Japan Part 2 - Tokyo

As you could probably guess, Tokyo was VERRRY different from Kyoto. Firstly, it began snowing almost the second we stepped out of the subway station to walk to our hotel. The snow didn't stick around, but it gave me a real feeling of winter that I hadn't felt in Taiwan.

No matter how close our hotel was to the subway, Adam and I figured that we spent 1/3 of our waking hours on public transportation getting from one sight to the other. We've both visited and lived in other major metropolitan areas, but Tokyo was ENORMOUS. We spent the majority of our time in Kyoto visiting temples and shrines, so we decided to focus on the more metropolitan aspects of Tokyo, not that we could escape them by any means. Since it was so big and we couldn't see it all in our limited amount of time, we made a list of things to do and tried to check off as many as we could. Here, not necessarily in the order we did them, are some highlights off the list:

• As far as the eye can see – for free! Our first morning we went to the government towers, which have 360 degree observation decks so we could get our bearings and check out the skyline. The city stretched to the limits of our sight (and the beginnings of the pollution), and legend has it that on a clear day a person can see all the way to Mt. Fuji from up there. We settled for great views of skyscrapers, parks, and even the Tokyo Tower.

• Brown, but with potential. The Imperial Palace Gardens were the most spectacular gardens we visited in Japan, and we visited quite a few. Even though it was January and there wasn't a lot of green in the garden, the landscaping was immaculate. We were treated to some early flowers and even one ambitious plum tree that had a few buds. Since we showed up close to closing time we didn't get to see everything, but we were glad we had decided to go.

• I guess it's a Japanese thing. After a bit of searching, we poked our heads into a Manga-kissa, where people can rent a cubicle with a chair and computer or video screens, some DVDs, video games, or comics, and even shower up before they head off for home or work. It seemed intriguing enough to seek out, but there wasn't anything to look at other than the racks of movies and the check in counter.

• Wow, it's even bigger than I'd imagined! Since they do it on every travel show and talk about it in every travel book, we had to visit the Tsukiji fish market. We woke up super early in the morning but still missed the fish auctioning. In the last few weeks they have actually passed a ban on tourists in some of the sections of the market, so we were lucky to get to go when we did. The tuna are even more gigantic than I'd imagined, and after staring in awe at the huge frozen headless beasts we explored the wholesale market area. I consider myself fairly well versed in sea life (and sea food), but there were many creatures that I couldn't name as we passed through the closely packed stalls. Adam and I both almost got run over by mini-trucks and tiny forklifts, slipped on the wet and icy floors, and snapped as many pictures as we could.

• Science, animals, and history, all in one building! We spent one afternoon in one of the many museums situated around Ueno park. Not everything had great English signage but some of their displays were amazing, including thousands of specimens of bugs, birds, deer, and even a water buffalo! Another section had interactive physics displays similar to those you can find in other science museums, and one section gave a history of technology in Japan, from computers to cars to robots. Adam's favorite robot was one that would serve tea, then turn around and return to the start once the teacup had been lifted. The docents even let him try it out!

• So many stores, but we weren't there to shop. Famous for the crazy clothes and make-up, the Harajuku district was a must on our list. Even though we had to go on a weekday and missed out on most of the Cosplay and craziness of the weekends, Adam and I got an eyeful of the outfits in the store windows. There wasn't much to do but look, since we definitely weren't there to buy!

• Almost as good as a toy store. The Sony store – 4 floors of electronics that they let you touch! We tried out cool cameras, MP3 players, headphones, laptops, HDTVs, and even got a peak at the Rolly. The Rolly plays music and dances to it (wirelessly, of course), but the entire presentation was in Japanese so we're not quite sure if it does anything else. I hope so, otherwise it's just an awfully expensive dancing speaker.

• It's tall...that's about all. Since I've never been to Paris or seen the Eiffel tower, I was excited to see the Tokyo Tower, which is even taller than it's inspiration. Walking up to it at night was pretty spectacular. It was all lit up both on the structure and from the ground. Unfortunately it's in an area that is otherwise businesses and residences which means there's nothing else to do when you're there. They also constructed a building at the base which kind of ruined the look of the tower. And, it cost WAY too much to go up to the top considering we'd seen the city from a higher vantage point for free the day before. We decided it was a very nice, tall, well constructed tourist trap, but I'm glad I got to see it.

As much as I enjoyed the tiny show of snow on our first day in Tokyo, we got more than we bargained for on the day we left. Approaching Nagoya from Tokyo on the Shinkansen the weather got progressively colder and snowier. By the time we reached the Nagoya station it was a full scale blizzard and all the trains to the airport were running behind schedule and we worried about making our flight on time. Upon arrival at the airport things seemed quiet...too quiet. The snow had gotten so bad that the runways were closed and they couldn't even give us an estimated time to take off. We spent another four or five hours in the airport, but finally made it home in one piece (or, I guess, two pieces...right?)