Tokyo Japan Marathon Trip - Feb 28 thru March 11, 2024 - Part 1

In the summer of 2023, My friend Jeanette and I decided that we were going to run the Tokyo marathon together.  We wanted to make sure that it was a 'sure thing', so we decided to pay to play instead of taking our chances with the lottery.  Jeanette found a charity called Plan International that still had spots open for the 2024 marathon.  

Day 1: March 1st: Imperial palace, Packet pick-up at Expo, 

The first thing we did was visit the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.  Jeanette did all the paperwork for us so that we could get access.  It was interesting to see, but not that exciting. lol

The Sky Tree - We went up inside.  And during our time there, the cherry blossoms were just starting to bloom.  That is their 'busy' season.  

The one thing we noticed about Japan is that there really is no country side....the city just goes on and on and on.  Even when we rode the bullet train from Tokyo to Hiroshima, there was no real countryside.  It's just city for miles non stop!

Kaminari-mon Gate - We got to run by this during the marathon.

Senso-Ji Temple behind the gate.  I had to capture this lady doing instagram posing.

I don't know all the meanings, but at the temples, there are 'customs' that people follow.  One of the things people do is buy a packet of incense and light it in this large pot.  Then they 'pull' the smoke from the incense into their face. 

Jeanette and I at the front of the Expo

After running around Tokyo for a bit, we headed to the Expo.  Jeanette and I ran with a Charity called Plan International.  We had to write an essay and donate around $800 USD to the charity.  The one thing with charities for these large races is this:  You can ask for donations, but you HAVE to put your credit card on file with them.  If you do not get enough donations by their end date, they charge your credit card the difference.  Since I had already done a charity for NYC, I didn't think I could really ask people to donate for another race for me.  So, I just paid the whole amount myself.  You have to pay to play in these big races.  Anyway, the girls at the booth for Plan International were really nice.  They gave us some swag and they even wrote our names in Japanese on a sticker arm band that we wore during the race.  And they made Gary take a picture with us. haha

Day 2: Check out a Temple in Tokyo and Visit cousin Laura and Rich at the Naval Base - Saturday, March 2nd

Zojo-ji Buddhist Temple

All the Buddhas and their little hats 

My cousin Laura and her family are currently living on the US Navel base outside of Tokyo.  I thought it would be really cool to visit them for the day and see the base.  Visiting the base was probably the coolest thing I have ever done!

We took the train to the Yokosuka Chuo Station.  Laura and Rich picked us up right outside of the station.  They took us to the base to show us around and where they lived

It was so cool seeing the battle ships and subs sitting in the harbor!  We weren't able to take a tour of the boats, but hopefully next time in 2025 when we are there again!

You can see the subs sitting there in the harbor

The property line telling you that you are entering "US Property".  There is a guard tower sitting there checking IDs and passports.  However, since we were with Rich and Laura, it wasn't like going through the TSA or anything.  We showed our passports and that was about it.

Baby Yoda was guarding the front door.

Rich is a firefighter trainer.  He trains the young sailors how to fight fires when they are out in the ocean on a sub or on a ship. Laura said this is the first job he has had in the Navy where he has been a 'regular dad' and not deployed for months on end.  This entire room smelled like jet fuel.  Rich said they light up this fake helicopter and train the guys to put out fires and save people.
There were also rooms that were set up like bunks or the kitchen on a ship.  He said they have to train them to be able to put out fires in various scenarios.  They even have a room that they fill with water to simulate a sub leaking water and burning.  

Another view of the large helicopter room

'dead' bodies everywhere

This is a 'kitchen' that they set on fire.  The fire fighters need to understand how to handle different fuels...from the jet fuel to grease fires.  You are in a floating tin can out on the sea, so you need to know how to manage the fires.

After the tour of Rich's work, we went to their 'apartment' to see where they lived.  They all live right on base and their 2 sons go to high school right there too.  Their daughter graduated, but she lives there and works on-stie.  Then we went to lunch at this rotating sushi place.  It's so cool!  You use an ipad to order food.  The food comes down on the conveyor belt.  There is an 'off ramp' at your table where the food gets off the main conveyor belt.

Laura, Me and Rich.  After a few hours of hanging out and visiting, we had to get back because I had a marathon to run the next day!  It was so cool getting to see the base and visiting while we were there.

Race Day!  March 3rd

The temperature was around 40 degrees the entire time we were there, BUT it never rained and the sun shined every day.  Here Jeanette and I are ready for our race.  I'm freezing per usual.

I didn't really take any pictures during the run.  The one cool thing is that there are a lot of 'out and backs' during the course.  For a few seconds, I was able to see the Elite runners come through.  That was pretty cool, because that doesn't happen at every race.  The other thing I remember distinctly, is that the Japanese people are a very quiet and reserved people.  During my other 'big' city races, people were cheering and yelling (and drunk) for the entire race.  Not the Japanese.  There was a TON of crowd support, but they stood very reserved and clapped and not a lot of loud cheering.  I guess Americans and the English are a different breed! haha

Jeanette and I at the finish!  This towel / hoodie is my most favorite thing I got at the race!!  It's super warm and soft and has a hood!  Because we were part of a charity, we got a special room to hang out in after the race.  They had food and massages there for us.  Jeanette and I were standing there talking about our experience during the race.  We were saying out organized and efficient this race was! Even the water stations were organized.  You were supposed to go to the water stop that matched with the last number on your bib.  And a Japanese woman overheard us and said "Welcome to Japan!".

That evening, we all went to dinner at this restaurant that served Shabu-Shabu.  You get this giant pot of 2 different broths. They bring you thinned sliced meat and you cook the meat in the pot of broth.  You also get veggies to add to the broth as well.  We had drinks and I don't know how many different meats.  All together this was our most expensive dinner the entire trip....a whopping $50ish bucks.

L --> R Jeanette's mom Judi, Jeanette, their mutual friend Kirsten, me and Jeanette's sister Traci.  After the race, we parted ways.  They went on to Kyoto and we went on to Hiroshima.

March 4th - Daruma Doll Festival

The Monday after the race, we traveled by train to this Jindaiji Temple where they were having a Daruma Doll festival. 

They have booths with 'fair food'.  We tried a bunch of different stuff

A common 'fair food' were these 'balls'.  They would put cabbage, octopus tentacles, a quail egg and some other stuff in this dough and then fry them in the trays that you can see above.  Once they are cooked, they but them in a tray with a sauce on top and some fresh seaweed.  I ate a couple, but this particular fair food I struggled with because of the texture and smell of the seaweed.  But at least I tried!

At the Temple, there were all these vendors that sold red and gold Daruma dolls.  These 'dolls' are just heads that have blank eyes.  Not sure the material they are made of, but they are not glass, wood or plastic.  Maybe some kind of paper Mache material? Anyway, we bought a few of these doll heads.  The point of the doll is for luck for the next year.  They only do this festival at one temple and over one weekend every year.  People from all over come here to buy the doll heads and 'make a wish' for the next year.  We were the only white people here.  Everyone else was Japanese.

These are garbage-crusher-bins.  I never could see behind the curtain, but I could hear machines crushing the doll heads.  What happens is that if your 'wish' came true from the previous year, then you are supposed to bring the doll head back here and throw it in the bin.  They then crush the heads and burn the bin of doll heads.  The Japanese are very serious about completing this activity.

Once you buy your doll head, then you can stand in a line to have a Monk draw a Japanese Character on one of the eyes.  You need to give them some Yen as a donation for them to do this.  The other eye is left blank.  You only fill in the blank eye once your 'wish' has come true.  

A lady getting her doll inscribed by a Monk

After the doll festival, we took the train back into Tokyo and stopped along the way to check out a few different major streets.

We stopped at the Shinjuku train station to see the Godzilla head

Then we visited the Takeshita Street.  This place was packed.  Lots of young Japanese girls dressed in stereo typical Japanese fashion

It was on this street that I found the most wonderful thing!  You could pay around 15 USD to play with otters for about 30 min.  I was all in!!!

This was the most fun ever!  You had to put on a mask, the pink jacket and a heavy blue apron skirt and the slippers to go inside

We all had a number tag (my was 47 as you can see above).  The girl who was the otter monitor would put treats in the dog toys, and put a toy and an otter on your lap so you could pet them.  They were freaken adorable.

The two Asian girls holding their phones were like the 'otter whisperers'.  For some reason the otters loved them.  The lady who was managing the otters kept trying to separate the otters and put one on each person's lap, but then they would jump down and run back to those girls.  The girls were laughing so hard because they didn't know why the otters were doing that.  Someone said that because they were tired, they like to sleep in a group together....one was sleeping on their laps and the others just followed suit I guess.
They do pee though.....and are a little musky.  So, that evening I definitely had to do laundry to wash my clothes!  Even though my clothes didn't get peed on, I could still smell the muskiness

The last thing we did was go to Shibuya crossing.  This is the intersection that is famous for having all the people cross at the same time.  There is an observation window that you can stand in and watch as people cross.  It's pretty cool to see.  Gary and I walked across the intersection to say that we did it.

This was our last night in Tokyo before heading off on the bullet train for Hiroshima!