This post is being written from Car One of a Shinkansen train. Shinkansen is a Japanese word that means “fast and comfortable train”. I have already looked over the followers list and have determined that none of you can prove me wrong quickly, so just take my word for it. Where this will ultimately be published from is another matter altogether. We’re bound for Sapporo, a city on the north island of Hokkaido famous for its snow festival, noodles and beer. It may be famous for other things, but they don’t concern us.
The journey involves taking three trains over a 12-hour period. We’re on the first of these now. We should arrive by 6am, just in time for it to still be incredibly freaking cold. I’m looking forward to it. If you’re reading this on the blog, we made it safe and sound. If you’re reading this from data fragments recovered from a frozen laptop hard drive, something else happened. Here’s hoping its the former.
So as we while away this long night, allow me to share with you some of what we got up to on our last couple of days in Tokyo.
The journey involves taking three trains over a 12-hour period. We’re on the first of these now. We should arrive by 6am, just in time for it to still be incredibly freaking cold. I’m looking forward to it. If you’re reading this on the blog, we made it safe and sound. If you’re reading this from data fragments recovered from a frozen laptop hard drive, something else happened. Here’s hoping its the former.
So as we while away this long night, allow me to share with you some of what we got up to on our last couple of days in Tokyo.
IT WAS LIKE HAVING ZARAH WITH ME, BUT NOT IN A GOOD WAY
On Wednesday we got off to a late start. This was despite the fact that our roommate got off to quite an early one. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t nice. From there we headed into Shimo-Kitozawa, a weird series of small streets packed with clothes shops and tiny restaurants. It was fun, even if we did visit just about every shoe store with the Nike tick out front (hence the title). But it had a good feel about it, and it was a nice place to hang out for a while. Daniel and Ali bought sushi bento boxes for lunch, and we sat on a small wall near a rail line crossing as they ate them. The sight of the two white guys eating sushi was funny enough for a few of the locals to remark about it; they seemed quite amused. Daniel really got into it, ordering a box meant for two people and wolfing it down, proclaiming vigorously how good it was. He would later complain of nausea.
Next we went to Harajuku. It wasn’t Sunday so the weird parade-thing wasn’t happening, but we found plenty to amuse ourselves with. Steph met us near the station and we headed into the shrine and gardens established in memory of Emperor Meiji, the monarch who oversaw Japan’s industrialisation and integration into the wider world. We walked through the park, visited the shrine itself and made our way to the treasure museum. It was closed, but the view was pretty. The rest of Harajuku was pretty unremarkable; much the same collection of shops and chain restaurants that dotted a lot of other upscale districts we had visited. We did find another awesome toy store though, which was nice.
That night we decided to go western for dinner. We found out that there was a Hard Rock Cafe in Roppongi, but we were unenthused at the prospect of a long train ride. Luckily for us, there was another one two stops away! Located inside the train station! Score!
The next day (in story terms) or today (in writing terms) or yesterday (in publishing terms) or the day in question (at the inquiry into the recovery of frozen laptop) was my last in Tokyo (Daniel and Ali head back towards the end of their trip), so we used it to cross a few things off our list. That meant getting up at 5am to make our way to the famous Tsujiki fish markets, a bizarre and chaotic daily grind as people descend on a warehouse to buy fresh seafood of every variety imaginable. Huge tunas, fresh octopus, a wide variety of things I didn’t know you could eat. It’s hard to describe accurately. Pictures don’t catch the mad crush of tiny vehicles moving through the crowded aisles, and I’m not nearly a good enough writer to capture the smells and sounds of the place. I will say, though, that I have respect for these people: they do this every day, and get it done despite the fact that Western tourists seem to make it as difficult as possible for that to happen.
After that, we checked out and looked for a way to wind down the 7 hours between then and our train. To that end, we went to the Edo-Tokyo Museum. I suggested the Tokyo National Museum, but Daniel assured me that he heard that the Edo-Tokyo Museum was the best in the city. Since we never made it to the Tokyo National, I can claim that he is wrong even though the museum was pretty cool. A series of exhibits chart the course of Tokyo from a fishing village to the seat of feudal military power under the Tokugawa Shogunate to a modern metropolis and capital. Lots of cool stuff. The Edo-Tokyo Museum also housed Tokyo’s largest collection of wind, it seems. It was like standing on the top of a mountain as we waited for the escalator into the building. Yet another strike against Daniel’s judgment. The remainder of the day was spent wandering around a park in Ueno, where we checked out some of the shrines that dot the place and watched some street performers. And that’s it. Now we’re on the train. Soon we will transfer to a one hour train and then again to a seven hour one. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Post-Journey Update: We transferred to two other trains, a Tsugaru and a Hamansu which are apparently Japanese for "slow and not-so-comfortable trains". We made it nonetheless. First thoughts on Sapporo: it's freaking cold.
-Nik
Next we went to Harajuku. It wasn’t Sunday so the weird parade-thing wasn’t happening, but we found plenty to amuse ourselves with. Steph met us near the station and we headed into the shrine and gardens established in memory of Emperor Meiji, the monarch who oversaw Japan’s industrialisation and integration into the wider world. We walked through the park, visited the shrine itself and made our way to the treasure museum. It was closed, but the view was pretty. The rest of Harajuku was pretty unremarkable; much the same collection of shops and chain restaurants that dotted a lot of other upscale districts we had visited. We did find another awesome toy store though, which was nice.
That night we decided to go western for dinner. We found out that there was a Hard Rock Cafe in Roppongi, but we were unenthused at the prospect of a long train ride. Luckily for us, there was another one two stops away! Located inside the train station! Score!
THE MUSEUM OF WIND
The next day (in story terms) or today (in writing terms) or yesterday (in publishing terms) or the day in question (at the inquiry into the recovery of frozen laptop) was my last in Tokyo (Daniel and Ali head back towards the end of their trip), so we used it to cross a few things off our list. That meant getting up at 5am to make our way to the famous Tsujiki fish markets, a bizarre and chaotic daily grind as people descend on a warehouse to buy fresh seafood of every variety imaginable. Huge tunas, fresh octopus, a wide variety of things I didn’t know you could eat. It’s hard to describe accurately. Pictures don’t catch the mad crush of tiny vehicles moving through the crowded aisles, and I’m not nearly a good enough writer to capture the smells and sounds of the place. I will say, though, that I have respect for these people: they do this every day, and get it done despite the fact that Western tourists seem to make it as difficult as possible for that to happen.
After that, we checked out and looked for a way to wind down the 7 hours between then and our train. To that end, we went to the Edo-Tokyo Museum. I suggested the Tokyo National Museum, but Daniel assured me that he heard that the Edo-Tokyo Museum was the best in the city. Since we never made it to the Tokyo National, I can claim that he is wrong even though the museum was pretty cool. A series of exhibits chart the course of Tokyo from a fishing village to the seat of feudal military power under the Tokugawa Shogunate to a modern metropolis and capital. Lots of cool stuff. The Edo-Tokyo Museum also housed Tokyo’s largest collection of wind, it seems. It was like standing on the top of a mountain as we waited for the escalator into the building. Yet another strike against Daniel’s judgment. The remainder of the day was spent wandering around a park in Ueno, where we checked out some of the shrines that dot the place and watched some street performers. And that’s it. Now we’re on the train. Soon we will transfer to a one hour train and then again to a seven hour one. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Post-Journey Update: We transferred to two other trains, a Tsugaru and a Hamansu which are apparently Japanese for "slow and not-so-comfortable trains". We made it nonetheless. First thoughts on Sapporo: it's freaking cold.
-Nik
As if I would buy anything that had less than 3 inches of heel. Pfffft, nike...
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