Time For Tokyo! Day 1

---

Today was the beginning of my week-long stay in Tokyo. We took the 4.5 hour bus from Fukushima to Tokyo early in the morning and made it to downtown Tokyo by 1pm. And, just as we were getting off the bus, it started pouring rain. After exchanging some currency, I expertly navigated the subway system to find our hotel in Asakusa, in Northern Tokyo. Things were going well until we got above ground in the rain and realized that the map the hotel provided was less than accurate. After dragging our luggage and umbrellas up and down the block for about 30 minutes on the vague directions of the hotel and the local convenience store clerk, we finally stopped at a police box- literally a small, closet-sized station that holds one policeman- and he was able to guide us in the right direction; We were going the right way but just needed to go further up the street.

Checking into our hotel went smoothly and we were given a room on the 10th floor with a view over-looking Sumida River. We were able to dry ourselves off and set off again to the area near Ueno Station. Ueno is one of the main train stations in Tokyo and is home to one of the largest parks and zoos in the city, as well as the Ameyoko Market, our target for the afternoon.

Ameyoko Market is a market that is built up underneath the railway tracks coming from the station. The name comes from the word “ame” meaning candy, and during WWII, it came to refer to “American” as the market became known as the place for black market goods from overseas (“yoko” means alley). Apparently the market is supposed to be for brand-name goods like Chanel and Louis Vuitton (knock-offs, anyway) but all we could turn up were Addidas shirts, Reebok running shoes, fish, vegetables, Goth-style clothing, and t-shirts. Nothing we wanted. So we settled on having dinner at an old Japanese restaurant located directly under the tracks. Every few minutes, a train would pass overhead and the entire restaurant would shake. The food was so good here and reasonable priced (under $10 Cdn for a full meal with soup and salad) that I ended up bringing my Mom and Aunt Heather back later in the week, but more on that later.

After dinner we decided to make use of our metro passes and head over to Akihabara, the electronics district. Akihabara is the central area for all electronics goods and gadgets. We only went in browsing and comparing prices to Canada (maybe only $10 to $50 cheaper on things like iPods, which is where my area of expertise ends). New cameras are expensive but their technology is at least 3 months ahead of North American models. It’s like looking into the future! Each store was bigger and louder than the last, with more fluorescent lighting and staff shouting from megaphones than I could ever handle. I once said that working in a fast food restaurant is the worst job I could have- I was wrong. I never want to work in Akihabara. Too big, too loud, and too confusing, we ended up getting disoriented with all the flashing lights and finally found our way to the subway again.

We were really glad to be back in our nice, quiet area of Tokyo at the hotel.

---

Photos

Ameyoko vendors
A vendor in Ameyoko Market.

Ameyoko
Even in the rain, the market was still crowded.

Akihabara
The electronics district.

Akihabara 2
The electronics district.