Starting to feel a little over done with Japan and its tourist sites. We've seen enough temples and shrines to be content for the rest of the trip. Nonetheless we still had Kamakura on our schedule of things to visit and see. One day into our Tokyo leg we had found the most ideal route from our hotel to Shinjuku JR Station. Kabuki Cho is a different place during the day time, restaurants, shops and plenty of people. A far cry from the red light district that it transforms into after sunset. That being said we had a daytime route and a night time route.
We caught a 2 hour train ride out of Tokyo to Kamakura. Up to date I think I've successfully managed to sleep on each and every bullet train. Today was no different. Gigabeat in the ears I drift off only to be awoken by the electronic charms of the train. First stop is the Kotokuin temple also famous for the large bronze Buddha. This is the second largest Buddha in Japan only to Nara. Again there were plenty of tourists, we snapped some photos and managed to bust out some Canto to get some Honkie tourists to snap us in a shot. For approximately 20 cents we were able to enter the large Buddha. Nothing much inside. We walked to the next Kamakura destination which was Tokeiji Temple, again I honestly don't remember too much of this, except the cave like shrine.
It was just before lunchtime and we were off to our next destination. Yokohama. I'm feeling very fatigued right now. Are we Japan-ed out? Again we were lost and neglected to pay attention to the bullet train announcements. We instinctively got off the train. Only to look at each other with blank looks "Are we at Yokohama?". Almost in unison we both took in a large breath. Looked back at each other and said "Smells like Chinatown". Don't ask me to describe what Chinatown smells like. I'm not talking about the trashy back alleys of dicey Chinese restaurants. I'm talking about the deep fried goodness coupled with the smell of used oil.
Walked about the city, quieter but had a nice feel. Eventually found the Chinatown. Didn't look that big... Decided it was time to eat so found the first restaurant we could find. Actually there was a young lady and an elderly man advertising. "All you can eat for ¥1400." As tempting as it sounded we kept on walking only to eventually came back. The eating area was upstairs and obviously the popular choice with locals. The food was Yum Cha style servings on a sushi train type setup. Food was good. Stuffed ourselves silly with dishes. everything from steam buns, to noodles, to chicken, curried prawns and jellies. Yum!
The afternoon was spent walking around Ueno looking for Americaya a denim store. We were walking around the wrong side of town among all the Jewellery stores. We had given up and started to walk back to Ueno station when we stumbled upon the store almost accidentally. Hip hip! I bought a pair of Evisus and contemplated a very stiff pair of Samurai jeans (I resisted). By the end of the ordeal we had given up on our daily activities for today. Asakusa would have to be left for another trip.
After a long day out, I always come back and change into my thongs after a nice hot shower. Getting back to Shinjuku we followed the Lonely planet for food advice. Up until then we had made an effort to try all the local specialities. Tokyo had us lined up for sushi and a nice dish called Shabu-Shabu. Initially we set out for the restaurant, but couldn't find it. Big hassle. Ended back at the hotel, this time we bring out the map and Lonely Planet. Still cant find it. Map says it should be here (phrase of Toyko). Eventually we find a nice little joint. Lady has great English and explains the workings of Shabu-Shabu.Kind of a Broth type setup with thinly sliced beef, mushrooms, tofu and stock, sugar we eventuates into a steaming broth. Most of the restaurants that have eaten at and had decent hospitality and/or service we've taken a photo with the host. This was no different. The food was nice, nothing outstanding, host was charming and a nice way to wind down.9:20 pm: Since we finished dinner quite late, it had written off most of the evening activities. Instead we wandered around the streets of Shinjuku, very careful to avoid any strip bars and seedy looking areas. I entered a Chemist and asked the lady if they stocked Yuskin. She shows me to the location. I immediately without thinking grabbed all the boxes on the stand they had in stock. I have Yube! During our voyage around we stumbled upon some baseball batting cages, had a few sessions of hitting the ball. We chose a nice easy pace of 100 km/hour the balls were thrown, lobbed, flung at us and admittedly I only landed a couple of them. Still, it was a great stress reliever. Stress, from a holiday? You Betcha! Why am I always getting sick?
