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

[lurkyloo]

One of the main attractions of this temple is its killer view of Kyoto.

The other attraction is the "stage" (the deck) of this building. In the Edo period, it was believed that if you jumped off the stage and survived, your wish would come true. 85% of people's wishes came true! The practice has since been banned, but according to Wiki, the expression "to jump off the stage at Kiyomizu" is as common an expression in Japanese as "to take the plunge" is in English.

Long way down…

There were also three fountains to drink from for health, wealth and something else. (Wiki sez… health, wisdom and longevity—and if you drink from more than two, some people think this means you're greedy and will risk bad fortune.) I went all the way to Blarney Castle in Ireland and refused to kiss the Blarney Stone, so you can bet I wasn't waiting in some line in Kyoto to drink from some sketchy fountains!

The fountains—and the line!

 

[lurkyloo]

Stop the presses—we found a trashcan in Japan! Oh wait, have I talked about this? We could never find trashcans, paper napkins or Kleenex anywhere… Now that I think of it, there may be some connection there!

 

[lurkyloo]

On the way back down the hill we poked our heads in various shops…

We also started down this street but decided we didn't have enough time til we were s'posed to be back at the bus. I'm wondering if this was the picturesque old Kyoto we were hoping to see.

WOW… What..? Wow…

Our tour guide conferring with our bus driver…

Aw, CRAP! I totally forgot to tell them a ton of stuff about Kiyomizu-dera's rich and interesting history!

Angelyne's other bus…

We got back on the bus and then spent half an hour sitting in gridlock on the short hill back to the main road—yeeeesh! However, we'd booked our return trip for 7:30pm, so even getting back to the hotel a little late, we still had some time to kill. I'd spotted Toji Temple on our souvenir map of Kyoto and decided it was the structure on which the five-story pagoda in Epcot's Japan pavilion was based and that we must see it. (Turns out Epcot's is actually based on the Goju-no-to Temple in Miyajima—d'oh!)

Before we left the tour, I asked our guide about it, and she told us how to get there by taking the train two stops away. We got off the train and just started running toward it, even though we weren't sure exactly what street it was on.

When we finally got there, we found it closed. Whoops! So here are a bunch of pix from the street of a temple that has nothing to do with Disney and we couldn't even get into...

 

[lurkyloo]

Then we ran back to the train, took the train back to the main station and went searching for some dinner we could take with us on the bullet train.

I had to get two chocolate desserts in case one turned out to have something fruity in it… which it did!

The view from our dinner table

We totally fell asleep on the train ride home—it was so soothing!


OK, I know this was prolly the most boring update yet, but hang in there, cuz this trip report is going out with a bang! And it starts with…

Up next: Day trip to the Ghibli Museum!

 

[Zuzu03]

WOW, these are absolutely stunning! The cherry blossoms are insanely beautiful - I can't believe how much there was to see. I'd be on overload! Nice update again!!!!!

 

[cathy0124]

Whew! I caught up on this entire report in one day!
(I was stuck at home for the majority waiting on the Verizon guy to hook up the tv.)

Now I don't know what to do with the rest if my time until Carrie posts another installment...,.

Cathy

 

[emmmms]

Lovely photos! But I'm REALLY excited about your tour of the Ghibli Museum. So, so, SO excited!

I had never been interested in traveling to Japan until I saw a trip report several years ago that visited the Ghibli Museum. I hadn't even seen that many movies at the point, maybe just Spirited Away, but after seeing the photos, I was sold. Now I HAVE to get there some day. And I can't imagine what didn't interest me about Japan before, now I love everything about it.

Can't wait to see that part of your report!

 

[Aburns8]

I loved the photos! I really enjoy seeing all of the classic Japanese architecture. The cherry blossoms were great to! It wasn't a boring report, it was great to see everything you saw. How many memory cards did you go through?

 

[peloha86]

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!

And to think that these temples survived through many earthquakes!
From Wiki:
"Beneath the main hall is the Otowa waterfall, where three channels of water fall into a pond. Visitors can catch and drink the waters, which is believed to have therapeutic properties. Drinking the water of the three streams is said to confer wisdom, health, and longevity.[5] However, some Japanese believe that you must choose only two; if you are greedy and drink from all three, you invite misfortune upon yourself"....Wow, something to be said there!!!

Appreciate all you do here Lurkyloo!!!
Just me

 

[burly]

Lurkyloo, not long winded or boring.
Spectacular stuff.
I especially love the beautifully bloomed trees being held up by what looks like wooden dowels?! Like old women, still blossoming in beauty.

Thank you. Have i said that yet. I will never get there....You have taken me. And i thank you...

KIM

 

[lurkyloo]

WOW, these are absolutely stunning! The cherry blossoms are insanely beautiful - I can't believe how much there was to see. I'd be on overload! Nice update again!!!!!

Definitely overload! And the cherry blossoms were the icing on the overloaded cake!

Whew! I caught up on this entire report in one day!
(I was stuck at home for the majority waiting on the Verizon guy to hook up the tv.)

Now I don't know what to do with the rest if my time until Carrie posts another installment...,.

Cathy

Maybe you could watch your new TV channels!

Lovely photos! But I'm REALLY excited about your tour of the Ghibli Museum. So, so, SO excited!

I had never been interested in traveling to Japan until I saw a trip report several years ago that visited the Ghibli Museum. I hadn't even seen that many movies at the point, maybe just Spirited Away, but after seeing the photos, I was sold. Now I HAVE to get there some day. And I can't imagine what didn't interest me about Japan before, now I love everything about it.

I feel the same way! I've always had these sort of romantic dreams of Europe but had never been interested in Asia until recently. Now we're turning into Japanophiles!

I loved the photos! I really enjoy seeing all of the classic Japanese architecture. The cherry blossoms were great to! It wasn't a boring report, it was great to see everything you saw. How many memory cards did you go through?

Amazingly, just one! I bought a 16GB card before we left, and we took 5,000+ pix. I think I emptied a few hundred onto Patrick's computer the first week, but it was hogging so much memory on his maxed-out computer that I just kept filling the card the rest of the trip.

However, some Japanese believe that you must choose only two; if you are greedy and drink from all three, you invite misfortune upon yourself"....Wow, something to be said there!!!

Appreciate all you do here Lurkyloo!!!
Just me

Hey, thanks! I just had a moment when I was endlessly pasting pix into this report when I thought, "Geez, is anyone actually gonna wann go through all these?!"

Lurkyloo, not long winded or boring.
Spectacular stuff.
I especially love the beautifully bloomed trees being held up by what looks like wooden dowels?! Like old women, still blossoming in beauty.

Thank you. Have i said that yet. I will never get there....You have taken me. And i thank you...

KIM

Thank you for reading, Kim! I'm so glad to hear you've enjoyed the report and that it really does feel like you're there. And I love your analogy about the trees!

 

[acejka]

ahh! what was the bang!!??

 

[A-T-G]

Great update & beautiful pics! Kyoto is back on the list, dang it! Can't wait to see the next leg...

 

[Chilly]

Beautiful photos. Excellent idea getting 2 desserts!

 

[PopArtGal]

Let me tell you, I would not have taken a drink from these fountains either

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Hi Carrie! Your Kyoto report wasn't boring at all! It is a TR and we want to see your T! I love your photos of Torii Temple. Too bad it was closed when you got there. Your dinner box for the train looks a little scarey! I think you're turning Japanese!

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

Just getting caught up. The waffle sandwiches look delish! Beautiful pics of the cherry blossoms.

 

[v_misses_epcot]

Sorry for being weird and all, but I actually cried while reading your TR. Before meeting my boyfriend, I'd never thought I would be able to go to Japan ever. I've been in love with the Japanese culture ever since I was around 8 when I started to watch anime. I quickly forgot about my dream to go to Japan since none of my friends wanted to, it was expensive and bf at the time didn't care for it etc. Even now with my bf, being the huge Disney dorks that we are, I still didn't think I'd ever go. Well, two days ago he told me about his plan to do all 5 Disney resorts in one trip. I was like, that sounds like fun sweetheart. WHAT?! 5?? As in DL, WDW, DLP, DLH and TDL?? And he said yup, I want to do all 5 in one trip. Sure it will prob take a month or more but we want to do it. So with that said, my dreams will come true one day of going to Japan. And your TR is so beautiful and it's like a giant tease because I'm only getting more excited with each updated you post. Boy that sounds wrong but you know what I mean. =/

Thank you! I'm excited for your Japan Pass porter book and the rest of your trip update including your trip to Ghibli Museum. Everything looks so freaking yummy! And it's good to know that Totoro is all around haha.

 

[lurkyloo]

ahh! what was the bang!!??

It's coming.... hang on tight!

Great update & beautiful pics! Kyoto is back on the list, dang it! Can't wait to see the next leg...

Yeah, you'll like Kyoto! Just don't try to see it all in one day!

Beautiful photos. Excellent idea getting 2 desserts!

See, I'm always thinkin'... allllways thinkin'!

Let me tell you, I would not have taken a drink from these fountains either

Exactly!!!

Hi Carrie! Your Kyoto report wasn't boring at all! It is a TR and we want to see your T! I love your photos of Torii Temple. Too bad it was closed when you got there. Your dinner box for the train looks a little scarey! I think you're turning Japanese!

Totally! Am I'm so glad you enjoyed the Kyoto epic!

Just getting caught up. The waffle sandwiches look delish! Beautiful pics of the cherry blossoms.

I definitely need to try a waffle sammich next time!

Sorry for being weird and all, but I actually cried while reading your TR. Before meeting my boyfriend, I'd never thought I would be able to go to Japan ever. I've been in love with the Japanese culture ever since I was around 8 when I started to watch anime. I quickly forgot about my dream to go to Japan since none of my friends wanted to, it was expensive and bf at the time didn't care for it etc. Even now with my bf, being the huge Disney dorks that we are, I still didn't think I'd ever go. Well, two days ago he told me about his plan to do all 5 Disney resorts in one trip. I was like, that sounds like fun sweetheart. WHAT?! 5?? As in DL, WDW, DLP, DLH and TDL?? And he said yup, I want to do all 5 in one trip. Sure it will prob take a month or more but we want to do it. So with that said, my dreams will come true one day of going to Japan. And your TR is so beautiful and it's like a giant tease because I'm only getting more excited with each updated you post. Boy that sounds wrong but you know what I mean. =/

Thank you! I'm excited for your Japan Pass porter book and the rest of your trip update including your trip to Ghibli Museum. Everything looks so freaking yummy! And it's good to know that Totoro is all around haha.

Aw, that is so sweet! Thank you for sharing your story. Your BF seems like a keeper! I hope you'll do a trip report of your adventure—it sounds amazing! I would love to be able to compare all the parks within days or weeks of seeing them all... Happy planning!

 

[lurkyloo]

Today was our Ghibli Museum tour day. We didn’t have to meet til 1pm, so in the morning we took our time getting ready—I even put on makeup! We had some gorgeous boxed donuts from Daimaru dept. store for breakfast. They were not as tasty as they looked!

On our way out of the hotel, we took some more pictures of the lobby and the overpriced restaurant we never ate at.

We headed for Hibiya park to kill time near the hotel where we were to be picked up for the tour.

Yet another head-bump hazard lies in wait for Lurkyloo!

Hibiya Park was the first European-style park built in Tokyo, so in addition to some more traditional Japanese elements, it has many traditional European touches, like a formal rose garden. Something I just learned on Wikipedia is that the trees in the Dogwood Forest at the park are descended from those sent to Japan by the US in exchange for cherry trees that were planted along the Potomac River. Cool!

The park is also home to a TON of feral cats, and I believe we photographed every single one. If you're allergic to cats, start scrolling now…

See! We weren't the only ones...

Not a cat

Cat!

The park museum was closed that day

When we got to this part of the park, we stumbled on a huge cache of feral kitties. At first glance there were just a few, but as you stopped to look around, you began to notice dozens in the bushes, sitting on the grass, and wandering around. It was like the back cover of a Highlights Magazine!


"Meow. Simply meow."