Ohayo mina-san !
(English version of the post named "Rencontres et Kamakura")
Days go by and our Japanese trip is full of unforgettable memories. We stopped our story at the fish market. Let's go on.
Thursday, August 5th
Shinjuku
Shinjuku ! Lost in Translation is not just a movie ! We spent 1h30 trying to find JR ticket office. We went from one counter to another, we crossed ALL the station 10 times, at least because we listened to the (useless) guy of the information counter. The worst thing is that just above the counter there was a "questions and answers" sign but the guy didn't speak a word in English !
Whatever. Once this damned ticket office found, another guy told us that our bus (the one we were supposed to take) was full. #sigh# In the end, we took the Shinkansen to go to Kyoto and we stayed one more night in Tokyo.
At the hotel, we met Matthew, an Americain who works in Korea and who went to Japan during his vacation. We befriended him and spent the afternoon together. You can watch his interview HERE.
In the same time, we interviewed Sariko, the nice receptionist of Sakura Hotel Ikebukuro (the best Sakura Hotel !). Interview of Sariko.
Friday, August 6th
Meiji temple and Yoyogi Park
Visit of Meiji temple and its gardens. A surpising and quiet place. Hard to believe we're in the centre of Tokyo. During this visit, we met Angel, a 16 years old Chinese girl, who went and saw her onii-san (brother). Naturally, we interviewed the young lady. Interview of Angel.
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| Tonnels of French wine - Meiji Temple |
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| Gardens of Meiji Temple |
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| Meiji Temple |
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| Meiji Temple |
Then we visited Yoyogi Park, right next to the temple. Well, to be hosnest, we were so tired that we were almost lying on the bench. Next, we followed the music produced by a concert not far from where we were. This concert was part of a festival for Peace. Indeed, it was the anniversary of Hiroshima's bomb.
At this festival, we met Yoshi, a Japanese guy who studied in London (Can you imagine it ? A Japanese guy who can speak very well English ! and without any weird accent !) and who came back to Japan 2 years ago. Naturally he was interviewed and he sang us a nice song about sakura. Interview of Yoshi.
During the evening, Sakura Hotel organised a party with bartender and DJ's from Ginza. It was an international party and a good way to meet lots of different persons. We discussed with Japanese who can't hold their liquor (2 glasses and hop! they lay on tables... impressive) and with 2 French student (one came from Grenoble, the other from Ethiopia).
Saturday, August 7th
Kamakura
We started with a famous shrine (I don't remember its name). It was magnificent, with a giant water lily "forest" (higher than us).
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| Giant water lily |
And then a drama ocurred. 2 Russian wanted to take a photo of us but we didn't know them ! Strange... Then Solinette was stalked by an Oji-san (old man). Beurk! And the worst thing is that he stay right next to her all day long! 'Cause this old man was a volunteer guide (the guide of the two Russian) and visited the same place.
With this disgusting story, we almost forgot to speak about the nice places we saw at Kamakura: Hase Temple and the Daibutsu (giant Bouddha).
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| Hase Temple |
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| Hase Temple |
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| Daibutsu (Kamakura) |
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| Daibutsu (Kamakura) |
During the evening we saw a wonderful fireworks like only Asian can do. It lasted 2 hours (!!!) and gathered thousands of persons. See the fireworks HERE.
Jane (see you)
Gaellou and Solinette
