Mt Takao

A special day so to speak. What better than to go on a little hike and get some fresh air in dem mountains?

Today we made our way to Mt Takao. I went there about the same time (a little earlier though) last year.

As I mentioned before this is one place that I haven't noticed in the usual guidebooks. If you want to do something different from the usual Tokyo sights, I highly recommend this place.

Going up, we followed the same Track 1 as last time. There were a LOT more people than last year and I pretty much had to dodge and swerve around the people who were moving at a snail's pace.

Quite a few smokers around too. I couldn't even escape them while sitting down as it looks like they wanted to feel comfortable sitting on the benches while they lit up. So much for escaping the crowds and fresh air!

On the way down we went via Track 6 which is a better way to appreciate the natural sights and sounds of this place. It was much less crowded too.

Unlike last time I decided to bring my SLR camera, so I think the pics turned out much better this time although I took less of them. So without further ado, here they are!
Although it's winter now, it's nice to see a few red autumn leaves still around.

If you look closely behind me you can see another person mimicking the ugly statue pose in the previous picture. Yes, I lost my weight. I know.. I really like the colours of this temple.

This is what happens when some guy gets in the way of the subject of the picture. Pfft!

THIS is what I was trying to photograph. Worth it? Maybe not.

So there you have it. It's worth checking out for sure.

Although my feet were a little tired we made our way to Shimo Kitazawa on the way back. Check the next post for details..

Going Sonic

I've decided to go to the Summer Sonic music festival at Makuhari Messe/Chiba Marine Stadium in Tokyo this year.

Looking at the lineup, I think they've got some great bands playing.

The easiest way to buy tickets in Japan is by going to a convenience store like Lawson or Family Mart. The ticket machines are in Japanese, but there is a good guide to using them here.

According to the Summer Sonic website, the tickets for the second day have sold out, but I've somehow managed to get one for both days. I hope that doesn't cause any problems when I get there.

So who am I excited to see here?

Death Cab For Cutie, Onerepublic, The Fratellis and Paolo Nutini, (oh and Perfume, lol) on Saturday.

Coldplay, Alicia Keys, The Ting Tings and Devo are the ones I'm most interested in watching on day 2.

Sometimes at these kind of festivals there's an overlap of two bands that I want to see, but the timetable is actually pretty good, so that shouldn't be too bad. The lineup is really strong. Much better than the Fuji Rock Festival I think this year.

It's not just the bands though, I'm hoping for a really cool atmosphere/vibe of being at a festival too.

Are you going to be there too? Let me know how you go and I'll keep everyone posted about my experience there too.

Happy Summer!

Cars & Girls, But Mostly Girls.

The post everyone has been waiting for. Yes, it's the Tokyo Motor Show 2007! 

 If I didn't stay up until 4:30am I would have felt much better getting up at 8:30am this morning. I had so much to post yesterday, and that took a lot of time. Hopefully this won't take as long, but I did take a lot of pictures today. 

 And yes, I took a lot of pics of the sweet looking car model girls. Like I would just go to a motor show just to look at cars. Enjoy. 

  First though, at the merchandise stand I was surprised to see Motor Show cookies along with the usual t-shirts, caps and things.

 

I got my first picture taken with a girl in a red skirt, but gf decided to take only a torso shot of us both. I knew there was a catch to letting her take these pictures.

 After that I took all the other girl pics myself. You don't send a girl to do an, um otaku's job. From what I saw I was not alone in my mission. I'm sure there were more pictures of girls than cars today.

  Mmm.. the Bosch girls. And, the Subaru Girls. Alfa Girls. A Honda Civic Girl. A Corvette Girl. Two Ford Girls. It's getting a little hot in here isn't it? Yes, it is. Oh is that a Ford Charger Girl? I think it tis. A Hummer girl in short shorts. nice. 

 Ok, just to prove that I actually looked at the cars. Here are some pics of some new cars and some concept cars. This would have to be the best motor show I have been to. 

 Unlike in Australian car shows, I actually saw a lot of cars that either have not been released yet, or some really interesting and desirable cars close up, that looked like they might actually go into production.

  Finally, it looks like Subaru have got it right this time with the front of the Impreza. This is the new WRX STi. The Peugeot 308RCZ looks fantastic from the front.. ... and, from behind. I needed to sit down and rest. Where better to do that, than in front of the sweet Audi R8. Standing next to the TT, it makes that car look real ordinary. The Lexus LF-A concept car. The Honda CR-Z : Compact, Renaissance, Zero. Whatever that is supposed to mean.The Honda Puyo girl (bouncing up and down like a japanese rabbit) was more entertaining than Puyo, the weird japanese concept car, but not as good as Asimo the Honda robot. Nissan Round Box. That name makes a lot of sense.The Nissan GT-R. It looks better in real life than in photos.The Pivo 2. As a sequel, it should be better than the first. The VW Eos, which I look REALLY good in.And, the VW concept, Space Up! (I don't know what this one is about either) and oh, another car girl. 

Sorry. Just to end off this post, here is my lame driving in a Mini Cooper simulator. The steering was really sensitive. I really drive better than this. I swear.

Harajuku, Meiji-Jingu & Krispy Kreme, Shinjuku!

As usual we slept in till around midday, but I was happy to go around sightseeing. 

 First we caught the train to Harajuku. Unfortunately we didn't see the colourful, creatively dressed fashion victims I had seen in books. Instead there were many punk looking rejects and a guy in a dress. 

What a disappointment.

We went around the corner to the Meiji-Jingu Shrine which was cool. Here I am at the first Torii gate to the shrine. There were another two or three getting closer to it, but once you see one Torii gate you kind of seen them all. Well, it's the only picture I took, so this is it.

   

 We washed our hands and mouths before entering the shrine. Here I'm trying to get gf to tell me what this place is called. 

 

I'm trying my best "cool" pursed lips pose. This is from inside the shrine area. There were a LOT of tourists here. This is pretty much the first time I have seen more foreigners than japanese.  

 I'm trying to tell gf to say, "Hi, to the video" but she keeps on saying just "Hi". I think it's cute.

 

Next, we went to Yoyogi Park to chill and saw Rockabilly dancers, actual bands with mini amps and picnicers. This would be a nice place to bring my guitar and for us to have a picnic also. Gf and I looking over the fountains. 

 

From Yoyogi Park we walked towards Shibuya to her favourite french bakery that was about 10-15 minutes away and got some pasteries. I mentioned to gf that I saw a girl on a train with a Krispy Kreme donut box and she knew there was one in Shinjuku. 

 So.. Next stop Shinjuku! 

  This is a part of the lineup for the Krispy Kreme shop you can see on the left hand side of the photo. Along the right side of the bridge you see here is the line. The lineup continues along the front of the shop as well. This is a 2 hour line! We went later on, only waiting 30 minutes. They gave us a free donut in line. I bought a dozen donuts to which gf said "Really?!"

  Before we went home I wanted to take a picture of the lights of Shinjuku. Even after walking through the seedy streets of Kabukichō, I couldn't find the ideal place for the perfect photo, but this is an example.