UADarthmaul's Travels: Japan 5.1: A Return to Japan, Tokyo 1

On March 14, 2020, I was supposed to go with Miles on a three week trip to rural Japan. We were to travel from Tottori to Hagi, along the Sea of Japan. That was the week that covid became a great concern in the US, and I decided to cancel. In September, Japan decided to do a soft open, followed by a full reopening in early October, so I was excited to return.

Between the limited daylight hours and with Miles being at his mother's for the holiday, I decided to wait to recreate the 2020 trip. I decided that I would stay a week in Tokyo, a week in Kyoto, and most of a week in Fujiyoshida, near Mount Fuji. After so much travel this year, I am a bit tired, and so decided to attempt to do a relaxing trip. The idea is to just exist. Do a regular daily routine, and doing things only as I feel like.

I think it has been a bit of a failure on the "just exist" idea, overall. However, I brought with me less camera gear and have been taking less pictures. I have also taken much longer to write blog entries.

The trip began with a 6 AM flight from Asheville, NC, followed by a 5.5 hour layover in Chicago, and then the 13.5 hour flight into Haneda Airport. For the most part, it all went very smoothly. After putting $100 cash onto a new Pasmo card, I walked onto the train, which brought me to within steps of my hotel in Ginza, Tokyo. The Pasmo card is one of two card choices that allow you to tap to pay for train travel, along with convenience store purchases, and some restaurants participate as well.

While on the train, I was reminded of how peaceful Japanese culture was. An announcement was made over the train's speaker, of which I could not translate, but I figured(correctly) that there was a short delay. While the train was stopped for a minute or two, people sat in complete silence. It was just nice.

The next morning I went down to my scheduled breakfast time, and they provided me a cup of soup and a large bread bun with a form of jelly inside, in a brown bag. There were cupholders inside to bring along coffee and orange juice. There was also some salad. I didn't know what to expect with hotel breakfasts, and this solution seemed to make sense.

I noticed that there was a Buddhist Temple with some interesting architecture, just southeast of my hotel, so I decided to walk on over. the Tsukiji Hongwanji Temple was beautiful on the outside, and people were allowed to enter and sit down.

I walked back in the direction of my hotel, passing a curry restaurant and the Kabukiza Theater. I had no idea that this theater existed here beforehand, so it was a pleasant surprise. I actually booked my hotel specifically because it was one of the few in Tokyo with an onsen(hot spring bath) in the hotel. Ginza is a nice neighborhood in Tokyo, price right, and just outside the hotel is access to a train line. I filed the idea of the Kabuki theater in my mind for later.

Although Japan uses the same kind of electric outlets that we do, I didn't remember that there are many more two pronged outlets than three. I was able to reorganize their plugs to allow me to plug in my three pronged laptop charger, but wanted to find an adapter, in case this wasn't possible in future hotels. I detoured southwest to the nearest Don Quijote discount store. I visited one of these on my first trip to Japan, and it is an insanely packed store with a little bit of everything. Multiple levels, and items sticking out everywhere. I asked a worker for help locating the adapter, and he navigated me through what felt like endless corridors, toward the far end of the store, which had the adapter for just a few dollars.

A window seen on the way to Don Quijote.

Next, I visited a craft shop named Takumi. I fell in love with one of their decorative plates as well as a pottery styled coffee mug and saucer. Unfortunately, I realized that I didn't bring much in the way of luggage this trip, and I cannot think of a way to transport it home if I decided to buy them. They had a nice fabric section as well and I would have loved to have bought something from it, but it was extremely expensive.

To finish my walk, I stopped at the Ippudo ramen shop. Instead of water, they served cold tea, and the ramen itself was just ok. It seemed to be a touristy spot, as a large Spanish speaking family sat down just near me and seemed completely unaware of just how loud they were compared to everyone else in the restaurant.

The next day I decided to head north to visit Sensoji, a famous temple, along with the Nakamise Shopping Street leading up to it. There were tons of people, but it was still beautiful,

A side street to my left.

A side street to my right, with a view of the Tokyo Skytree.

Before returning to my hotel, I chose to stop at the nearby Cat Cafe Calaugh. This took me down another street that gave me a view of the Skytree.

The cat cafe was empty when I entered, but soon a large family joined me, along with a couple. I had planned to have curry, but they were out of rice. Instead, I ordered an ice cream with espresso on top.

I returned to my room for a bit and then went to a local shop behind my hotel, Ginza Fukuyoshi, for some yakisoba. There were only five tables inside, so I was lucky there was a spot open.

Later that night, I walked to Hibiya Park, where they had a Christmas Market. You had to make a time reservation ahead of time, and I was let in at 8:00.

My first church spotting.

Entering the park, toward the market.

The Christmas Market was all about Germany, with a tall Made in Germany structure at the front, and German theme gifts and food at the vendors. I picked up a churro and looked at the vending stalls.