Zen

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Japan is one of those places that are in my bucket list that I haven't been to yet. Perhaps because it is only a short four to five hour flight away and in the back of my mind I want to prioritize the places so far away that I'd have to plan and save for, months in advance. I learned that Japan now issues multiple entry visa to Filipinos so I applied for a visa expecting that they will give me a multiple entry visa since I already have multiple entry visas for the US and Canada. I said in my application that I'd go in October, which was only about a month away when I applied for the visa. Though, I wasn't really planning to go that soon. I thought I'd wait for an airline promo after I get my five year multiple entry visa. When my visa arrived I was disappointed and shocked to learn that they only gave me a single entry visa that expires on the 15th of September! It has been said that getting a Japan visa is more difficult than getting a US visa. Perhaps I did not have enough money in my bank account to be given a multiple entry visa. I either had to forfeit my visa or book a flight immediately which meant it would be more than twice than what I was planning to pay for. So I booked return tickets for Narita Airport less than a month away.

My initial impression was that it reminded me of Vancouver. There was a lot of Pine trees, though a different variety from the Canadian ones. It was spotlessly clean. The sky was overcast and it rained all day. Except of course everything was written in Japanese. I was expecting modern architecture that would blow me away and make Seoul look like a third world country. I did not get that feeling. I should have known better because the Japanese are known for their balanced and understated elegant aesthetics. Zen. That's exactly how I thought their buildings looked like. Nothing fancy like the extravagant ones in Seoul that I was very impressed with.

Getting around Tokyo was a lot more difficult than I expected. Their subway system is almost impossible to figure out on your own. My hostel was in Shinjuku but the lady at the bus counter suggested that I buy a ticket to Tokyo station instead and then take the subway which would only be a third of the price that I'd pay if I opted to go straight to Shinjuku. The bus to Tokyo was only about $8, and the unlimited subway ticket for three days was only $12! You NEED to buy that three day ticket if you're going to Tokyo. It is only sold to foreign tourists. I tried getting the one way ticket when my three day card expired and it was a nightmare! I had to choose the amount I was going to pay in their ticket vending machine by referencing the printed matrix of how much to pay for each destination but the amount for my destination was not in one of the choices! Plus it's likely that you'd get lost a lot because their subway system map looks like the circulatory system so get that unlimited three day ticket! Getting the unlimited gives you room for error.

I finally arrived at my hostel (Green Plaza) after several wrong turns and asking people for directions. Most Japanese know basic English so I got by without having to speak Japanese. I studied Japanese for one year but that was years ago and I cannot remember most of it although I can still read Hiragana and Katakana so that helped me a little. I stayed in a capsule hotel in Shijuku. It's cheap and close to everything; and distinctly Japanese so I'd definitely recommend it. Like everything in Japan it is very clean. The restaurant is very cheap so I had all my breakfast and dinner there. A set meal with appetizer, dessert, main dish, side dish, rice, soup, and tea costs less than $6! They have baths, sauna, massage rooms, etc. Similar to Korean bath's you have to walk around naked in the baths. Not that you have to but that's what everyone was doing. Good thing I was travelling solo because I wouldn't let if all hang loose in front of friends. The toilets were fascinating. There was a control panel. Everything was written in Japanese. I was only able to read bidet in Katakana. The other ones were the heater, I heard there was also one for noise cancellation but I did not explore. That fixture that you put on your toilets costs about $600! Curious thing was, they do not allow people with tatoos in that hostel. Not sure why but the Australian guy who was also checked in there said it might be because they think inked people are gang members.

After leaving my stuff in the hostel I went to Asakusa. It's supposed to be the old town but the old part was very little. It didn't help that it was raining. All my photos look dull. Suggested itinerary said explore the shops for at least one hour but I just didn't feel the need to check everything. I'm not really interested in food and souvenirs but I liked how the old shops looked. They looked like an old fishing village in Game of Thrones. I spent more time in the riverside. I had fish and chips. I normally don't eat fish because I'm vegetarian but I couldn't find anything and It was my first day so I wasn't up to the challenge of having to say I'm vegetarian in sign language or Japanese. Thank God there's wifi almost everywhere in Tokyo. I constantly update my Instagram and Facebook. It helps that I'm able to do that when travelling solo because when I find something fascinating I want to share it with people and there's no one to share it with when travelling solo. I get instant responses when travelling in Japan where there's wifi everywhere. There's free wifi on the streets and if there's none you only need to go to the subway. Google Maps saved me. Although it didn't have all the information I need but that was supplemented by asking people for directions. One time there was this young couple who had problems communicating to me in English so they asked me to follow them instead. It was a very long walk and I felt embarrassed to have inconvenienced them so much, so when I saw the tall building next to my hostel I told them I can find my way from them. I ended up getting lost again but eventually found my way. This happened a several times that the locals would get out of their way to help me. I noticed the barrier for the trains in the subway. I heard suicide rate is high here so I figured that that was a suicide prevention measure.

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Comments

[RENanDREW]

Zen and the art of small spaces?
Nice to see you travelling again! Looking forward to reading about the rest of your trip :)

[Josevich]

tight spaces
very tight spaces indeed. But I found out it's rather comfy! I wan't a capsule in my own apartment now!

[Ake Och Emma]

Thanks for the reminders
Hi, Thanks for sharing your Tokyo story with us. We were in Tokyo last year and had a really good time there. Your blog entry brought back some memories. Ake