Japan · Kamakura

The great Buddha

The Great Buddha statue of Kamakura is a bronze statue of Amida Buddha. It stands on the grounds of the Kōtoku-in Temple. Its 13,35 meters tall, and with this the second tallest bronze Buddha statue in Japan. The statue was cast in 1252 and originally located inside a large temple hall. The temple buildings were destroyed multiple times by typhoons and a tsunami in the 14th and 15th centuries, so since the late 15th centry the Buddha has been standing in open air. The Buddha is a designated national treasure and one of the twenty-two historic sites included in Kamakuras proposal for inclusion in UNESCOs world heritage sites.

The fun bit about this Buddha, is that you can step inside it. We went to have a look inside, and was fascinated by this hollow statue with very hot “walls”.

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Japan · Tokyo

Robot show

The Robot show in Shinjuki was out of this world. We had read beforehand that it’s not so much robots, as it is just a crazy show. You know how someone can say a cat is so ugly that it is cute? This show is a bit like that. It is so ridiculous that it is hilarious. I would definitely recommend it.

Before the show started, we watched some sort of singing upstairs. It was very varied, and just as crazy as everything else. I dare say these people must have a great deal of fun putting together this show. Meanwhile watching the singing, I ordered a Matcha Martini, which might have been the best cocktail I’ve ever had. At least I loved the bright green colour. That being said, with all this craziness, I would probably have loved just about any drink.

PS. The Robot show is really called Robot restaurant. We were recommended not to eat there though, and just watch the show. Im glad we did. And as far as I could tell, noone was actually eating there.

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Japan · Tokyo

Ginza

Ginza is the highend shopping area of Tokyo, located in the Chuo district. It is considered one of the most expensive, luxurious and elegant streets of the world. Many leading fashion houses flagship stores are located here. It’s the area with the highest concentration of western shops in Tokyo.

We went to see Itoya, which is a 9 floor tall stationary shop. Each floor having a specific theme. I bought a new diary, which funnily is from march 2019 to march 2020.

Other than that, we mostly just looked around.

 

 

Japan · Kamakura

Kamakura

Kamakura is today a rather small coastal city with a high number of seasonal festivals and ancient buddhist and shinto shrines and temples. Although Kamakura is rather small today, it is often described in history books as a former de facto capital of Japan. It was the nations most populous settlement from 1200 to 1300 AD, as the seat of the shogunate and the regency during the kamakura period. (The period is known for the emergence of the samurai, the warrior caste, and for the establishment of feudalism in Japan).

We went to see the great buddha statue, the Sasuke Inari Shrine and the Zeniarai Benten Shrine (money washing shrine). We walked around a lot, and enjoyed seeing the houses and ways of life in Kamakura. It seems like a comfortable life, and I’m guessing a good one with all the tourist coming to leave their money there. I would definitely recommend visiting Kamakura.

Japan

Sky tree

Amazing view over Tokyo from the Sky tree. You can see how some part of Tokyo has a grid structure, and other parts not. I think this picture is so fascinating as you can see so clearly where the grid ends, and the chaos begins 😝

I’d recommend paying extra for the international touring fast track, as it is not a very high cost and it saves you a lot of time being lined up for entrance. Although I really enjoyed walking around and being able to see the various parts of town, my favourite bit was sitting down at the Sky tree cafe and just take in the view.

Coming home we made Okonomiyaki for dinner, having just popped by the supermarket. I’m starting to really enjoy the supermarket and their wide selection of interesting foods.

Japan · Tokyo

Owls of Ikebukuro

Ikebukuro is a commercial district in Tokyo. The Ikebukuro station handles over a million passengers a day, which makes it the second busiest railway station surpassed only by Shinjuku station.

Locals of Ikebukuro likes to toy with the alternative meaning of the similar word fukurou which means owl. Because of this, you’ll find owl statues and items all around the place.

I met this little guy, and quite enjoyed being so close to an owl. Im not sure the owls like being petted though.

Japan · Tokyo

Mori Art Museum

Mori art musem was incredible. We saw the “Connexions” exhibition, and it had so much fun stuff to see. This pink cat is by Iikawa Takehiro (1). The pink cat refers to a crab that attaches various objects around it onto its body in order to mimic its surroundings, though the crabs true form is seldom seen. When viewers attempt to take a photograph of the work, they realize that no matter how hard they try, its impossible to capture the whole figure (as its partly hidden behind a wall). This work alludes the difficulty in our information-overload society of obtaining a full view of something or the whole truth. An other favourite was the “A live un live”. It uses a material that deploys liquids that have a low boiling point and shifts forms like living organisms. These colours, whose shapes and colours demonstrate a myriad of changes just as the sun rises and sets, promt us to reconsider the diversity of forms that life can take. Picture (2) is taken without flash, as it appears when you just look at it. Picture (3) is taken with flash, showing the magic. Also really enjoyed this one by “Me” (4). It is about how we cannot actually approach the ocean landscape. When we draw closer, the ocean becomes waves, and when we come closer still, the waves becomes water. All of the pieces were so interesting, and I’d so love to show them all. But I’ll stop here, as the post is getting too long 😉