Tokyo National Museum...

Melisa and I had much better luck on Tuesday when we actually managed to get inside the museum. Luckily we weren't wearing high heels so we didn't disturb other visitors.

The cool thing about this museum was that it was a manageable size and didn't take hours and hours to go through. There was a limited number of any one type of artifact, so it wasn't overwhelming.

There was a small special exhibit of medical artifacts, including this model for the study of acupuncture from 1662.

From the terrace we could see this lovely garden.

While the main building housed only Japanese artifacts, there was also a building encompassing the rest of Asia.

Melisa was flying out the next day, so she didn't join me for the Western Art Museum, where I enjoyed seeing some paintings by familiar Dutch Old Masters.

Lost in Translation...

I'd like to blame a language barrier or some other outside force (perhaps the rain?), but frankly, Melisa and I weren't too bright when we headed out that Monday to Ueno Park to do some sightseeing. Instead of eating in one of the many affordable restaurants, we opted to go to a food court and settled for mediocre food instead. Then we walked to the Tokyo National Museum only to discover it was closed on Mondays. Of course, savvy travelers like us should have known to check the schedule first.

To prove just how un-savvy we actually are, we then headed to the Imperial Gardens to take a walk in the rain. After waiting out a huge downpour, we made our way to the entrance gate only to find out (bet you didn't see this coming!) that it's also closed on Mondays.

At least the rain finally stopped and I could take a few photos before we gave up on the idea of sightseeing and went home.

DYI Pancakes...

After all that hiking, we'd worked up an appetite. We found a funky little place in Roppongi where you cook the food yourself. We both ordered pancakes; Ashlynn's was vegetarian and mine had scallops. The cook demonstrated with mine and Ashlynn made her own.

 It was pretty basic: stir, pour...

...and flip.

They were delicious!

Bushwhacking Back to Town...

After getting eaten up by mosquitos, we decided to adjust our original plan of hiking back across into town and instead bushwhacked along the edge of the woods crossing several farms. This one was growing tea...

...and this one had eggplants.

We also happened upon a natural bamboo forest, which was very cool.

After hiking 8 miles (13K) we made it back to town. We thought we'd pick up something to eat, but couldn't find anything open except a small tourist shop where we bought some green tea soba noodles to bring home. We had to settle with ice cream treats from a vending machine at the train station.

Interesting Plants and Insects...

Can you spot the walking stick insect? We also spotted lots of regular grasshoppers.

 Not much in bloom in the summer, but here's some pretty flowers.

 We were excited to happen upon some rice paddies...

 ...and a tea field.

 Also happened upon these strange characters...

 ...and some sunflowers.

We were excited when the lady at the info center suggested we hike to the rice paddies. After making many wrong turns, we found the spot and then realized that we'd been here hours earlier which cracked us up.

Hiking in Tokyo...

Eventually the "Northern Hiking Route" veered off the road and headed into Rokudoyama Park, Tokyo's largest municipal park. Shockingly, we didn't see another human for several hours...

...although we did catch an occasion glimpse of civilization.

There were lots of spider webs across the path, so Ashlynn found a Magic Spider Web Stick which helped her to avoid meeting any spiders face-to-face.

The woods were lovely and provided some nice shade. We spent much of our time lost as although our map was in English, the trail markers were not. Thank God for Google Translate or we might never have found our way to the park info center where we were able to refresh our water supply.

A totem pole was definitely our most unexpected sighting of the day.

Shrines in Mizuho...

 Of course, we saw some shrines along the way.

 They were often set off the road in the woods and very peaceful.

Off to Mizuho...

On Sunday, August 16, we took a 1.5 hour train ride to Mizuho to go hiking. I chose this area because I'd picked up an English brochure that showed a variety of hiking trails with easy access from a train station. Our first stop was Sayamaike Park, which was small but scenic.

Birthday Entertainment...

After our disappointments in the morning, Ashlynn took control and booked us a reservation for a show that evening. We'd seen the flyers for Roppongi Kaguwa while exploring the neighborhood. The description of the show sounded kinda cheesy, but we were willing to take a chance:

A spectacular combination of traditional Japanese dance and modern twists, jazz dancing, upbeat music and even flying performers. Performers are obviously professional dancers and Japanese Drag Queens (beautiful men and transsexuals dressed in women's clothes). You can enjoy the ever-changing movable stage which incorporates a unrivaled new technology system all over Japan.  

We expected the place to be full of foreigners, but instead we were the only ones. We were seated right in front; before the show, several of the performers came by and gave us their business cards. The website says the place seats 186, but there were only 20 in the audience. That didn't stop the ten performers on stage from putting on a fantastic show. The show was 45 minutes with 12 acts each with different costumes and incredible dancing. The stage is difficult to describe with constant moving platforms giving each song a completely different look. Photography was only allowed during the bows at the end of the show.

We were invited up on stage at the end for a photo on my phone. It was the perfect ending to a great birthday!

Unexpected Kiddie Games...

On our walk back from the station, we saw that something was happening at the Mercedes dealer. As we edged closer for a better view, this lady invited us to join in some kiddie games. First, Ashlynn used a small hook to fish out a balloon.

Then we both used a net made of paper to scoop bouncy balls out of the water. I had decent success, but we were both allowed to cheat as we were handed new nets after the old got too wet and ripped.

Since we ate such a late sushi lunch, we skipped dinner and went straight to dessert. Rather than having something traditional, we went to Cold Stone Creamery for a touch of Americana.

Shibuya Crossing Revisited...

No matter how many times I've been at this scramble crossing, it never fails to entertain me.

To humor me for my birthday, Ashlynn was finally willing to pose in the middle.

We also visited the Hachiko statue outside Shibuya Station. Hachiko was a dog that used to meet his owner everyday at the station from early 1924 until May 1925, when the owner unexpectedly died. The remarkable thing is that Hachiko continued to look for his owner every day at the station for the next 9+ years until he died in 1935.

Hachiko became a national symbol of loyalty. The original statue was placed at the station in 1934 and Hachiko was at the unveiling. It was melted down during World War II, but replaced in 1948. We saw Hollywood's version of the story with Richard Gere in Hachi: A Dog's Tale and Ashlynn hated it because it was so sad.