![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Been staring at the screen blinking rapidly for a while because I'm tired, but epic post of awesome really needs to be made so here I go.
NAGOYA WAS GREAT.
We had a little bit (a TINY bit, really) of trouble figuring out which line to take where, but we got it sorted and explained to us eventually and then off we were to Nagoya and the Tokugawa Art Museum. Ate breakfast on the train, including a drink we weren't able to find anywhere yesterday, even after searching every conbini we came across.
The rare, elusive drink.
A delicious chocolate-chip custard thing that was probably a million calories. I care not.
IN NAGOYA IN JAPAN.
I. I couldn't really resist.
This was one of the very first things we saw after leaving the station. "No Bikes." BIKES.
Upon arrival at the Nagoya station, we have the directions to leave by the south exit, walk straight for about ten minutes, and boom! you're there at the museum.
So, of course, we immediately get incredibly lost, even after the help of an amazingly nice lady who came up to us and asked, "are you...okay?" and then proceeded to walk with us two streets before heading on her way. I gave her a chocolate and a postcard. I think she was surprised to see me pull it out of my bag. However, let me assure you, the getting lost was not at all in a bad way. We wandered around the back side streets of Nagoya, just out for a stroll, and got to see some pretty awesome gardens.
It was really neat just walking through the sidestreets and seeing just bits of real things. It wasn't touristy, it was Japan. A part of it.
We ended up stumbling across a Shinto shrine and just went to town snapping pictures. A man came out from one of the buildings and we went over to ask him for directions, and got into a conversation about where we were. Turns out he was the Shinto priest of that shrine, and we spent a good few minutes having halting conversation about what we were doing, including something that went like this (in Japanese):
Him: What are you doing today?
Us: We were going to the Tokugawa Art Museum, but, *throw arms wide to mean the shrine*.
After a bit more talking, he took us over to the charm station (where people can buy charms and tokens from the shrine) and presented us each with a wish plaque as a gift. Both Donna and I bought charms from him and his disciple there, and I gave each of them a postcard too. So far everyone we've met has been so amazingly nice and helpful, it's amazing.
Hi, wind.
Donna, doing the necessary.
Me too.
Is that not one of the coolest things ever?
Shinto Priest-san
Us, the shrine, and our souvenirs.
From there we wandered a little bit more up and down streets before ducking into a shop to ask directions yet again, and them from a person walking down the street to finally get to the museum we sought.
We made it! At last!
Their front gate.
Their front garden.
It was Really Big.
Photos inside the museum weren't allowed,
but lobby photos were okay.
The museum had a small Tea Lounge inside it after you got through the exhibits, and by that time we were both ready to eat something anyway. That and we wanted to be able to say that we had lunch in the Tokugawa Art Museum's tea lounge.
Donna is adorable with her sandwiches.
I had toast! It was awesome toast.
No, seriously. It was like the best toast ever.
The museum had an attached garden that you could wander around (and take pictures in) for an extra 150Yen. Um. <Yes.
It was pretty.
And cool.
It was pretty cool.
Such an awesome shot. Those two women were walking around in kimono and it just. Looked so perfect.
Merrily skipping down the steps.
Koi pond! It was enormous and there were a million.
Note the Cow Koi.
This was still all in the Tokugawa garden, mind.
A case of the frequently-appearing stair-shaped rocks.
We made use of them.
These catfish literally jumped out of the water a few times while we watched. Methinks someone's been feeding them snacks.
Stair shaped rocks! We use you once again! While being perfectly aware it was probably a Dumb Idea 8D
While heading back to the station, we happened across more sign fun:
After finally heading back to Tokyo, we asked and found our way to a Lawson convenience store and, with the help (again) of an incredibly nice Japanese assistant, we purchased ticketsto tour Ghibli studios, the makers of the Miyazaki films on the 17th. I AM MAYBE A LITTLE EXCITED. We've got something cool lined up for every single day.
From there we went on a hunt for a noodle house, finding a not-noodle-house instead. With ginormous portions of food.
We managed to finish a lot of it, but the miso soup just didn't fit. And a very cool thing? That meal cost me 680JPY. That is about seven dollars for INCREDIBLE PORTIONS OF FOOD. Not that, you know, I was able to eat all of it, but still. The shredded cabbage was my favorite part. I've been needing some veggies in my life.
All in all, a very good day indeed. And just think--we would have missed half of that amazingness if we'd gone in the right direction in the first place.
Tomorrow, Kyoto!
NAGOYA WAS GREAT.
We had a little bit (a TINY bit, really) of trouble figuring out which line to take where, but we got it sorted and explained to us eventually and then off we were to Nagoya and the Tokugawa Art Museum. Ate breakfast on the train, including a drink we weren't able to find anywhere yesterday, even after searching every conbini we came across.
The rare, elusive drink.
A delicious chocolate-chip custard thing that was probably a million calories. I care not.
IN NAGOYA IN JAPAN.
I. I couldn't really resist.
This was one of the very first things we saw after leaving the station. "No Bikes." BIKES.
Upon arrival at the Nagoya station, we have the directions to leave by the south exit, walk straight for about ten minutes, and boom! you're there at the museum.
So, of course, we immediately get incredibly lost, even after the help of an amazingly nice lady who came up to us and asked, "are you...okay?" and then proceeded to walk with us two streets before heading on her way. I gave her a chocolate and a postcard. I think she was surprised to see me pull it out of my bag. However, let me assure you, the getting lost was not at all in a bad way. We wandered around the back side streets of Nagoya, just out for a stroll, and got to see some pretty awesome gardens.
It was really neat just walking through the sidestreets and seeing just bits of real things. It wasn't touristy, it was Japan. A part of it.
We ended up stumbling across a Shinto shrine and just went to town snapping pictures. A man came out from one of the buildings and we went over to ask him for directions, and got into a conversation about where we were. Turns out he was the Shinto priest of that shrine, and we spent a good few minutes having halting conversation about what we were doing, including something that went like this (in Japanese):
Him: What are you doing today?
Us: We were going to the Tokugawa Art Museum, but, *throw arms wide to mean the shrine*.
After a bit more talking, he took us over to the charm station (where people can buy charms and tokens from the shrine) and presented us each with a wish plaque as a gift. Both Donna and I bought charms from him and his disciple there, and I gave each of them a postcard too. So far everyone we've met has been so amazingly nice and helpful, it's amazing.
Hi, wind.
Donna, doing the necessary.
Me too.
Is that not one of the coolest things ever?
Shinto Priest-san
Us, the shrine, and our souvenirs.
From there we wandered a little bit more up and down streets before ducking into a shop to ask directions yet again, and them from a person walking down the street to finally get to the museum we sought.
We made it! At last!
Their front gate.
Their front garden.
It was Really Big.
Photos inside the museum weren't allowed,
but lobby photos were okay.
The museum had a small Tea Lounge inside it after you got through the exhibits, and by that time we were both ready to eat something anyway. That and we wanted to be able to say that we had lunch in the Tokugawa Art Museum's tea lounge.
Donna is adorable with her sandwiches.
I had toast! It was awesome toast.
No, seriously. It was like the best toast ever.
The museum had an attached garden that you could wander around (and take pictures in) for an extra 150Yen. Um. <Yes.
It was pretty.
And cool.
It was pretty cool.
Such an awesome shot. Those two women were walking around in kimono and it just. Looked so perfect.
Merrily skipping down the steps.
Koi pond! It was enormous and there were a million.
Note the Cow Koi.
This was still all in the Tokugawa garden, mind.
A case of the frequently-appearing stair-shaped rocks.
We made use of them.
These catfish literally jumped out of the water a few times while we watched. Methinks someone's been feeding them snacks.
Stair shaped rocks! We use you once again! While being perfectly aware it was probably a Dumb Idea 8D
While heading back to the station, we happened across more sign fun:
After finally heading back to Tokyo, we asked and found our way to a Lawson convenience store and, with the help (again) of an incredibly nice Japanese assistant, we purchased ticketsto tour Ghibli studios, the makers of the Miyazaki films on the 17th. I AM MAYBE A LITTLE EXCITED. We've got something cool lined up for every single day.
From there we went on a hunt for a noodle house, finding a not-noodle-house instead. With ginormous portions of food.
We managed to finish a lot of it, but the miso soup just didn't fit. And a very cool thing? That meal cost me 680JPY. That is about seven dollars for INCREDIBLE PORTIONS OF FOOD. Not that, you know, I was able to eat all of it, but still. The shredded cabbage was my favorite part. I've been needing some veggies in my life.
All in all, a very good day indeed. And just think--we would have missed half of that amazingness if we'd gone in the right direction in the first place.
Tomorrow, Kyoto!
Just wow.
These pictures are absolutely breathtaking. No doubt they don't come close to the actual scene.
Are there a lot of animals/birds in the gardens (other than the fish of course)?
I guess biking people must have trouble seeing signs.
Keep following the stair-shaped rocks... lots of adventures. This sounds like so much fun.
:0) Brittany