The Tokyo Trip in Detail
Ok, so this Tokyo gig. I'm at work, and I have a few hours ahead of me so I'm gonna try and write this thing throughout the night. I'm cutting the entry because it will be very long and contain very nearly 60 photos, and while I've scaled them down, they are still larger than most photos in my entires in an attempt to retain some level of detail. So maximize your browser window, grab some popcorn and kick back...



We left early Monday morning for the airport. We took an Airbus from Providence to Detroit, and a 747 from Detroit to Narita Airport just outside Tokyo. I've never been on a 747 before, they're fucking huge! I couldn't believe how many people could be crammed into a plane! I also read up on them before we left and I read that it takes a lot to put one out of the sky, so that eased my fears somewhat.

We arrived at Narita, exchanged our money into yen and took the Limousine Bus straight to our hotel, The Prince Park Tower Tokyo, located in Shiba Park in Minato-ku and a stone's throw from the Tokyo Tower. I'm not entirely sure how many stars this place has, but it's the classiest place I've ever stayed in (the previous champion being a Holiday Inn, but I'm pretty sure you get my point; it was fuckign swank).



Dana and I had one room, while Chris, Andy and Michelle took another. Our room was reasonably sized and was really nice. We had a mini-bar! This was exciting for me. The toilet, which we nicknamed R2-D2, would automatically open its maw every time we opened the door, and came equipped with a control panel for several bidet settings, flush size, deoderizer and other knick-knacks. R2-D2 was kept in a room separate from the sink, shower and tub, because in Japanese culture, there is a big emphasis on separating the clean from the unclean. Technically, you're not even supposed to wash yourself in a bath, that's what the shower is for.







We arrived in Tokyo fairly late, and we were all exhausted, so we got some drinks at one of the hotel's bars and called it a night. The next day was warm and humid and slightly cloudy. We started it off with a breakfast we were clearly underdressed for (this will become a trend), and was more appealing to the eye than it was filling.



Considering the hotel was located directly in Shiba Park, we decided to explore the area. We found a small shrine and several monuments in a very scenic wooded area. It was really beautiful, and contrasted sharply with the bustling city just across the street. Then we decided to go to Akihabara as our first major stop. Akihabara is nerd heaven. It's a small district that arose just after WWII, and small shops congregated around Akihabara Station selling used radio equipment from the war. Overtime, the wares evolved into computers and video games and other digital goodies, as well as anime and manga.





I felt like a kid in a candy store in Akiba. One video game store was 5 stories high! It had everything from Famicom games (the Japanese version of the original Nintendo) to PS1 games to new releases. It was amazing. The prices were much higher than their American counterparts, but they were also more competitive. It wasn't uncommon for us to see one price in one shop, and see a completely different price in a shop just across the street. I bought a copy of Mother 1+2 for Gameboy Advance from a shop run by a little old man, and a copy of Phantasy Star Portable for the PSP. I also got the remix soundtrack for Persona 3 and the second soundtrack for The World Ends With You. A lot of money left my hands that day.







We even popped into a small, dimly lit arcade. Street Fight IV was there, along with Guitar Freaks v5 (the inspiration for Guitar Hero, Rock Band, et al).



As night fell, we headed back towards Minato-ku and the hotel. We passed through Roppongi, a nightlife district just a few blocks from our hotel. Roppongi struck me as one of the more... unsavory districts we visited. Even still, it was still pretty clean and we never felt unsafe, it just wasn't up to snuff with the rest of the city. Roppongi has long been a place for the younger crowd to gather for drinks, food and karaoke, information which trickled down to the foreigners, much to the chagrin of the locals (who soon migrated to the nightlife in Shibuya and Harajuku). It's still a fairly hopping place though. We stopped off for some ramen at a small ramen shop and HOLY FUCKING SHIT WAS IT DELICIOUS. It's absolutely nothing like the freeze-dried stuff we get at home. I think the ramen was the best food we had the entire trip.





The next morning, Dana and I enjoyed a quiet traditional Japanese breakfast. We had a small, private booth across an indoor stream where we had to remove our shoes and squat at a low table. We had fish, seaweed, some egg dish, a bunch of pickled fruits (they're big on pickling fruits in Japan), rice and other assorted goodies we wouldn't otherwise eat, all served by women in kimonos. It was pretty good all-in-all, and a fun way to absorb some of the culture.



The weather is bright and sunny, and very warm and humid. It would have been pleasant if our days didn't involve so much walking. We decided to go to Shibuya-ku for the day. We arrived at Shibuya Station, overlooking the Shibuya bus terminal. This is very familar to me because the bus terminal is the first level in the game Jet Set Radio and is also an area in The World Ends With You.



First, we hunted down the statue of Hachiko, a famous Japanese Akita dog. Hachiko belonged to a Professor Ueno in the 20s, and would frequently follow his master to Shibuya Station in the morning and meet him there in the evening when he arrived back from the University of Tokyo. One day, Professor Ueno suffered a stroke while at the university and never returned. Every day until his death, Hachiko would visit the train station, waiting for his master. The statue of Hachiko was erected in the dog's honor.



We also took pictures with the statue of Moyai!



Shibuya was vibrant, colorful and full of life. Believe it or not, I was actually able to navigate the district to some degree based on The World Ends With You! It wasn't like GPS or anything, but it's actually reasonably accurate. Outside the train station near Hachiko is Shibuya's famed scramble crossing, where all intersecting roads are periodically stopped while swarms of people overwhelm the intersection from all sides. It was insane!





We visited a few locales around Shibuya, including a 6 story media store called HMV (previously Tower Records), where I bought the complete box set of the live-action Death Note movies (totalling steep $70 USD), and a pachinko parlor.



We also spent some time in a Club Sega in Shibuya, a large scale arcade where, apparently, Sega is still relevant. Andy and I played House of the Dead 4, and I watched a group of young Japanese people playing a Square Enix game called Lord of Vermillion. It was an arcade game that you played using collectable cards purchased at vending machines. You placed the cards you wanted to use on the game's table surface, and the game would not only detect what cards you were using, but also the placement and movement. It was really cool, so I bought a pack of the cards.

Chris bravely tried out Taito: Drum Master.



However, he did not do so well so he passed his play along to a little Japanese boy waiting behind us. The boy promptly jacked the difficulty and showed Chris up. Holy shit, the kid destroyed him.



We turned in after spending the day in Shibuya. We wanted to go to Shinjuku and Harajuku, but time did not allow it. Frowny face. I had sushi and onigiri for dinner.

For our third full day, we decided to stay local and take it easy. By this point we were all generally fatigued from so much walking and moving, and to top it off, I had several blisters and Athlete's Foot on both feet. Yeah, I was in a lot of pain, and there was no relief until we got home.

After only a couple days, certain aspects of Tokyo were becoming very familar. We took the Shiba Koen Station from the hotel everyday ("koen" means "park" in Japanese), and it almost felt like home base.



I was also becoming used to having vending machines in every station and on every corner. I actually loved having coins on me so that I could slug down a delicious bottle of Pocari Sweat at every opportunity. Pocari Sweat is almost like Gatorade, but with no comparable flavor in the US. Another similar drink was Dakara, which was also wicked tasty.





What was really hilarious was seeing Tommy Lee Jones' mug in advertising for Suntory's Boss line of drinks. It's not uncommon for American actors to shill for products that are typically below them in Japan, because they can make a quick buck and their primary audience will never know about it (Bill Murray's character in Lost in Translation was doing this, coincidentally, for Suntory as well).



In the morning, we headed for Zojo-ji temple, a Buddhist temple on the other side of Shiba Park.





We passed under the torii (the archway that separates our world from the spirit world), took pictures and admired the architecture. I even prayed at the temple, a process which involves tossing a coin into a bin, ringing a large bell and clapping to summon the kami, and then silently professing your wish or prayer.



These shrines and temples were everywhere, sometimes literally wedged between buildings!



We even found a little Buddhist altar in the side of a hill, along a small path in a wooded area just off the road. It was really awesome.

Then we went to Tokyo Tower. Tokyo Tower was built not only as a post-war monument to Japan's ascension as a global power, but also as a broadcast tower for the region. It's design is based on the Eiffel Tower, but is considerably taller. The building below the tower contains numerous eateries, shops, an aquarium and even an amusement park on the roof. The tower itself has two observation decks, each warranting two separate tickets, annoyingly enough.



Our hotel, its grounds and parts of Shiba Park from the tower:



After a few hours at the tower, we rested up at the hotel and then went to the Pokemon Center, which is a huge store devoted to Pokemon. Believe it or not, we all walked away with items from the store. It's actually got some pretty cool stuff.



Then we took the train to Ginza for the evening, an upscale shopping district. Lots of lights, glamour and expensive stores here...





...but once you ducked down a back alley, you were greeted with little smokey, crowded eateries. It was like night and day.



While in Ginza, WE FOUND THAT MOTHERFUCKER GODZILLA.



YOU SON OF A BITCH.

Originally, we planned to eat and drink in Ginza, but some people were getting cranky, tensions rose, we got lost and some minor fights broke out. Lame. So we went back to Roppongi and found a karaoke bar. Jackpot! Moods lifted as we sang and drank our way to nearly a $100 tab in a private booth.





I even took the initiative to Rickroll everyone:



The next day was our last, so we tried to cram as much as we could into it. First, we made our way to the Imperial Palace. The grounds and parks surrounding the palace are immense, so big that a road had to be cut through it. We admired the fountains and statues and trees, and enjoyed lunch (most of us had udon) in the sun. We could see the palace from across the moat (a real moat!), but the actual palace is only open to the public on the emperor's birthday and on New Year's. We then toured the palace garden, but we weren't really impressed. It was nice to see the actual walls and guard houses from the past, but the flowers weren't in bloom and the scenary wasn't really all that special.







After the Imperial Palace, we took the subway to Koishikawa Korakuen garden and oh my God, it was fucking gorgeous. I can't believe how beautiful this garden was, it's a definite must for any tourist.











I could definitely see spending hours there, it was peaceful and wonderful.

From the garden, we made it to Ueno Park shortly before dusk. Ueno Park is vast, and could be compared to Central Park. We wanted to see the zoo and the museums, however, they had closed and we were out of luck. Instead, we enjoyed a walk, some tasty melon-flavored beverages and a five-story pagoda. We also visited an Inari temple, which we found at the end of a series of torii. Inari is the Shinto kami of several things, including foxes (kitsune in Japanese), and fox statues are frequently found at Inari temples, often times holding something like a key or a fox cub in their paws or mouth.







After a little while, we left Ueno Park and back into the contrasting city night.



We sleepily took the subway back to the hotel and enjoyed a delicious yakitori dinner in one of the hotel's restaurants, completely paid for by Chris, Andy and Michelle because incidentally, it happened to be my birthday.

The next morning, we checked out and took the Limousine Bus to Narita Airport. The 747 ride to Detroit was incredibly turbulent. I was riding with white knuckles the whole time. At one point, the entire plane was thrown to the right! It was pretty frightening, and Dana slept through the entire thing. In Detroit, we trudged through customs and immigration (a much more tiring process than it was arriving in Japan), but we enjoyed cell phone access once again and called our families before boarding for Providence and home.

I think we accomplished our goal of doing as much as possible and seeing as much as possible. We did a lot of different things, and tried to stay within the culture as much as possible (bowing rules, by the way). I really didn't want to leave. I didn't miss a damn thing back at home; not driving or the Internet or my job, nothing. I would stay there and explore that city every day of my life if I could. I would love to go back to Japan some time, but maybe Kyoto. Something different.

A few more miscellaneous photos for your enjoyment: