Nikko and Tokyo, the past and the future

Perhaps it wasn't too clear from the previous post, but we are loving Japan so far! We are like little kids at a toy store, awing at everything with our mouths wide open. Everything is new, curious, weird... and great! We stare at everything and everybody. Old men on their even older foldable bikes, karaoke on a Sunday morning, restaurants displaying plastic models of their dishes (and still we have no idea what they are), people with white masks and gloves, rockabillys and cosplayers in the parks, all the cliches you hear about Japan are here and they are true.

Rockabilly gang at Yoyogi park

For some reason D appears to be completely integrated, bowing with his 'konnichiwa' as if he were born here. I actually think his eyes are getting more slanted each day. He is a natural!

We spent the entire Sunday walking around Tokyo. We strolled through almost all the central neighborhoods, hopping on and off the train lines that surround it, which is quite useful to give you an idea of how enormous the city is. We didn't expect much from Tokyo (as we do for example from Kyoto) but it was a pleasant surprise. We liked the Imperial palace gardens as well as the other, 'normal' parks with hundreds (thousands?) of people enjoying their Sunday. We took a look at the city from up above and got a glimpse of Mt. Fuji far away in the mist, unfortunately too far to get it in the photo. Then there was the craziness of the shopping streets filled with teenagers wearing the most unimaginable clothes and make up, the Shibuya crossing with its Timesquare-like feeling and the crowds of pedestrians all moving at once in all directions when the light turned green. Crazy, exhausting, full of contrasts... A great day.

Shibuya crossing

In the evening we were to meet Seiichi, our Couchsurfing host, and stay at his apartment for two nights. He did indeed show up and took us to his tiny home and even cooked sobu noodles for dinner! By the way, when I say tiny, I mean REALLY tiny, I am guessing 18m2, not more. I remember that when the Spanish government proposed to build flats of 30m2, people were outraged. Well, here that would be a luxury, S. pays 900 euros for his place! We were wondering how we were all going to fit in there but it turned out that our host would only be with us that evening as he had to work the night shift at the printing factory and was going out of town afterwards. So unfortunately no cultural exchange that we hoped for (it would have been really hard anyway as the language barrier was just too much) but hey, suddenly we had a place to ourselves in central Tokyo for two nights for free! You probably think there is some catch to it, but there isn't, at least we think so:) How kind of him to open his home to strangers like this, to trust us enough to leave us there alone for two days.

Monday was dedicated to Nikko, an ancient town about two hours north of Tokyo. We weren't too sure about going there but we are so glad we did! This is how you'd imagine old Japan: old wooden temples in the middle of the woods...It is so beautiful that you can even stand the crowds surrounding you at all times.

Like in Kamakura, we escaped away from the people and took a walk outside the town through an old precious cemetery and past the neverending line of statues of Jizos and their red woolen caps that keep them warm. It is indeed getting chillier, it is the autumn after all. And what an autumn! Yet another cliche of Japan, its colors in the fall, and it also proved to be true. Spectacular red all around...

Jizo Bosatsu, protector of travellers

Today we woke up to a heavy rain, so our last walk in Tokyo had to be cancelled. At noon we are taking the train to Takayama, northwest from Tokyo, where we are most likely expected by more rain and cold, but hopefully also by another CS host, Amber.