Later Wednesday morning, Matt left for the Google offices and Dick woke back up from his attempt to recover some of his sleep from the night before. My inability to sleep had paid off in plenty of time to research things to do and see in Tokyo. I had decided to scrap my previous ideas of looking at manga or antiques or visiting major shrines, and direct our attention instead to Yanesen, a larger designation for the neighborhoods of Yanaka, Nezu and Sendagi. Dick approved, so we set off.

This turned out to be a perfect plan. 

Now, I’m going to apologize for the changes in font sizing that’s starting to crop up. I can’t seem to fix it on my phone, so it will have to be dealt with when I’m home in Amsterdam.

Out of the station, we skirted a lovely cemetery on our way to Yanaka “Ginza” (Ginza is the major shopping arcade, so calling Yanaka’s local shopping street “Ginza” is kind of funny, since it’s nothing like it). We planned to eat something there. 

I liked the atmosphere already. Locals and a few foreigners like ourselves browsed. It wasn’t crowded at all. There were specialty shops and small food places. We ordered various things from stalls to snack on as we wandered, then settled into a lovely cafe for sweets and tea. The sweets were all chestnut-based, as it’s chestnut season. The tea was a toasted rice tea, and delicious. I loved the tiny ceramic pot that the chestnut syrup was served in for the dessert.

After the sweet shop, we were near the end of the market. I had marked a few places of potential interest on my map, so we drifted in the general direction of a few of them while exploring.

The first thing we stumbled upon was a sign about puppets. I love puppets, so we followed it down a winding street and came upon a workshop and tiny theater. The artist puts on a 30 minute performance every hour if there are at least 2 people to watch it, and we were just in time. 5 of us watched him perform a very funny series of vignettes with his clever small puppets. Although there were many signs requesting “no photos,” he told us afterwards we could take some pictures. For the record, he also custom-makes puppets from life or pictures, and had a great number of them on display. I think he was very gifted. Here’s his website: http://shokichi.main.jp/

We were very pleased with ourselves after that for having been so lucky, and wandered further through the charming streets of this neighborhood. We stopped in miscellaneous shops if they were interesting, mostly just looking around. Known for cats, there were images of cats everywhere, including a store specializing in maneki neko, the beckoning cats. It felt like a Jordaan sort of neighborhood: mostly residential, quiet, older, with shops and schools and tiny gardens in front of houses. It was like a picturesque village in the hustle and bustle of Tokyo. We loved it.

One of the shops I’d most wanted to stop in was Amezaiku Yoshihara. Amezaiku is a traditional candy, where they shape fantastical figures from a gooey candy mass that they color as they work, and harden with flame. I chose an octopus, and the artisan made it to order while I watched. It was fascinating. 

They also had their special Halloween ones on offer, and I resisted the urge to order a black cat, since packing the octopus was likely to be difficult enough. In the end, it was packed in a sake box alongside some other delicate things Matt bought elsewhere later in the trip.

There were many temples, shrines and graveyards in the area. We were walking in one tiny graveyard when the worker cleaning graves thought we were trying to get to the giant golden statue in the next one over. We were not, but did go, in the end. That cemetery, at Tennouji Temple I think, was the final resting place of a famous swordsman and poet, Yamaoka Tesshu, whose name Dick recognized and was very happy to have stumbled upon.

I love the wooden sticks beside all the graves. Dick looked it up, and we think it’s like a sort of message calling spirits to where their bodies are. Please do correct me if I’m wrong.

We were getting tired and receiving messages from Matt and the gang by that point about dinner plans, so determined that with a final meander to visit the cats of Yanaka Cemetery, we would head back. They were absolutely everywhere, and loved attention. A great orange beastie was purring like a tiger while I petted him on his grave marker. 

We took the JR Yamanote line back to our ryokan, where we joined up with Matt before going again to Shibuya crossing to meet up with everyone.

Shibuya crossing is a crazy intersection beside a train station, where when the light turns green, the entirety fills up with people going in all directions. (Actually, diagonal crosswalks are all over Tokyo, which surprised me.)

The gang was camped out in the Starbucks (you can see them in the window), so we went to a robot sushi place around the corner before meeting up with them for a bit of a wander and then drinks.

The bar was actually pretty great. It looked like a temple entrance going down into it, and had a huge wooden table, then another section with sunken tables. We sat at the huge wooden table.

It started raining heavily as we exited the bar, and I really enjoyed all the umbrellas against the lights. Poor Matt, though: he had missed out on most everything through the day, and was really feeling like he wanted to do some wandering and shopping. The rain made that less appealing.

What a great day!

Tsuta Soba (a type of noodle, made of buckwheat instead of wheat or rice) is a ramen shop with a Michelin star. It was on my priority to-do list since fairly early on in the trip planning. In fact, it’s unusual that Michelin would grant a star to a “typical” ramen shop, and by all accounts, that’s exactly what this is, including pretty average prices. I was intrigued. 

I researched everything I needed to know about getting a ramen at Tsuta. I knew that they had decided on a ticket system to control lunchtime crowds. They opened the ticket window at 08:00, and you paid a deposit for a ticket for seating at a specified time over the same day’s lunch opening hours. There are only 9 seats in the shop, and you could only pick up a maximum of 4 tickets per person. People arrived around 07:00 to wait for a voucher. 

I had consulted and re-consulted with all my friends, and had finally decided that Wednesday would be my best day. Dick would be available, so I had at least one partner in crime willing to wake up early with me for the queue. Matt would unfortunately be in the Google office over lunch, and everyone else was unsure they wanted to commit. So Dick and I woke up early and headed over.

In the interest of cute things around Japan, these little children-playing statues lined the bridge from the station to the street. 

There was almost no one in sight as we rounded the final approach to the shop. I was concerned. It turns out my fears were justified:

Vexed, I opened up the most recent article that I had read about Tsuta. Oops. I had missed the line that said they were open every day except Wednesday. 

We returned to the ryokan. Dick went back to his room for more sleep. Matt was also still asleep when I got in. I couldn’t sleep, so I took the laundry to the nearby laundromat, where I chatted with an elderly gentleman. He was 78, and had been studying English since April. I was very impressed. I think he enjoyed the opportunity to try it out. He was also studying the art of Go (the game). He was a little disappointed that I don’t play.

 

Matt and I woke up late again on Tuesday, giving Dick a little time to recover from an early aikido training before heading out around noon.

Our first stop was back in Akihabara, the same store, where Matt had researched what he felt I needed to own, a new mirrorless (vs SLR) Olympus camera. I went straight to the department and got some help from the excellent clerk. It was a pretty quick purchase, all things considered. 

Next up: as quickly as possible to Sensō-ji Temple, but first lunch in the area of Nakamise shopping street. We wandered up and down and had ramen at a small friendly stand in a nearby arcade. It wasn’t as good as either of the ramens I’d previously enjoyed, but it wasn’t bad either. 

Afterwards, we walked over to the shrine. I had read about the practice of drawing omikuji, a sort of fortune, and that there were English versions at this and a few other temples (credit due: Rob of TheRealJapan blog – thanks, and thanks to Steve for introducing us!). I wanted to try it. In the end, we all did. Dick and I got good fortune, but Matt’s was a little bit less good, so he tied it up to a stand where one does that sort of thing. 

I very much like the practice of putting clothes on statues. These ones all had bibs.

We enjoyed the temple for a while, then decided it was time to move on. Dick’s morning had started too early, so he left for the ryokan and a rest while Matt and I went to find a shopping place I’d heard about: Aki-Oka, a low industrial building with many small shops of artisans and hand-crafted goods, as well as the odd goofy cartoon character. 

After a long while there, we also needed a rest, so we headed for the nearest station. On the way, we passed a wonderland grocery store that just begged exploration as well.

Sake was a theme for our entire trip. This one was a special sake for autumn.

And these were small plush mushrooms. Many varieties!

Eventually we got back to the ryokan, rested for a while, and met up with the group for… hot pot and all-you-can eat!

We tried to find a drinking establishment after dinner, but did not really succeed, since it had gotten too late. An English pub let us in for their last 30 minutes of being open. We were all back at the ryokan and in bed by 01:00 or maybe 02:00. If this seems awfully late, please remember: we were extremely jet lagged still and operating on tourist time.

As I got ready to leave the ryokan Monday morning, while Matt slept in, I heard a familiar voice responding to our hostess’ instructions. Dick had arrived, and was being checked into the room next to ours.

I left him with Matt and took off on my own for a bit, having made an appointment for a Shiatsu massage at 13:00. It was in the next neighborhood to ours, a relatively easy transit with only 1 transfer. On that note, we all love how easy it is to navigate here with public transit. We all got Suica cards and can easily swipe in and out all over. Everything is well marked and announced in Japanese and English.

The Shiatsu clinic was in a very normal neighborhood with a hospital and many different sorts of clinics, as well as residences. As I made the short walk up the hill, however, I had heard someone walking behind me. I thought nothing of it, since Japan has so far been very very safe and the streets were absolutely normal. Then I felt someone pinch my ass.

I swung around without thinking, but unfortunately the weight in my hand was my camera in a bag to protect it from the rain. It missed the guy who had grabbed me, but hit a pole quite hard. I didn’t realize right away, but I had broken the lens. My massage therapist was dismayed that this had happened only a few meters from her door, and reported it to the police. 

The massage was excellent, and I can very much recommend Megumi Shiatsu Clinic. Megumi offered to walk me to the subway station, but I told her that it was unnecessary, and headed out to find Matt and Dick. 

We met up near Shinjuku station, where I showed my camera to a man at a camera repair store, but he said the lens was broken beyond repair. 

Dick left for his training at Hombu Dojo, and Matt and I headed towards Akihabara to meet up with the gang. Akihabara is the famous electric land, lined with tall buildings housing electronic stores, pachinko parlours, vending machine galleries, arcades: a brightly lit and sometimes noisy paradise of technology. We went first into a large department store with a huge selection of cameras and lenses, to see what my options were. After deciding I needed to have an overnight think, we continued on for an exploration.

We wandered through manga stores, tried some grilled puffed balls with various toppings (delicious!) and then went back towards Shinjuku to meet back up with Dick and also with Sara, a friend of Denis. 

That night we ate in a place specializing in food on a stick. We ate many delicious things.

A note: every place here is smoky. Smoking is mostly prohibited on the street, but is freely practiced indoors. As a result, my eyes are burning almost all the time. I try to put as friendly of a face on it as possible, as 4 of our main group of 6 are smokers, but am in an almost constant state of discomfort while inside. I am blowing my nose and getting headaches every time. When did this start? I don’t remember it being so much of a problem. I just never liked the smell of it later on my clothes and in my hair. But lately it’s really awful. I feel instantly better upon bundling away all stinky stuff and showering. 

Kampai!

Max had read on Time Out Tokyo about a sake offering festival at Nogi Shrine. It was necessary to register for it, so while we enjoyed the delicious meal the evening before, I had sent an email to arrange entry for 6 people. 

We barely left the Hokkaido fair in time, but weren’t sure how it worked out, so we decided to get there for the beginning. I’m so glad we did. It turns out that this wasn’t just a festival and tasting, but a formal offering to the gods for a good sake-producing season, followed by a tasting. 

We had no idea what we were getting into. Most of the other people arriving as we did were well-dressed (we were dressed for the day out in a park), and there was a place to formally clean yourself before entering the shrine. None of us knew what we were supposed to do (yet), so we tried to copy what others were doing. Then we were ushered into a solemn area, where soon enough the ceremony began. 
This was our first observation of a Shinto ceremony, so we were as yet unaware of what was supposed to be happening, when to clap, when to bow, etc. We mostly stood there. At the end, I got in trouble for attempting to take a picture. Now I know that this is ALWAYS unacceptable. Even shrines not currently being actively used have signs up reading “No photo.”

After the ceremony, everyone proceeded further into the grounds, where we were issued small plastic cups of sake and awaited a formal welcoming and toast by (I think) one of the sake masters. Even before he finished, there was a sudden mad rush by those in the know (not us), for the stands of snack boxes that included our cups, to begin the sampling. 

We were a bit slow, but not to worry. There was plenty of sake to try. Two rows of tables were set up on either side of the courtyard, one having sakes that are available for public consumption, and one with sakes that are produced as offering to gods at various shrines around the country. Each of those sakes had flyers available for visiting the shrines. 

Honorable mention: I would very much like to thank our new friends Yuji and Satomi for most of this information. Satomi wrote the article Max had found, and she and her father were there with a lot of great information. Yuji was the first person to walk up to us and ask us how in the world we had discovered this event. Both were super friendly and introduced us to many more people, as well as answering all sorts of novice questions! I’d also like to thank my new friend Yoshiko and her friends for teaching me how to properly wash before entering a Shinto shrine!
I can’t possibly describe everything we learned with perfect accuracy. Here are a few highlights: 

1. Contrary to what I’d previously been told, not all sake served warm is crap. Sake is served at many different temperatures, depending on the sake. One temperature is supposedly the same temperature as the bosom of a virgin (sorry, Satomi, but your dad’s information was hilarious and must be included!).

2. Of the commercial sakes, some is pure rice alcohol, and some is strengthened and mixed, such as with port wine. (I’m sorry, Yuji, that I’ve forgotten the word for this).

3. Sake is not actually very popular in Japan. However, sake fans enjoy very much their little club, and hope that it will gain popularity. I think it will, much as gin and even jenever, are enjoying a revival, no longer only for grandparents. 

At the end of the festival, the big barrel of sake that is broken open by the head honchos at the beginning is available to everyone to drink, so we all were drunkenly posing and drinking from it. 

After, we somehow ended up bringing along the other gaijin (foreigners) and one of their Japanese friends to a drinking and eating place not far from our ryokan. After some food and a drink, we bid them also goodnight. 
It was definitely a highlight! We were off to a great start for this vacation. 

This was one of the most spectacular gothic parties I’ve been to, and I’m so glad that Denis’ friend let us know about it in time! 

On a main shopping street, a line of goths waited to have their IDs and reservations checked. We had a choice of a ticket with or without drink tickets, but we had to pay upstairs. There was good control and organisation of how the system worked, and next thing you knew we’d found ourselves upstairs in a restaurant decorated as a church, which was hosting the event (tables removed). 

A band was playing as we entered, so after acquiring drinks, we stood to watch. 

Laura and I shopped at some of the booths. There were some cute accessories of varying sorts and a pretty interesting leather worker (I thought Matt would like one of the belts, but it was too small).

They used an emcee (which I want to write “MC,” since it originates as Master of Ceremony, but apparently that’s not how it’s done these days). In the early stages, I thought this was great, because he helped ramp up energy between various performances while people danced to various DJs. By the end of the night, though, I was getting kind of annoyed, since it was sometimes the ruin of really good dance songs. 

Some highlights: the entire audience screaming along to a cover of This is Halloween from Nightmare Before Christmas, while various members of various bands performed and camped it up onstage and on the catwalk.

Both pole-dancers were spectacular, although one only performed once, so I have no pictures of her.

I didn’t take many pictures of the burlesque performers, because it’s generally not acceptable to, and I’m well-trained. Others were, though. I was watching spellbound. The first was very witchy and cool, with an autumn theme of leaves and witchy music. The second was incredibly sexy and dark, in black and heavy black eye-makeup that was so cool when she’d bend over backwards and sway around looking at us upside down. 

There were several bands of various levels of quality, and very different styles.

There were vendors on a raised area to the back, where Laura and I bought some small accessories and Matt and I chatted with the leather workers. 

There was a balcony of chillout-area, but I didn’t go up there. There was a hallway with band merchandise that led to another hallway with sofas that led to the bathrooms.

The bathrooms were stocked with everything you could possibly imagine you might need: tampons, pads, mouthwash, hand lotion… and a variety of other things I didn’t have a chance to identify. It was a dream! Plus they were all those fancy Japanese toilets with all the functions.

We danced, we talked to a couple of people Denis knew, and each other… we had a few drinks that magically didn’t ever make us drunk even though we could smell the alcohol in them. The shows and glam were astounding! What a great night!

It was still dark as we left the venue, but already morning. The streets were packed with drunken revelers who couldn’t stand or walk. Vomit was on the sidewalks. A taxi waited, browsing his phone while his rear door stood open, one girl holding the door with one hand and patting her friend’s back with the other. Her friend, meanwhile, was crouching, kneeling on the ground vomiting. As we walked by, she slowly tumbled into a full sprawl and stayed there. We discussed helping, but decided that no one seemed to be treating it with any urgency, so continued towards our train.

When we stepped out at our station, it was daylight. There were still partiers in the street, but there were also people on their way to work. 

We snuck quietly into our ryokan and went to bed at last! It was 06:30 Saturday morning.

After a nap, we left the ryokan in search of food, and immediately found a nice ramen place around the corner. While we waited for our food, we enjoyed exploring the many condiments available on the table. There were pickled garlic cloves with garlic presses!

Ramen came, and we enjoyed our very first meal in Japan! In retrospect, I think we were very fortunate in our first authentic ramen experience. It remains one of the best ones I’ve had, and I’ve now had many bowls of ramen. 

After our meal, we went to the worst place in all of Tokyo: Harajuku. If there is a hell-for-Sharon, this place is it. Wall to wall people, everything cheap cutesy crap, teenagers everywhere, teenage girls screaming for patrons to enter their shop in high pitched voices. The noise, the sweet smells, the crowds… I could have skipped it entirely. 

The group explored many silly shops and we eventually escaped to a quieter area with many promising shops nearby: small galleries and designers. By this point, however, we were mostly seeking a place to sit and relax, and that wasn’t possible. We ended up in a British pub for a drink before leaving the area for good, via a different route. 

That night, we were planning to go to a huge gothic party, a special event for Halloween, so we decided to have a rest, then a meal, then get ready to go out. 

We lucked out that the restaurant up the street from our ryokan was a sake place with great food!

Next post: about that party!

This is the first post in the Japan-Thailand trip, and I’m beginning rather late in the game. We have been SO busy. 

It turns out that travelling with a group of great people means that everyone is coming up with many interesting things to do and there seems to be no chance for down time! Not that we are doing everything all the time together, just that when we get back from doing whatever interesting thing we separately wanted to do, someone has learned about another thing that sounds too cool to miss!

Anyway, Friday morning started early. Matt woke up, got ready and left the house, meeting Laura & Denis, Max & Guido at the airport. The first leg was to London Heathrow, but another traveler missed the plane and their luggage had to be unloaded, so we got off the ground late. We were so late that we had to run (along with about 20 others) to our other gate. Running was NOT fun, but we made it. 

I’m sure the flight to Tokyo Haneda was fine, but I can’t say because I slept almost the entirety of it. Matt and I were right beside the toilets, so of course our friends came by frequently. I’m told everyone was very jealous of my constant snoozing. They can be less jealous now. Of the 5 nights we spent in Tokyo, I slept well only 2 of them, which is partially why I’m only writing now.

We arrived in Tokyo early Saturday morning, happy to find our bags had also made it, got transit cards (Suica, similar to the Oyster or OV card, except that you can also buy things from station vending machines with it), and headed for the monorail into town.

Our ryokan (guest house) was quite old, and Denis had stayed there once before he began studying in Tokyo, some years back. It was very reasonably priced, relatively comfortable, and convenient to Takanobara station, with one of the main train lines through the city, as well as next door to a Starbucks and a smaller metro stati0n. 

The hostess gave us complicated instructions on everything in the house, and we settled in. Everyone wanted a nap except me, and I rested anyway.

We slept on futons over tatami mats, and our hostess preferred everything carefully placed in trays on tables. There were dozens of trays. Every day our stuff was re-organized how SHE preferred it, which was slightly annoying but also pretty funny. I had to locate my necessary items (eye mask, ear plugs, phone cables, toiletries) every night.

We checked out of that ryokan (Tama Ryokan) this morning, and overall, I have to say it was good value for the price. I would probably not stay there again unless I am traveling on a tight budget, but we liked it. It was casual and easy, and our hostess was very friendly, even giving us little gifts as we left.