Japan - Day 4, Part 2b: More Touring with Cousin Jun

Renewed from lunch we set out to explore much more of the big city.

Jun treated us to a riverboat cruise starting near Asakusa down to the Odaiba Seaside Park.  The cruise would take us long the river under 14 bridges, unique in engineering and color.

The glass windows on every side and through the ceiling provided a "360 degree experience".

These cutouts are from one of Jun's favorite anime as a child. 

 We disembarked on a island called "Odaiba Seaside Park".  Tourism is the main draw of the island: amusement parks (including an indoor amusement park by game maker Sega), museums, shopping, and restaurants.  Our main reason to come to Odaiba, though, was that the only "souvenir" my brother Mark asked for from the whole trip was to see the giant robot "Gundum" come to life.  He hadn't been able to see it when he came to Japan a couple years earlier.

Lady Liberty's little sister apparently resides here, too.

To get some idea of scale, here are his feet.

We waited a long time trying to find any sliver of shade to see him come to life on schedule.  I'll spare you the 4 minute video.  But imagine this: dramatic music, mist coming from the chest and shoulders, lights flashing, eyes lit up, and the head rotating side to side coordinated with theme song music and sound clips from the cartoon.  You're welcome, Mark.

There are so many things in this picture that represent the infrastructure of Tokyo - tall buildings in various styles, radio towers, the various types train lines for public transportation.  We were riding a mono-rail on the right side, as I remember. The train coming toward us below in the middle of the photo is a high speed rail shinkansen, and other city lines are further to the left.

 Next we went to Meiji Jingu, a large and beautiful shrine in the middle of the big city dedicated to Emperor Meiji and his son.  It's amazing to step off a crowded subway and sidewalk into this quiet and peaceful forrest.

This gives you a better idea of the enormity of the entrance gate.
Fun fact for LDS friends, this emperor's family crest is also found inside our Oakland Temple.

Beauty and order everywhere - this was just the side of the gravel pathway, but still beautiful.

These were a more modern touch of art.  There were candles inside which weren't lit, but I can only imagine what they look like glowing in the dark.

 I love the large trees in and around the shrine.  Even the trees are given utmost respect and care.  Their shapes are each unique and beautiful.

Attention to detail everywhere!

On our way out of the shrine, we happened upon a showcase of talent.  Youth from the northern country, including the area my family is from, were performing traditional dances.  It was very crowded so we didn't stay long to watch, but the costumes were a treat in and of themselves.

After seeing so much of the big city over the last couple days we were curious where Jun's favorite places to go were.  Where does he unwind?  Where was his favorite restaurant?  He took us to Inokashira Park (where the Studio Ghibli museum happens to be - which requires tickets days in advance, unfortunately).  We chatted as we watched the coy fish in the pond, locals walking dogs, and families enjoying time outside with their children.

And then we headed to Jun's favorite restaurant for Korean BBQ.  It was in this giant covered shopping center of sorts - several dizzying blocks of restaurants and shops.  The restaurant was a hole-in-the-wall sort of place, but the people were authentic and the food was good.  As great as guidebooks and key tourist attractions are, we also really enjoyed seeing a few real life parts of Tokyo, thanks to Cousin Jun.