorgeous ones. The park also had a beautiful lake filled with reeds. There was supposed to be lotus flowers in the lake, but we didn't see any.

The Japanese Pet Solution

Our next stop was Ikebukuro, where we were planning to visit a place called Nekobukuro. Most people in Japan are unable to have pets, so this enterprise was established. On the top floor of a high rise building, there is a playland for cats. There are about 20 cats that live there and people pay to come in and play with them.

There were scratching posts, toys, little beds, bookshelves, and climbing platforms for the cats. Some remained inside their glass sleeping quarters, like pet shop animals, and the others ran freely around the apartment. One cat was enormous, it had the facial structure of a tiger! There were quite a few big ones and ones of many varying breeds. They weren't very friendly, but then, they are cats. We patted a few and tried to hold some but they weren't too keen on being held.
Loren felt like when she was a little kid, and she was playing with some kittens. She would take them inside and put them through the cat door, then go outside and collect them, and repeat this routine. It was great playing with the cats, but I don't think they enjoyed the attention too much.

Views of Tokyo

After our little petting zoo experience, we went to see the NS building in Shinjuku where you could get a great view of the city for free! There were many restaurants where you could eat with a view, but there were also big windows outside the restaurants too. Inside the building there was an enormous pendulum clock - 29m high!

Roppongi at Night
For dinner we went to Roppongi, which is a famous night life district. It took us a while to find the place we were looking for, but nothing is impossible! We tried the traditional Japanese grill, where you order raw meat and vegetables and cook it yourself over a flame grill on your table. It was absolutely divine! We even got to wear some fashionable disposable aprons - very hen hao! The portions seemed quite small though. We still aren't sure whether we just aren't ordering enough, or if they Japanese just eat very small amounts.
After dinner we headed out to check out the nighlife. We visited 1 bar, but the music was so loud that we couldn't talk, and it was pretty empty. We went to a place called Propaganda after that, and we had a drink there. They had 'Titanic'playing on their TV and Pearl Jam playing over the sound system. We watched a bit of the movie and observed the expats who filled the bar. Roppongi is pretty popular with foreigners.
There seemed to be a lot of Africans working on the doors of bars, trying to entice us in for a drink. We probably didn't find the best bars in Roppongi, but we had a great time.

We arrived back at the hostel and were on the computer, when we heard an annoying voice in the background. It was an American or Canadian guy dramatising his personal life to a German guy, and sharing his philosophies on life. He was sooo loud and irritating. Loren was laughing and saying that if that guy was in our dorm, any violence toward him would be purely self-defence.

We arrived in our room and saw that we had a new roommate lying in his bed. Like a slow-motion scene from a horror film, he sat up in bed and grinned at us, 'hello!' It was that guy!

Shinjuku Station

The next morning we went to Shinjuku to look after some train and bus ticket administration. We knew that Shinjuku was the busiest station in the world, servicing 3 million people a day, but until you need to find a specific office or shop, you have no idea just how big. Following a little map we knew that the office we needed was just outside the West Exit. What we didn't realise was that the station is divided into two, and you can only access the other side from the surface. Of course, our office was on the other side. We walked around almost the entire station above the ground, before we managed to find the place. It seemed like the station stretched beneath the surface of the entire suburb of Shinjuku!

The Unmanned Monorail to the Innovation Museum

Once our chores were complete, we took an automated monarail to get to the Museum of Innovation . The ride was spectacular, there was a view over the enormous harbour area, bridges and buildings. The tracks looked and felt like the ones on roller coasters, it was an exciting ride.
We didn't have much time at the museum, because of our Shinjuku fiasco, so we rushed around looking at what we could. There was an exhibit on aliens, that would have been interesting, but we wouldn't have had time see the normal parts of the museum and then see that exhibit.

We saw magnified pictures of animal and human cells. They looked like artwork, but when you read what they were it was quite amazing. One interesting one was of a torn ligament. They showed the strands that were broken and parts that were still intact.
The main museum area had many types of robots and responsive automated equipment. There was an ASIMO robot, that can do just about anything, robots that react to voice commands, robots that react to touch. There were also different interfaces for navigation. One interface was a piano keyboard where you played different notes to direct a car in a video game. Bizarre!
There were also some fascinating exhibits on the human body. Loren was particularly interested in the ones on the human brain. Partly because she studied a bit of psychology and partly because she loves to read and watch things about coroners and medical examiners. It was also interesting to look at the brains of animals in comparison to the ones of humans.

Toyota Mega Web

One of the best things we did was to see the Toyota Mega Web display. We saw a huge variety of Toyota's Japanese range of cars, hybrid cars, as well as some amazing concept cars. There was an automated ride in a hybrid car that you could take to see around the whole complex, but the much better option, was to test drive a car for USD 3! We were so disappointed because Artur usually keeps his international driver's licence with him, but had taken it out on this occasion, so we couldn't do any test drives.
We tried a couple of simulators for racing cars. It was like being at an arcade! It was hard to get the hang of at first but after a bit of practice, we were driving like pros.
There was another movie theatre simulator that we tried. The movie was of a race on the Japanese Fuji race track. We sat in seats that moved in sync to make you feel like you were driving the car on the track. It was exciting to feel the gear changes of the car and the vibrations of the engine. They drive so fast, it was incredible!

Venus Fort

There was a shopping centre in the same complex as the Toyota Mega Web. The shopping centre was called Venus Fort, and it looked like something out of Vegas. The ceiling of the shopping centre looked like the sky, and it got darker as the sun set too. It was a very posh place and there was so many beautiful things on sale and great looking restaurants.

We saw a lego store there which we were excited about. We looked at the little lego men that were attached to keyrings. We decided to wait until we get to Denmark before we bought anything lego related.
The main thing we came to see inside the shopping centre, was a display of old cars. There were some serious beauties in there. We saw a corvette stingray, mustang, jaguar e-type, a tiny BMW, and some classic japanese cars.

Tokyo TowerWe went back to Roppongi that night to see the Tokyo Tower. The tower was built to look like the Eiffel Tower but they made it taller -333m. We only got to see the view from 150m, which was pretty disappointing. The upper deck closed before we could get there. We still had a great view of the city from there, and they had some great multimedia boards that you could use to find out what buildings you were looking at.