May 30, Beijing: The Forbidden City is NOT Impressive

We had about half a day left on this, our last in Beijing. With an overnight train journey to Shanghai looming, we spent the better part of the day navigating scattered showers (this was the first time it has rained, although it was still almost 95 degrees F) and trekking up to the Forbidden City, which is the district that formerly housed the emperors and their families. Before 1967, when Mao gave his famous rant from the gate to the City - which is the north end of Tianemen Square - commoners could not even look at the city, having instead to avert their eyes out of respect.


What has happened to this area now is an influx of heavy tourism, the re-making of several sites, and the commercialization of the area. Getting into the city and getting a map ran almost 17 dollars (100 yuan), and the concentration of beggars, vendors, people-wheeling-themselves-on-a-cart-like-the-human-pretzel and asking for money, along with an incredible number of tourists was staggering.


Once inside, the city was, well, pedestrian, especially when compared to the summer palace two days previous. Here's a picture or two:Much like the star-system of movies, where more stars is a higher rating, the ancient city's animals on the corner of the building marked its importance. The maximum number is 9, shown here over the emperor's living quarters:

But perhaps most ironic was that here, in the middle of Beijing's most historic place, dating back thousands of years, was a real old-fashioned, down-home, classically Chinese coffee joint:


We headed out of the city, back to the hostel, grabbed a bite, and headed to the train station. The smog - which I haven't mentioned much - was palpable. Sight was limited to about 200 yards; skyscrapers directly in front of us became visible only as we drove towards them. The smog and visibility has been poor during the trip, but today was the worst. Rumor has it that during the Olympics, China will shut down all industry to cut down on the smog, and make it rain for a week before the Games by shooting a special missile into the air, creating moisture and clearing the sky.

Anyway, we made it to the train station just fine and headed out on our journey. The 7:44 PM express to our next destination, Shanghai.

Thanks for reading.

Mike

May 29, Beijing: The Great Wall

Again, today's post will be much more about the pictures, which don't even do the trip justice. We hiked a section of the wall called Mutianyu, as it was significantly less touristy than many other parts.

To get there, we hired a car, well, two cars, as we invited some of the people we've met at the hostel to come along. Our group was 7; Chris, Alex, 2 Danes (Søren and Earnest), 1 Spaniard (Lorenzo), a British kid named Ollie, and myself. There was a high probability of death just getting there, as this was our car:



We were driven through the Chinese countryside, filled with run-down stone buildings, military training camps, and farmland. It was truly a 3rd world country out there; there was some power running out in the country, but not much, and it didn't look as if running water was plentiful.

We arrived to the base to a crowd of locals hawking everything from climbing sticks to camreras at highly, highly inflated prices (more on that later - I think I'm going to write an entire post on bargaining here). It was about an hour, straight up, to get to the wall. From there, the view was of the wall and the wall and the wall, running for miles in every direction, up and down mountains - truly an incredible sight:

We walked along the wall and took a few photos. Here's one of the group:
Also, a photo of Alex and I:


At the highest point of our section of the wall, we each opened a beer we had lugged to the top, and cracked open a cold one on top of the Great Wall:



We took the car back to the hostel, and rested for a bit. Chris took Alex and I to a German restaurant near the embassies, across from the Vietnamese embassy. The food was authentic, and delicious. I took a picture, but its still on my camera, which is packed at the moment, so I'll update this post with the photo later.

Update - here's the picture of the delicious meal:



After dinner, we headed to alfa - the bar we had been to the previous night, and met up with both Jenny and Gao, Chris' teacher. We stayed there for awhile and then headed home - what a great day! Here's one of the photos:


Tomorrow is our last day in Beijing - we're going to see the Forbidden City where the emperor once lived, and then head out on an overnight train to Shanghai. Many thanks to our new Beijing friends, especially the people here at the Red Lantern Hostel and Jenny, who I know is reading the blog now!

My next post will likely be in two days from Shanghai, as our overnight train will prevent a post. In Mr. Murphy's words, happy trails!

Mike

May 28, Beijing: The Summer Palace

A short post today, because on paper, it doesn’t look like it was a big day. We woke up relatively early and had breakfast and a coffee in the hostel. After working out some trip logistics (booking hotels in future cities, etc.), we headed out to the summer palace, where the emperor and his wife had retreated during the summer months. It was on the far west side of Beijing, and it required a great deal of walking/hiking to get through it all. Here’s a few photos from the summer palace:

(Thats me in front of the incense temple above, and the temple from a little bit farther away below)
This last photo is of us in the main square of the summer palace:

After the palace, we headed to a noodle shop for a late lunch – forgot to take a picture of the meal, but it was very Western in its preparation, with spaghetti-style noodles and cooked meats.

We stopped in a small outdoor market, perused the goods, and then headed back to the hostel. We spent about an hour booking flights and other travel – this required many phone calls – and then hung out in the hostel with a few people we met. There were a few Danes, a few Brits, and a couple of Spanish guys. We all decided to book a trip to the great wall tomorrow, where going in numbers would be cheaper. One of the Danes, a 22-year old named Søren, came with us to one of the better dinners I’ve had on this trip. It was at a Western-style place, with the meal costing about 158 yuan (20 bucks), but was just delicious. See below:

After dinner, we headed to a bar called bed in the middle of a hutong, or side street. Jenny met up with us again and gave us towels on which our names had been stiched – by her, by hand. It was a great gift. Here's a picture from the bar:

After the bar, we headed home for an early night - more to come tomorrow, when we visit the Great Wall!

Happy Memorial Day to those of you in the States, or from the States. My sincere thanks to those who are serving or have served.

Mike

May 27, Beijing: Just Say No

We woke up in the morning a little late and a little, ahem, in pain, from the previous night. We hung around the hostel for a bit in the morning, and Alex and Chris headed off for an ATM. I stuck around on the streets near our hostel and checked out the music shops. I played a few guitars - jamming with a couple locals - and then headed back. I was waiting for Chris and Alex to come back and started to play a guitar in the hostel. One of the small children of the hostel workers - a little girl of no more than 2 - was in the lobby and came up and stood next to me and grinned broadly while I played a few songs until they came back.

Subway, then Subway: We headed down to the more Western part of Beijing, with the goal of hitting up the "Silk Market," one of the knock-off markets selling "Polo" shirts, etc. But first we needed to get there - which meant the subway. The subway system here is not good. We took one stop, realized it was going to take years to get there, and settled for a cab. The cab ride of nearly 20 minutes cost 28 yuan - less than 4 bucks.

I've not mentioned the heat. It is bloody hot; almost 100 degrees every day, if not more. It was 37 degrees Celsius during our first day in the city. The government, for energy consumption reasons, doesn't allow A/C in homes to be switched on unless it is more than 80 degrees or so, thus leaving most buildings with minimal cooling. Oh well, par for the course in an emerging country.

Anyway, we arrived to the Silk Market area, and I saw the first white people I had seen in the city. We stopped at a Subway - western style - for lunch. (to my brother J.T.: it's pronounced Sai-bye-way). We then entered the indoor, 7-floor Silk Market. What followed could only be described as pure mayhem. Stalls upon stalls of goods packed densely inside: polo, tommy, armani, and more: none of it real, but it sure looked like it. See below:


We bought a few things: Alex bought some dress shirts (50 yuan = 6.50 USD) each, and I bought a pair of New Balance running shoes and "Diesel" Jeans tailored to fit for 150 yuan (18 bucks) each. The larger market is in Shanghai, so we'll be buying a suit or other stuff there.

After the shops, we took a taxi to Tianemen Square. Words don't convey what this place is like; it's a huge slab of concrete that spans a larger distance than any such place I've seen, with a significant military presence and the one end holding the entrance to the Forbidden City - the old emperors' home (we're to see it tomorrow). Here's a picture of the gate:

We walked through the square and then into the main area separating the square from the gates to the city. There were many shops offering camera repair and service, and I actually took them up on it - many of you know that the LCD screen on my camera has been broken for some time. They fixed it! perfectly! It costed me 400 yuan (50 bucks). The price quoted me in the US for the repair had been 225 dollars, so I believe I made out with a great deal. Here's a picture of me in the square:


The only bad part of the square was the bombardment from beggars, salesmen, tour guides, vendors, and more. Our motto for the day was Beijing - just say no.

After the square, we picked up an old teacher of Chris' from two summers previous in China and headed out to dinner in another district. We ate the food of the far west region of China; a very Muslim region near the border of Kazakhstan. The food was delicious:

During dinner, there was traditional Muslim entertainment: dancing, music, etc. After dinner, we headed to one of the best bars I have ever been to: serene water falling down stone walls around booths with pillow-laden seating; we took our shoes off and stayed a while. Chris taught us a Chinese drinking game involving dice, which I plan on teaching to people when I get back. My comment last night? "This place would be completely perfect if there was a huge fan blowing to cool us off." And, to much hilarity, Chris pointed directly across the bar, where a huge fan was switched off, and asked for it to be turned on. Beautiful Stuff. Here's a picture from the bar:



After the bar, we headed down the street to a very upscale massage parlor for a traditional Chinese massage. No worries, parents: this place was upscale and very legit. No strange business. We each paid about 18 US dollars for an hour-long massage that was one of the best I've ever had.

We headed home after the massage - it was 1 AM after all, and there was another day ahead of us. Thanks for reading!

Mike

Bonus Post - May 27, Beijing: What’s a Cousin? Stories That I Had Forgotten Until Now

I'm going to be posting twice today. Double-issue! Actually, just a couple things that got through the haze of my crowded memory.

I forgot to add two stories made during my first day in Beijing. Firstly, unlike any large city that I have ever visited – including US cities – Beijing is the most patient city, traffic-wise in the world. No one speeds, and there isn’t too much traffic despite aggressive cars and a horrific subway system (again being overhauled before the games in ’08). In fact, some taxi drivers have been insulted when I have tried to put my seat belt on upon entering the taxi; today a driver asked me not to put the belt on, because of his personal confidence in being a safe driver.

The second story from our first day in Beijing sheds even more light on life for people my age in Beijing. While we were at the bar two nights ago, I mentioned to Jenny (Chris’ friend) something about one of my siblings, and received a jaw-dropping look. "You have a sister?" she asked. When I replied that I did, along with two brothers, the jaw dropped even further. As I was explaining a bit about my large family, I used the word cousin to describe the number of relatives I have. Jenny looked at me, seriously, and asked, "what's a cousin?"

I explained that it was the English word for the children of my parents' siblings. I then made a small faux pas when I asked Jenny about her family:

"Do you have any brothers and sisters?"

She blushed, and I realized that she was going to have to explain the one child policy - what an idiot I am, I thought.

Jenny paused, thoughtfully, and then said, "you remember now the child policy of China? Well, in one generation, no one our age will know what a cousin is. They won't just not know the word for cousin, like I didn't, but they won't even know the concept."

Incredible.

May 26, Beijing: And Now for Something Completely Different

Good news so far: I'm able to access to blog site (knock on wood). So hopefully, I'll be able to continue posting.

I'm not even sure how to start this post. Beijing is at the same time a booming metropolis and the closest thing to an African village I've yet seen in my life. We landed at the airport around 1:30 - I might add that the ENTIRE airport is being torn down and rebuilt from scratch before the Olympics - the scaffolding can be seen as you land for the new airport a few hundred yards away.

We took a taxi to our hostel - which according to Chris was in a typical Chinese neighborhood. After checking in at one building, our luggage was carried in a cart by a local man - see below:


The neighborhood in which we're staying, like many in china, is filled with similar shops; in this case, every other store on the main drag seems to be a music store filled with guitars, trumpets, etc. Murph has alreade been down to one or two of the stores looking at trumpets, and the salesmen, especially once they become aware of his ability to speak the language, become quite insistent.

One of the more interesting things I'm seeing here is that the city really is very much about appearances; the main drags are newly tree-lined, with new busses and clean streets. But the actual neighborhood roads are a little more, ahem, third-world:

In any case, our hostel is very, very, very Chinese; here's a photo of the lobby area:

We hung out in the lobby for a bit, and then headed out around 5:30 PM to meet up with Jenny, a friend of Chris' from two summers previous. We went to a restaurant known for its Peking duck, a Chinese delicacy. Basically, a chef shows you a duck and then cuts it in a special manner; first you are given the skin, which is dipped in sugar and eaten. Next the duck meat is placed into tortilla-like wraps, and is eaten with duck sauce, cucumber, garlic, and other unidentifiable food. Finally, the innards are presented and eaten in the same way. The cleaned duck bone is placed in a broth to simmer, and at the end of the meal, each person is given a bowl of the broth, along with fruit and other deserts. It is quite a culinary experience, and ranks as one of my favorite dishes of all time. Here's the chef in action:


After dinner, we headed to a bar district, where each place on the main drag featured a person or two outside accosting passerby with the hope of getting them to enter. It reminded me of the restaurant district in Brussels in some respects, with a cluster of places and all of the sales pitches going on at the same time.

We headed to a bar that Jenny and Chris knew - a little off the beaten path - and settled in for a couple drinks. Here's a photo from the bar:

For the record, drinks here are about 20 yuan for a beer - about 2 bucks - at the bar. At grocery stores, etc., its about 3 yuan for 2 beers, or 25 cents a piece.

We paid our tab at the bar and headed to the club district for some dancing. Here's a few photos from the club:



We got back fairly late, so I'm writing this post here in the hostel the following morning. We're scheduled to head out to some of the shopping districts, perhaps peruse the forbidden city, and then head to Tianemen for the sunset military exercises. More later!

Thanks to all for reading - seeing nearly 200 visits to the site has kept me interested in posting our experiences. Best wishes from China!

Hi to all,
Mike

May 25th, Tokyo: Our Last Full Day in Japan

Heavy rain this morning deterred us from heading to the fish market. But our early wake-up call did not go in vain; we took the opportunity to catch up on e-mails, call home, and book hotels at our next few destinations.

We also attempted to find a live broadcast of the Pistons-Cavs game, which was scheduled to occur at 9 AM Tokyo time on Friday morning. This would be the same as 8 PM Thursday night for those of you back in the USA, and 1 AM Friday morning for any British readers we might have.

After much (1+ hours of searching online) effort, it was discovered that ESPN Japan was carrying “NBA Hoop,” which we assumed to be the game. Unfortunately, upon spending 1000 yen on a card allowing our room to view the channel (10 bucks), the broadcast of the game was revealed to be game 1 – on a significant tape delay of multiple days.

Disheartened, we headed out for a local hibachi joint for lunch. The special of Japanese beef and sprouts, along with miso soup, tea, coffee, and Japanese pickles (oshinko) cost us 2200 yen (about 19 dollars). The habachi was some of the best food I’ve had during this trip, and the chef was both accommodating and terrific. See below:


After lunch, it was still pouring. Chris decided to take it easy, leaving Alex and I to explore during the early and late afternoon. We settled on the Shinjuku area, which was both easy to get to and featured large indoor shopping areas if the rain persisted.

Shinjuku also featured, as we discovered, large street electronic stores. See below:

We also ducked into the department stores for a bit; the Shinjuku district was filled with large department stores:


On the way home I purchased a pint of cherry tomatoes from a produce store, which I enjoyed on the way back to the hotel.

Back at our room in the evening, we attempted to head out for a local Asian fusion place featuring a combined Thai-Japanese theme. Unfortunately, it was quite expensive, and despite being written up by Lonely Planet, it was not very good. Still hungry, we ventured back into Shinjuku (15 minutes away by subway) for yakatori – grilled chicken on a skewer. It was fatty, but good. We washed it down with a Sapporo and ordered yakatori with the advice of some locals, and then headed back for the night.

On the subway home, Murph pulled a little humor for the subway. We had seen a few SARS masks in public places, but this took the cake:


In any case, we made it back, and called it an early night in advance of our trip to Beijing tomorrow. Thanks for reading!

My best to everyone - Mike

P.S. Pistons! 2-0! Bron-Bron got fouled, I'll agree, but Larry Hughes had a 7-footer to win the game... wow.

P.P.S. Big thanks to Molly, who is going to be posting for me, as I will be unable to access the blogger website from China and will be e-mailing her my posts. Thank you!

May 24, Tokyo: Where the Streets Have No Name

(Updated to include pictures)

First, a picture or two from last night; kudos to Saxatone and friend Emory Volz for taking us around the place that is his home for the rest of the summer:


We woke up around 8 AM this morning, and grabbed a coffee from Starbucks in the next district over before starting the day. This district was called Kudanshita. Which reminds me of today's theme: shit. Sorry to be profane, but it's just hilarious when we have moved around Tokyo from More-I-Shit-A (literally Morishita) to Couldn't-Shit-A (literally Kudanshita) to finally, today's new as-yet-undiscovered location, Takeshita:


More on that neighborhood later. In any case, Chris and Alex and I took the advice of Miu, the woman we had met on the train in from the airport, and took the subway to an area called Sugamo, where a local festival was taking place. When we arrived, we were greeted by a huge street market selling everything from strange-looking foods to second-hand shoes:


We poked around a few shops, and bought a few small things: Alex bought a small trinket, and we all pitched in for dried fruit: bags of kiwi, pinapple, and apricots for 2 bucks each.

In the middle of the mayhen was the local temple, where another smoking well greeted visitors, who purchased insense and then wafted themselves with the smoke generated as a blessing. The temple immediately behind the well featured a packed house (in which we could not take pictures) and a change well, in which locals were throwing offerings, usually a few thousand yen in change. We dropped 10 yen each (a dime) in the offering and moved on. The market continued, with several arches marking each location, such as the one above us in the picture below:



We decided to walk through the entire market, which took about an hour. This left us quite a hike from the subway where was had originally arrived, and quite lost. We walked along the local streets, none of which were labeled, and encountered a Japan that was quite the opposite of touristy; streets were not labeled and there was not a single sign in English. This area was more blue-collar; the power lines here not buried, and I saw my first group of people walking to and from work in something other than a full suit. The neighborhood is pictured below:




We finally arrived to a busy intersection, and another private train line that provided a connection back to the main system. We decided to take an early lunch, and headed into the Harijuku region, which includes some of the best ramen shops in Japan.

We arrived, and found a shop reccomended by the Lonely Planet. It did not dissapoint; my miso-based ramen soup was one of the most delicious soups I have ever had, and for those that don't know me too well, I love soup. See below:



After lunch, we took the subway to Shinjuku, one of the busier shopping districts of Tokyo. The crowded shops were highlighted by several 8-floor shopping centers, packed with Gap, Tiffany's, Banana Republic, and other Western stores. We poked around the shops for a bit, and found them to be of similar price to goods in the US. For example, a Lacoste shirt was 7000 yen - about 70 bucks. Also in Shinjuku are huge Japanese arcades. We stopped in for a a bit and played a few racing games; Alex and I whooped Chris in a couple rounds of Mario-Kart 6:



We headed back to the hotel in the later part of the afternoon and caught up on the series finale of 24, which I found to be quite average. We rested for about half an hour and then headed out for the night.

We grabbed a sushi dinner at a very local place near our hotel; there was no help this time, and not a single word of English was spoken. It was good; not quite as great as the previous day's lunch, but very fresh nonetheless.

After dinner, we headed to Rappongi, which is a district famous for a little more of a Western/touristic area at night. We found the area to be filled with lights and expansive high-rises; different bars occupied floors as high as the 14th floor in some cases, and prices were quite high; some of the clubs required 6000 yen cover charges (60 bucks). Needless to say, these were not places that I was able to look inside.

Additionally, Rappongi was filled with sleazy folks offering "specials" to local "gentleman's clubs." We were approached repeatedly by offers that became more and more direct, culminating with one offer that included the phrase, "come on inside for nice p****." Needless to say, we didn't find the area very appealing. We grabbed a drink at a local British pub, watched some of the UEFA match (note: I hate Italian soccer: why did AC Milan have to win? What some Italian teams did to soccer is akin to Pete Rose/Joe Jackson in baseball, and there was only a slap on the wrist for punishment). After a bit, we headed back for an early rest; I'm planning on heading to the fish market in the morning, and a 5:30 AM alarm bell comes early!

Thanks for reading, and the e-mails/comments - these have provided great feedback. Hi to all from Alex and Chris and I.

Mike

P.S. Go Pistons!

May 23, Tokyo: Sushi, Sumo and More: A Normal Day in Japan

7 AM was the latest I could sleep today; my body felt completely confused by sunlight this morning. I took my first shower in this country; thank God I’m not clostrophobic, as ducking was required for fitting into the shower. More on that another time.

After a coffee and bagel at a local chain, Chris had to spend the morning with a perspective employer. This left Alex and I on our own for the morning and early afternoon. Given Chris’ aversion to seafood, sushi was a must for lunch.

But first, we trekked out to Ryogoku to purchase tickets for the afternoon’s sumo match. Our ability to navigate the subway has gotten better; we only made two wrong turns before finding the correct path. Upon getting to the station, Alex and I kept asking guards questions. The only common word understood by both parties was “sumo,” but we found the ticket counter and picked up the cheapest tickets; 2100 yen for each one of us.

We jumped back on the subway around 10 AM and transferred to a train line that did not connect to the broader system – it reminded me of the Long Island RR in NYC, with a separate fee. Again, suits dominated the subway – I’ve still not seen a single bum or cartwheel-pulling young kid like the A train on the west side of the city.

We arrived at the Dobiya station on the south side of Tokyo, near the Rainbow Bridge and the Tokyo Bay. Like every other trip I’ve taken this week, the subway was dead silent. Alex and I arrived to a view of Tokyo harbor and a minature Statue of Liberty:


Across the street from the statue was the Fuji building, with a 25th floor observatory. Alex and I took in the views, surrounded by Japanese and no explanation whatsoever in any language:

We departed to Lawson’s in the base of the building for a snack and some water. Unfortunately, the store wasn’t quite as imagined – Alex and I settled for a roll-it-yourself tuna roll before heading out to the rest of the walking tour:



As we departed the Fuji building and continued the walking tour through the harbor area, we were stopped by several Japanese middle school girls, who asked us in broken English for our names and to sign a small book with a few sentences for their class. We signed the books and posed for a picture:

We headed to the fish market area after this trek in search of sushi. The market is closed on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays (this was the 4th), but the watering holes were in full swing despite this closure. We found a relatively busy, respectable-looking establishment after some delay and entered. We were a novelty; the restaurant was filled with patrons, two of whom guided Alex and I through a menu that was completely in Japanese. We pointed, ordered, and tried our best. My stomach hasn't been the same since this meal, but rest assured: this was the freshest fish I have ever eaten. See below:


After this adventure, and a quick trip through the Sony showroom, Alex and I returned back to rendezvous with Chris. We met back up and headed out for the sumo match.

The sumo experience was, in a word, ridiculous. We arrived in time to see the junior heavyweights wrestle before the arrival of the main event. Each competitor for the main event emerged in unique dress as pictured below:


We watched two hours of sumo, accompanied by a few beers and some sake. The throwdowns were the best:


By 6:30, the event was over, and Chris, Alex, and I headed back to the hotel for a change of clothes before heading out for the night. Our plans: to meet up with our friend, Emory Volz, studying abroad here in Tokyo, and from there, who knows?

Hope you’re enjoying the diary of events – enjoy the photos, and please leave comments and feedback!

Mike

May 21/22: Washington to Tokyo

So today was the start of the journey. A few random thoughts before describing the day:

- One, I did not realize that I was, in fact, going to Asia for a month until this morning. More on that later.
- Two, missing the season finales of Lost/24 AND the 1st game of the Pistons/Cavs series really was poor timing. I should have left Tuesday morning!

Anyway, onto recounting the day's travels:

We made it to the airport and onto the plane fine, with a decent Potbelly's sandwich in our stomachs and a new book or two in hand. The flight was l-o-n-g long. I sat between Chris and a Navy researcher named Katie who was nice enough (other than having recieved her Ph and Masters from UF - not acceptable). After blowing through a Patterson novel in a couple of hours, I washed two sleeping aids down after dinner and knocked out for a couple of hours at what felt like 3 PM EST, but was 4 AM in the time zone I would soon be joining.

After waking up, I flipped through the in-flight movie (Pursuit of Happiness, which was not great) and worked on the computer for a bit. A short nap and another meal later, we landed in Japan around 3:20 PM - 15 minutes early:


Chris and Alex and I cleared customs and immigration (you had to disclose whether you had guns, explosives, drugs, SWORDS, and more - something doesn't fit in that list) and headed to the "Sakura Hostel" where we were to stay. Along the way we met a terrific young woman who explained in broken but clear english that she had just finished a triathalon in Hawaii. She gave us a few suggestions about places to go and things to do, and wished us in Japanese an "official welcome to Japan" before departing the train.

But there was one problem. We took the directions provided, through a part of Tokyo (Asakusa), past the famous Senso-ji temple and its smoking well (breathing in its air is thought to provide a year's worth of good luck),


We went past a run-down amusement park, to the Sakura Hostel. After reading through the reservations, we were told that we had instead made a reservation at the Sakura HOTEL, which was the sister building - located nowhere near where we had arrived. So we backtracked to the hotel, which was actually in a nicer part of Tokyo, and finally were settled in, for about 14,000 yen each for the 4 nights we will be staying here.

We then headed back out for dinner and a drink in Shabuia, a district of Tokyo with the largest street corner in the world. The subway ride to the district was packed with well-dressed commuters (even in a polo and slacks I felt underdressed) and perhaps most strikingly: 1) there were no bums anywhere. 2) there were no trash cans, which might explain the lack of bums. 3) despite this, there was no trash anywhere and 4) unlike anywhere I've ever been, you could hear a pin drop on the subway. Except for Chris and Alex and I, of course.

We had forgotten the map of the subway and thus the trip became more arduous as picking our destination became more about matching the "house-like symbol and the woman with a box on her head" to a metro stop. Hilarious. The machine rejected my first ticket before a random button-pushing escapade spat out something that matched the symbols on the map. success! we made the train and headed to Shabuia. It was wall-to-wall people, Times Square style, except alllllll Asian.


And everything was smaller - the steps, the bathrooms, everything - except this square. Huge buildings, tons of people, Starbucks - this was the big city of Japan, no question about it.


We stumbled around looking for a legit sushi place, but having no success, tabled that meal for the following day. We instead found what Chris called a "hot pot" joint, one where everything was cooked at the table, fondue-style, also similar to Korean BBQ. However, there were two problems - the menu translations were awful, as you can see; one item was Jew's Ear:



Problem two was that the broths were SPICY - not hot, but cry-while-you-eat-but-shit-its-still-good spicy.


Anyway, we finished dinner (12,000 yen for the three of us, including a couple rounds of Sapporo) and headed back for an early bedtime, a bit jet lagged and ready for the next day. The hotel has an old stack of Japan travel books, and I discovered a recent Lonely Planet - Tokyo guide, which will become a great resource in the coming days. Their walking tours have never let me down before, and thus I plan on doing one of those tomorrow morning if possible. And I've got to find some real sushi.

That's all for now. More soon!