Getting used to 13 hours of time difference can be challenging, and I’m happy to report that, although we all keep waking up between 4-5 AM, we are (mostly) able to get back to sleep and approaching a “normal” daytime schedule… with that, here is how we spent our 2nd & 3rd full days in Japan.
DAY 2 – We left the traditional Japanese apartment for #PodLife, visited Tsukiji Market (awesome sushi), found some “nature” in the middle of the concrete jungle, and then had the “best pizza in the world!”
I have been fascinated with “capsule hotels” since I lived in Tokyo over 25 years ago — though they were mostly for businessmen who missed the last train home. I was determined to have us stay at one “for the experience,” which turned out to be awesome: clean, comfortable, and with “shared” facilities that are not all that “shared” at all: lots of neat/clean/well-appointed cubicles for showers, restrooms and the rest. Overall, a VERY cool experience and even Jackie (originally hesitant with lots of eye-rolling at me for wanting to do this) became the biggest fan of the experience. She’s ready to cut an ad for this Capsule Hotel. I highly recommend you try this out if you visit. We stayed here: https://ninehours.co.jp/shinjuku-north/
Tsukiji Market (below) is famous in Tokyo for having the best/freshest sushi (caught that day) as well as lots of food market/interesting indigenous cuisines. It did NOT disappoint.
After filling up, we needed a rest, and so headed to an oasis nearby, called Hamarikyu Gardens (below).
We ended the day with an unconventional dining choice for Tokyo: Pizza! Several months ago, Zoe and I saw a CBS Sunday Morning segment about the “Best Pizza in the World” — in Tokyo! So we found the restaurant and, indeed, it WAS fantastic pizza. We even had a few nice words with the owner/pizza chef, and snapped a picture with him. (below)
Finally, Zoe and I (without Max & Jackie, who went back to the #PodLife) went out to the Times Square of Tokyo: Shibuya. I’ve read that 3,000-4,000 people cross the intersection at each light change, and indeed, it does seem like structured pandemonium. Zoe (always up for the experience) and I jumped right in! (below)
DAY 3 – We went skyline hopping to find views of Tokyo from above, visited Takeshita Dori street (famous as teenager hangout/style district), and then a bullet train to Kyoto!
Tokyo at street level is bustling – everywhere/always – but with most buildings being just 3-4 stories tall, the scope/scale of the City at street level doesn’t feel “mega.” The extent of the city is more pronounced at 45 stories up: it is almost impossible to see the “end” of the City in any direction. There are tall buildings in clusters, or nodes, around the Yamanote Line (which rings and connects multiple cities together, all of which comprise “Tokyo”), but they seem isolated because of the miles and miles and miles of smaller buildings that separate them.
Takeshita Dori – street known as teenager’s fashion/gathering spot,.. and even had specialty “cafes” where for a couple hundred yen, you can pet cats. (why anyone – ie., Jackie and Zoe) would want to do so is a mystery.
Finally, we hopped a Shinkansen “bullet train” from Tokyo to Kyoto… This was not the fastest Shinkansen, but at 165 mph and a completely smooth experience, it certainly highlights how terrible most of our trains are in the U.S. The Mountain in the pictures below is Mt. Fuji, visible from the train. We will hang out here for the next few days before heading to Beijing. … Because it is late (here in Tokyo), I bid you all a O-Yasumi-Nasai (good night!)
