A Walk

青山の周りに歩いて、前の見知らない所を発見した。

Walked around and discovered new parts of Aoyama. Tokyo is like an expanding universe. Vast on places, people and conversations you could never imagine finding yourself in..

Paths

この間、夢の中父に会って。私を見ながら、何も言わなかった。実は、実際の生活の中でも、彼の状態だ。
夢の中、手を比べて、私のはまだ若かったけど、父のは老化していた。。意味は全然分からないのに。。

How I cried and persisted as a child, when my father put me up on his shoulders. But yet, if the turns I took in my life
had led me to parenthood, would I've had my own kid see the world from up there? For sure.

I had a dream about my father last night, he was wasn't talking, just looking at me, as his condition also is in real life.
My hand was resting next to his, and I just remember mine was young, and his was aged..

Hakone 温泉町の箱根

先週の金曜日はロマンスカーに乗って、初めて温泉町の箱根へ行った。最初に彫刻の森美術館と芦ノ湖を見に行った。
後は旅館へ戻って、温泉二入った。最高だったから、また行きたいな。。

皆、国内旅と言いえば、どこが好き？

I decided to take a rest from school last friday in favour of taking a morning departure to popular hot-spring resort Hakone, just 90 minutes from Shinjuku station. Despite the train being called "Romance Car", there wasn't anything romantic about it, but found
out later though that the train models differ, so doing a little research ahead will give you the choice to take a train equipped
with an observation deck in the front, for instance. Plan ahead! : D

I was editing photos most of the time in my iPod Touch during the travel, so time passed like a breeze, and before I knew it, the train had reached Hakone-Yumoto station. I wasn't even sure where my ryokan-style hotel was located exactly. It didn't matter though, as I didn't have any plans on taking a rest yet, also I didn't carry any luggage with me except my "Kånken" backpack. 

Conveniently, the Hakone Tozan Train was right next to where I got off the Romance Car, so I just crossed the platform and continued the journey uphill. This mountain train is famous for moving in a "switchback" manner, meaning it literary zig-zags
back and forth up the mountain. Not being a fan of heights, the train's current elevation being announced in the speaker
from time to time wasn't too appreciated, but if no one had told me, there was absolutely no way to know, as most
mountains in Japan tend to be lush and densely forested.

A while later I arrived at Chokoku no Mori station, followed by a short walk to the Hakone Open Air Museum. Presenting my
student-id at the reception, I also managed to get a nice discount. It's also possible to buy a Hakone Free Pass, 
but for 5,000 yen, it wouldn't have been a good investment for me.

So I entered the Open Air Museum, and took a walk around the different exhibits. There's also various spots around the park where the view across the mountains were especially beautiful. For fans of Picasso, there's also a museum dedicated completely
to his works of art. Not my cup of tea, but well worth visiting anyways.

After strolling around the museum for an hour or two, I took a bus to Ashinoko Lake (Lake Ashi) a 30 minute ride away. Once there, 
I regained my powers with some local tonkatsu for lunch, before taking a short walk to the nearby shrine. It was nice, but not very impressive. I visited the holiest of all shrines not too long ago down in Mie-prefecture, so feel I've reached my height of enlightenment. I will keep going to shrines every now and then though, and pray for my moteki.

Slowly returning to the Hakone-machi station, me and a thousand Thai tourists boarded the mandatory pirateship for a tour on the lake. It was really windy, and the air was chilly, but it was enjoyable. I worried so much ahead about traveling to the mountains,
that I felt relieved that it wasn't that bad at all. After reaching the other side of the lake, I had a coffee while enjoying the view
across the lake. It was one of the last ferry departures for the day, how ironic had I been stuck with only the cable car
as an option to get back, haha.

I managed to catch the last departure back though, then took the bus back to Hakone-Yumoto. At this point I was already
somewhat tired, so didn't care about where or how the bus went, as long as it brought me back.

Once in Hakone-Yumoto again, it was only a short walk to my hotel, located along a quaint river with small waterfalls.. 
For barely any money at all, I had managed to book a large tatami room with everything I could ever need,
including a small terrace with a view of the mountains and the river down below..

By this time, it had become late, so I changed into a yukata and went upstairs for the outdoor hot-spring bath. Most people were either out, or had retired at this time, so I had the entire onsen with mountain view for myself.. Taking a steamy bath under
the starry sky wasn't bad at all, I could actually get used to it, haha.

I tried the indoor spa as well, but quickly returned outside, because the contrast of cold, fresh air and the hot bath was absolutely perfect. I can't wait coming back in late autumn with some nice company and enjoy another hot-spring weekend.

When I came back to my room, I felt so refreshed that it was only a matter of minutes before I was asleep.The next morning
I enjoyed another onsen bath while watching the sunrise, then had a nice buffet breakfast, before returning back to Tokyo.

Unwilling to return back to my home, I continued my adventures with a day trip to the mountains of Chichibu,
in Saitama (see earlier post).

Andreas,
letstokyo_

Chichibu 日帰り旅行

箱根から帰ったら、家へまだ帰りたくなくて、埼玉県の秩父で羊山公園芝桜の丘を見に行った。花と自然も本当に美しかった！
美味しいお土産も買った。

Freshly arrived back in Tokyo from hot-spring heaven Hakone, I didn't feel like going home just yet. Instead I kept going north and ended up in the mountains of Chichibu, Saitama. After a small curry-soba meal at the station, I followed everyone else to Hitsuji Yama Park (Sheep Mountain Park?) to view a sea of blossom, arranged in a beautiful pattern across the field.

After enjoying the view of both the arranged flowers and the mountain backdrop, I walked across the field to a nearby market, selling sakura-flavoured mochi and many other things. I bought myself and a friend some "omiyage" and took a slow stroll back to the station.. A nice little excursion, best enjoyed with a loved one or good friend. For me, I actually enjoyed being there on my own
this time. People are always friendly and talkative.

If you don't mind a long trip, please enjoy enjoy a visit to Chichibu's Hitsuji Koen. Ps. Welcome to visit my Instagram for more photos, username is andipanda_

Andreas,
letstokyo_

Sizzler シズラー

今日は友達に電話をかけて、一緒に新宿のシズラーへ行った。料理とデザートは
すごく食べ過ぎちゃった！w　その後はぐうぜんにスペイン人のインスタグラム友達にあって、世界は本当に狭いね？

Sizzlers is one of those places in Tokyo I can't figure why I haven't visited during an entire year of stay in this amazing city. Don't be fooled by the roughly 2,000 yen "salad-bar" course. It includes not only an incredible selection of ready-made and DIY salads, but also pasta, fajita and nacho plates, soup, soft ice-cream and some amazing desserts, plus drink bar.

よかったら、シズラーへぜひ行ってみて！If you're in Tokyo and feel the hunger, do yourself a favour and visit Sizzler!

/Andreas
letstokyo_

Milky

今日は新しいパナソニックカメラをゲットして、うれしい！また、このモデルに慣れていないんだが、
少し外にいた間いくつ写真を撮った。明日また旅するので、カメラを持って、楽しみにしている！

Today the postman dropped in with my new camera, horray! I was about to get a Canon, but I've done some amazing photography with the smaller one, so felt there wasn't any need to go back to a bigger one for now. 

This model is called DMC-GF6 and has a 16 megapixel sensor, built-in NFC and WiFi, and also a tiltable screen, twice the
resolution of my older camera. I can even use my iPod Touch as a remote screen and fire the shutter with it, 
it's a pretty attractive feature that works really well so far!

Haven't gotten entirely used to the new camera yet, but I'll figure it out during the weekend, while I'm recovering somewhere
south of Tokyo : D Yes, it's time for another trip!

Mata ne!

Design Ah!

学校が終わってから、六本木の「２１２１デザインサイト」で「デザインあ展」を見に行った。
Last week, I visited the Design Ah! exhibit in Roppongi.