A week ago today, I boarded an airplane and flew further from home than I had ever been (Tokyo beats Athens, Greece by about 200 nautical miles). The first week of the journey has been incredible. The culture shock I experienced during the first few days was one on a positive note and the entire way that Tokyo operates has grown on me greatly.

Today, however, was no longer about Tokyo. The comfort I had grown to known in navigating Tokyo by train and the familiarity I had formed with the local convenience stores in Shinjuku was over. Today we were moving on to Kyoto: the capital city! While Kyoto is no longer the capital of Japan, it is still a major city in Japan boasting a population of 1.5 million and countless temples, shrines, and points of interests that are all filled with rich eastern history. We boarded the 12:13 Shinkansen Nozomi for Hakata (which is the end of the line) and away we went. A short 2.5 hours and 3 stops later, we had arrived in Kyoto. I wrote separately about my experience on the Shinkansen. That can be found here.

Kyoto greeted us with much cooler temperatures and the same friendly atmosphere that Tokyo had, just at a little slower pace now. Outside the Kyoto Terminal, busses lined the streets. This was immediately very different from Tokyo as really the only viable mode of efficient public transportation in Tokyo is by train. Also very different from our experience in Tokyo was the proximity of our hotel to the nearest train station. Here in Kyoto, our hotel was directly across from the station. No more 15 minute walk; just a simple wait for the crosswalk and there we were!

Kyoto Station is built under and on top of a shopping mall. The way they weave these trains in and out, it’s hard to tell what’s really above or below. We had a nice Japanese dinner on the 10th floor of this mall. What’s cool about the area we ate, was the way the restaurants were laid out. The entire 10th floor was called “The Cubes” and this name lends to the design (or the design lends to the name) because there are multiple restaurants all laid out in cube like form, one after the next, each perfectly square. We browsed past a few until finding one that had an appealing looking menu. The food was good but I will sure be glad when I don’t have to pay ¥300 ($3.46) for a Coke and a total of about $18 just for a small sushi meal.

After dinner we came back to the room and planned what we’d like to get done tomorrow. There’s a lot on the agenda so it may run into the next day as well. That’s ok. I have decided that (since it is way more money that I had originally thought) I do not want to take the trip down to Hiroshima any more. I’m kinda sad because that is one of the main things I wanted to do, but it will always be there and the next trip I’ll save more money for train faires specifically.

One week down and all is good! Congrats to all my stateside readers on making it to 2013. I’m glad I’m not living in a different year than you any more … that’s just too tricky to think about!

There really is not a better way to start off a new year than by walking to a JR station, taking a Rapid Express line to Tokyo Station, buying a ticket to Kyoto and then boarding one of the most heavily used trains in the world. That’s exactly how my 2013 started off, and I could not be happier.

The Shinkansen experience was all I expected it to be. Fast, comfortable, relaxing! Train travel, at least in this scenario, is by far superior to traveling by plane. There are no cramped seats, no obnoxious seat belt lights, and no worry of a de-pressurization of the cabin causing mass hysteria as people scramble to put on oxygen masks (while making sure they put their own on FIRST before assisting others). All of that is removed. Of course traveling by plane is still the safest mode of transportation, but Japan is doing alright by not having a single casualty due to train error in the 49 year history of this Shinkansen line.

I have attached a few photos of the train we rode below. All of the trains that travel this route (Tōkaidō) are the same model. We rode on a N700 which has the specifications of:

• Travels the Tōkaidō/Sanyō lines
• Capacity of 1, 323 people
• Maximum speed (on Tōkaidō line) 270 km/h (168 mph)
• Started service in 2007

Snapped this pic right before boarding in Tokyo.

After we got off the train in Kyoto, I ran up to the front and took this pic.

Wow, what a night! The people (and foreigners) of Tokyo really know how to have a good time!

The original plan was to attend a celebration at Tokyo Tower, but some things came up that delayed us from getting to the metro in time to make it to Tokyo Tower by 12. We quickly improvised and decided that Shibuya should be just as much fun. We were right!

Although we arrived a few minutes after 12 (I rang in 2013 inside a Metro tunnel, but that’s ok!), the party was in full swing. I use the term party very light heartedly. It wasn’t a party, but more of mass chaos in what is usually the historic Shibuya Crossing. Check out the Panorama below and you’ll see what I mean. Thousands of people packed the streets, sidewalks, alleyways, and tops of metro entrances all screaming and cheering … basically, having the time of their lives!

I took a lof of pictures and videos with the GoPro and really enjoyed the experience. The best part was, even though there were thousands of people all swarming together, the atmosphere was still very safe feeling. I did tuck my wallet into an interior pocket to avoid a “Dorothy, I think I lost my wallet” moment … but I never felt uneasy about the people that were around us. Plus, the entire area was flooded with Koban trying to maintain some order and keep traffic flowing (yea right)!

Happy New Year everyone!

The famous Shibuya Crossing crowded with New Year’s Eve goers!

Today was the last day in Tokyo and the last day of 2012. I think those two things go pretty well together.

Being that the start of a New Year is a religious holiday here in Japan, many of the government buildings (actually all of them we tried to visit) were closed. That didn’t stop us from walking around and around the outside of them, taking pictures and gawking with the rest of the Japanese population that decided to spend their holiday in Tokyo. The capitol of Japan was pretty neat looking. Apparently if it had been open, anyone is allowed to go inside and watch live legislation in progress … Something for next time!

We took today at a little slower pace. Spent sometime just enjoying how beautiful Tokyo really is. Even took a nice break at a park not far from the Imperial Palace (which was, of course, closed for the New Year).

Unfortunately, I realized that the Shinkansen trips we’re going to be taking over the last part of the trip are about double the cost of what I had originally calculated. Transportation via train is very common in Japan, but if you want to do it fast, (we’re talking 500 miles in about 4 hours) it’s gonna cost. Regardless, I’m looking VERY forward to riding the “most used railway in the world” tomorrow. The Shinkansen line we will be riding on (Tōkaidō Shinkansen  has transported over 4.9 billion people in its 49 year history with no fatalities or serious injury due to train derailment or collision! Now that’s perfection to make even perfect people jealous! 😉

About to head out of the hotel towards Tokyo Tower which is the tallest self-supporting steel structure in the world, beating the Eiffel Tower by a dozen meters–sorry mom! They have a New Year’s Eve celebration at a temple near there that looks pretty cool on YouTube. I’m hoping it’s a yearly thing.

Happy New Year’s Eve to all my readers stateside.  Let me be the first to wish you a happy new year, as by the time the clock strikes midnight for you, I’ll be flying (not literally, just figuratively) on a Shinkansen N700 towards Kyoto!

Apparently Japan didn’t want to spoil us to only good weather. Today was cloudy to start and rainy to end. Luckily, the temperatures weren’t too chilly making being out and about in the rain more bearable.

Started the day back in Akihabra for lunch and then headed back to Harajuku to try and catch the people dressed up to be in photo shoots. I guess the rain scared them off or we were just too late because there were very few people in the area that should have been flooded with photographers and people aching to make it in magazines and advertisements.

We spent a little more time shopping on Takeshita Street. I found a few more souvenirs and got a delicious crêpe. Not something I would have ever expected to find in Tokyo, but it was a welcomed surprise.

The rain drove us back to our hotel where we dried off and took a little break. We had a little trouble with the original booking for Kyoto (the hotel ended up being full) so we got that all straightened out and decided to stay one more day in Tokyo. So, tomorrow is now the last day here and the last night will be spent at a different hotel closer to central Shinjuku and Shinjuku Station. That’s going to leave us in Tokyo on New Year’s Eve, and that greatly excites me. Now to find the best place to be at 23:59 tomorrow evening…

Feeling brave, we ventured back in the rain to Ginza (high end shopping area from a few days ago) in search of a store where apparently any size piece of luggage is only ¥5,000 (at least that was Max’s experience last time). After a lengthy Metro ride, we came up from the underground at Ginza Crossing and boom, there was the place. Apparently inflation has struck Japan like it has in America, because any size piece of luggage was now ¥5,250 (a whole $2.90 more haha). They did have every size of luggage one could want. I had been looking in the States for a carry-on size hard shell bag to match my cargo sized suitcase and I found one here … for just ¥5,250, of course!

The rain had been persistent today. Before we left the luggage store, the clerk wrapped our bags for us leaving only the wheels exposed so we could still roll them. That was nice of him, but now we looked like a couple of inbreds rolling plastic wrapped luggage down the streets of Ginza. Passing people carrying new purchases from Prada, Chanel, Louis Vuitton … and here we are with a couple of pieces of knock-off luggage wrapped in plastic like they would melt. Oh well, it was fun and we got a lot of looks, but completely worth it and now I have a nice bag for my souvenirs!

That’s it for day 5. Check-out of Hotel Listel Shinjuku is by 10 am tomorrow morning and check-in at E-Hotel is at 15:00, so hopefully they won’t mind us dropping our bags off early.

Loving Tokyo and hoping the post office is open tomorrow, I have some things to mail. 🙂

Today was all about enjoying the beautiful late-December weather. Wow, it was great. With temperatures near 10˚ C (that’s 50˚ F for the readers in the United States) walking around the Meiji Shrine was absolutely spectacular, and that was our first stop of the day.

The Meiji Shrine is a Shinto shrine dedicated to Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shōken. Emperor Meiji was responsible for a number of political, social and economic reforms during his rule, and is often refereed to as “Meiji the Great.” I guess being called anything ‘the great’ is worthy enough to have a shrine dedicated to you … in the middle of the largest city in the world with no telling how much the land the shrine is located on (77 acres) is worth in a real estate market… It’s almost unthinkable.

Located just across the JR track from the Meiji Shrine is a trendy shopping district called Harajuku. Lots of shops. Lots of people. Lots of money to be spent. There were a number of cool and unusual shops that stuck out (stark difference from the shopping on Odaiba which I’ll talk about next) amongst this area. One was a shop dedicated entirely to animal clothing. Cat, dog, probably hamster, you name it, they’ve got clothing for it! Harajuku also boasted a Wolf Gang Puck Express, and as appealing as sushi sounded, there wasn’t a lot in this area and the WGP menu just looked too delicious. American lunch for the second day in a row, but who’s counting? Plus, the majority of the people there are Japanese … so it was very “authentic” feeling!

After finishing up lunch, we decided to make our way to the Yurikamome Line which is a fancy new transit line that crosses over the Rainbow Bridge and connects central Tokyo with Odaiba. Odaiba reminds me of what they are doing in Dubai with all the artificial islands and multi-uses they are getting out of them. It is just like that, and artificial island in Tokyo Bay which is home to shopping malls, an amusement park, docks for sea vessels, museums and even a miniature (yet realistic looking) Statue of Liberty. I posted a photo of that on the photo stream. Back to the shopping malls I mentioned … the stores in them were all mainly American stores: Under Armor, Fossil, Baskin Robbins, it was crazy! Definitely the most American part of Tokyo I had seen yet.
I really enjoyed this area. The views of Tokyo from this perspective were absolutely stunning. I captured a few panoramas and I hope to turn one of them into an actual wall print.

One of the most spectacular things about Odaiba was probably just the metro ride over and back from central Tokyo. Really cool and quite pricy compared to you average JR or Metro ride. Once we were back in central Tokyo, we decided to do some more damage in Akihabra. Much different experience on a Saturday than we had on Thursday. What really made the difference was just the number of people. It’s like every intersection became a mini Shibuya crossing. There were lots of things to see and buy throughout Electric Town (the main area of Akihabra). One could really do some major work on their credit cards while walking those streets. I tried my best to maintain composure, even though it was hard when we’re talking about something that could be described as “curbside Best Buy” shopping … and sometimes curbside ran all the way to the street. Boxes upon boxes of flash drives and memory cards, wireless mouses and iPhone cases. Needless to say, it’s the electronic lovers paradise.

While shopping in Electric Town should probably have been the neatest and most memorable part of the day, what takes the cake for that was the hour we spent at a traditional Maid Café. A Maid Café is not something like a Hooters or Twin Peaks, it’s a classy, authentic Japanese bar with only a few seats and few tables. The setting is very relaxed and most of the people (typically men) that go to them are going (and paying) to just have conversations and drink with the bar tenders (maids in this case). Sticking with Coke (the seemingly universal non-alcoholic beverage) we tried our best to carry on conversation with the two maids that were waiting on us. It was hilarious. They were trying as hard to speak English as we were to understand what they only knew how to say in Japanese. As a general rule, we learned that if you can’t communicate it with words, just point and repeat yourself over and over … either someone will understand you, or they’ll smile and nod like they do.

The story of how we ended up in the Maid Café that we did is as funny as the actual hour we spent there. All along the streets of Akihabra, there are people passing out flyers for various things. We happened to pass a girl passing out flyers for this Maid Café and we inquired about where it was. I guess we seemed interested enough because she led us to it, up three floors on a sketchy elevator, and right up to two seats at the counter where she proceed to explain (in very broken english) about how it works. We quickly found out that you pay by the time you stay there. They had three nice packaged deals: 1 hour, 1.5 hours, 3 hours. We stuck with the shortest time as we really had no idea what we had just gotten ourselves into or how much of it we were going to be able to stand. After what seemed like an eternity (probably about 40 mins) we thanked them and quickly got on our way. Definitely will go down as one of the more memorable moments of the trip. It’s the true sincerity and niceness of the people involved that will make it so memorable. Much like on the first evening when the complete strangers helped us to our hotel … those are the moments that will truly be remembered. Well done Japan!

After escaping from the Maid Café, we went for a quick stop at Yodobashi (the 12 story electronics store). I found a really cool new leather iPhone case and felt like that was all the money I really needed to spend in there before I accidentally went overboard.

We decided to head back to Shibuya and find some dinner. The plan was sushi (like always), but Outback Steakhouse won us over. When the menu is in Japanese, the wait staff is Japanese and the majority of the clientele is Japanese, it’s like I’ve already said, it’s almost authentic Japanese dining … minus the fact we were chowing down on a blooming onion. That’s BESIDE the point though. It was a good dinner.

Wrapping up the evening with a final stroll around Shibuya. As I noticed earlier in the day, Saturday made all the difference in the number of people that were out. It was jam packed every direction you turned and every sidewalk you tried to walk down. No room! But I think I got some awesome footage with my GoPro this evening now that it wasn’t raining. Let’s hope!

We booked our last 4 nights of the trip in Kyoto once we got back to the room and tomorrow will be our last full day in Tokyo. Looking really forward to riding the Shinkansen in a few days.
I’m considering waking up early to check out the Tsukiji fish market tomorrow morning. The main fish auction is closed due to business, but they still have breakfast sushi bars open and lots of commotion. We’ll see if it happen!

Alright, that’s it for day 4! Sayonara.

Today started off with a trip to Sensō-Ji: Tokyo’s oldest temple. The area surrounding the temple was extremely touristy and very busy. Pretty sure I saw more white people during the shopping I did in this area than I have since we left the United States. Neat chance to buy some authentic Japanese souvenirs though.

For lunch, we started off at an authentic Japanese sushi bar named “Sushi Go-round” which is the most apropos name for the style restaurant it was… The bar you sat down at had a conveyor belt where plates upon plates of sushi continually circled the entire bar. When you saw one you wanted, you just took it off and ate. BUT, after a few of these plates weren’t curing the hunger, we decided to be equal opportunists and give McDonald’s a chance. Don’t judge, it was delicious!

After Sensō-Ji, we headed towards the Tokyo Skytree. The Skytree is the world’s tallest tower (tower meaning used only for broadcasting and observation purposes, not business) and the second tallest structure in the world (behind the Burj Khalifa in Dubai which is a multi-purpose office building). The wait for the Skytree was almost as lengthy as the Skytree is tall. Completely worth it. The first level you visit is 350 meters up called the Tembo Deck. For an additional ¥1000, you can venture up another 100 meters to the Tembo Galleria, “the world’s highest skywalk” claims the website. Breathtaking views and I posted multiple photos from up there on the photo steam. Have a look. https://www.icloud.com/photostream/#A1G6XBubJGuEP8

Now on to Ginza: the high-end shopping mecca of Tokyo. It was high end for sure. After a quick stop at Wako, it was time to check out a true luxury brand here in Japan… Abercrombie & Fitch. haha Apparently the Japanese LOVE A&F and do not mind paying what seemed to be three times the prices we pay for it in the States. Crazy! Also visited my first Uniqlo, which is a Japanese version of H&M (which I also spent some time in). Last stop before dinner was at the Apple Store Ginza, just for enough time to take a quick panorama and send a few SnapChats on the wifi.

We grabbed dinner at Yoshinoya (same place as lunch yesterday and I think I realized the thing I was eating that I was unaware of was actually beef.. uh-oh) and then headed back towards Shibuya. I took an über cool recording of Shibuya crossing at night. We went to H&M and did a little browsing then decided to head back to the room before we spent any more money.

Spent a little more time planning the last half of the trip and how many days we plan to stay in Kyoto. Found a pretty cool hotel and cancelled our reservation for the last 4 days here in Tokyo.

Greatly enjoyed my third day in Tokyo. The people and city are starting to grow on me!

Floor 1 of MANY.