Tadaima (I'm home!)

Golden week came and went in a blitz. My mom and sister made it to Japan safe and sound, and we managed to pull of our ambitious "Highlights of Japan in 6 days". In all honesty it was literally a blast, a whirlwind of sights and good times. To give you and idea of what we were up to I'll list a few things and add a couple of pictures below.

Tokyo

Shibuya (shopping with teenage Tokyo and Coffee in the "STABA" (Starbucks in Japanese) known from Lost in Translation (the one where you can watch the world's largest pedestrian crossing)

Omotesando (Ritzi stores like the green Prada diamond and the new Omotesando Hills complex -- as featured in the NY Times in March)

Harajuku ("Kiddy Land", a most fab 7 storey Japanese-cartoon-character store, Takeshita Dori (where the Harajuku girls get their Harajuku girl outfits...), Harajuku girls & the Meji Shrine)

Shinjuku (enjoying the, free, view from the Tokyo Municipal Government twin tower building)

Roppongi (the inevitable Cafe Daisy (danish food) treat)

Ginza (more ritz & glitz...)

Maronouchi & the Imperial Palace grounds (riding the Hello Kitty bus - yeah!)

Akihabara (electric town & yodabashi camera, home of the yodabashi camera jingle/song... ;)

Nikko

Day trip north of Tokyo, world heritage site with a large number of temples & shrines, many devoted to the first Tokugawa shogun Ieyasu. Also known from a Japanese saying that goes something like "If you haven't seen Nikko, then you can't say you've really lived..."

Kyoto

Need i say it: another home of many a Japanese world heritage site and famously spared from most destruction during WW2 for that reason. As my guidebook states: "to get just a gist of what there is to see in Kyoto one would need at least 2 weeks"... alas we had to make due with two days, during one of the most crowded seasons of the year and still Kyoto shone as a place of extraordinary beauty and the epitome of Japanese Temple viewing. I wont try to list all the places we went to, but i think we covered a good mix of diverse sights, from the Gold & Silver Pagodas, to a couple of Zen-gardens, Geishas & the inner city, the Arashiyama forest and finally the hillside set Kiyomizu temple...

Welcome to Japan! Aase & Julie getting in to the Japanese spirit by donning hotel Yukatas and taking daily self portraits...



Aase meets "Harajuku girl"



Danish treats.



Japanese Treats in honor of the upcoming Soccer World Cup to be held in Germany.



Back in the city: Akihabara (electric town) also sells 100Yen rain coats...





Nikko is a place of epic beauty that lends itself to serious contemplation...



...among other things....



Trying to blend in and be Japanese: family photo under a blossoming cherry tree in Nikko.




Welcome to Kyoto...


...where there is no shortage of temples...



...or VIP moss (click image to enlarge)...




...or local beauties...




...and their foreign counterparts...




Find Waldo! -- Blasting through the JP landscape on the Shinkansen (bullet train) from Kyoto back to Tokyo Fujisan is hiding in a deep layer of spring clouds.