Japan Adventures – Museums and Shrines

Today, we’re talking about the museums and shrines we visited. This includes Ghibli Museum, the Museum of Nature and Science and Meiji Shrine.

Ghibli Museum

I’m sure most of your guys know about Studio Ghibli. They’ve made a lot of well-known animations including My Neighbour Totoro, Howl’s Moving Castle, Spirited Away and so much more. Getting tickets for this is actually very tricky. There’s three times you can come in during the day, and they only sell certain amounts. So you have to get these months in advance! It was a bit confusing to get to Mitaka, we took a combo of trains. From the station though, there is a bus that will take you straight to the museum. It’s hard to miss.

We weren’t allowed to take photos of inside the museum, which was incredible! We got lots of background information on the films, including storyboards, concept art, models and heaps more! We also got to watch a short film that you can only see at the museum. The outside areas were free to photograph, and they all looked like they belong in Ghibli museums. The front entrance was very popular for a good reason. In the end, I bought an official Totoro stuffed toy from the gift shop.

One of my favourite exhibitions inside was the food one. They had lots of models of the actual food from the movies, and it all looked so real!! There was also a cafe in the museum, but it was really packed and we didn’t want to wait. They had a side stall that sold hotdogs and icecream which we stopped by at. Outside near the roof, they had a robot soldier from Laputa Castle in the Sky.

We all had such an amazing time at the museum. If you get the chance to go, even if you’re not a really big fan of Studio Ghibli, it’s an amazing place to see!

National Museum of Nature and Science

This museum is very close to Ueno Zoo so we visited right after. We didn’t stay too long though as I started getting really hungry as it was getting to 3pm and we hadn’t had lunch. Getting that out the way though, I really liked the museum! There were lots of exhibitions, all about  technology, science, animals, nature and everything.

There was a special exhibition on about the human body which I was really wanting to see, but it cost extra and I was getting a bit hangry so we didn’t go. Always make sure to eat before visiting things people. My favourite thing we saw here though was definitely the dinosaur exhibition, where they had reconstructed heaps of skeletons!

All in all, I do wish we had explored a little more of the museum. Especially the human body exhibition as it looked really cool!

Meiji Shrine

There are quite a lot of shrines and temples in Japan, but this is one of the most famous ones in Tokyo. It’s quite close to the Harajuku station, so we stopped by before visiting the Hedgehog Cafe.

I really enjoyed the walk up to the shrine. There were lots of these big official entrances along the way. Despite the amount of people around, it was still a very peaceful walk.

I really liked seeing all the lanterns along the way. I’m sure that if you came before daylight, they’d look so cool all lit up. We also saw this little exhibition made out of rice paper. Each one had a unique design. The walk up to the main shrine took around 20 minutes, but it didn’t feel that long! It’s such a beautiful and serene space.

Once at the shrine, we looked around for a bit. The architecture is definitely very interesting, but we didn’t stay too long. We were keen on getting to the hedgehog cafe if I’m honest. We had our priorities. I’m still really glad we stopped by though!

Previous Japan Posts:

• Zoos and Cafes
• Japan Highlights

Tomorrow, I’ll be talking about what we got up to in Kyoto and Osaka!

Angela.

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We’re Back from Japan!

Hello friends!!

We made it back home a few days ago, and we had such a blast in Japan! It was such a beautiful place, and we had so many new experiences! We managed to see and do pretty much everything we wanted to. There wasn’t a day where we didn’t go out and explore, and I would love to go back again one day!

That being said, it feels really nice to come back to blogging after a long break! I have so many Japan posts planned, it pretty much carries me into April. I’ll be back to blogging everyday for the rest of the month, just because I have so much I want to share! While I organize all our adventures into cohesive posts, I have made a little montage of our trip from the little videos I took along the way. As I fully wanted to enjoy the trip, I didn’t do vlogging of any kind. The videos are more little clips of where we were, and mostly of the animals we came across!

I hope you guys enjoyed the sneak preview of our trip to Japan! I’ll get a lot more in-depth in the posts of everywhere we went and what we did. There’ll be a lot of photos, but I won’t share all of them, as I literally took thousands!

If you guys were following me on Instagram then you would have seen quite a few photos from Japan already! I was very active when it came to posting photos and sharing stories on there, which you can still check out if you want to. I’m really happy to be getting back into blogging, I’ve missed my online friends!

Tomorrow, I’ll share all about Ueno Zoo, and our visit to the bird and hedgehog cafe!

Angela.

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Peru Adventures – Iquitos

The last chapter of our Peru Adventures. It was an amazing experience altogether! I’m so glad I did it, I have so many stories from it! I hope you enjoy this final chapter and entry on my trip to Peru!

After our Amazon adventure, we spent our last few days in Peru mostly relaxing at the hostel. We stayed at Golondrinas Hostel, which was lovely, as it had a pool. As we were winding down and getting ready to come back home, we didn’t do as much the three days we were there. We visited the Plaza de Armas as we always do, and took a look around the local neighbourhood.

We did visit Pilpintuwasi, which is a nature and wildlife conservation park. Entry tickets were only 10 soles ($4 NZD) for students. Getting to the park itself was a bit trickier. You have to take a boat there, and arriving at the dock, you will be bombarded with many people offring to take you there. Sarah and I pushed our way through and went with an English speaking gentleman who took us over in a little boat. He was under the impression that I was a local taking Sarah around. He was surprised when I said I was also from New Zealand. We made it to the park in no time and went off to explore.

We saw lots of animals again. Toucans, parrots, butterflies…Orcilla, Sloths, capuchin and uakari monkeys, and more. These were all rescue animals and being looked after by mostly volunteers. We really enjoyed having a look at the butterfly farm too.

All in all, this month long adventure was an amazing experience. I saw and did so much that I would never have done if I didn’t join Sarah on this trip. The pictures and videos I took are all safely stored so I can peruse them as much as I want. Relieving them through this blog again has been a blast! We did stop by Tahiti for a few days on the way back, but I’ll save that for another day 😉

Angela.

30 Day Movie Challenge – Day 3

Day 3 –  A Favourite Action/Adventure Movie

You guys may know that I love superhero films, they’re so much fun, and I love getting caught up in all the fight scenes and CGI going on! But, my choice for today’s prompt is not a superhero one!

Edge of Tomorrow (a.k.a. Live Die Repeat)

I loooooove this movie. I hadn’t really heard much about it, it kind of went under most people’s radar, which is hilarious as this movie is amazing and there’s so many big names in it.

The film’s story was adapted from a Japanese novel called “All You Need is Kill”. Basically, in 2015 aliens (called Mimics) arrived on Earth via a meteorite and start attacking. The film is set in 2020, where the Mimics have spread over most of Europe and are killing everyone in their way. Tom Cruise plays William Cage, he’s in public relations, convincing people to join the fight, but not having any combat experience himself.  His superior orders him to be there for a landing operation against the aliens, meant to turn the tide and end the war. He initially declines, but they send him off anyway. During the operations, Cage is killed, but wakes up the day before the battle. From here, he gets caught in a time loop, eventually teaming up with Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt) to find a way to defeat the aliens. Rita is a seasoned soldier, very well-respected and feared, nicknamed the “Full Metal Bitch”.

That’s a lot to take in yes. When I first watched this movie, I didn’t even know the plotline. Rory mentioned he wanted to watch it, and I said sure why not. This movie was incredible. The plot, writing, storyline, dialogue, humour and acting made this film such a thrilling and action packed watch. I’ve since heard they’re doing a sequel, and I’m not so sure about that. But then again, I doubted the first one, and it blew my mind.

Have you guys seen Edge of Tomorrow?

What’s your favourite action/adventure movie?

Angela.

Danger!

The theme for this week’s Daily Post Photo Challenge is Danger!

Here’s my little post about some of the (smaller) dangers we face, and the thrill we get from them.

What’s life without a little danger, or a little risk?

We go to (not super) extreme lengths to get a really good shot. We know the risk, so we can take precautions and be careful, and get that amazing photo.

We go to zoos to get close to dangerous animals and see them up close. We trust the zookeepers to keep us safe, rely on their knowledge to provide  a safe, yet thrilling experience.

We go to amusement parks and festivals for the rides. The danger leads to excitement, it gives you a thrill that makes you scream. Afterwards, you’re either left shaking with relief, or wanting more. (For those interested, I fall in the former category. They’re too much for little old me now, my younger self would be disappointed).

Bugs always give me a personal sense of danger. They’re small, but so scary for some reason. Wasps in general can go suck it.

Now this last one isn’t a photo by me, but they are the biggest danger in my world.

Lego pieces can also suck it. I stood on one when I wasn’t wearing shoes at the centre yesterday. They are a hazard and a danger to people not wearing shoes everywhere, and they must be stopped.

That’s it for this one! This was a harder theme for me, but I’m happy with what I’ve come through with  😀

Thanks for reading!

Angela.

 

Wanderlust

Today’s inspiration for the photo challenge is Wanderlust. When I first saw that, I thought, “Damn, I used all my best ones last week for the Earth Challenge”, but you know what? I take a lot of pictures when I visit places, so consider this the next installment 😀

If you want to see last week’s photos about some of the wondrous place I’ve seen on Earth, you can click on Earth and the Wonders I’ve Seen.

I’ll also include links to posts I’ve written about my travels to the specific photos. So if you’d like to see more, go and click. Or not. I’m not your boss 😛

Wanderlust inspires us all to travel. You see incredible things that you didn’t think you would. Sometimes this happens while sitting in a plane, and the clouds seem like you could almost touch them.

In Fiji, you find clear blue seas and white sand beaches. The most incredible part is that the water is warm, and there’s so much life to see underwater, not too far from the shore. Honeymooning in Fiji.

Can’t forget my recent trip to Peru that I keep (and won’t stop) bringing up 🙂

The Salkantay Trek took us through hills, lakes, mountains..and the top of the Amazon rainforest. Salkantay Trek.

The cities had elaborately decorated town squares, and colourful markets with homemade goods to sell. Arequipa

Our stay in the Amazon rainforest led me to some strange and wondrous sights. Like giant lilypads that I might be able to sit on (I didn’t try though).

Also, through the rainforest and Iquitos combined, I got to get near lots of animals that I rarely see. More links here – Amazon Rainforest, Iquitos.

One of my favourite spots in Sydney is the Chinese Garden of Friendship. It feels like you’re stepping in another world, within Sydney itself. You can read more here at Chinese Garden of Friendship.

Finally, sometimes you don’t have to go far to discover new places. Tongariro Crossing, one of my very first posts if you’re interested!

Thanks for reading and letting me show more of my pictures from my travel!

Angela.

Iquitos

The last chapter of our Peru Adventures. It was an amazing experience altogether, and was new Territory for me. But I’m glad I did it, I have so many stories from it! I hope you enjoy this final chapter and entry on my trip to Peru!

Peru Adventures – Part 9. Iquitos