TOKYO Part 1

Here it is, what we've all been waiting for. I've really missed writing on my blog this past week, but midterms are coming up so study requirements and homework load all increased. I finally sorted my Tokyo pictures today (*cough* ~2000 *cough*) and will sort the rest of the week's in my down time this upcoming week. Without any further ado, to Tokyo!

The adventure started Friday night after four classes. My host family was super nice and put out dinner for me early so I could eat before heading off to the Shinkansen station. It was my first time riding the bullet train and it was a really neat experience! The station itself was huge and reminded me very much of an airport, but not as hectic. Even the inside of the train is like an airplane, with actually more room than most airplanes. Comfortable seating and aisles with plenty of luggage space and built in power outlets. Unfortunately, since it was night-time, we had no view. But, interestingly, there was nothing to see. I mean, it was pitch black for most of the ride. Every now and then there would be a cluster of lights when we made a stop, but other than that it was like being in a tunnel the whole time. It also felt a bit like a pocket of time - not really advancing but not staying still either, with occasional bumps and sways.

Also, for those hoping to ride the Shinkansen, here are some tips I wish had been properly explained to me:

• expensive
• You will get two tickets. One lets you travel among JR for free to get to the Shinkansen JR station
• When you reach the Shinkansen station where you actually want to board the Shinkansen, you have to put both your tickets into the machine at the same time
• Do not lose either one of your tickets because, since you need both to enter the Shinkansen area, if you lose one, you will have to buy a new set

Anyway, once we arrived in Asakusa Tokyo, we were met with a string of lanterns and tall buildings, turning at a Noragami-anime-like shrine down an alley to our hostel. It was my first time in a hostel but this one was great. The staff were super friendly, there was a hot-food vending machine in the kitchen area, and there were free towels (or 50 yen ones - you got to choose (when I asked the difference the staff member just said the free one is a bit thin)).  Our group of 6 had to be split into 2 groups of 3 since the rooms we signed up for already had some residents (10-person mixed dorms). The beds were like bunk beds built into the wall, like little coves. They were my size however anyone much taller would have had some comfort issues.

We woke up bright and bushy-tailed (some more than others) Saturday morning to start the adventure!

Of course, it drizzled all day long but we still had fun.

First, we made our way to Ueno park which was gorgeous. The tall trees, lush greenery, and sense of space reminded us a bit of Jurassic Park.  In Ueno Park, we went to Toshogu Shrine dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu. It was really cool because there were ishidoro (stone standing lantern things) everywhere and a section with 1000 paper cranes surrounding a dove relief in which a flame from the Hiroshima bombs. Originally, someone kept it as a memento of grief and anger for his lost uncle, but it turned into a symbol for the longing for peace and abolition of nuclear weapons.Quite lavish and the ishidoro made it also mysterious and otherworldly, with a five-story pagoda looming in the background and a pair of ravens alighting on the main torii gate (reminded me of Sailor Mars - a shrine maiden with two raven friends name after Odin's ravens). To be honest, we arrived at the shrine earlier than its opening time, so before actually checking it out,we went to the pond at Ueno Park and a temple next to it. The pond was gorgeous - parts of it were straight out of a Money painting. Lily pads everywhere with walls of reeds, golden faced anhingas and a lone, contemplative heron. It was really quite beautiful and spectacular. Reminded me a bit of Florida.

Next, we went to the Tokyo National Museum. Ueno Park actually has many museums and art galleries, but we only had time for one. It was amazing! I'm so glad we chose the one we did because it had a wide range of items from archaeological pieces to Buddhist statues to Ukiyo-e to Mandalas to warrior artifacts and so much more. Interestingly enough, we were allowed to take pictures inside, as long we as refrained from flash and every now and then there would be a particular item on display of which photographs were prohibited. What was also cool was I saw many styles and pieces that we learned about in my Japanese Art class. It's one thing to learn about them, but seeing them in person was amazing. The sense of history was pretty powerful. Since this will already be pretty picture-heavy (and museums have awful lighting for photos) I will refrain from posting any photographs from the museum here.

Next, we made our way to Akihabara! This is the famous anime-capital of Japan (though Ikebukuro is a close second). After failing to find a place where we could all eat (being a large group and having someone who is vegan included) we defaulted to Burger King (which was not crowded but ended up
being delicious - and I also had Melon Fanta - so good). Since we kind of "failed" at lunch, we decided to try something that is very unique to Japan, especially Akihabara: a maid cafe. I know, I know, sounds awful and I honestly didn't think I'd ever want to go to one. But the one we went to wasn't bad. It was a cafe with delicious desserts, lots of pink and cutesy things contrasted with dark colored walls and accents, and waitresses in pink maid costumes (that, unlike the stereotype, were not revealing at all). Though, I apparently blew the minds and broke the ability to trust human beings in all my friends who were with me in the cafe when I said "This is so fun! I can't believe we got the Clumsy Maid!" near the end of our experience. Clumsy/ditsy maid/girl character is a trope in anime and our server kept dropping things or would need help with holding 'heavy' things. After that, we kept exchanging looks and giggling. (But I mean, seriously, did you think it was real? *lol*). It was an interesting experience.

Next, we went down eight floors of a skinny, dark building. Each floor had a different theme (two of which were a bit uncomfortable but interesting). One had a bunch of doll things and we were slowing backing out when I saw some Sailor Moon items. I got something which I thought was multi-functional but apparently is not. Oh well. Also, for stores like these, you have to pay for the item you want from the floor you got it. So G, who explored the interesting floors with me longer than the others cared to stay, and I were waiting while the cashier was on the phone. I am 90% positive it was a tedious customer on the phone, but the cashier would not multi-task and I was nervous about missing an event going on outside (I technically did). Finally, we made it through the store and outside, missing the first procession of the...

Kanda Matsuri! Though G and I missed the first wave, the parade came back. The Kanda Matsuri is one of Tokyo's three major festivals. It only happens on odd-numbered years and involves a bunch of people in festival garb carrying a mikoshi (portable shrine housing a deity) through the streets of Tokyo. For a long while, they had the mikoshi sitting in the street on display and many of the carriers were taking selfies with it. Thankfully, I wasn't the only non-carrier taking pictures of the mikoshi, so I didn't feel awkward. It was so intricate! I remember learning about this in history class back at home and to see it still going on is astounding! The contrast between ancient and modern was pretty striking, seeing the phoenix backed by a skyscraper, the carriers taking selfies with the shrine, traditional taiko being played while some pop music from a nearby store is faintly heard, and seeing maid-cafe advertisements behind the samurai. Oh yeah, THERE WERE SAMURAI ON HORSES. It was so neat! They came, strutting their horses, clad in traditional samurai armor and carrying banners with actual family crests on them. When the mikoshi was actually picked up and the procession started up again, the carriers moved and moved the mikoshi in a way that it shook, shivered, moved side to side, and back and forth, like an angry dragon or living being. The shouting, clapping, taiko, and flutes and bells surround the sense as the crowd ebbed and flowed to the rhythm of the mikoshi. I am so glad I was able to experience it.

After some more exploring and seeing a ton of anime figurines and merchandise, video games, and Japanese RWBY DVDs that were ridiculously expensive, we made our way to the district of Shibuya! We had planned on eating soba, but could not find a place, so ate a place called  "Sukiyaki" in which a waitress on her break laughed at us a lot (we were the only customers) and I had my first eel in Japan! It was so delicious! Then, we did what we came to do. We crossed a street.

Shibuya is famous for "The Scramble" which is a huge intersection that people cross from a multitude of directions at once. We didn't just cross it once. We crossed it several times and getting some very cool pictures. If it had been lighter or less drizzly, I bet we would have gotten some amazing pictures. But the lights, tall buildings, and so on were dazzling. I also saw the most diverse commercial I've seen so far in Japan: a bra commercial on a big billboard but it included a woman with a shaved head (big for Japan), a pregnant woman, a woman with a prosthetic leg, a woman with her child, a woman wearing a sports bra and leggings rather than traditional bra and panties, and a Japanese woman with very tan skin (also big for a society of pale beauty).

(Also, as you can see in one of the pictures on the left, we saw real life Mario Kart. Epic, right?)

As we made our way back to the hostel, we had a sneak peak of the place we went to Sunday. What was an eerie alley of orange lanterns and silver screens at night was a bustling street of tourist shops in the daylight. I saw two people, one with a tripod and camera, one with a tool that lit up, doing a long-exposure photography session. I don't know what they were trying to make, but I was so excited to recognize what they were doing.

When we got back to the hostel and put our bags down, we met in the hostel bar and played some fun get-to-know each other games and a semi-judge/war game. I also ended up having my first alcoholic drink experience! I didn't want a full drink, so G let me taste two different types of sake he got on a sake factory field trip. One was pink and sweet and fuzzy and I thought it was kind of nasty. Then I had a sip of the other one and gagged. It was like oil. Super bitter and made my mouth, lips, esophagus, and stomach feel gross. I then had a final sip of the pink and it suddenly wasn't so bad (comparatively speaking). But I can check that off my list: my first alcoholic drink was legal and it was in Tokyo, Japan, a version of traditional Japanese sake. Woohoo. I only had those three sips and it didn't seem to create any negative effects. I slept fine (technically better than the first night) and woke up with no queasiness or headache. To be honest, one of my fears is that alcohol will trigger migraines, so I will never drink a lot at a time.

Some last minute points from my travel notes:
 * Heard my first sirens in Japan in Tokyo. Ah, Vegas.
* The subways in Tokyo are massive! Multiple levels. Many layers of escalators. Thick pillars and long, sci-fi tunnels.
*Apparently people in Kansai are more caring and nice than Kanto
*Saw a karaoke building with windows and rainbow disco balls - looked super fun.
*Ueno Park, especially around Toshogu shrine, with its ishidoro, birdsong, lush vegetation, and bugs was so magical and almost Ghibli-like
*Burger King is still better than McDonald's, even in Japan
*Many of the carriers of the mikoshi had pants that were either super hiked up or designed to kind of look like underwear. So many were bare-legged, had headbands, wore sock-shoes - in the rain - but were still so enthusiastic
* There were Hachiko drawings on the vending machines in Shibuya and Hachiko reliefs on the station (though we did not actually see the Hachiko statue)
* I was reminded of an episode of Tokyo Ghoul while crossing the street in Shibuya, but that doesn't really relate to anything.
* We mainly used the subway system more than the train system. Also, the handholds are triangles in Tokyo rather than straps or circles, like in Nishinomiya.

My first full day in Tokyo was an awesome adventure! The sense of being in a truly urban environment was interesting. More to come tomorrow when I write Part 2!