Tokyo Disney on 2 Weeks’ Notice: Hightower Halloween Costume!

[Zuzu03]

Be-yoo-ti-ful pics as always! Maybe you said this already and I'm just thick, but is there a reason why Kyoto is an anagram of Tokyo? Or is that just me being daft? Loved the imperial palace pics - everything looks so crisp and clean. I showed my DH and we were comparing the palace in Kyoto with the baroque palaces of Europe, what a difference, so cool!!!

 

[Aburns8]

Great update! It is a bummer that the places you visited were empty buildings. I guess I shouldn't take that for granted when we visit historical areas in America. The buildings and the grounds are beautiful! I don't know if you are going to cover this in your next update, but was the trip worth it?

 

[Sleeping*Beauty]

Great update as usual. I was really getting into this tokoyo disney thing so I hopped over to Micechat. And I saw where someone was openly critizing you[Lurkyloo]. I was like oh no you didn't, she's like a disney celebrity.

P.S. Where are you traveling to next?

 

[Aburns8]

. I was like oh no you didn't, she's like a disney celebrity.

That person criticizing Lurkyloo is just not nice!

 

[peloha86]

The bullet train looks like so much fun!
How many miles took how many hours?

My daughter is saving her pennies for Japan. I showed her your TR.
Looking forward to more!


Just me...~

 

[KatGarcia]

Is it me or are there a million hidden mickey's on these buildings??!! LOL. I have been reading along and loving the report!

 

[burly]

Lurkyloo, another fab post.
My favorite picture is of the temple, garden, temple, water, temple.....

I'm sticking with temple. You know the decorative one.....

KIM

 

[lurkyloo]

Be-yoo-ti-ful pics as always! Maybe you said this already and I'm just thick, but is there a reason why Kyoto is an anagram of Tokyo? Or is that just me being daft? Loved the imperial palace pics - everything looks so crisp and clean. I showed my DH and we were comparing the palace in Kyoto with the baroque palaces of Europe, what a difference, so cool!!!

Good question! I did a little research and learned...

Yes, kind of.

In Japan they are not usually written in roman characters - they are written in Kanji. The "KYO" part of each name uses the same Kanji, that means "capital".

Tokyo means "eastern capital"
Kyoto means "capital city"

Kyoto was the old imperial capital of the country.
Tokyo is the current capital.

So if you were reading these names in Japanese, they wouldn't be angrams at all.

Berry interestink!

Great update! It is a bummer that the places you visited were empty buildings. I guess I shouldn't take that for granted when we visit historical areas in America. The buildings and the grounds are beautiful! I don't know if you are going to cover this in your next update, but was the trip worth it?

Hmmm... that's a good question too! The bullet train tickets were definitely worth it. The tour was not outrageously priced.... so I guess it was worth it. But I confess that although Patrick wants to go back and see Kyoto at a more leisurely pace, I'm not particularly interested. Maybe if we went to Japan a lot, but I think if/when we go back I'd rather do a day trip to someplace with a lot of natural beauty than a place with a bunch of buildings to go look at!

Great update as usual. I was really getting into this tokoyo disney thing so I hopped over to Micechat. And I saw where someone was openly critizing you[Lurkyloo]. I was like oh no you didn't, she's like a disney celebrity.

That person criticizing Lurkyloo is just not nice!

Yeah, if it's the person I'm thinking of, I get the feeling there are some social-maladjustment issues there that go beyond plain old meanspiritedness, so I try not to let it bother me...

P.S. Where are you traveling to next?

I'm going to Disney World!

The bullet train looks like so much fun!
How many miles took how many hours?

My daughter is saving her pennies for Japan. I showed her your TR.
Looking forward to more!

Yay! That's great! The trip from Tokyo to Kyoto is about 320 miles, and it took just under 2 hours and 15 minutes. ...Now, if a train departing from Tokyo leaves at 6am traveling 185 mph and a train departing from Kyoto leaves at 7:30 am traveling 140 mph, how many pictures will Lurkyloo take of Mt. Fuji on the Tokyo train?

Seriously, though, now that I'm doing the math, I guess we weren't going the train's top speed of 185 mph or we would have gotten there even faster!

Is it me or are there a million hidden mickey's on these buildings??!! LOL. I have been reading along and loving the report!

You're right! Wow—The Mouse really does have its hands in everyting!

Lurkyloo, another fab post.
My favorite picture is of the temple, garden, temple, water, temple.....

I'm sticking with temple. You know the decorative one.....

KIM

Oh yeah, I know the one you mean!

 

[Aburns8]

I will be in WDW to! Sip and Stroll here we come!

 

[ben1993]

Best TR ever! I just HAVE to go to Tokyo Disney, heres to many years of saving up lol

 

[PrincessShea]

I'm going to Disney World!

Yes! This means lurkyloo TR entertainment through at least the rest of 2010, right?!

Just caught up. This is so cool to read about, even if it's not about Disney. Can't wait to read more.

 

[Zuzu03]

Good question! I did a little research and learned...

Yes, kind of.

In Japan they are not usually written in roman characters - they are written in Kanji. The "KYO" part of each name uses the same Kanji, that means "capital".

Tokyo means "eastern capital"
Kyoto means "capital city"

Kyoto was the old imperial capital of the country.
Tokyo is the current capital.

So if you were reading these names in Japanese, they wouldn't be angrams at all.

Berry interestink!

Oh, that makes total sense! Thanks!!!

 

[PopArtGal]

Japan's so beautiful! I want to go even more!

And I am still really in love with cherry blossoms.

Awe, what a cute penguin. Did it do anything?

btw, I updated my TR too

 

[A-T-G]

Back from a family thingie in time for a TR update! Sweet! I thought Kyoto would be on my MUST list but, after seeing these pics (excellent though they were), I'm thinking I'll skip it...

So, what do you win if you get a coin in the little bowl (in the exquisite Japanese Garden)?

 

[lurkyloo]

I will be in WDW to! Sip and Stroll here we come!

Hooray! See you there!

Best TR ever! I just HAVE to go to Tokyo Disney, heres to many years of saving up lol

Thanks for reading along!

Yes! This means lurkyloo TR entertainment through at least the rest of 2010, right?!

And BEYOND, if the length of this one is anything to go by!

Japan's so beautiful! I want to go even more!

And I am still really in love with cherry blossoms.

Awe, what a cute penguin. Did it do anything?

Just wobbled, I think.

Back from a family thingie in time for a TR update! Sweet! I thought Kyoto would be on my MUST list but, after seeing these pics (excellent though they were), I'm thinking I'll skip it...

So, what do you win if you get a coin in the little bowl (in the exquisite Japanese Garden)?

Hmmm... well if it isn't wisdom, longevity or peace, it must be a Ferrari!

 

[lurkyloo]

After lunch we got on the bus for the afternoon tour, which started at the Heian Shrine, another bright red, Chinese-influenced affair, but this one had a lovely lake and a bridge out back that Patrick was really crazy about.



Oversized toy firetruck!

Apparently this is one of the largest torii in Japan!

So the Heian Shrine is new by shrine standards. It was built in 1895 to celebrate the 1100th anniversary of Kyoto and honors two emperors: the founder of Kyoto and the last emperor to live there before the capital of Japan was moved to Tokyo.

Many of the buildings are 2/3-scale replicas of the original Kyoto Imperial Palace, which was destroyed back in 1227.

These trees are covered in omikuji—a fortune paper that you draw and then tie to a branch so that it will come true (if it's a good fortune) or not come true (if it's a bad one).

 

[lurkyloo]

We got to walk across these—and I didn't fall in the drink!

There are three gardens out back, but this one was Patrick's favorite—and his favorite stop of the day!

 

[lurkyloo]

 

[lurkyloo]

Back on the bus!

Next they carted us over to what may have been the most impressive site – Sanjūsangen-dō Temple which, in addition to being the longest wooden building in Japan, houses 1,000 life-size statues of Kannon, the Goddess of Mercy, plus one ginormous Kannon in the middle. It was amazing to see the sheer number of them! They didn't let us take pictures, so here's one I got from Wiki Commons:

 

[lurkyloo]

Japan's Longest—and curviest!—Wooden Building

Guess what happened after that…

BUS!!!

The last stop on the tour was, well… we thought the previous places had been crowded, and they were, but this one was three times as crowded—and our guide later told us we were lucky not to be there on a busy day! It was the Kiyomizudera Temple, up on a big hill, with shops all the way up and crowds at the top.

Kiyomizu-dera has a rich and interesting history, most of which was completely left out of our tour guide's spiel, which she hollered over the heads of the crowd. I learned a ton of stuff about it on Wiki just now. Kiyomizu-dera temple has been there since 798, although the present buildings were constructed in 1633—without a single nail!


So many people!