My Fuji

This is the view from our room, just as it is getting light. Hundreds of people hike all night in the summer just to see the sun rise from the top.

We are staying at Lake Kawaguchiko where there are several textile oriented museums to visit.

We saw a fabulous shibouri kimono maker Itchiku Kubota at his museum where you can’t take photos of the collection but had a fabulous garden.

We also visited a doll museum which was a bit creepy but had fabulous details. There was a big exhibit of wood fairies. Again no photos.

Our hotel had an oshen pool which was very relaxing and we had a very fancy multi course dinner.

Tokyo Quilt Show

This is a really popular event. They get over 2 million attendees over the 6 day. We went on Friday and it was packed until about 3 pm when it cleared out a lot. Women going home for children and to prepare dinner. I went in the morning, and had to bail about 11, it was soooo crowded. But when I went back at 3 people were streaming out and down to the metro.

You couldn’t even get close to the quilts. Or the vendors for that matter.

There as everything from traditional to ultra modern.

Saturday had a different crowd, more men

This is the good sport section. Waiting for lunch time.

My lunch came from the 7 eleven. Great food selection and the ATM takes foreign Cards.

I love a cooking class....

And it was Sushi! Not really challenging but very entertaining. We had a sushi master do a demo then we were divided up into 3 groups with an expert at each table. There was lots of rules. First we had to put on our white jackets, hats and face masks. Then we sanitized our hands 3 times, put on gloves  sanitized them and then got to work.

Suit up time.

Sushi master at work.

Finished product

 

That’s not all we had. Tempura and vegetables

Edo-Tokyo Museum

The Edo-Tokyo museum has volunteer tour guides that make the visit much, much more interesting. We spent at least 2 hours going from the beginning of the Edo (Shogun) era to present day. Everything you could want to know about Tokyo.

Very cool models of the old town.

The “back” garden of the imperial palace grounds.

Reproduction palanquin. Doesn’t look very comfortable.

Samurai gear.

Kabuki theater.

Best of all it’s right around the corner from the Sumo Stadium. We saw BIG guys walking down the street. Awesome. The stadium had a sign posted saying it was sold out. That is on my list for my next trip to Japan.

I’m pretty sure this is a training facility.

We walked, and walked and walked.....

And then we walked some more, but only to dinner across the street. The highlight of the day was successfully negotiating the subway system.

This is what you see when you wake up a 4 am, make that get up at 4 am because you have been awake for hours. And finally get to go down for breakfast at 6:30.

The Tokyo Dome from our hotel where the quilt show will be in a couple of days.

 It’s where the Tokyo Giants play.

We walked Kappabashi-hondori street, home of the restaurant supply stores. As much as I would like to fill my suitcase up with bowls, knives and other cool stuff I resisted, saving that suitcase room for fabric. We saw several stores featuring plastic food, very expensive and really heavy. I didn’t see anything I couldn’t live without and/or would be willing to tote around Japan.

The guardian of the neighborhood. And home of a huge restaurant supply store.

This is the Asakusa skytower and this is as close as we got to it.

Becky and Ellyn go to the Tokyo quilt show.

The show and tour doesn’t start for a few more days but we came early to get over our jet lag and prove that we are indeed citizens of the world and can figure things out on our own. Don’t need no stinking tour.
It helps that Tokyo is amazingly easy to navigate. Signs are in western alphabet, most people speak a little english and people are friendly and helpful.
We did signed up for a tour on the first day to Kanazawa and Enoshima about a two hour drive from Tokyo. We saw Mt Fuji from the freeway snow covered and looking just like a postcard.
We were on a semiprivate tour which meant we got picked up at our hotel thus avoiding having to figure out the transportation system in our jet lagged fog. Unfortunately we didn’t have a tour guide which meant we didn’t have much clue as to what we were seeing. But the driver was pleasant the weather was beautiful. Kanazawa is a beach town with a So.Cal vibe.

Temple

Temple

700 year old Giant Buddha 

For 20 cents you could go inside and check out the 700 year old construction methods

On to Enoshima which is a small island over a causeway for a visit to yet another temple/shrine. One is Buddhist, the other Shinto. One is a way of life the other has a god. They seem to coexist side by side in the same locations. If we had had a guide maybe we would have a clearer picture. Oh well, that is for another time. Enoshima is also where the sailing events of the 2020 Olympics are going to be held. Lovely beaches on the mainland and yet another temple. The approach is a bit like Mt St Michel in France

And some scary birds