Blogging Japan: Day 4, or No Wonder the Japanese are so Thin

This was our last day in Tokyo, at least until the end of the trip. By this point, my feet are in constant pain from all the walking. And here I thought I brought along my most comfy pair of shoes. My pinkie toes beg to differ, however, as I honestly have blisters on top of blisters. I swear to Jebus, if I haven't lost weight from all the walking and healthy food by the time I get home I'll freak.

Since Scott and Aiden were as tired as I was this morning, we decided we'd make a mellow day of it. We grabbed breakfast at the local market (I had small pieces of chicken, spaghetti, potato salad, and rice...odd indeed) and then hopped on the train. Lindsey and Troy decided to brave Shibuya on a Saturday for shopping, while Scott, Aiden and I headed back to Electric Town in search of a new camera.

Electric Town, or Akibahara, has a ton of stores selling gadgets for cheap, including some stores that sell them duty (or tax) free to overseas customers. I ended up scoring a great deal on a new Canon, which is my new precious. I need to figure out all the different features of it, since it has a ton more than my old, crappy camera.

We made it back to the hostel and relaxed the rest of the afternoon. The three of us headed back to the same sit down restaurant from a few nights ago and had a smaller, chicken version of the simmering pot. Here's where I go on and on about how amazing it was: the veggies were fresh, there were delicious chicken dumplings, and this time in the ponzu sauce she cracked a raw egg. That meant that every time we scooped some of the goodness into our bowls, the egg would cook. Oh my god, so good. Scott and I decided that we're going to invest in a table top cooker like that and start to eat this style regularly.













Again, the chef came out and visited with Aiden. This time at the end of the meal, he presented him with three kids' books in Japanese. We looked through them with him at the table; it seems to me they're kind of like Aesop's Fables, or stories with a message. Really cute drawings, and Aiden liked to look at the kanji and thought it was funny that the books are read backward.





As we were leaving, we told them we were heading out of Tokyo the next day, but that we would be back for sure. Aiden said “arigato gozimas” to the chef, and he gave Aiden a big bear hug. I told the owner I didn't want to leave and she said we should just move here and stay. I really wish I could.

Back at the hostel, Troy and Lindsey were home with some cute things from the stores downtown. They were heading out to see Troy's friend Kimi, and I'm an ass so I invited myself along. We met her at a restaurant in Ginza, which seems like a pretty fashionable and pricier neighborhood. The restaurant was kind of spendy, but since I had already eaten I ordered a drink called a Harvey Wallbanger, just because it made me laugh. Troy got some really amazing duck and veggies, and we sat and visited until around midnight. We got to experience the last minute crush of drunk people running through the stations and trying to catch the last trains of the night. The cars are so different late at night; in the day time, people are very focused on being quiet and respectful, but that night everyone was talking much more loudly and animatedly, trying to stay standing against the swaying of the train.











We got back to the hostel and headed to bed; Aiden and Scott were long asleep by that point. The windows were all open, and I noticed that Scott had hung some laundry to dry in the window, which was now getting rained on. I was so tired and lazy I just left it for the morning and another round in the dryer.

Blogging Japan: Day 3, or Past and Present

We started the morning at the same breakfast place, trying to recoup from the long night before. I felt much better after the soup and yams I ate, and Troy, Scott, Aiden and I headed back to the same temple we visited the night before. Our impromptu guide was right; it was packed full of hundreds of worshipers there for the festival.

Since we had had a crash course in etiquette already, we were able to assimilate into the crowd and do everything correctly. We purified ourselves in the smoke, washed out hands and mouths in the fountain, threw coins into the offering area, and finally went inside the temple. It was so beautiful I had to fight back tears.

We left the main building, and walked through the courtyard areas of the grounds. It was so different from the night before. Everything was open and teeming with people looking through the hundreds of shops, more small shrines, and entertainment.











We left the temple grounds, and just walked until we reached a river and a fun park. Aiden was happy about that, since he hasn't really had a chance to run around much on the trip so far. It was especially pretty since the leaves are turning for fall.













We went back to the hotel and relaxed for a bit before heading out for our big night in downtown Tokyo. We went to Shibuya and Shinjuku, which is the busiest and brightest part of the city. My camera unfortunately decided to crap out in the train station on the way there; I'm going to try to salvage what pics I did manage to take later and hope that some came through.

Shibuya was very crowded with Japanese and tourists alike, all dressed in their best, shopping and dining. We had dinner at a restaurant there...let's call it our Bizarre Foods dinner of the trip. We started with an appetizer of fried eel spines, followed by fried pork cartilage, fried noodles, and yakitori consisting of the following chicken parts: breast, egg yolk, hearts, livers, gizzards, wings, thighs, and tail. It was an interesting dinner to say the least.

We hopped back on the rail and headed to the Times Square area of Tokyo. At this point I was exhausted, my feet hurt, and I was feeling a bit queasy from dinner; the absolute crush of people and being blinded/deafened by the lights and sounds of it all was just a bit overwhelming for me in the moment. I consider myself more of a city girl, but this was entirely new and just too much. It's weird, but I think if I had had my camera I would have been able to isolate it into segments and concentrate on one thing at a time instead of being just bewildered by it all. I hope to go back when we come back to Tokyo at the end of our trip, my new camera in hand and knowing what to expect.

I did realize, through the two absolute different Japans that I experienced from the day to the night, that I prefer the old, quiet version to the new, modern Japan. That makes me excited for the rest of the trip, as we're headed to Osaka, Kyoto, and Nara next, which progressively get more traditional. We'll see!

Blogging Japan: Day 2, or Getting to Know You

We woke up early our first morning, about 7 am. Scott had to go out and take care of some banking issues (Bank of America put a freeze on our accounts, lame but understandable), so Aiden and I got ready for the day and watched insane kids' shows on TV. I mean, really crazy. Like, this crazy:

We wandered around Minami-shenju for awhile until we smelled good things coming from inside a small restaurant, so we stepped inside to eat. Troy took Japanese for several years (which has been really helpful so far), and asked the man "what's good to eat?" The cook just laughed, as Troy ended up actually saying something along the lines of "what do I like to eat?" He mimed his way through showing us how to order what we wanted. For the three of us, we ordered three miso soups, one fried onion croquette, two big bowls of rice, and three hot teas. The total was $6. And here we were worried about the high cost of eating in the city. It was really awesome food too; the miso soup was the best I've ever had. It had cabbage in it along with all the regular ingredients, and that made it so much tastier. We said thank you to the cooks and decided that we'll have all our breakfasts there while we're in Tokyo.





We got on the train, and after a few missteps and backtracking made it to our sight seeing destination for today, Electric Town. It was busy, but pretty cool. Lots of anime, gadgets, DVDs and toys. Lots of shielding Aiden's eyes from cartoon boobies. The only bummer was no one wanted to eat, and I kept passing all these amazing looking food places. Next time I'm just going to pig out anyway. I can't pass this stuff up.









Our plans for tonight are to eat dinner, and hit the karaoke bar down the street. If we get enough sleep, we're planing on heading to the Tsukiji Fish Market tomorrow morning for the best sushi breakfast in the world.

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Last night ended up being so crazy that I have to write about it.

On the recommendation of the hotel staff, we went to dinner at a traditional family restaurant down the street. It was the type where you took off your shoes and kneeled on the floor in front of the table. We ordered sake and asked the owner to give us what she thought we would like. We ended up ordering a simmering hot pan, cooked on a stove on the table, of tons of veggies, tofu, and pork. It was so amazing; there aren't even words. We had a ponzu sauce to dip it into that gave it a really nice, crisp after taste.







Aiden was the star of the restaurant though; he quickly gained the attention of the chef, who continued to bring him out goodies from the kitchen and visit with him. He even got two desserts, some ice cream and then a darling little chocolate/cake piggy.



We finished dinner and walked several blocks to a temple we heard was in the area. I had no idea what to expect, and it was so beautiful beyond anything I could have imagined. I'll let the pictures do the talking here:











In another display of the amazing Japanese hospitality, a random business man took us under his wing while we were at the temple and explained every last detail of it to us. It was truly awesome; we learned things we otherwise would have had no clue about, like the fact that we happened to be here at the time of a festival for the Buddha. This is one of the only times a year that the temple is actually open to the public, and though it was closed last night, we got to do some of the rituals, like "shaking hands with the Buddha" via a long series of ropes. That was pretty special.

He took us to a game in front of the temple, where you draw a stick with a number, open the corresponding drawer, and receive your fortune. I managed to draw a good fortune, which he was very happy for me about.



We said "arigato gozaimasu" to him, dropped Aiden and Scott off at the hotel, and hit the karaoke bar around the corner. And what a little karaoke bar it was.

It was clear from the start that it was a local bar; there were about four or five old men in there, one younger guy, and the woman owner. She gave us beer and some snacks, and we ate while listening to some of the super song stylings of our new friends. Of course we had to sing as well; we got several good songs in throughout the night. Bohemian Rhapsody, Killer Queen, Mack the Knife, Like a Virgin.



Part way through, a drunk and stumbling dude came in and sat right down with us. He said he was from Czechleslovakia (here in he shall be referred to as "The Czech"), and began yelling loudly that he wanted a beer and to sing David Bowwwwwwwwieee.

He started singing, and that was about the time Lindsey turned to me and said "this guy's full of shit, he's not Czech." She was 100% right; we called him on his crap and he admitted he was from America, especially after Troy read his work visa to him and told him where he was from. He was drunk and annoying, but a relatively big guy, so we basically put up with him and his weird stories/sexual advances the rest of the night.

Jan Bo was also quite the guy, a younger Japanese man than the other guys in the bar. He challenged us to a lot of singing contests (sadly, he won them all), and also to some arm wrestling (which he also beat me at).



We walked home, and The Czech followed, mumbling that he couldn't find his hotel. He went inside ours and asked for directions; on the way out he kept saying "this place is so much nicer than mine, and cheaper!" I really hope he doesn't show up here.

Later Troy and I were sitting outside on the porch and Jan Bo wandered by and sat down in from of us. He was really trying to tell us something, but we just couldn't understand. We thought at the time that he was wanting us to get him a room here; later, Troy talked to the front desk about it. Turns out he came in and was asking to make sure that we got home ok, since The Czech had followed us. Maybe we'll run into Jan Bo again before we go and buy him a drink.



I stumbled upstairs, got into my jammies, and then decided that a cup of ramen sounded really great. I headed back down the three flights of stairs to the living room, and walked into a pretty animated conversation about Nutella between a Frenchman and the Japanese hostess here. "Do you know Nutella?!" he asked me; heck yes I know Nutella! That got me wrapped up into a two hour long visit with those two, which was really fun and enlightening, since I got to hear two different foreigners' views of America. Alex, the Frenchman, told me that I didn't seem like an American, which actually was a really nice complement considering what they had just told me.

I finally headed upstairs with my cup of noodles at 2 am, took one bite, and decided they were too spicy and just went to sleep instead. I was awakened, very unhappily though very amusingly, but a battalion of Japanese men, marching in formation in the street under my window to a bullhorn. Nice wake up call.

Needless to say, we did not make it to the fish market this morning.

Blogging Japan: Day 1, or And so it Begins

I'm sitting here in the lobby of my hostel, drinking green tea and unwinding while everyone else takes a nap, so I thought it would be a good time to start journaling the trip while everything is still fresh in my mind.

Scott, Aiden, my brother Troy, and his girl Lindsey have all made the very long trip to Tokyo, Japan. We left the house at 9 am on Tuesday, flew for almost 12 hours, and arrived Tokyo time at 6 pm the next day. So technically, I'm in the future! Ha.



Anyway, the flight was tedious, but we all made it though. I was especially impressed with Aiden, as it was his first very long flight. We flew Singapore Air, which I highly recommend. The food and service were great, and the best part was that each seat had their own TV, equipped with video and shows on demand, as well as a bunch of games. That kept us all pretty busy.



We made it through customs and to the trains no problem, but when we finally got to our destination station were totally lost. Luckily, a nice man noticed (not that it was hard to notice five fumbling Americans in the depot) we were lost and helped us find exactly the way to get to our hotel.

We're currently staying at the Aizuya-inn, which is a three story hostel in the Minamishenju area. It's pretty sweet; we have tatami mat rooms, and even though we share shower and bathroom facilities, everything is very clean and everyone is super nice and helpful.

We were so exhausted by the time we got all settled in that we laid out our beds and crashed. It ended up working out perfectly; we fell asleep at about 10 pm Tokyo time and woke up at 7 am. So we're already on Japan time, and with minimal jet lag.