Thursday, August 17, 2017

Our First Trip to Tokyo – Part 2

These next photos of Tokyo completely skip over the two days we spent at Disney. That would be DisneySea and Tokyo Disneyland. They each deserve their own post - probably more than that even but I am focusing on what we saw in our city explorations. I might post some Disney photos later. Sebastian is in quite a few of those.

Anywho . . .

This is a view of the breakfast buffet in our hotel.  Loads of fresh fruit was how I began each day.  And Jay would kindly make some toast for me.  There were also Japanese options if you preferred that to the Western breakfast.

oftt-p2_1oftt-p2_2

I snapped this photo in the subway on our way to visit the Sensoji Shrine.

oftt-p2_3

We passed through this shopping arcade on the way too.  Looking back at these photos there is so much I would go back and do more thoroughly.  Time is always a constraint!

oftt-p2_4 

Sebastian wanted to pose with this menacing looking fellow.  I heard a few people giggling when he did so.  So funny!

  oftt-p2_5

I loved these colorful decorations lining this street – also on the way to Sensoji.

oftt-p2_6

Here’s a photo of Sensoji Temple.  Loads of tourists here.

oftt-p2_7

And a couple of close-ups of details –including the fountain where you could sip water for blessings.

oftt-p2_8   oftt-p2_9

This pair of Buddha was impressive.  The one on the right is said to bring mercy.  The one on the left is said to bring wisdom.

oftt-p2_10

We thoroughly enjoyed walking through the streets of Tokyo on the way to visit the Skytree.  Here’s a view of it from a distance.

oftt-p2_11

And closer up.  Way up!!!

oftt-p2_12

Just one of many photos I took from the tower.  Tokyo is a massive city.

oftt-p2_13

I took these last three  photos on our last day.  We walked all over the place and came across this street on our way to somewhere.  It was raining on and off so we purchased an umbrella for ¥300.  It looks like a lot of money but actually equates to about $3.00.

oftt-p2_14

It stopped raining long enough for Sebastian to have his photo made with this polar bear.  He was happy to get out of the backpack.

oftt-p2_15

This is the famous Hattori clock tower.  It sits atop the Wako Department Store.  Another place to check out next time.

oftt-p2_16

What a terrific city!  The people are lovely.  I can’t wait to visit again.  I’m sure my list will be even longer next time now that I know a little bit more than I did.  If you have been and have suggestions, please leave a comment.  We appreciate all the advice we were given before!

Thanks for reading!

signature

Monday, August 14, 2017

Our First Trip to Tokyo – Part 1

On our way to Tokyo for the first time, we stopped in California to visit with our daughter before heading to Japan.

Sebastian loved being back in California.  No doubt it doesn’t hurt that there’s a bear on the California flag and in this symbol of the City of Glendale.

oftt-p1_1

We stopped now and again for treats we don’t easily find at home.  Yum!

oftt-p1_2

After just a few short days, it was time to board the plane bound for Tokyo.  Jay was thrilled to find we would be flying on this BB8 decorated airplane.

oftt-p1_3

There was so much to see in Tokyo, I decided just to embrace whatever came along so you will see photos of some fairly random things in addition to city photos.

We came across this view on our way to a restaurant the first night.  Sebastian liked seeing all the city lights.

oftt-p1_4

A cool  looking McDonald’s delivery vehicle and a snapshot of fabrics in one of the shops we stopped in – and will visit again . . .

oftt-p1_19   oftt-p1_18

There are no manhole covers like this on my street!  These stairs were pretty interesting too.

oftt-p1_5   oftt-p1_6

Sebastian posing on a street sign near our hotel.

oftt-p1_7

Can you find Sebastian in this photo?  Sebastian is 6 inches tall so imagine  how big this bear was.  Floor to ceiling!

oftt-p1_8

This is Takeshita Street.  A terrific place with loads of tiny shops selling all kinds of  cute things.  I left a good chunk of my money here.

oftt-p1_9

This is a contrast of two streets at different times.  On the left is the famous Shibuya Crossing where throngs of people (I was one of them) cross the street in organized chaos.  One, two, three, go!  The other is a street that was closed to traffic on the weekend.  It was very cool to see it this way.

oftt-p1_10   oftt-p1_11

When we were at EPCOT one time, we asked a Japanese cast member what one thing we should do as first time tourists in Japan and she said “Visit the Tokyo Tower at night.”  So we did.  It was magnificent.

oftt-p1_12

This young lady was so sweet and cute.  She greeted those coming in to purchase tickets to go up into the tower.

oftt-p1_13

Here is a photo I took from inside the tower.  You could see 360° of Tokyo.

oftt-p1_14

Just a random photo while walking the city streets at night.

oftt-p1_15

This was an incredible selection of beautiful handkerchiefs.

oftt-p1_16

We had fun seeing things we don’t see at home like these capsule machines that dispensed collectible things.  We had to try one!

oftt-p1_17

So that’s Part 1.  I hope you enjoyed these photos.  I’ll be back with Part 2 in a bit.

As always, Sebastian and I appreciate your visit!

signature&sebastiansigns

Monday, August 7, 2017

The 2017 Japan Teddy Bear with Friends Convention in Tokyo

In July, we attended the Japan Teddy Bear with Friends Convention in Tokyo. It was our first visit to Tokyo and we had an amazing time. The hall was filled with artists, tables full of teddy bears and many, many collectors. What follows are a few photos taken at while we were at the show.

This was taken on the way to the venue.  It was a very nice atmosphere.  Next year it will take place in a new location.

jtbfc-tokyo_1

A few animals were on display to greet the visitors to the show.

jtbfc-tokyo_2

The following photo shows just a small portion of the people waiting for the show to open. This line wrapped around the entire hall and then some.

jtbfc-tokyo_3

This is one view of the show from above.

jtbfc-tokyo_4

This is another.

jtbfc-tokyo_5

The arrow in this photo is pointing to me and my table.

jtbfc-tokyo_6

Here we are!  A few of the American contingent!  Sharon Barron, Dolores Austin, me and George Weber.  We had a great time together!

jtbfc-tokyo_7

Here are all the American artists together.

Left to right:  Bev White, Ginger Brame (me), Christy Firmage, Sharon Barron, George Weber, Dolores Austin and Maggie Anderson

jtbfc-tokyo_8

Sebastian had a great time too.  Here he is with the show mascot!

jtbfc-tokyo_9jtbfc-tokyo_11

He also met a fellow ‘Sebastian’ from Germany.  What a couple of charming guys!

'jtbfc-tokyo_12jtbfc-tokyo_13

International artists were invited to a traditional Japanese pub meal.  This is the president of the Japan Teddy Bear Association, Mr. Takeshi Morii demonstrating the evening’s entertainment.  Fireworks!

jtbfc-tokyo_14jtbfc-tokyo_15

The long white tables at the front displayed the artist contest entries.
My little fairy bear won second place in its category.

jtbfc-tokyo_16jtbfc-tokyo_17

We also met the creator of these extremely tiny teddy bears.  So sweet – both the bears and the creator. You get an idea of how small they were next to one of my bears 5.5” (14cm) tall.

jtbfc-tokyo_18jtbfc-tokyo_19

Sebastian got into the spirit of things at the dinner.  He took quite a liking to the gift bag I won and turned it into his own personal sleeping bag.

jtbfc-tokyo_20

And finally a random photo of the showroom floor.

jtbfc-tokyo_21

While in Tokyo we took a ton of photos.  I hope to share a few here shortly.

Thanks for reading!

signature

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...