Tokyo - arrival and day 1

We arrived in Japan in the early evening at around 16:45, completed the formalities, collected our preordered train passes, wifi hub and cash and were on the 18:15 train into Tokyo. The train was in the station being cleaned and its seats turned to face the direction of travel before we were allowed on. The doors lined up perfectly with the signs on the platform, so we knew where to wait. 

We were relieved to see that there were screens in the carriages, with maps and information in both Japanese and English. The journey was fast and efficient. As we passed through stations, I noticed that those waiting all waited in an orderly queue under the signs for the carriages; not milling around as one sees everywhere else. 

It takes about an hour to get from Haneda airport to Shinjuko, the area of Tokyo were we were staying. Shinjuko station is enormous and we now know that it is the busiest station in the world, handling 3.6 million people each day. Its subway system is enormous, think Kings Cross and multiple by six. A taxi delivered us to our hotel and we were happy to discover that taxis are not expensive. 

First impressions were that buildings are very tall and the city is busy. We went out to find some food at more or less the first restaurant round the corner before sleeping - we had some jet lag to deal with. Our street still had Christmas or Chinese New Year decorations. They were being taken down when we left to go to Kyoto.

The next morning we went down to breakfast, not knowing what to expect. We had eaten Japanese breakfasts in Te Anau where our landlady was Japanese. These were enormous, delicious and varied, so were were not at all sure what to expect.  We had a range of options to suit the diversity of nationalities and, of course, the staff spoke some English.

We chose the Shinjuko area because it is well situated for sights - we were aware that it was close to the red light district, and the shantytown area of minuscule bars and night clubs. At first we had just seen a busy shopping area, but going out of the back door of our hotel, we walked along old passage ways and narrow streets that had survived the building.  Some streets are just used as shortcuts, but form an area that comes alive at night. Passing the hotel was this tree lined  footpath which seemed to be completely unique in this built up area.

Within the shantytown, the narrow streets are used as an extension to the house, aircon units are parked either in front of or behind the house in the very narrow gap between the backs of houses. We noticed that there is always a gap between buildings in Tokyo, maybe to do with earthquakes.

Elsewhere, the washing machines live outside.

This bar, closed in the day, can take at maximum 8 people.  

It charges for entry and was full (three people and barmaid) in the evening.

After the immediate area, we went to find the local park, Shinjuko Gyoen National Gardens.  We were surprised and delighted to see that the cherry blossom was just starting to flower.  In the park, the cherry trees were surrounded by photographers trying to get photos not of flowers, but of birds.  John concentrated on the birds and Pat on the flowers. 

A big surprise was the colour of the grass, which is a sandy colour.  We assume that this is because the grass hasn't started to grow yet and saw no signs of green, but it does seem to be hardwearing and everyone was walking on the grass.

Although it was a busy city around it, the park is remarkably peaceful and beautifully laid out in the local style. The enormous park also contains English and French style gardens.

Complete with hungry fish

It soon became clear that the first flowering trees that we came across wasn't the only ones and that there trees more advanced and teaming with chattering nectar feeding birds.

We stopped for a traditional cup of green tea in a tea house.

This building was a gift from Japanese people in Taiwan.

 It has wonderful views across the lake.  One man had been standing still on the veranda for so long that I thought that he was a statue!

Our next stop was to be the Tokyo Metropolitan Government buildings from which one can get a good view over the city.  On the way we passed this more traditional building. 

The Government building has two towers where lifts to the 45th floor await; we entered via this courtyard 

Views from the top of the area around Shinjuko Station.

After the views from both towers, we set off for the shopping area, which is around the station and took some time to find, simply because the station is so large and getting from one side of the tracks to the other is difficult for the uninitiated.

We had appreciated that there are multiple entries to the station, but not how incredibly large the underground system is.  We set off walking underground and saw exits to a University.  The passage way is wide enough that a large area is fenced off where what we guess is to be a second moving pavement installed.  As we walked further along, we came across shops, so that there is a whole part of the tunnel system which is itself, a shopping centre.  

The difficulty is, where to get out!  Eventually, we found a likely place and arrived close to the little lane that we had walked along earlier in the day.

In the evening, we ate in a busy restaurant below our hotel where we selected dishes from a photo book!  Later we walked around the small streets again, taking a few photos. Ladies on the night were seen holding up sheets of paper with their price! 

Tairua to Aukland and Japan

Before leaving Tairua, we went to the top of the hill to look down on the bay and sea. We could drive some of the way, but after that, it was a scramble to the top. 

Over the estuary and the town of Tairua 

The estuary (Paku Bay) looking southwest 

A panorama, starting with Pauanui Beach (left/south) and ending with Tairua Beach (right/north)

On the way down

We then returned to Auckland via Thames and along the coast of the Fiirth of Thames to Auckland airport on the west coast. 

After lunch in Thames, we found a gold mine to visit! Martha mine is run by volunteers and is very much a work in progress. The story of the mine is that in 1879, two Cornish tine miners arrived in Thames and, knowing that gold had been found in two locations, decided that there must be gold in the middle, so bought the rights to the land. They worked for about 12 years, but ran out of money and found no gold. In 1800, the site was sold to the Waihi gold mining company for a small amount and money and the obvious happened, a gold seam was found in a couple of weeks. The mine closed in 1952 and reopened again when a new prospecting licence was granted in the 1976 when the price of gold rose.  

The mine was closed in 2007 for 10 years and is now in the hands of a charitable trust: an ambitious group of volunteers with many plans and projects, most of them in progress or on hold. Obviously, finding gold is the aim, meanwhile they have a museum and the mine accepts visitors. 

We started with an old film from the 1930s showing what life was like underground, then moved on to the exhibits. The museum has a certain similarity to a junk yard

John in a cage that took 7 men underground

Fly wheel from the pit head

Gold and silver are found together, at the end of the process the metals are extracted with mercury which is then vaporised and re condensed with this device leaving behind the noble metals.

Only a few surface level tunnels can be viewed. Most are too dangerous for tourists and some of the lower mines are flooded. The tunnels go down 600 metres.

These tunnels are viewable by the public

Gold bearing quartz (but not economic)

Then we continued to the airport, along the coast of the Firth of Thames

The Firth of Thames provides good feeding grounds for wading seabirds 

John spotted a wild turkey by the side of the road and managed to get its photo just before it disappeared with its large chick

We continued on the Auckland airport where we stayed the night. Now we are on a plane to Tokyo. 

Whitianga and Cathedral Cove

At the suggestion of our landlady, we drove up the Coromandel peninsular to Whitianga on Mercury bay and then up the hill of the reserve at Ferry landing on the Cooks Beach side of the bay for the view. 

We drove from the south, but the road took us to the northern side of the estuary and we needed to take the ferry South to get to the reserve. 

Part of the old stone wharf, built in 1838 for use in the timber industry. 

We clambered up the hill 

It was difficult near the top; we had to bend almost double to go under tree branches, but the views were worth it. 

We met people near the top of the hill who suggested that our next stop should be Cathedral Cove rather than Cooks Beach. We thought that it sounded more inviting and so that was our next stop. The car park was completely full when we got there, so John had to do a bit of 'French creative parking'. Cathedral Cove is a 45 minute walk away from the parking, so cars don't just roll up and move on.  

There are two other bays on the way, Gem bay and Stingray bay. This is the view from the carpark with gem bay in the foreground. Stingray beach is only just visible and a large rock at Cathedral Cove is clearly visible. 

We passed these lilies on our way

A yellow hammer with a cicada in its beak

Cathedral cove is aptly named; it feels just like the nave of a church or cathedral. 

Through the arch, there were good waves and plenty of people enjoying the sea. 

Inside the arch

We returned to the car (not towed away, fortunately) and back to our B&B, driving through countryside like this

After eating out in the evening, we saw a good sunset on our way back to the B&B

At the B&B we enjoyed our cheese plate (provided by the B&B) while chatting to our fellow guests from Leipzig in Germany. 

Coromandel peninsula

For our last few days in New Zealand, we decided to visit the Coromandel peninsula at the top right of North Island. We are staying at Tairiua, the blue dot below 

On the way from Rotorua, we stopped at Thames for a break. Thames is a 19th century town, reminiscent of a set for a western film. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't good, so photos are a bit grey. 

Most buildings in the town are made of wood

We were surprised to find this church open. It had a attendant who was probably the minister, he had spent 3 years at Ridley Hall, a theological college in Cambridge. 

Towards the river, there was a very small gauge railway

Thames has a bandstand and a croquet club 

There were several herons about in the park as the tide was completely in 

En route we spotted some sheep out for a ride

We continued on to our B&B In Tairua and after settling in, went out for a walk. The sandy estuary here is not particularly interesting, especially on a cloudy day.  The hill was a volcano.

There is a small marina

We found a number of obliging birds, heron, pied stilt and sacred kingfisher

We walked through to the Pacific beach and along most of its length. When the weather cleared a little, we could see old volcanos offshore.