Learning The Tokyo Way!

I left Kyoto on Friday morning for Tokyo via the bullet train and arrived Friday afternoon. Pro tip for the Shinkansen bullet train, if you're coming from Kyoto to Tokyo, seats A (window) and B gets you the view of Mount Fuji. If you're coming from Tokyo to Kyoto, seats E (window) and D (middle). I made my way from Tokyo station to Shinjuku station and after walking in circles for about 20 minutes, found my first hotel of stay in Tokyo. It's usually how I get to know my temporary neighborhood, walk in circles.  

Tokyo, at first glance, is just full of people. The Tokyo and even Kyoto I had in my mind was of narrow streets and tiny everything. The real Tokyo is actually large everything, except food! The crowds are pretty non-stop around the train stations and it amazes me how the street corners of  Shibuya Crossing constantly refills itself with bodies. It's been five full days here in Tokyo with each getting better as I better understood its customs and way of life. Japan overall is a very polite and respectful country and it's more apparent in the big cities when you witness it before your eyes in masses. Everyone here waits in line for their turn on everything. In the metro and bus stations, one line of twos and people move over in their line to let folks off the train before they even attempt to get on. Want to take the stairs to get over the freeway bridge and overpass, there's a line for that. I once backtracked for half a block to get in line for the overpass stairs. Folks walking on the street stay left. Folks getting up and down the steps for the subway stations, stay left. For a city of 13 million, this is one well ran, respectful, orderly and clean city. I can count the pieces of trash I've seen on the streets here in Japan. It's pretty amazing and I'm jealous that the US isn't more like this. My most often thought during this trip was that, I wish the country I live in had more respect for it. Aside from the landscape, I noticed that people in Japan take their work very honorably and respectfully. The people dutiful own the roles they play in their uniforms. The staff from the train stations to the police stations are here to openly and communicatively help their people. It's made finding my way in Japan so easy! When trying to communicate and ask questions, key words work much better than complete sentences. 

Moving on to food! Steve (who met me in Tokyo for two days of adventure) and I will probably never think of food the same way again. Everything in Japan is so fresh and is often presented nicely. There is such a tradition, flow and systematic way of doing things here that I really dig. The sushi is probably the freshest you'll ever put in your mouth if you have it for breakfast by the Tsujiki market. In an area of Tokyo called, Akihabara, we randomly walked into a tonkatsu place called Marugo where it was the most fun to watch how much the locals enjoy their food.  The Hitochino Brewin Lab is our holy grail of beers. There's just too much delicious goodness here!

I didn't come to Tokyo, let alone, Japan with a whole lot of preplanning. Prior to the trip, I was in New York for a 9 day work trip followed by a very busy work week. I had a very successful trip considering how little planning I did, which consisted of booking my hotels, a handful of restaurant recommendations from friends, read a handful pages of the Lonely Planet guide which I do not recommend at all- terrible Japan guide, renting a pocket wifi to send to my first hotel, read a few travel advisor articles and four places on the list I had to visit: The Path of Bamboo and the Inari Shrine in Kyoto and the Hitochino Brewing Lab and the Tsujiki Fish Market in Tokyo.  I found Tokyo pretty easy to get around once you get a handle of their transit connections and maps. At first glance, all the colors, lines and dots are enough to send you cross eyed but if you only focus on the dots of your destination and the color lines that go with them, it gets a lot less overwhelming. Having said that, it's a very walkable city. For this trip, in 10 days, I logged over 100 miles on foot. Bring good walking sneakers!

If I were to be honest, I wasn't overly excited to come to Japan. It's one of those destinations that I felt like I should check out vs having a huge want to check out. The currency exchange was good so why not?! My usual Asia trips have me living in harem pants for the duration. I knew Japan wasn't going to be that but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it in totality. Everything in Japan are such arts of work, from the shrines and temples to their warm toilet seats. Oh, how I will miss those warm toilet seats! For our next trip to Japan, we will probably skip the large cities and head to the countryside! Arigato Japan!

Kyoto With A Side Of Nara!

I've spent four days in this walking city and have averaged about 10+ miles per day on foot! Like any other "big" city I've been to, I didn't prefer it at first sight but give it a day of settling in and my perspective changes. Locals here are beyond nice, polite and helpful. The secret to Kyoto in my POV is leaving the big busy streets for the little side streets and taking the trains to areas outside of downtown Kyoto. While they may not provide you with the historical aspect of the many temples and shrines in Kyoto, these are the areas where you can really appreciate the beauty of this city and its culture and traditions. 

It took me about 2 or so days to adjust to Kyoto's transit system. The transit map had 

 more colors and lines connecting than my brain wanted to comprehend but once I got the hang of it, it was pretty smooth sailing. When in doubt, find your way to Kyoto station! Having said that, the transit system here is very traveler convenient. The city buses will take you to just about anywhere you want to go either on a $5 all day pass or $2 a trip. Lines are unavoidable but most folks are polite and follow the rules of engagement, however, I have come across two instances in which someone has tried to cut in front of the unassuming foreigner, me, in which they've met my elbow. 

Prior to coming, the two must visit spots in Kyoto for me was the Fushimi Inari Shrine and the Path of Bamboo in Arashiyama. The Path of Bamboo, while made for stunning photos, was a little under whelming because it's a short path. If you're coming out to this area, the autumn foliage in the Arashiyama park was pretty spectacular and made the trip more than worth it. The Fushimi Inari did not disappoint. I had really no concept of this shrine prior to coming other than that the red gates looked cool. I went early in the morning, it's an easy 10 minute ride from Kyoto station and was met by peace and quiet at 730am. Making the trip up to the top of Mount Inari will take about an hour and well worth the steps. Passing through 10,000 hand built red gates, at a cost of about $40k each, humbles you with a sense of peace and awe. By the time I made my way out at 10am, the place was a zoo. 

 I was on the fence about making day trips outside of Kyoto but very glad that I did. I chose Nara as my day trip destination. It's about a 45 minute trip on the rapid subway, as opposed to the 76 minutes it'd take on the regional train. The little town was a nice break from the hustle of Kyoto. Folks are enamored by the deers in Nara, known as the golden deers, but I see deers all the time at home. I was enamored by the thousands, as in 4,000, stone lanterns that line the parks on the way up to the Kasuga Takisha Shrine. If you're in Kyoto, this day trip is much recommended!  Lastly, for the best autumn foliage, aside from the Arashiyama Park, the Path of Philosphy near the Ginkaku Ji Temple is pretty ideal. I hear when it's cherry blossom season, the path is a sight to behold! For the idyllic narrow paths, head towards the Kiyomizu Temple area!

Food is always a highlight for me on my trips. After all, I'm averaging 10 miles a day on foot! I've been to the best place in Kyoto for tonkatsu at Katsukara thanks to a trip from my friend Ray. Also, a tip from Ray, I stood in line with a bunch of Japanese folks for the best udon noodles at Omen. And that was a long line! I've had my share of street food as well! My favorite so far are the sweet potato stuffed pastry fish. I've had my daily matcha lattes to start my mornings off. A good meal here will cost you about $20. What may seem like a subpar meal, but a good one back home, would go for no more than $8.

My home here in Kyoto have been spent at what the folks here call a capsule. It's all of 37 square feet, I paid for the upgrade from 21 square feet, that served as my room. I can literally touch the ceiling with my feet when I stretch and probably both walls when with my hands. I came with a half filled backpack so space is of little significance to me. I will attest that large suitcases have caused frustration for my fellow travelers. At least they can find relaxation in the awesome hot tub spa and sauna on the bottom floor!

Although Christmas music and decorations run the streets of Kyoto, today is Thanksgiving back in the US. I'm most thankful for the health of those close to me. Because of that, I don't have any big worries. Any other worries yields choices and ultimately, a path to resolution. Peace and love to my family and friends back home! 

Next up, on the Shinkansen bullet train to Tokyo!