Japanese trip in review

View Larger Map

Air travel (Sydney to Tokyo return): 18778km
Train (purple): 2632km
Bus (blue): 54km
Ferry (green): 333km
Cycling (red): 670km

One of the things we've been trying to do for awhile is live a more sustainable lifestyle, including lightening our carbon footprint (and we started well before the Al Gore movie!). We worked out the other day that we've been car-free for 4 years now. By this we mean not owning/leasing a car - we still need lifts from friends and family occasionally and there's no way we'd move house without a car. And yes, we will still be car-free after the baby is born! In Sydney we took public transport pretty much everywhere and in Alice Springs we cycled. And on this trip we did some more cycling.

A quick check of the facts reveals that any cycling we've done has been overshadowed by the amount of air travel we had to do to get to Japan. The quest to live sustainably continues!

Air: 2907kg of co2 generated*
Train: 32.6kg
Bus: 3.2kg
Ferry:20kg
Cycling:0

Other small gestures included bringing our own chopsticks to restaurants rather than using disposable chopsticks, much to the amusement of the restaurant owners.



and very quickly learning the phrase 'fukura orimasen' [sic] meaning 'no plastic bag, thank you'.

* Figures refer to the carbon we create from the consumption of old fossil fuel sources - not the carbon we create by farting etc. from consuming recent fuel sources such as plants and animals. Also embodied energy is not included. The figures vary according to what carbon emissions calculator you use, but this gives a general idea.

October 20: trip is over :(

The trip ended with a whimper as we mostly hung out in the hotel room finishing the blog and packing our stuff.



If you look in the left of the photo above you'll get a small taste of how many books we accumulated over this trip, most of which Brendan carried on the bike!

Our final dinner was ramen, gyoza and beer - our little tribute to a much loved cycling meal.

October 19: There are no more cosplay zoku in Harajuku

Today we hung out with Mayumi and Takashi of Onamichi fame. They met us for lunch in Harajuku and showed us around Omotesando Hills, another Tadao Ando building (he's like all over the place).



This was Takeshita Street just opposite Harajuku station. It had all sorts of strange things like "british punk fashion", hello kitty, and "american cool."



We all went first to the meiji Jingu shrine just behind Harajuku station.



The Sato's instructed us on preparing for prayer and also how to say a prayer in the Shrine.



We were lucky enough to see three weddings at the shrine. We were told it is very expensive and mostly movie stars and musicians marry here.





Mayumi felt she should join a procession. I didn't get the picture right but she is on the end of the wedding march. Takashi and Naomi refused to join in the fun. Spoil sports.



Then on to Omotesando Hills. An up market shopping centre where I'm sure everyone was just window shopping. I think the grocery store was owned by Cartier ;o)





Naomi mucking around.



Then we said good by to our friends and hung around to see the buildings at night like the Dior building designed by SANAA, an architect duo consisting of Kazuyo Sejima & Ryue Nishizawa.



Tod's by Toyo Ito.





The Cartier Boutique.



Prada by Herzog and de Meuron.







This building designer has totally slipped my mind but still had a great glass front.



Then I run out of batteries. Too many big names of world architecture. I ran out of batteries.

October 17-18: More wanderings around

October 17, 2008.

We visit the Ghibli Museum. This place is so popular that you have to book your ticket a month in advance if you want to go during the weekends. It was packed with school children and once again we were not allowed to take photos so I only have this photo from the outside while standing in the queue.



It is a museum dedicated to the works of Hayao Miyazaki and is a very wonderful place. He is sometimes described as the Walt Disney of the East and if you know his work you might agree (He made Howl's Moving Castle).

October 18, 2008.

We made our way to Roppongi Hills to check out the towers and buildings there.



The 21-21 Design site here has Japan's tallest building, a Tadao Ando and Issey Miyaki building and some cool sculptures.

Here is the Ando/Miyake Building.







This is the building that had a really interesting sculpture in it's foreground.





This sculpture reminds me of what the inside of aeroplane skins must look like.



Roppongi Hills Mori Tower. Japans tallest building. We got to go up to the observation deck and check out Tokyo from above.



There is this huge spider sculpture in the forecourt.







At the end of the night Naomi and I didn't really feel like going home so we went to check out a bookstore in Shibuya. The place was packed with teenagers just chilling out and riding hotted up motorcycles and cars. There was this amazing energy around the place that you only get around football stadiums and new years eve parties without the threat of any violence. I was told by a mate that this is the norm here on Saturday nights.

Around Tokyo: The cow parade

While walking around Tokyo we noticed these painted cows. They have an exhibition on at the moment where artists are given a few basic cow designs and they are to do with it what they please. Most chose to paint their cows but some got a little bit clever and came up with little scenarios or just mutilated their cow models into something not quit a cow. Delightful.