| 9:57a |
Highs and Lows in Tokyo
Hi all. I am blogging from Gate 70F at Narita International Airport waiting for my flight to Beijing. It has been a whirlwind two days here in Tokyo, and while I enjoyed my time here, I am happy to going on to China. When I last blogged, I was getting ready to take my shinkansen (bullet train) from Naoetsu back to Tokyo. That process all went very smoothly, thanks to Maria, who helped me buy tickets and got me to the station on time. Thanks again Maria for a great visit and for the great place to stay!
I got to Tokyo unscathed and proceeded to the Tokyo Metro, where a short ride took me to the Juyoh Hotel. I wasn't sure what to expect out of this place, which I had found via the Lonely Planet message board. The website had seemed promising and...they had a COUPON! It was only 2980 yen a night (about $28 a night), which is a steal in Tokyo. My room wasn't ready when I got there but the pleasant elderly man held my bags and gestured to return at 3 pm.
So, I was off to explore Tokyo. I took the metro down to Ginza, which is one of the most famous and tony shopping districts in the city. This is the Fifth Avenue of Tokyo, home to expensive boutiques, huge department stores and all variety of food options. Immediately across from the Ginza station, I found the Sony Building, which doubles a giant showroom for all Sony products. There were some really neat things on display, which they allowed visitors to play with. I especially enjoyed playing with the electronic dog, Aibo! This may be my kind of dog - it plays with you, if you get sick of it, you can turn it off and it doesn't make a mess. Then again, it does cost about $2000! Maybe not. I also really liked the huge HDTV plasma screens that they had all over the place. They even featured their professional TV cameras for HD, which I know my father would have enjoyed seeing. I went then to the Citibank to get some more yen, which unfortunately seems to flow like water in this country. On my way, I discovered the Yamaha music store - 5 stories of instruments, sheet music and more. The bank geek in me came out and I had to go look. They had some beautiful instruments on sale and even drum corps posters! It was pretty cool. I wish I could have afforded one of their beautiful flutes, but unfortuantely, they are no cheaper in Japan than they are at home!
For lunch, I once again venture to Yoshinoya for my second beef bowl of trip. This time, I went for a large. MMMMM!
Next, I decided to go up to the Tokyo Station area and wander around the Imperial Gardens. The current Imperial Palace is closed to visitors except for 2 days a year, since it serves as the home fo the current emperor and empress. However, the gardens are open to the public, and they were very quiet. Not very elaborate, but peaceful and I needed a rest! I kept walking and after passiing through the national gardens, I came upon one of the most controversial places in the whole world: the Yasukuni shrine. For those of you not familiar with Asian history, Yasukuni is the official shrine for Japanese war heroes - including a number of individuals classified as class-A war criminals during World War II. The current prime minister of Japan, Junchiro Koizumi, has made a habit of visiting here on occassion to "honor the war dead" and shore up his right wing base of support. In fact, while I have been here, he has been hinting at going again. However, these visits are met with much anger by China, which is still upset that Japan has not fully apologies for the crimes committed against thousands of Chinese during the war. "Honoring" those individuals, especially when done by Japan's leader, is very insulting to the Chinese. Interestingly, I did not find the shrine to be much to look at architecturally. It was very plain, and while there were vistors there, I saw no sign of protestors of any controversy at all. If you didn't know the history, you would not have known what you had just walked into.
I took the metro back up to my hotel where I checked in . I found a very nice (and small) 3 tatami room, with futon, TV and A/C. It was a great stepup from the "campsite." I was also right next to the shower, which was very convenient. I was wiped out, so I took a nap. When I woke, I decided to make my way over to Shinkjuku, which is sort of the Times Square of Tokyo.
This is where the story gets to the "highs and lows." Some of you may know that I am big fan of Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation, which takes place in Tokyo. I wanted to go to the Park Hyatt Tokyo hotel, where it was filmed, and have a drink in the rooftop bar - a setting where Bill Murray's character first meets Scarlett Johansen's character. I knew it would be expensive - this is the top hotel in the city - but I had to do this just for me. Being there was eerie. It was really like being in the movie. In the elevator, I heard the bell make the echo it makes in the film and I found myself giving the other elevator passengers the kind of glances that Bill Murray does. The bar at the top was just like in the film - a tremendous view from the 51st floor out over Shinjuku, with live jazz and expensive drinks (and a cover charge). I won't even tell you how much I spent but I had a good time and kept expecting someone to ask me if it was "Suntory time." (For you LiT buffs, I sat at the bar where the two American businessmen accost Bill Murray in the early scenes of the film.)
So, the bar was the high. Now comes the low. As I exited the hotel, I decided to take a picture of the tower. As I was standing there, I slipped and dropped my digital camera. Well, this was one hard drop and we all know that I am bad on electronics, especially cameras. In fact, this camera already had a broken battery cover. Well - this was the last straw. It's dead. I was so mad at myself. As I tried to fix it, I missed a step up and tripped again! Yes, I am the clumsiest man in the world. Anyhow - that's why there are no photos on this blog yet. Luckily, thanks to Maria, everything is saved on the memory card, and after I get my replacement camera in Beijing this weekend., I will post what I have. I also brought a regular camera and bought film to take photos the next day - so be on the look out for those too.
My flight is about to board so I am going to cut it short here. I will add more about my second Tokyo day and my arrival in Beijing shortly. Miss you all! Sayonara from Narita! |