Now that we’ve laid the ground work for my relationship to travel in the past and my feelings as they’ve changed in this massive city, lets get down the business of exploring the people and the culture of japan as I’m experiencing them. My first order of business after overcoming my extreme lack of sleep and loneliness was to explore Tokyo, a total impossibility I assure you, as neither my time in Japan nor my wallet would allow for a complete trekking of 845 square miles of super city above ground, 300 kilometers of railways underground, along with 18 kilometers of shopping malls built into that 300 so... yeah, you have to pick and choose your battles.
I started where most probably would, in the museum's, but not because that was my plan, only because I found one that sparked my interest as I explored the famous Ueno park. On the outside it looked like a plain cloth government building you might find anywhere, but believe me the National Museum of Science and Nature is anything but plain on the inside. I paid something like $4 to enter and was immediately ushered into a sphere with a walkway through its center and given an electric earplug that translated the video into English for me. The video showed the life of the dinosaurs and their extinction and the millions of years of geological changes which happened afterward, leading to mans turn on the scene.
All the exhibits are top notch and range from prehistoric times to the present with exacting detail. But what really cinched it for me was the six story super exhibits where one can interact with all the technology Japan has created or been instrumental in, which believe me, the modern world exists because of them. Which is why Japan is such a fascinating mixture of the ancient and modern. Unfortunately at this point I was still too tired to see everything and had to go home, but even in my state I realized just how important the Japanese have been in shaping our world. It was that experience in the museum which spurred me on and I decided to go to as many exhibits and shows around Tokyo which interested me, which turned out to be a lot of them as you'll see.
After another day of walking around Ueno park and getting to know it a little better, enjoying the Kawazu-zakura or early Sakura Blooms which happen in small doses around Japan before the main bloom. The main event of which is fast approaching and will really be a sight to behold. Deciding where you'll be in Japan during this time is important but not by much as the entire country literally springs to life.
I decided to try my luck at finding a good Vegan place nearby, having survived on pockets of plain rice found at convenience stores such as 7/11, Family Mart, or the like, although I added my own seaweed wrappings to them, having bought a 20 pack for $2 in the street market beside the train station which continues along it almost indefinitely. Something which I've grown accustomed to during my travels across Asia, but never have I seen things so clean, orderly and yet bustling with people both foreign and domestic, all looking for wares sold by established shops or tented hawkers of various kinds.
The closest vegan shop to me which suited my fancy was T's Ramen house, a place which I would not only return to but frequent again and again until I'd tried almost everything they had to offer. The shop is inside the Ueno train station, so in order to get inside you have to buy a ticket which is a minimum buy in of 150 yen or roughly $1, a price I paid several times even though I never left the station, and even had to talk to one of the administrators to leave because the ticket recognized that I had not gone anywhere. The guard simply let me pass, but the safeguard is there to protect your money as well as to maximize efficiency, something the Japanese excel at.
The ramen choices at T's are limited with only 4 options, each one ranging between 1,050 to 1,400 yen or between 7-10 dollars, but each one is definitely worth a try. The black sesame ramen being my personal favorite. Also the ice cream is to die for, although small and pricey in comparison to any other type or amount you'd find elsewhere. I had the pistachio one with what I believe were freeze dried cranberries, which was soooo good. Seriously I was having a mini foodgasm sitting there all alone in the shop, having gone only to try the ice cream and yogurt pudding with rice since those were the last things for me to try.
Having filled my belly and gotten a good dose of culture along the way, I returned to Ueno park and decided to visit some local stores, looking for a stationary store which I found by chance as two foreigners and their Japanese guide were outside and the guide said, “This is a famous stationary store…” how perfect for me, I would have walked right passed it. The store was tiny but immaculate and sold hand made notebooks and the like. I had decided not to bring my journal from home since it is far to large and heavy for traveling in any convenient way. I had also bought a branded mechanical pencil from the museum for using in a diary once I found one, its strange to use lead again after having gotten used to ink, but its a welcome change, waiting for ink to dry, or worse having it smudge is not my cup of tea.
If there’s only piece of advise I have for any of you thinking of coming to Japan, it is that you should only bring no more than two of everything, underwear and socks included, and that your baggage should easily fit between your legs while sitting down. For many of you what I've just suggested is not only impossible but sacrilege as far as all your other travels are concerned, but believe me, you will not miss those extra items and both your body and the other travelers you are mixed together with, of which there will most certainly be a ton, will thank you when its all said and done. (Less is more) has never been more apt. I only brought one medium size 30 L backpack and I'm already wishing it was back home. Doing laundry often is a quick and cheap way to maintain yourself and besides I imagine you will be buying quite a bit of merchandise while here so the extra room in whatever suitcase you do bring will be easily filled that way.
The Japanese way of life takes some getting used to, for as much as they do do do, they also have plenty of ways to be be be. If that sounds like a world you can enjoy, join me, in the next episode...