I arrived in Tokyo on a Saturday afternoon. Getting there was not fun. My United flight out of Phoenix was delayed a bit due to fog in San Francisco, which made my connection time in SFO very tight (25 minutes or less.) The only way I could possibly have a chance of making the flight to Tokyo was to run through the airport. Now, I am not a runner...at all. I also have not done a pure cardio workout in quite a while. So this impromptu morning exercise, while already suffering from lack of sleep, was a little too much for me. I ran in spurts as much as I could, but had to stop to walk here and there to catch my breath. By the time I got within sight of the gate, my throat was burning, I was gasping for breath, and I could not feel my feet. I also felt like I was going to start coughing up blood. Luckily, I made it in time to board the plane with a few minutes to spare. But it turned out that other flights into SFO had also been delayed, so the aircraft was being held at the gate for about 30 minutes to allow time for those people to make the flight. Thus, I nearly died for nothing. (Yes, this is over-exaggerating, but that was how I felt at the time.)
Note to self: I really need to add cardio exercise to my regular workout routine. But first, I need to start a regular workout routine.
Due to the delay, and since I was not in fact coughing up blood, I decided to call my mom.
Lunch/Dinner
Snack. I have no idea what it was.
The entertainment options on this Boeing 747 were non-existent. Economy class did not include personal in-seat entertainment, only what was offered on the main screens in the cabin. After suffering through Maleficent, I watched Draft Day, which was actually pretty decent. (Side note: I completely identified with one of the quotes from the movie. The definition of a Clevelander is "to have idiotic hope at all times.") The flight itself was uneventful otherwise.
I got to stare at this wall for 10+ hours.
Getting through immigration and customs at Narita Airport was a breeze, though I felt a little nervous passing through the Health Department's body temperature checkpoint. Next was a 40-minute ride on the Starliner express train from the airport, and then walking about 15 minutes (with one full-size and one carry-on suitcase.)
The Starliner was the more expensive option to get into town, but well worth it. Fast, smooth, quiet, and not crowded.
I don't know what the purpose of these yellow ridges on the sidewalks are, but they were everywhere and my suitcase hated them.
Finally, I was at the hotel. This meant, it was time for me to crash. (Yes, I know this is not what you are supposed to do to get over jet lag. More on that later in a separate post.)
That bed is calling my name.
I slept about two hours, waking up a little past 7pm. Prior to arriving, I was aware that the hotel was having a sushi party that evening. I was so looking forward to it, but in that moment I could have just slept right through it and not cared. But I forced myself to go. It was nice, but "party" may have been too strong of a word for it. I did learn that Japanese people like squeeze mayo in their sushi. Who knew?
Woke up from my jet lag coma long enough to enjoy my first "real" sushi...
...handmade by a maid!
I went to bed around 9:30pm and had a bit of a restless night's sleep. I woke up for good at 4:45am, which is the typical result that Asian jet lag has on me. Sunday morning's activities included walking around Asakusa, where there are tourist shops and a temple. The shops were still closed when arriving in the morning, but just 1-2 hours later the walkways were teeming with people.
The outer gate of the temple.
Almost none of the shops are open yet.
Sensō-ji Buddhist temple.
My first purchase. A wood carving done by a little old man.
After a breakfast break at Tully's Coffee and a stroll by the river, it was more walking around and looking at the various shops.
Mmmm, a butter almond soft pretzel and chai tea with gum syrup.
Tokyo Skytree is the tallest tower in the world and the second highest structure in the world. It actually did not seem that big while I stood here.
You can never have too many cute little bowls.
The last activity of the morning was a visit to a Cat Café. No, this is not where you go to eat cats. It is where you go to pay money to pet and play with cats. It sounded very fun in my head, but was actually a little boring and awkward, mainly because you're just sitting there staring at 21 mostly sleeping cats for an hour. But at least it was relaxing and a break from walking around. Plus it was interesting to learn a little more about Japan from the café's owner. (For example, she said that a normal Japanese person cannot take more than a few days to one week of vacation at a time or else they will lose their job. Thus, they can only travel to places that are a short plane ride away at the most.) FYI: All the cats at this café were rescued from the streets or abandonement. Link to this café: http://asakusanekoen.com/index_english.html
A cat's eye view.
Here kitty, kitty, kitty.
The afternoon and evening were spent in Akihabara. This is a more lively part of town than Asakusa.
I discovered that for the most part, Tokyo is very quiet...until you enter an arcade, where the sounds are deafening loud. I was losing steam from jet lag, but got super excited when I found the table flipping game I had been wanting to play ever since I saw it on YouTube. The game is quite lengthy, easy to play, and AWESOME! Basically, it's a way to take out your frustrations on people that piss you off. The first time I played, I chose to be a bride flipping over her wedding cake. I had gotten so into slamming the table of the game, that I nearly forgot about having to flip the table at the end. (Thus my poor result of 52%.)
The second time I played, I chose to be a fast food worker. Playing this version (which I didn't even know existed) was a dream come true! My score was much better that time, over 90%. Gee, I wonder how that could be?
The game made me work up an appetite, so it was snack time at one of the MANY pastry shops in Tokyo. You grab a tray and pair of tongs, and pick out whatever you'd like.
Jotting stuff down in my travel log. Yes, I'm old school.
I planned to stop into a maid café as well while in Asakusa. As you walk around, there are "maids" everywhere handing out flyers to promote their café. The @Home Café (http://www.cafe-athome.com/about-english/) was one of the few that was supposed to have an English speaking maid. The café itself is located on three different floors of a building, which in essence are three different cafés. After riding the small elevator up, waiting in line, reading the menu, and taking in the general vibe of the place, I came to the conclusion that this experience would be a total waste of money. It was loud, crowded, and the food did not look appealing. So, back down I went.
Dinner was at one of the few vegetarian/vegan restaurants in the city. The Japanese sure like their meat! Unless you search in advance for a veggie-friendly restaurant, it is unlikely that you will find a decent meal without any meat in it. At T's TanTan in Tokyo Station, I had their standard ramen. It tasted great, and it was so nice to not have to worry about what the broth was made of. Here's the restaurant's website: http://ts-restaurant.jp/tantan/. That's in Japanese though, so Trip Advisor is helpful too: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g1066443-d3297912-Reviews-T_s_TanTan_Tokyostation-Chiyoda_Tokyo_Tokyo_Prefecture_Kanto.html#photos
My ramen is on the right.
Side note: The voice announcements on the Metro taught me that Tokyo does not have three syllables, as I had always pronounced it. It's not "Tok - y - o," but "Tok - yo."
Days 3 and 5 of my trip (Monday and Wednesday) were spent at Tokyo (are you pronouncing it right?) Disneyland and Disney Sea. More on that to come in a later blog, but to sum it up, I have a love-hate relationship with the place. The crowds and lines, at Tokyo Disneyland in particular, are insane. It definitely does not make for a "magical" day. Both of those days started by leaving the hotel around 6:30am, and not returning until 11pm. My back and feet killed me the entire remainder of the trip, and these two looooooooong days are why.
Tuesday started out with a cooking class in the complete opposite part of town - the west side. This was a private paid class with a Japanese woman, Yuka Togami, that began teaching out of her home about a year ago. The class starts by shopping together at a grocery store. She explained and pointed out some of the unique products, such as the pickled section of the refrigerator case.
The pickled foods section. (I think Japanese people will eat anything as long as it's pickled.)
Yuka telling me all about miso.
Pan frying the Yakisoba.
Making the miso soup.
My first time making sushi. Super sticky!
Before it gets rolled up.
I was commended for my fine rolling skills.
You are supposed to wipe the knife off between each cut.
Ta da! Here's our fabulous Japanese meal!
Let's eat, I'm starving!
Waiting for the bus after class with Yuka's cute puppy, Mario. (She has another dog named Luigi.)
The afternoon involved zigzagging across town. Outside of Shibuya Station, I watched the street fill up with people at Shibuya Crossing/Pedestrian Scramble. This is a busy intersection where seven roads come together. The lights turn red all at the same time to allow people to cross the street in all directions. I was so sick and tired of walking by this point, that I opted just to watch people have fun crossing the street rather than do it myself. The street did fill up with people, but it was no where near the craziness level that I imagined it to be. This is supposedly the busiest intersection in the world. I think that's up for debate.
This day was a National holiday in Japan to mark the beginning of autumn, which made the next activity pointless due to poor planning. After a long metro/train ride, I arrived at the Imperial Palace. #1: It was already 4:45pm. #2: The place was closed due to the holiday. So, I could see the gate and moat around the palace, but not much else. At least there was a bench to sit on to enjoy the limited view as the sun began to set. Visiting the palace and its gardens will be first on my list whenever I happen to return to Tokyo.
The original plan was to also visit Harajuku to experience Tokyo's youth culture, but I was too exhausted. It also would have meant taking yet another long ride on the Tokyo train/metro system since a visit here should have been done between visiting Shibuya and the Imperial Palace. So I guess this is on the list for my next visit too.
Side note: It is extremely humid in Tokyo. It has been a while since I've spent a significant amount of time in a humid climate. Between that and the soft water, my hair looked like it could be in a Pantene commercial. (I've got to perfect my hair toss first though.)
After packing (fun fun!), my last day in Tokyo began yet again in Asakusa for some last-minute shopping. By this point, I would have been willing to try acupuncture to help alleviate the pain in my lower back from all of the endless walking. I decided to have lunch once more at T's TanTan. I got the same ramen as last time, along with a side order of the Smile Curry. The curry sauce was good, but surprising because it tasted more like a black bean burger than curry.
With a little time to spare before needing to head to the airport, I was able to take a stroll through Ueno Park which was near my hotel. The park is huge and contains a few temples and shrines. There wasn't enough time to stop into one of the museums, but walking around the park was a nice way to cap off the day, even though it was super humid and warm.
Pretty manhole cover.
A picture of me taking a picture of the pretty manhole cover.
A bird trying to eat Doritos out of the bag. (Right after this shot, he dropped it.)
A huge Buddha statute used to be in this spot hundreds of years ago, but it broke apart during earthquakes. (That is, if I am remembering correctly what the sign here said.)
Japanese Tidbits and Oddities:
- It is not as expensive here as you may think. My hotel was just fine and only cost $69 a night.
- Some of the unique Kit Kat flavors:
- For beverages, they offer sugar as a sweetener, but also gum syrup.
- I think this is Law & Order Tokyo:
- Overall, the city is very clean, quiet, and orderly.
- One of the chimes on the JR transit line sounds like "Sweet Child of Mine."
- I saw several things here that no longer exist in the US:
- Of the few sweets I tried, chocolate-coated stuff is not good here. It tastes more like brown wax than chocolate, and it will stick to your teeth.
- All of the public bathrooms I used were free, clean, and spacious...with normal (or even fancy) toilets.
- Their napkins have some sort of plastic coating to them, which basically makes them useless.
- One of the items geared towards tourists is Tokyo Banana. It's a soft sponge cake with a custardy banana filling. There's also Tokyo Banana Roar, which has a caramel flavor. I have only tried the banana one thus far, and the taste was pretty blah to me. So, I suggest saving your money.
- Getting tap water to drink is not a problem. Many restaurants even have pitchers of ice water and cups sitting out.
- And if you're thirsty, a vending machine is never far away:
- They have vending machines for just about everything actually:
- I'm not sure what percentage of Japanese people can speak English, but it definitely is not more than 40%. So study up on some Japanese words before going there!
- Two things that happily surprised me about this trip: I got a little tan and I lost a little weight.
- I don't think I saw a single person with wavy or curly hair (natural or fake.)
- I was shocked by the lack of Hello Kitty's presence in this country. I did see this though:
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