the next to...

the last day in tokyo was a sad one...i didn't want to go! it was also crunch time to get things done and try and figure out how to bring back a bunch of stuff! lucky for me i picked up a cute hello kitty suitcase from kiddy land! i miss kiddy land!!!

any-hoo the day started out with us going to see fuji-san. it's a 80min ride on a express train to hakone which is the town that gives you easiest access to fuji. once we reached hakone we took a bus ride to lake ashi to take a look at the great one!
the whole lake area is very nice

with my fav swan boats and torii gates.

now if you look real hard you can see fuji before it gets swallowed by big clouds...darn clouds! :(

it was way cool trip plus i can say that i've been to tokyo-3*!!!!
don't you love the people in the boat getting their click-click on!
after some time at the lake we head to ameyoko street market by ueno park. this place was great there was food and clothes and all kinds of things and for cheap! i got many a gifts there and a few things for myself!

*the tokyo-3 is a reference to the anime neon genesis evangelion, like duh!

monday...

was a shibuya!

outside the shibuya station is a world of jumbo screens and one of the busiest street crossings in the world!
if you look close you can see us crossing!

as we walk around looking for another disk union and mandarake we come across some niffty things like this colonel sanders
statue

some pretty cool graf and


pink dragons selling ice cream!


now for those who do not know mandarake is a anime/manga shop in shibuya, this place is big and full of everything an otaku would ever want. some of the staff dress in their cosplay best and prices are good, i spent a good deal of yen there!

after a day of walking and shopping we head back to the hotel and on the way back we saw the boss tommy lee jones!

yeah i know...

but i've been sick but here are the last three days in japan.
sunday was going to be a simple day of swans and shopping so we head out to ueno park. the park is big and home to a zoo, a pond, a concert hall, two shrines and three museums.
first thing first find the pond!
once you find it you can't miss the fact that part of it is full of water lilies

and the other half is full of swans...swans! ;)

cool, now it's time to get us a swan to ride!!!

once your in the swan besides the great view you have to share the lake with others

and try not to hit other swans!

it's 700 yen for thirty min. and after your time is up you have to watch someone else float off with your swan, ugghhhh!

after a workout like that you need a little pick me up and there are a few street vendors making snacks!

this was so yummy and only for 500 yen!
after some nourishment we start walking around the park where we see some kids having a good time!

i adore rockabillys(!) and outside the national museum of western art were the the gates of hell...humm i always thought it was closer to the u.s.!

while taking pictures of the gates some of the shadows were making strange images like this face, creepy!

there was also staues of adam and eve outside the museum


and the burghers of calais



which was wonderful!
soooo after some parking we head to harajuku under the assumption of it not being busy, SIKE!

besides making the way to a few shops including this cool place

we hit my fav place kiddy land!!!!!!

after doing a day full of swans and waves of shoppers i got my prize!

okay...

day two(saturday) was harajuku!


as i sit back and enjoy my riceball, noodles and grapefruit juice i look back and wonder what the hell was i thinkin'!

what i was thinking was that we could get the best look at this place on a saturday...yeah maybe not such a good idea. it was busy...very, very busy i mean really busy and if you didn't move the crowd would move you. some of the stores only two people could fit in at a time.
there was neat graf work.


and the wacky kids!

okay they weren't that wacky(in my book), except this strange liking for all thing gremlins...ahh, phoebe cates and gizmo!!!

now if your like me and you like toys/collectables stay the hell away from this place!!!!!!!!!

it is six floors of evil goodness!!!!!!!!
i spent a good amount of money here and i'm going back for more!
along the way i also got some stuff for folks back home but mostly for me! :p

harajuku, a fun place to people watch and blow some cash!

yeah i know...

i've been slacking so here are the last two days...day one.

today (friday) we went to see the great buddha at kamakura which is a large bronze buddha that was once in a large temple but it was washed away during a tsunami. a must see if your going to japan...wow this guy is big not the biggest in japan but he's pretty big!






oh no wait wrong buddha, that's the big guy!





if your a good little visitor you will wash out your dirty mouth and your filthy paws... i did neither.

he has these windows on his back which i assume is to let in air so the people who go inside the statue won't cook from the heat.

he also has some way cool shoes i think the label said jimmy choo...

and some food and smokes!


also surrounding the statue are some lovely gardens and statues.




it was a lovely evening with the big guy! :)

ghibli museum...

is one of the greatest places ever! even if your not familiar with the studio's work it's a must see in japan. the museum is located in a small area called mitaka which is a train ride and bus ride away form tokyo. we left from shinjuku and i think it took about 30-40 min total but you know you got the right place if you see this bus!

and it takes you to this place...

now there is a ticket booth to the left of the museum where this kind fella would like to take your ticket

but he can't...blahh blahh something about union rules and such but anyway then you just go into here

and the photos stop because like almost everywhere else here no "click-click" inside!
well once you pass the catbus room you go out the doors and it leads you to here

now go up the stairs and this good gentelman will greet you...

don't worry he won't bite but he is about 13ft tall but no worries just walk past him


and you will find this nice box

it's pretty cool and all but if you make your way back in you can enjoy a nice short film with this little guy

then you can make your way outside one more time to get some ice cream and enjoy this view

now the musem has many fine details like stained glass windows


and every nook and cranny has a bit of ghibli magic


all in all a fine day that ended with ice cream!