Random Notes

I have unfortunately hit my bandwidth cap for the month on Flickr, so the remaining pics from Kyoto will have to wait a few days.

In the meantime I wanted to post a few random notes and observations.

Trains

1) Japanese trains are wonderful. They are fast and quiet. Even the subways are on time! There are displays on all the platforms stating the current time and the arrival time for the next line, which is absolutely ingenious. They also have comfy cushioned seats.

2) Japanese trains are clean. Even the stations are clean. They don't smell like armpits and urine. I wish I could say the same for the 1-9 in NYC.

3) Japanese trains are made for tiny people! I can reach the hand rails and use the handles which makes me really happy.

Bicycles

1) In Tokyo we saw quite a lot of bicycles, but mostly pedestrians (probably due to how excellent the trains and train coverage are).

2) In Kyoto there are bicycles and bicyclists everywhere (probably due to how sparse the train coverage is). 

3) Boys and girls talk on their cellphones while they pedal, women hold parasols or umbrellas, men have their briefcases in the basket and women have kids mounted on their handlebars in child seats (some women transport another kid behind the seat, too!). Also, women ride bikes in miniskirts, high heels, sandals, and all sorts of getups that I would never imagine bicycling in.

Japan 2009: Travel Day - Toyko to Kyoto

We got up early today to get ready to check out. Steve and Mary tossed their clothes back into the dryer (the previous night's attempt at doing laundry backfired when the dryer barely worked and the clothes stayed soaked) as they hadn't come close to drying in our air conditioned room. We packed and headed downstairs for our last lovely free Japanese style breakfast. I don't have any of the salads on the plate here (I ate some of the mystery root salad the first day but decided later it tasted sorta fishy - oops!) I've got rice, miso soup, plain yogurt with fruit, hard boiled egg, rolls, black coffee and some orange juice.

After we ate, we went back up to the room, grabbed our stuff and checked out. We made our way through the station/pedestrian underpass on our way to the JR platform. We needed to take the train for a few stops to Tokyo Station to catch the bullet train. Steve insisted on being manly and helping us carry our luggage, but after a while the stairs got ridiculous - Steve and Mary would collapse the handles on their rolling suitcases to carry them up half a flight of stairs, turn a corner and have to carry them back down half a flight. They'd roll farther and find a full flight up. It was comical, but I also felt bad being the only one with a bag instead of a suitcase. We got to the terminal quite early so we relaxed in the lounge and attracted some stares from commuters. 

Eventually it was nearly time for our train to arrive, so we grabbed some snacks and headed up to the platform. The previous train was just heading out, and ours arrived right after. We got to watch the crew "turn around" the train (literally and figuratively). The cleaning crew worked fast to pick up discarded garbage, dust the seats, replace the head cloths, and turn all the seats to face forward. Eventually it was time to board. We were at the very back of the train, which was mostly empty. It was also very spacious. I had so much room that it was almost a hassle to reach my tray!

Mary and Steve let me have the window seat because I'm a huge dork and I love watching the world out train and plane windows. It didn't take long to get through Tokyo and into the outskirts, and then the countryside. The vegetation here really is amazing. The trees grow so densely! The rice fields are nice looking too. It was really fun to zip through looking at small towns and rural areas. I even saw the sea for a while. It was really one of the nicer train trips I've taken. In the US, the only train I took was from Rochester NY to NYC, and that was terrible - no AC, nothing to look at but the ass end of upstate NY, and nothing to do (no book, no cell phone, no DS). In Europe a lot of the train rides were pretty too, but it was a solid mix of pretty and industrial. There was a bit of that on this trip, but not too much.

We reached Kyoto pretty quickly, and hopped off the train. We took the subway a few stops, and from there it was a few blocks to our hotel. We were pretty tired so we relaxed until the restaurant downstairs opened, and grabbed dinner ("Italian" food - note to travelers, do not order risotto in Japan). After dinner, we walked to the arcade and took in a bit of Kyoto after dark, including the Geisha district near the river. More on all this to follow!

Japan 2009: Tokyo Day 3: Kaiseki

We headed back from Akihabara pretty early to get ready for our fancy dinner at Hanasanshou, a 1 Michelin Star restaurant at the neighboring hotel (they actually have two of them in the hotel, which is still surprising to me even though Tokyo boasts more restaurants with ratings than any other city in the world). Mary chose this one because they offer the traditional Japanese kaiseki meal, an elaborate procession of small portions of dishes.

It didn't take us too long to get ready since we were all wearing rather simple travel-friendly outfits (except for poor Steve, who had to iron his fancy dress shirt). I practiced walking in my grown up shoes while Mary put on her make-up, and we headed out early to make sure we weren't late - but the hotel was literally two doors down! We had a little trouble locating the elevator and figuring out what floor the restaurant was on but once we found the elevator we were on our way! It had a little peekaboo window, and we were able to see out over a good portion of Tokyo as we rose up to the 26th floor (or so, I can't remember exactly). I've never been in such a nice hotel lobby before - it was so spacious and echoey that it reminded me of the cathedrals in Rome. I was pleased to have quiet shoes.

We were the first diners of the night and we were seated at a small table by the window. We looked over the menus, and Steve and Mary both ordered the kaiseki menu. I opted for the vegetable tempura for an appetizer and an eggplant dish for an entre. Steve wussed out and ordered a beer, while Mary and I both selected a different sake (she picked light and sweet, I picked heavy and dry). It wound up being the first time in my life that I actually enjoyed sake. 

Hopefully Mary will post something about the meal later. She took pictures of each dish (they were absolutely beautiful - each dish had specially chosen plates and bowls and was decorated with all sorts of beautiful flowers and fanciful presentation. The appetizer was like a wildlife scene, I think that was my favorite.

Their menu was :

Starter: Dressed prawn, yam potato, broad bean and shell with soft roe

Appetizer: gizzard shad sushi, caramelized sweet fish, dressed stem of taro with pickled plum paste, boiled bamboo shoot, dressed cowpea with sesame dressing

Clear Soup: Clam, bamboo shoot and mugwort dumpling

Sashimi: Flatfish, fatty tuna and giant clam

Grilled Dish: Eggplant with sweet miso

Simmered Dish: Eggplant and octopus

Side Dish: Sushi - shell and bonito

Steamed Dish: Burdock root, bamboo shoot and mushroom with mugwort skin

Marinated Dish: Fat cod

Last Dish: Thin wheat noodles

Dessert: Seasonal fruits (cherries and some sort of Japanese apricot)

My tempura was really tasty - the batter was a bit spicy. I picked at it for several of their courses. I'm pretty sure it's rude to eat with your fingers in such a fancy restaurant, but it was impossible to pull apart the tempura with just chopsticks. The eggplant with sweet miso was also really, really good. The sauce had a really strong flavor that I couldn't place, but Steve agreed that it had a smoky quality that was reminiscent of barbeque sauce.

By the end of the night we were all out of booze, and the last 2 courses came with tea - first a really earthy jasmine tea, then a clear green tea. All in all it was really an experience. I had a great time observing the meal and got some tasty food myself! Plus, I now know for certain that I don't dislike all sake. On the way back to the hotel we stopped at a few drugstores in an attempt to find something topical for Mary's bug bite, but struck out.

Japan 2009: Tokyo Day 3: Asakusa & Akihibara

Today was a bit of a “taking it easy” day. Mary and Steve headed back to Tsukiji to get sushi for breakfast, and I stayed at the hotel to rest my feet and not intrude on carnivore time. I realized after they left that I could’ve just wandered around for a bit on my own and gotten some rice balls or sweet cakes from the booths we passed by on the way out on our first day. But I enjoyed giving my feet a rest, and I met a nice older Japanese lady (she was 86) from California at breakfast in the hotel lobby. She said good morning to me, which was surprising enough, but when I smiled and said good morning back, she struck up conversation. She was surprised that I was eating rice for breakfast, and chatted about her bi-anual trips to Tokyo. She asked me what I thought of Tokyo “It’s a clean city isn’t it? Do you like?” and how I liked traveling in Japan. I told her everything was much cleaner and nicer than it was in NYC. She was really very nice and candid - I love how chatty old people can be, even with total strangers. Eventually she excused herself and I headed back up to the room to catch up on my email and read a bit of news.

Asakusa Temple and Market
Mary and Steve returned from the market full of sushi and bearing gifts - savory apple rolls, YUM! We gathered up our stuff and headed out to the train station to catch the subway to Asakusa, a temple and bazaar-style shopping district. This

 part of Tokyo really does feel more relaxed than the others we visited, but the walk from the subway to the bazaar and temple was short and I didn't get to see much of the actual area. The market itself was awesome - very colorful with a lot of market stalls selling various snacks and trinkets. The freshly made dango was so good! Our progress through the market was slowed thanks to a TV crew progressing through the market with a panda statue or plushie, talking to the different vendors and filming quick bits in their stalls. We tried getting ahead of them and they caught up. We tried letting them get ahead and they lingered. In the end we gave up and just tried to ignore the crowd following them and clumping up in the marketplace.

Most of the booths were a bit touristy, so I didn't buy anything, though some of the ukiyo-e prints were really pretty. I did however pick up some sweet treats to bring home, yum yum! Steve and Mary lured me to Asakusa with the promise of a cake making machine, and sure enough the tale was true! The amazing machine is a conveyor belt of small heated molds that are filled first with a small amount of cake batter, then sweet bean filling, then more cake batter, pressed and cooked, turned out, and wrapped individually. It was glorious! I liked watching the cake machine. I would've taken a short video but the lady was looking at me funny as it was, I guess grown people are not normally so enthralled by the cake machine. Further on in the marketplace was another kiosk selling handmade cakes, and I watched that process for a while as well. It involved long handled molds filled in the same manner as the machine cakes, and cooked briefly on both sides.

We finally made it through the marketplace and were rewarded with a really pretty temple. We went inside, and I got a (good) fortune! It reads: 

No. 93 GOOD FORTUNE

If there is no water in pond, so many fish will die in it.

Throwing them into the water, they will get refreshed again.

As there is a barrier against your wish, good fortune does not seem to be smiling on you yet.

Be patient, if you have trouble and eventually everything will be alright.

*Your wish will come true. *The sick person will take time in getting well. *The lost article will not be found. *The person you are waiting for will come late. *Building a new house and removal are not always good. *It is good to make a trip. *Both marriage and employment are good.

Akihabara

We made a short visit to Akiba on the way back to the hotel for our fancy dinner. It's completely insane. There are shops everywhere selling electronics, computer parts, even wires and cables. We browsed an electronics megastore (seriously MEGA) - entire aisles full of mouses, keyboards, laptop cases, etc. The selection was incredible compared to what you find in a store in the US. We went up to the camera section and I found the perfect camera to replace my aging Nikon. It has a fantastic interface, a nice big screen and even takes HD video. Unfortunately it's only available in Japan and we couldn't find any English menu settings. Damn you, Sony! I'll have to track one down once I get home, since a quick search seems to have shown that it's being sold in the UK. After browsing the shinies, we headed up a few more floors to the toys and the rows and rows of capsule machines! These are common in the US at the doors of grocery stores, but only a few at a time and usually selling candies, stickers, or temporary tattoos. 

These capsule machines sold charms and keychains and little toys from anime and video games. I found a couple different Naruto ones, but failed at getting the Pakkun coin purse (it was SO CUTE). I probably should've tried harder to get Shikamaru (and Urahara from the machine I found outside later) but I didn't want to get duplicates, or more stupid ones (damn you Hidan, why couldn't you be SHARK FACE). Anyway, my best win was definitely getting 3 Fullmetal Alchemist figurines - Roy Mustang, Ed and Al! I kind of regret not getting a couple Phoenix Wright ones, but I was out of 100 yen coins so I stopped. I have learned something (not at all surprising) about myself, though - my love of slot machines as a cheap gamble definitely extends to blind boxes and capsule machines. The funniest machine of all was the Obama "Yes We Can" figurines. I got a pink one, and Mary got a green one. There were about 10 colors, and 1 was an Obama in a suit. The actual figures section was pretty massive, but I managed to leave without buying anything, and we headed back down to the street to explore the smaller shops.

In addition to the electronics shops in Akiba, there are also endless anime, manga, and video game shops. It's basically been transformed into the hobbyist heaven, with all sorts of quirky and fetish shops. Walking around here reminded me that I'm more normal than I realize. Being short on time, we just poked our heads into a couple of well lit ones. I could've spent days here were I able to actually read Japanese, but since I was mostly poking around for a limited range of manga related merchandise, my browsing was pretty quick. I'd also managed to get most of the best capsule charms already (except Shikamaru and Urahara, damnit...), and of all the manga and anime I consume there was little merchandise on display. Yet there was STILL crap out for Neon Genesis Evangelion. Seriously! That shit is so old, I will never understand why people continue to buy stuff from it. Then again, I love my Vash the Stampede bust! I popped into a few more stores and mostly managed to avoid the scary porn sections, but didn't find anything I absolutely had to buy. We decided to head back to the hotel a little early to get ready for our fancy dinner.

Japan 2009: Tokyo Day 2: Shibuya & Harajuku

Shibuya Madness

We mostly walked around for the rest of the day, looking at shops and buildings and people. The girls especially, but also some of the guys were dressed quite elaborately. The street fashion was very entertaining. We caught the tail end of the cosplayers dispersing as we filtered towards Harajuku. My feet really hurt by this point, so we wound up stopping and sitting several times. When we reached Harajuku, I saw something I hadn’t seen yet in Tokyo - hills! They were slight, but it was still nice to see a bit of variety. There were also a lot of trees dotting the streets (there seems to be a lot of green even in the heart of the city, with the architecture accomadating lush terraces and the streets offering trees and pretty landscaping throughout. We tried to find the entrance to a large garden that borders Harajuku, but we failed, and wound up walking some quiet residential streets for a few blocks as we curved back around to Harajuku. My camera had long since died at this point, so Ryan snapped a few pictures of the more fascinating buildings and people.

It was starting to get dark, so we walked back towards Shibuya to enjoy the lights and catch a glimpse of the nightlife. It was really like nothing I’d ever seen before - NYC is active at night, and Times Square is brightly lit but it’s not even close to the visual assault that was Shibuya at night (Steve and Ryan both agree that Akihabara is similarly bright and lively at night). It’s probably for the best that my camera died - I would’ve been taking pictures every block! Ryan found a manga store in his guidebook, and we accidentally ran across it as we wandered through the neighborhood. We went down, and down and down, three or four stories underground, to what really felt like a geek’s basement. Tall cabinets of figurines and collectibles and massive shelves of manga were crammed tightly into the large, dark room. I  browsed the collectibles for a bit and found a couple small charms. It would’ve taken hours to browse through if I were able to read any Japanese! There were some neat DVD sets I haven’t seen out in the US, as well as all of the Death Note individual release DVDs with the figurines (Near’s is super cute and the final figurine is a “mystery”). But seeing as I read a pretty small selection of manga and can’t read Japanese, I didn’t find too much stuff. 

It was fun to people watch at night. We saw the epitome of Japanese courtesy when 2 parking garage attendants bowed to the exiting vehicle, and then bowed to pedestrians on either side of the exit to thank us for waiting. There were young people everywhere, out on dates or meeting friends. Shop clerks, gentlemen's club staff and restaurant hawkers were trying to drive business by recruiting on the street (the word vegetarian solved that problem pretty quickly!). It was really crazy! Total visual overload. By this time my feet hurt way too much to do anything else, so Ryan and I headed back to the hotel and got some beer from the vending machine (so awesome!) - I guess the age check is being able to reach the button. I’m not gonna lie, taking my shoes off was probably the second best part of the day (second to seeing Ryan of course!!). We chilled out for a little bit in the room - I showed him some of the popular things he was missing in the US, like “I’m on a BOAT”. Mary and Steve came back shortly after, and Ryan had to catch a train back to Chiba, so we had to say goodbye. We all fell asleep pretty soon after, and that was that!

Japan 2009: Tokyo Day 2: Imperial Garden & Odaiba

Rainy Morning

It was raining this morning when we woke up, but we'd planned on spending the morning outdoors at the Imperial Garden, and meeting Ryan (yay)! We are hearty Seattleites (or ex-Seattleites!), so we held to our plan and emailed him to set up a meeting time and place before heading off to breakfast. It was a short ride to the Imperial grounds, and a very short walk to the meeting point - a bridge to the East Garden entrance (over the moat! I love moats). While we waited for Ryan for a few minutes, we watched what appeared to be some sort of amateur race for senior citizens. A long parade of elderly Japanese men and a few women trickled past the bridge, and I really enjoyed watching the differences in each person's style, speed, and composure. Some of those old guys were really moving! Ryan didn't show (curse his late night schedule) so we headed into the gardens and strolled around the grounds a bit. It was really pretty, especially the pond, and very relaxing too. It's amazing how quiet it was! No city noises.

The actual Imperial Palace is closed except for scheduled tours that I think are tough or expensive to get into, so we walked around the park grounds and enjoyed the views. The garden seemed mostly empty due to the rain, but that suited us well. The rain wasn't too heavy and we had umbrellas, so we stayed mostly dry. The garden smelled really fantastic in the rain, and the air was much clearer than the previous day. Without the sun beating down on us, we enjoyed the time outdoors! On the way back to the hotel to meet up with Ryan at the second rendezvous point, we stopped for bubble tea, which is pretty hard to find here. I had some super tasty Oolong bubble tea, and Mary and Steve had an amusing exchange with the shop clerk who seemed very concerned about her inability to make proper change for them - except she had! We're still a bit perplexed about the whole deal. Since it's generally discouraged to drink in public or bring beverages on the Tokyo subway, I smuggled my tea back to the hotel in my purse. Steve found it amusing that I was sipping tea through the straw sticking out of my purse like a snorkel out of water.

When we got back to the hotel, we found a Ryan waiting for us in the lobby! I popped up to the room to grab my emergency curry buns, and then we planned to split off for the afternoon. Steve and Mary headed off in search of a meaty meal of some sort, and while Ryan bemoaned his fate of being saddled with the vegetarian, we parted ways. After a bit of research we located the Shonen Jump store on Odaiba Island, so we headed out to track down the monorail. The monorail ride was really nice - we went past the Port of Tokyo, Tokyo Rainbow Bridge, and out into the harbor. 

Odaiba Island is a bit of an entertainment destination, like Coney Island or the New Jersey Boardwalk (only with fewer rides and more shopping...I only saw a Ferris Wheel). We grabbed some lunch at a Hawaiian burger place, and explored the mall a bit only to discover the Jump store is in fact only open during the summer (sorry Reid, no goodies!). I did find some capsule machines, and got a couple cute charms. We wandered around the deck a bit, enjoying the view and taking pictures with the fake Statue of Liberty, and exploring a bit. We decided to head back to the mainland to take in Shibuya Crossing on a Sunday afternoon, so we jumped back on the monorail to Shimbashi Station. We ran into a hitch at the station, however, when the fares weren't posted in English. Ryan had the brilliant idea of just getting a Suica card, so I haven't had to worry about buying a ticket each trip ever since! 

Japan 2009: Tokyo Day 1 - Tsukiji & Ginza Part 2

Toy Park!

Mary found a shop on our map called "Tokyo Toy Park" and we had a great time exploring the 5 floors of fun! The first floor was mostly goofy gag gifts and weird toys. Mary found a banana protector and a hamburger bento box. There was also a robot dog and a lot of weird candies, stamps, stic

kers, and nicknacks. The second floor was packed with toys for young kids, the third was full of plushies, the fourth was full of dolls and figures, and the fifth had puzzles, video games and accessories, and some manga collectibles. There were also some really excellent dartboards, chinese checker sets, and an alice in wonderland chess set!! I bought an anime puzzle, a cute bento box and travel flatware set (it can be assembled to be fork, spoon, or chopsticks!).

After the Ginza shopping adventure, we headed to Kyobashi to an East Indian restaurant Steve had in his guidebook. We weren't quite sure where to find it, however, and decided to stop and ask for directio

ns in a grocery along the way. Aside note: for people who haven't travelled in Japan before, there are no street addresses and many intersections are unmarked. This makes getting around to specific locations very difficult. Instead of including an address on a business card, you find a map on the back, with very little text. The primary reference points are famous landmarks or subway/rail stations. It's fascinating to me and I love it, but it does make getting around a bit rough for foreigners and people unfamiliar with the city. It's a bit like trying to feel your way around in the dark - it's slow going but possible as long as you keep a solid reference point. Good thing there are pleanty of maps!

The restaurant was packed, and the hostess sat us in the very back corner and then proceeded to mostly forget about us. We tried the set meals that had samples of several dishes (there was a vegetarian version! yay!!) and it was pretty spicy. The food was good but the service was pretty bad. Still, we had a good time. We were all pretty tired at this point, and I think everyone's feet were in quite a lot of pain. We hobbled back to the hotel, and passed out quickly. I haven't slept as quickly or as well in a long time, so even though I wear myself out every day I still feel pretty good!

Japan 2009: Tokyo Day 1 - Tsukiji & Ginza Part 1

Sleeping In

We planned on getting up super early this morning (Mary and Steve wanted to get super super fresh sushi at the market), but decided to sleep off the jetlag until about 8AM. My body is confused, not just about the jetlag, but about why it's awake and moving in the early morning. Very disorienting! We went downstairs and grabbed a free breakfast in the hotel lobby - rice, miso soup, yogurt with mystery fruit, a marinated salad of mystery root, hard boiled egg, rolls and scalding coffee (ouch!). It was really tasty for a free breakfast and mystery food is exciting! Also, the lobby is really neat looking. I can't help but think about how expensive it is as a space every time I pass through, and while I eat breakfast I stare through it to watch the morning commuters heading to Shiodome Station. It's an enormous empty space which is crazy, considering the size of hotel rooms and apartments and shops in Tokyo. Our room looks out into it, so I'm glad the lobby gets a lot of light.

Tsukiji in the Morning

From there, we wandered the streets of Shiodome for a bit in an attempt to find the entrance to Tsukiji Market. Eventually we found it, after asking for some directions in a cafe. Along the way I spotted a bicycle with a toddler seat on the front end (doesn’t seem like a very good idea to me to mount a kid on your handlebars, but hey). When we arrived, we began by winding our way through a crowded row of small shops selling all sorts of things - t-shirts, kitchen implements, sandals, fans, mushrooms and dried fish, vegetables, and small restaurants with long lines at their windows. We accidentally found our way into the industrial seafood part of the market before we righted ourselves, and wandered deeper into the marketplace. It was interesting to watch the men work transporting the goods (mostly fish) around on little trolleys and motorbikes as we crossed through the industrial section on the way to the commercial center. Mary and Steve scoped out the sushi stands to decide where they wanted to return for breakfast, and I tried to to identify as many plants and animals as I could. We found booths of smoked and dried fish (stinky), live eels, ENORMOUS edamame, and all sorts of interesting food products. It was exactly as Steve explained it to me - Pike Place Market on crack. It was much larger and more diverse in products, and instead of having several levels it just sprawls out in an endless web of chaos. Some of the restaurants were really just stalls, and others were conveyor belt style, behind glass doors with proper seating. There are more pics in the flickr pool.

Ginza

From there, we headed to Ginza, a popular upscale shopping district. We made our way to the Sony store, but arrived shortly before opening. We went across the street and grabbed drinks at a cafe in the mall across the street, and sat for a few minutes to rest our feet. After we finished our juice and coffee, we headed back down to the Sony store, which was an endless spiral of shiny electronic toys. Headphones, digital and video cameras, mp3 players, home stereos and laptops. It was fun to try out all the merchandise! I found some super (expensive) noise canceling headphones, and we enjoyed watching Rolly do its thing. It was adorable, dancing around to cheerful dance music, but I was left wondering what it would do for something like Nine Inch Nails. I enjoyed walking around this district - it reminded me of an exploded 5th Avenue - there were luxury shops everywhere. All the familiar posh stores were present, and some stores were bigger and more ostentatious than their New York versions. Tokyo is certainly a shopping mecca, and beyond that the architecture here is really something else. 

The juxtaposition of traditional and high tech is stunning and disorienting, and I absolutely adore it. I also love the way everything grows upward - the malls and shops are all vertical, and there are signs going all the way to the top! The European/Urban American model of retail shops below office space or residential space certainly doesn't hold here. We wandered around for a bit, trying to find some stores with a map, but the lack of proper street addresses made it slow going. We thought we found a store that might sell textiles and such, but it wound up being a bit like a Japanese mini-Ikea. We ate at the little cafeteria for lunch, along with a lot of business women, nurses, and some families. Steve and Mary shared a hot/cold deli plate and I ate some mystery bread that turned out to be curry bread (YUM), a desert pastry  filled with mystery fruit, and had some milk with strawberry vinegar (adventure number 1 for the day! It was actually pretty good and tasted a lot like yogurt).

From there, we wandered through a paper store where I bought some Japanese pens (I might have to buy more, I absolutely love them) and a little scratch pad to carry in my purse. One of the added bonuses to being left handed is that a lot of Japanese stationary accommodates well! Mary bought a box packaged inside a box that was then wrapped in paper and placed in a shop bag. I like shopping here just because the store clerks are so polite and the service is so great. In a lot of larger stores, there is a person who waits to greet you at the front of the line, takes your merchandise when it's your turn at the register, and bows to the clerk who rings you up. You place your money in the dish and it's then taken to the actual cashier who makes the change, and your clerk returns it to you. Everything is wrapped and placed in bags. I am morbidly curious what happens if you say something is a gift. The clerks also tend to dress in uniform, and I have to admit it's really nice. I knew that it was the practice to dress quite nice in Japan, but even a lot of the men driving delivery trucks are in suits, not to mention the cabbies (and the cabs are really nice too, I remember reading about them a few months ago - a lot of them are Rolls Royces).

The streets were blocked off from traffic in the afternoon, and chairs and umbrellas were placed in the middle of the streets - apparently this is a normal practice. People milled around and rested - it was sunny and warm, a really nice day. We took a load off for a while. I bought some curry bread for emergency vegetarian rations, and Mary got some nice chocolates. We sat in the middle of the road and did some people watching. There were lots of fancy Japanese ladies pushing strollers and toting shopping bags, and a lot of businessmen in their suits and ties. Lots of older people as well.

Japan 2009: Flight Day

We didn’t do much yesterday, since we were so tired from our flights. Aside note: both my flight and Mary and Steve’s flight had rocky landings, and I spotted a pile of wreckage off to the right of the runway after we finally touched down (it’s a little nerve wracking to hear the stewardess say “now....now....why hasn’t he touched down yet). After passing through the quarantine checkpoint (they did not take my temperature after all) and receiving my bright yellow “disease free” paper, I waited at the baggage claim for Steve and Mary who landed shortly after me. We headed through customs, hit up the international ATM, and made train reservations with our Japan Rail passes. With that out of the way, we grabbed tickets on the local train from Narita to Tokyo and were on our way. My first impression was that I loved the train cars - cleaner and better designed than the subways in NYC - plus I can reach the handles! I always had problems on the subway if it was crowded and I couldn’t get to one of the vertical poles, but not with these lower bars and the handles! 

The train ride was long. We went through some rural areas before we hit the outlying parts of Tokyo, and the vegetation and fields were really pretty. The vegetation seems to grow incredibly thick - I noticed the trees were packed together when the plane was landing, it’s so GREEN! Pretty soon we were traveling through towns, and since it was early evening the train began to fill up with commuters on their way home from work and teenagers on their way home from school. It was weird to see so many well dressed people in quarantine masks. I thought it might just be going on at the airport, but many were wearing them on the trains as well. We made it to Shimbashi Station, and took the pedestrian underpass to Shiodome and found our hotel. Steve was right, there really are no addresses in Tokyo - everything is found by relation to other things. 

The hotel is really cool! Mary did a great job of finding a place. The lobby is huge (vertically) and our room looks into it from the 8th floor. We headed up to the room and unpacked a little. Steve realized he needed an adapter so we headed back down to Shimbashi station to see if any of the shops had travel or computer supplies. We struck out but we grabbed some food in the process. We came back to the room, and even though it was only 8 or so, we all fell asleep.

Japan 2009: Arrival

SeaTac Gate N10: 11 AM

I’m surrounded by toddlers, which does not bode well for the length of this flight. They are pressed up against the window leaving trails of smudge marks and crying out “airplane” whenever one passes. The fathers are keeping watch on the makeshift daycare, making small talk about their kids. Fortuitously it sounds as though only two toddlers are destined for Tokyo (and the one kicking the window is going to South Carolina, thank goodness) - perhaps the flight will not be as rambunctious as I feared. I was reminded of my fear of toddlers in enclosed spaces when a young girl threw a remarkably loud tantrum (“I want it! Now! I want it now!”) while I was looking for travel sized bottles in the Bartell Drugstore near my apartment last night. All that’s left for me now is to hope for the best.

I made it to the airport unexpectedly early (especially for me!) thanks to my Mom driving me. Added bonus, I got freshly baked mom cookies and to see my dad before we left the house. Now I’m sitting here waiting two hours for my flight, listening to the warnings about flu quarantine for anyone displaying a fever (all passengers will have their temperature taken at customs), and all passengers seated within 2 meters. A lot of the Japanese passengers are wearing masks, even in the airport, so I figure they must know the warnings are serious. Time to go grab a bagel so I have something to eat for the next 10 hours. I should’ve brought something with me but I wasn’t sure if they would let me in with outside food :(

Update: why the hell does everyone else want a bagel too? I had to settle for a Rice Krispy Treat emergency ration from a vending machine. I really wish I had stopped at Whole Foods on the way to the house. Alas, hindsight!

In The Air: + 2.5 hours 

I am on a 777 and it’s absolutely packed. They let me onto the plane with my bag, my laptop bag, and my purse (victory!) so I didn’t have to check any bags. According to the captain, we’ll land early even though we have a strong headwind! Unfortunately, my luck with the toddlers did not hold. I am seated directly behind an adorable and very curious little blonde German boy, about 3 or  4 years old. He seems to enjoy standing on his seat and staring at me over the back of the seat. He looks like he really wants my mom cookie but I don’t care how adorable he is - my cookie! The toddler in the row in front of him is even louder and they’re feeding off each other now, making quite a lot of noise, but at least the younger one stopped crying!

The takeoff was beautiful! I love flying out of Seatac on sunny days. The mountain (Ranier) was out, and I got to enjoy views of it here and there, behind buildings as we sat at the gate and every time we turned while navigating our way to the proper runway for takeoff. I haven’t flown West from Seattle since I went to Hawaii years and years ago, and never in a path that took me truly Northwest, so I was really happy to fly directly over Seattle (I found my apartment! Easy to do when you’re a few blocks away from radio towers and Seattle U) and the sound. There were lots of boats out on Lake Washington since it is such a lovely day and I’m sure Greenlake was packed with people too.The ferries and big boats were out and the shipping lanes were busy too! We flew right over Vancouver Island and what I can only assume were the Canadian section of the Cascades - my first thought was that we were over the Olympic peninsula, but we were going far more Northerly, so I waved at Canada out the window. I really wish they would turn on the map that tracks our flight, I love knowing where I am when I look out the window. Usually the highlight of my flight is snapping a picture of Mt. Ranier as we fly overhead, but this time I was treated to the view in the other direction and it didn’t disappoint. There’s still a considerable amount of snow in the Cascades and they looked lovely and crisp out the window. I think I saw Mt. Baker, but I’ll have to consult a map later.

The cloud cover has become pretty blinding now that we are farther out over the Pacific, so it’s time to stop Earth gazing. I think I’ll put my book away and try to take a nap!!

The International Dateline, or, I Can See Russia From My Airplane Window: + 4 hours

I managed to take a brief semi-nap (woken by the aforementioned crying toddler) before lunch. I would have been crankier, but I can tell I would be very sore if I’d stayed in that position much longer. It’s been such a long time since I have flown on a long enough flight for meal service that I forgot just how terrible the vegeterian/vegan/kosher meal tastes (no wonder they usually just call it the “special” meal). Some things never change, and my meal request wasn’t processed, but they were unexpectedly able to provide me with someone else’s meal (the nice flight attendant would only say “it’s a long story” as to why they actually had extra vegetarian meals, but I won’t turn down free food even if it’s pretty gross! It’s definitely been too long since I traveled. I forgot all about the Coke Light that tastes like Coke Classic only slightly less sweet. Off topic notes: Nine Inch Nails really drown out engine noise and I’m really not used to my new haircut - I haven’t had bangs since High School (I think I’m missing all the WoW guys because that definitely deserved a “that’s what she said”). We’re 3500 miles into the flight now, and we’ve been flying past Siberia for ages. 

Almost There: +7 hours

Batteries are running low, SOS! I’m getting really congested so I hope they don’t hassle me at the health check. We’re nearing Japan and I should be able to see a bit of land soon. The little German boy and the little Japanese boy are sharing toys and playing with each other over the back of the seats. It’s pretty cute. Now the German daddy is teaching them how to make paper airplanes and they’re (all three) playing with them. The clouds are too thick to see through, so I’m going to shut down and go back to my book. I’ll be on the ground in about an hour!

Japan 2009: Preparation

Japanese Odyssey 2009: Commence!

I've finanally (at the last minute, of course) nailed down my final travel plans, found my passport (minor heart attack!), and bought a cute new bag for my laptop. I even picked up a few new books to read on vacation! Tonight I will be resynching my ipod, copying over my manga files to my mac, transferring some anime and perhaps buying season one of Battlestar Galactica to keep me entertained on the airplane. Oh, and doing my laundry, packing my bag, cleaning my apartment....sheesh! Maybe I shouldn't have stayed up all night playing WoW and talking on vent. Life fail...

I'll be on my way to SeaTac first thing Thursday morning and land shortly before 3PM local time, roughly the same time that Steve and Mary arrive. Finding each other will be our first challenge - moreso for them, really, since I'm tough to spot in a crowd - "Where's Laura" is a popular family vacation mini game. I'm more elusive than Waldo....