The City of Tokyo

Andrew and I were off to Tokyo, the world's largest metropolis and capital of Japan.  In terms of size, it's not even close: Tokyo has 10 million more people than the second largest metro (which happens to be Seoul, according to Wikipedia) and comes in at over 36 million total inhabitants.  That's nearly the population of the entire state of California, or to put it another way, the whole New York City, Chicago, and Atlanta metro areas combined.

View of the sprawling city from the Skytree Tower in northeast Tokyo

What I am getting at, if the point isn't already obvious, is that Tokyo is huge.  I ended up spending two weeks there and only saw a fraction of the city.  And believe me, I got around.  I'll try and introduce several of the more memorable neighborhoods and districts that I saw.

First off I'll touch on Shinjuku, which is where many tourists start their journey.  Tokyo doesn't exactly have a downtown - it's too big for just one - but Shinjuku is one of the city's focal points.  It's where you'll find the Tokyo Metropolitan Administrative Building, which as the name implies, is the administrative center for city government.  Out of some 170,000 city bureaucrats, more than 10,000 work at the center in Shinjuku.  The main building is also a great way to get a bird's eye view of the city; two observation decks on the 45th floor are open to the public and free of charge.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building

Many tourists go to see the bright lights and crowded streets of Shinjuku.

Shinjuku has the worlds busiest railway station, is home to numerous company headquarters, and is a popular destination for shoppers.  By night it also has a seedier reputation, with a large red-light and entertainment district.  Our first night out in Tokyo Andrew and I explore Shinjuku - not for the red-light opportunities but for general entertainment.  The area also has normal bars and clubs, but when we were out things seemed quiet.  There were more employees passing out flyers and promoters on the streets than patrons.  Several Tokyo residents later told us that Shinjuku was more for tourists and had faded as a local party scene.

Speaking of entertainment, from our research Roppongi, anther district of Tokyo, had a seedier reputation than Shinjuku.  When we checked it out, however, Roppongi seemed much more hip and alive.  Over the years it's gained renown as a foreigner hangout and rather dirty place, although I didn't see any signs of filth.  Andrew and I went out with Alex, his Korean friend, and a group of locals in Roppongi, and they said that contrary to what we've heard, the area is quite popular now with young Japanese.  Sounds kind of like Tokyo's version of Itaewon (which has also undergone a revival of late).

Aside from nightlife and foreigners, Roppongi is also known for Tokyo
Tower, which I visited back in 2008 while on Semester at Sea.

Also on the west side of Tokyo, between Roppongi and Shinjuku, is an area called Shibuya.  If you've ever seen the part of Fast and Furious Tokyo Drift which takes place at a giant intersection with thousands of pedestrians, that's Shibuya.  I'm sure it's been in several other movies too.  Shibuya (which is pretty fun to say if you ask me) is one of the busiest transport hubs in Tokyo, which a five street intersection just outside the main entrance.  Each time the light changes hundreds, and during rush hour, thousands of commuters cross the intersection, which from above must resemble a colony of ants running about after their nest has been crushed.

Shibuya crossing during rush hour; every two minutes, when the traffic
lights change, pedestrians cross the street from all directions.

To get a glimpse of the diverse and sometimes bizarre world of Japanese fashion check out Harujuku.  Harujuku, which is close to Shibuya, is known as a fashion mecca in Tokyo.  There you'll find both mainstream clothing stores with traditional wear and small boutiques selling downright strange outfits.  Take a walk and you'll likely see girls dressed like dolls, goths, punks, and just some downright weirdos.  Japanese culture tends to be very conformist, although Harujuku is one place where you can be your weird self (I did find Japan to have more style variety than Korea - not a high bar though).  We even saw a Greece / 1950's motorcycle themed group of Japanese guys lip syncing and dancing in the park.

I really don't know what to think of this, aside from "why
the hell would anyone choose to dress like that?"

A collage Andrew put together of some of the fashion styles we encountered
 in Japan; unfortunately we didn't get a good pic of the dolls.

Ginza, one of the fist modernized parts of Tokyo (it was rebuilt in an international style following a fire in the late 19th century), is today known for its luxury shopping and dining options.  Tokyo central train station and the Imperial Palace are both within walking distance.  Andrew and I didn't explore much of the station this time around, but on Semester at Sea I nearly got lost in the labyrinthine mall, which connects to the station and extends seven floors below ground.  The Imperial Palace could more accurately be called the Imperial Grounds; the former Edo Castle once stood there, but today it's mostly parkland.  I was surprised to learn that the Emperor still has a private residence (somewhere) on the grounds.

Once Andrew left I also took a half day to check out Asakusa, a historically preserved section of northeast Tokyo with several temples, of which Senso-ji is the most famous.  Between the metro station and Senso-ji temple one passes through a series of covered pedestrian walkways lined with traditional shops.  Kyoto has a similar set-up, and both markets drew large crowds of tourists.  I don't know if I went on a specific school field trip day, but there were thousands of Japanese school kids packed into the narrow streets and temple grounds.

part of the Senso-ji Temple complex in Asakusa

Across the Sumida River from Asakusa sits the Tokyo Skytree, another big tourist draw since its completion in 2011.  Skytree is the tallest tower in the world and the second tallest structure (trailing only the Burj Kalifa in Dubai).  I was surprised to learn that in addition to the mall and observation deck, the tower is actually the primary radio and TV broadcast site for the region.  I didn't cough up the $20+ for a ticket to the top - I figured the free view from the Metro Government Building in Shinjuku was good enough.

Tokyo Skytree

Before arriving in Tokyo Andrew and I booked a place near Shinjuku; it was actually a solid 5 miles further out from the main station, which was a pain, but at least we had a subway station near our apartment.  We had the place booked from Friday, but arrived in Tokyo Thursday afternoon.  For one night we just wanted a cheap place with a decent location.  Considering that's almost impossible in Tokyo we opted for a capsule hotel.

You may have heard of these places - each guest sleeps in a small "capsule" bed in a giant room with hundreds of others.  There was a communal shower and dressing room with lockers, and we left our luggage outside in the lobby (which had more lockers for our shoes...I don't know what a Japanese person would consider more insulting - wearing your sneakers in someone's home or spitting in their face).

I got a decent night sleep in the capsule, but one night was enough.  That experience made our apartment - which was spacious and new - seem even better.  Lucky for us, the place had just been listed on Airbnb, so it was priced cheap to attract business.  At only $60 a night for the two of us it was a steal.  The location wasn't ideal, but I was willing to trade another 20 minutes of travel time each way for extra room and comfort.  In all I stayed there from the 15th through the 21st of May (Andrew left for the US the evening before I checked out).

Each capsule contains a bed, personal light, and an alarm.  After one
night here I was certainly glad to move in to our Airbnb apartment!

Besides the food, which I touched on last post, and exploring the various districts of Tokyo, Andrew and I spent a lot of time with Alex and his friends.  Alex works in Seoul but travels to Tokyo frequently for business, and he happened to be in town the weekend we were visiting.  Alex is good friends with Mari, a Japanese woman who studied in the States and now works in Tokyo.  Over the weekend we met up with Alex, Mari, and a few of her friends for dinner and drinks.  Saturday was the day we went to Roppongi; well I should say night, because Andrew, Mari, and I all danced until the first subway (Alex wimped out early and took a cab).  Well we did sneak in some early morning ramen at Ichiran before catching the train!

We also met up with Alex and Mari in Harujuku and went to an all you can drink bar in Ebisu (nearby).  Certain bars in Japan have drink specials where alcohol is unlimited for a specified time; most require at least one food purchase, but even so many are a great way to get your fill of alcohol on a budget.  The place where we went cost less than $15 per person for two hours of drinking.  We were limited to cheap beer and sake, but I wasn't complaining.  That's actually the night that Andrew and I went out in Shinjuku, which was disappointingly quiet.

Selection of Sake, a rice wine, at a grocery store in
Tokyo; at 7-11 we found jars of the stuff for only
a couple bucks, a great way to pre-game.

Andrew and I also tried to catch a sumo wrestling competition; our visit just happened to fall during the two week Grand Tournament, which is held six times during the year, only one of which is in Tokyo.  Unfortunately a lot of other people had the same idea - by the time we arrived at the tournament grounds the tickets had long been sold out.  Instead we went to the Edo-Tokyo Museum, which provided a detailed historical overview of the city, conveniently located next to the sumo stadium.

By Wednesday, May 20th, Andrew's time had come.  We'd had tons of fun over the past six weeks, and although he would have loved to stay, he had a flight back to the US to catch.  It wasn't all that bad - he did have a stopover in Hawaii!  I went to Haneda Airport to say goodbye, but the sadness soon wore off...I had no idea what my plans were, or even where I'd be sleeping the next night!