TOKYO

I won’t bore anyone with the details of traveling from The States to Japan.  It was completely uneventful.  No disaster movie turbulence.  No unexpected delays.  No regurgitation.

After having laid-over in Narita airport on half a dozen occasions, I finally actually entered the country and got a Japan stamp in my passport.  Another item crossed off the bucket list.

Japan…is…amazing.

I have never been to a cleaner, more efficient place in my entire life.  There are no trash cans except right next to food and drink vending machines (which actually vend hot drinks in addition to the usual cold).  Ostensibly, you are meant to stand there and drink your drink or eat your snack before moving on.  You won’t see people wandering while eating and drinking.  There is no litter in the streets.  Public smoking stations are dotted throughout the city where businessmen and women will stand to enjoy a puff before hastily moving on.  There are no cigarette butts lying around either.  And for a country that has a large smoking population and even vends cigarettes out of machines, this is a miraculous feat.

When I first arrived, I was a bit delirious from the travel.  Had Spencer not already been in country for a while and met me at the airport, I very well may not have found the hotel…ever.  The train stations are ridiculous labyrinths.  We had to make a few different train transfers and surprisingly little signage or ‘mappage’ are in both Japanese and English.

The trains are packed down with businessmen in black suits.  Everyone is either reading a book or on an electronic device.  On the escalators, everyone queues up on the left with one person per step.  If you want to walk up, there is always room to the right.  Everyone waits at a cross walk.  Even if the street is 10 feet across and there is no traffic, they will wait until they are given the signal to cross.  Everyone follows the rules so it all works.

We stayed at Nihonbashi Villa.  It is a business hotel with teeny tiny rooms.  It also has capsule “rooms”.  I can’t imagine sleeping in just a literal hole in the wall.  The room we had wasn’t much bigger.  There was about a foot of space between the wall desk and the bed and that area was taken up by a ridiculously large desk chair.  However, this would be the smallest room we would stay in on this trip, so we made the best of it.  It was rather cozy and served a purpose.  Not like we spent all day hanging out in the room anyhow.

My first true meal in Japan actually ended up being Chinese from a restaurant just down from our hotel.  There wasn’t much besides that restaurant and a convenience store in the near vicinity.  And it was really cold in Tokyo, so walking around at night wasn’t particularly appealing.  We enjoyed some sweet and sour pork and pot stickers.  Spencer also had some spicy cold noodles.  It was a very enjoyable dinner.

I forced myself to stay up past 10pm that first night.  Even then, I still woke up at 2:30am and wasn’t able to get back to sleep.  I just watched TV on my tablet until Spencer woke up.  Well, until he was awoken by the glow of the tablet.  Sorry.

For lunch the following day, we thought it would be awesome to find a conveyor belt sushi restaurant.  This is a sushi establishment that has lovely little plates of sushi circling the restaurant and you just grab what you like.  They tally the plates at the end and charge you a flat rate per plate.  Spencer had run a search for a restaurant near Tokyo station.  We were going to try and locate Tokyo Genki Sushi, which had received great reviews and ratings.  We ended up outside the station because that’s where it looked like it was located on GPS.  After asking a police officer at a koban (police box) for directions to Yaesu-chika-gai, we went back inside the train station as he directed.  We were still attempting to follow the GPS at this point because there wasn’t much else we could do.  There are no maps of the shopping arcade in English.  Finally, I stopped at a store and asked one of the ladies working there for directions to Tokyo Genki Sushi.  She pulled out a floor map and showed us where the restaurant was located.  Then her colleague came up and informed her that the restaurant had closed, but that there was another one in its place, so we could still go there.  After locating it, we found that it was a sushi restaurant, however, not one with a conveyor belt.  This proved to be a slight issue since neither of us speaks Japanese.  Made it fairly difficult to order.  And it was a little pricey.  However, the fish was fresh and delicious and the service polite.  A nifty thing about sushi bars here is that they provide a box of green tea powder at intervals and hot water spouts, so you don’t need to order tea. If only I liked green tea…

Side note: plastic food.

                There is an entire industry in Japan dedicated to the creation of plastic food for window displays.  It is tailored to the specific menu of the restaurant and is very costly.  Nearly every restaurant you come upon will have its entire menu displayed in the window in the form of very detailed and fairly realistic fake food dishes.  It’s quite impressive. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fake_food_in_Japan

 

Neither of us had eaten our fill, so we went to a tempura restaurant.  Another of the difficulties is that most restaurants serve only particular types of food.  This means everyone in your party needs to feel like eating the same kind of food.  Noodles at one place, tempura at another, sushi at yet another, etc.  I didn’t feel like eating another meal yet, but we went in so that Spencer could have something.  He ordered a bento with tempura and miso and a few other tid-bits and I indicated to the waitress that I wasn’t eating.  She tried to explain something to us, but we couldn’t understand what she was tried to get across.  A little while later, another woman came over and explained that I couldn’t just sit with him, I had to order something.  So I got a Coke.  However, after I took a sip of Spencer’s miso soup (some of the best I have ever had), I had to have a bowl of my own.  It was only 100 yen.  One dollar.  And scrumptious.

We were finally ready to head over to Shinjuku Gyoen and start our outing.

After a train adventure getting there, we paid our 200 yen entrance fee, got our English map, and made our way in to this giant, beautiful oasis in the middle of Tokyo.

And it was well worth it.  There are areas that seem more natural and allowed to grow of their own accord.  The Japanese traditional garden was obviously more well-manicured.  The large pond occupies a good portion of it.  It is teeming with voracious carp.  They swim along the surface with their mouths out of the water.  It really is a bit unnerving.  Especially since they are so large that you can see the “V” in the water indicating that one is swimming towards you…  I wouldn’t want to fall in that pond.

It also has a French formal garden with gravel walkways and an English landscape garden with an extensive lawn where people can have a rest or a picnic or just enjoy the surrounding view.  We didn’t notice the large greenhouse until we were on our way out (when the garden was closing).  I’m sure that would have been nice to wander through as well.

That evening (for lack of imagination on my part and just a desire to have a satisfying meal), we opted again for the Chinese restaurant near our hotel.  We took a more scenic route to get there, wandering some of the side streets.  We found a shop with $6 ties and, you know, Spencer just had to have one.  They also had lovely $5 scarves and, you know, I just had to have one.  After donning my purchase, we continued our walk back to our neighborhood and had a tasty dinner of sweet and sour pork, cashew chicken, and gyoza.

FUJI-Q!

We had originally thought to go to Tokyo Dome, but found out that the one roller coaster wasn’t even in service.  Then we read about Fuji-Q Highlands in Fujiyoshida.  It has seven roller coasters; four of them are unique and epic.  And it’s fairly inexpensive (1,300 yen entry fee and then about 1,000 yen per coaster).  We were going to buy the day pass at 5,000 yen but we didn’t get there until almost 2pm.  They recommended at the gate that we only pay the entry fee and then get the rides individually since we may not have enough time to ride them all.  They close at 6pm.

I’m getting a little ahead of myself, though.

After getting to Shinjuku station and finding out when the next train would leave for Fujikyu, we opted to have a bit of lunch.

Side note: vending machines.

                In addition to being able to buy hot or cold drinks, hot soups, and cigarettes from a vending machine on nearly every other street corner, many restaurants also have ticket machines where you put in your money, select your food(by picture, fortunately), and then take your ticket to the person inside so they can prepare it for you.  I think it’s brilliant.  Most of the time, not being able to read or write Japanese is not a hindrance because of the pictures.  Also, the people working there don’t have to worry about handling money or misunderstanding an order.  It’s all terribly efficient.

 

So, we decided to get noodles from a shop with a ticket machine.  I saw a picture of udon noodles with a dark broth and something with tempura.  Sounded good.  I had never used one of these machines before.  I put in my money, selected my food, and a little ticket popped out.  I was standing there waiting for it to spit out my change and it wasn’t doing anything.  Spencer had already gone inside to get his food so I couldn’t ask him what I was supposed to do.  A little Japanese man indicated that I needed to pick my food.  I was so flustered over the whole thing that I again pressed the key.  Out popped another ticket and my only response was, “No, no, no!”  Spencer came out at this point to see what the hold-up was.  He said that I needed to hit the ‘change’ button so that it would spit out my money.  It was only a couple extra dollars that I had spent.  He gave my extra meal ticket to the old man who had helped me.  We went inside and sat down with our giant bowls of noodles and broth and began our meal.  The old man sat down next to us and carried on an almost constant stream of (and decidedly one-sided) conversation with us, even though it was obvious that neither of us spoke any more than three words of Japanese.  He didn’t seem to be bothered by this.  He finished long before us but still stayed until just before we were ready to leave.  I must admit, it was one of the more awkward meals I have had.

The train ride to Fuji was amazing in itself.  It was well worth two hours on a train to get out of Tokyo and see the countryside and the mountains.  In Colorado, as you drive through the mountains you will see aspen groves interspersed in the evergreens; a burst of gold and white here and there.  In Japan, there are cherry trees in full blossom popping out amongst trees that have such delicate greenery they appear almost blurry.

When we first saw Fuji, it was breath-taking.  It is massive and half frosted with snow and took up the entire horizon when we rounded the bend.  There really aren’t words to describe how incredible it was.

As I mentioned before, we got kind of a late start and didn’t arrive at the park until four hours before close.  We also wanted to go to Chureito Pagoda before sunset so we could see Fuji in the golden light.  Therefore, we needed to cram in what we could.

The first coaster we went on was Eejanaika.  This is a “4^th dimension” rollercoaster and only the second one ever built.  Its seats can rotate 360 degrees forward and backward in a controlled spin and inverts 14 different times.  At 76 meters tall and 126 km/h, it is both higher and faster than the first one built. They make you take off your shoes, scarves, anything loose, and put it in lockers before you get in the cars.  And it was well worth the 40 minutes we spent waiting in line for it.  Now, I don’t get scared on coasters, but I do scream.  This is the only way I am able to breathe when falling.  You better believe I screamed on this sucker.  And I did manage to keep my eyes open for most of it.

After we finished with Eejanaika (or, should I say, IT finished with US), we walked towards Fujiyama, the King of Roller Coasters.

Before we got there, we found a taiyaki vendor.  These are incredible waffle pastries that are filled with custard and shaped like a fish.  The ones at Fuji Q are actually shaped like Mt. Fuji with a fish stamped in the middle.  And they are absolutely delish.  I love, love, love things filled with custard.  These are no exception.  If you travel to Japan, taiyaki are a ‘must eat’.

After enjoying our snack, we got in the queue for Fujiyama.  And what a queue it was.  When it first opened in 1996, Fujiyama became a Guiness record holder for Highest Roller Coaster.  The maximum height of the coaster is 79 meters and as of 2007, it was still 8^th highest in the world. 

We ended up being in line for an hour and 20 minutes.  But the view alone was worth the cold, windy wait.  We were lucky enough to be able to sit in the first car.  As we reached the top of the peak, we were treated to the most magnificent, unobstructed view of Mt. Fuji.  The mountain took our breath away even before the first drop of the roller coaster did.  And I screamed the whole time.  They let you keep your shoes on for this coaster, but they made me take off my elastic head bands before boarding.  I thought it was a bit ridiculous at first, but in retrospect, probably a good idea.  I almost lost my ponytail as it was.  All we could think about afterwards was warming up.  Spencer really wanted some fried noodles and I just wanted to hold something warm.  Yakisoba (ticket machine) and corn chowder and coffee (vending machine) for him, hot cocoa (vending machine) for me.  And it really wasn’t half bad.

Given that the shortest wait on any of the other roller coasters was an hour and a half and it was already 4:30 at this point, we opted to start making our way out of the park.  With a quick stop at Mos Burger for Spencer first.

A 10 to 20-minute train ride to Shino-yoshida station was all it took before we were on our way up the hill to Chureito Pagoda.  I didn’t realize all the steps that were involved.  Until it was too late.  It almost killed me and I paid for it later in my left shin and my right calf, but I’m glad I made the hike.  Although it would have been more impressive when the cherry trees were heavy with blossoms, it still allowed for an incredible view of Mt. Fuji and the town at its feet.

At one of the train stations on the way back, I found this delicious hot apple/ginger cider in a vending machine on the platform.  And I haven’t been able to find it since.  Very bummed about that.  Out of the millions of machines in Japan, some machine at a train platform in po-dunk no-where is the only one carrying this delectable drink…

By the time we arrived back in Tokyo, both of us were fairly ravenous.  Spencer had read about an Italian restaurant called Pizza Salvatore Cuomo that was supposed to be really good.  Somehow we were actually able to find the place (thank God for GPS and tablets and pocket wifi).  We requested non-smoking, but since the dining area is only about 30 feet across and cigarette smoke doesn’t care, it didn’t really make that much of a difference.  I got the quattro formaggi, as I typically do, and Spencer ordered the pizza margherita.  I was happy as a pig in mud with my delicious combination of mozzarella, ricotta, gorgonzola, and edam with a cream sauce.  Unfortunately, Spencer was less than thrilled with his margherita.  Which was unfortunate since, including two drinks, it was about a $50 meal.

After dinner, we wandered around in the Akihabara district, also known as “Electric City”.  Mostly it consists of bars, restaurants, electronics stores, UFO game shops (crane games, in the US), and pachinko parlors.  We did stop in and play some crane games; won a couple little prizes.  Spencer’s eye caught the new Hero 3 go-pro camera in an electronics store and he had to have it.  I wandered through the camera section in the hopes of finding an inexpensive point-and-shoot digital camera.  None were to be found.  None that were less than $150 anyhow.  More than I was willing to pay.

Once we got back to Shinjuku station, we again had to sort out which train to take to get back to Tokyo station in order to take a train to Bakurocho station in order to get to our hotel.  Maybe if I had a month to spend in Tokyo I would be able to make some sense of the trains.  However, I might lose my mind if I spent a month in Tokyo.

It is too bustling for my taste.  Everyone is in a hurry to get somewhere.  You rarely find a place to be able to sit and relax.  It’s as if no one is supposed to stop moving.  It is giant and busy and crowded (but NOT noisy).  If we were partiers and smokers and gamblers, Tokyo may have been more attractive.  As it is, we were more than happy to start making our way farther south.

Next stop: Kyoto.