Tag Archive: Tokyo

Primped and stylish

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Mon. July 3, 2006

I think I’ve figured out a few reasons why I felt so out of place in Shibuya among the Japanese youth. If you recall, I’m technically right in that age bracket of the people you’d see there, but at the same time, I just didn’t feel like part of the group. It’s just that the Japanese fashion sense is totally different from what’s I consider to be the norm. Every guy is primped and stylish. Some might say gay-looking, but it’s the norm here. As well, people here are so fracking skinny. Holy crap, it’s so easy to fall into body dysmorphic disorder if you’re not careful. I guess, by comparison, my clothes are sloppier and I’m just a bigger guy, so that makes me…a big fat slob here. Yay!

Well, this morning I made the trek to Harajuku station. Actually, I took the subway, so I ended up at Meiji Jingu-mae station, but they’re next to each other so whatever. I took my backpack, so again, my shirt was soaked with sweat. I wouldn’t have taken it, but honestly, I was kind of hoping for a swarm of Japanese teens with too much time on their hands, but it wasn’t the case. Nope, no freak show apart from one or two exceptions. I went along Takeshita-doori, which is the fashion crockpot of the area. Yup, there were lots of clothing stores, some offering strange things like some leather biker get up with a red mesh shirt…for guys. Yeah, whatever. For the sake of curiosity, I went in one store that seemed to sell men’s stuff. All of the shirts looked trendy, but there were all smaller than anything I could wear. I swear, I kind of just want to go back home, head to the closest mall and find some decent clothes just to prove the point that yes, I can find shit in my size. Screw you, Tokyo! Needless to say, I got bored of the street rather quickly. Although, I did stop by the ¥100 store Harajuku Daiso. To be honest, I really shouldn’t have gotten anything. No matter where you go, a dollar store is a dollar store is a dollar store.

After leaving, I made it a point to stop by Omotesando which is often referred to as “Tokyo’s Champs-Elysees.” By whom? Hell if I know. The shops that lined the street seemed upscale. For example, I spotted Ralph Lauren and Louis Vutton shops. I ducked inside the Omotesando Hills shopping complex to get out of the sun. As I walked around, I marvelled at all the shops I couldn’t possibly afford to shop in. I got a kick out of that. However, there’s only so much of that you can do before going batty, so I left quickly. I ate lunch at a cafe somewhere along the road. They had a great Chicken lunch combo which was well put together. To think, I was this close >>> <<< to eating at Wendy’s.

I dropped by the Meiji Shrine just because when I first went there I totally enjoyed the shade of the forest and the overall serenity of the place. The gates are all just so grand and huge. It’s all just beautiful. It’s a very popular tourist spot. Which reminds me, combined with Takeshita-doori, today I’ve seen more Americans (read: white people) than I’ve ever seen during my whole stay in Tokyo. Please don’t mind me pointing that out; I was just amused by it.

The other day, Amy was telling my about this aquarium that she and Alex went to after they settled at their hotel. I saw a symbol for the aquarium on Google maps, so I thought “how hard could it be to find the place?” As such, I made it a point to go there from Harajuku Station. I got off at Shinagawa and looked for the closest street map. After scanning all over, I didn’t find a single mention of an aquarium. So, my next instinct was to head to the area around the hotel where Amy and Alex stayed. When I got there, there was still no sign. So, I just walked down the road, hoping for something to pont out that I was on the right track. About half an hour later, I gave up. I had no idea where I had just walked to. I was hot, sweaty, and tired, so I walked into a coffee shop and ordered something cold. I guess I was too tired because I ended up buying a blood orange drink for ¥420. That was dumb. It was good but certainly not $4 good, know what I mean? Ugh, anyway, when I left, I kept walking and found myself at Gotanda station. That’s 2 stations worth of distance from Shinagawa. That was bloody far.

Anyway, not to feed into any of the body dysmorphic shit I was talking about, but after all this walking I better damn well have lost a bit of weight.

Thanks. I’ve had my moment.

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Bright lights, big city

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Sun. July 2, 2006

It’s Monday morning here in Tokyo, and I’m feeling kind of rotten. My energy levels are riding a bit of a low wave right now. The night before, I asked Jay what kind of places I should visit on my last days. I told him that I was going to go freak watching in Harajuku, however, he informed me that that was really only done on Sunday mornings. Damn it, if I had known, I would’ve trekked there instead of the zoo. It’s a pity, really. Anyway, regardless, I’m still going to head over there and check out the shops.

He also suggested that I head out to Shibuya at night once more. We had gone during the tour, but it was really a rushed stop on the way to dinner. So I went there to absorb some of the insanity. Shibuya crossing is the world’s busiest pedestrian crossing. I think I happened to go there at one of the less busier times, but it was still so very full of life. Orchastreted chaos is a good way to think about it, you know? It seems that a lot of the younger generation gathers here. I’m not old or anything, but perhaps I felt a bit out of place. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s just a personality mismatch, know what I mean? I know a lot of people who’d love this place. I think I’m more about places like the Nakamise and Senso-ji Temple in Asakusa, which are also busy, but seemingly more calmed down and cultural. Those who know me understand, I think.

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A day at the park

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Sun. July 2, 2006

Today was the first day that I’ve been exploring all on my own. End result? It was kind of a failure. It wasn’t because I couldn’t get around. It wasn’t because there was nothing interesting to view. No, it was all because of a few factors. Like I mentioned before, I’ve been horribly wiped out from the abnormally large amount of walking that we did in the first few days. This is certainly not the relaxing sort of vacation. Taking that into consideration, I wanted to head to someplace close to the hotel. Around here, there’s the Senso-ji temple, and Ueno Park which is a large park in the middle of the city. Since I’d already gone to Senso-ji twice, I figured it would be a good time to visit the park. It’s only one stop away on the subway. Once I got there, I walked around without any big aims, but I eventually ran into the Ueno Park Zoo, which is Japan’s most well-known zoo. It’s been a while since I’ve seen animals in a zoo, so I paid admission and went in. Well, it’s everything you’d expect a zoo to be.

On the grounds, there’s even a monorail. I thought that thing was going to circle the park, so I paid the ¥150 admission and got on. To my chagrin, the only people that got on were adults with their kids. The parents were all “tanoshii yo ne?!!!” to their kids, which basically means “this is totally fun, isn’t it?” The kids were into it. Soon the thing started up and as it moved I pulled out the video cam. Soon after I started filming, the things stopped. I looked around and asked myself, “this can’t be it, can it?” However, all the passengers filed out. I felt like such a tool. The thing just crossed the zoo to the west portion, which was entirely walkable. What a waste!

I tried to make the trip as relaxing as possible. At one point I just sat on a park bench and I took off my shoes, trying to give my feet some well needed rest. That was fine by me. By the time I left the zoo, it was about 1 p.m. The moment I left, that’s when the rain came. Now, for this trip, I feel we had been wholly blessed. I mean, Yosenex told me that for the entire month of May the rains were relentless. The fact that rain didn’t come during the tour was incredible. So, I didn’t really mind that the rain was happening at that moment outside of the zoo.

I ducked under a tree for a little while, but then I figured that I should buy a temp umbrella or else I’d be stuck there for a long time. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a booth that had just pulled out its supply of umbrellas. Sure, they cost ¥500, but at least I could move. Well, the winds blew hard and despite me having cover, I still got moist. I was just tired and miserable. So, I headed back for the hotel early. The hotel was explaining in Japanese that they still weren’t done cleaning the room. They asked “something something…modoritai?” which I gathered to mean, “do you want to go back to your room?” I mustered a tired “hai.” I dunno, I think I must have looked like I was going to either drop dead or start bawling. The clerk called around and returned saying “go fun“, meaning “five minutes.” Fine enough by me. I’ve been napping ever since I returned to my room. I think the smell of animal poop is haunting my mind.

That brings me to another point as to why today was a failure. When you go alone, there’s no one to act as an incentive to continue pushing forward. Oh hell no. There’s no one there to push and no one that relies on you, so if you’re tired, you are free to damn well return if you want. I took that option. Someone suggested that despite being here for a week now, I may have just hit jet lag now. It’s very possible.

The last point I can think of is an absolute saturation of the need to absorb a culture. As I look at a map of the big Tokyo subway system, I think I’ve been to and seen the sights of most of the major ones. Ikebukuro? Been there; won UFO dolls at an arcade. Shibuya? Done that; took a pic with Hachiko; ate teppenyaki there. Shinjuku? I ate at the red light district. Akihabara? Walked around endlessly; ate at a maid cafe; found many goods. Ueno? Done the park. Ginza? Walked around, went up Mitsukoshi and saw the ridiculous prices for all the goods. Asakusa? Been to Senso-ji twice; wandered around the Nakamise shopping streets; had a Buddhist monk wonder if I’m native American.

Let’s just say, I’m tired. I don’t know what else to have a look at. I think tomorrow though, I’m going to build up enough energy to walk around Harajuku. Yeah, it’s that fashion place that Gwen is all ga-ga over. It’s advertised as a Teenagers’ paradise. So, I’m going to head there and bring the video camera along. Should be interesting. Hopefully I’ll get footage of some weirdo gothic lolita types. If I need to kill time, I may make a stop over at Yodobashi Camera in Akihabara first. I mean, I don’t think I’ll end up buying anything, but it’s fun to look at 8 to 9 floors of electronic goods. That place is huge! If I do though, it’ll tack on about ¥120 to the travel costs. Did I mention that water money flows like water here? It seriouesly does. It’s kind of ridiculous.

That’s all for now I guess. Talk to y’all soon. Looking forward to going home. :)

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Electric Town

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Sat. July 1, 2006

I’m sitting in bed after a long day in Akihabara. I’m watching one of those Japanese variety shows. There seems to be this Japanese woman travelling around Sri Lanka visiting with the locals. I don’t know why I find this so amusing, but I do. Japanese society seems to be so insular, that a travel show of the type that I’m watching seems unique. I was kind of expecting fancier or more eccentric television shows, but everything seems so average.

I’ve already showered. Tokyo weather around this time of year seems to average between 25 and 30°C. That doesn’t seem too bad, however, it’s horribly humid here. You feel it on your skin and that icky feeling just doesn’t go away until you shower. The hotels here seem to offer pajamas or night gowns to its guests. They give fresh sets daily. The Mielparque offered something like a yukata. I don’t think it fit very well when I used it. I don’t know if you’re supposed to wear it to bed. I did, but by morning it was all wide open. After that, I chose not to use it. This Toyoko inn offer night gown like things. These are pretty open. I suppose it doesn’t matter since I don’t have a roommate while I’m staying here. Whatever.

Anyway, today was a pretty good day. During the tour, one of the stops was Akihabara, which is quite famous for all the electronic goods being sold there. Damn, that place is busy. I mean, there are hordes of people all over the place. Each store has people out on the street screaming at you to come into their store. It’s a gauntlet of people handing out free tissue packets and fans. It’s easy to hit sensory overload there, I figure.

We didn’t really spend much time there, so Amy, Alex and I decided to return to check things out. Luckily this time, we had a guide. Yosenex has been teaching English in Japan for a while and he seemed to know the neighbourhood really well. He tooks us from store to store, looking for goods that might interest us. What kind of goods? Well…you know:

No, I didn’t buy these. Are you kidding? They’d probably be around ¥15000. Instead, I ought some smaller figurines. As well, Yosenex pointed out some artbooks. When Amy and I saw them, we were in shock. I mean, holy crap, it was like finding the holy grail…except perhaps not that rare. I’m now the owner of the second SM artbook. I also have the second anime artbook now. I am one happy guy with these purchases. I’ve spent more today than any of the past days that I’ve been here. That’s great, however, I think it’s time for me to cap the big purchases.

After the purchases, Yosenex took us all to an arcade so he could show us his mad DDR skills. This guy is amazing. The three of us were cheering him on. I don’t think the Japanese gus around us were as into his performance as we were, but screw them, I thought it was amazing.

So yeah, my feet still kill. Because of the fact that we scoured Akihabara, my feet haven’t had much time to recover. I don’t think they will until the plane ride home. It’s coming soon. I’ve lost track of days, really. Now that I think about it though, I’ve got 3 more days left to see all that I can manage. I have to persevere and cram it all in. This trip is already memorable, however, I know that I can make it even moreso.

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First volley from Tokyo

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Sun. June 25, 2006

Hey, so I made it. The trip was long, but it overall pleasant. On the plane from Vancouver to Tokyo, I was stupidly shocked by the amount of Asian looking people on the aircraft. I know, I know: “DUH.” It’s just interesting. At the moment, it’s like….7:15 here. The room I stayed at for this night is pretty small but efficient. I should post photos, but I’ll do that later. The room has one of those wonder toilets! I’m quite amused by it.

Wow, this place is amazing. It’s all so lively. As much as I studied Japanese, it’s proving to be difficult to communicate. We’re just getting by with nods and poning ot everything. Not that I’m not making efforts. It’s just that people automatically assume that you don’t know what you’re doing. I’d like to make more efforts however I’m shy. It’s hard to try without looking like an idiot. I’m perhaps mildly embarassed that we’re doing the ugly foreigner thing. Last night, as a group we were walking down the street, and talking and laughing and being loud. The Japanese old ladies would stop and stare. We were nearly run over by many bicycles. It’s an odd feeling to be able to talk and cuss and say stupid things while walking out in public. To be honest, it almost feels like we’re watching a movie of some sort and we’re commenting from a distance. Except, we’re not at a distance. This is all very real, and quite cool.

Anyway, last night we went to Ikebukuro ( 池袋 ) to eat. Everything is all so bright and loud there. From what I hear though, it’s no Shibuya ( 渋谷 ) or Shinjuku ( 新宿 ). After eating, we hung out at the arcades there. There are a ridiculous number of arcades there. Moreover, there are a ridiculous amount of those UFO crane games there. Thost machines are stupidly addictive. It doesn’t seem too expensive at �100 a pop, so it’s easy to just drop in coin after coin. When you htink about it though, that’s the equivalent of about $1. I wouldn’t spend that much in Canada! However, it’s Japan…so…there. FYI, I ended up winning soccer chihuahua dogs (so cute!) and a stuffed koala. I got the two chihuahua dogs with one crane pull: I was ecstatic!

There are vending machines everywhere. I’ve heard people say that, it’s quite true. Almost anything is available. There’s a battery machine close to this hotel. As we were walking in Iriya ( 入谷 ), I noticed a vending machine tucked away in the corner which was peddling titty mags. Only in Japan, I tell you.

It’s amusing. Everything is just so…odd. It has the feel of New York, except bigger and more decidedly Asian. (I’m being master of the obvious, apprently). Being able to read various kanji is helpful, although, there is enough English on the main street signs. Overall, I will say that this place feels like some wongo bizarro world. It’s all normal feeling but still quite strange.

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Transit enthusiast’s wet dream

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Mon. May 15, 2006

Wow, I don’t think I’ve actually mentioned this here before, but I’m going to be heading to Tokyo at the end of June. I’ll be there for 10 days to see the sites and take in as much culture as I possibly could muster. My interest in Japan has been slowly developing since 1995, and now, I think it’s about time I headed there to see things for myself. Tickets have been purchased, rooms have been booked, everything is all right. Although, I am a bit worried about having enough spending money on me. I have so many things I need to pay off here. In the end, I’m hoping that everything will be OK and that things will take care of themselves.

Been doing some research on the Tokyo subway system. Turns out my friend can’t meet me at the airport on the day that I arrive, so I’ll have to trek to the hotel by myself. I was pretty apprehensive when I found out that I had to do so by myself…however, after doing some reasearch, I’m raring to go at it and explore on my own. Have you seen a map of the Tokyo transit system? I mean, Jesus, that thing is immense, and quite complicated. Do a Google search for Tokyo subway system and check out one of the maps online. It’s insane! Oh, how I wish that the TTC had lines going all over the city. Check out the Transit Toronto website (the site makes for a pretty good read), look under Other TTC Maps for the “Fantasy Future Subway Map”. Oh man, if only. It’d be like a transit enthusiast’s wet dream, you know?

Anyway, no use pining for something that won’t be…not even 100 or 200 years from now, I guess.

Anyway, back to Tokyo’s system. The fare that you pay is actually based on how far you’re going. So, going a short distance may only cost you 160 yen, while going cross town may cost you…230 yen. That’s still pretty cheap. What I’m still apprehensive about is that fact that the trains will likely be packed. How am I going to manage, especially with luggage and such? It should make for an interesting experience. I wonder if I’ll be able to take it in with a good state of mind, despite the impending culture shock which is sure to happen pretty quickly. Looking forward to it.

Most of all though, I’m just ever so slightly concerned once I make it above ground again. I don’t know how clear street markings will be. I’m a bit afraid of going in some opposite direction and ending up in a totally wrong location. I know very few kanji, so I’m hoping it won’t take too much effort to get by.

40 more days to go.

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