Our First Stop- Tokyo (Part 1)


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Asia » Japan » Tokyo
July 12th 2007
Published: July 12th 2007
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Pre-flight!
The standard international maximum for bags is around 40lbs. As a precaution, we did a quick check to see where our bags weighed-in. My bag was a limit-pushing 35lbs, and Phil’s bag weighed a whopping 47lbs. Lucky we don’t encounter the weight restriction until South Korea. The day before we left, there was a major role-reversal in trip-planning and preparation. I became completely lethargic, and chose to watch Sex and the City re-runs rather than help poor Phil with last minute packing. I rationalized my selfishness and apathy by a necessary one last dose of American culture for closure.

Day 1- The Flight (or should I say flights)!
After a beautiful drive to JFK with dad, Phil and I met Carole (Phil’s sister) at the terminal. We were soon informed that we were not seated together on the first portion of our direct flight to L.A. As I sat in the waiting area still complaining about our seating situation, a happy Aussie man began telling us of his month-long vacation across America that had just come to a close. As he explained that he was escorting a group of teenagers who have overcome cancer, I began to get a sinking feeling in my stomach. I vowed from then on to be grateful for this trip, and to stop being petty. The plane rides were extremely uneventful thanks to a couple of Xanax and blow-up neck pillows.

Day 2 - Arrive in Tokyo
Our first experience in Tokyo was a pleasant one. We found the Keisei line easily and spoke with a very friendly Airport employee on his way home. The train was so smooth and sparkling clean (until we spilled our iced tea all over the floor). We found our hostel in Asakusa (the Khaosan Tokyo Annex) with little incident. The hostel was in a very quiet, completely residential part of Tokyo (across the river). You are required to take off your shoes after entering, but the stairs have sharp metal gratings across the top which make it an unpleasant four-story climb. We anticipated the room to be small, but nothing could have prepared us for what we were about to experience. Our room housed one set of bunk beds, which I believe were the exact same dimensions as the room itself.
A free drink for each (of age) guest of the hostel was awarded at the Smile Guesthouse a few blocks away. We immediately headed there and sucked down our first (or at least my first) authentic sake. It was served in a tall shot glass inside a short square box. I would also encounter my first authentic Japanese bathroom system at the Smile Café. At first glance the bathroom seemed normal. There was a sink and mirror followed by a row of stalls. The first stall opened to what looked like a urinal built into the floor. I hoped that the second door would prove to be a better choice. And it was ! A perfect “western toilet” awaited me. A sink was built into the back portion of the toilet (on top). And as you flush, water flows from this sink. I had a hard time using this sink (somehow feeling that the same water from the toilet was being sent through the faucet). Lucky for me, there was also a sink directly across from the toilet as well. After asking the bartender why there were three sinks in the bathroom, he erupted into laughter. I never got an answer to that question.
Phil’s Food Spot:
Our first meal was in downtown Asakusa, a chain restaurant called Doma Doma. Coincidentally, we had read about them online. It was housed in a ten story building which showcased a different restaurant and cuisine on each floor. In our lethargic state it was just what the doctor ordered. Modern, hip, cheery waiters with a menu full of pictures that covered most Japanese cuisines. Think Japanese Fridays but 50x better. We shared deep fried pig belly squares (Barry, are you reading?) which were simply battered and fried to perfection. Scallion, sprout dumplings came on sizzling cast iron and burst with a freshness quality that said “you’re in Japan now”. Chitterling hot pot followed. I was unimpressed with the cuts but the sauce and mixed vegetables were very good. Finally the menu offered an item titled “surprise” with a picture of a covered dish. Of course we had to try it. Tonight’s surprise was very tender dark meat chicken with onions and sprouts over rice in an egg-teriyaki like sauce. Hardly a fear-factor entry but very, very good. I would recommend Doma Doma. (Just a note, the chicken we’ve sampled so far has been simply excellent. The quality, be it organic, local or what have you, is unsurpassed).
Day 3 - The Cash Disaster 
Our first night’s sleep (if you could call it that), was interrupted by extremely loud French teenagers who dominated our entire floor. Between the noise and the time difference, we were unable to sleep past 4:30am. Phil and I had the bright idea to get up and head to the Tsukiji market (fish market). We showered in the shared shower on our floor. Good water pressure and large shower room, but the shower would shut off every 15 seconds, and you must push a button to restart it (this kinda sucks when you have soap in your eyes). We were showered and out on the road by 5:30. Just a quick run to the ATM (we had to use all of our cash to pay for the room) and we would take the train to the market. Well, the whole “grabbing cash thing” turned out to be a huge mess. We were able to find several ATMs, at 7-11’s and such, but none accepted foreign ATM cards. Between the two of us, we have four ATM cards, and a half-dozen credit cards. For some crazy reason, we felt the need to try each one of our cards at each ATM (just in case). They say that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Well, if we were being watched, both Phil and I would have been immediately committed.
After walking several miles, and trying about fifteen different ATM machines, we finally resolved that we would have to wait until the Post Office opened (at 9:00am). Most of the banks didn’t open until 10:00am (what happened to that crazy Japanese work ethic??) By 7:45 we were starving and decided to eat at the only place that was a) open, and b) would accept American credit card. And that was Denny’s! I must say that I could not have felt any worse for Phil. Here he is expecting to eat at the foodie equivalent to Disney world (the fish market), and he is stuck having his first Japanese breakfast at Denny’s. The food actually turned out quite good, and the presentation was shocking. My sunny-side up egg was beautiful and perfectly (barely) cooked. I had a side of bacon and sausage (the freshest best cuts of meat that I’ve ever had for breakfast). The meal came with miso soup and fermented soy beans (miso=great, beans=not so much). Phil had a potato hash looking concoction that he said was fantastic but the portion was so small.
Denny’s was conveniently located across from one of the major tourist destinations in the area- the Asakusajinja Shrine. We walked through the long market area, and asked Buddha for some luck on the trip (and some cash). It was finally time for the Post Office to open! The site of money being spit out of the machine rather than a receipt written in Japanese, was more beautiful than anything I thought I would see in Asia. With money in hand, we were ready to start touristing. Our first stop was Rock Flower Road, or as I like to call it- Gamblers Row! There were rows of what looked like huge arcades with gads of people waiting outside them. I finally saw a sign that said Pachinko, and we knew what we were seeing. I’m starting to wonder if they have purposefully delayed the opening of businesses to allow the Japanese to “invest in the economy” through gambling before facing the day of work.
Our next destination was Kappabashi. This road is famous for the stores that sell all of the plastic food that you see in the windows of the restaurants. It was certainly a trip. They had sushi and sashimi flash drives!! The other oddity that we saw all over Kappabashi was groups of babies being pushed around in carts. The day care centers in the neighborhood would walk the children up and down the street in what looked like playpens on wheels (with up to seven babies holding onto the sides).
We then walked to Ueno, and through the park that housed the National Tokyo Museum. The museum was fine, but we hoped to find older stuff. At first all of the paintings and sculptures were from the 17th and 18th century. We finally found the old section, and marveled at the weapons and jewelry from 3,000 b.c.
By now we have realized that we are visiting Japan in their rainy season. The rain didn’t stop our tour of the park, though. We walked through a little Japanese Garden with rows of little houses that looked like the town in Memoirs of a Geisha. In Ueno we tried to use our Japanese phrasebook to find the best ramen in town. We ended up at a vending machine restaurant (out of desperation) and managed to order with the help of a very sweet girl from Hong Kong.
PFS-
We shared two ramens. One hot with mixed vegetable tempura, egg and pickles on the side (simple, very good). The other served cold (we didn’t know) with the same vegetable tempura, boiled egg and pickles on the side was a bit disappointing as the noodles seemed a bit starchy outside of the broth. Both dishes came out to about 1,000 Y (less than $10)
We took the train back to the Hostel around 5:00pm, and decided to take a quick nap (worst thing to do for jetlag).



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