Tokyo
Poppin’ Around? Here are the Japan links: Overview | Tokyo | Kyoto | Sendai | Final Day
We landed and jumped right in, partly based on our schedule and partly on weather.
We arrived very early in the morning local time, well before we could check in to the hotel. We dropped off our luggage and decided to spend the interim by heading to something close, the Meiji Jingu, a shrine and park built in 1920 to commemorate Emperor Meiji and his wife, Emperess Shoken.
After that we went to Gotokuji, a cat shrine established in the late 17th century, supposedly when a noble was saved from a thunderstorm by a cat beckoning him to come to the temple. The grounds of the shrine were wonderful, and we had one of our better ramen experiences afterwards: we each bought a ticket, handed them to the one guy working, and it was excellent.
We soon learned that in Tokyo, even things that seem reasonably close are at least twenty minutes apart. Furthermore, using apps – Google, Apple, anything else – we were frequently given directions along the lines of: walk eight minutes, get on a metro for twelve minutes, then walk another eleven minutes.
Furthermore, arriving at a metro station would always involve some stairs and occasionally escalators, and very often paying attention to signage to get to the right train on the right track. We did a lot of walking that wasn’t walking on the map.
All the same, we still had some time before we could check in, so we stopped at the Shinjukugyoen botanical garden. Part of the timing of our trip was to see cherry blossoms, and they were certainly still blooming.
After that, we checked in to our hotel, unpacked, and got some rest. We bought a bunch of food at 7-11; if you haven’t heard, 7-11 (and other convenience store chains like Lawson and Family Mart) have good pre-packed food; it’s like going to an Automat.
For our first full day, we’d decided to book a tour of Mount Fuji. Wednesday was the best weather day, fully sunny, and we found a reasonably priced bus tour that would take us to nice views, an open vent where we could get “black eggs” boiled in the sulfurous water, a temple, and a lake.
This would provide our first transportation challenge: navigating the metro to Tokyo station and then finding the place where the bus would pick us up. We succeeded, but being the first time, it was exciting.
Back in Tokyo, we had a bit of adventure seeking an influencer-approved noodle shop, but couldn’t find it, and some rain came in, so we settled for perfectly good noodles at another place. Our consolation was a hole in the wall whisky bar, smaller than my New York City apartment, with a relaxed vibe and the first tastes I would have of Japanese Whisky.
Our next day was our sh-sh-shopping day: Shibuya, Shinjuku, and a bit of shopping in both. We crossed the notorious Shibuya Crossing without too much excitement, saw the statue of Hachiko the loyal dog, went to the “Mega Don” Quijote store and some anime stores. At night, we saw a Godzilla installation light up, and the corner of one building had a digitally animated cat cavorting along a corner.
Day Four – counting our arrival date – we visited Shenjo-ji, the oldest temple in Tokyo, rebuilt after World War II. It was our first truly crowded experience, but all the same meaningful in explaining why certain parts were important. Before that, we’d gone up the Tokyo Skytree and took in its sweeping views, including views straight down, as well as viewing through the elevator doors on the way to the upper deck.
We ended that day in Akihibara, questing like Otaku for the right souvenirs. Being an Old-taku myself, I didn’t find what I was looking for other than some Ranma Gotchas. What’s a Gotcha? You put in money, turn a knob, and get a randomly selected plastic ball with a small toy. Each Gotcha has a set; the game is to try to collect the whole set. I gave up after getting two Akane figures in a row.
We ended our evening near Tokyo Tower and had Szechuan cuisine at a loud place where young professionals were cycling in and out for drinks and snacks.
The next day was our travel day. We got breakfast at Eggslut, then relaxed a bit in Yoyogi park. We visited the grounds of the Akasaka Palace – the official state guesthouse, before heading to Tokyo station to board the Shinkansen (high speed train) for Kyoto.
Poppin’ Around? Here are the Japan links: Overview | Tokyo | Kyoto | Sendai | Final Day