Tokyo or Bust - Last stop in Asia

My sister Jane has always preferred bullet points, so I’ve tried with each post to begin with a synopsis incase the entries get too longwinded.  With Japan, I’m struggling to make a synopsis.  So in an attempt not to ramble, I’m numbering my reasons for why Japan was so fantastic.
1. It was beautiful.  Kyoto and Hiroshima were both quite picturesque while Tokyo was a blur of lights, color, and fashion risks.  And then there was the natural beauty: the lovely cherry blossoms, in full bloom at the time of the ship’s arrival, and the mountains, towering over the cities.  If for no other reason, I need to return to Japan to see Mt. Fuji.  
2. The people were wonderful.  Within seconds of us appearing lost a local would approach and use whatever English they could to help us find our way.  Also, the Japanese dress fabulously.  People in Tokyo are generally better dressed than anywhere else I’ve been.  I felt out of place in my old travelling clothes. In the subway, the majority of travelers wore suits. The teenagers were a blend of pattern, color, and extreme hair.   Many women looked as if they’d spent hours perfecting their makeup.  The children looked straight out of a Von Trap family celebration – many wearing matching outfits, sometimes with a nautical inspiration. 
3. Hiroshima.  The day before we arrived to Japan was the first day of the miniature crisis when North Korea decided to test a satellite over Japan and Japan threatened to respond with force.  Hiroshima gave me a new perspective about how the Japanese see war.  Japan has transformed into a pro-peace first world country. This concept amazed me.  The museum at Hiroshima held no resentment towards the west or Americans.  It encouraged unity to promote the abandonment of nuclear weapons.
3. The food: tempura, noodles, sushi, dumplings, soups, fried rice (better than in China), vending machine apple and grape cider that is so oh good and sake that was completely drinkable (after a whiskey coke of questionable size and proportion).  The food was spiced to perfection and prices were generally comparable to the States.
4. The glamour.  In my Day 4 description I discuss a bar that we visited called New York Bar and Grill.  It was sensationally glamorous.  It amazed me that the world’s largest city – 27 million people – was mostly well organized and well dressed.  Yes, there were still pimps in Roppongi (the party district).  And yes, I’m sure there are many societal problems that I just did not encounter in only five days.  There was just something strangely glamorous about Tokyo – even the teenagers in Harajuku carried themselves with such happiness and gracefulness.  I wish I’d had more time in that district.
If these reasons haven’t made this obvious, I’d love to return as soon as possible.

Day 1: Japan began with an early 7am wake up call.  As soon as immigration officials boarded, we were required to wake up to allow them to have face to face time with us and our passports and to walk past a camera of some sort that apparently tests our temperature.  We got off the ship around 11 am and headed straight to the train station to transfer our vouchers for Japan Railways Passes for the actual passes.  This had been so complicated.  To get a J.R. pass, one must purchase it within three months of entry to Japan.  It is impossible to actually buy the pass. You have to buy a voucher for a pass, which you get by showing your passport and paying a ridiculous amount of money.  I purchased mine in Thailand and had to transfer from Bhat (the Thai currency) to Yen in order to purchase the voucher.  After waiting in line for an hour we got a quick lunch before finding a train to Kyoto.  The plan for our five days in Japan was two days in Kyoto, one in Hiroshima, and two in Tokyo.  I should probably mention who “we” is – in Japan I traveled with Katie, Andrea, Trish, Aaron, and Ian (who met up with us the second day).  One of the reasons I’ve been so excited for Japan is because the five/six of us have been planning this trip since Namibia. We were so excited that there was a country where none of us had any set plans and we could all travel together.  I was thrilled to travel just with people that I really liked.  We referred to it as our family vacation.  It felt like a family vacation.
By the time we arrived in Kyoto day one was more than halfway over.  Thanks to the directions from Hostel World, we were able to walk from the train station to our hostel, aptly named, Kyoto Cheapest Inn.  Upon arrival, the smell of fresh air and cherry blossoms overwhelmed us.  Thanks to my dad’s previous trips to Tokyo I already had a few coins (versus giant bills from ATMs), so I treated everyone to drinks from our first Japanese vending machine. 
Quick side note: One of the biggest banks in Japan is Seven-Eleven (yes, as in the gas station).  Carrying a foreign credit card, the only places where I can withdraw money is from a 7/11 or from a post office.
So we made a brief stop to withdraw money and buy snacks on the way to our hostel.  Kyoto was not what I expected.  It felt very suburban and seemed like a quiet little town.  It was perfectly clean.  We passed several schools with children playing in the schoolyards.  As they saw the five of us pass, they smiled and waved, “hello!”  The kids in Kyoto were so willing to try to talk to us. It was adorable.  We got to our hostel in time to check in and get a bit of Internet time before dinner.  We stayed in an 18 bunk mixed dorm.  Although there were lockers, most just left their things under their beds and assumed it would still be there. 
That night, we wondered around, desperately wanting sushi.  It quickly became apparent that sushi was not as big of a deal in Kyoto as it was in the United States.  We ended up walking into a restaurant that looked quite authentic.  We were the only ones in the restaurant, so the owner took pity on us.  He basically made us whatever he thought we would eat.  The meal included fried rice, tempura, egg rolls, soup and sake.  We sat on floor mats and feasted. 
After dinner, we headed out to the pub area of Kyoto.  It was a weeknight and nothing much was going on.  The only clubs that were open were ones that were definitely not trying to attract female visitors.  We ended up (of course) at an Irish pub, where we each had a drink before giving up and heading back to the hostel.

Day 2: The next morning we decided to see everything we possibly could within a day in Kyoto.  Kyoto used to be the capitol of Japan, so we toured the beautiful Imperial Palace, where flowers and cherry blossoms left me in awe.  The gardens were perfectly manicured in traditional Japanese style.  After that, we decided to try to walk to our next destination, which was the Golden Pavilion, on the outskirts of Kyoto.  This basically took the rest of the afternoon. We got completely lost and ended up wandering into one of the oldest temple complexes in Japan before eating lunch at a Japanese diner, which consisted of more delicious noodle soup and tea.
We finally found Ryoanji Temple, which is famous for a stone zen garden built in the 15th century.  The garden complex was bright with flowers and the zen garden was oddly intoxicating.  The stones had been raked into wave shapes, with rocks strategically placed. I can’t explain its uniqueness or understated beauty well, but it made perfect sense in person.
The Golden Pavillion was a complex of parks and temple. It was once again beautiful, peaceful, well manicured, and a fabulous example of Japanese order in architecture.  I loved walking through the gardens – noticing the lines of bamboo and the contrast between the orange gates and the green surroundings.  It was also at the Golden Temple where I found the coolest vending machines yet.  Not only did they have ice cream cups and soda from vending machines, here they had cups of ice, which could be filled up with a variety of soda flavors.  It was fantastic. 
Side note: In Japan, the McDonalds have green tea Oreo McFlurries.  Green tea ice cream with Oreos mixed in.  It’s sort of strange.
Our next stop was to Gion, which is the district known for Geishas.  The original plan was to go to one of the places where they’ll dress you up like geishas. (I know this is ridiculous. It just would have been so much fun.) We tried to find one, but all the signs were in Japanese, and the stores were closing.  We explored a bit before heading back to the area where we hoped to have dinner. 
We were so excited to eat sushi off of a conveyor belt.  They charge you per plate, and you’re allowed to just take plates off of the conveyor as they pass by you.  Behind the conveyor belt are chefs, constructing the sushi and sashimi.  I didn’t know that I liked sushi that much until I was forced to try it in Japan. Although it was mostly sashimi, I still learned that I love salmon, tuna, and anything with wasabi.  After dinner, we went back to the hostel, hoping that we could find Ian, who was supposed to meet us there.
That night we were exhausted from a long day of walking.  Ian and I made a quick 7/11 run to get snacks and extra drinks before discovering everyone had decided to stay in for the night.  We made friends with the other hostel guests and had a fun night socializing.  We met backpackers from Germany, Holland, the U.K., and of course other Semester at Sea students.  There was also a guy from Portland, Oregon who had actually convinced the hostel to hire him to help with the English-speaking guests. He had been living in an 18-bed dorm for nearly three months. 

Day 3: This was the day that I realized how incredible Japan is.  We woke up at 8am to catch an early(ish) train to Hiroshima.  I had been nervous about this day.  We got to Hiroshima a few hours later and spent the rest of the morning/afternoon touring the park and museum.  This museum was so fair. I was amazed.  I didn’t feel ashamed saying that I was American.  The museum gave a very fair history of Japanese involvement in China, the events leading to the attack on Pearl Harbor, and was very fair in explaining why the United States chose to drop the bomb.  There was of course a sense of tragedy surrounding Hiroshima.  Three million civilians died in what really was an early step in the Cold War.  Still, the over all message was one of hope.  I was overwhelmed by the peaceful nature of Hiroshima and the Japanese people.  Never before had I seen a first world country that was so blatantly pro-peace.  It was truly moving. 
Outside, there are still thousands of paper cranes, made to honor a young girl named Sadako, who desperately folded paper cranes, believing that if she folded a thousand she would be cured of the leukemia that took her life as a result of the atomic bomb.  I had heard of the paper cranes, but I was unaware that the Children’s Memorial park was created due to demands by Sadako’s classmates.  The museum still houses some cranes by Sadako.  There are glass boxes stuffed with cranes that have been sent by classrooms around the globe. 
We caught the 3pm bullet train to Tokyo and arrived four hours later.  (We were on the slower of the bullet train types.) We arrived in Tokyo and immediately searched out our Capsule Hotel, for which I was quite excited.  Our Capsule Hotel was in the Akihabara district of Tokyo, which is famous for electronics and manga. 
Side note: Tokyo is so expensive. It is SO expensive that the most expensive place I’ve stayed during this entire trip was a CAPSULE in Tokyo for $42 for one night. Ridiculous.
Okay, so the Capsule. The Capsule Hotels are a strange experience. Upon entry, guests are required to remove their shoes. We were then given three keys: one for the door to our room of capsules, one for our capsule, and one for a locker for our things.  The men’s capsules were on the 2nd through 5th floors, with their shower and bathrooms above. The women’s capsules were on the 7th through 9th floors, with shower facilities on the 10th.  The capsules themselves were probably 6x2.5ft.  Inside the capsule was a blanket, a pillow (filled with rice, by the way) and towels.  The capsules were quite modern – each one came equipped with a television, alarm clock, and radio.  The only real trouble with the capsules was that we were required to check out by 10am the next morning. 
That night we decided to go to Roppongi, which is the district in Tokyo known for the best bars.  I was frustrated to discover that even in Tokyo there is a huge problem with prostitution.  The streets of Roppongi were polluted with pimps and prostitutes.  None of the bars were very busy – it was a weeknight night, after all.  We ended up at one called Tommy’s.  We immediately struck up a conversation with Tommy, who was in his early 60’s with a long gray ponytail.  He wore a Hawaiian shirt and was thrilled when we walked in to his bar. (We were his only customers.)  He played darts with us as we watched the NCAA Final game.  I already knew the outcome – I’d been happy to see the UNC victory from Kyoto the night before.  For some reason the game was broadcasted in Japan the night after it happened.  Strange.  After time with Tommy (and receiving free “Merry Christmas” postcards from him), we decided to find a bar with more going on.  It seriously felt like nothing was happening in the city. We were so confused.  We finally made our way to a bar named, of all things, Geronimo.  Yes, we found a Native American themed bar in Tokyo.  Unfortunately it wasn’t as fun as it sounds.  We left just a few minutes after arrival. 

Day 4: We woke up with the hotel’s mandatory wake-up call (in only Japanese) at 9am.  I tiredly climbed out of my capsule (in usual camp style, I requested a top bunk), and headed to the bathrooms and then downstairs to buy orange juice and hot coffee from the hotel’s vending machines.
Side note: Japanese toilets. They’re incredible. We went from squatting throughout every other country to a land of toilets that are heated, with built in sinks and some even sing.  At Hiroshima, there was a sensor that made the speaker in the wall play sounds of rushing water.  Even at Kyoto Cheapest Inn the toilet seats were heated.  This is a slightly awkward side note, but completely worth mentioning.
We started out our day late, after transferring our baggage to our hostel for the second night in Tokyo.  I had been in charge of hotel reservations for Japan, so I tried to pack in as much experience as possible in Japanese hospitality.  I’ll write more about this hostel later. It took us a while to find it, but finally we did and decided to take the subway to the Imperial Palace Gardens, where we saw more cherry blossoms and explored a bit in what was once home to the monarchy.  Parts of the Gardens are still private.
By this point it was nearing 12pm and we’d never had much of a breakfast. We decided that we would eat at the first place we saw once we got to Harajuku, which is the fashion district of Tokyo.  I told the boys that my parents should really be thanking them – if not for feeling guilty about making them wait for us to shop, I would have had trouble not shopping there. It was like a very compact and clean NYC, with more colorful clothes.  This district was experimental, which was noticeable as soon as we exited the Subway station.  There were boys with make up, white jeans, cowboy boots with heels, and non-matching earrings – one guy wore a pink hoop in one ear and just studs in the other.  The girls sported large wigs, varying in color.  They wore giant heels with colored leggings. There were 50’s style skirts matched with layered patterned tops.  It was fantastic. 
We ended up eating at what really could have been a Japanese Denny’s. It was ridiculous. The rest of the afternoon we spent wandering around Harajuku, before heading back to our hostel to change for going out that night. 
Anne Hostel Asakusabashi was closest to a subway stop also called Asakusabashi.  We were a few streets off of the main drive and had a four story walk up to get to the hostel. In the afternoon we checked in, and were thrilled to discover that the two three person rooms I had reserved actually connected to make one giant six-person room.  The six of us chose our spots and began to assemble our beds.  This was a very traditional experience, in which we had no mattresses, but instead were given comforters, sheets, and pillows, with which we could make our own beds for the evening.  We were really thrilled by the authenticity.
After making ourselves more night-in-the-city appropriate, we caught the subway to go to Shibuya, which is the Tokyo equivalent of Times Square. It was insane. As soon as we got off the train, we were immersed in a giant pack of people. The girls and I linked arms in a laughing attempt not to lose each other.  The lights were incredible.  Colored billboards and two story chain restaurants and stores surrounded us. When the light turned red, a mass of people came from every corner to cross the main intersection.  It must have been 300 people at least.  People hustled past me, knocking my shoulders as they moved about their busy lives.  I tried to take pictures, but they all came out just as blurs, which I found disappointing, but quite appropriate.  We ate dinner before catching cabs to meet up with a few other students who were planning to meet us at New York Bar & Grill.
To explain where we were next, I think I should explain why we were going there. That morning at the Imperial Gardens we ran into a few friends from the ship. They wanted to meet up with us, so we suggested they meet us at this bar that I had been begging that we see.  The bar was made famous by Scarlett Johansen and Bill Murray in the film, Lost in Translation.  It is on the 52nd floor of the Park Hyatt Hotel, and it surpassed my expectations.
So the six of us crammed into a single taxi (the third driver we called over agreed to fit five in the backseat) and headed to the hotel. We took the elevator to the 52nd floor, where dark wooden walls, jazz music, and huge picture windows, with panoramic views of Tokyo, immediately surrounded us.  I was practically giddy.  The hostess warned us that there was a 20,000 yen ($20) cover fee.  This was definitely the most expensive bar that I’d ever been near, but the jazz music was calling me, and my friends agreed.  We followed the hostess inside and we seated at the end of the bar tables.  The Jazz that I heard at the entrance was coming from a three-person band.  They were positioned in front one of the huge windows, blending in perfectly with the surrounding scene.  We each ordered drinks and the boys ordered cigars.  We stayed at the bar for over an hour, sitting, talking, and taking in all that was around us.  It was our last night in Asia, and I’m happy to say that it was one of the best.  After two rounds of drinks (I had a Bellini and an Uptown Girl – I wanted it because it came with a cherry blossom floating in it), we departed to go dancing.  Each club we found had what we thought to be an exorbitant entrance fee, and since we had just spent more than we should have, we chose to keep walking.
Somehow we ended up at a Karaoke club. Karaoke in Japan is nothing like karaoke in the states.  It isn’t a bar, first of all.  Karaoke is done in small rooms (seriously, they’re tiny), where only your group is able to listen.  So we all sat around our tiny table facing the TV and picked songs out of something comparable to a phonebook in size.  This wasn’t as fun as normal karaoke because it wasn’t remotely like performing.  It was simply a table of friends singing songs they all knew together, taking turns holding the microphones. 
After karaoke, we stopped at 7/11 for late night snacks and to figure out how to get to the fish market.  By this point it was 3 am and the fish market opens around then.  Unfortunately, one of my friends was beginning to feel a bit sick, so Katie and I volunteered to take her back to the hostel.  Although I wish I’d been able to try to the world’s freshest sushi (really, it comes directly off the boats to be made into sushi right at the market), I wasn’t too concerned because I know this won’t be my last time in Tokyo.  It was such a cool city – I have to return eventually.  We ended the night lost in Asakusabashi – having to search for nearly half an hour before we finally found the right alleyway that lead to our hostel. 

Day 5:  I woke up determined to find a modern art museum.  My goals in Tokyo had been basically two things: 1. Convince friends to go to New York Bar and Grill. 2. Find an experimental, off the map modern art museum.  I didn’t want to go to any museum with “Modern Art” in the name, for fear that it would be too established for what I was searching.  I ended up finding what I wanted in my Tokyo guidebook that I’d purchased in India.  Mori Art Museum was established 2003 and was on the 52nd floor of a new development in Roppongi Hills.  This area was filled with shops, and men and women in suits.
So back to that morning.  We ate breakfast at our hostel before heading out to do a few errands.  My friends wanted to get back to Yokohama (where our ship was now docked) in time to see a bit of that town as well.  Our morning was spent simply.  Katie found a post office, where we bought stamps and withdrew cash for what we really hoped would be the last time.  Katie had to develop pictures, and the six of us decided to have a coffee break across the street as they developed.  We were debating afternoon plans, and what it came down to was that for most of my friends going to an art museum that my guidebook said was only open if they had an exhibition and warned that tickets could be up to $15.  I probably could have quilted them into it, but no one looked that thrilled by the idea of a museum that none of us had heard of before. 
We began to walk towards the train station where I told them that I’d see them on the ship.  I couldn’t leave Tokyo without seeing something modern and inspirational, and I felt like I may find it at that museum.  My friend Andrea, being the wonderful person that she is, said, “I think I’ll stay with Taylor.” The two of us found a subway that took us close to the Roppongi Hills development.  We ate a final meal in Japan/all of Asia of tempura, noodle soup, and tea before heading over to the museum.  It was open and currently had an exhibition called The Kaleidoscopic Eye – seeing the world through different realities.  How fitting.  We bought our tickets on the first floor and took the elevator to the 52nd.  We were amazed as soon as we exited.  We were suddenly in a world of silver and whites – modern, to the extreme. 
This day simply fell into place perfectly.  Somehow, my last night and last day in Asia were two of my best.  Mori Art Museum left me inspired and laughing.  There was a giant, walkthrough kaleidoscope.  There was a dark room, full of at least twenty disco balls, creating a spinning star affect on each wall.  The art here was reactionary – some pieces dealing with the trouble from the Iraq war.  One short film looked at domestic violence through the lenses of a B&W horror film.  In one of my favorite rooms, there was a wooden table that one was supposed to touch to activate the installation.  Andrea and I walked into the room alone and touched the table.  The room was entirely dark aside from a spotlight on the table. Suddenly, the sound of a knife sharpening was behind us and we heard two voices in slow, steady conversation as a woman with a lazy, singsong like voice said the ABC’s.  It was fantastic.  Another exhibition was a lovely, Grecian fountain that spouted liquid LSD instead of water.  It was well boxed off so that no one would try to touch or taste.  The entire museum was filled with art that moved. Art to me is supposed to force a question and to reflect the stranger ends of society.  The museum was weird in the most wonderful way.  I loved it and I would really like to intern there… We’ll see.
We left the museum a bit after 3pm, which was only bad because we thought we’d leave Tokyo by 2pm.  It was fine though – we caught a train to Yokohama and were there an hour later.  We wandered around a bit more before getting back on the ship around 5pm. 
The ship decks were full as we departed that evening.  No one wanted to leave and next up were a long ten days at sea.  Still, we had Hawaii to come, and we all knew many more adventures awaited us…