One of my students was ordered, by a professor, to be my tour guide for a day. I thought this was rather strange as I was standing right there watching the command take place. I would have preferred he ask the class if anyone was willing and able to show me around instead, but that’s not the way he operated. The student was very kind and hopefully had a good time despite the lack of freedom he was granted.

We planned to visit the Yellow River, but the weather was not going to make that worthwhile (as it was raining), so instead we went to the Henan Museum (河南省博物院) in Zhengzhou. The museum is fairly new, and quite nice (compared to everything else I saw in China anyway). Admission was free, and the exhibits were loaded with amazing items. The human history in this area of the world is very ancient. The Yellow River is referred to as the “cradle of Asian civilization.” Many times Zhengzhou was the capital of China, including the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

The top item is made of ivory and is over 2,000 years old.

These bronze bells have not aged much in the past few thousand years.

What do you think the above item is?

Comfy, eh?

Items with early Chinese characters were some of my favorites.

Why does a museum sign say “No spitting” you ask? Thanks to the polluted air, and the Chinese male addiction to cigarettes, Chinese people make strange hacking sounds with great regularity. They also spit those contents regardless of where they are. I can’t even count the number of people I saw spitting on a single day the numbers were so great. The sidewalks, and many other locations, are covered in the stuff. Really gross, I know, especially since no one spits in Japan, and that is what I’m now used to.

The guy on the right in this picture is my aforementioned student (and his roommate is on the left and was also my student). His English was pretty good. Perhaps that is why he was ordered to take me around. We went out for ramen after the museum, and it was quite different from the Japanese version of Chinese ramen. The noodles were wide and flat. The ramen included tofu that was noodle like. I was told that the local ramen is very different from that found elsewhere in China. Maybe the ramen that is more like that found in Japan can be had in other parts of China. Although different, it was still good.

Posted on April 1st, 2010 under China. Tags: food, museums. Comments: 1

Inside the Tokyo Museum of Contemporary Art (東京都現代美術館) I found myself surrounded by about a dozen of Andy Warhol’s “Marilyn Monroe.” How many of these did he do anyway? I’ve also seen these at BYU and in Denmark.

The Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo can be entered for free with the Grutt Pass.

Posted on December 18th, 2009 under Japan. Tags: andy warhol, grutt pass, museums. Comments: 1

There are about 20 “original” Rodin (ロダン) “The Thinker” statues in the world (not counting those that are part of “The Gates of Hell”). I think I’ve seen five of them (Tokyo, Copenhagen, Paris, Palo Alto, San Francisco). This one was a couple weeks ago in Ueno Park outside the National Museum of Western Art. In fall, I think this one looks the best.

Posted on December 12th, 2009 under Japan. Tags: museums, ueno. Comments: 2

A really good day to do touristy things in Tokyo is a weekday when my kids aren’t in school but the Japanese schools are in session. Such was the case this past Tuesday so Ryan and I headed off to Ueno Park while Ellie had a sleepover at a friend’s house. Our destination was the National Museum of Nature and Science (国立科学博物館), another place that takes the Grutt Pass.

Other than a few school groups (who mostly stuck together), the place was empty. Avoid the school groups and you can enjoy the exhibits all to yourself. Run into a school group and, if you are a foreigner, you will turn into the exhibit.

The old building (above) houses the Japan collection. The building, itself, is almost as interesting as the collection. It is one of the few buildings in Tokyo older than WW2. A new building (below) was added in 2007, and it houses the bulk of the collection.

There is little in English, but you can rent an English audio guide for 300 yen which can keep you busy for up to nine hours. We only had three hours in the place but could have easily spent all day exploring if I had not had an afternoon appointment elsewhere.

Posted on December 5th, 2009 under Japan. Tags: grutt pass, museums, ueno, 国立科学博物館. Comments Off on National Museum of Nature and Science

Our most recent Grutt Pass adventure had us at the Tokyo Sea Life Park on a Saturday morning. The place was empty in the morning but looked to be getting very crowded on our way out the door in the early afternoon. Live and learn. If you want to visit a spot like this in Tokyo on a weekend, get there at 9:30 a.m., not 1:30 p.m., and your enjoyment factor will go up tremendously.

Tokyo Sea Life Park (葛西臨海水族園) is very similar to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which we were members of about 10 years ago. They say Japan is expensive, but Tokyo Sea Life Park is a huge bargain compared to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The cost is only 700 yen (or free if you have a Grutt Pass). The Monterey Bay Aquarium costs four times as much.

Touching fish, sharks, and rays can be done at either location. Sometimes it is just as fun to watch the expressions on Japanese kids’ faces as they touch the sea life.

Here is a video of the large tank with Hammerhead sharks (シュモクザメ) and tuna (まぐろ). It seems the sharks were getting a bit frisky with their tank mates at this time of the morning.

Posted on November 16th, 2009 under Japan. Tags: grutt pass, museums, Tokyo, video. Comments: 4