Archive for December, 2011

View from the roof of Funamisou

There are only two times in my life where I actually thought I was going to die, two times more than I would like to have experienced.  I thought I might get another chance when we visited Nikko, since Matt insisted we try Fugu which is inherently poinsoness.  If prepared incorrectly, the neurotoxin Tetrodotoxin will kill you if the dose is high enough, or put you into a coma and/or paralyze you.  Needless to say I wasn’t too enthusiastic when Matt mentioned this was on his list of things to do.  The real risk is actually rather low, restaurants who prepare Fugu must be certified to do so and most who are killed are individuals who attempt to prepare Fugu themselves.  In any case, we stayed at Funamisou Ryokan which I highly recommend (more on that later).  Our dinner consisted of Fugu sashimi, fried Fugu, Fugu Nabe, and a few things I can’t remember.   The dinner was fantastic (especially since I’m alive to write this), and since we were the only guests (the week days are rather slow) we were able to use are Japanese somewhat and talk with the chef which was a wonderful experience.  And if your looking for a place to stay in Nikko, I highly recommend Funamisou.  The staff were all very kind and the manager spoke good English.  A truly great experience with great staff.  Later that day we headed out and visited various parts of Nikko, which was all rather cold since the elevation was higher than in Tokyo.  Here are a few shots of various places we visited in Nikko:

Kegon Falls, probably not at its peak	Lake Chuzenji	Miko ahead?

Temple under renovation	MOSS	Stream next to a shrine

As I sit here in Miyako (in Iwate prefecture) freezing my butt off in the unheated Japanese room (its -2 C by the way), I’m beginning to realize my trip is soon coming to an end.  However hopefully I can make a few more posts as my WordPress install seems to be working better.  Anyways, I’ll start where I left off.  As most of you probably know I love staying at the Hyatt.  As such, I wanted to make at least a few stays at the Hyatt while I was in Japan, and since I had to work remote in the middle of my Japan stay the Hyatt seemed like a natural place to set up shop.  I decided to stay one night at the Hyatt Regency Tokyo, and two more nights at the Park Hyatt Tokyo.

I’ve stayed at a number Hyatt properties in the past, including a few Parks, but once again I was amazed at how fantastic the Hyatt is in Japan.  Last time I stayed at the Hyatt Regency Kyoto, which absolutely blew me away, so my expectations were rather high especially for the Park Hyatt.  The Hyatt Regency Tokyo was fantastic and I upgraded to one of the nicer rooms which seemed to have been remolded recently with a more modern twist.  The bathroom was well appointed, with a separate tub and shower.  And the room itself was perfect except for the fact the TV did not have a DVD player (although I’m sure I could have requested one).  The only minus point I could think of is the small “breakfast” snack they have for Gold Passport members was going to be discontinued in December, which is too bad. Hopefully they have something else in place for higher tier members.

Crappy picture of my room at the Hyatt Regency Tokyo	Another crappy picture of the bathroom	Nice somewhat clear view of Fuji-san from my room

After my stay at the Park Hyatt Regency I made my way to the Park Hyatt which was only a few blocks away.  Immediately I was whisked away to my room for an in room check-in which was quite nice.  The only down side was I felt as though they had just stuck me in my room to get me away from the other guests, which may have been true since I probably smelled and had my hiking backpack with me.  The room was fantastic with a great view on one of the top floors.  That night they sent a complementary bottle of wine and I got some snacks to go along with it.  Perfect environment for working remote   The only minus I could find in the room was the clock seemed to be a cheap travel alarm clock, which seemed out of place compared to the other furniture in the room (maybe someone left it there?).  The TV also had a DVD player so I could watch Bamboo Blade   Some other highlights was the workout room which looked out over Tokyo (which was somewhat small) and the turn down service which was a nice touch.

Crappy picture of my room at the Park Hyatt Tokyo	In Residence	Complementary vino

The other point I should mention was the day I was checking out I got rather sick in the morning and really didn’t feel good at all.  I ended up going to the front desk and asking for some medicine, which they provided along with the option to see a doctor if I wanted to.  I took one dose, but by the time I was going to to actually leave I still felt like crap.  I inquired about seeing a doctor, but that would take time so I decided to pass on the offer as I had to be somewhere later that day.  However, the manager on duty provided his contact information and arranged for a car service to take me to Sangubashi station even though by that time I had already checked out.  All of this was provided without me asking and throughout the whole ordeal I felt as though the Hyatt staff were genuinely concerned for me.  Everyone I interacted with provided the highest level of service far beyond my expectations.  Whenever I get the chance I’ll be staying at the Park Hyatt Tokyo again, I can’t recommend it enough.

Morning view of some showers in the Tokyo suburbs	Night view from my room	Another night shot, with the dark area being Yoyogi park, HND arrivals and departures off to the right

It was only a matter of time until I made this post, detailing all of our anime exploits   One activity we had planned ahead of time was going to Namja Town and taking part in some Idolm@ster and K-On! special food items.  I’m not a huge fan of Idom@ster, but I’ve seen some of it and I’ve seen both K-On! seasons (ok, I admit, I like K-On!) and the food actually didn’t look too bad.  I have to say this is probably the geekiest thing I’ve done in a while, especially since we were somewhat out of place in Namja Town which is really oriented towards children.  However there were plenty of fellow anime fans there, although all Japanese, so we fit in just fine.

Main course was the “Tokachitsukuchite Burger”	A small desert from Mio, complete with a strawberry	“Makoto’s Stretched Sparkling Ice Cream”

Full sized K-On! movie promo poster	All the cards we got . . . yeah we ate a lot of food	All the items I’d bought so far anime related

Either on the same day or shortly after, we ventured out into the Tokyo Suburbs to visit the Lucky Star Shrine which is a must for any anime pilgrimage.  Although Lucky Star has been around for a while now, there was still plenty of evidence still at the shrine, although we were the only anime fans in attendance, as that particular day was some sort of festival parents bring their children to visit the shrine.  Here are a few pictures of Ema and some other assorted pictures at the shrine.

Small mini shrine outside the main shrine, for Tsukasa and Kagami	Shrine entrance, Lucky Star OP anyone?	HARD GAY!

Ohana from Hanasku Iroha	Kagami	More Kagami, although I think this may have gotten lost in translation

Hard Off, my favorite store	RUN AWAY!	Shrine grounds overview, with the Ema area