Advertisement
Published: September 21st 2007
September 21, 2007
Day One
My oh my...
We just landed in Tokyo hours ago and we are still recovering from the flight...It was a long, direct flight from JFK. Prior to the trip I had spoken with some friends who had flown to Thailand direct on luxurious, cushy planes and landed well fed, rested, and spoiled. So, anticipating our ride I was hoping for the same, after all, fourteen hours is a long time and our final destination was Thailand with Tokyo just being a souped up lay-over. Boarding the double decker air bus I pictured myself blissfully resting easy on our way to our destination as we passed lazyboy type accommodations in Business class. Of course i knew that our seats wouldn't be that plush, but they couldn't be that far behind, because that would be just cruel to trot us past what we couldn't have to our uncomfortable realities. After the Business class we came to a cabin of armchair type seats, which again, we walked past towards the back of the plane. This time we were looking at fairly wide, relatively comfortable looking seats cushioned in front with lots of leg room...sweet- this must be it! Once again though, we were ushered back into the last, largest cabin. It looked like every other Southwest Airlines flight I had been on...stiff, narrow seats crammed together to fit in as many as possible. This would be home for the next fourteen long hours, so I cozied up, put on my sound canceling headphones from dad, and nodded off, making the best of a less-than-desirable situation.
A calender day later we landed in Tokyo and were faced with what i could only imagine would be the first of many similar dillemmas---how to find the hostel??
when we finally got everything situated in the airport
, which was surprisingly easy since everything was also in English- I couldn't help but get that bitter-sweet feeling when I thought about the effects of Globalization...- we waited in line to catch the train towards the hostel. caty and I were immediatedly amazed when we realized that everyone was STANDING IN LINES while waiting for and boarding the train!!! This is enough to put any New Yorker into shock and it wouldn't be the first time that evening that I would think how much more civilized the japanese are than the u.s. The train was spotless, with people whose jobs are it is to walk up and down the trains and pick up the litter---I swear, i saw them! New York should take some pointers... Navigating the train/metro system was much easier than expected but, also very expensive, so i guess convinience and cleanliness has its price.
when we got to the end of the line was when the reality check finally hit us...we were in Tokyo and we had no idea where we were going! So, we decided to ask the cabbies because for one, it was night and we didn't want to start navigating around at night for the first time, and two- cabbies know everything about directions---at least in New York they do, or at least they pretend to...it took us five cab drivers later who didn't just hand the directions back to us with a quick shake of the head before we found a compassionate older gentleman to help us on our way. We finally arrived at the hostel in exchange for 660 yen and some bantering about of English phrases by our driver. Not too shabby...
After we settled into the bunk beds and did a quick run online to send out the safe arrival emails, we decided to venture out to stretch our legs and get a quick bite to eat. As we navigated through the alleyways, we were overcome by the beauty of the complete silence of the city- at least that part. There were no cars sounds, no people's voices, nothing- just silence and the occasional passerby. It was beautiful and refreshing. The alleys wound about and we got the chance to peek into stoops and courtyards, many of which were wonderfully lush with landscaping and lanterns.
We got to a main stretch and the idea that we were on the other side of the world in Japan, finally embarking on our much planned out trip began to tentatively and sneakingly sink in. At some points, things felt so surreal that it was almost as if we were strolling along in a Japanese neighborhood in New York, except that there was no noise and NO PEOPLE!! This was a Friday night, where was everybody?? But the silence and space was relieving so we continued on. We eventually passed a restaurant and decided to stop in for dinner. As we sat down, caty and I realized we were in deep when we tried to ask for water and it dawned on us that we didn't even know the word. After some confused looks, hapless exchanges and a short-lived, desperate attempt at charades we saw a man pouring a beer and pointed and nodded our heads, giving into the fact that until we learn the basics, beer would just have to do. A liquid is a liquid after all... Thankfully, the menu had pictures, so we were able to navigate a little easier around the ordering of food. At the last minute, I even decided to point randomly at the first thing my eyes landed on and nod to our server indicating 'bring it on'...let the adventures begin! Dinner was fantastic...a shredded daikon salad with italian dressing, a bean sprout and octopus stir fry, and my mystery dish ended up being a sliced, fried fish skin that was great! satiated, we paid the bill, which was a blow to the pocket, and wondered if you are supposed to tip in japan. we ended up leaving 20% and made a mental note to inquire into tipping protocol the next day.
On the way back we managed, finally, to get some water from the vending machine and we were accompanied home by the warm breeze and peaceful silence. I was able to climb into my bunk and fall asleep at 12.20pm local time which was 11.20am home time with a full belly, excited heart, and quiet prayers that the raw daikon, water-washed salad didn't come back to haunt me.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.107s; Tpl: 0.023s; cc: 10; qc: 48; dbt: 0.0649s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Garth
non-member comment
Tipping in Japan
Ah so, Pia-chan. Nice for you to think so considerately, but in fact, one never tips in Japan. It is all about saving face. The expectation is that you would always receive excellent service - and indeed, I have never received anything but in all my many travels to the Floating Islands. A small or no tip would cause the waitstaff and/or cook to "loose face" - something to be avioded at all cost. Or it would imply that the price charged is really not the real price, or some kind of dishonesty by the restaraunteer. Again, the implication of dishonesty is very shamefull, and causes them to loose face. Likewise, unlike most of the rest of the world, one doesn't haggle over the stated price of an item, because it again implies dishonesty by the seller. To haggle is a great embarassment, causing everyone involved to lose face. So keep your tip. The prices in Tokyo are right up there with Manhatten and London - highest in the world. Slurp your noodles at the end of the bowl to signify your satisfaction. And enjoy the amazing world of paradox that is Japan. My apologies if this sounds like a lecture. Probably I misunderstood. Gomenasai. Garth-san