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Published: September 28th 2017
Shinjuku
Shrine in the middle of busy Shinjuku.Here I am, at my last stop before I return home for a week. Next up: Cuba with Jeff and his parents. What an amazing experience this has been. I'll write a greatest hits (and misses) entry after I return home from Cuba and I have had some time to process and put down in words what I have experienced, seen, and felt.
Finding Farfetch'd
I landed at a very wet Narita Airport at 7.40am on Thursday, September 28th. After clearing immigration and customs, I purchased a ticket for the 8.53am Narita Express train to Shinjuku. I was told that the trains were operating behind schedule because of the rain. My train departed almost half an hour late, and it took almost two hours - double the usual travel time - to get into Central Tokyo because the train made extra stops and at times just remained motionless on the tracks. How uncharacteristic of Japan, but with weather disruptions everywhere this could not be helped.
At around 11.20am, I disembarked at Shinjuku and I was pleasantly surprised to see a toilet on the platform directly in front of me. As I was relieving myself, I realized that I
Farfetch'd
Finally caught this elusive bugger. left my ticket on board the train. Rats. I anticipated a ticket inspector would want to see my ticket, and that is why I placed it in the seat pocket in front of me. I hurriedly zipped up and rushed back onto the train just in time before the doors closed again. Sigh. I guess this meant I would have to go to the next station - Ikebukuro - and double back. Well, this was better than working out a fare adjustment with a JR (Japan Railways) staff.
I reached my hotel - City Hotel Lonestar in Shinjuku 3 - past noon after doubling back from Ikebukuro. As check in wasn't until 3pm, I deposited my backpack at the hotel and went out in search of lunch. Fortunately, the rain had stopped. Not far from the hotel, I found a little hole in the wall ramen place. I bought my ticket from the machine outside and presented it to the counter staff who gave me a hot steaming bowl of noodles. That hit the spot. After eating, I decided to wander around the Shinjuku area until check in time; I didn't want to venture too far in case the
Shinjuku
Hotel Gracery features Godzilla-themed decor. rain came back. Walking around the area, I came across a couple of shrines. After exploring them, I made my way to the main entertainment district to look for Robot Restaurant. I found it easily and reserved a seat for the 5.55pm show. An annoyingly catchy little ditty with female voices singing "roboto" over and over played at the ticket counter. I swear it sounded like the theme song from
My Neighbor Totoro. One of my goals for my Tokyo stopover was to find Farfetch'd, a rare Pokémon found only in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. This darned critter eluded me during two previous layovers - one in
Hong Kong and the other in
Tokyo. Well, I had three days in Tokyo and I was determined to find this bird that has caused me so much grief. While sitting at Tully's coffee enjoying a latte, Farfetch'd suddenly showed up on my "nearby" radar on the app. I quickly got up and walked in the direction the app indicated Farfetch'd would be. I found him easily and caught him. Success! Now I can enjoy Tokyo without this constantly at the back of my mind.
A Bizarre Evening of Entertainment
Robot Restaurant
The gaudy entrance. After checking in to the hotel, I snoozed for a couple of hours until 5pm, at which time I made my way to Robot Restaurant. The rain had started up again, so I borrowed an umbrella from the hotel and made my way over. Checkin for the 5.55pm show was at 5.20pm. When I got to the ticket counter, I exchanged my reservation slip for a ticket, and then I was ushered to a gaudy staircase which led to an equally gaudy room where guests were gathered for a pre-show drink. There were lots of Americans in there, and I was experiencing some reverse culture shock. The entertainment in that room was a singer accompanied by a guitarist in a robot suit. The toilet was all gold.
Not long after, guests were ushered into the area where the performances were to be held. There were three rows of guests on each side of a long stage. There were screens behind the guests which were used to complement the performance. The performance itself was, how should I say it... bizarre. It was a mixture of dance, drama, and acrobatics. There were robots, lasers, loud music, fights, and all manner of
the theatrics. Some robots were futuristic, some were of animals, and some were just downright scary (think clowns, doll-like figures with scary big eyes, etc.). Words fail me. I can't even begin to describe what I saw. I was in a constant state of bewilderment, but it was all good fun. I was most certainly entertained.
Here is a video of the opening act:
Unfortunately, because of the lighting, I didn't get any good videos of the robots, but here is one of the King Robota act. The robots are the tall things with the blue and red lights.
After the show, I stumbled out onto a very wet Shinjuku. Many people, including myself, were carrying the generic white or clear plastic Japanese umbrellas. The rain and umbrellas, coupled with the neon lights and Japanese language, made for a very Blade Runner-esque street scene. It was surreal. Walking around Shinjuku, I found a donburi and soba place, bought a ticket from the machine outside, and tucked into a very satisfying meal. After that, I turned in and had a good sleep.
The Last Hurrah
I took a day trip to Kamakura on
Shinjuku
Doesn't this look like a street scene from Blade Runner? my one full day in Tokyo. I've covered that trip in a
separate entry.
Today was the last day of my trip. I had trouble getting up. My brain was telling me that this was the last day of my solo travels and to make the most of it, but my body was having none of it. I finally hauled myself out of bed at 8am, ate breakfast downstairs, packed my bags, and checked out. I left my big backpack at the hotel. My feet complained, and my small daypack felt like a deadweight on my shoulders. I was tired.
My initial plan was to walk around Odaiba, but somehow I didn't feel inspired to do this. I decided to go to Harajuku instead. During my
2010 visit, Jeff and I walked around in awe looking at the cosplayers and the girls in Lolita outfits. I knew this tended to happen on Sundays, but I went to Harajuku in hope that they did their costume parade on Saturdays as well. Unfortunately, they didn't. I walked around the main shopping street, and then started walking towards Shibuya. At Shibuya, I filmed the world's busiest pedestrian crossing, took a selfie with Hachiko,
My Selfie With Hachiko
Hachiko used to meet his human at Shibuya Station every day after work. After his human died at work, he still came back to the same spot every day... for almost ten years. and then sought out a kaiten sushi restaurant nearby. The conveyor belt sushi really hit the spot, and it was cheap too - seven plates cost around US$11. I learned that kaiten sushi in Japan had slightly different rules. For example, they don't serve you drinks - you mix green tea powder and get hot water from a tap at the counter. Ordering from the chef was also different. Fortunately, there were instructions in English.
Here is a video of the Shibuya crossing, reputedly the world's busiest and a fine example of the Japanese hive mind at work. Everybody, other than the tourists, seemed to know what to do to make the crossing quick and hassle free.
Note: The sound from the video is from a nearby store.
After lunch, I decided to take care of my fatigue by participating in one of the most unusual of Japanese rituals - public bathing. I googled nearby onsen and found that there was a nice, foreigner-friendly one near my hotel. I took the subway to Shinjuku, found the onsen easily, and spent a very pleasant hour and a half soaking in the various pools. My favorite one
My Last Hurrah
I just had to have one more sashimi meal in Japan (at Narita Airport, specifically) before departing, even though I had access to the United lounge there. was a shallow outdoor lie down pool with moderately hot water. I just lay there, stared at the sky, and let my fatigue soak away. Here, the Japanese hive mind was in full swing; everybody knew what they were supposed to do. There were instructions in English throughout the spa, so I was able to figure out what I needed to do. Even then, I'm sure I still committed a faux pas or two. Refreshed after the soak, I had a latte at Tully's, collected my bag at the hotel, and made my way to Narita for my flight to Guam and onwards to Honolulu.
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RENanDREW
Ren & Andrew
At travel's end
Wow I can't believe your 'Midlife Crisis Flashpacking Series' has already come to an end! It seems like I read your first blog from this trip not that long ago... I love Japanese food and your descriptions of the machine ordering and hole in the wall serveries fascinate me! Safe travels home and I look forward to reading your reflections on this trip :)