I am on a roll.....We spent just 3 days in Japan. The only reason we ended up in Tokyo was because I looked at the return trip from Chiang Mai to Denver (for skiing - next post!) and could not find much less than 36 hours of flying and hanging out in airports. In noodling around, I found a direct flight (9 hours) from Tokyo to Los Angeles for a very reasonable price on ZipAir. OK, I give you that the name does not inspire confidence. But, I do my research folks! I found out that Zip is the low cost version and subsidiary of Japan Airlines. And, what was even better, they had a reputation for having pretty inexpensive business class fares.
So, at some point in recent times, my dear wife expressed the desire ("bucket list" was her term) to fly business class someday. She has labeled me as "the cheapest man on earth" and knew the odds of flying business classs with me were almost non-existent. But.... I do like to see my woman happy. And save money. The fare for business class on ZipAir was so damn reasonable, I could not pass up the opportunity. Besides, we were going to add an entire country onto our itinerary, if only for a 3 day foray. I did not let on to Susan for three months that we had a more comfortable airplane flight than usual. Finally, the day before we flew I let her know about the upgrade so she could plan her pharmaceuticals accordingly. I am not unkind. She was actually rather reserved about the revelation -- I think she was pretty skeptical, and given my reputationi and the name "Zipair" I do not blame her.
So when we got on the plane and into our individual cubicles with the reclining seats -- all the way down to flat, there was a smile on her face. I will admit, it was nice to not be smushed on both sides by fellow passengers, and have more flat surfaces around than needed for your computer and book, etc. And the meal was pretty good. But, no free alcohol -- bummer. So it was not quite the "full" business class experience. It counts though. One odd thing is that although the business class area was nearly full, when we looked at the back of the plane - over 200 seats - there could not have been 15 passengers back there. Just a little strange.
Zipair photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/E1G7wx4jcudKKuLu9
We stayed in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo, which is considered an "entertainment" area and close to some fun areas: the red light district and the Golden Gai district. The Golden Gai area is several alleys with over 200 small bars, some as small as just 6 seats. Some bars have a cover charge, some are less friendly to tourists and cater to a local crowd. So one night we wandered the alleys and poked our heads into several bars before settling on one that had a sign "foreigners welcome". Seemed like a good indication. Well, the first drinks were pretty weak, so we switched to straight whisky: Suntory, I believe. There was a group upstairs that I looked into but that table was full, so we sat by ourselves downstairs. And before too long, two young Aussies walked in and sat down with us and we had a fun conversation about skiing, dogs, and breakups - they had just been north of Tokyo, to Hakuba (I think) to slide on some snow. And they were on their 3rd or 4th bar, so they were very willing to speak to an older American couple. Nice guys, they left after a while to continue their bar tour.
Golden Gai photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/p97jaPXjMAFSsyEUA
Then a young American (maybe 30 years old) from Denver wandered in with his father (from Chicago). They had also been skiing north of the city. They were also fun, stayed about 45 minutes and teetered off in search of another bar. We were still relatively clear of head and had our Golden Gai experience, so we headed home with another story to tell in a different city.
Now I have to say that we were stunned by how small our our hotel room was. A narrow hallway from the entry door past the bathroom and then opened to a room just a bit bigger than the bed. No real closet or storage space for luggage and a small built-in desk at the window niche. We joked about the size of the room with a couple on the elevator and they told us that is the fact of life in Tokyo hotels. Who knew? Room photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/jjrvaHabGs5pNazeA
The Imperial Palace was closed the first moring in Tokyo, so we wandered the city a bit and found a hole in the wall restaurant that had fantastic food. It turns out that Japanese food is also pretty wonderful. We did try a "conveyor belt" sushi restaurant one evening -- not to my taste. But we absolutely loved the soups and noodles and dumplings. A few food photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/9LWFqNRYXHvXRk7z6
In most of the restaurants we found there was almost no English spoken. Ordering included lots of pointing at menu photos and hoping that the food would be recorgnizable. And we were mostly
delighted at how good the flavors were.
That afternoon we found the Japanese Sword Museum. Beautifully displayed swords and knives and lots of history tying the weapons to the development of the Japanese culture. A fascinating video showing the hand forging of the blades in modern times. Suprisingly fun and interesting.
The next morning we planned to go to the Imperial Palace. The free tours started at 9:00 a.m. and the tickets were limited. We took the subway later than planned and were lucky to get two of the last 3 tickets for the Imperial Palace tour. It was a guided walking tour through the Palace complex. Most of the buildings were built since WW II but there are some original buildings which display the traditional Japanese balance and elegance. We heard stories of the warring factions, unique customs, and the move of the capital from Kyoto in 1868. We learned that Japan had a long period of isolation and peace (from 1639-1853) where their culture flourished. And seems that it truly is a Japanese virtue to fit into and be a part of the society rather than expressing one's individuality. Imperial Palace photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/GKBNNSPjUiSZimBc7
Susan noted the contrast in the city architecture from the tall buildings in Bangkok, where every big building seemed to say "look at me". The Japanese city blocks were far more orderly and uniform with more subtle contrasts of window patterns, materials, and colors.
For our last day in Tokyo we found the Sensoji Temple (built in 628) area in the Asakusa neighborhood. We were getting pretty good riding the underground metro. Still had our glitches as when two different stations in the same location had the same name. So we were confused for about 10 minutes and found that the different routes did not have the same ownership. We have found that in so many cities as transportation systems are built out at different times and with idiosyncratic funding methods, but we persisted in asking questions and finally found our way. It was a Saturday morning and the Temple area was clearly a very popular destination for tourists and Tokyo families.
In the market area leading to the temple we first happend upon some sort of "good luck" machines with all kinds of drawers which dispensed prophecies based on the magic numbers you were given when you paid your fee. Then in the temple itself was a long line of people waiting to give their money for a good luck trinket. The temple is reputed to be on some sort of "power" spot on the Earth and you can change your luck by going there and paying for these omens. Sounds a little like "Bingo" to me. Same purpose, I assume. But plenty of people were willing to part with their money to assure the universe's benificence. Lots of vendors selling all kinds of good: food, chocolates, crafts, souvenirs. We spoke to a Korean couple next to us and complimented their traditional outfits which they told us they had rented for the day. Apparently this is a thing. Who knew? It certainly made the area more colorful. We did not rent outfits despite the great photos it would have made.
Photos of the Sensoji Temple Area: https://photos.app.goo.gl/7Cih3JCZt2TRfyYf6
For our last night, Susan decided we should go to a local "onsen" or public bath. Thank god she found an article which detailed onsen etiquette or I would probably have been thrown out of the onsen for violating some rule. First, we had to find the local onsen. We had an address and a photo of the place and our trusty Google maps. After about a 20 minute walk (in the dark - Tokyo is really safe) we found the alley - we thought. And we walked up and down the alley for a few minutes. Never would have found the nondescript entrance without the photo.
So the genders have their separate bath areas. We paid our fee ($6) and I walked into the men's section. As Susan's "onsen etiquette" article advised, I took off my clothes and proceeded to sit on a block in front of a spigot and wash myself thoroughly. Some Japanese will do 20 minutes at this station. Then, in an adjacent section, there were several shallow pools you could sit in and I chose the least full pool which had the warmer water. I have to say that being naked with 20-25 men (some boys also) whose language I could not speak, and whose space I was invading, was not that relaxing. Not to mention looking at all those remarkably fit male bodies. No one was overweight. Many of the men obviously worked out at gyms. And they were all walking around....NAKED. Did I mention that I was not particularly comfortable? I had no interest in snuggling up to naked strangers so I did not try any of the other pools which Susan subsequently informed me, were pools with water temperatures going towards lukewarm and cool. So after about a 10 minute soak, I headed for the dressing area. And then to the waiting room where I waited for Susan while watching horrible Japanese cop television. And waited. Susan was apparently enjoying herself. After almost 30 minutes she emerged looking happy and relaxed. It was a good night at the local onsen. NO photos will be provided.
So at about 6:00 a.m. the next morning, Monday, January 30th, we left our hotel for the flight to LAX and then on to Denver. Another part of the trip was over and we were headed to Colorado and Utah for the month of February to indulge in my skiing habit. Susan is a patient and kind woman.
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