東京 (Tokyo)

On December 28^th, I took the nightbus bound for Tokyo to meet up with my brother and my dad. Taking the night-bus (the cheapest option) would be a harbinger of many uncomfortable transportation experiences to come. The bus left at 11 at night and got to Tokyo around 6 in the morning. For reasons that escape me, the bus stopped for bathroom breaks and subsequently turned the lights on every hour. This made sleep near impossible on an already uncomfortable bus seat.

Anyway after arriving in Tokyo, I had a good 10 hours or so before Will and Dad’s plane arrived so I decided to acclimate myself to the Tokyo train/subway system and do some self-exploration. After a few hours, I was the master of the labyrinth that is Tokyo public transportation. One of the highlights was traveling by myself to Meiji Shrine near the Harajuku district and doing some sightseeing there. I finally met up with Will and Dad near Shinjuku station later that night and we concluded the evening by having some udon noodles at a nearby restaurant.

Meiji Shrine

The next day we went to the Tsukiji fish market and witnessed the thriving market atmosphere there.  Very interesting to see throngs of people gathering to get into very small sushi establishments next to the fish market. I guess sushi that fresh is worth the wait and the lines.
    

Will and I checking out the wares at Tsukiji

After Tsukiji, we went to the Hama Palace Garden, which was built as a retreat for the Shogun and his family, who also hunted duck here. Especially gorgeous was the Nakajima Teahouse where President Grant once sipped tea with the Meiji Emperor in the late 1800’s.

At the Hama Palace Garden

As we left the quiet atmosphere of the garden and the teahouse, we ventured to Tokyo Tower and got a glimpse of the very modern and futuristic buildings of Tokyo.  For lunch, we stopped at  a rotating Sushi restaurant that had the best I’ve ever had.

Tokyo Tower

Dad at the sushi restaurant

That night, I took Dad and Will to the Akihabara electronics district. Both of them were pretty overwhelmed by the district with its blaring lights sounds, and strange things popping such as maid cafes and anime pictures. Will summed up it up as much ”I’m tired and there’s all this weird shit coming at me.” To counter this assault on the senses, we decided it was an appropriate time to have a drink at the Park Hyatt Hotel (the one from Lost in Translation). The drinks were ridiculously expensive but the view from the bar was absolutely stunning. Well worth it for one drink I think.

Akihabara

View from the Park Hyatt

The following day we took a train to nearby Kamakura, which has a smaller town atmosphere and is riddled with temples. Some of the highlights include visiting a temple once owned by the powerful Hojo Samurai clan, a temple dedicated to divorcees, and visiting the Daibutsu, a colossal bronze statue of the Buddha. One amusing anecdote at the Buddha was when we went inside of it (as its hollow). The interior of the Buddha was packed with people and as we were trying to leave, we got caught behind a lady who would not assert herself through the crowd and leave. After about 5 minutes she finally seemed to get the idea that there was nothing to do but shove her way through the crowd and exit before the whole statue got clogged. As I will talk about in a few posts, this reaction of being too polite to shove will contrast wildly with my experience in China.

Shrine at Kamakura

The Daibutsu

On the third day, we ventured to Northern Tokyo and our first sop was Ueno Park, which has an ambience similar to New York’s Central Park, a nature-filled atmosphere with museums galore. Unfortunately, almost all of the museums were closed due to the encroaching New Year holiday.

We then wandered in Northern Tokyo for a bit until we accidentally stumbled on to Ameyokocho, Tokyo’s thriving market, which reminds of the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. This place was so unbelievably crowded! It took forever to navigate though the crowd. After surviving one congested street, we went to yet another at Senso-ji. This cool temple began with enormous gate at its front adorned with the kami of thunder and wind. Beyond the gate was an extensive road filled with small shops. At the end of this narrow market place was an enormous temple with a beautiful and lavish interior.

Crowded market at Ameyokocho

Strolling around Ueno

The gate to Senso-ji

The long market road at Senso-ji

As it was raining that night, we were walking though one of Tokyo’s underground tunnels when I saw on the most heartwarming things I’ve ever seen. Towards, the end of the tunnel, we began to hear some music being played, which I recognized as being from Hayao Miyazaki’s famous movie, Totoro. When we got closer, we noticed that it was coming from one guy dressed up in a black suit playing on his trumpet. We also noticed that he was playing it for the homeless (who were camping in the tunnel). I don’t who he was or why he was doing it but it was still a really uplifting scene to witness.

Playing for the homeless