tokyo

Tokyo was……………….<<no words>>

I’m trying to start from the beginning, but it was such a gargantuan (new word!) experience, that I’m only going to think about one day at a time.

And btw, the Japanese pronounce it “Toke–Yo,” 2 syllables, no emphasis.

Day One:  We caught the train from Daikokoucho to Shin-Osaka station at 8 a.m. Wednesday.  It was crowded with commuters so there was no sitting down.  We were already glad for our light backpacks!

We took the Shinkansen train 2 1/2 hours to Tokyo.  With the train speed at 200 mph., I was surprised when we got on there were no seat belts.  No need to worry though–my quick research says there have been no fatalities due to derailments or collisions in it’s 50+ year history.  Why the US is not moving towards more trains is beyond me; I won’t start on that but certainly something to think about as Orlando expands I-4.

The trains leave constantly, heading in many directions throughout the entire country.  We stopped 5 times on the way, but we were not in any station more than a few minutes then off we went.  In fact as you get close to each station, they announce in Japanese and English to be ready to get off the train because the stops are brief!  You can see Katie with her backpack heading for car 16.

Just getting out of Osaka took a long time even at that speed, since the city goes on and on.  After about an hour we were in areas that included rice farms and small fields.  Always you could see the mountains in the background. 

It was raining the night before we left, so our train heading east to Tokyo followed the storm.  By the time we got to Mount Fuji it was completely hidden by the clouds. The movement and sound of the train felt like flying; there was virtually no railroad noise.  When you would go over a bridge, the rails of the bridge would fly by so rapidly you realized how fast you were going.  Otherwise it was just smooth and a great opportunity to see the country–definitely my favorite way to travel!

We arrived in Tokyo Station around 4 p.m.  The station is massive and the last time Katie went to Tokyo she flew, so this was new to her and it was a little confusing trying to find our subway.  You actually had to show the station master your train tickets so they would let you out or something we never did understand.  But we got our subway to Shinjuku, the area in Tokyo where our capsule hotel was located.  The Tokyo subways were very busy and crowded, like Osaka, and we looked like one of the few foreigners.

Katie is great at using google maps to find things, so getting to the hotel was no problem, except for the fact I didn’t want to move–I just wanted to stand there and stare!  It was as shocking as Osaka was when I first arrived!  The entire area was full of signs that lit up at night, with people everywhere!  The giant Godzilla was atop a movie theatre and was right around the corner from us.  At night he would roar and breathe fire!

The front desk of our hotel, Booth NetCafe, was on the 7th floor of a building that contained other offices and stores.  When we got there we realized we didn’t have enough cash and everything was due up front.  So we headed to Family Mart ATM and then got checked in. 

The capsules were spotless and cozy!  The mattresses were not thin after all, but very comfortable.  There was a light which had 2 settings so you could have more of a nightlight.  There was a plug for your phone and the wifi was excellent!  You could sit up comfortably and even watch TV for an extra 300 yen.  We were on the Women Only 6th floor; men were on the 8th floor.  Our area had 16 capsules and ours were both on the bottom, thankfully, at the very back.

When you leave for the day, you put your bags in your capsule and pull the shade down.  Nothing locks.  Each person has a small locker when you first enter the area, but it is for………….your shoes!  Inside there is a pair of slippers, and you can see them on the floor in this picture.  If you wanted you could lock small stuff in there during the day, but no one did.  At night most people left the shade up so the air could circulate until they were ready to sleep.  Next to this room there was a powder room with mirrors and a bathroom/shower area.  An employee was there frequently, tidying up the areas.

The 7th floor was full of seats, computers, manga (Japanese comic books), and magazines.  There were free drink machines including coffee, tea, Coke, and juice. I spent each morning reading a Japanese newspaper that was in English.  Very interesting to read about the world from another country’s perspective, including the visit by our president and Japan’s prime minister.

There were huge windows overlooking the streets with this brave young man working on the side of our building!    

Capsule hotels are built just for this type of trip–no need to hang out long because there’s an entire city to see!  Soon we were walking an hour to Shibuya, a major area for everything Tokyo.  I was truly giddy with excitement because this includes Shibuya Crossing which has a live webcam I had been watching for over a year!  In August when Katie visited I saw her and her friends when they did jumping jacks in the intersection!  Here is the link if you want to see the live cam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKMuBisZsZI

None of the pictures capture how busy the place is!  If you look at the live cam, you can see it is a major intersection for traffic.  The cars and people take turns, so when it’s time for people to cross you can go in any direction you want! 

We wandered around taking pictures for a long time–I didn’t want to leave this intersection that I’d been so excited about for so long!  Katie found a burger place where we could get a bite and watch the city from a second floor window.  The burgers were good and the fries really good!  We were sharing a meal and they require both people to order even just a drink, so we got “seasonal tea,” which no kidding tasted like Robitussin!  On the way out we stopped at the bathrooms.  In places where there is only one toilet, often there is a room for women and a room for men/women.  When I opened the door–surprise!  There was a guy already in the unlocked bathroom!

As it got dark we walked around some more.  Katie knew of a bar called Coins, because each beer was only 300 yen, which is really cheap for Tokyo.  We descended dark brick stairs into a small, dim place with only a few people, but it started to fill up as we sat there.  I heard several languages, but we were the only ones speaking English.  They brought us our beer and the world’s smallest bowl of popcorn, which just had me giggling every time I looked at it–and no refills haha!  How Japan!  

By the time we left the bar it was 5 a.m. Florida time so I started texting my sister that we were heading back through Shibuya Crossing.  Katie and I jumped around and waved and my sister was able to watch us all the way from Orlando!

We got back to our capsule and settled in for the night.  During the night sometimes people would talk or even be on their phones, which was surprising because most people were silent or whispering.  But with earplugs or headphones we mostly slept well, which was good because we had another big day planned for Thursday!!

Photo:  Tokyo Station