Welcome to Japan – Part 4

TOKYO

I apologize for the delay in getting this last Japan blog post written, but I have been fighting a case of acute bronchitis plus hosting 2 different house guests during the past month. Mia Culpa!

Our last stop – and we saved the biggest for last! I had read so many books, and read so many blogs on what to expect upon arrival in this hub of humanity and neon lights. I still wasn’t prepared – when what I remember of Tokyo as a child was those great movies like Godzilla vs. Morthpa! How happy I was to see that Godzilla won and still towers over this city!!

The energy and the amount of people is almost overwhelming. You must prepare and be willing to literally ‘dive in’ to this amazing city. Scarey – yes! The strangeness, the language, the absolute ‘hugeness’ of the city. Just trying to decipher a totally confusing train station map- ARGH! But the experience is so worth it!

We checked into a lovely hotel that Phyllis had found that was walkable from the major train hub known as Shinjuku Station. More about that later.

What I forgot to mention about our hotel in Kyoto, and this one in Tokyo, is they were both traditional Ryokan Hotels. This means that the staff wears kimono, they have tatami mat bedrooms, and usually serve amazing Japanese food! Many Ryokans have an onsen or a natural hot spring bath, which is why we chose both of these hotels.

Not everyone is prepared to hop in a boiling hot, exceptionally clean, public bath, totally naked, with a bunch of strangers! But this is the Japanese custom and one of the most relaxing 10 minutes you will ever spend. (More than 10 minutes and you are ready to be served like a lobster!)

Here are the rules for entering an onsen:

• You can visit the bathing area wearing your gym gear (shorts and tee shirt) or the pajamas or Nemaki, (a pure cotton kimono robe for men or women), which were provided by our hotels in our rooms.

Remove your shoes before entering the changing room and secure them in a locker

Get completely undressed, yes naked, put your clothes in a locker, and take a small white towel (provided).

Enter the communal bathing area, sit on a small stool in one of the bays.

Use the shampoo, body wash, and shaving cream (provided).

You can use the small white towel to wash with if you wish. We saw same Japanese putting the towel on their heads in the onsens – haven’t a clue why – but why not?

Rinse off using either the handheld shower hose or fill a plastic bowl (provided) from the tap.

This is really the important bit, you must take extra care to rinse all of the soap from your hair, your body and the small white towel.

Enter the bath and relax… but probably for not more than about 10 minutes!

When you have finished you can use one of the large white towels that will be provided and get changed.

Our hotel onsens had separate baths for men and women, but many of the Japanese public baths were communal. Our hotel in Kyoto had one bath that was outside – which made getting in and out nippy – but the heat of bath quickly took the chill away. The onsen in Tokyo was on the top floor of the hotel and had great views to enjoy while you melted!

After unpacking, it was time to step outside and get my first look at this amazing city!

The photos above are just a taste of what it’s like on the streets of Tokyo – day and night. From vending machines selling all kinds of weird things to massive moving signs where the ‘cat’ actually looks as if he is going to jump down on top of you, to tiny alleyways filled with ramen shops or a HUGE Godzilla with glowing red eyes, blowing smoke and growling on the top of the train station, or a large ape hanging off a light pole in red, blue & white boxing shorts!

The bottom photo is an advertisement for ‘rent boys’ who are available, for pay, to spend the evening drinking and talking with you in very pricy private cocktail bars. There are also ads for young women as well. It’s a world totally different than what you are used to – and that’ is what’s what makes it so much fun!

I had pre-purchased tickets for Team Labs Tokyo which is known as a world of artworks without boundaries. We spent hours wandering and being totally amazed. It’s a totally immersive experience. There is no way to really describe it except to say – WOW!

One day Phyllis and I toured the Yayoi Kusama Museum. It was interesting but not nearly as impressive as her exhibit at SFMoMA I had just seen. We did think the polka-dotted elevator was fun and it’s always a treat to walk through a tori gate when you are going anywhere. And we loved the ‘hanger store’. That was all they sold – just big, colorful, wooden hangers.

Don’t you just love it when a friend-of-a-friend connects you with someone who you instantly like and want to be besties with? I got an email while in Japan from a friend back home who said to try to connect with Jonelle Patrick while in Tokyo. She is a fabulous writer – but also a sewist – and you’d really like her. She was so right!

Jonelle lives half of each year in Tokyo, which is the location of her many books. The other half of the year she lives in San Francisco. She agreed to meet Phyllis and me for a day in Tokyo’s fabric district. OMG!!! I had packed an extra carry bag ‘just in case’ I found fabric that had to come home with me. And did I ever – including the most amazing Nuno and Liberty of London designer pieces.

On our last day in Tokyo, I discovered that it was the date of one of the huge, monthly outdoor flea markets. I took myself off to Shinjuku Station where I promptly got turned around. This is Tokyo’s main transit hub and it handles 3.6 million passengers each day! Yes, 3.6 million! So you might get an clue as to why it can be confusing. I was standing in front of the massive map trying to figure out where the train I needed departed from when a lovely, elderly Japanese woman tugged my sleeve and asked, in perfect English, if I needed help? She said she was headed in the same direction and walked me to my platform, before bowing politely and heading on her way. I love Japan.

After a few wrong turns when I got off the train, I found the most overwhelming flea market I have ever attended. Oh – the goodies to be had – including antique boro! Add to that the people-watching, the yummy food vendors, and even a robot wandering around for some reason I never figured out! It was the perfect ending to my stay in Japan.

After 3 wonderful weeks, with only a few hiccups along the way, my time in Japan had come to an end. I didn’t want to leave and was already planning how to return again soon. After taking the high-speed train to Narita Airport to board my United Business Class (I love miles!) flight back to San Francisco.

I had heard the story – but wondered if it was really true – that as each flight departs, the baggage crew bows and waves goodbye. How can you not love Japan!

さようなら

Sayōnara