DAK Goes to Japan

It is sad to say that my 5 night stay in Tokyo has come to an end.  I will be back here for one last night but it won’t be the same since it will have to be a quick and early night to do the fish market the same morning I leave to go back home.  I don’t know why but as I type this I feel like this trip is coming to an end really quick even though I still have over a week left.  I don’t want this trip to end, I think I'm sad that it eventually will.

There was one more thing I wanted to do in Ikebukuro before I can say that I was done with it.  This is where my hotel is so it’s where I decided to start today so I didn’t have to deal with commuting just yet.  I went to this area called Namja Town.  It’s in Sunshine City, a building complex in Ikebukuro that is huge.  The main building was once the tallest building in Japan and there is a huge mall underground and it includes Namja Town.  Before I talk about Namja Town, I wanted to say that Tokyo loves their malls almost as much as New Jersey!

Now on to Namja Town.  Honestly, I've been dreading writing about Namja Town.  I can safely say that I have never been more confused by anything in my entire life than I was by Namja Town.  Namja Town was opened by the company Namco, the makers of Pac Man.  They made this place to have nothing to do with videogames and nothing to do with anything if you ask me.  I don’t regret going here, this was very Japanese which means confusing for a foreigner.  This place had carnival arcade games, haunted houses, a weird recreation of old Tokyo, and some other things that I don’t even know what they were to even begin explaining it.

They also had some food places.  One was Ice Cream City (I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t want to live in Ice Cream City, unless your lactose intolerant in which case, it sucks to be you) and Gyoza Stadium (for those playing along at home, you should know gyoza is a dumpling, this was from an earlier blog post).  Here is a picture of Ice Cream City and a tour of Gyoza Stadium as well as a quick walk I took through Namja Town so you can get a small idea of why it was so confusing.  The video doesn’t do it justice but it’s better than nothing.


So to sum up, I spent 300 Yen for this and I think it was worth it.  Being confused was fun, because in a day I might think it was awesome, or I might think it was horrible, it can go either way.  I don’t know what Namja Town is supposed to be but heck, it’s been around for a while so they’re doing something right.  Oh also, there was a recreation of an Italian villa and war themed area, yep, I don’t get it either.

After Namja Town, I find my way back to the train station and I love the Ikebukuro train station.  They have an entire food court area in the train station itself serving up amazing food.  I decide this is where I'm going for breakfast/lunch.  It’s hard choosing one place to go because as you can tell, there are a ton!


I got so nervous that I wouldn’t find sushi in Japan that I got the pre-made stuff.  They were incredibly generous with the wasabi but it was still good.  I manned up and ate it!  This won’t be my only sushi experience on this trip but at least if it was, I can say I had sushi in Japan, a mission I didn’t expect to be as difficult as it has so far been.  The other part of my breakfast/lunch was a concoction full of salmon eggs, tobiko, some random fish I don’t know about, salmon egg, cucumbers, and rice.  This was a full meal all on it’s own and was so deliciously filling for only $6.  I love that you get legit food from what is basically a food court, with no Sbarro in sight.  Here is a close-up of the food…


After enough time walking around, I get on the train.  I’m heading to the Harajuku stop because Yoyogi Park is across from the train station and that's where I wanted to start my day.  I didn’t care that it was sort of raining and very overcast, that won’t stop me!  I now realize that me and the train system are best friends.  I was jealous of Rob when he said he knew it so well because at the time, that seemed impossible to me but now, I don’t even use the maps to get around Tokyo.

Anyways, Yoyogi Park is where the Meiji Shrine is located.  This is a shrine built in honor of a famous Japanese emperor and his wife.  Like many things in Japan, it was originally destroyed in World War II but through donations and the cultural respect for the countries history, it was rebuilt.  It’s a beautiful shrine and really amazing that this is right in the middle of a major city.  Here is a picture from Wikipedia showing you how it’s basically like Central Park, peace and tranquility surrounded by a concrete jungle.





I took the wet but beautiful walk through Yoyogi Park to get to the shrine and here are some pictures of the walk…


At this point I had spent a lot of time at the Meiji Shrine and started heading back to Harajuku to continue with my day.  On my way back I stopped at the snack counter and picked up what I thought was mochi but turned out to be a steamed bun that I love so much.  Unfortunately, what was inside this steamed bun was not good, not at all.  I’m not sure what it was to explain it but if you look at the picture, maybe you can tell.  The outside was good, inside not so much.


I’m getting hungry, and as I walk I see across the street the word “SUSHI” written on an awning.  Clearly I'm going to make a b-line for that restaurant and either make a fool of myself trying to order sushi or succeed and overcome the language barrier.  Turns out I didn’t need to, this was a conveyor belt sushi place.  Rob did tell me that if I wanted sushi, odds are it would be conveyor belt sushi and I guess he was right.  In the end I had 5 plates but only 4 pictures, I wonder what I forgot to snap a picture of.


Well, considering it’s still on top of my plate when I'm done with my meal counting my plates, I think that’s your answer right there.  It was gross, I was not happy with this sushi experience, I need to try again.  Hopefully before I come home I get another crack at Japanese sushi.

Each plate is a different color and design and therefore a different price.  It’s pretty easy figuring out the prices because of a menu they give you.  The best thing about conveyor belt sushi (not the taste, that's for sure!) is that you don’t need to say a word to have a meal, perfect for this gaijin!

After Harajuku, I take the walk up the street to Shibuya.  This was a part of the trip I was definitely looking forward to because besides Shibuya being one of the best words ever to say out loud, it is supposed to be the pulse of Tokyo, even more than the neon city known as Shinjuku.

Shibuya is famous for having the worlds busiest intersection.  I know this will sound weird but I love large crowds of people, I don’t know why but I always have.  With that being said, I was super excited to see this.  It was on the cover of the Lost in Translation movie poster so I can add this to the list of places I saw from the movie!  I took a ground level picture to give you a sense of what is to come but you’ll have to wait for more pictures after this first one….


I wanted to stay longer and really enjoy the chaos but the sushi taste in my mouth was bothering me, I needed some new food.  I head in to the Shibuya train station you see in the picture above to see if they have anything because I'm finding how good train stations are for food.  I walk in and see this sign…


The next picture is the Hachikō statue in Shibuya Crossing.  This is a great story and I was really happy to see this statue myself.  Once again, I'll let Wikipedia explain:

In 1924, Hachikō was brought to Tokyo by his owner, Hidesaburō Ueno, a professor in the agriculture department at the University of Tokyo. During his owner's life Hachikō saw him out from the front door and greeted him at the end of the day at the nearby Shibuya Station. The pair continued their daily routine until May 1925, when Professor Ueno did not return on the usual train one evening. The professor had suffered a heart attack at the university that day. He died and never returned to the train station where his friend was waiting.Hatchiko was loyal and every day for the nine years he waited sitting there amongst the towns folk
Hachikō was given away after his master's death, but he routinely escaped, showing up again and again at his old home. Eventually, Hachikō apparently realized that Professor Ueno no longer lived at the house. So he went to look for his master at the train station where he had accompanied him so many times before. Each day, Hachikō waited for Professor Ueno to return. And each day he did not see his friend among the commuters at the station.

As a way of remembering the professor and dog who later passed away, they created a statue of the dog.  Great story and really sweet that the city of Tokyo recognized it like this.


It has also become a major meeting place in Shibuya.  If you are planning on meeting someone there, you tell them you’ll meet them at the Hachikō.  Don’t believe me?  Look…

Now, if you don’t want to hear or see a ton about an intersection, you might want to skip the next part of my blog because I'm going to go on and on about the Shibuya Crossing and how much I love it.



Those are just some pictures of the mess, now, I'm going to give you some interactive elements including a video of me walking through the intersection, some random animated pictures I made, and a birds eye view shot of the whole thing.


I don’t think pictures or videos can do this area justice but I tried, hopefully you get a sense of what I went through and how amazing it is to be there in person.

After I finally get done with the Shibuya Crossing, I walk around the area a bit.  Even Shibuya has a bit of a red light area, everywhere in Japan does.  Looking at this next picture, you will see how a red light district is designed solely for men, read the signs…


Click on it if you can’t read it all, hopefully it opens up to a bigger version.  If it doesn’t, trust me on this.

The next few pictures are random things I saw walking through Shibuya I felt compelled to take a picture of.



I get back to my hotel to write up the blog and I can’t focus for the life of me.  I realize I NEED gyoza and green tea.  I also realize that my hotel is in the middle of those alley way areas with places open till 3am on weeknights, I have to go and take advantage of this since it’s my last night in Tokyo and who knows what Kyoto night life will be like.  I head out to get my gyoza brain food and here is my meal….

Oyasuminasai.

- DAK

I told myself to take it easy today.  These blog sessions are completely worth not getting sleep for but at the same time, I don’t want to burn myself out on vacation.  So, instead of cutting back on the blog, I decided to do a little less today.  Basically one day to decompress a bit from the constant motion I've been keeping up since I got here.  It turns out I still did a lot but that wasn’t my goal, that has to do with Japan having so much to offer that even down time can be eventful.  Hopefully this will come across in my post today.

I woke up hungry, actually, backing that up, I went to bed hungry.  I know I'm eating well on this trip but I keep forgetting that the long walks/commutes back to my hotel are usually done on an empty stomach since I eat so much earlier.  I need to remember to get a snack at night, there is more than enough food out here that I don’t think this should be a problem, it will also allow me to try out the Japanese deserts, yum!

I wake up and knew I had to get something to eat but I didn’t want to eat in Ikebukuro cause I've done that the last two mornings and I wanted a change so I told myself that I’d wait until I got to the Tokyo Dome City to eat.  This was sort of a good idea, unfortunately it was a transfer in Shinjuku and a longer commute than I thought to get here.  I didn’t get lost at all, but my stomach wasn’t thrilled with me.

I got to the Tokyo Dome City and realized that anything I was going to eat the there would cost a lot and be touristy, for example, they have a Bubba Gump Shrimp Factory, ‘nuff said.  Here are a few pictures of the Tokyo Dome City to give you an understanding of what it is.  I think it’s similar to the Seattle Center but on a larger scale, they both feel very 1970’s which might work better in Japan than it does in the states.  They both have amusement parks and sporting events.



I try walking several blocks away to get some more real food that wouldn’t cost one of these (points to my arm) and one of these (points to my leg).  I stumble upon a place that has one of those vending machine ordering systems, you know, I spoke about it in an earlier blog, where you find what you want in the window and order using the corresponding number all on a machine, no waitress necessary.  I love this system, it makes me smile.


I’ve been craving gyoza (dumplings) since I got to Japan.  I went into this place because the meal you see above cost me 380 Yen, about $4 with no tip of course.  I left here incredibly full and it was less than most 6” sandwiches from Subway.  This trip is making me seriously rethink how much I ever pay for food.  Anyways, the gyoza was fantastic, I need more of these tomorrow.  The rice that came with it had stir fry chicken with little crunchy bits that were amazing and the sauce was perfect.  I could’ve had this meal 10 times in a row and wanted an 11th.  Once my meal was done, I wasn’t ready to move so I took a picture of myself because I realized I never get to see myself on this trip since I'm all alone with no one to take my picture so I'll start doing it for myself!


It was really great, almost tasted like Picari Sweat except a little richer.  If Picari Sweat is Fiji, Calpis is Evian, both are water but the consistency is different.  I love how the refreshing drinks in Japan taste like creamsicles, maybe after I work out I should just cut out the middle man and eat creamsicles, mmm, that sounds delicious AND healthy!

After the Calpis, I head over to the ticket booth to buy tickets for today’s baseball game.  It’s a big game, Giants vs.. Tigers, supposedly the Japanese version of the Red Sox/Yankees.  Ticket was about $40 which was discounted since I'm a foreigner.  I don’t know why foreigners get discounts but hell, I'm not complaining.
Once the ticket is mine, I explore the Tokyo Dome City a bit.  I see this rollercoaster and really really want to ride it but there were some raindrops randomly, barely a drizzle, but enough to get them to close it down so no luck for me.  Damn shame, I've been itching to get back on a rollercoaster.  Here is the roller coaster going through the Big O.  Good god people, please keep your minds out of the gutter.


There are some malls around with some incredibly weird Japanese stores that I waste some time walking around.  I sit down for a bit just to people watch, my body needed this, it’s still in pain from the day before.  Once I get up from walking, I decide on a little adventure, and this usually means going down a random hallway hoping I stumble upon something good.  That didn’t happen this time but I did find a McDonalds and was a bit hungry.  I knew I'd go to a McDonalds before I left Japan, I guess now is that time.


So McDonalds was great, weird having a double cheeseburger because it doesn’t matter where you are when you eat at a McDonalds, it all tastes the same.  I guess that's what we get with frozen foods being shipped around the world.  I want Kobe in Japan!

After McDonalds I decide to walk around.  I know there is a park nearby and I love parks so I wanted to check this one out.  This one cost 300 Yen and since I didn’t have a ton of time before the baseball game, I didn’t want to spend the money and not get the most out of it.  As I walk I see a bunch of kids practicing baseball…


Quick story, one time when I was living in Westwood, NJ I stopped by a baseball field near my apartment and there were kids practicing there.  I took my camera because it’s such a great thing to see little kids loving baseball.  Unfortunately, the parents who were also there didn’t agree.  I got sooo many dirty looks.  Today was much much different.  I was able to hang out for a bit and enjoy watching some baseball without being that weird guy at a little league field with his camera.  Thanks a lot puritan and paranoid USA!

As I walk past the park I didn’t go into, I did see signs for a roof garden and if you’ve been reading my blog so far, you should know that I would never pass up this opportunity.  This is time for me to put on my headphones and meditate and contemplate, two things I plan on doing a lot of when I come home.  It’s also a chance to take some pictures of myself using the timer setting, this was fun and another chance to get pictures of myself to prove that I'm actually in Japan.


Ok, time to head into the dome.  It’s so nice seeing a baseball game and pretty funny that I'm seeing a Japanese baseball game this year before I see an American one especially since the Mariners home opener was only two days earlier.  Here is the stadium well before the 6pm start time.


The stadium is a living breathing thing, they have what basically is a mall on the bottom floor with non-stop shows and contests happening all the way up to when the game starts.  You can basically sit down on the bottom floor and just watch the spirit squad entertain you.  These are basically cheerleaders which are as popular, if not more, than the players themselves.


He’s a great baseball fan so we had some really great talks about Japanese and American baseball.  It was wonderful having a conversation again.  At this point in the night I took off my KEXP Seattle t-shirt and put on my Giants t-shirt I bought, I totally fit in, not.

Up next is a series of photos of the stadium and the fans.  I’ll talk about the fans after I show a picture of them.


These guys are incredible, no other way to explain it.  I’ve seen a lot of baseball games in my life and it’s a very passive sport.  The only real fan activity I've seen was the roll call the Yankees fans do and even that ends before the game even starts.  Here is how it’s set up…

The left field bleachers are for the visiting team fans, the right field bleachers are for the home team’s fans.  It’s pretty much how college football in America is set up.  Whichever team is up to bat, their respective fan section stands up and sings the entire inning.  It depends on the batter that is up, each batter has a song and these song can be 30 seconds or 5 mins, depends on the length of the at bat.  There is a band and a group of guys leading the audience.  They are in complete unison both with their voices but also with their body movements.  It’s a sea of these people and knowing that both teams do it and are respectful and quiet when it’s the other fans turn is nothing short of breathtaking.  This doesn’t get old even after 9 innings of very loud noise.

Baseball is a game where nothing happens for long periods of time so to be excited and singing and standing for 9 innings is amazing.  Usually people wait for something to happen, in this situation the players try to make the cheering worth it.  It’s very very difficult to truly explain but I took some videos so you can see what I saw.  It won’t do it justice but it will give you an idea of how it goes.











So that hopefully let you see how the fans are and why I want nothing more than for this to happen in America.  Baseball is huge in Japan and I see why, but I also see why it’s not as popular in the USA as it once was.  Ok, enough of me being on a soapbox for a while, I am trying not to be that guy who will now say everything is better in Japan, I won’t, well, I might.

Here are some more pictures from my time at the game, including one from my friendly neighbor who offered to take another picture for me after the game was over.  See if you can spot that picture in the group below, I bet you can’t!


I noticed they had takoyaki.  I’ve had this before and was never sold on it but I figured I should see how it really should be done and good lord it was amazing.


For those of you who don’t know what takoyaki is, it’s a fried octopus ball with mayonnaise, ponzu, and katsuobushi shavings.  In America, whenever I had this, the octopus was pretty minced, in Japan, it’s intact and so much better because of that.  This was delicious and definitely great street food for 500 Yen.

Oh, and on a side note, I told a co-worker (one who is in Hoboken) that I'd get her a Giants hat since she has family here and really really wanted one.  Of course I'd do this, thinking how hard can it be to find a hat near the stadium right?  Man, this took me about 8 hours to find it.  The reason it was so difficult was because you can’t find the ones the players wear anywhere and when I say anywhere, I mean anywhere!  I realized I needed to get one so it was either the one I see everyone else buying or nothing at all and it’s better to have the wrong one then to just come back empty handed.  I bought the Addidas one and I'm hoping it’s what she wants.


Like I said, she works in Hoboken so knowing me, I'll remember to bring it home from Japan but not from Seattle to Hoboken the next time I go home.

On the way to the train station, I saw a girl with tattoos on her legs.  Considering every girl in Tokyo shows off 95% of their legs at all time, I can safely say that no girl I've seen so far has any tattoos.  So, the girl I saw tonight is part of the Yakuza, I believe it, but mostly cause it's bad ass that I saw a female Yakuza member!

Also, it was Orange Day at the stadium.  No I have no idea what that means either but here is a large stack of oranges.


Well, that’s it for day 4.  I’m actually getting pretty upset about having to leave Tokyo in a few days.  There is so much more I want to do and I'm completely in love with this place.  Maybe Kyoto will make me forget about it while I'm there.

The plan for tomorrow is Namjatown, Yoyogi Park, Harajuku, and Shibuya.  It’s gonna be a busy day and I can’t be out too late because I want to do the fish market at 5:30am on Friday morning.  Oy vey!

Oyasuminasai.

- DAK