The Flight, The Arrival, and the Day In Asakusa

The morning I started my journey to Japan was an interesting one. I had talked my friend Kort Woeller into driving me to the airport for my 6 AM flight, but that meant leaving around 3 AM to give me plenty of time to check luggage and such. What I didn't expect was for him to arrive at 2:30 AM, and for us to leave right then. I got to the airport so early in fact, that I had to wait until 4 AM for the American Airlines staff to even arrive. The first leg of my journey was to Chicago, which was a 3+ hour flight, followed by a short layover (thank god I didn't have to deal with customs yet). The flight was pretty uneventful, and went by quickly. In Chicago, I rushed over to the gate for the flight to Tokyo, and gave my family a call before I left, as my phone wouldn't work over there (or so I thought). Once on the flight, I managed to find my window seat, and looked out at the massive amount of people on the 777. All of the announcements were in both English and Japanese, so it was a nice warmup for what to expect. We were soon off and running.

The flight to Japan is a brutal one. On the way there, you fly for somewhere around 15 hours, and you don't really want to sleep if you want to maintain a somewhat normal sleeping schedule. Luckily, there were tons of movies and shows to choose from, on top of the stuff I brought with me, so I was thoroughly entertained for the entire flight. The most pleasant surprise of all was the quality of the meals. We were served two full course meals and one breakfast sandwich that reminded me of an egg mcmuffin. The food was delicious, consisting of things like salads, sushi, gourmet cheese, a chicken wrap, a roll, etc. The meals were very filling, and I would highly recommend American Airlines to other people who need to fly internationally. In comparison, the Japanese airline that the other three guys took served only 2 lousy meals (no breakfast sandwich). The food aside, I was able to watch some great new movies, such as Taken, and before I knew it, we were over Tokyo. Before we were able to get off the plane though, men in biohazard style suits came on board to check for people with swine flu (I guess somehow they could figure it out just by looking...right...). They soon left, but it gave me a glimpse at just how paranoid the Japanese are about the swine flu. This was reiterated at customs, where paperwork everywhere warned about reporting any flu-like symptoms. Customs went pretty smoothly though, and shortly afterward I was out of the customs area, and into Terminal 2, where I found the other guys waiting (a very nice surprise).

As the four of us left the airport, I was able to get my first experience with the Japanese mass transit system. It seemed to be very effecient, and designed around automatic ticketing machines that marked where you bought the ticket, and would only let you leave your destination station if you had pre-paid the appropriate amount. The first leg of our journey wasn't too bad, as it wasn't overly crowded, and I didn't feel too bad about lugging around lots of luggage. Once we arrived at a bigger hub though, things got a little difficult. Japanese people seemed to be darting about at a rapid pace, the process of taking the trains completely automatic to them. In the midst of it all, the four of us tried to navigate through the station, carrying our monstrous luggage. Verret, Jeremy, and I were like little ducklings, trying desperately to follow John and not get left behind, hoping he actually knew what he was doing. Being a good navigator, and having previously used the train system, John successfully plotted our course, and got us to Asakusa safely.

Tokyo: A Vending Machine Paradise

Once we gathered our selves in Asakusa, and got our bearings, we began the walk from the train station to our hostel (not a short walk), and even now, I'm impressed by how easily John found the place. We got glimpses on the way of the surrounding area, and we appeared to be staying next to a mini-theme park. We didn't know it then, but we would get very used to hearing screams for the next two weeks as people went on the ride that drops you from a huge height. There was definitely immediate culture shock even walking around the city though, as a lot of things you take for granted in the states are very different here. First off, cars drive on the opposite side of the road, which can be odd at first. Second, bike riders share the sidewalks with the pedestrians, so it often becomes a game of chicken. There are also vending machines nearly every 20 feet with recycling bins next to them.I don't envy the people that have to stock those or collect the recyclables. Some of the vending machines sell crazy stuff too, like cigarettes, alcohol, or underwear. Other than those things, it was definitely a weird feeling being unable to read most things, to see massive amounts of people everywhere, and to deal with extremely high humidity (Verret's worst enemy, as he was constantly sweating). There were also plants and greenery all over, which is one of the things I love most about Japan.

The Ever Pinkish Sakura Hostel

When we arrived at the hostel, we were presented with a big pink building entrance, and a small lobby with several windows. The staff seemed pretty friendly (the cute female staff members especially), and they helped us get our room key and sheets for the beds after we paid for a night. We contemplated paying for the entire trip up front, but the staff cautioned us on that, as there are absolutely no refunds. Not really knowing what was ahead for us, we decided caution was probably in our best interest. We headed up to the fourth floor, where our room was located, and trepidation looming, stepped inside. The room turned out to be comfortable, but very tiny. Even knowing that we wouldn't be there long, the only areas we could all fit while in the room together were our beds. It made for tight quarters, and a lot of sideways walking to get around people. We unpacked our stuff, and made use of every nook and cranny in the room to fit our belongings. I then headed to use the shared restroom. I hadn't really used a shared bathroom since living in a dorm in college, so I was a little irked to have to do it again, but I was optomistic that it would turn out okay. The bathroom had two urinals, two toilets, two showers, and three sinks, but it was all very tight and close together. While the bathroom situation did turn out just fine, it reminded me just how disgusting some men are. We then crashed for the night, as we were all exhausted beyond belief.

The next day, our Japan experience truly began. We were all still trying to recover from the time difference, so we knew it would be wise to plan an easier day around the surrounding area (it was also very rainy, which ruled out a lot of other possibilities). We were able to take our time, and truly enjoy the sights and sounds of Asakusa. Asakusa is a common stop for tourists, as it contains the Sensoji Temple (rebuilt after we bombed the original during world war 2), and a great number of street stalls for buying goods (way cool). As we down the streets leading to the temple, the people working the stalls were anxious to entice customers. Every stall seemed to hold something different: everything ranging from clothing to food to souvenirs. I could see why it would be easy to waste hours just looking around here at the goods. I decided to settle on picking up a couple of very beautiful wall scrolls, as they could double as a decoration for my house or a gift. They were also priced pretty reasonably, which is something I couldn't say for a lot of the items on display.

The Beautiful Sensoji Temple

We continued on our way, dodging people left and right among the thick crowd on our way towards the Sensoji Temple. When we finally arrived, we were very disappointed to find that a large area of it was closed for repairs. We had to settle for the large arch at the entrance, complete with guardian statues on each side. We took our time taking pictures, and continued walking through some of the beautiful areas around the temple. One area had a little river with a small bridge over it, and fish could be seen swimming through the water. Inside a nearby building, I could hear some sort of chanting or singing. We then decided it was time for a change, so we proceeded to get food for lunch and to go bowling. For lunch, being true tourists, we decided to eat at the Japanese McDonalds. In our defense, they have some pretty bizarre menu options like a McDog (hot dog). The food was prepared very well, and we ate upstairs and watched the people walking past the shops below.

Hi There Jeceny!

Afterward, we headed to the bowling place, and proceeded to get shoes and a lane. They definitely didn't cater to people with shoe sizes greater than about US 7 or 8 though, as we had to go off to these little side storage bins versus using their cool machines that spit out shoes with a click of a button. We played three games of bowling, and truly had a great time. I think John came out the winner overall, but the award in my mind goes to Jeremy, because the people at the desk put his name up as Jeceny, and he had to play three games with that. With our bowling experience finished, we all agreed that dinner was up next. We searched and successfully located the infamous conveyer belt sushi restaurant. This wonderful establishment has a cook placed in the center of a conveyer belt system. He prepares sushi dishes, and puts them out on the belt. Whichever customer wants that sushi just picks up the colored plate. The plate colors convey the cost, so it's easy to identify the cost of the sushi. I grabbed a couple of cheap plates, and a couple of moderately expensive plates. All of the dishes were prepared extremely well. We had a good meal, although it took some coaxing to get Jeremy to grab some plates.

The Pagoda At Night

As we returned from eating our meal, it was dark outside, so we had a chance to appreciate the city at night. There's plenty to see, like witnessing the groups of drunken people walking the streets. As we walked by some shops, a drunken women was being helped out of a bar by a waitress, looking as if she was going to crash to the ground, yet trying to refuse any help. I wonder where she ended up... I think the biggest surprise to me was that it actually could get pretty cool at night. We approached the Sensoji Temple on our way home, and heard a man talking to a group of tourists nearby. He was trashing Americans and blaming us for all of the economic woes. The people seemed to be anxious to leave, which left the man looking for a new audience. Still a little shocked from hearing the insults to the U.S., I was even more amazed when the man snuck up on our group like a trained ninja. He garnered our attention, and asked us where we hailed from. We told him we were Americans, and based on the conversation we had heard less than a minute ago, I assumed he might slink away in disgust or awkward embarrassment. Boy, was I ever wrong. He instead went on a rant about foreigners never learning about the history or culture of the things they are looking at. People, like us, just go around taking pictures of the temple without knowing anything about it. I wanted to say something in response to this, as I usually make an effort to learn about the places I go, and I didn't appreciate him making assumptions about us, but he was right in this case - I had taken plenty of pictures that day of the temple without learning anything about its past. He proceeded to tell us all about how the Americans had bombed the original temple, and that this new one was a replica. He reiterated over and over how the temple was lacking life now though - it was too clean, too perfect. I really couldn't fault him in what he was saying, but once again, I wasn't quite sure what he wanted from us, as we can't be held responsible for things that occurred so far in the past. Not really knowing what to say to the man, and seeing the others looking as uncomfortable as me (at least I thought), I thought that maybe we could try breaking off the conversation and leaving. The man once again surprised me by going off into more tangents. He talked about his past, how he had been schooled in a college in America (hence why his English was very good), and had ambitions. He wanted to be a writer. He studied many famous artists, but associated most with Earnest Hemingway. He mentioned that to pursue his art, he had chosen a life of poverty, and was now homeless. He talked about his passions in life, and the things he believed were important. He then turned to us, and asked John and Verret what they wanted for the future. After a couple of fairly standard answers (family, success, etc), the man finally reached the point in the conversation where he felt comfortable actually stating what he really wanted: money. He showed us his books of small haikus, styled like Earnest Hemingway. He wanted to give us these little tiny books in exchange for money. Not wanting to make things awkward, we gave him some money, got some books, and were on our way. He thanked us, and made some comments about us being the future, to take risks, and seek happiness. I will say, I had never met such an intelligent homeless man, and he reminded me nothing of what the homeless people are like in America. That is a harsh stereotype, I know, but from my limited experiences, homeless people in America have never seemed so well educated. Yet another stark difference between this interesting place and my home country. Although I can't remember every detail of what the Japanese Earnest Hemingway said, I actually remember walking away feeling that he definitely had gained wisdom in his years. If the situation hadn't been so bizarre and unexpected, I might have liked to just chat with the guy about life in general. We returned home at this point and got some sleep.

To conclude this day's article, I will share some of the poems from the small book we got from the Japanese Earnest Hemingway (Hideo Asano), as well as a beautiful photo of the area around the Sensoji Temple. Enjoy!

Beautiful Area near the Sensoji Temple

Birds fly to their nests
Do you know where you're going?
Light years to come home

Buddha conquered self
Escaping paradise
Into paradise

A torrential rain
Pushing man into a pub
To keep him drinking

Songbirds serenade
The poor man who sits alone
On a great granite

Hideo Asano