Tokyo, Japan

The Asian adventure begins!

Japanese House

Downtown Tokyo

Let me first say, I am not here on a normal trip that I planned. This is actually a study trip for a Master’s program that I am currently enrolled in. And although I am excited to be traveling in Asia, I do have quite a bit of focus on learning throughout this trip and not running myself ragged, as I would normally do on a trip of pleasure (for lack of a better term). So, with that being said, the actually things seen and done are going to be a bit lacking in comparison to past entries and trips, but I will try my best to get everything in.

Happy Birthday Megan!

Shibuya

View from SkyTree

Japanese Toilet…too many buttons!

So, Tokyo. Ummm, underwhelming? I didn’t really know what to expect from this city except that I don’t care for Asian food, which seems to be a problem for some people to accept. I am open to trying new things, but I’ve has Asian food of various varieties before, and I just don’t care for Japanese food. With that being said, I have had Ramen, ordering from a machine before entering the restaurant. Interesting and not too bad. The servers are so nice and you don’t tip in Japan. I still haven’t figured out why I’m so excited about not tipping, when the only place you really tip in is the U.S. because we are idiots and expect money from others for everything. Anyways, I’ve had lots of rice and edamame, chicken skewers, miso, and tonkatsu, which is pork friend in panko, served on egg and rice. It was actually pretty tasty. Beyond that, Japan has provided a pretty good diet thus far, which I suppose I could use anyways!

Sky Tree

Tokyo Subway

The hotel, Grand Prince Takanawa, is also underwhelming for the price. I don’t really know what to expect as far as hotels in Japan, but I guess this is about it. The rooms and beds are small, but clean. So that’s a definite plus. The bath tubs are huge and the toilets do everything but dance for you! Seriously, they have heated seats, deodorize while you use them, have bidets and other things that spray, and I believe play some sort of music…although I could be making the music up. It’s just interesting that for a society which prides itself on being seemingly simple and effective, that a toilet of all things would be so complex. But I’ll take it!

As for the city, the subway and train systems are pretty easy once you figure out how to buy your ticket. Watch where you are walking because people will elbow or push right past you if you are in the way. Stay as far to your left in whichever direction you are going to avoid getting hit. Also, people don’t talk on the trains or really in the train stations. They aren’t really being rude, but I guess it’s a way of respecting the people around you. There is a system for everything and in Tokyo, you fall in line or you get pushed aside…and it’s better to just fall in line!

Asakusa Temple

We went to the Sky Tree, which is only a couple of years old and offers a great 360 view of the city. It’s about $20 to go to the first deck, and another $10 to go up to the top, but for checking it out at night, the first deck was fine and plenty high. The Asabuka temple was another great stop. It’s a huge open temple, very ornate and interesting, very traditional. As you walk in the front gates, there is a street lined with kiosks serving snacks and selling souvenirs. It’s beautiful though because of the natural scents and sights of Japan, along with cherry blossoms hanging from on top of the kiosks and people packed into a small area, all to enjoy the temple and the experience. There was definitely something magical about it.

We also spent an evening in Shibuya, which looks like the “Times Square” of Tokyo, usually what you see in the movies. It was neat to see, but nothing crazy or special per se. We had dinner and then went for drinks in this area.

Temple Gardens

Asakusa

On Saturday, I went on a tour to Mt. Fuji. Excited to just be getting away from the city for a while, Mt. Fuji was going to be an exciting getaway. We traveled for about two hours by bus to the visitor center. There was still a lot of snow and it was pretty chilly, but sunny skies gave us great views of the volcano. We then drove up to the 1^st station, which is about 3700ft. We had some more great views of the top, but we couldn’t go any higher because the road was blocked by snow, so that was a bit disappointing. We then went to the Hakone area, which is known for hot springs. We stopped at a very nice hotel for lunch, which was delicious, and then took a gondola ride up near the hot springs, and a boat ride on Ashi Lake. Although the clouds came in briefly, Fuji cleared up for spectacular viewing and picture taking. We then took the bus back to Tokyo, making it about a 13 hour day which was very long and tiring, but well worth the experience, fresh air, and views. Hakone is an area that I would visit again, so the beautiful and peaceful surroundings, and for a chance to go to the hot springs. I think climbing Mt. Fuji would be a neat experience as well.

Tokyo Tower

The last morning, we got up and headed to the fish market. Unfortunately, it was closed due to a holiday. We are not sure which holiday, but nonetheless, no fish market. So we walked around, visited another temple, went to Tokyo Tower, and walked through gardens. At the very least, we road the subway some more and got some exercise walking around…a productive morning I’d say!

Now it’s time to wait around at the hotel for our bus to take us to Narita airport, where we will depart for Shanghai. I’m very excited for a new city and a new experience.

Japanese Gardens

Cherry Blossoms

As I said before, I was underwhelmed by Tokyo, but that was just my experience. It is definitely a place to go once, to see and to have been there once. However, for me, I don’t know that I’ll ever need to come back. Japan is a unique place…and some people love it, and I appreciate that fact, so hopefully they can appreciate my view as well. I will say that Japan has allowed me to learn things about myself and other, and it has reminded me that with experience comes wisdom, which some people will gain in time, but to let their ignorance fly by as I continue to grow and learn.