TOKYO

---

Konichiwa iroppoi people!

Holiday is over and I am living again on the far side of the moon. I did get to have a peak at the western world for a week and it was BEAUTIFUL. I went to Tokyo Japan for five days just to check it out and see what all the fuss is about. Well the fuss is about approximately 35 million people living the good life in the world’s largest metropolitan economy (thanks Wikipedia!). Tokyo in three adjectives.... Clean, Massive, Modern. I only saw one cockroach the entire trip... AND it was outside.

The city of robots is so clean and polite. Construction sites are hidden behind sparkling white walls. Everything is tightly organized into cute configurations perfectly planned. The skyscrapers down to the arrangement of condiments holders in restaurants have been carefully thought out. They do twice as much with half the space we would use in the US. Nothing is wasted.

Tokyo is Iroppoi. Young urban professionals are everywhere flaunting the newest fashions. Meaning Tokyo is also VERY expensive. Expect to spend a pretty penny on everything, and beware of “service charges”. I spent 1700 yen (17 USD) on ONE beer by accident because of a 700 yen service charge. Despite the cost, and typhoon Melor, I had a fantastic time in Tokyo. It was extremely refreshing to feel life in a free society again.

Anyway the trip. Let’s talk a little more.

I flew into Narita airport which is about an hour and half by train outside of Tokyo. The train is the cheapest way into the city so I was taking it. I ended up spending about 2 and half hours on different trains before I got to my hostel. I went way too far and had to back track using different train lines and transfers I had never intended to use. When I finally reached my destination I put my magnetic train ticket into the "Fair Adjustment" machine because I knew it had to be all messed up. Apparently whatever I did was far too confusing for the machine and it flashed a message that I had to see the station master, (****). I really didn't want to do that. I tried the 2 other fair adjustment machines first with no luck. Finally I went to the station desk and talked the man. He spoke English and was maybe the most friendly customer service type person I've ever met. He asked me how much I spent on the ticket at Narita, where I wanted to go, and where I had been. I told him everything that happened and he said... "Well you only wanted to go from Narita to Asakusa right?” "Yes" "Oh no problem, no extra charge, enjoy your trip!".... Many of the people in Japan I met were just like this man, happy to help out.

The first restaurant I went to after I got settled proved to be more a challenge than anticipated. I sat down at the counter of a small diner looking around for a menu. The Japanese cook behind the counter started speaking to me in Japanese. I spoke back in English, no luck. I spoke in Chinese, no luck. I even tried speaking in Spanish but that wasn’t happening. He kept pointing for me to leave the restaurant. I didn’t understand, they were obviously open, I didn’t smell (I think) why couldn’t I eat. After about 3 minutes of ‘talking’ another person walked in the restaurant and handed the chef a ticket. He pointed at the ticket and pointed outside. Duh. I needed a ticket.

Many little Japanese diners have vending machines that dispense tickets for what entrée you want sitting outside the restaurant. The machines are really helpful because most of them have pictures and this way you don’t have to speak any Japanese to order your meal. On another note the Japanese have vending machines for everything really, beer, cigarettes, soda, clothing, lobsters, and other cool stuff. Check out this cool linky I found... http://www.toxel.com/tech/2009/06/08/14-cool-vending-machines-from-japan/ .

I managed to see everything I wanted during my trip. I visited the Imperial Palace, a dozen temples, the world’s largest fish market, and sites in 11 major wards (boroughs)… but all during a typhoon.

Typhoon Melor followed me to Japan and it rained for 3 and half straight days. I was really lucky that my flight wasn’t delayed on either end of the trip. While taking the train back to the airport we had to stop and wait at an abandoned station for an hour because the winds were dangerously rocking the trains.

Seeing Tokyo during a typhoon was truthfully a neat little blessing. I really love the rain and treasured the opportunity to see thousands of Japanese surrounded by shimmering wet neon. Thousands of businessmen and women cuddled their 3 dollar umbrellas while darting around puddles like cars in a race. A unique experience in a special place. I left Tokyo drenched and thirsty for more but I’ll have to wait.

I returned to Hong Kong and spent one night there. And to be perfectly honest… if you can only visit ONE city in the Far East… go to Hong Kong. Hong Kong has way more personality as a person coming from the west. Tokyo is America in Japanese. (not at all, but you get the idea) I have spent a couple of days in Hong Kong now and always LOVE it, a great mix of east and west. Hong Kong is like the last western outpost before taking the ferry to the dark side of the moon.

Once you take the boat to the moon you are in opposite land. Which is where I’ll be residing until we chat again. Enjoy the pictures if you haven’t already. Thanks for listening, Zai Jain.


**Editing Note** There is some kinda bug in the picture uploading system, so a lot a of the pictures won't have captions. Also there might be repeats and other nonsense, dway bu chee (sorry).

---

Photos

Tokyo Harbor
Typhoon Melor either makes or destorys this picture depending on what you want..

Ginza
high class shopping area

Umbrellas
I loved watching this, the street would completely fill with people and umbrellas. visually numbing.

Temple
walkway to a temple built in 600AD. I saw a dozen of these things, always surprized at how big they really are..

first meal
fantastic after I finally bought that ticket

vending machine
I stuck to the classics

Construction
they do it cleaner in Japan

food ticket machine
want a meal? buy a ticket

sony building
surprizingly small

Toshiba
across the street from Sony

packaging
Do they bottle coke this way in the states? so cool, the orange guide Im holding led me through tokyo start to finish

park
there are parks all over tokyo, the city is all very modern, remember A LOT was rebuilt following the second world war

Sandals only
shoes had to removed at a couple different locations throughout the city

park
park you saw earlier

New York?
Nope... this is the Tokyo Harbor.. think they like America?