There is simply nothing like seeing Tokyo out the window.
Some cities may be more this or that but Tokyo is Tokyo. I had 55 hours here, a ton of people I wanted to see, stuff I wanted to do, and, glah, so much food I wanted to eat! I arrived with 3000 yen in cash, whatever is left on my train card, and a general idea of where my AirBnB, a full apartment in Takada near Ikebukuro and Meijiro, was located.
(Blows through customs and immigration like a breeze through a screen. There really should be express security and stations for people who know what they are doing.)
I don't feel this at home as I do in the house I own in Vegas. This airport. This Keikyu line. This language and IC system and the reflective surfaces... God, I used to live here. Those drunk businesspeople, yeah, usually men, harmlessly bumbling through the streets like drunken goats? I was once one of those goats!
Anyway, taught my classes, headed to the airport, and arrived at 20:30. That gave me just enough time to meet up with Mika, Ralp, Cat, and Earl who also arrived the same day. Their AirBnB is only one station away from me, so I met straight to Ikebukuro where Mika and I showed the kids what nomihoudai means, all you can drink (we did a 60 minutes for $5 plan). Karaoke was considered but sleep just sounded too good to postpone. I made it to the Ikebukuro station just in time to miss the last train. No problem, I drunkenly told myself, since my place is... Uh... Hmmm. Where am I sleeping tonight?
I know it's about a forty minute walk from Ikebukuro station to the apartment. Okay. That's a big potential region to navigate after drinking. The best thing about AirBnB is the one great disadvantage: your bed is probably in some random residence. In my case, I needed to find a certain, small apartment building somewhere down some alley in a neighborhood without street names. Go...that way until you at least make it to the station you should have arrived at had the trains been running. Okay, now, I dunno. Is this exit 3? No? Okay. If polar bears have fur and fish don't have toes, exit 3 is probably over there... That street looks unmarked and promising. Head that was for ten minutes. Now, I dunno. Turn? I feel like now is a good time to turn. If I find the river, I went too far. Let's turn one more time... Holy teeth! I found it!
So, it's nine a.m. on Thursday. Woke up nearly every hour, on the hour, confused as to why I was awake and if I should remain in such a state. Sunrise in Tokyo is a few moments after 4am. By 4:22, my bed nestled against the east-facing window was like-noon illuminated. No point in getting up early, however, since nothing really opens in Tokyo 'til 10. Having never used a pocket wifi before, and my IT-Japanese vocabulary is pretty lacking, I needed to bother Mika and Ralph for tech support. Luckily, Tokyo is increasingly tourist-friendly. I mean, it always has been, English is commonly spoken or an available option, but now the city has built hundreds of free wifi hot spots. I leaned on those 'til my pocket wifi was activated. Absolutely need to research these for future tips. So convenient!!! People always mock people on vacation who stay connected to Facebook, but the flexibility that comes with staying connected, the ability to change times and meeting locations, makes everything so much less stressful!
Also, the sooner your pictures are online, the less likely you are to lose them because your device was damaged, stolen, or lost. Plus, whatever, it's fun to upload pictures in real time and feel like you are sharing your experience with family and friends back home.
Thursday was Mika and Co day. After some bumbles and miss communication, we finally met up in Harajuku, which gets worse and worse every time I am dragged down there. Back in 2002, it was so amusing to me! Now, I am older and, as a snob, hate seeing the effects of popularity amongst tourists on a place. It used to be a lot more boutiques and specialty shops, now you have lots of chain shops (Forever 21, American Eagle, Under Armor...) and tailored-to-travelers, domestic or international, soulless restaurants pushing overpriced crepes filled with cheap whipped cream. Whatever. Checked visiting Futako Tamagawa (the area I lived and worked in for a year and a half back in 2013), 3 Coins, Daiso, the post office (no time to meet a friend I had something to give her), Kiddyland, and the Sailor Moon exhibition/restaurant off the list before meeting up with former coworkers from earlier-referenced employment.
Drinks happened, the piss was taken, and emotions were dangerously close to authentic. It is amusing to note that while we spent considerable time reassuring each other that we were all exactly the same since last year and that none of us had changed since working together two years ago, if last night was an episode of a sitcom, an audience would have said we were OOC. Momoe seems happier. Conrad more mellow. Kaori is kind to strangers, which is actually hysterical. None of us drank to excess. All of us caught the last train. Growing up is weird.
The next day, and my last day for this trip, was packed with shopping. So, and here is the thing, I hate shopping. I don't get the great appeal in looking at shirts or trying on shoes. I am more of a, " I need a blue shirt. This shirt is blue. Done," sort of person. Japan seems to get that idea with making the procedure dry. You need a blue shirt? Here are six on a shelf in a rather amusing setting where no one will bother you unless you make eye contact. You like something weird, however, that you usually need to find online? Check this shit out. I feel like Japanese stores cater to different kinds of shoppers who have different methods and expectations from their stores. In the States, most stores feel pretty much the same, different degrees of miserable with awful music and bad lighting. I often feel like I am being punished for needing new jeans. I also feel like American stores try to appeal the average-masses, every store is an Old Navy in one way or another, 'cause the larger percentage of the population won't buy K-pop pencil boards. Japan goes, "yeah, not everyone, but enough do!"
After a chill lunch at TGIF, there was time to duck briefly into Loft, H&M, HMV, the Disney store, Tokyu Hands, and Book Off for various items I was asked to buy for people. That chore finished, it was time. Yes, then began The Quest For The Perfect Spot to Have a Beer. In hindsight, we knew exactly where we wanted to go, a little salaryman stop near Mizu no Kuchi, but we thought that would take took long to get to. Kaori and I had a shared vision of the style we wanted, wanted to be outside, and wanted beers for around 390 a pop. This not-so-outlandish desire took us from Shibuya to Shinbashi to Yurakucho to Ginza by accident back to Yurakucho the over to Asakusa. Four hours of walking and wandering before we found it.
Beers and beer food.
Cities are like people. Some you meet through work or by happenstance or because you have similar interests. Tokyo is a city I worked with, went to school with, and have similar hobbies with. Tokyo and I both like Sailor Moon, cheap beer, diverse entertainment, and Benedict Cumberbatch.
It's a relationship where we don't need to see each other everyday, but we pick up where we left off quickly. "You got fat!" "Yeah, well, 1/2 the stops on the Yamamote line sold out!" "Fair enough. Wanna do something?"
Always. See you again, old friend.
Comments
Post a Comment