Showing posts with label Visiting family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Visiting family. Show all posts

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Stay at Tokyo, Akasaka.

I went back to Japan this summer with two children.

The next day we arrived, We were going to Ito (Shizuoka) with my family and friends, so I stayed in the city for a night booked in the reservation site.

It's not a hotel, it's like a private residence (with private bathroom with shower), it's not a fancy place or anything, but it's in a convenient location and the reviews are good, so I decided here. My two children were quite big (13 and 8), so I didn't want to sleep on a tight bed, so it was attractive to have a single bed for each person. This room has two bunk beds and the area is nice.



I've lived in Tokyo for many years, but I am not familiar with Akasaka or the inside of the Yamanote Line. I arrived at Akasaka around 5:00 in the evening and was full of people after work.

The impression of Akasaka is modern buildings and old shopping street merged.

Since two suitcases were sent to my brothers' house, I will arrive at the inn with a small suitcase packed with four days of changing clothes and each of us carried backpack one by one.

The subway stairs are painful. Later, there I found out was an up escalator, but I didn't know where it was. It's hard to live on foot for us who are used to car life in the U.S.

When we checked in, there were no people at the front, later we finally took a breath in the room. Well, when I wanted to open a suitcase, I couldn't open a small key! Whether the inside is rusted or not, it's unexpectedly strong and won't break. What should I do. .

When I talked to the owner at the inn, he said, “Oh, I ’ll take a look.” We were hungry and decided to eat it at a nearby ramen shop. Buy a meal ticket and sit at the counter. Japanese diners are cheap and delicious, but I'm worried about the our luggage. .

After the meal was over, I went back to the inn and When I asked the owner, he visited a friend luggage store and broke the key!

I was saved. .

The inn itself had a hard futon, but if you stayed elsewhere, I had to broken the suitcase (made of cloth). Thank you Inn owner! !

By the way, there was a convenience store nearby and I bought a snack, so we ate it and fell asleep at 9:00 due to the tiredness of the trip, but we woke up at 2 o'clock in the morning. .

We tried to hang around the morning city when the sky was a little bright at around 5 o'clock. Crows and people are walking around at times like this.

Yoshinoya. We ate breakfast here. 1700 yen for 3 people. Cheap and delicious.



 band men sitting across us talking about last night gig, youth dream.. (overhearing of course)

Then visit Hiei Shrine. I've seen it on TV. It was nice to have an escalator. At this point it is 7am. There were some people who worshiped. I have been asking for work luck and love luck.




A sports car company next to it?



There was a TV station TBS, so I wandered around, but I didn't know whether a regular customer could enter, so I dismissed.




We will return to the hotel and go to Atami to meet my friends and their family.




Get a quality suitcase for your comfortable travel!

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

Japan trip - Shizuoka and Tokyo

I went to Japan to see my family in May.  

I left Japan 20 years ago. 

The price of the food is really affordable if you choose. For breakfast, I had rice, miso soup, salmon, and pickles set for only 500 yen or so, I bought a ticket at the machine and gave it to the lady who works by herself cooking, serving, clean up, doing everything! There were at least 8 customers including me. She was working hard. at 8:00 AM it was the peak time serving for guys before going to work. After everybody left, I told her, "You were doing all by yourself, what a hard worker you are!" 
I didn't take a picture of the food. Too bad.

On the other hand, expensive food like this one a cake for 780 yen 810 yen with tax exists. It was good though.


Potato cake (heavy and filled me up) 

I stayed at Shizuoka where Mt. Fuji is, and also my family. In Tokyo, I stayed at Shin Okubo (near Shinjuku). This area is a Korean town in Tokyo. I booked at booking.com the rate was 8500 yen a night. I met up with my brother to visit my dad and grandma at the graveyard. After that, I went to Yurakucho to see my friend. 

When I got off the station, I thought I was in Harajuku. There were tons of teenagers who love K-pop (Korean pop idol group) like BTS and Twice.

I took Shinkansen to go to Shizuoka. It takes only one hour. The day I got to Japan was raining hard. I couldn't see anything but on the way back to Tokyo, I could see Mt. Fuji very clear.


Mt. Fuji from Shinkansen.


The view of Shizuoka


Shizuoka Oden: Shizuoka's soul food.



The statue from Kita san Yaji san: Travelers who walked all over Japan in the Edo era. (Fiction)



Some Shrine near Shizuoka Station.



Japanese Korean Town in Tokyo Shinokubo


Shin Okubo is filled with young people but is hard to see in this picture.



Omoide (memory) yokocho at Shinjuku. I love a little street like this.




Boba at Shin Okubo. 


I had Takoyaki (Octopus ball) final snack before leaving Japan at Narita.



Gift for Dad