Japan Trip - Part 1

The highlight of Elk's Street's summer was, as the post Sakura mentions, a holiday trip to Japan.

The trip was to visit the family of Yuko, H-M's friend from Mount Holyoke College days. Yuko's Christmas card had said, "I hope to see you in 2012," which caused your scribe to check flight prices. Lo and behold, very reasonable prices were on offer, maybe because of the problems Japan had faced in 2011, with a massive earthquake, the ensuing tsunami, and the associated difficulties at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. 

We decided to strike while the iron was hot.

While the flight tickets were relatively good value, your correspondent was  not quite prepared for Japanese prices, but, except for James Bond, you only live once.

 The start of our trip - the boys and our luggage at the railway stataion.

Boarding the Finnair flight from Helsinki to Narita, Tokyo.

Our flight was on an Airbus A340 (OH-LQE) and was largely uneventful, although Finnair get minus points for not being able to arrange a guaranteed nut-free meal for Henry. I don't know what it will take for airlines to understand that a nut allergy is potentially fatal and they should take the issue seriously.

A rather tired Thomas on the airport bus from Narita to downtown Tokyo.

Yuko met us at the Metropolitan Hotel in Ikebukuro and helped us make our way to our guest house, Family Inn Saiko.

 A few words about the Family Inn Saiko. H-M found out about this guest house, and it was an inspired choice. The price is reasonable, the cleanliness is excellent, and the staff are helpful and speak English, which makes things easier for first-time visitors to Japan. The location is in a suburban area, a 5-minute metro ride from Ikebukuro station followed by a 10-minute walk from Shiinamachi station. For people arriving with luggage, the hotel provided a voucher for a reduced price taxi fare, and the hotel website included printable instructions to give to the taxi driver describing how to get there. Travellers should take this with them as otherwise the taxi drivers get completely lost. (If this happens, call the hotel reception on your mobile phone and let them explain to the taxi driver.)

If you have mobility problems, if you want to enjoy the late-night Tokyo nightlife, or if you want the services of a luxury resort, then this hotel is perhaps not for you. But for those visiting Tokyo who are  looking for a clean, reasonably-priced place to sleep, we thoroughly recommend Family Inn Saiko.

 

And what is one of the first things we see in Japan?  Moomins from Finland!

Thomas in the hotel room. Note that the bed is a mattress on a tatami mat and the windows are covered with rice-paper blinds rather than curtains, a much less dusty alternative.

 Suburban Tokyo - a street in Toshima municipality.

The first full day in Japan was dedicated to sight-seeing around Tokyo. To make things easier, and because of possible jet lag problems, we decided that we should take a bus tour. So, after a lunch of tempura we set off on the Hato bus. First stop, the observatory floor of the World Trade Centre.

June/July is the rainy season in Japan, so the view was rather like looking from a cloud. 

View from the observatory floor, with the lower part of Tokyo Tower in the background.

H-M and Thomas enjoying the view.

 Yuko studying the guide.

 Hato bus from the top floor of the WTC - its bright yellow colour standing out in the grey cityscape.

The next stop was the Imperial Palace, which except for a small garden area is closed to the public. 

Sight-seeing in the rain.

The East Gate to the Imperial Palace.

A drop of colour in the grey

In true bus tour fashion, after our 20 minutes of freedom, it was back on the bus and off to the next point-of-call, the Buddhist temple at Asakusa.

Part of the Sensoji.

 View towards the Thunder Gate.

Raising the lanterns

View of the headquarters of Asahi Breweries Ltd. with the famous Flamme d'Or on the roof. 

Looking at the sculpture on the roof, one might wonder whether the architect had been sampling the breweries' products rather too enthusiastically.  

The tour ended with a cruise down the Sumida river. Then, what for Thomas was the highlight of the day - a visit to the Pokémon Center.

Thomas, mighty proud to be standing next to a shelf full of Pikachus.

A fine end to the day.

Brussels Trip

Continuing on the theme of travel, your correspondent, in his role as a 'union man,' spent a few days in Brussels/Bruxelles at the beginning of June. 

The aim of the trip was to learn more about the functioning (or according to some, malfunctioning) of the European Union. There were various meetings and lectures at the European Parliament, the European Commission, the European School, and the East Finland EU Office. 

The visit was effective in that I left with a better understanding of the logic behind the structure of the various institutions. The logic is impeccable. It would seem that the problem lies more with the practicalities of balancing the interests of all the parties involved, especially in  a world of propagandistic media manipulation. The latest example being the  (deliberate?) mistranslation of the words of the Finnish finance minister, Ms Jutta Urpilainen, by an AFP journalist (subsequently fired as this would appear to be not the first misdemeanour), which was picked up by the international media for further (deliberate?) minsinterpretation. Consider, for example, the contrast between the headline of the article from the eurosceptic British newspaper, The Telegraph and the contents. Maybe 'the markets,' the precise definition of who they actually are being somewhat nebulous, would be less nervous if they had a good understanding of languages other than English - every student knows that if in doubt, go to original sources. Mind you, if 'the markets' are worried about a statement made by the minister of an obscure, geographically isolated country with a mere six million inhabitants then they should seek medical help for their state of their paranoia.

The trip was not all work, there was some time for sight-seeing. Below, a few photos.

A rainy Atomium.

A rainy Grand Place.

Group sight-seeing in the rain.

 

My room-mate at the European Parliament.

 Evidence that I was there.

European Parliament building.

 Three smart colleagues.

The entrance to the Berlaymont building, home of the European Commission.

Grand Place at night.

 Grand Place at night.

Statue on Rue du Midi.

The statue is of a figure, Madam Chapeau (Mrs Hat) from a famous Belgian play. In the current circumstances, it would seem to be an apt symbol of poor citizens having to pay the price for the world's mighty financial industry's hubris.

Sakura

This post is just a teaser for the highlight of Elk's Street's summer.

Cherry blossom from the Elk's Street garden.

Girls' Cultural Trip

As mentioned earlier, H-M and Tiina went on a cultural trip to London at the end of April. This was the second such trip, and by all accounts they had a good time.


The themes of the trip were museums, vegan food and theatre. One museum, one play and one vegetarian meal was planned for each day. They stayed in a bed-and-breakfast in Kensington, the Vicarage Hotel. The hotel was chosen mainly for its central location and the girls would use it again, although I suspect they might prefer something like The Dorchester or Claridge's. Those considering staying at the Vicarage Hotel be warned, the stairs are very narrow and very steep, so don't bring heavy suitcases.


Unfortunately, there seem to be very few photos of the trip, so evidence of the truth of what went on is rather limited.

Tiina about to tuck into a vegan meal.

H-M, Sarah and Stephen.

The travellers met Sarah and Uncle Stephen for an evening out at the show, 'One Man, Two Guvnors'. Sarah and Stephen are soon leaving London and moving back up North, to the Harrogate area.

Not snow, but petals!

Two engineers outside the British Library (Isaac Newton and Tiina).

Hockey Weekends

As many Elk's Street followers will know, the Ice Hockey World Championships were recently held in Helsinki and Stockholm. After much prevarication it was decided to visit a couple of games - Tiina being the prime mover of this plan.


Weekend 1


The first hockey weekend was a trip for Thomas. Henry couldn't come as he was trying his hand at dinghy sailing.

The Hockey Bird mascot (a part of the Angry Birds family)

Thomas enjoying a pre-game hot dog.

Tiina

The teams, Switzerland and Kazakhstan, lined up for the national anthems.

The cheerleaders doing their thing.

An out-of-focus Thomas delighted at meeting the Hockey Bird.

Those looking carefully at the photos will notice the dearth of spectators. This was perhaps the major scandal of the tournament. The organisers, blinded by Finland's success the previous year, sold the tickets in packages of games and at prices that were far too high. The audience voted with their feet and the organisers eventually offered concessions. 

Weekend 2


The second weekend involved Henry, with Thomas staying at home this time. Henry's main task was to revise history with Tiina - 16th century Finnish history. With various members of royalty squabbling, it is easy to forget that the most important event of the era was the arrival in Europe of the potato.


The game we went to see was the semi-final game, Russia vs Finland. An Evgeni Malkin hat-trick saw Russia run out winners, 6-2. Finland went on to lose the bronze medal game to the Czech Republic and the Russian team beat Slovakia to take the gold medal.


In view of the ticket prices, this hockey game was an adults only affair - Henry went instead to Heureka Science Centre, a bit further down the line from the stadium in Pasila.

 Sesse and Tiina looking forward to the game.

The end of game ceremonies, with a rather glum Finnish national team.

The next day, after breakfast-buffet at the German Café Crustum, Sesse set off back home to Kotka, and Tiina and Henry went to do their history revision, leaving me to wander the streets of a sunny but chilly downtown Helsinki.


Below, a few photos.

 Central Helsinki (near the famous Cafe Strindbeg).

A museum tram at the Market Place.

Two vessels moored in Helsinki harbour in front of the Palace Hotel.

The sharp-eyed will note that the vessel on the right is M/S Brahe, which was moored in Lappeenranta over the winter and shown in the previous post. The vessel on the left is a private yacht,  Lady Kathryn V.

 

 The view from the bow.

For those of you planning a celebration, this 61m vessel, tax-efficiently registered in the Cayman Islands, is available for hire. There is room for 12 guests and the current rate is around 395,000 Euros per week. (Your correspondent will spare readers the sermon on the link between this kind of thing and current troubles in the world economy. )

 

On the Tähtitorni hill.

Tähtitorni.

Boys' Weekend

At the end of April, Tiina and H-M went off to London for a short trip full of culture and vegetarian food, leaving the boys to their own devices. 

On the Saturday, there was the local Grand Prix, a motor race for environmentally-friendly (-ish) vehicles, and on the Sunday, the annual scout parade.

Below, a few pictures.

The advertising flyer for the great event.

The races had two main classes: human-powered vehicles and electricity-powered vehicles. In the latter class, the winner was not the entrant that crossed the finishing line first but the entrant that used the least electrical energy to complete the course.

Some of the competitors were quite professional, others made up with enthusiasm what they lacked in professionalism.

A rather professional electro-assisted low rider tricycle.

Crowd favourite Lauri.

A vehicle packed with sophisticated electronics.

And in the amateur category, we have...

... a professor, whose vehicle was powered with an old Black and Decker power drill (his competition ended in a puff of smoke on the back straight)...

... and an international competitor from Russia.

A good time was had by all and, luckily, no serious injuries were sustained in a spectacular crash at the tight corner into the final straight.

Electro zooming Henry.

The next day it was back into town for the scout parade. The weather was sunny and dry, even if not the warmest day of the year.

 The boys' troop setting off on the march.

Spot the boys! (Clue: They are not blonde.)

The Girl Guides also took part.

While the boys were marching around town and taking part in the church service I waited in the harbour, where the event was to end with a scout picnic.

M/S Brahe, docked in the harbour.

S/S Leppävirta, built in 1904 and recently restored.

Scout picnic, which involved lots of shouting

Handicrafts

It is the time of year when the boys start bringing things home from school. The school reports arrive at the beginning of June, but first come the results of various handicraft projects.


Below, photos of two examples received thus far:

 A model lighthouse as made by Thomas. Yes, the light does really work!

A wooden stool made by Henry. The stool in the woodwork class and the cover as part of his textile work.

Well done, the boys! And I suspect that there is more come soon.