Author: rodney

First off, I need to return here at night. It’s much more interesting then. However, I was put off by some of the signs that say “No Pictures”. Except it was on the street!
Much has been written about the Golden Gai and how it represents how Tokyo used to be before it became “modern”, how the misfits and rebels and gaijin hang out here, yadda yadda. Basically, the Golden Gai is a small area packed full of really small bars and alleys that look very “Shitamachi” in “Yamanote”.

The outer edge of the Golden Gai

This is how it looks inside the Golden Gai. In daytime. When everyone’s closed.

Wonder what’s upstairs?
Most, if not all of these bars have a steady clientele that they make their money from and many of these bars are not friendly, or are even hostile to strangers (gaijin, you AND me) who poke their noses into what many consider their private space. Most times you’ll be able to tell how welcome you are by how the mama-san reacts when you open the door. Other times, you can read it on the wall outside.

If you wanna visit, go with a local! Or take Nihongo lessons!!
Gotta save some money, drag some frens with me and drink here next time!!

A big ol’ billboard (out of three) in JR Shinjuku, the busiest train station in the world.

People have gotten lost in this station. Is it because it’s so big or because people are looking at advertising?

As part of my series on my biannual pilgrimage to the Nissan Gallery Ginza, here’s a van that’s designed for the disabled in Japan. Very progressive!

The arm holding the bucket seat can support even a big Amerika-jin like myself
Aw hell, this is the REAL reason I come to this Ginza landmark! Heh heh.

Konichiwa!

This Tokyo trip has been jam packed! Awaodori dancers, doing some shopping, visiting frens and their kids, there wasn’t almost enough time to do the things I really like to do in Tokyo (besides visit MUJI).
Mmmm rammmmen!! At the first shop where I got hooked on the stuff.

Can anyone out there translate?
Each visit to Tokyo includes a visit here, here being 5 minutes from JR Shinjuku-eki’s South Exit. I’ve written about this place before, so I’ll just cut to the artsy pictures.

One of those bowls is mine…! Gimme gimme gimme…

Itadakimasu!!

I went to yet another cultural event here in Tokyo. This Japan leg has been all about culture. Visiting the tombs and temples of Nikko. Climbing Matsumoto-jo. In past trips, I attended the Sanja Matsuri, the biggest event in Asakusa (Tokyo). Now i’m hooked on the rhythmic beat and the visual delight of the Koenji Awaodori.

Awaodori dancers in motion…

More of the same…

Aw heck, here’s THE Awaodori dancers starting the parade!
Roy has been attending various Awaodori for over ten years and this year, he broke in moi and Brad who also works and resides in Tokyo (lucky!).

One of them is really excited!
We got to JR Koenji-eki early and planted ourselves on the street. After several runs to 7-11 for fluids (me) and a run to McD’s for a cup(!) of french fries and a Coke (Brad), the countdown ended and the 50th Koenji Awaodori began!

The crowd across the street from us and the reviewing stand
And then the worst possible thing happened. Battery died! Crap! So when Brand and Roy post pix, I’ll link accordingly in this post.
The dancers were fun, the beat was infectious, my feet hurt and had a great time! Must try to make it next year!

I came to a realization early on this trip. Actually, it was from a copy of the Straits Times that I read on SQ11 (Hey UAL, guess what? You CAN get newspapers and magazines on REAL airlines!) about midway through my flight.
I like the whole idea of staying in clean hostels and mucking about on the ground eating street food. I like going to local festivals and hanging out where locals do. Doing local things. I also luurve Business Class, airport lounges, Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) and the Shinkansen.
But I hate wasting time. I hate waiting. And I like to plan things. My entire itinerary on JR on this trip? Planned to the minute 4 weeks prior. And guess what? It worked! I have a list of HSBC and Citibank locations for every destination on this trip. I can’t travel anywhere withouth my iPod and MacBook and I try to stay in establishments that provide free broadband or wi-fi.
These things sound contradictory? Hostels and Business Class? Not really the traditional backpacker? Guess what? I’m not a backpacker, I’m a flashpacker. Yup, flashpacker, yet another term you get to learn reading this site. At least it ain’t Singlish. Wah Lau!
The latter exclaimation was Singlish, by the way.

I’ve been travelling to different parts of Japan for the past few years. During those trips, I’ve stayed at all kinds of lodging.
I’ve stayed in business hotels, international hotels, ryokan (both semi-fancy and basic), minshuku and hostels. Until tonight, I’ve never stayed in a capsule hotel. Now I’m going to be in one for 2 days.
Now, the question always comes up. “why”? Well, there’s a few good reasons for that.
First, it’s on the Yamanote near JR Akibahara-eki. That means it’s on the loop and will save a lot of time coming and going over the next 48 hours.
Second, the price isn’t too bad. I got charged Y3700. It’s Y500 more than I usually pay for Tokyo lodging, but it’s worth it for the extra hour I save coming and going to the hotel I usually stay at.
Third, I’ve never stayed at a capsule hotel before. And capsule hotels, like them or not, are iconic places of modern Tokyo.
The ritual of staying here is different. First off, you put your shoes in a shoe locker next to the check in desk. You hand the clerk the key to your shoe locker and the night’s room charges and he checks you in. You get your capsule assignment and a matching key for the lockers in the locker room on the second floor. You change out of your street clothes into yukata for lounging about the hotel. The shower room and communal smoking lounge are also on the second floor.

My assigned bunk, #703…

…was on the bottom left of this row.
Each capsule is a self sufficent sleeping space with its own alarm clock, lights, TV, vent and radio controlled by a handy dandy control panel on your right as you lay down inside.

Capsule Control Panel. Also makes a handy shelf.
Contrary to popular belief, there’s enough room for sleeping one person. And that’s about it. The capsule was just longer than 2 meters and a bit over 1 meter in height and width. I could sit up inside the capsule, but that’s about it.

How my capsule looks when I’m sitting up in it
If you want to do anything else besides sleep, you have to leave your capsule and putter about in the common areas of the hotel. Besides the 2nd floor facilities, there’s vending machines for coffee and beverages as well as for neatly pressed dress shirts and underwear (!) in the lobby. There’s also broadband, wired in the common areas and wireless on the capsule floors. The router on my floor was not connecting to the internet, a common theme of this trip. So to get emails, I was forced to drag my MacBook to the common areas to plug in. Once online, it was really fast!
Capsule hotels are generally considered the lodging of last resort, usually for salarymen who missed the last train home after a night of carousing at the local izakaya. Because of this, there aren’t any real facilities for luggage, since who goes to work with a carry on, right? There is one luggage rack in the back of the lobby, but otherwise, luggage is locked and chained under the main staircase that leads to the second floor.
Now despite these drawbacks (and the feeling I was back in the dorm in college), I’d recommend staying at least one night in a capsule hotel. They are clean and safe (this IS Japan, remember?) and although most capsule hotels are men only, the one I stayed at reserved the top floor for women. That top floor had capsules, a common room and bath and shower rooms. Self contained capsule hotel in a capsule hotel.
Just don’t bring a lot of baggage with ya…

She’s apparently part of Japan Post’s advertising campaign.

I love creative advertising!
Yup, that’s the power of advertising. Made me look!!

I’m at JR Nagano eki making a transfer to the Asama 546 that will spirit me back to the fleshpots of Tokyo.

I had half an hour to kill and there was the small matter of the JR East Pass.
Seems that I miscalculated its validity. It’s 5 days from the day of activation. My original plan was to brave the Tokyo crush on Monday AM, getting out to NRT by 0900. Problem was that since I activated my pass on Wednesday evening, it expires Sunday evening!
I considered my options. Coughing up Y1050 for the Keisei Tokkyu and sleeping two hours on the train. Or…
I could blow out of Tokyo on Sunday night, spend the night in Narita (the town, not the airport lah!) and use my JR East Pass to the very end!
Which of course I’m going to do! And since all of JR is networked and computerised, I simply went into the ticket office and asked for a N’EX ticket (in nihongo, I might add!) for Sunday night. And the ticket was issued. And still had 25 minutes to spare. Depending on how things go on Sunday, I may head out there eariler. Narita is one of those “places I’ve not been yet” and would fit in nicely with the theme of this trip…
Amazing how good customer service and an excellent rail system can make me, Joe Cranky traveller, uncranky! Emphasis on the “good customer service”. Ain’t finding either with Amtrak or UAL lah!

After lunch and a JR ride back to Matsumoto, I went to the Clock Museum to get me one of them thar free bicycles. I filled out the form and was told to bring it back before 1700. Easy. No deposit required and only a cursory ID check (US Passport with scary picture).
According to the maps at the JR eki, it’s about 1.2 KM to Matsumoto-jo. Thank goodness I had a bicycle! Remember, it’s still hot and humid outside. Walking is a bit of a chore. Riding is much easier. It took only a few minutes to cover this distance on wheels. Matsumoto-jo is one of two castles with a moon viewing room and the oldest intact castle in Japan.

Someone viewing something from the moon viewing room

It’s called the “Crow Castle” because it’s in varying shades of black
Many of the other castles in Japan were either burned down (Japan and fire dun mix, since there’s a lot of wood here), destroyed and rebuilt, or were flattened by the 14th Air Force in WWII. Some castles in Japan were just lucky to not have been damaged during the war. Matsumotojo escaped war damage because A: There’s nothing here of strategic value and B: Matsumotojo was state of the art for its time but was never laid siege to in anger back in the day.

But it’s laid siege to every day by visitors. And I’m one of the horde! Wahahahah!
When you reach the top of the tower (where the Shogun had his office), you’re rewarded with a commanding view of the Matsumoto area.

View from the top of the tower. Puuuurty!

The castle has bi-lingual signage when it comes to telling the story about the castle.
All the floors are open on a self-guided tour and there was method to the design of the castle. Like these hella steep stairs. Some of the older folks couldn’t climb up. The kids loved scampering up and down these stairs. I was somewhere inbetween.

Climbing these “stairs” was akin to climbing up a verry steep ladder

The view looking down. Yes, it’s quite high.
Besides the castle, there’s a collection of ancient weapons donated by one of Matsumoto’s leading citizens. The collection ranges from matchlocks to flintlocks to the first revolvers.

Some of the first firearms introduced to Japan
And this was once all a private collection! The weapons displays, however was mostly in Japanese. Hopefully they’ll be a translation soon. It’s neat stuff, worthy of a History Channel special.

Well, I think it says something about the first matchlocks used in combat in Japan…

Assembly instructions. Got it. Just like IKEA furniture…