Another Adventure

This weekend, I went on an overnight trip to Tokyo. I had no classes on Friday, so the school let me have a vacation day.

Friday morning I got on the first train (5:38) from Karasuyama station. I took the local train all the way to Tokyo. Due to the timing of transfers, it wasn't much slower than the Shinkansen, and cost only ¥2520, compared to around ¥5000 for taking the Shinkansen from Utsunomiya to Tokyo. There was a quick layover in Utsunomiya, so I bought my ticket the day before. It was an early morning on a workday, so it got kind of crowded. Luckily, I'd gotten a seat when I got on at Utsunomiya. The route was: Karasuyama to Hoshakuji to Utsunomiya to Ueno, then to Tokyo.


The Marunouchi side of Tokyo station has a brick facade from the original, built in 1914. It was rebuilt after WWII to two stories instead of the original three, and without the original glass domes. It's currently being restored, so up close it looks like a construction site. Here is what it looks like further away. The other side (Yaesu side) looks like a modern building. I hope to get to see it after it's been restored -- I kind of like Meiji era buildings although technically, this is not since the Meiji era ended in 1912. It's supposed to be done in 2013.

At Tokyo station, I bought a Suica card. This is an IC card that you can store money on. Then, instead of buying train tickets, you just touch it to the sensor at the gate. You can also use it to shop at kiosks and stores at the station. It won't work the subways or on the Karasuyama line, but I can use it from Utsunomiya to Tokyo. And I can use it in Nagoya later as well.

My first stop at Tokyo, was Maruzen bookstore. It's a quick walk from the station, and has what has been called "one of the largest foreign language selections in Tokyo". My intent was to buy a guidebook for Tokyo. BUT, I found several other books including one called A Guide to Food Buying in Japan, which should help me figure out what's what at the supermarket. I also found some small cookbooks, one with instructions on how to deal with whole fish. I haven't cleaned a fish since I went fishing as a child. I also found a book on Tadao Ando, and architect from Osaka. About $150 later, I left the store. And rather than schlep a bag of books around, I found a coin locker to keep them in. Train and subway stations of any size (not Karasuyama) have them. It cost ¥300, but my back arms and hands were happy to pay. I did that anytime I left a station for sightseeing during my trip. As long as I can remember where the locker was, I'm fine!

My next stop was the Imperial Palace, which is also near the station. You can't actually get anywhere near the palace, but there is a nice park there. While walking around, it hit me -- OMG, I'm in Tokyo!

There is a statue of Kusunoki Masashige. He tried to regain power for the emperor from the shogunate in the 14th century. The emperor insisted on a pitched battle, over Kusunoki's better plans. Being a samurai, he obeyed. The results were predictable, and the shogunate was in power until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. There were schoolgirls there, taking turns taking pictures of friends by the statue. I asked if I could take a picture of all of them using their cameras, and they were very happy! I don't know about anyone else but I'd never let someone do that with my camera outside Japan, because "Can I take your picture?" could translate to "Can I take your camera?". But here, it's an easy way to make a group of people happy.

Then I went back to Tokyo station and took the Yamanote subway line to Akihabara. I found Yodobashi Camera and spent three hours in Gadget Girl heaven! Sadly, I found that it would be cheaper for Rob to buy the camera I wanted and mail it to me. (Ditto an updated iPod.) Plus, the Japanese version doesn't have English menus. Oh, sure, they have that in the international duty-free section. But they have only the more expensive models and they are more expensive than the ordinary price there too. Plus, I think you have to be on a tourist visa to get them duty free anyway! I ended up buying phone decorations (I found just the right ones for Karen!) and finding booklets on laptops to drool over later. Of course, if we should win the lottery in the near future, I'm back here so fast ears will spin!

Then, it's off to find my capsule hotel. It's ¥4000 a night. I found a bed that is less padded than my setup, and the capsule doesn't have a door!! I knew they had a rolldown screen for privacy, but I thought that was inside a door!! This is a capsule hotel that has floors for women -- not all of them allow women. Yes, Mom, you'd be claustrophobic; and no, Dad, I don't think you'd be comfortable at all. You get a small locker to keep your stuff. And not much more room for you! Next time I stay overnight in Tokyo, I will spend a little more and stay at a cheap hotel. But, it was interesting anyway-- I can check "stay at a capsule hotel" off my list of things to do. And the staff were nice. And if you're traveling alone on a shoestring, a capsule hotel will give you a bit more privacy than a youth hostel. Like much of life, you get what you pay for.

I found a place called the "Tokyo Anime Center", but it was really just a small gift shop. In the same building though, I found d a place that had a burger with a nice, thick onion slice on it. That and a beer hit the spot after all the walking I'd done.

The next morning, I checked out and went to Ueno to take the subway to Asakusa. As I went to the Ginza line in Ueno, I saw they had a Yodobashi Camera there as well! At Asakusa, I visited Sensoji temple. In front of the temple is Nakamise street. Here there are all sorts of shops selling stuff to tourists. After wandering around here, I went back to Ueno station. At the Yodobashi camera there, I found a 4GB card for my camera.

Then it was back to Nasukarasuyama. I managed to get on an express train on the way back -- better seats and faster, since it doesn't stop at every station. At Utsunomiya, I made a late lunch of gyoza, miso soup and beer. I got the gaijin treatment from the waitress: Do you know how to use chopsticks? Here is a menu, just point to the pictures, Your Japanese is very good, etc. The gyoza were very good. I'll definitely take more trips to Tokyo. I've only scratched the surface!

BTW, as I'm writing this, I have my windows open and hear someone playing koto or shamisen. I think the lady that runs the laundromat nearest my apartment also teaches music.


And it's actually sunny! Yay!