Semester in Japan: A Day in Tokyo

Our first week was very exhausting and overwhelming, with the start of our online classes and Japanese lessons and trying to remember where to be at what time each day. Lori, Mike and I were all excited for the weekend because it provided a break for us from school and also gave us the chance to check out the exciting city of Tokyo! Earlier in the week, Keiko helped us plan out a course of a few places to stop and what to see at each location. This was helpful because Tokyo is huge and we would not be able to see everything in just a day.

We got an early start, leaving the school on our bikes for the train station just a little after 9:30 am. We biked about 15 minutes to the train station at the Big Hop Mall, where Keiko was waiting for us to help buy tickets for the train and subway. She reviewed the course of the day with us, showing on a map where we needed to get off and where we needed to change subways. I was a bit nervous because I'm not great terrific with directions; I have come to accept getting lost as just a part of my trip when I'm driving somewhere new. I have also never been on a subway, let alone in a foreign country.

Our first stop was Asakusa, about 45 min. by train. We wanted to see a temple, but first we had to pass through the Kaminarimon Gate, which was on a street corner and was packed with people taking pictures. On the other side, we made our was through the Nakamise Shopping Arcade, which was kind of like a flee market that had food, toys, clothes, masks and other souviners for sale. It took us probably 10 minutes to walk from one end to the other, because it was long and because there were so many people. At the end, we reached the Hozo-mon Gate. I read that the Gate is used to store the treasures of the temples and had burned down a couple times and had been restored. Outside of the temple, the Senso-ji Temple, there was a hug well with steam coming out of it. People were waving the steam onto their faces. We decided not to try; the temple was a Buddhist one and we weren't really sure if the steam waving was a religious practice. Minako later told us that people belive the steam has healing powers, so they were cleansing themselves.

We took several pictures of the inside and outside of the temple. There were alot of people prayer or tying prayers to a stand of some kind. My favorite part of the temple was the ceiling; it had huge panels painted with flowers and different gods. I had an older man ask if he could take my picture, which is guess is common for Americans. We asked him if he could tell us anything about the temple because his English was fairly good, but he said he couldn't. I read in my tour book that the temple was built in honor of three fishermen who found a small image of the Goddess of Mercy, Kannon, in their fishing net. This makes sense because the temple is also called the Askusa Kannon Temple.

We walked around Asakusa for a while taking pictures. There were lots of garden areas and Buddha statues. For lunch, we decided to try to find something cheap because we wanted to have a nice dinner. We saw this little restaurant, if you could even call it that, under a blue tarp. There were tables set up for people to sit at and everyone looked up at us as we poked our heads in. The waitresses waved us in but couldn't speak any English, so we walked out. We all agreed though that it could be a fun experience so we went back. We walked aroud with the waitress and pointed to bowls in front of customers that looked good and nodded. The soup we order had pieces of beef and vegetables, but there was a lot of fat still on the meat and the broth was a bit greasy. It was a laughable experience, however.

The market with the temple in the back

Senso-ji Temple

Ceiling of the temple

Hozo-mon Gate

People waving steam for healing powers

Lunch under the tarp tent

Our next stop was Ueno, which we got to by subway. After we exited the station, we came out to a large busy street lined with people waiting to cross. We walked along the streets for a bit, but then entered Ueno Park. Although there was nothing on the trees that made a bridge over the paths in the park, Minako told us later that the trees would be filled with cherry blossoms in the spring. We might have to take a trip back to see them. The park was big and very open. We passed by a women on a unicycle, a little league baseball game, and animals made from wire and some white material to make a collection called "Happy Island." Our plan in Ueno was to visit an art museum, but it ended up costing a lot more than we anticipated so we decided not to. We did see the gift shop and a display of miniature trees before walking around the park some more. I also saw that there was a Children's Literature Museum, so I wouldn't mind going back to see that, but we wanted to make it to Tokyo Tower and were all very hungry.

Happy Island Monkeys

Ueno Park

Street in Ueno

We decided to head to Tokyo Tower, our final stop and have dinner at a restaurant close by the tower. From Ueno Park we walked back to the station and made it inside, but we found that our tickets would not let us get down to any of the tracks to wait for the subway. We ignored the problem for while because we had found a nice looking cafe inside the station and we planning on stopping there for coffee and cocoa on our way out. We walked around for a while, feeling confused and lost. When we finally arrived at the cafe, the waitress informed us that there was no room, so we had walked in circles for nothing and now had to find someway to get out of the station. Of course, we couldn't understand why our tickets wouldn't let us through and it was hard to understand any signs; we had been relying on the colors of each course to direct us from place to place. Lori, all along, said that we should just try to ask for help, but I think Mike and I were determined to get us to the tracks on our own, or at least I was. Finally I caved, and we tried to explain the problem to the man at the information desk and he seemed to understand because he waved us through without asking questions. Good one, Stephanie.

We arrived in the Tokyo Tower, and to our surprise it was very empty. It was mid-afternoon and this area had a lot of office buildings in it. We walked the streets for about ten minutes making our way towards the tower and looking for places to eat. We stumbled across a small cafe that was below ground. A friendly man greeted us, but explained that they didn't serve dinner, but showed us a delicious looking apple pie. My mouth was watering, and I'm not even a huge fan of apple pie. We told him we'd come back for dessert and coffee after seeing the tower and eating dinner.

The Tokyo Tower reminded me of the Eiffel Tower in that they are both shaped somewhat like isosceles triangles. The Tokyo Tower is red and white and definitely stood out. Mike, Lori and I walked over to it, and found that it was quite expensive to go up inside and that all of the people we expected to be walking the streets were there waiting in line to go up. We opted not to go; we later asked Minako if we should have, and she responded without hesitation that its not worth it and there are other buildings that are taller and have better views. I probably would have been cool to go just to see what the view was like, but Minako told us of another place to go to get a great view of the city that's cheaper and no wait.

For dinner, we unanimously decided on Bajamar, an upstairs cafe where we got to sit on the floor with padded seats and pillows. The inside was beautiful, decorated with murals of trees and flowers and a big fish tank. We all ordered a Margarita Pizza and what a great choice that was. The pizza had such a thin crust, yet it was soft and doughy. It was topped with cheese and pesto sauce. We probably finished our food in ten minutes, because it was so good and we were so hungry. To our disappointment though, when we arrived back at the cafe for coffee and pie, it was closed! The owner apologized and seemed truly sorry that he couldn't sell us any pie. We promised to go back if we were in the area again.

Taking the subway back to the school, we had to change courses once and the new course's station was a block away from the one we had left. We spotted a cafe on our way to the new station and walked in to hear jazz music pouring out the doors. Again, we unanimously agreed on staying and it turned into another good choice. I relaxed in a plush chair, listened to some jazz music, sipped on the best hot chocolate I've ever had (it was thick and creamy, topped with whipped cream and chocolate sauce. Obviously bad for me too.), and enjoyed a tiny, yet delicious, piece of taramisu.

When we arrived back at the school, we were exhausted and my feet hurt a bit from walking so much. Minako told us she was impressed and proud that we didn't get lost and made it back safe.