How dare I?
Well, here I am, making up for it. So much has happened I'm going to have mercy and just keep posting pictures and blogs for a few days. And let's go chronological! That's always fun.
So here was the Tokyo Itinerary:
Saturday
7:30pm Catch JR train to Morioka....Nope, make that 8:12....oops, no sorry: due to the Biblical flooding we've had over the past week, let's say 8:19pm.
11:00pm Board the Night Bus: basically a big coach bus, no free-moving bunk beds, just reclining seats with hoods that come over your head for some awkward but peaceful sleeping.
(Note: Next time, Ambien, Unisom, a cocktail...anything)
Sunday
7:00am Arrive in Downtown Asakusa, Tokyo
Proceed to walk around, looking for foodstuffs. Once acquired, proceed exploring. Make sure you have company or things could easily go very very badly...I've been known to step somewhat haphazardly into traffic in the past. Having your own personal idiot-wrangler is a good thing when you're in a new city. Thank, Patrick.
We got incredibly lucky with the weather. For weeks, it's been raining in Iwate, and we were a little apprehensive about Tokyo, but it was beautiful! Hot, humid, but beautiful! We decided that since we weren't going to be able to sign into our hostel until late afternoon that we'd walk to Shibuya to see the Gyoen. Start with the furthest thing first.
 |
| Take a Picture, Get Free Consomme Pringles! |
Along the way, we derped around a shopping center for second hand goods, mostly looking into gaming models, figures, etc. After that, we caught a train to Shinjuku Gyoen. The park is massive and divided into different themed sections including a huge greenhouse, a French garden, large open areas with families and couples laying out and basking in the sun. Then at one side was the Japanese tea garden and pavilion. We wandered through the park admiring the hydrangeas, pines, and beautifully trimmed bonsai.
When we finally returned to Asakusa, we were a couple train stops away from where the hostel was, so we booked it through the city. As we got closer and closer, we got a pleasant surprise: we were actually sprinting towards the Asahi Flame building and, wait for it...Tokyo Sky Tree! It loomed closer and closer as we wound through the streets. In the end, the Khaosan Annex is just a couple blocks away from the Tree! Shout out for any and all Khaosan hostels: this Annex is great! Perfect for any age, ideal for 20 somethings: the day we signed in, they had a promotion where you buy a 200 en beer and you get one for free...and free snacks! A very hip, relaxed atmosphere, Khaosan offers free internet, a living room with a TV, a kitchen fully equipped for the guests, showers and capsule-style bunks.
After a shower, I went downstairs to do some writing and maybe meet some people. A few minutes later and a bunch of us (Japanese, Australian, Canadian and French) were bonding over the Korea vs Japan soccer game on TV. Japan 2. Korea 0.
 |
| Rapt Attention |
Monday
9:30am It Begins
It began with rain. Lots and lots of rain. I mean LOTS of rain. But was that going to dampen my spirits? Hell to the no! Just across the river and up a block was the Kaminarimon (thunder gate) and Senso-ji temple. After brunch at Denny's (yes, Denny's) we ventured out into the rain and through the thunder gate.
 |
| Japanese Brunch at Denny's |
Inside the gate, there's the customary shopping plaza full of kitsch and food but once you battle your way through, you stand in awe of another gate and then at last, Senso-ji. In the center of the grounds is a large Japanese incense burner. You can buy a bundle of incense and light it, say a prayer and plant it among the ashes in the large cauldron-shaped burner. People gather around the heady smoke, say a prayer and then it is customary to use your hands to waft the smoke onto yourself. So if you pray for beauty, you swipe smoke onto your face, or if you have a wicked case of arthritis, waft it over any aching joints. Personally, I could stand for a little mental clarity: my hair smelled delightfully blessed all day. 
Some people might consider this little ritual nothing more than having smoke blown up your...wait. Too easy.
Inside the temple, there was a place along the wall where you can get a fortune. Japanese fortune telling is really cool: you make an offering, pick up a box that has numbered sticks in it, say a prayer or make a wish and shake the box. A stick slips out of a little hole and you find the corresponding drawer along the wall and pull out a slip of paper. Ta-da!
After Senso-ji, we went down to Akihabara. The rain was letting up, thankfully, but we still rode the train. After the hiking we did on Sunday, we deserved a break. "Akiba" is, in short, a gaming geek's wettest dream come true. The shopping district is dedicated mostly to fanaticism of the anime and video-gaming variety. While there's a lot of other stuff going on in Akiba, mostly, the types you see are gamers varying from novice to hardcore in intensity. There are all kinds of secondhand shops, arcades, pachinko, fetish stores, "maid" cafes, UFO claw machines and yes, people in costume on the street. This time around, the costumed girls were spokeswomen for different stores and unfortunately, they were not too willing to get a picture taken. Oh well. At least I finally got the Eevee pillow I've been lusting after for weeks. Shut up! It's cute!
We had one last stop to make for the day: the Imperial Palace. Sad to say, we weren't able to get into the grounds. I was disappointed, but still impressed by what I saw. The bridges, curiously pruned trees and colossal stone wall were breathtaking. It's in the middle of a city, but there's something eerily quiet about the palace: it looms behind a line of trees, steady, old and beautiful.
 |
| Rickshaw Drivers Everywhere! |
And speaking of beautiful, when we reached Asakusa, the sky had cleared and a strong, cool wind was blowing up the river. We watched river cruise boats pass by and saw lively enkai going on in each, salary men drinking and laughing, filling each others' glasses. On the opposite shore, Sky Tree was displaying an impressive light show.
Tuesday
8:30am Oh, Hi Sky Tree
We decided to get the day started nice and early before we had to check out so we wouldn't have to carry our shite to the stop of the tower. We walked just a few blocks up the road and found ourselves staring up at the beautiful tower. Sky Tree's architectural design is very cool: the "root" underground is a triangle. The "trunk" progresses upwards, getting rounder and rounding until you reach the top and find the core is perfectly cylindrical! As you ride the outrageously fast elevator up to the 350th floor, an animation shows the triangle becoming a circle...if I was a math person, I'd be able to appreciate the architecture, but as an art person, I saw the beauty of the transition.
On the viewing deck, the view over Tokyo was incredible. Tokyo is huge and sprawling, but the city isn't geometrically laid out: all angles and no grid...and no sky scrapers. Nothing will give you a god complex like looking down on the world and seeing nothing else above you. And the digital touch-screen that lets you change the view of Tokyo from day to night doesn't do anything to dissuade that feeling.
After a stop in the gift shop for some gifts for our co-workers, we walked back to Khaosan to bid farewell. Our last stop in Tokyo was Ueno Park and zoo.
I have a new favorite animal: the okapi! The Ueno Zoo has one of these exceedingly rare and beautiful creatures! It looks like something out of a Dr. Seuss book, an animal that looks like it couldn't decide what it wanted to be. Part zebra, part giraffe, part horse...
Sometimes, I feel like an okapi.
No comments:
Post a Comment