(I have no idea what these are.)In this photo, a group of Asian tourists watch as men hack apart a gigantic tuna carcass. It took three men and a three-foot saw.
After breakfast and the requisite time to digest, we went for a 5-mile run around the Imperial Palace. Because Tokyo is so far at the eastern part of the time zone, it was more like mid-day when we went out at 10:45am. Running in Tokyo is an experience. For one, you're not supposed to jaywalk, and you have to wait for most, if not all, of the walk signals. This made the first mile of my run pretty stop-and-go, but the palace has a nice uninterrupted sidewalk all around its perimeter.
I also got a lot of disapproving stairs from severe-looking Tokyo business men. While there were a few female runners around the palace (Okay, um, 2), I generally felt pretty out of place in my brightly colored running singlet and Nike shorts.
After cleaning up, we actually went to the Imperial Palace to walk around in the gardens. At the rest house, there were delicious ice cream snacks. The ice cream was sandwiched in a nice waffle package, so no dripping, even though it was really sunny and hot!
There was a nice Japanese garden in the palace. It even had a miniature waterfall and stream. Here I am, pointing it out for your viewing pleasure:
The gardens are neat because they are smack-dab in the middle of Tokyo. From inside the park, you could see part of the skyline:
This was a huge wall. I am there for scale...and also because I am vain and love being in my own photos.
Right after we took this, we walked to the top of the wall (the ramparts?) and asked a Japanese girl to take our photo. She directed me to the make the "peace" sign, and somehow, she knew "Say cheese!" Also, some European tourist stuck her bum in our photo.
We ate a late lunch in the basement of the fancy Mitsukoshi department store, which is Tokyo's answer to London's Herrod's and Paris' Printemps. There was a roof garden with a little store. (Ashley--now you have to make the trip to Asia!)
Also, a $2,500 perambulator:
This floor (baby stuff) also had my dream come true: a ChupaChups lollipop machine. Too bad they were about $1 each. Lame.
Today, I estimate that we walked at least six miles, in addition to our 5.5-mile runs. My feet are pretty tired tonight. Now, we are eating a late, light dinner picked up from 7Eleven. Picking from the various products, all of which were in Japanese was quite an experience. I got this drink called Bikkle, which pretty much tastes like a dreamsickle.
Tokyo is a strange and magical place. It is very weird not being able to communicate with anyone at all. Though I did manage to communicate "How do you eat this?" from my guidebook at lunch. Point for Mica!
After breakfast and the requisite time to digest, we went for a 5-mile run around the Imperial Palace. Because Tokyo is so far at the eastern part of the time zone, it was more like mid-day when we went out at 10:45am. Running in Tokyo is an experience. For one, you're not supposed to jaywalk, and you have to wait for most, if not all, of the walk signals. This made the first mile of my run pretty stop-and-go, but the palace has a nice uninterrupted sidewalk all around its perimeter.
I also got a lot of disapproving stairs from severe-looking Tokyo business men. While there were a few female runners around the palace (Okay, um, 2), I generally felt pretty out of place in my brightly colored running singlet and Nike shorts.
After cleaning up, we actually went to the Imperial Palace to walk around in the gardens. At the rest house, there were delicious ice cream snacks. The ice cream was sandwiched in a nice waffle package, so no dripping, even though it was really sunny and hot!
There was a nice Japanese garden in the palace. It even had a miniature waterfall and stream. Here I am, pointing it out for your viewing pleasure:
The gardens are neat because they are smack-dab in the middle of Tokyo. From inside the park, you could see part of the skyline:
This was a huge wall. I am there for scale...and also because I am vain and love being in my own photos.
Right after we took this, we walked to the top of the wall (the ramparts?) and asked a Japanese girl to take our photo. She directed me to the make the "peace" sign, and somehow, she knew "Say cheese!" Also, some European tourist stuck her bum in our photo.
We ate a late lunch in the basement of the fancy Mitsukoshi department store, which is Tokyo's answer to London's Herrod's and Paris' Printemps. There was a roof garden with a little store. (Ashley--now you have to make the trip to Asia!)
Also, a $2,500 perambulator:
This floor (baby stuff) also had my dream come true: a ChupaChups lollipop machine. Too bad they were about $1 each. Lame.
Today, I estimate that we walked at least six miles, in addition to our 5.5-mile runs. My feet are pretty tired tonight. Now, we are eating a late, light dinner picked up from 7Eleven. Picking from the various products, all of which were in Japanese was quite an experience. I got this drink called Bikkle, which pretty much tastes like a dreamsickle.
Tokyo is a strange and magical place. It is very weird not being able to communicate with anyone at all. Though I did manage to communicate "How do you eat this?" from my guidebook at lunch. Point for Mica!
8 comments:
YAY! You are the most productive vacationer I know. Can I pay for you to accompany me on my next exciting vaca so I can get the most out of it?
On my way to get my gym membership. It was super rainy/gross here yesterday, and of course the sun is bright and hot this morning.
Have a good night! :)
(ps: When I was in Tokyo I couldn't read the package from my 7-11 adventure, and I ended up eating something which I assume was like a caviar burrito without the microwaved hotness...)
What a cool trip! And good for you for getting a run in! I almost never get in a workout on vacation, and when I do it's usually pretty half-assed!
That squid is terrifying.
Sounds like fun. Keep us updated. :o)
Wow! You went for a run on your second day there! That's pretty cool :) I think they were staring at you since they love to cover up for their runs (or so i've heard). So, long sleeves and tights/leggings underneath shorts. I think it's also a way to not get tanned.
I love the photos! I always want to be in my own too. And besides, we needed to see you for scale purposes, like you said ;)
How cool that you ran! Despite the nasty glares, good for you! :) I wonder if you will get more nasty looks as the trip continues.
ah! so cool. I love seeing all the photos.
Looks like such a fun time. Keep taking pictures so I can live vicariously through you!
those icecream snacks look pretty delicious. and i'm sorry you got judged for running on the street..oh cultural differences.
i think it would be really hard not to communicate with anyone. usually when someone tries to talk to me in another language, i try to speak back in spanish, which is unfortunately the only language i semi-know.
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