Harajuku, Akihabara, and a View I Won’t Forget

 Food, Japan, Travel  Comments Off on Harajuku, Akihabara, and a View I Won’t Forget
Dec 212011
 

Today was my last full day in Tokyo, and there was a lot of stuff I had to get done, so more so than a touristy day, it was more of a shopping/shipping day.

For starters, I’ve been battling this nasty sore throat for two days now. It hasn’t really gotten worse, but it hasn’t really gotten better. What makes it worse is going outside, or going into really dry, overheated environments. What makes it better is hot soup, cold drinks, hot showers, Ricola, and steam.

I’m glad I bought those Ricolas in Nagoya!

I wasn’t all that hungry when I woke up, so I just had some yogurt and some Emergen’C… and now I know I’ve been thoroughly trained to wash my trash by living in Japan, because without even thinking about it, I washed not only the yogurt cup and plastic spoon before I threw them away, I also washed the tear-off foil lid, too.

But the hotel doesn’t do recycling like that here, so it was a wasted effort.

It took me a while to get started today, just because I generally felt so awful. It’s probably because I’m all run-down from the last few weeks of running around like crazy without taking time to rest. My body is screaming at me to take a break. I know this.

But I’m only in Tokyo for a day and half more, and I have no idea when I’ll be back. So I kicked it into gear and got going.

The first order of business was to get the last two boxes shipped. Another reason to love the Hotel Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku, as if I didn’t have plenty, is that there’s a post office right across the street. Awesome. The only downside is that they don’t do insurance on surface mail packages. Oh well. It wasn’t valuable stuff.

After a brief break, I was off to Harajuku again, to find one of the very last souvenirs, for one of my godchildren. He’s into ninjutsu, which makes it very difficult to find a good present. I don’t want to get anything that’ll get him injured, so I went to Kiddy Land again, and found him a Samurai Kirby.

Then I stopped at Shakey’s for an interesting pizza buffet lunch of grilled onion, then pepperoni (still normal), then shrimp, anchovy, pineapple and bacon, pineapple/chicken/bbq sauce, and “Mexican,” whatever that means. I skipped “corn and mayonnaise,” because it looked gross and offended my American sensibilities.

I like corn. I like mayo. But on a pizza?? No way, no how. I’m used to the seafood stuff by now. It’s actually not bad, if it’s well-made.

All the pieces were really teeny tiny. That’s why I could eat so many.

Then I went back to Shinjuku for a brief break, then off to Akihabara, finally. The place is a zoo, now, even more so than before. Between Gundam and AKB48 cafes, I’m just waiting for the inevitable Disneyfication of Akiba.

The Vita has only been out a few days, and I already saw 3 used units for sale… all of them 3G units, if that says anything. I tried to find some used games, but the deals on the pricing just weren’t that good. Book Off has better deals.

I picked up some manga, but that was it.

I can’t believe that’s all I’m going to buy in Akihabara. I’m sure in a few months I will most surely regret this, but there’s not much I can do. I haven’t figured out a way to manufacture extra time or extend my temporary visitor status. If I stay too long, I’ll get tossed out for good, and that would be bad.

I stopped off at Oasis, my favorite pay potty in the world. Such an experience for 100 yen. I recommend it to everyone. It’s across the street from Yodobashi Camera, near JR Akihabara. You can just tap your Suica and go. (Pun intended.)

Then I headed to Yodobashi Camera to gawk a bit. It’s 9 floors of electronics. Same as it was last time I was there 4 years ago. Not much to add. Lines were huge for the Vita now. Weird. Honestly, I don’t know what to think about it.

I played with one of the demo units for a while, and I really like the graphics and play, but the price is just keeping me from buying it. Curse you, weak dollar!

Then it was time to head to Maruzen to spend the rest of my points on a few books. Marunouchi is a nice area this time of year. Starting tomorrow night they’re going to have a light display every night for a week. Too bad I’ll miss it.

One of those Special Traveling Memories

After that, I headed back to Shinjuku for dinner, at the soba shop I went to night before last, Sou Hon Kei. This was another attempt to fix my throat. Roasted duck bits and soba in soup. It was absolutely awesome. It helped soothe my throat and my spirit. The view was splendid again as well. This time I sat in the Japanese style section, so it took a bit of getting used to.

But eating duck soba and watching the trains and people come and go in Shinjuku, and staring at the beautiful skyline? That’s one of my priceless moments from this trip. It was just incredible.

I very reluctantly pried myself away from the table and the view and headed back towards the hotel. A brief stop at the local Family Mart for a few snacks for later, and that was that.

I stopped by the front desk and paid the extra fee to check out late, because my flight leaves at 7, and I want the extra time to chill out in my room before I leave. I did it four years ago, too, and it worked for me.

Right now, it looks like I’m going to be flying coach back. I can’t say I’m excited about that. I’ve been trying to see if I can get some kind of upgrade to business class, because as soon as I get home, I have a four hour 250-mile drive waiting for me the next day. I need all the rest I can get!

Now it’s just frantic packing time, and I’ll be physically, if not emotionally, ready to head home tomorrow.

Toughing it out

 Food, Japan, Travel  Comments Off on Toughing it out
Dec 202011
 

Ugh.

I felt like crap today, so I had a late start.

It’s the season for it, and when I push myself too hard over a long period of time, I can’t say I’m surprised. I woke up, and my throat was sore. I had a nice little red patch on the back of my throat from the heater blowing right on me, and maybe an incipient cold? Oh, I hope not. The last thing I want on the flight back is a cold. That would be the worst.

So I really took it slow today.

First I went to Bic Camera in Shinjuku around 1 or so. I gazed longingly at the PS Vitas (Vitae?). The WiFi models were back in stock. Nobody was buying the 3g Models… and nobody was really buying the WiFis, either.

I think that the days of the handheld gaming machine are numbered to be honest. Smartphones are killing them.

I searched in vain for something for my youngest godson. He’s tough to shop for, but I don’t think Bic will have anything for him. (They do have a decent toy section, though.)

Sekaido

I hiked a bit in Shinjuku to try to find Sekaido, where I shopped 4 years ago for office and art supplies. It’s a good store, with lots of good discounts. It has just as nice a selection in some respects as Itoya, only with much lower prices. (Like 20% off the top just for starters.)

I found it, and did some shopping there. I saw two girls get in a screaming match. That was awkward. Especially because they kept moving it around where I wanted to be.

Can’t we all just get along?

I found some good bokujuu, which is ink that’s already been ground into a liquid form for 書道. Purists don’t like it for many reasons, chief among them is a firm belief that you should grind your own ink stick and make your own ink.

That’s great if you’re getting paid for it, or if you have lots of time to grind ink. It’s not so great if you’re just an amateur like me who likes to practice, and has scant free time. Grinding ink takes 20-30 minutes. And when you use it up, it takes another 20-30 minutes to grind some more.

I found a bunch of different kinds of ink to play with when I get home. Of course that’s all going in a box by sea mail, because I don’t want an inksplosion in my suitcase.

I got some bubble wrap and a few fun cool unique Japanese souvenirs for people back home, and headed to the Post Office.

Whirlwind of Packing

The Post Office in Okazaki is more together, to be honest. I never could find the forms I needed to fill out to actually send my packages. But I did get to buy the boxes. I think this will make 6? 7? Jeez.

I went back to my room and started filling them up… after I did some suitcase triage. The room looked like a tornado hit it. A very very messy tornado, full of stuff mostly for other people.

Don’t ask me how this story ends, because even I don’t know.

I got one big box filled, but the little box full of ink isn’t full yet. There’s still room for something. I’ll have to find something to put in it later.

I Will Follow You For Chicken On a Stick!

Around 7-ish I was feeling peckish, so I headed out to Roppongi Hills again for dinner.

I went to a restaurant called Momotarou for oyakodon and various bits of yakitori. The chicken breast was ninja’d with wasabi. At first I thought they sprayed lighter fluid all over it… no, that was wasabi. Wooo! Good stuff, though.

The oyakodon was really good. Just next time, please don’t serve me with a spoon… I know how to use chopsticks already. We even have them in the US. Honest.

A quick stop at Cold Stone… OMG expensive. 510 yen for a scoop and a half of ice cream. That’s $7! For ice cream! I could get a paint bucket full of ice cream for that much in the US.

I stopped again at Aoyama Book Center, which is a neat little book store, to get my brother in law another present, a cool book that should be useful for some random movie he’ll have to work on in the future. (Or not. You never know.)

Then home, on an jam-packed train.

I still feel kinda crappy, but I don’t think I’m getting worse. (I hope, anyway.)

Great Luck, Good Food, Plastic Food

 Food, Japan, Photos, Travel  Comments Off on Great Luck, Good Food, Plastic Food
Dec 192011
 

I got a late start on the day, probably because the fatigue is catching up to me. When I look at all I’ve done in the last few months, it’s a little mind-boggling.

Today I went to Asakusa, and to Senso-ji for the Battledore Festival.

The raimon again:
Raimon Again.

Flyer for the Battledore Festival, called Toshi no Ichi in Japanese:
Asakusa Toshi-no-Ichi Poster

It sounded great from the flyers, but I didn’t see anything really special going on there. There were some extra stalls open, and some of the usual festival stalls selling the usual festival food. I used the chance to buy souvenirs for people, and took a few photos.

I went to the omikuji stand and this time I pulled a daikichi! 大吉, which means “big luck,” or “best luck.”

There are two ways to look at this.

1. Yay, I’m gonna be reaaally lucky! (A typical Western view, and somewhat typical in Japan, too.)

2. I better work hard to work off the inevitable bad karma that will come with “great luck.” (You hear this in Japan sometimes.)

I got a talisman for general safety, in case 2 comes true.

On the way back to the station, I found a taiyaki vendor. I love taiyaki, so I looked at the menu, and made a great discovery– chocolate taiyaki! Someone finally listened!

It was awesome.

Yeah, I know. They made it especially for us non-Japanese tourists who aren’t fond of sweet bean paste. And for that consideration, I thank them!

I don’t mind sweet bean paste, but give me a choice, and I’ll take chocolate just about every time.

Do Not Eat

After the good food, I decided to go to Kappabashi to get some plastic food.

There are some really neat stores there, selling all kinds of cool kitchen stuff. I could easily drop 10 bills there on knives alone, but I didn’t.

I bought some platic food instead at Satou Samples. I liked the donut “covered in glass powder.” Looks like sugar, tastes like broken glass. Yeah, don’t eat it!

I wandered around a bit, then found a station nearby.

Here are a few photos from Kappabashi.

The Tokyo Sky Tree looms over everything now:
Sky Tree from Kappabashi

A sign for a salon/beauty parlor:
Kappbashi.

A love hotel with an interesting name:
Kappbashi.

Covering Sounds You Didn’t Even Know You Wanted to Cover

Nature called. Who am I to ignore the call of nature?

I had an encounter with the oddest toilet so far. They’re right there on the platform at this station, which is kind of handy. You can hear the trains come and go as you do your business.

And I found a rarity for me in a Tokyo train station– an actual Western-style sit-down toilet.

I haven’t gotten to the odd part yet. Now I will get right to it.

When I went into the stall and started taking off my backpack and jacket, it started agressively playing this “rushing water” noise to cover up whatever wretched noises I making… taking off my jacket, I guess?

Then when I finally sat down to get around to making some wretched noises, it was already done, and fell silent, which apparently made the machine feel kind of awkward after about 5-10 seconds.

So it started back up again.

Booktown!

I headed back to the hotel, grabbed a sandwich at a station on the way, and took a one-hour break.

Recharged, I headed out to Jinbocho, and looked at a bunch of used books in a bunch of different stores, but didn’t see anything I liked. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t fun, though! Jinbocho has a lot of great used book stores if you’re looking for used Japanese-language books.

On the way to the station, I found a neat stationery store called Bunboudou, that was selling some really useful 書道 stuff, like a booklet on how to carve seals. That will come in really handy.

I also found some nice book covers for my mom, who likes to use book covers when she’s reading in public, and sometimes in private, too.

And of course plenty of postcards. Really nice ones.

I was starting to feel a little crummy, so I headed back to the hotel to rest for a bit.

Recharged again, I headed across the tracks to Tokyu Hands in Takashimaya Times Square for more souvenir shopping.

Takashimaya Times Square.

I bought more Nanoblocks as souvenirs for some of my friends (and myself!), and some Rirakuma stuff for my goddaughter. (M-Sensei at Yamasa is a huge Rirakuma fan.)

They had an amazing collection of Stuff I Can Adhere to My Cell Phone to Make It Look AWESOME. I was sorely tempted for a few minutes, I have to admit, but I decided in the end not to. I like my Nexus One clean after all. Maybe next time!

Then I headed up to the 11th/12th/13th floors in search of dinner. They have a lot of restaurants on those floors of Takashimaya Times Square in Shinjuku. I recommend it if you’re looking for a good restaurant.

I found a really nice soba shop with an awesome view of the various Shinjuku stations called Sou Hon Kei (I’m sure I butchered it), and they had a cute Christmas dinner special for 2000 yen.

I love fresh soba. Their soba was delicious, and the view was fabulous. I was revived!

I went back to the hotel after all of that and crashed for the night.

All Over Tokyo on a Sunday

 Japan, Photos, Travel  Comments Off on All Over Tokyo on a Sunday
Dec 182011
 

My main plan today was to go to Harajuku to see some cool outfits, go to Ginza to see the pedestrian mall and maybe shop a little, and do other stuff as it came up. I also needed to go to Ikebukuro to get some presents at the traditional arts center there.

A shot outside of JR Shinjuku– another beautiful day! (Nothing to do about the pole, though.)
Heading to JR Shinjuku, South Side

I started off in Harajuku. I headed down the main street, turned right, and headed to Kiddy Land, which had great souvenirs/toys last time.
Harajuku Kiddy Land

This time, it wasn’t as exciting. For starters, they moved the store to a new location with less room in it, and a lot of the funkier stuff has been replaced by theme goods, like Hello Kitty, Peanuts, etc. That’s all stuff I can get in the US for my nephew and my godkids.

I liked the old store better. It had more “funky” stuff and a cooler vibe.

Meiji Jingu Shrine

Then I headed towards Meiji Jingu shrine, and took some photos on the way.

Streets near Kiddy Land:
Harajuku Back Streets

The MoMA (NY) Design Store in Harajuku?
MoMA, Harajuku

Looking back at the main street of Harajuku as I head towards the station and the shrine/park:
Harajuku Main Street

I only saw one bunch of people really dressed up, and they were on their way out. Too slow to get a photo.

I guess I missed it? I dunno.

I got to the shrine, and walked and walked and walked. It was difficult to take good pictures, because the lighting was bad.

Here’s the entry with the IXY, which really struggled with the conditions:
Meiji Jinguu Shrine, Entrance.

My giant 60D did a little better, but not much, to be honest:
Meiji Jinguu Entrance.

A lantern I saw on the path:
Meiji Jinguu Lamp.

The shrine grounds are really pretty, but lots of shade means it’s hard on photographers:
Meiji Jinguu Gardens.

I thought this sign was interesting. The English takeaway? No smoking. But in Japanese, it also says no eating and drinking while walking:
Meiji Jinguu. No Smoking Sign.

This area was a collection of donated Japanese and French wines to dedicate the shrine with:
Meiji Jinguu, Consecrated Wines of France and Japan.

Sake:
Meiji Jinguu, Sake Barrels.

Meiji Jinguu, Sake Barrels.

Barrels of wine:
IMG_1915

Moving on to the inner garden grounds:
Meiji Jinguu Gardens.

See the red umbrella? That’s a wedding party:
Meiji Jinguu Shrine, Entrance to Naien

Meiji Jinguu Shrine, Entrance to Naien

I saw a couple of Americans in Santa suits. WHYYYY? Of course they kept getting in the way of my photos. No, I’m not showing them. They weren’t that good, anyway.

While I was snapping away, a wedding procession came through, then came back. That was pretty cool. I tried to take a video of it with my 60D, but it kept not wanting to shoot video. It was very grumpy about the whole thing. I was probably pressing the wrong button or something.

Meiji Jinguu Shrine Naien.

A few shots of the inner garden and the honden:
Meiji Jinguu Shrine Naien. Detail.

Meiji Jinguu Shrine Naien. Honden.

Meiji Jinguu Shrine Naien. Door.

After that, a group of girls and a group of guys asked me to take their pictures. I guess they figured that I knew what I was doing.

Then I headed out.

One last shot of Harajuku, near JR Harajuku:
Heading to JR Harajuku.

I went back to the room to recharge for a bit and have lunch.

Road Closed

Refreshed, I went to Ginza. Since it was Sunday, the main road was closed to traffic, and the main street turned a giant pedestrian plaza. It was like a giant outdoor shopping mall.

The buildings looked great as sun was setting.

Ginza Pedestrian Sunday

Ginza Pedestrian Sunday

Ginza Pedestrian Sunday

Ginza Stores

I headed to Itoya, one of my favorite stores on the planet.

Itoya-- My Favorite Stationery Store

People were jammed in tight there. I shopped a bit, and as I was heading out, I stopped by the pens. I found a beauty. Pilot made a special edition pen for earthquake relief for Tohoku. There was one red one left, and I bought it. It’s a gorgeous pen, and hopefully someone will benefit from my impulse buy.

I also bought some decorative paper for my sister, who loves the stuff.

Then I headed back out, and took a few photos.

Ginza Pedestrian Sunday

Ginza Pedestrian Sunday

Ginza Pedestrian Sunday

Ginza Pedestrian Sunday

Ginza Pedestrian Sunday

Ginza Pedestrian Sunday

At 5 there was an announcement, “We’re going to open the road to traffic now. Move it.”

Pedestrian heaven quickly became pedestrian hell, as everyone jammed back on to the sidewalks.

One last shot of a random Ginza Christmas tree:
Ginza Pedestrian Sunday-- Christmas Tree

I made my way to the subway, then headed to the hotel to drop off my Itoya purchases, and then turned around and went to Ikebukuro.

The Best of Japan in One Place

The reason for my trip to Ikebukuro was to pick up some souvenirs at the Japan Traditional Crafts Center. Some of the best craft work in Japan is for sale there, all in one store in Ikebukuro.

Finding it was slightly tricky, but I found it. They had a really good selection. If, like me, you want to buy a good handmade calligraphy brush, they have them from all over Japan.

The downside is that you won’t forge a relationship with the people who made it, like I did in Anjo and in Toyohashi. You also won’t get a discount for being nice and speaking Japanese. This is Tokyo, not Aichi Prefecture.

But you can find all kinds of stuff here. I found some nice brushes, one for my calligraphy teacher back home, one for a classmate of mine, one for me, and a nice print for my girlfriend back home.

On the way to the station, I found another Krispy Kreme.

Of course I bought a few doughnuts! I need the carbs… for energy! I still have way too many Krispy Kreme coupons. Every time I use one, they give me two back. I will never be able to get rid of them, and have fallen squarely into their trap!

I headed back to the hotel again to drop off my souvenirs, and decided to go to Roppongi for dinner.

Christmas in Roppongi

I went to Roppongi Hills, because the food there is good. There was also a Christmas tree-like decoration in front:

Christmas Tree at Roppongi Hills

Christmas Tree at Roppongi Hills

Christmas Tree at Roppongi Hills

I found a good sounding teppanyaki place, until I checked their menu. The prices were way too high for my budget.

So I went to the noodle shop across the hall, called Masudaya, and got great chicken soba for a third of the price.

I still kind of suck at slurping my noodles like a local, but who cares? It’s delicious!

I wanted to go to Cold Stone, because I was craving something cold and sweet after all those hot noodles, but it was closed by 9. Boo.

On the way back to the station, I stopped by Aoyama Book Center for a book for my brother in law. I may have found something there, but I’ll have to double-check with my sis to make sure it’s in his strike zone.

I saw this neat Roppongi sign made out of lights. Kind of looks like the signs on Bourbon Street in New Orleans:
Roppongi Sign

One last gratuitous photo of a subway poster while waiting for a train, full of things you shouldn’t do on the platform:
Subway Warning Poster

After all of that, I headed back to Shinjuku and passed out.

Towering Over Tokyo

 Japan, Photography, Photos, Travel  Comments Off on Towering Over Tokyo
Dec 172011
 

The first full day of my fourth trip to Tokyo was hectic.

I started off with breakfast at the hotel. 1200 yen for the buffet. It’s pretty good. Some of it is a little unexpected, but that’s breakfast in Japan. The bacon was a bit bland to me, but I’m used to hickory-smoked bacon. On the upside, you can try out a Japanese-style breakfast, or chicken out and have your Western-style breakfast if fish is too much for early in the morning.

Anyway.

After breakfast, I went over to Bic Camera to check out the PS Vita. The crowds were crazy. Everyone wanted to look at it and try it out. The WiFi version was almost sold out, and I was tempted, but I had a hard time justifying the price, which would exceed 50,000 yen if I bought everything I wanted. That’s around $700 these days. No way. That’s more than my phone cost, and my phone can do a lot more without the geographic restrictions.

Here are a few gratuitous shots of Shinjuku on the way to JR Shinjuku. The skies were amazingly clear, so the skyline looked good:
Shinjuku

Shinjuku

I headed over to Tokyo station to go to the Travel Information Center there. It took me a while to find it. It’s not in the station proper– it’s outside, in a random, unmarked building. It needs better signage for us clueless tourists, because I walked past it a few times.

I got there and spent some time talking to the ladies behind the desk there. They had a lot of good ideas for things to do, and I grabbed a bunch of pamphlets. I’ll have to sort it all out later and figure out what I want to get done in this one week I have here. (Less than a week, really. 5-6 days, tops.)

What to do next… I know. I’ve wanted to go to the Tokyo Tower forever, but I have never been able to make it happen.

Towering Ambitions

So I hopped on a few trains, and got to the Tower after a bit of a walk. I had my camera, so I took a lot of pictures.

Waiting for my train in Otemachi subway station:
Otemachi Station

On the way out of the station near the Tower, I saw a map. I’m still not sure if it’s for the Tokyo Prince Hotel, or for the Tower:
Map at Subway Station

Getting close to the Tower:
Approaching Tokyo Tower

I took a few shots from outside before going in:
Tokyo Tower

Tokyo Tower

Detail shot:
Tokyo Tower

Tokyo Tower

There was a bit of a wait to get to the main observation deck, but I got there okay. It was crowded. Today you could see Mt. Fuji, so that view was exceptionally popular. It was popular with me, too!

I had my new circular polarizer, so I tried using it… and it failed utterly. The windows are coated with something that makes the polarizer do weird things.

See for yourself:
Tokyo Tower Windows Cause Photography Problems

Yeah, even with a polarizer, sometimes I just got those weird ugly rainbows in my photos, so those went into the recycle bin. I had to use the lens bare, and deal with the reflections as I could. I did okay.

The views were beautiful. I stayed well after sunset.

Here are some of the shots I took:

You can see the new Tokyo Sky Tree under construction in the back:
Tokyo Skyline at Sunset from Tokyo Tower

Tokyo Skyline at Sunset from Tokyo Tower

Tokyo Skyline at Sunset from Tokyo Tower

Rainbow Bridge, Odaiba and the Bay from Tokyo Tower

I tried to make a panorama:
Tokyo Bay/Rainbow Bridge Panorama

Tokyo Skyline at Sunset from Tokyo Tower

I really liked this shot in particular, even though there’s a reflection in one corner, and little artifacts. It’s just pretty to me:
Tokyo Skyline at Sunset from Tokyo Tower

And then there’s Mt. Fuji, which everyone was eager to get a picture of. I had my big heavy zoom lens on me, so getting shots of it was easier, but getting non-shaky in-focus shots was still hard, because the light was going, and I had to shoot around the crowds inside the observation deck. (And some photos had weird reflections in them, no matter what I tried.)

Mt. Fuji at Sunset from Tokyo Tower.

Mt. Fuji at Sunset from Tokyo Tower.

Mt. Fuji at Sunset from Tokyo Tower.

Mt. Fuji at Sunset from Tokyo Tower.

Mt. Fuji at Sunset from Tokyo Tower.

Tokyo Skyline at Sunset from Tokyo Tower

Some non-Mt. Fuji sights:
Rainbow Bridge at Sunset

Tokyo Sky Tree at Sunset

Atago Green Hills from the Tokyo Tower Observation Deck

The sun is really going down now, so Mt. Fuji looks great!

Mt. Fuji at Sunset from Tokyo Tower.

Mt. Fuji at Sunset from Tokyo Tower.

The streets are in full light:
Tokyo Skyline at Sunset from Tokyo Tower

Tokyo Skyline at Sunset from Tokyo Tower

I really like this one:
Tokyo Skyline at Sunset from Tokyo Tower

I started to get tired and hungry, so I a snack at the cafe there. It was a little overpriced, but tasty. Then back to shooting photos!

It’s night now:
Rainbow Bridge at Night

You can barely make out the Sky Tree in the background:
If you squint, you can see the Sky Tree

Tokyo Skyline at Sunset from Tokyo Tower

Mt. Fuji at Dusk.

Tokyo Skyline at Sunset from Tokyo Tower

Here are a few shots I took with the IXY. I have no idea exactly when I took them, because the IXY clock is off. Still, this one is pretty:
Mt. Fuji and the Tokyo Skyline, IXY Version.

Then I went downstairs to the museum/gift shop area and looked around. They had a special “Always” exhibit, about the movie. That was pretty cool. They even had a big scale model of the neighborhood in the movie.

Always Set.

Always Set.

While I was down there, I saw a flier for fireworks tonight by the Rainbow Bridge at 7:00. It was 6:20-ish. Maybe I could make it if I hurry.

Chasing Fireworks

I stopped outside the Tower to take a few more photos, and headed to the Oedo Line at Akabanebashi, then rode to Shiodome to grab the monorail.

A few last shots of the Tower and the surrounding Christmas lights:
Tokyo Tower at Night

Christmas Light at Tokyo Tower

I thought the “I heart Tower” sign was cute:
Christmas Light at Tokyo Tower

Christmas Light at Tokyo Tower

Even dentists do Christmas lights here:
Christmas Light at Tokyo Tower

Tokyo Tower at Night

On my way to try to catch the fireworks, I got a little lost transferring from the Oedo line to the Monorail, so I lost some precious minutes.

As I was riding the monorail (which is pretty cool, by the way), I saw the flashes in the background between the buildings, and missed the fireworks. I got to the Rainbow Bridge area by 7:15, and they were already long over.

Boo.

So I hopped back on the monorail, took it to the Oedo line, and headed back to Shinjuku for dinner.

Skewered.

I’ve seen Memory Lane on some TV travel shows. It’s an area in Shinjuku that’s supposed to give you a feel of Showa-era Tokyo dining. Narrow alleys, lots of small restaurants all bumping into each other. I thought, “Hey that might be fun.”

So I wandered around, and settled on a small place selling yakitori. I sat down and ordered some yakitori, and found out that there was a 300 yen “seat charge.”

Seriously?

I was hungry, and I hoped that maybe the food would be worth the 300 yen extra.

It wasn’t.

It was overcooked, chewy, and generally not very good. I’ve eaten a lot of yakitori. I know good and bad. That was bad, with an extra 300 yen thrown in to boot.

I left and grabbed something else at a conbini to make up for it, then wandered around a bit more. I stopped by Yodobashi Camera in Shinjuku to see if the Vitas were selling (the WiFi was), and then to Labi to see what they were doing. More of the same. I enjoy wandering through Japanese electronics stores, because they seem to be much more exciting than the products they’re selling. It’s not just a row of vacuum cleaners, it’s an exciting row of vacuum cleaners! Something like that.

By then it was late, so I went back to the hotel, and called it a night.

Sayonara, Yamasa, Sayonara, Okazaki. Tadaima, Tokyo.

 Japan, Japanese Language, Photos, Travel  Comments Off on Sayonara, Yamasa, Sayonara, Okazaki. Tadaima, Tokyo.
Dec 162011
 

Today was a whirlwind of emotions. I started out with about 3 hours’ sleep, getting up at 5:30 in the morning so I could finish packing up 2 boxes to send home. I grabbed a shower, then ran the washing machine so it would finish before I had to leave, then stripped the bed, packed the bedding into Space Bags, and stuffed all of that into a box.

By then it was 6:30. More packing, more preparations, more running around. By 8:15, the washer finished, so I hung everything up to dry, pointed the heater at the laundry, and got ready to head out the door for the last time for class. (Note: there will be a lot of “last times” in this article.)

Heading out the door for class, one last look at the apartment area:
Yamasa Villa IV and III

A shot of the 248 intersection on the way to class:
My Yamasa Daily Commute -- 248

When I got to class at around 8:55, I was the only person there. It was kind of sad, because usually it’s pretty lively at that time.
Class Dismissed!

By 9:00, it was just me, M-sensei, and K-san. That was pretty much it for the start of class. People started to trickle in, but nobody was really in the mood to race to class today, probably because exams were over, and today was just a day to goof around before the end of the semester ceremony and all of the goodbyes.

We watched a video where a guy with a camera stalks a girl who stalks a pizza delivery guy who stalks another girl who winds up murdering the camera guy because he was stalking the first girl instead of her, so she became jealous. It was actually pretty well done. The actress who played the girl who stalks the pizza guy was very good. Her clumsiness came through really well, and she just flat out made me laugh with her physical comedy.

Anyway.

By the end of the video, we had seven people out of eleven. Not bad. Then we moved on to making 年賀状 (ねんがじょう) nengajou, or end of the year post cards everyone sends out to each other to thank them for everything they did last year, and hope that they treat them well again next year. So we made one each.

Usually, you pick a theme based on next year’s Chinese zodiac sign. Next year is the year of the dragon, so dragons in general are pretty big these days. Mine wasn’t the most complex, to be honest. I wish I had thought to bring my brush pen. Doh.

We got our grade reports. I did okay. I got a B overall. I’m pleased, considering all the work I had to put in. (And all of the traveling I did on the side!)

Class Dismissed!

Then it was time for the end of term ceremony, which was held in Aoi Hall, where I usually ate lunch when I would just grab something at Domy. It was the home to my favorite vending machine. It was the kind that would squirt your selected drink, be it hot or cold, into a paper cup. I’ve always had a soft spot for those machines.

Anyway, on to the ceremony. The deal is that a student who is leaving gets a certificate showing all of his/her hard work, and then that student has to give a speech to the assembled crowd.

Yes, a speech. I found out about this on Wednesday. Some people prepared theirs, I didn’t. Why? Simple. I had no time!

So we started with the 101 class, and slowly worked our way to 201B.

Thank You!

Then it was my turn. Fortunately, V-san recorded it for me, because now I don’t have a very good recollection of what the heck it was that I said. I do remember thanking the staff, my teachers, S-Sensei and K-Sensei. I also thanked all of the JBPP people as well.

I wanted to thank everyone who helped to make me so much better at Japanese than I was when I showed up here with my language skills in total disarray. My skills are still a bit of a mess, but now I can hold down a conversation without fear, and that’s a huge deal for me. I have a feeling that I know where to start.

Thanks to Yamasa and the people that make it a great school. You are all incredible people who do something wonderful for us who come from thousands of miles away to ask you stupid questions, and you answer them patiently and graciously.

As I stared out at all of the people I had gotten to know over such a long, yet short period of time, it all felt a little bit surreal, and my mind kind of wandered. I looked over and saw Z-san, and the first thing that I thought about was all of the fun we had in JBPP, and the class we just had on talking about nothing. So I talked about it briefly. That class was a lot of fun in particular. The JBPP gang was great. I’m going to miss them.

I don’t remember how exactly I wrapped it up, but I’m sure I used proper keigo. Lord, they’ve been trying to drill it into my head for the last three months, so I hope it has stuck a bit by now.

Then we all got together for a few group shots, and talked a bit.

The After-Party

By then, the rest of the class had decided to show up, and we all headed in the general direction of Olive Tree, which is an all-you-can-stand-to-eat Italian restaurant at the corner of highways 248 and 483.

Olive Tree Restaurant, Okazaki, Japan

The deal there is simple– you put a little sign on your table, and a lady brings you a slice of pizza until you can’t stand it, then you turn the sign around. You can also get a spaghetti dish, salad, drink and dessert. So we did.

Unfortunately for P-san, most of the pizzas were tuna, tuna and corn, and other seafood varieties. (She hates seafood.) Then again, I’m not fond of it on my pizza either, but I was starving, so I ate it anyway.

Corn Pizza with Tuna:
Corn Pizza at Olive Tree Restaurant, Okazaki, Japan

So we ate, and ate, and ate, and generally horsed around until about 2:30, then the farewells started. Ugh. That round was harsh.

Everyone was getting all misty-eyed.

It was sad to say goodbye to everyone, because I don’t know if/when I’ll see them again. Hopefully we can get together online. That would be awesome.

Leaving Yamasa, Leaving Okazaki.

I had to go to Kurita for one last bundle of tape, so I did that, then decided to stop by campus to say goodbye. I dropped in and said goodbye to the CS staff and the teachers, M-sensei in particular, who was so very patient with me. I took some photos of the Yamasa campus.

Yamasa II, where we had class, and where all of the offices are:
Yamasa II Building

Aoi Hall and the building on the left, where I had JBPP classes:
Aoi Hall, Yamasa, Okazaki, Japan.

Another shot of Aoi Hall. FM Okazaki in the front:
Aoi Hall, Yamasa, Okazaki, Japan.

It’s not a pretty building on the outside, but it’s nice inside:
Aoi Hall, Yamasa, Okazaki, Japan.

Kitsutsuki, the cafe/restaurant where I had a lot of lunches. Get the A set. Can’t go wrong!
Kitsutsuki Cafe, Yamasa Campus, Okazaki, Japan.

ZigZag, a warm, friendly little bar with the cheapest Guinness Stout in Japan:
ZigZag, Yamasa Campus, Okazaki, Japan.

Then I made the lonely walk back to the apartment to finish packing and get out.

One last look at Yamasa II as I head back to the apartment:
Sayonara, Yamasa.

On the way back:
Backstreets of Okazaki near Yamasa

The rice field I saw every day:
Backstreets of Okazaki near Yamasa. Rice Field.

I loved the way this shed looked:
Backstreets of Okazaki near Yamasa. Rice Field. Shed.

The snapping turtle restaurant I mentioned before. I never did eat there:
Snapping Turtle Restaurant.

The Daiso: land of 100 yen cheap things:
The Daiso.

Heading back to my apartment:
Heading back to the apartment.

I had to climb this hill every day by bicycle. It was never that much fun:
Climbing the Brutal Hill Home.

Almost there:
Climbing the Brutal Hill Home.

And the apartments are just up ahead on the left:
Apartment in sight!

Frantically Fleeing

I got the last packages ready at around 6 pm, then called a cab to come take me to the post office. That’s five packages going by boat to home, total. Yikes.

When I got back, I made a quick video of the apartment before I left, then I called another cab to take me to the station.

This time, I got my tickets to Tokyo at the JR Okazaki station office. I did it all in Japanese, and it saved me a bunch of time.

I went to the platform with my insanely heavy luggage, and had a brainfart. I saw a train getting ready to leave and instinctively jumped on it. It looked a little different than the usual limited express, but I wasn’t thinking straight. I was flustered and full of emotions from the day, and that doesn’t always lead to good outcomes.

The train lumbered out of the station, and the next station was a station I’ve never gone to before.

Uh-oh, it seems that I had gotten on the local.

Arrrgh!

I rode it a few stops to Anjo, and grabbed the usual limited express to Nagoya. I had to hurry, because I didn’t want to miss my shinkansen to Tokyo! It was going to leave soon, and I was stressing a bit.

Back in Tokyo.

I got to Nagoya safely, and didn’t really have time to do much more than get to the Shinkansen platform and buy a bento for the ride to Tokyo.

I got on the train, and there wasn’t any good place to put my luggage. Fortunately, I was in the front row by myself, so I sat there with my luggage the whole way to Tokyo.

FYI, sitting with your giant suitcases is not fun. Please, pack light!

I was moving, so packing light wasn’t really an option for me.

I got to JR Shinagawa at around 10:30 or so, and I knew I needed to hustle to get to Shinjuku before the trains stopped running. So I lugged all of my heavy crap with me through the station to the Yamanote Line platform. It was Friday night, and it was packed.

That was an unpleasant ride where I got some unhappy looks. I know that backpacks are generally frowned upon on the trains here, but I didn’t have much of a choice. So I beared with it.

I got to Shinjuku, and made it to my usual hotel, the Hotel Sunroute Shinjuku. I love this hotel. They have saved my bacon a few times.

I stopped by a conbini for dinner, then passed out.

Eye Yai Yai

 Food, Foreign Languages, Japan, Japanese Language, Photos, Travel  Comments Off on Eye Yai Yai
Sep 282011
 

I had the hotel’s breakfast again, then went straight to the front desk to take care of two things:

  1. my eyes, which now hurt like hell
  2. and finding someone who can do something about the stink in the bathroom. Seriously, what is that? It’s not me. It was like that when I got there.

A nice young woman at the desk told me to go to the JR Hospital down the street a block from the hotel, and she helped me write a short paragraph in Japanese, explaining just what the heck is wrong with my eyes.

Yeah, I know, I’m lame. But I haven’t studied medical Japanese at all. I did learn the word 眼科 がんか ganka, which means ophthalmology.

Anyway, I had to hustle, because they stopped seeing patients at 11 a.m., and it was already 10. So I rushed over there, and started working my way through the Japanese Health Care Delivery System. And it IS a system.

A Hospital Is Approaching, Please Stand Behind the Yellow Line

First things first– it is the JR Hosptial. Yes, that JR, as in Japan Rail. Well, I’ve seen stranger things, I guess. But I can’t complain. The treatment I got was first-rate, just like pretty much everything Japan Rail does. (Except maybe some of the train station bathrooms… some of those can be kind of on the icky side.)

First I had to ask around to find the non-emergency clinics. Clinics found, I got handed around by a bunch of nice women, some of whom spoke English, some of whom did not. Eventually, they found a medical translator, and she helped me get through most of the forms, and helped me get my hospital card… which had my name spelled wrong in both English *and* in Japanese. Quite a feat, but not surprising. My last name isn’t easy for native English speakers, either. They always screw it up. Can’t say I was surprised.

The translator led me to the ophthalmology clinic, then I got a number, and got down to some serious waiting. And waiting. About 40 minutes of waiting.

I finally saw an ophthalmologist who spoke near perfect English, and she told me that my eyes were inflamed. (Which I kind of knew.) She gave me some prescriptions for some medication, answered my questions, and sent me on my merry way.

Then it was off to the cashier to pay, and then to the pharmacy department to pick up my meds. And I was done.

From “I’m coming to your hospital with my sick eyes,” to “Here are your eye drops, now get out,” it took about 2 hours, and cost about 11,000 yen.

That’s pretty good, considering that it usually takes me anywhere from 7-10 days to see my eye doctor in the US. By then, my eyeballs are trying to explode in my head. Maybe they can fit me in that day, maybe they can see me next week, or the week after. It’s not a sure thing.

To be honest, I like the Japanese system of coming in early, taking a number, and seeing the doctor that way, but I don’t think it would work in the US. It would be a mess. The doctors would just get totally swamped.

Oh wait, we already have that sort of thing, it’s called the Emergency Room. But it’s ridiculously expensive.

From the Eyes to the Nose

After I got my eyes fixed, I went back to the hotel to see what was up with my room. They were cleaning it.

So I goofed off in the lobby for a while.

I went back to check, and they couldn’t fix the bathroom, so they offered another room.

Hmm. I’m leaving in the morning. Is it really worth it to move all of my crap?

Yes. Yes, it is. The bathroom smells funky. It’s as if someone has peed on the ceiling, walls, and places I don’t even know about, with a musky kind of pee that is just awful.

Yes, I will take your new room!

So I moved to a room on the 6th floor, 639, away from room 1326. (I didn’t like being on the 13th floor anyway.)

Senso-ji, I Have Returned!

After a short break, it was time to head to Asakusa, to Senso-ji, for a little photography break, and to see the Kakminarimon again, among other things.

If you want more information or to see the photos from the first trip, they’re here.

The Kaminarimon is always interesting:

Senso-ji Kaminarimon

Nakamise Dori is still busy:

Nakamise Dori

No lanterns at the Houzoumon this time:

Houzoumon

Back side of the Houzoumon:

Houzoumon

The Chouchin is still impressive, although the paint is starting to crack:

Houzoumon -- Chouchin

Chouchin supporters!

Houzoumon -- Chouchin

The Tokyo Sky Tree dominates the scenery:

Tokyo Sky Tree

Tokyo Sky Tree

Houzoumon and Sky Tree, Combine!

Houzoumon and Sky Tree

The Honden is still busy:

Senso-ji Honden

Senso-ji Honden

Heading out–Nakimise Dori:

Nakamise Dori -- On the Way Out

Kaminarimon on the way out:

Kaminarimon -- Nakamise Dori side

I like Asakusa a lot. It’s a neat neighborhood, and I really like the temple there. Granted, it’s usually choked with tourists, but it’s still fun.

I wandered around there for about an hour or so, and took all sorts of pictures. I thought about heading to the new Tokyo Sky Tree under construction, but it was too close to closing time and… to be honest, it was too much of a pain to get there.

Ameyoko

So I headed to Ueno, with no particular destination in mind, and wound up in Ameyoko-cho. (I think that’s right… could be wrong about that.)

Ameyoko-cho is in all of the guide books as someplace to see “great street life” or whatever. It’s interesting, and kind of useful, if you want to buy fish or $10 watches, or maybe a T-Shirt with some weird English on it, or maybe a random piece of luggage.

See, it’s really hard to pin down what you’d want there. It’s just stuff that people would buy if they live in Tokyo, not necessarily if they’re tourists.

“Hey, Mr. Tourist, I have a really big smelly fish for you! It just fell off of a truck! $5 okay?”

No, that just doesn’t work if you’re staying in a hotel as a tourist, you see?

Now, if you’re local, things change. “Oooo, just *how* smelly is it? Is it ‘peel the paint off the walls’ smelly, or ‘send me to the hosptial again’ smelly? Because I’m thinking sashimi if the worms aren’t too big!”

I wandered. I didn’t buy the fish, nor did buy the watches that were amazingly reduced from 10,000 yen to 1,000 yen for the next 10 minutes ONLY! What a coincidence!

Then it was back to the hotel for some dinner. But first, it was time to hit Takashimaya Times Square’s basement for dinner. Half-price basement food. Yum. Then back to the room to scarf it down.

After that, it was time for a trip to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, to check out some nighttime scenery.

Tokyo Metropolitan Building On the Way Out

The scenery is very pretty, but I forgot my circular polarizer again… doh.

The view from the Tokyo Metropolitan Building

I tried pressing the camera closer, but it still didn’t work:

The view from the Tokyo Metropolitan Building

One decent shot from pressing the lens right up against the glass, but I didn’t want to risk damaging anything (and you can still see reflections in the shot, even with the lens up against the glass!):

The view from the Tokyo Metropolitan Building

Then it was back to the hotel room.

Streets of Shinjuku

Tomorrow it’s off to Okazaki. I hope they have a bed for me instead of a futon plank. I never heard anything either way.

Off to Japan! (Wait, Didn’t I Use This One Before?)

 Japan, Travel  Comments Off on Off to Japan! (Wait, Didn’t I Use This One Before?)
Sep 262011
 

It’s 3:30 a.m. Saturday, September 24th Sunday, September 25th. The driver is going to be here in an hour and fifteen minutes, and I’m trying to close my humongous Samsonite 29″ suitcase.

My plan was to have a giant suitcase big enough to stuff Jimmy Hoffa into, but slim enough to fit nicely behind the last row of seats on the shinkansen.

I have rolled my clothes into Space Bags, and everything looks like it should fit.

But it doesn’t.

One Bag Is the Rule, Except When Money Is Involved.

Well, everything does sort of fit, but the scale says that this bag is off the charts, and that’s bad for my wallet. (Weigh your stuff before you leave home!)

The stuff in the suitcase has the density of a neutron star. But while the suitcase itself is light, it doesn’t really handle very well. The saleslady warned me. I should have listened, but I wanted to save $80.

Cheaper is cheaper, but it’s not necessarily better.

So, change of plans.

I had to dig out my Old Reliable 26″ Samsonite, which I took to Japan the last time, tossed some Space Bags into it, and evened out the loads… and before going out the door, I have already violated my Prime Directive of Traveling: One Bag.

ONE. BAG.

It can’t be helped. I’m going to be gone for almost 3 months, and I pared the clothes down to the bare minimum.

Fall is a troublesome season. You need short- and long-sleeve shirts, and one or two really warm things, for when it finally decides to get cold.

Also, going with two bags will help avoid the overage fees for heavy luggage.

With the Dollar-Yen exchange rate at a crazy high rate of 75 yen to the dollar, I need to save every penny on this trip.

Getting Out of Town

At 4:45 a.m., my driver showed up. A nice guy from Elite Coach came by in a Town Car to whisk me away to RDU International Airport. It’s not my usual way to travel, but in this case, I think it was a good call. It put me in the right mood for the trip for the most part.

I got to RDU, and sure enough, the Jimmy Hoffa bag was over by 2 pounds, so I shifted some stuff to the other bag. Overage fixed. Hooray!

So in this case, two bags wasn’t too terrible.

The TSA check was a lot smoother than this summer. It only took about 10-15 minutes, and there was nobody swabbing my backpack to check for explosive residues this time. (Did I mention that about the London trip? They really did swab out my carry-on bag for explosive residues. Ah, Security Theater.)

I got patted down, but that was because I left a lens-cleaning cloth in one of my pockets. They were professional about it, and I was out of there quickly. There were also no hysterics about the amount of electronic equipment I was carrying, which was nice to see.

We live in the information age, so some of us carry a lot of electronics. I’m a nerd, so you can double the amount I carry compared to others. The hum of a computer is soothing to me.

Off to the lounge to wait for the American Airlines staff to show up so I could start begging. Lots of waiting. And waiting.

Finally, the guy showed up about 45 minutes before the flight, and I just about jumped him, the poor guy. But he was great about it. He got me into business class for the flight from DFW to Narita, which is all I cared about. I just wanted to be spared that 13 hours and 30 minutes of coach pain.

Right about here I started doing the “Upgrade Dance.”

Whatever You Do, Stay In Group 5.

It was time to cram into the S-80 to Dallas/Ft. Worth. The flight was full, in every meaning of the word.

Here’s an important note for folks wishing to fly American: whatever you do, don’t check in online, because then you’ll get to be in group 2.

I would hate to have more people in group 2 competing with me for space in the overhead bins, so please don’t check in online. Check in at the airport so you wind up in group 5 or 6. That’s much better.

In group 5 or 6, you’ll get on last, and have nowhere to put your luggage, while I’ll still be in group 2, and have my pick of anywhere I want to put my giant bags.

That was a public service announcement for all potential American Airlines passengers.

Joking aside, check in online before you go out the door. You’ll save yourself a headache.

I had been worried about what I was going to do on the flight from RDU to DFW, but it turns out the lady next to me had a lot to talk about, so we talked for most of the flight over. I don’t mind on a short flight like that, because I didn’t have anything I needed to do, and it took my mind off of things to just chat with someone.

Good luck to you, ma’am.

Back In Dallas, Briefly.

I got in to DFW a little early, so I had plenty of time to head to Terminal D and relax in the Admiral’s Club. (Huzzah! Free Admiral’s Club passes with every business class upgrade!) I called the folks back home, and then got myself mentally ready for the flight to Japan.

It’s a long flight.

I know that there are longer flights, but it’s still a long amount of time to be stuck in a metal tube, no matter how cozy the seats are. I lucked out– nobody sat next to me, and I had an aisle seat. So I could pretty much do whatever I wanted to. The guy on the other side of the center row was a Navy guy who had flown business before, and he showed me what I needed to know.

In a Metal Tube, Over the Water, at 540MPH

I’m in the club now!

Business class on American is nice. It’s very comfortable. I’m not just spoiled, I’m ruined.

I chose to sleep for most of the flight. I wound up listening to a marathon of “Says You!” episodes that I had bought from their website and stuffed onto my phone. It helped to pass the time.

But thirteen and a half hours is still a long time.

Business class made a HUGE difference in how I felt when I got off of the plane. Had I been in coach, I probably would have been a mess. I was in much better shape thanks to business class. Ah, if every seat in every plane was like that, I think everyone would enjoy flying again. Maybe they would even look forward to it.

Ralph Welcomes You to Japan. Over. And Over.

I arrived at Narita right around 4:30 p.m. Japan Time, and made my way to the bathroom. (Because you should go when you can.)

What music awaited me, but the sound of some poor guy in the stall next to me calling Ralph on the porcelain phone. Ralph wasn’t picking up, so he kept calling.

And calling.

日本へようこそう。

Indeed.

The great thing about Japanese public bathrooms is that the stall walls go all the way to the floor, so there’s no danger of “the hand” coming up from the stall next to you, or worse, “spillage” from the next stall over.

But still, “Ralph” next door made me uneasy. I just hoped I didn’t catch anything that would give me the urge to call Ralph as well. So I boiled my hands on the way out.

I noticed that my eyes were itchy, too. (Foreshadowing?)

Dealing With Paperwork

Here’s a tip for arriving passengers to Japan: fill out your arrival form in INK. They will make you do it over if you do it in pencil.

I learned this lesson The Hard Way.

I also learned that speaking Japanese at this point makes everything go more smoothly.

Seriously. Even my sorry Japanese helped me.

I headed to baggage claim, and I waited for about 30 minutes, while I stared at other people’s luggage. Not mine. So I went to the desk to ask where my bags were, and there they were. Well, I’ll take whatever I can get. So I loaded them up on the shopping cart thing and took them to customs. It was time to do the yakkan shoumei dance. Last time was such a pain.

I asked the customs guy what do I do with my yakkan shoumei, and he got all excited, because apparently nobody ever bothers to get one. He led me to a counter, and showed it to four or five other customs inspectors, who had probably never seen one, too, and they consulted a few binders, then said I was good to go.

I guess I’m the sort of endangered species that bothers to get the paperwork taken care of.

SIM City

I needed to go to the Softbank booth, to get a rental SIM card. The Softbank rental SIM is one of those, “It’s great so long as you never actually use it” sort of things.

It’s great for other people to call you, because incoming calls are free, but outgoing calls get expensive fast. And don’t even think about data. (Just thinking about using the data incurs a separate charge!)

This is the perfect SIM card for an old GSM dumb-phone that can’t do data, like my Motorola Razr V3X. It works like a charm, and doesn’t use data. (Rather, it can’t.)

Off to Shinjuku!

After that, I went to the station to catch the Narita Express (N’EX) to Shinjuku. I thought about taking the Keisei Skyliner, but I didn’t want to carry the bags all over Ueno Station and change trains.

A lot of people talk about taking the airport buses, and yes, they are cheaper, but they’re buses. You won’t get the amenities you get on a train (well, you may, but you may not), and more importantly, there’s traffic to reckon with.

Trains just go. If they’re not running, you have bigger problems to worry about than getting to Tokyo from Narita. Every now and then they’ll run a little late. By a little, I mean 10-20 seconds. More rarely, there will be an accident, and the train won’t come for a while. In that case, grab another train line.

But trains aren’t perfect. They come with drawbacks, especially for someone traveling with a large number of bulky bags.

There are few things more awkward than carrying huge American bags on a local train in Japan. You will get ugly looks from everyone around you.

The ugly stares will double if you commit the unpardonable sin of carrying a backpack on your back, instead of down on the floor, which is impossible with 2 suitcases, because you need both hands to hold on to them.

The N’EX goes straight to Shinjuku, and is designed for me and my American bags.

I had to wait until 6:52 for my train, so I had time to refill my Suica card, which STILL WORKED AFTER FOUR YEARS. It even had a balance of 653 yen on it.

That’s awesome.

Green Green Green

This time, I splurged and went Green Car. The difference is around 1,900 yen or so, but the seats are bigger, and I was bushed.

A woman brought a cart through the car, selling food and drinks, and I bought an onigiri and a bottle of water. I was hungry, but I only wanted to knock the edge off of my hunger. I was going to eat better when I got to Shinjuku. That was the plan, anyway.

What I did not grasp is where the trash bins are located. Call it jet-lag-induced stupidity or whatever, but they’re shown right there on the info card in the seat back. Even so, I still managed to get it wrong.

One nice bit about the N’EX is that there’s ample room for luggage storage in the front of the cars. There’s WiFi too, but I couldn’t get it to work in time… and I wasn’t that desperate.

Shinjuku!

I got to JR Shinjuku, and checked in at my hotel, the Sunroute Shinjuku, which is a really good hotel for the price. The rates run around 9,000 yen or so for a basic room, but the basic room is good enough. You get a good bed, fridge, and a decent TV channel selection. It’s not as good as some top-tier hotels, but everything is solid.

Well it usually is.

The bathroom in my room had some funky stink in it. As in bad funky.

I stopped long enough to change clothes and freshen up, then ran to the Shinjuku Yodobashi Camera, right before it closed.

Second SIM

I bought a B-Mobile Fair SIM card at Yodobashi Camera, because this one gets me 1GB of data on my Nexus One for up to 4 months for ~9,000 yen or so.

The other option is a 1GB for 1 month option for 3,000 yen, but once I’m set up with WiFi, I don’t think I’ll use that much data. And if I don’t, I’ll lose whatever is left over at the end of the month, and that’s no good, either.

Both options use DoCoMo’s network, and give you fast speeds, so long as you don’t break a 300MB soft cap. Then you’ll get throttled. Or so I hear.

No matter how much data I use, when the first GB runs out, I can buy an extra 1GB for 3,000 yen, which will last for 1 month, or I can do the Fair for 4 months again for 9,000 yen. The pricing isn’t great, but I don’t need to have a visa to get it, and it’s a lot better than the rates I’d get charged if I use the Softbank rental SIM for data.

Dinner was conbini yakisoba and whatever I could find in the conbini. No time to find a restaurant tonight.

Oyasumi nasai.

I’m beat.

Last Day In Japan. ;_;

 Japan, Photos, Travel  Comments Off on Last Day In Japan. ;_;
Nov 142007
 

I managed to get packed last night, but I was up late doing it. No surprise there.

First thing this morning I backed up all of my photos to DVD. I just had this horrible image of a security guy ruining my laptop, all 3,000 photos, with no backup… *shudder*

Then it was off to Shinjuku Station to reserve a seat on the Narita Express. This time I did get the Green Car, because I wanted the extra room for my luggage.

Yeah, that’s it. My luggage.

While I was there, I decided to make a very quick trip to Shibuya to get a photo of 109 and Hachiko. Gotta have a photo of Hachiko, right?

Hachiko:

Shibuya-- Hachiko

109 (a famous fashion mall, I think):

Shibuya-- 109 Building

The World’s Busiest Crosswalk:

Shibuya-- World's Busiest Crosswalk

Shibuya-- World's Busiest Crosswalk

Then back to Shinjuku, and a last stab at Kinokuniya, and this time, score! I found all of the novels I was looking for. Woot! Too bad I’m too illiterate to read them yet, but I’ll get to it.

On the way back, I saw a one-hour long line at the Krispy Kreme. Oh well. No time for that.

Shinjuku-- Krispy Kreme

Now it’s just time to put the novels in a suitcase, and get out of here by 1:30 or so so I can make my train, and then my plane.

All packed!

Shinjuku-- My Hotel Room

The last photo!

Shinjuku-- My Hotel Room-- The View

Leaving Japan

(time skip)

So I’m on the Narita Express, heading to the airport, and I have to say it’s a very nice train. For 4700 yen, I get a big comfy seat all to myself, and there’s plenty of baggage room in the front of the car… since I got on in Shinjuku. If you get on in Tokyo, you’re going to have to improvise.

But anyway, I’m on the train, and I get my first taste of America in a while. Sitting in front of me is some random American Guy, who had to have heard the several announcements saying not to speak on cell phones in the middle of the car, but to move to the area between cars instead. Because really, nobody gives a crap about your parts supply issues, and we don’t want to hear them.

But this bonehead didn’t care. He decided to regale the entire car for 30 minutes about his supply issues, and how he doesn’t want to be here. Well, I’ve got news for him. None of us wanted to be there hearing him blather, either. And unless he’s just deaf or stupid, he couldn’t have been in Japan for 10 days without hearing this announcement in English at least 100 times.

Seriously, guy, they’re saying it just for your sake.

So if you travel, please, please, I’m begging you– don’t be that guy!

I jokingly call this blog “The Stupid American Tourist,” but I don’t mean that I’m “The Stupid Rude Inconsiderate American Tourist Who Annoys the Crap Out of People.”

Hot Doughnuts Now! Shinjuku, Takashimaya Times Square, Krispy Kreme!

 Japan, Photos, Travel  Comments Off on Hot Doughnuts Now! Shinjuku, Takashimaya Times Square, Krispy Kreme!
Nov 132007
 

Busy day today, with ups, downs, and a Krispy Kreme sighting.

I started off at 9:30 by running to Ikebukuro to buy a suitcase. Ugh. But I did find one. It’s not the best one I could find, but it was the right mix of cheap and not too shabby.

Then breakfast, which was more department store food. I love the depachika. (Depachika is Japanese for the basement, or bottom, so chika, of the department store, or depaato. So depachika.)

After that, I ran to Akasaka to meet up with Peter Galante, the host of japanesepod101.com’s many podcasts. I really like the podcasts, and it helped me a lot in getting ready for my trip here. I highly recommend the survival lessons. Especially the ones about trains and buses. Seriously. Don’t underestimate the importance of understanding the mass transit system here, because otherwise you’ll wind up like that poor lost Norwegian guy, adrift in Shinjuku.

You’ll probably feel overwhelmed and confused the first time you get here, anyway. No need to add to it.

It was fun meeting Peter, and I appreciate his listening to me ramble for 40 minutes. Sorry about that, Peter. I’m not always that talkative.

No, really, I’m not.

After that, it was back to Akihabara to raid some more shops. If you’re a nerd, you need to go to Akihabara, and be prepared to spend money. Of course, spending money implies buying things, and buying things implies carrying them around with you. If you live somewhere like New York City, you know this already. If you’re like me, and you live in the suburbs, then you need to consider it. I’m used to buying things, and putting them into my car. So I can buy a lot of heavy stuff without much thought. (Not that I do it often, but I do it.)

I went with my trusty backpack, which my girlfriend gave me before I went off to grad school. It has a lot of nice memories attached to it, but it has one little problem. Not to gross people out, but it makes my back sweat. And back sweat is probably one of the least appealing things you can show when wearing a charcoal gray shirt.

If you’re buying crap, consider your carrying strategies.

I raided Yodobashi Camera’s big store in Akihabara again. I found some nice game-related books there… so much data, it makes me want to cry when I look at the U.S. books.

After that, I went to Gamers’, and bought more manga there. There are sooo many good series over here that either haven’t or won’t come to the U.S. anytime soon. Then I spent the rest of the afternoon wandering in and out of various stores, browsing. If I did live here, I’d have a serious space problem, because I’d have a house full of gadgets and books.

But no Hello Kitty robots.

Probably.

Hot Doughnuts, Hot Doughnuts!

By around 4 or so, I was exhausted. So I headed back to Shinjuku before the crowds on the trains got out of hand. I took a break, rested up, started going through all of my receipts for Customs (ugh), and then decided to go to Tokyo Cityview in Roppongi for evening fun.

On the way there, I decided to stop at Kinokuniya to try to hunt down a few novels again. (Last time was a miserable failure.) So I got there at 7:50…. just as they were about to close at 8.

Seriously, can’t I get a break?

I did see something interesting on the way– a Krispy Kreme. In Shinjuku. Not 100 meters from my hotel. And the Hot Doughnuts Now sign was lit. But the line was not only out the door, it wrapped all over itself about 5 times. No hot doughnuts for me. But I did have a nice warm fuzzy feeling seeing it, and the thought of Krispy Kreme in Japan just made me laugh out loud. People looked at me funny, but I’m used to it.

Photos:

Is that… a Krispy Kreme?

Takashimaya Times Square

OMG It IS! Look at that line! And the Hot Doughnuts Now sign is lit!

Takashimaya Times Square--Krispy Kreme???

Mmm… Hot Doughnuts… sadly, no time to stand in line!

Hot Doughnuts NOW!

Some shots of JR Shinjuku from the bridge to Takashimaya and Kinokunia:

Takashimaya Times Square--View of JR Shinjuku

Takashimaya Times Square--View of JR Shinjuku

Christmas Lights at Tahashimaya:

Takashimaya Times Square--Christmas Lights

Takashimaya Times Square--Christmas Lights

Takashimaya Times Square--Christmas Lights

Takashimaya Times Square--Christmas Lights

Takashimaya Times Square--Christmas Lights

Takashimaya Times Square--Christmas Lights

Roppongi

Then it was off to Roppongi. And I finally figured out what made my headache on Sunday worse– the Oedo line. Seriously, it’s the loudest subway line in the world. It screams and groans like an angry rusted giant robot who hasn’t been oiled in 1,000 years trying to run across Tokyo.

By the time I got to Roppongi, I was feeling icky again, so I looked around a little, and wisely cut my trip short. It’s not going anywhere. I’ll catch it next time.

I took a few photos.

Roppongi Hills:

Roppongi Hills

Roppongi Hills

Tokyo Tower from Roppongi Hills:

Tokyo Tower

Tokyo Tower

Back to Shinjuku

Then it was back to the conbini, then the hotel. Now I need to finish packing and get ready to head home tomorrow.

I’ve had a great time in Japan. It hasn’t always been easy. In fact, there were some frustrating times, some hard times, and some times I just wanted to go home. But those times tended to pass, and the more I stayed here, the more I loved it here.

When I travel, I like to have “Wow!” experiences. I usually consider myself lucky if I have one or two. I had so many on this trip, I lost count.

I highly recommend coming to Japan, but not just planting your butt in Tokyo. Yes, Tokyo is great, but Tokyo isn’t Japan. Japan is a big country with a wide range of regional variation, and a lot of interesting cities, both big and small. Just going to Tokyo to judge Japan is like just going to NYC to judge the U.S. What about the Grand Canyon? Or … well, there’s a lot of other stuff out there. I’m tired.

When I get back home, I’ll sort out my thoughts properly, and post them on the blog.

Nov 122007
 

Akihabara

So on to Akihabara, or Akiba as everyone calls it here.

First, I stopped at Asakusabashi station again, as I transferred from the subway to the JR line. I had a wait, so I took some more photos of Asakusabashi station:

Asakusabashi platform:

Asakusabashi Station

Asakusabashi Station

Roof detail:

Asakusabashi Station--Roof Detail

Asakusabashi Station--Roof Detail

Signal lights:

Asakusabashi Station--Signal Lights

Asakusabashi Station--Signal Lights

My train came in, and I made it to Akihabara.

First off was Yodobashi Camera. It’s just.. wow. A 10-story monstrosity full of electronics. It’s where nerds go after they die. It’s like 4 or 5 Best Buys stacked on top of each other, only with really cool stuff, and no lame junk.

No joke, it’s big:

Yodobashi Akiba

Yodobashi Akiba

But since I didn’t have a point card there, I decided to search for Bic Camera in Akiba, because I do have a Bic point card with a lot of points on it.

Thus begins my Fool’s Errand.

You see, there isn’t a Bic Camera in Akiba. But I didn’t know that… yet.

Before I started searching, I had some business to attend to. As you exit the JR Akihabara Station on the Yodobashi Camera side, off to the left you’ll see a small glass building called Oasis. It offers two things. A smoking room and a 100 yen pay toilet.

Oasis@Akiba

You might scoff at a pay toilet, but it’s a damn fine pay toilet. That was easily the best 100 yen I spent in Tokyo so far.

You enter, and a receptionist greets you with a polite bow. Then you head to the bathrooms, where you can deposit your 100 yen coin or just tap your Suica card and it’ll deduct the 100 yen automatically. Then the frosted glass door opens, and you walk into the nicest public toilet in Tokyo. (Well, the nicest I’ve seen so far.)

There aren’t stalls so much as there are small rooms with sliding, locking doors, and plenty of room to maneuver. You also get a powered-up shower toilet, soft fluffy paper, and a touchless sink. You can wash your hands and dry them without touching anything. So nice.

Inside Oasis@Akiba (Japanese Toilets Are Fun!)

Inside Oasis@Akiba (Japanese Toilets Are Fun!)

Controls!

Inside Oasis@Akiba (Japanese Toilets Are Fun!)

Then it was off to Chelsea Market in JR Akiba for a burger. Nice, but kind of odd. Had a weird curry-based sauce on it, but pretty good.

After that, it was time to begin my Fool’s Errand! As I was walking around Akiba, I found the Toranoana Main Store. Oh, look! Manga! So I started climbing the stairs.

Hmm… they sure do sell a lot of comics here with guys with no shirts on hugging other guys… with no shirts on.

Oh, wait– comics without shirtless guys are next door. I guess that would explain some of the looks I got from some of the patrons on that side of the store.

So I looked in next door– ah, this is more like it! No more shirtless guy comics! Stuff I might actually read!

But before I started to load myself down with more manga, I needed to make a trip to Bic Camera. (Which still doesn’t have a branch in Akihabara, but I didn’t know that yet.) So more walking around.

My Fool’s Errand completed, I went back to Toranoana, where I loaded up on manga and light novels…. you know, to help me improve my Japanese. I got into manga while learning Japanese. It’s really handy to read, because the language is usually pretty simple, and some titles (usually aimed at younger audiences) provide furigana readings over the kanji, so you can look them up more easily.

Of course, I also like electronics, and the weirder, the better. So Akihabara is a natural sort of place for me. I found some stores selling all kinds of weird old stuff, and some stuff that brought back good memories.

I could spend a week in Akihabara and not have spent enough time there. All kinds of electronics, video games, and books. Fun.

Then it was back to the station to pick up some dinner for later at Vie de France, then on the train back to Shinjuku.

JR Akihabara platform:

JR Akihabara Platform

Densha no Koto

A word about trains (again? Yes, again.) As you go from Shinjuku to the east, the Chuo and Soba lines run parallel until you hit Ochanomizu, then they split. The Chuo goes on to Tokyo Station, and the Soba goes to Akihabara. So in order to go from Shinjuku to Akiba, you need to switch lines at Ochanomizu.

It sounds like a pain in the butt, but it’s actually amazingly smooth. As the Chuo Rapid pulls in, a Soba local is pulling in the other side of the platform. So just hop from one train to the next. Smooth as silk. Same for hopping from the Soba to the Chuo. That’s brilliant.

Tonight I’m going to hit Kinokuniya one last time, then hit Bic to buy stuff. (And an extra suitcase. Yeesh.) If I’m careful about how I work it, I’ll be able to plow through all of my remaining Bic points. *Fingers crossed.*

Tomorrow is…. well, that’s something I’ll worry about later tonight. I’m going to stop by the japanesepod101.com studios to say ‘hi!’ (they said I could), then I’ll try to hit Shibuya to get a photo of Hachiko and see 109. Then… MORE AKIBA! Maybe I’ll go to City View in Roppongi tomorrow night, too. Dunno.

For Wednesday, I’ve already scheduled a late checkout for 2PM. It’s a little expensive, but worth it. That way, when I check out, I can just head straight for the airport and crash at the Admiral’s Club until my flight leaves at 7PM, and I don’t have to mess with having to find a place to put my bags for 4 hours. I’ll probably just take the Chuo to Kanda, then the Yamanote to Ueno, then the Keisei Skyliner to Narita Terminal 2. Or I could just take the Narita Express from Shinjuku, huh?

Time Jump

A few hours later…

At 6 or so I headed to Ikebukuro to the Bic Camera store there, because it’s supposed to be the biggest one in Tokyo. It’s actually in 2 different buildings. In one of the buildings, they have some stuff, and in the other, they have more of the same stuff. The difference is that in the newer building, they have luggage on the 8th floor. I should have bought it there. I should have, dagnabbit.

But I figured that if they had it in Ikebukuro, they’d have it at Shinjuku. So anyway, after futzing around in Ikebukuro for a bit, I couldn’t seem to find anything that I wanted.

Don’t Worry, that Stunned Look is Normal

So I went to Shinjuku. And helped a Norwegian guy buy a Suica card. The poor guy was so lost… he said, “I just came here from Kobe, and I’m totally confused.” I reassured him– Tokyo does that to everyone. It took me a little time to digest Tokyo as well. But now that I have a basic grip on things, and the Tokyo Street Map by Kodansha (in EN and JP), I’m okay.

Seriously, if you’ve never been to Tokyo, you’ll have that same stunned look on your face, too, when you try to navigate it. Eventually I got the hang of it, but at first, I felt like I was walking in mud as my brain tried to process everything. It felt good to help someone through that, even if it was only a little bit.

After helping the poor lost dude, I went to the Bic there. I found one of the things I wanted, and some privacy screens for my DS and my PSP. (Ah, privacy!) But no luggage.

Laundry Time!

By then it was 8:45, and everything was closing, so I headed back to eat some dinner, crash for a few minutes, and then head out to find the laundromat in Yoyogi they told me about at the front desk.

It took a little figuring out, but thanks to the street atlas, I actually found it. Right next to the neighborhood sento (public bath). Fortunately, it was open til midnight, so I could get all my laundry done. It was getting fragrant. Not like a flower.

When all was said and done, I got back around midnight.

But I had to have my clothes clean– I was down to the emergency clothes, and they were a little… ripe.

Rick Steves talks about doing laundry on the road. He says it’s a good thing to do, to meet locals and get local flavor. I agree this time. While it can be a bit of a nuisance to find a laundromat in Japan (or anything else that isn’t a tourist attraction), it’s totally worth it to see daily-life Japan. And by doing laundry and packing less, you save money on expensive hotel laundry, and you save space for those important souvenirs. (Or books, in my case. Lots of books.)

Tomorrow I’ll get up extra early to make a quick run to Ikebukuro to buy a suitcase. They open at 10, and I plan on rushing the door.

Then I’ll run back to Shinjuku, and my day can actually start.

In 42:30, I’ll be on a plane back to the States.

Shoot.

Nov 122007
 

Reversal!

I was at about 70% today, but I was good enough to go.

I decided to keep my plans simple. First off would be Senso-ji in Asakusa.

On the way there, I had to change trains at Asakusabashi station. So I took a photo.

Asakusabashi Station Platform

I got to Asakusa, and headed to Senso-ji. It’s a nice place to visit. The Kaminarimon is a must-see. It’s the big gate in front of the temple with the massive red lantern hanging down. It’s the sort of thing us goofy tourists from all over want our picture taken in front of.

Like me:

Senso-ji Kaminarimon

More Kaminarimon:
Senso-ji--Kaminarimon

Senso-ji--Kaminarimon

Senso-ji--Kaminarimon

As you pass through the Kaminarimon, you’ll see a vast expanse of souvenir shops selling, all kinds of trinkets, just like every other famous sight in Japan. This row of shops is called Nakamise Dori, and it’s been around for a really long time:

Senso-ji Nakamise Dori Shopping Arcade

Closing in on the Houzoumon:

Senso-ji Nakamise Dori Shopping Arcade

Senso-ji Nakamise Dori Shopping Arcade

Now we’re approaching the Houzoumon, or Treasure House Gate. The gate is surrounded by many paper lanterns today:

Houzoumon:

Senso-ji Houzoumon

Senso-ji Houzoumon

Senso-ji Houzoumon

Lantern detail:

Senso-ji Houzoumon--Lanterns

Senso-ji Houzoumon--Lanterns-Detail

Inside the Houzoumon, there are two Touro lanterns, and the one big red Chouchin.

Touro:

Touro of Houzoumon

Touro Detail:

Senso-ji Houzoumon-Facing Nakamise Dori-Touro Detail

Chouchin:

Chouchin of Houzoumon

Chouchin Detail:

Senso-ji Houzoumon-Facing Nakamise Dori-Chouchin Detail

As I pass through the Houzomon, I see more lanterns:

Lanterns

Lanterns

Then on to the temple proper. The big main building is called the hondo. That’s where you pray. You’ll see a big pot-thing filled with incense and billowing out smoke. You’re supposed to rub smoke on whatever ails you, so I just walked through the entire cloud, because I was hurting all over.

Senso-ji Hondo

Senso-ji Hondo

Pray here:

Senso-ji Hondo

Facing the Houzoumon, you can see the smoke better:

Senso-ji Houzoumon-Viewing it from the Hondo

After that, I sauntered over to the side, where they sell omikuji for 100 yen, and I got #69, which is… kyou, which means “bad luck,” (凶 so you can recognize it.) It said that I wouldn’t have any luck finding a job, in relationships, etc., etc.

Bad Luck Omikuji

Bad Luck Omikuji

I did what any smart person would do. I tied it to one of the racks you’re supposed to tie bad luck fortunes to. *Whew* Dodged that bullet.

I hope?

In order to counteract any ill effects from the kyou, I picked up a good health and safe travel charm for 1000 yen, and I picked the red one, because red is a lucky color. I started to pick white, then I stopped and said, “Iie, akai onegaishimasu.” The lady behind the counter laughed.

So with my charm obtained, I wandered around the temple some more, took a few pictures, then went to the long row of tacky souvenir shops. I spent a good 20-30 minutes just looking around at crap, and buying some, too.

A tall building:

Senso-ji Pagoda

On the way out:

Senso-ji Houzoumon-Facing Nakamise Dori

Senso-ji Houzoumon-Facing Nakamise Dori

Senso-ji Nakamise Dori on the way out

Senso-ji Kaminarimon

On to Akihabara, in Part Two…

Mind the Gap, Please

 Japan, Photos, Travel  Comments Off on Mind the Gap, Please
Nov 102007
 

Long day. I got up early, researched some ideas, and settled on hitting Nakano Broadway, because it’s full of all kinds of shops, some of which I may be interested in. Since Time Out recommended a trip, I figured I’d give it a shot. I hopped on the Chuo Rapid to Nakano, got there, and all the shops were closed. Most didn’t open until noon. D’oh. This is just another example of how being over-eager can backfire, I guess. I did see a store with a cool name.  It’s a used computer/old computer supply store called “Junkworld.” I like honesty in advertising. I also found an umbrella that doesn’t fail. It’s big. So big, I’m not sure what I’m going to do with it. 75cm is apparently the biggest you can find for under 1000 yen. The downside is that it doesn’t collapse.

Ueno and the National Museum

So on to plan B, the Tokyo National Museum in Ueno Park. 30 minutes of train riding later, and I’m there. And it’s pouring rain. Well, I can do rain, I’ve done it before. Trudge, trudge. As I approached the big fountain in Ueno Park, I saw there was some sort of giant tent thing there. Ueno Park--Flea Market Was it a festival? No, it was just a flea market/sale thing. They were selling Japanese housewares. Stuff like plates, bowls, teapots, iron rice pots, chopsticks– all neat stuff. Ueno Park--Flea Market I refrained from purchasing, however, in an amazing show of restraint. I thought about buying a set of 4 pairs of chopsticks… it was awfully tempting. I’ve gotten used to using them for salads. I think they make salads taste better. No metallic tastes. But I didn’t particularly want to carry them all over Tokyo with me, and to be honest, you can buy chopsticks just about anywhere. Moving on, the big fountain in Ueno Park: Ueno Park--Fountain Ueno Park--Fountain Then it was on to the Tokyo National Museum. Tokyo National Museum Since I didn’t want to spend all day there, I decided to just visit the Honkan, which is where they store all of the important Japanese Art. And boy did they have art. All kinds of neat stuff. The downside is that not all of the exhibits have English explanations… in fact, I’d say 10% do. The rest just have English descriptions. It’s a little frustrating. It’s more incentive to study Japanese. The price is right, too. 600 yen for admission. Just buy it from the vending machine. I went to the gift shop, and found 2 great books in English on Shodo (Japanese calligraphy.) I’ve studied Chinese calligraphy for a couple of years now, and it will be interesting to study the stylistic differences.

Legend of the Fall

I left the museum and headed to Ueno Station: Backside of Ueno Station Then it was time to get food. Andersen in JR Ueno Station is always a good choice. They’re the same sandwich shop that chipped my tooth in Kyoto, but I think their food is the best of all the bakeries I’ve tried so far. After that came the turning point of the day. And not in a good way. You know how they say “Mind the gap” on the Tube in London? Yeah… I didn’t. I was stepping on to the Yamanote Line to head to Tokyo Station to pick up the Chuo Line, when I slipped and my right leg went right down the gap between the train and the platform. Owwwww. The shock of falling aside, my biggest fear was that the train would pull away without me, or worse, without knowing that I fell, and before I could get up. The thought of what could have happened still makes my blood run cold. Fortunately, I pulled myself up quickly and managed to get on the train okay… but I tweaked my ankle (on the side that didn’t fall down), and I’ve got a huge nasty welt on my thigh where it slipped down the gap. I also ruined my pants, I think. Train grease and filth… I dunno if I could ever get that out. I’m just going to bag them and give it a shot when I get home. Meanwhile, everyone on the train just sort of stared at me like I was a freak or something. It was really kind of weird. Nobody offered any sort of help or anything. I guess they didn’t want to get involved. If that happened in the U.S., I would probably have gotten a few offers of help, and some business cards for attorneys.

Limping Off to Jinbo-Cho

Then I headed back to Shinjuku to ice down my ankle for an hour.  But since I was bloody-minded about not wanting to miss more than an hour, after some rest and some Advil, it was off to Jinbo-cho. Jinbo-cho is the book district in Tokyo. It’s full of used book stores and indy book stores. Of course, everything is in Japanese, so while I’m sure it’s a great place, it’s a little over my head at this point. I was there mainly to see if I could find a few more prints. Time Out lists a couple of print stores, and after a LOT of hunting, I did find both, but neither really had anything I wanted. What I really want are some more prints of the 100 views of Tokyo from the 19th century. No luck. Both had a lot of the 36 views of Mt. Fuji, but that wasn’t what I wanted. I did manage to find an Ace bandage for my ankle, so it wasn’t a loss. And Jinbo-cho will be a fun place to visit again when my vocabulary improves. I also saw a really cool shop or two. There was a kendo supply store with a wall full of bokken (wooden swords) that went up into the $500 range; a store full of nothing but brushes of any and all kinds, from toilet brushes to artists’ brushes; and a promising-looking calligraphy shop that closed before I could get in. (Dangit. They’re so fast on the trigger.)

Nakano Broadway Again

After that, it was time to try to head to Nakano Broadway again. So back to Shinjuku, and then back on the Chuo line. Good lord, was it crowded. They almost had to get the guys with the white gloves out to cram us all in. And man, was it hot. Tokyo is the only place I know where it can be 50F outside, but every train, station, store, and bus is 90F. I’m not sure how that works, but it’s like that wherever I go. Everyone else is bundled up, and I’m in a T-shirt, sweating like Sydney Greenstreet. So Nakano. It’s a dumpy little shopping arcade. But you probably knew that anyway. What it does have is a ton of nerd shops. Tiny stores with lots of action figures, toys, old games, old books, all kinds of stuff. I didn’t buy anything, because I’ve already got too much crap already. Most of the toy shops are on the second and third floors. If you like toys, it might be your thing. I also saw some old Godzillas for sale… I wanted one. Oh, did I ever want one. But they were in the hundreds of dollars. I watched a LOT of Godzilla movies when I was kid. Then it was back to Shinjuku to find a few more stationery supplies. If you ever need a cardboard tube to secure your posters, go to Sekaido. Just Google it. Their HQ is in Shinjuku. I took some photos of Shinjuku on the way to Sekaido: Shinjuku at Night Shinjuku at Night Shinjuku at Night Shinjuku at Night Shinjuku at Night Sekaido is nice. Not as nice as Itoya, but it’s close to my hotel. Then I limped back home. And I think that pretty much does it for me for tonight. I’m totally wiped. Depending on the weather, I may either head to Shibuya/Harajuku to watch the Sunday fashion parades, or I’ll head to Odaiba and Akihabara to do other stuff. The forecast is more rain so far, so I’ll probably peek in at Harajuku, then head to Odaiba and Akiba. Oh, before I forget– subway signs and posters! Subway Signs: Subway Sign: Keep to the Left Subway Poster Subway Poster Today, I was the cucumber! Subway Poster

So I Was Shopping in Ginza Today…

 Japan, Photos, Travel  Comments Off on So I Was Shopping in Ginza Today…
Nov 092007
 

I’m going to use my new favorite phrase now.

So I was shopping in Ginza today…

… yeah, that’s my new favorite phrase.

Some massive stores in Ginza (with matching prices, I’m sure!)

Seibu department store:

Ginza Wandering

Anyway, I was shopping in Ginza today, looking for two stationery stores mentioned in Time Out Tokyo. But first, I hit the Sony Building to look at their shiny toys.

Sony Building, Ginza

I saw a 70″ 1080p (not i) HDTV that’s coming out soon. Drool.

They also had some great artist-designed laptops, but not only weren’t they for sale, but they had chiclet-style keys, which aren’t my favorite. I also saw those same kinds of keys on the new iBook at the Apple Store, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

The Sony building isn’t as big as you’d think. But the way it’s laid out is interesting. You start on the first floor, look at stuff, climb 3-4 steps, look at more stuff, and so on… until you hit the 6th floor, where you can buy stuff. There really isn’t anything earth-shattering here, just a lot of Sony stuff. Some of it is neat, most of it I’ve already seen at Bic and Yodobashi. The 70″ Flat panel 1080p HDTV was nice. Very very nice. Probably costs well over $20k, though.

Kyukyodo

Ginza Wandering--Kyukyodo

Then I got my bearings again, and went to Kyukyodo, a very nice stationery store. I looked around a bit, then saw an interesting calligraphy exhibit on the 3rd and 4th floors, and moved on. It’s a nice store, with some really good-looking calligraphy tools, but if you really want stationery, head a few blocks down Ginza Dori to Itoya.

Paper Paradise

Itoya. It’s like heaven for those of us who love pens, paper, paint, brushes, and all of that good stuff. I found all kinds of neat things there. I found brushes for my brother-in-law, and I also found brush markers for myself (don’t worry Bill, I got you a few as well.) They’re black ink markers, but they have a synthetic brush tip. Not felt. It’s an actual brush. Very cool. I got my mom some fine paper and envelopes, and I bought myself a pretty printed calendar and some flat bar paperweights for calligraphy.

If I had time, I would have spent all day there. They have 3 different buildings. They even have a scrap-booking center, if you’re into that. (My sister is.) The main building has 8 floors and a basement full of goodies. Just look for the big red paperclip next to Matsuya department store.

Just a ways back towards the station and across the street is the Apple Store on Ginza Dori. It’s nice. It’s an Apple Store. I checked it out, but it didn’t really do much for me. Really, if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen ’em all. It’s not like they have anything special there you can’t get at the mall, you know?

Look, it’s LV! So it’s Ginza!

Ginza Wandering

Ginza is nice, but it’s mostly overpriced. Itoya was one of the more reasonable places I found there. Most of the other stuff is boutique stuff with names of people I couldn’t care less about.

But then those who know me, know that I’m not one to worry about names as much as I worry about pockets. You can’t have enough pockets!

Maruzen

After that, it was time to move on to Marunouchi, and a visit to Maruzen, the other wonderful bookstore in Tokyo. After a short ride on the Marunouchi line, followed by lots of wandering underground, and offers of help from nice people, I found exit B-4, and found the way to Maruzen. (I wound up closer to Tokyo station than to Otemachi station, though.)

So Maruzen. Ahh… so many nice Japanese books. I did find a really nice JP-> JP dictionary that was mentioned on another site here:

http://tinyurl.com/2cx9x2

I thought I was looking in the right area, but in the end I had to cave in and ask for help.

I also raided their manga section. Manga is a great way to learn Japanese while being entertained at the same time. The downside is that it’s pricey outside of Japan. $3 for manga here, compared to $9-$15 in the U.S. I’d buy more from Amazon.co.jp, but the shipping is too painful.

So I’m stocking up here.

The downside– it’s all heavy.

Carrying it all around drained me. I was starving, so I stopped at a cafe underneath Maruzen, grabbed a bite, then hit the Marunouchi line back to Shinjuku. Then I took time to grab a quick shower and rest a little.

Harajuku, Kiddy Land, and Roppongi

Tomorrow and Sunday are supposed to be rainy, so one priority tonight is to find an umbrella that does not suck. Most of the umbrellas you can get here fail utterly to cover my American bigness. I’m not fat, I’m just tall with broad shoulders and a barrel chest. (Wait, am I fat???) I’ll put it this way– I’m not fat for an American. In the U.S., I use a golf umbrella, and that works okay.

After a little rest and recovery, it was off to Harajuku to go to Kiddyland, a 5- story toy store. But it’s not the kind of toy store you’d expect. They have some cool stuff, and some weird stuff. Not all of it is for kids, either. I found some presents there. Prowling all the various levels was fun. The 4-foot high stuffed Hello Kitty was a little creepy, but Kitty-chan is popular here.

One thing you’ll notice pretty quickly is that most stores in Japan are multi-floor, so there will be a cashier on each floor to take all of your purchases to. I suppose it’s not really different from US department stores, really. Stores are taller in the big cities in Japan because it’s cheaper to build “up” than “out,” unlike most of the US.

I guess because I live in a more suburban area in the U.S., I’m not used to going to stores with a lot of floors. I’m more used to 20,000-50,000 square foot one-story monster stores with just one checkout area.

I set off for Roppongi to see Tokyo Midtown and have dinner there. Tokyo Midtown is a huge building with lots of expensive stores and some expensive and some kind-of-reasonably-priced restaurants. I had dinner there, because I heard there were a lot of good restaurants there. And they do exist. It’s just that some close at 9 p.m., some close at 11 p.m., and some close at midnight. It’s a little confusing. Most of the carry-out restaurants close at 9 p.m., so if you remember that, you’re one step ahead of the game.

I found a nice little restaurant and had some fried cheese wontons, followed by some squid tempura (which was incredible: so soft, and not chewy), and some small slices of roast duck with grilled spring onion. With 2 ginger ales, that wound up costing 3,300 yen.

Ouch.

But it was so good.

A tip– if you go to a restaurant and can’t make heads or tails out of the menu, ask if they have an English menu. A lot of restaurants do.

Eigo no menyuu ga arimasu ka?” It’s a very handy phrase to know.

Then I made a blunder. I got Tokyo Midtown’s tower confused with Tokyo Skyview, which is also in Roppongi. Midtown does NOT have an observation deck available to the public, or so the sign told me.

Shinjuku at Night

It was almost 10, so I caught a train back to Shinjuku, and after consulting the 4 squids trying to hump each other, also known as the map of the Tokyo subway and train lines, I figured out which tentacle to ride back.  I’ve consulted many versions of this map, and nobody seems to be able to make it not look confusing.

Just go with it.

The train ride back was crowded. Even at 10 p.m., the trains are packed. Get used to it. I recommend wearing clothes that breathe. Much as I love cotton, it doesn’t breathe. That’s one big regret right there.

When I got back to JR Shinjuku, I took a few photos from the bridge:

JR Shinjuku at night:

Shinjuku at Night

Shinjuku at Night

Times Square:

Shinjuku at Night

Shinjuku at Night

Time Square decorations:

Shinjuku at Night

The rain has already started, and I don’t have a decent umbrella, so that will be my first objective for tomorrow. Or maybe my second. First I need to figure out what to do in the rain. At least in Tokyo there are a lot of underground passages to get from one place to another, and that’s pretty darn handy.

I’m thinking I may head to Jinbo-cho to check out some print stores, and some book stores there. One other thing I need to locate is a cardboard tube, and maybe someone there will know where I can acquire one.

There are SO many things I want to buy here… ugh. Must restrain self, must restrain self…

Yeah, right.

Tokyoverload.

 Japan, Photos, Travel  Comments Off on Tokyoverload.
Nov 082007
 

Leaving Sendai

Finally made it to Tokyo. A brief synopsis of the day: First, a jar of KitKats. Jar of Kit Kats Yep, a glass jar full of KitKats. Never seen one of those! Jar of Kit Kats I got up early to make my 10 a.m. checkout, went to the station, and made some calls overseas to the family. (Hi family!) I took some photos of the area around JR Sendai:Sendai Ekimae Sendai Ekimae Sendai Ekimae Sendai Ekimae Sendai Ekimae I headed into the station (JR Sendai): JR Sendai A little closer in: JR Sendai Here’s my ride to Tokyo, another Max Yamabiko: JR Sendai--Platform--Max Yamabiko JR Sendai--Platform--Max Yamabiko JR Sendai--Platform--Max Yamabiko Then I hopped on my last Shinkansen, the Hayate 10. It only took an hour and a half to get to Tokyo from Sendai. Nice. I’m a little bummed that I can’t ride anymore for a while. Riding super-fast express trains is really nice. I love the idea of getting somewhere without having to mess around with airport security. I can just grab my bag, grab a train, and get somewhere fast without the body cavity search.

Arriving in Tokyo

When I got to Tokyo, before I left the platform, I took some photos of the shinkansen engines in the vicinity. These were taken with my cell phone camera, so they’re kind of grainy: Tokyo Station Tokyo Station Tokyo Station Tokyo Station One last shot of the platform: Tokyo Station Tokyo station is big, full of shops, and it can be a little overwhelming. The info desk was my first target, and it turned out to be a miss. No English language info I could find. Oh well. I went to the map and figured out how to get to Shinjuku by myself. I grabbed a Rapid train on the Chuo line, and got to Shinjuku in about 15 minutes. I’m glad I picked the Chuo line instead of the Yamanote line, because there was an accident on the Yamanote line, and it was delayed. The Yamanote line is a very useful train line in Tokyo. It goes in a huge loop around the “center” of the city. I use quotes because the city is so huge… and really center-less. But the Yamanote will save you, usually. The Chuo line is useful because it cuts across the middle of the Yamanote doughnut, and it has rapid and express trains that skip the custard in the middle. Anyway, I made it to Shinjuku.

Shinjuku Shuffle

Shinjuku is a bit chaotic. For starters, the station is big, and it’s got a lot of people trying to go in 800 different directions all at once. This can make things confusing. Since I already knew where I wanted to go, it wasn’t such a big deal. I just chose to move a little slowly to get there without getting crushed. Finding the hotel wasn’t too bad, either. I just used my powers of deduction, and found a map. (With North pointing down again, of course.) This is where having the Tokyo City Atlas by Kodansha, or Time Out Tokyo can be a real lifesaver, because both have good maps, and you will need good maps. Now, the hotel. It’s the Hotel Sunroute Shinjuku. Granted, I’m paying a little bit extra for this room. It’s running me $120 a night. But oh my god is it awesome. Right now, I’m staring at the best room view I’ve had in a loooong time, and the best one in Japan so far. (Sorry Hiroshima.) I’m looking out over the skyscrapers in Shinjuku. It’s an impressive view. (Photos were taken on a few different days.) Shinjuku-- My Hotel Room-- The View The View from my Hotel Room The View from my Hotel Room The View from my Hotel Room The chair is comfy, the room has A/C or heating, whichever I want, a full range of soaps/shampoos, even shaving cream, an HDTV that doesn’t suck, ethernet (although the connection is a little sucky), a fridge, a humidifier, pants press, you name it. 10/10 so far. Even the keys are cool. They use RFIDs instead of swipe keys, so you just touch the key to the door, and it unlocks. My hotel room is really nice (taken the day I left Japan, actually, but it fits in this post): Shinjuku-- My Hotel Room The only freaky thing is the glass door to the bathroom, and the window in the bathroom. That’s kind of… weird. In a sort of cool but not altogether uncreepy sort of way, if you get my drift. Shinjuku-- My Hotel Room Oh! And before I forget– I found out why rooms are so scarce– the Tokyo Motor Show is still going on. At least I think that’s the reason… Either way, as soon as I can translate the flyer, I’ll go find it and check it out. I think. Maybe? There’s so much I want to do here, I’m suffering from overload. Ugh. (time jump of a few hours)

Shopping

I just got back from wandering around a bit. I went to the big Kinokuniya (a book store), the one by Takashimaya (a huge dept. store), and just wandered for an hour or so, totally lost. There are so many books I want to get, but I honestly don’t know where to start. Add to that 6 floors of books, and, well… I have a feeling that when I go to Akihabara, I’m going to be a mess. I know one thing I really want to buy, but I can’t afford… a laptop with a JP keyboard on it. I used a JP keyboard in Okazaki, and it makes switching over from EN to JP soooo much easier. But yeah… Kinokuniya is totally overwhelming to me. I guess I’ll just have to go once a day until I get comfortable or something. After that, it was Takashimaya’s basement for dinner. So much good food… but so expensive compared to the other department stores I’ve been to. Yikes. I had some tonkatsu chunks (yum), some more yakitori with negi, a sandwich, and some salad. One bummer- the person I was going to meet to talk about working here… had to go back to the US for an emergency. Shoot.

After Dinner Stroll

After dinner, I headed out to the electronics stores in Shinjuku. There’s a huge Bic Camera there, as well as a monstrously huge Yodobashi Camera. I think that one spans eight buildings. After checking out Bic, I headed over to the Tokyo Metropolitan Building for the free observation deck on the 45th floor. Heading to the Tokyo Metropolitan Building: Shinjuku at Night Shinjuku at Night What’s the best thing you can say about the 45th floor observation level? Well… it’s free. The views are nice, but forget about getting a really good picture. Too much glare on the windows. And yes, there are some horrendous souvenir shops there, too. And evil toy machines from hell. Views from the top of the Tokyo Metropolitan Building: Shinjuku at Night Shinjuku at Night After that, I started to head back “home.” I stopped at Yodobashi Camera, and they were still open. They only closed at 10:00 p.m. Wow, Tokyo sure is different from the rest of Japan. If this was Nagano, all we’d see are tumbleweeds at 10 p.m. Nice store, but it was too close to closing time to check it out. I stopped by the conbini across the street from my hotel. No decent food there. I need to find a 7-11 or a Lawson or something. I did some research, and the Tokyo Motor Show is in Chiba, so I’m not going. Chiba is way out by Narita, and that would just kill a day I can’t afford to kill. Tomorrow will be a shopping day, I think. I’ll do some of that to clear my head and then settle on some touristy stops later. That way I can make sure to bring home what I want to bring home, ya know?

Off to Japan!

 Japan, Travel  Comments Off on Off to Japan!
Oct 112007
 

I have arrived safely in Okazaki. I have a high-speed Ethernet connection in my room, so I am happy. Let me tell you how I got here…

The Flight Over

My flight from Raleigh to Dallas-Ft. Worth left at 6:00 a.m. I’m an international passenger, so I had to be at the airport 2 hours early. (4 a.m.!) To get there, I had to leave home at 3:30 a.m. That means I had to get up at 2:30 a.m.

I didn’t bother with sleeping. I could do that on the plane.

At 3:30 a.m., a car showed up to take me to the airport. It was a Lincoln Town Car. I wouldn’t use one every day, but it’s a great car for riding to the airport.

When I got to the airport, I realized nothing was open yet. The counters didn’t open until a little after 4 a.m. Great! That meant no lines!

Going through security was a bit of work. I unbundled all of my electronics, then did the shoe dance that they want you to do, and I still set off the detector.

It’s a good thing I went through early. I also realized that I packed way too many electronics. (Why am I taking electronics to Japan? That’s like taking baguettes to France.)

My friend Michael was on the same flight to Dallas-Ft. Worth as I was. What a coincidence! But it was nice to have a close friend on the same flight. Michael also did something noble and wonderful which I will never forget– he bumped me up to First Class. Thanks, man. That was beautiful of you.

I got an Admirals’ Club day pass through American, and when I got to DFW, I promptly went to the lounge and recovered from the 6:00 a.m. flight. I love those lounges.

Sadly, the flight to Japan wasn’t so comfy. I was in the middle section of coach on a 777, and it felt like I was flying in a cave. I got a seat over the wings, so it was pretty smooth for the most part, but the 13-plus hour flight was tiring.

I spent most of the flight trying to sleep through it.

I listened to a lot of podcasts. Thanks Leo.

There were LCD TV panels on the back of the seats that show how far away we are from Japan on a little map, and it made the flight seem longer, because it looked as if the plane just wasn’t moving, even though I knew we’re racing through the air at 500-plus miles per hour. We just had a lot of distance to cover.

Arrival in Narita

We made it to Narita on time. I wish there was an arrival lounge for Admiral’s Club members there. I could have used a few minutes to decompress before getting hit full-on with culture shock. And it is a bit of a shock after flying in a dark cave for 13-14 hours to be dumped in a land where everything is alien, including me.

At immigration, they sent me to the Japanese counters instead of the foreigner counters. I guess it was because they had more foreigners coming in than they could deal with, because I don’t look Japanese. At all. (My red hair gives me away.)

Then on to customs. My tenuous grip of Japanese helped me explain my medicine situation, so I got through without being thrown out of the country, but I had to show them my yakkan shoumei, and there was some unpacking and repacking involved.

On to Tokyo

I had to find the Keisei Skyliner, which is an express train from Narita Airport to Ueno Station in Tokyo. It’s about $10-15 cheaper than the JR Narita Express, and it’s slightly faster, too. One tip– don’t buy the first train tickets you see upstairs. Those are sold by a ticket agency who marks up the actual price. Go to the basement of Narita, where the train station is, and buy it from the company.

I made it to Ueno after an hour and a bit, and had to lug my suitcases to the hotel. Silly me, I didn’t realize that Ueno Station has elevators and escalators. So I had to carry the Suitcases of Death up and down stairs. It was tiring. That one-bag idea is looking really good now, and 2 bags just looks dumb.

For my first and only night night in Tokyo for now, I stayed at the Ueno Terminal Hotel. The room was mind-bogglingly tiny for someone used to American hotels, but the room was clean, the service was good, and everything was laid out in a way I could figure out.

First Night in Ueno

My Japanese has come in handy a number of times already. The people here are very polite, and will try to help you if you try to speak slowly and clearly.

After I made it safely to my tiny business hotel in Ueno, I collapsed for a couple of hours, took a shower in a bathroom so small, it boggled my mind some more.

Tiny bathroom

Then I went to Akihabara for a brief look around. (It’s only 2 stops away on the Yamanote line, so why not?) I decided not to buy anything, because I was totally jet-lagged and dazed, and also, anything I bought, I would have to carry all over the country for the next five weeks.

Off to Okazaki

I went back to my room, slept for an hour,  got up, went to the hotel restaurant, ate some pizza, and passed out at 10 p.m. (First time I’ve done that in a while!) I slept in until 5 a.m., then dashed out to catch my 7:36 a.m. shinkansen to Toyohashi.

When I got to Toyohashi, I promptly took the wrong train to Okazaki, but I got there eventually anyway. The local will get you there, just in an excruciatingly slow fashion.

As soon as I got here, they gave me a Japanese language test.

I’ll let that sink in for a moment.

I know it’s important, but man, my brain is just… full or something. It’s probably the jet lag.

The room in the dorm is small, but the staff is nice.

My dorm room at Yamasa in Okazaki

Time for another nap, then some walking around town.

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