So work is busier than I remember. I may have chance tomorrow evening (yeah!) but I don't want to count chickens before they are hatched. So tired and so many chickens. I think I may see one now...no, that's salad. with dressing. priceless.
king of 210 rose.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
New post coming soon
I've been working all week and haven't had a chance to start on the China portion of the trip, plus my internet is still down at home. I'll try and post this weekend. Hope you are all well. Stay tuned!
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Day 6, continued
Now where were we...
Day 6, continued
After we left Chiharu, Ayako offered to show us some of the sights. First stop, Meiji shrine. We got off the train at the Harajuku exit and made the trek to the shrine's entrance. Harajuku is kind of like, well, like nothing I've ever seen. You get a bunch of teenagers dressed up like anime characters all hoping to have their pictures taken by complete strangers and you have a party. Quite the hippy vibe going. And look! Free hugs!
Next was the shrine, a Shinto shrine dedicated to the memory of Emperor Meiji, the first emperor to embrace some western culture. This was really nice. First, it's in a huge park next to Harajuku and makes you feel like you aren't in a big city. Second, it's clean, quiet, and serene. There are even walls of wine and sake casks near the entrance. After some confusion of whether or not it was OK to take photos, we step outside and presto, we're in the middle of someone's wedding. This definitely was a treat to see. Normally I wouldn't have taken a photo but everyone else was and hey, you decide to get married in a public place and you're going to have tourists taking pictures, I'm sorry! One of my favorite pictures from this trip is the close up of the smiling bride. It makes me happy!
After the shrine, Ayako took us on a walk through Harajuku, though along a street that was full of nice shops and no costumes :(. It was a beautiful neighborhood and had a lot of fancy imported cars. Lots of money around, I'm sure. There was this really sweet building (I think it was a prada or dior store or something) that I wanted to take a picture of but had these secret service looking dudes guarding the perimeter and I would have felt weird whipping out the camera. Oh well. We walked on and found the Tokyo Blue Note. I think Diane Schuur (sp?) was singing. We decided against it.
Lots of walking = hungry and weary travelers. My dad and I big farewell to Ayako and went back to Shinigawa for dinner. I decided I didn't want to sit around my last night in Tokyo so I called Ayako and we met at Shibuya crossing for some drinks. This was a blast. We went to the top of the building with the biggest tv (the one on the right with the starbucks) and drank Tan-Taka-Tan and beer until 1AM (I almost missed my train!) This Tan-Taka-Tan stuff is great. It's a kind of Shochu, a Japanese vodka type drink, and it pisses me off that I can't find it here! Damn it all!!
I had a really good time seeing friends in Tokyo. Ayako was especially helpful and made our trip a lot better. Thank you!!! Got to bed around 2:15AM and had to be up at 5:45 to make our flight to China. Time to say goodbye to Japan! I'll leave you with the short summation I wrote about Japan in my travel log:
Tokyo - I loved it. Like New York on crack. It was nice to have friends show me around. A lot of it was like the US but the things that were different (trains, service) I liked better. I want to go back already!
Day 6, continued
After we left Chiharu, Ayako offered to show us some of the sights. First stop, Meiji shrine. We got off the train at the Harajuku exit and made the trek to the shrine's entrance. Harajuku is kind of like, well, like nothing I've ever seen. You get a bunch of teenagers dressed up like anime characters all hoping to have their pictures taken by complete strangers and you have a party. Quite the hippy vibe going. And look! Free hugs!
Next was the shrine, a Shinto shrine dedicated to the memory of Emperor Meiji, the first emperor to embrace some western culture. This was really nice. First, it's in a huge park next to Harajuku and makes you feel like you aren't in a big city. Second, it's clean, quiet, and serene. There are even walls of wine and sake casks near the entrance. After some confusion of whether or not it was OK to take photos, we step outside and presto, we're in the middle of someone's wedding. This definitely was a treat to see. Normally I wouldn't have taken a photo but everyone else was and hey, you decide to get married in a public place and you're going to have tourists taking pictures, I'm sorry! One of my favorite pictures from this trip is the close up of the smiling bride. It makes me happy!
After the shrine, Ayako took us on a walk through Harajuku, though along a street that was full of nice shops and no costumes :(. It was a beautiful neighborhood and had a lot of fancy imported cars. Lots of money around, I'm sure. There was this really sweet building (I think it was a prada or dior store or something) that I wanted to take a picture of but had these secret service looking dudes guarding the perimeter and I would have felt weird whipping out the camera. Oh well. We walked on and found the Tokyo Blue Note. I think Diane Schuur (sp?) was singing. We decided against it.
Lots of walking = hungry and weary travelers. My dad and I big farewell to Ayako and went back to Shinigawa for dinner. I decided I didn't want to sit around my last night in Tokyo so I called Ayako and we met at Shibuya crossing for some drinks. This was a blast. We went to the top of the building with the biggest tv (the one on the right with the starbucks) and drank Tan-Taka-Tan and beer until 1AM (I almost missed my train!) This Tan-Taka-Tan stuff is great. It's a kind of Shochu, a Japanese vodka type drink, and it pisses me off that I can't find it here! Damn it all!!
I had a really good time seeing friends in Tokyo. Ayako was especially helpful and made our trip a lot better. Thank you!!! Got to bed around 2:15AM and had to be up at 5:45 to make our flight to China. Time to say goodbye to Japan! I'll leave you with the short summation I wrote about Japan in my travel log:
Tokyo - I loved it. Like New York on crack. It was nice to have friends show me around. A lot of it was like the US but the things that were different (trains, service) I liked better. I want to go back already!
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Day 6 - Tokyo
Still don't have internet access at home. I'm currently sitting in a parking lot typing this out wondering how I've ever gotten along without the internet. I forgot to mention in the last post the rest of Day 5's events after Shibuya. All we did was go back to Shinagawa station and eat dinner at McDonalds. I know, I know. All the way to Japan and we Mc-y D's? I have to admit I was sick of eating noodles and needed a little taste of home. And it tasted good. The burger was a bit different (they don't cook things for as long over there) but the fries were exactly the same. I imagine they are shipped from the same place as ships to the US. Lucky us. Then it was back to the hotel to wait out the storm (we were told every day and night that the typhoon was coming. I guess this night they meant it.) So I head a beer and went to bed. The End.
Until...Day 6!
Woke up and had a big breakfast at the buffet. All of the food continues to be good. And guess what? The storm had passed and the sun was out. Yeah! The first day in Japan without rain!!!
I had been in brief contact with some friends in Tokyo (of course not until I was actually in Japan, but I'm not the best at planning ahead) and had arranged to meet them around 12pm. This left the morning free. And what is one of the big things Americans think of when one mentions Japan? Electronics! So we decided to go to one of the more famous electronics hubs, the Sony building. It also gave us to explore another Tokyo neighborhood, Ginza. This required our first foray into the subway and I'm happy to say nobody got lost or lost a toe. Upon arrival in Ginza it was clear this was a more upscale part of town (though it all looks nice.) Lots of department stores and famous brand name shops.
When we arrived at Sony, it was closed. Doesn't open till 11AM. And it was maybe 9:45. So we walked. We ended up in a large department store looking for the men's section. 1st floor - nothing but jewelry. 2-6 floors - women's clothing. Finally, the 7th floor was guys. It was expensive and a little boring until the earthquake. At first I thought I might be passing out. We had been walking all day, everyday without a lot of eating and nobody in the store chose to acknowledge the building shaking. Plus, my dad said he didn't feel it. Then the signs started to sway and things fell off the manikins. But people still shopped and store attendants still attended. Only after it had stopped did anybody break out of character and it was only to quickly replace the man-purse a manikin had dropped. The earthquake wasn't that big but it turned out to really mess up a nuclear plant up north. Not good. So we left the building a bit shaken and found a cool little nissan show room. And this car made me happy.
Back to Sony and a world of personal bliss. A guy's heaven; everything in crystal clear HD, salespeople speaking broken english, and even stuff that wasn't out on the market yet. Ah yes, shangri-la. I found the coolest little Sony ipod-type player about the size of an ipod nano but with a bigger screen that played movies. I drooled a little and proceeded to the checkout. But once again, the Japanese custom of not accepting credit cards foils me. So I bought a pair of noise canceling headphones for cheap. Yeah Sony!
I wish we would have had more time but it was off on the Subway to meet my friends Chiharu and Ayako. I had gone to the U of Oregon with both of them but had no idea Ayako was back in Tokyo. Chiharu was working at Yodobashi camera and only had time to have lunch with us (once again, my fault for not planning ahead.) Having arrived 15 minutes late and having not set a meeting place (real smart, matt) I raced around the store until, luckily, I found them. Chiharu had to work another hour, hour and a half so Ayako took us to the new government buildings. It was quiet because it was Sunday but you can really imagine (with how big it is) just how many people probably work there. And they even had a free, yes FREE observation deck. So up we went. In the photo looking down, those tiny dots are people.
Then it was back to eat lunch with Chiharu. He lead us through a maze of buildings to a basement restaurant that served traditional Okinawan food. It was delicious and surprise, full of noodles. After chatting and eating for about 45 minutes, Chiharu had to go back to work. Sadly, not planning ahead had cost me a day with a friend (he said if I had told him in advance what day I was going to be there, he would have taken me and my dad to Mt. Fuji.) Sad!
So that concludes the first half of the day. I'll leave the 2nd half till later because my computer is running out of battery. Hope everyone is doing well. Peace!
Until...Day 6!
Woke up and had a big breakfast at the buffet. All of the food continues to be good. And guess what? The storm had passed and the sun was out. Yeah! The first day in Japan without rain!!!
I had been in brief contact with some friends in Tokyo (of course not until I was actually in Japan, but I'm not the best at planning ahead) and had arranged to meet them around 12pm. This left the morning free. And what is one of the big things Americans think of when one mentions Japan? Electronics! So we decided to go to one of the more famous electronics hubs, the Sony building. It also gave us to explore another Tokyo neighborhood, Ginza. This required our first foray into the subway and I'm happy to say nobody got lost or lost a toe. Upon arrival in Ginza it was clear this was a more upscale part of town (though it all looks nice.) Lots of department stores and famous brand name shops.
When we arrived at Sony, it was closed. Doesn't open till 11AM. And it was maybe 9:45. So we walked. We ended up in a large department store looking for the men's section. 1st floor - nothing but jewelry. 2-6 floors - women's clothing. Finally, the 7th floor was guys. It was expensive and a little boring until the earthquake. At first I thought I might be passing out. We had been walking all day, everyday without a lot of eating and nobody in the store chose to acknowledge the building shaking. Plus, my dad said he didn't feel it. Then the signs started to sway and things fell off the manikins. But people still shopped and store attendants still attended. Only after it had stopped did anybody break out of character and it was only to quickly replace the man-purse a manikin had dropped. The earthquake wasn't that big but it turned out to really mess up a nuclear plant up north. Not good. So we left the building a bit shaken and found a cool little nissan show room. And this car made me happy.
Back to Sony and a world of personal bliss. A guy's heaven; everything in crystal clear HD, salespeople speaking broken english, and even stuff that wasn't out on the market yet. Ah yes, shangri-la. I found the coolest little Sony ipod-type player about the size of an ipod nano but with a bigger screen that played movies. I drooled a little and proceeded to the checkout. But once again, the Japanese custom of not accepting credit cards foils me. So I bought a pair of noise canceling headphones for cheap. Yeah Sony!
I wish we would have had more time but it was off on the Subway to meet my friends Chiharu and Ayako. I had gone to the U of Oregon with both of them but had no idea Ayako was back in Tokyo. Chiharu was working at Yodobashi camera and only had time to have lunch with us (once again, my fault for not planning ahead.) Having arrived 15 minutes late and having not set a meeting place (real smart, matt) I raced around the store until, luckily, I found them. Chiharu had to work another hour, hour and a half so Ayako took us to the new government buildings. It was quiet because it was Sunday but you can really imagine (with how big it is) just how many people probably work there. And they even had a free, yes FREE observation deck. So up we went. In the photo looking down, those tiny dots are people.
Then it was back to eat lunch with Chiharu. He lead us through a maze of buildings to a basement restaurant that served traditional Okinawan food. It was delicious and surprise, full of noodles. After chatting and eating for about 45 minutes, Chiharu had to go back to work. Sadly, not planning ahead had cost me a day with a friend (he said if I had told him in advance what day I was going to be there, he would have taken me and my dad to Mt. Fuji.) Sad!
So that concludes the first half of the day. I'll leave the 2nd half till later because my computer is running out of battery. Hope everyone is doing well. Peace!
Friday, August 10, 2007
Day 5 - Tokyo
My home internet access has been cut off until the 25th so I've made the trek and found another hotspot. I hope this one stays on for awhile...and I received some pics from my dad that I will add to previous posts.
Day 5
With yesterday having been my favorite day so far, I had high hopes for the day's events. What I didn't have high hopes for was the weather improving. The typhoon had either blown through, was here, or was still coming. All I know is it was raining and windy.
The day started with a morning tour, just like in Kyoto. Our first stop was the Tokyo tower. The tower is orange and was built to resemble the Eifell tower. They had an aquarium and a wax museum and I'm sure they had a restaurant in there somewhere. They shuttled us up 40 or 50 floors and led us to the windows to view mostly clouds and rain. We saw some interesting stuff (lots of cemeteries) but I was disappointed with the weather and how far we actually got up the tower (only about half way). There was, however, the promise of a floor that was see-through. But even this (too small, way too many safety precautions blocking the view, and the incessant need for random children to jump up and down on) couldn't save the day. Time to move on.
The next stop was the Imperial Palace. Well, kind of. You see, people aren't allowed inside the gates except for twice a year. And with the weather being what it was we just drove through the grounds. We would end up driving through the grounds several more times this day. Not much to say really.
Next was the Asakusa temple and shopping arcade. This place was very cool. In Kyoto, the temples were usually empty but here, there was a lot of people. Sure, it's not as relaxing but for some reason, I liked it better crowded. Got some great photos here and were finally able to take some inside. The shopping center that lead up to the temple was a lot of fun. Many tiny little shops selling lots of Japanese souvenirs and tasty food stuffs. My dad and I got some little doughnut things that had a delicious center. I also found my coolest buy in Japan: a t-shirt that has a one-foot high holographic patch portraying some anime character. Alas, the shirt is in english but there are some fun translation errors.
Last on the list was, gasp, an opportunity to shop! This time it was a pearl factory. The how-to-make a pearl demonstration was actually quite fascinating. There are many steps and somehow involve a shellfish from the Mississippi river. In the end, it turned out to be 30 minutes of "what should I do?" before we got back on the bus and headed for our hotel.
We were dropped off and headed for Shinagawa station. Along the way, we stopped off for lunch in a food court. This was neat. You bought your meal from a vending machine and brought the receipt to a worker. He then gave you a pager to call you when your food was ready. I had more udon. Oh, and I believe it had quit raining for the moment.
This afternoon was dedicated to the crazy scene that is Shibuya. I'm not sure if this is a neighborhood, street, or what but it is absolutely mental (in a good way, I promise.) The first thing you see when you get off the train is a humongous train station (go figure). We made our way to the Hachiko (don't really know the correct spelling) exit and came out into a zoo. Standing before us was Shibya crossing which I've been told is the world's busiest crosswalk. And the buildings! So many tvs and billboards. It was awesome. We walked for awhile and found a neat store called Tokyo Hands. It's kind of like an urban hardware store. They had the coolest clocks! If you are ever in Tokyo Hands, buy a clock! I promise you'll love it more when you bring it home. I wasn't smart enough to follow this advice. Again, if you are ever in Tokyo Hands, buy a clock and please, please, please buy one for me, too! :-) (The vibrating alarm clock was fun for all.) And starring in the electronics section: tube amps!
After Tokyo hands, my dad spotted a music store. I believe it was called Beam but it may just have been in a building called Beam. I was a little hesitant to go (no shop on vacation!) but went anyway. This is why father knows best. The place was literally crammed with cool instruments. Any kind of weird thing you may have wanted they had. Organs, Rhodes, electronic accordians, trumpets, 10-string basses. It was cool. And unlike in the states, people leave you alone to check things out. Very nice.
With our feet getting weary, we headed back to Shibuya crossing. We took some photos to try and capture the amount of people there but I don't think the moment could truly be put to photograph. We even went up to the starbucks (the fastest one I have ever been in. Less than a minute!) and took some pics out their window. Then it was off to get my picture taken with Hachiko and back on the train. Please enjoy (if you look at the top of the crossing pics you can get a little idea of how crammed people are.)
Day 5
With yesterday having been my favorite day so far, I had high hopes for the day's events. What I didn't have high hopes for was the weather improving. The typhoon had either blown through, was here, or was still coming. All I know is it was raining and windy.
The day started with a morning tour, just like in Kyoto. Our first stop was the Tokyo tower. The tower is orange and was built to resemble the Eifell tower. They had an aquarium and a wax museum and I'm sure they had a restaurant in there somewhere. They shuttled us up 40 or 50 floors and led us to the windows to view mostly clouds and rain. We saw some interesting stuff (lots of cemeteries) but I was disappointed with the weather and how far we actually got up the tower (only about half way). There was, however, the promise of a floor that was see-through. But even this (too small, way too many safety precautions blocking the view, and the incessant need for random children to jump up and down on) couldn't save the day. Time to move on.
The next stop was the Imperial Palace. Well, kind of. You see, people aren't allowed inside the gates except for twice a year. And with the weather being what it was we just drove through the grounds. We would end up driving through the grounds several more times this day. Not much to say really.
Next was the Asakusa temple and shopping arcade. This place was very cool. In Kyoto, the temples were usually empty but here, there was a lot of people. Sure, it's not as relaxing but for some reason, I liked it better crowded. Got some great photos here and were finally able to take some inside. The shopping center that lead up to the temple was a lot of fun. Many tiny little shops selling lots of Japanese souvenirs and tasty food stuffs. My dad and I got some little doughnut things that had a delicious center. I also found my coolest buy in Japan: a t-shirt that has a one-foot high holographic patch portraying some anime character. Alas, the shirt is in english but there are some fun translation errors.
Last on the list was, gasp, an opportunity to shop! This time it was a pearl factory. The how-to-make a pearl demonstration was actually quite fascinating. There are many steps and somehow involve a shellfish from the Mississippi river. In the end, it turned out to be 30 minutes of "what should I do?" before we got back on the bus and headed for our hotel.
We were dropped off and headed for Shinagawa station. Along the way, we stopped off for lunch in a food court. This was neat. You bought your meal from a vending machine and brought the receipt to a worker. He then gave you a pager to call you when your food was ready. I had more udon. Oh, and I believe it had quit raining for the moment.
This afternoon was dedicated to the crazy scene that is Shibuya. I'm not sure if this is a neighborhood, street, or what but it is absolutely mental (in a good way, I promise.) The first thing you see when you get off the train is a humongous train station (go figure). We made our way to the Hachiko (don't really know the correct spelling) exit and came out into a zoo. Standing before us was Shibya crossing which I've been told is the world's busiest crosswalk. And the buildings! So many tvs and billboards. It was awesome. We walked for awhile and found a neat store called Tokyo Hands. It's kind of like an urban hardware store. They had the coolest clocks! If you are ever in Tokyo Hands, buy a clock! I promise you'll love it more when you bring it home. I wasn't smart enough to follow this advice. Again, if you are ever in Tokyo Hands, buy a clock and please, please, please buy one for me, too! :-) (The vibrating alarm clock was fun for all.) And starring in the electronics section: tube amps!
After Tokyo hands, my dad spotted a music store. I believe it was called Beam but it may just have been in a building called Beam. I was a little hesitant to go (no shop on vacation!) but went anyway. This is why father knows best. The place was literally crammed with cool instruments. Any kind of weird thing you may have wanted they had. Organs, Rhodes, electronic accordians, trumpets, 10-string basses. It was cool. And unlike in the states, people leave you alone to check things out. Very nice.
With our feet getting weary, we headed back to Shibuya crossing. We took some photos to try and capture the amount of people there but I don't think the moment could truly be put to photograph. We even went up to the starbucks (the fastest one I have ever been in. Less than a minute!) and took some pics out their window. Then it was off to get my picture taken with Hachiko and back on the train. Please enjoy (if you look at the top of the crossing pics you can get a little idea of how crammed people are.)
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Day 4 - Kyoto to Tokyo
Today I saw a man smoking next to his pregnant wife/girlfriend. I was a little angry. Then he passed her the cigarette and she started smoking. I was astounded. Then sad. There are sure some stupid people here in the BR.
It's too hot to do anything. So I chose to melt all day. And buy another fan.
Day 4
Woke up and had breakfast at the buffet. Again, all the food was delicious. We had a little bit more time this morning so I got on the internet and fought with the keyboard, trying to keep it in English. I think I posted from that computer but I can't remember. Then it was back upstairs to watch American baseball on the tv. The yankees, red sox, and mariner games were always on. Japan must really have some dedicated baseball fans (i'm trying my best to convey sarcasm via text but it's just not working!)
We met our transfer agent in the lobby and hopped in a cab to travel the 4 blocks to the train station (the cab doors here open themselves!) I couldn't believe that a company would send a person over whose entire job it was to make sure we got on our train. Back home we would have gotten the tickets and a point in the general direction of our destination. I kind of liked the personal touch better. It was also nice to finally get the chance to spend some one-on-one face time with a local. I got to ask lots of questions and try some of my terrible japanese out. After a brief sit in a waiting room, the bullet train arrived and our guide escorted us to our assigned seats. Away to Tokyo!
A brief word about the weather. A super-typhoon named Man-Yi was bearing down on us. It was pretty windy and very rainy this morning. We had heard rumors of train cancellations but we were lucky enough to get on ahead of the storm. The next day service was suspended and loads of people were stuck. I'm glad this storm didn't ruin our trip!
The train ride was very cool. This was the fastest I've gone on land. I think it was around 165-180 mph. I got a little dizzy looking outside but survived the 2 hour trip to Tokyo. Goodbye Kyoto! Thank you for all the fun and rain!
We got off at Shinagawa station and met our next local guide. She even found out our seat numbers and was waiting outside the window when the train stopped! She was a very energetic woman between 40-50 (I have a very, very hard time telling how old anybody is over here. They usually look younger than they really are) and took us the 5 blocks to our hotel. She was a chatty woman and besieged any hotel staff she could find into giving us all the free maps and directions we could handle. I liked her. She didn't have the crazy politeness thing about her (though she was super nice). She was about getting things done. I wish we could have had more of a tour with her.
(Here's the subway/train map of tokyo. Good luck!)
Armed with a map and train directions we plunged into Tokyo. Talk about a different place than Kyoto. More people and more noticeably, more different looking people. Everyone in Kyoto tended to dress the same. A lot more individual style in Tokyo. Not as dolled up (though there were still plenty of dolled up people). First stop, Akihabara!
We got off the train, found our way to the exit and was swept up in neon, rain, lots of people, and many salespeople in uniform (gotta say I love all the uniforms over there. It's exactly like you see in Japanese cartoons.) It was weird to walk by these people shoving handouts into the local's hands and have them completely ignore us. Obviously, we were just to important to be bothered! We walked around a bit and had lunch at a noodle house under the expressway. Tasty. After lunch, we went up an electronics store directly across from the train station. They had everything from cell phones to toilet seats (see earlier photo). The top floor had the newest in Japanese home stereo magic: tube amps! I guess what's old is new. Oh, and all the vacuum tubes were stamped 'Made in Russia.' I also found the best headphones I've ever heard. Only $400 (and no, I didn't buy them.) We then walked down a close by alley and found what was the coolest camera I've ever seen. It was a panasonic lumix and is only available in Japan. I thought I didn't need this camera. I was crazy and stupid. I want this camera! Sell it in America now!!!
We hopped back on the train and headed to Shinjuku. Someone told me that this stop was the busiest in the world, with about 3 million people a day clocking through the turnstiles. And there were plenty of people. And they were all armed with umbrellas. It made it hard to walk through. The whole thing was a little overwhelming. Lot's of tall buildings and plenty of neon. It's like Times Square and Las Vegas had an illegitimate child. We wandered for a while and then caught the train back to the hotel. It was time to hunker down for the typhoon. Luckily the hotel had a convenience store in the basement stocked with liquor. Kampai!
It's too hot to do anything. So I chose to melt all day. And buy another fan.
Day 4
Woke up and had breakfast at the buffet. Again, all the food was delicious. We had a little bit more time this morning so I got on the internet and fought with the keyboard, trying to keep it in English. I think I posted from that computer but I can't remember. Then it was back upstairs to watch American baseball on the tv. The yankees, red sox, and mariner games were always on. Japan must really have some dedicated baseball fans (i'm trying my best to convey sarcasm via text but it's just not working!)
We met our transfer agent in the lobby and hopped in a cab to travel the 4 blocks to the train station (the cab doors here open themselves!) I couldn't believe that a company would send a person over whose entire job it was to make sure we got on our train. Back home we would have gotten the tickets and a point in the general direction of our destination. I kind of liked the personal touch better. It was also nice to finally get the chance to spend some one-on-one face time with a local. I got to ask lots of questions and try some of my terrible japanese out. After a brief sit in a waiting room, the bullet train arrived and our guide escorted us to our assigned seats. Away to Tokyo!
A brief word about the weather. A super-typhoon named Man-Yi was bearing down on us. It was pretty windy and very rainy this morning. We had heard rumors of train cancellations but we were lucky enough to get on ahead of the storm. The next day service was suspended and loads of people were stuck. I'm glad this storm didn't ruin our trip!
The train ride was very cool. This was the fastest I've gone on land. I think it was around 165-180 mph. I got a little dizzy looking outside but survived the 2 hour trip to Tokyo. Goodbye Kyoto! Thank you for all the fun and rain!
We got off at Shinagawa station and met our next local guide. She even found out our seat numbers and was waiting outside the window when the train stopped! She was a very energetic woman between 40-50 (I have a very, very hard time telling how old anybody is over here. They usually look younger than they really are) and took us the 5 blocks to our hotel. She was a chatty woman and besieged any hotel staff she could find into giving us all the free maps and directions we could handle. I liked her. She didn't have the crazy politeness thing about her (though she was super nice). She was about getting things done. I wish we could have had more of a tour with her.
(Here's the subway/train map of tokyo. Good luck!)
Armed with a map and train directions we plunged into Tokyo. Talk about a different place than Kyoto. More people and more noticeably, more different looking people. Everyone in Kyoto tended to dress the same. A lot more individual style in Tokyo. Not as dolled up (though there were still plenty of dolled up people). First stop, Akihabara!
We got off the train, found our way to the exit and was swept up in neon, rain, lots of people, and many salespeople in uniform (gotta say I love all the uniforms over there. It's exactly like you see in Japanese cartoons.) It was weird to walk by these people shoving handouts into the local's hands and have them completely ignore us. Obviously, we were just to important to be bothered! We walked around a bit and had lunch at a noodle house under the expressway. Tasty. After lunch, we went up an electronics store directly across from the train station. They had everything from cell phones to toilet seats (see earlier photo). The top floor had the newest in Japanese home stereo magic: tube amps! I guess what's old is new. Oh, and all the vacuum tubes were stamped 'Made in Russia.' I also found the best headphones I've ever heard. Only $400 (and no, I didn't buy them.) We then walked down a close by alley and found what was the coolest camera I've ever seen. It was a panasonic lumix and is only available in Japan. I thought I didn't need this camera. I was crazy and stupid. I want this camera! Sell it in America now!!!
We hopped back on the train and headed to Shinjuku. Someone told me that this stop was the busiest in the world, with about 3 million people a day clocking through the turnstiles. And there were plenty of people. And they were all armed with umbrellas. It made it hard to walk through. The whole thing was a little overwhelming. Lot's of tall buildings and plenty of neon. It's like Times Square and Las Vegas had an illegitimate child. We wandered for a while and then caught the train back to the hotel. It was time to hunker down for the typhoon. Luckily the hotel had a convenience store in the basement stocked with liquor. Kampai!
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