Hello again. It's been a long while since I posted here. Just busy with life I guess..
So this wonderful wife of mine and I are heading back to Japan to visit her parents and do the tourist thing again. It's been four years since my last trip so I'm kinda excited. My inlaws live in Hadano, about 45 miles south of Tokyo. I will be there March 16 to April 1st. My wife is staying for an extra week.
Here is a list of things we're planning to do so far. There is no particular order of preference..
1. Visit the Ghibli museum.
The official site of Ghibli Museum, Mitaka in Japan
2. Visit the Ramen Museum. (Miyako was told that the ramen here was great)
Shin-Yokohama Raumen Museum - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
3. Visit Akihabara on a Sunday when the main street is closed.
Akihabara travel guide - Wikitravel
4. Check out various flea markets
We'll be here for 16 days. Some of those days will simply be filled hanging out with my In-Laws (they are incredibly nice people). However there is still a lot of time to do some great things.
I have had a life long interest in woodworking. Last time we came down I got to check out Japanese Marquetry in Hakone. I was wondering if any of you have suggestions on what to check out in relation to Japanese Woodworking. I am especially interested in furniture and joinery in general. I'll also be shopping for used handtools (chisels and planes) when visiting the flea markets. Any thoughts?
Another thing I want to check out is a Onsen. Preferably one that lets the wife and I enjoy it together. I hear there is a decent one in Hakone but anything else near Hadano would be great.
The last time we went together we also checked out the Emperors Palace, Odawara Castle, the temple in Asakusa, Akahabara (on a weekday), Yokahama, Ginza, Tokyo Disneyland, and Shinjuku. You can see photos from our last trip here:
Japan Vacation 2007 - a set on Flickr
So any more recommendations? I would like to keep travel from Hadano to a minimum but we're willing to do over night trips if we can fit it into our budget.
Thank you in advance for your suggestions...