Adam and I have safely arrived in Tokyo for those of you who'd like to know. Unfortunately, due to Air France's douchebaggery, we were 10 hours late. It's not so bad since we are mostly on schedule with what we wanted to do anyway.
We woke up extremely early (6 AM) to go to the Tsukiji fish market, which is the largest, and arguably, most frantic early morning fish market in the world. We were almost killed by people riding around on these small utility vehicles pulling all sorts of goods around with no apparent traffic laws. We spent time walking around looking at the fresh, and in some cases, live catches of the morning. We had sushi for breakfast at a nearby sushi bar adjacent to the Tsukiji area. Even at the early hour of 7 were there people lined up to get into these places; it was definitely worth the wait, but maybe not the roughly $21 each we paid for the meal (it was quite delicious and filling nonetheless).
Later on we met up in Shibuya (a HUGE pedestrian crossing, like Times Square) with Alex, a friend from Tufts, and we roamed the areas around where she lives in Tokyo... Shibuya, Harajuku, Yoyogi park, the Meiji Shrine, and Roppongi Hills. We left her because she had things to do in the afternoon, and Adam and I visited Tokyo Tower.
We definitely got here at the perfect time. The "sakura" (cherry blossoms) are in full bloom and the parks are full of Japanese people engaging in "hana-bi," a cultural tradition which is basically an excuse to go out to the park, sit under the blossoming trees to eat food, and get drunk on sake.
Everyone around is dressed in pants and long sleeves, but some points today, the weather seemed pretty hot and humid -- definitely shorts and T-shirt weather. No one seemed to mind the heat except for us. Maybe that is because we are "gaijin" (foreigners) who are not used to the climate here.
In general, Tokyo is one of the cleanest, most efficient, ultramodern, and apparently safest (people don't even lock their bicycles!) cities in the world. The rail system is something to behold. It's damn near perfect in its speed and ease of use. It was a bit overwhelming at first to get our bearings straight--a map is quite useful, but I think we are beginning to find our feet, even though they are already quite tired from the walking we've done. My knowledge of Japanese, or what remains of it from being out of practice, has been useful thus far as most people only know a small amount of very basic English. It has been easier just to attempt the conversation in Japanese, because the people seem grateful knowing you are making an effort for them and will treat you better.
We are taking a rest now, but tonight we will visit Akihabara, the famed electronics and anime center of Tokyo, and perhaps some of the bars and clubs in Roppongi. Tomorrow we've reworked to explore the area around the Imperial Palace, Tokyo Harbor, an Onsen (volcanic hot spring), and maybe Yokohama, if we are able to make it that far. As for the rest of our stay, we are going west via Shinkansen (bullet train) to the Kansai cities of Kyoto, Nara, and Osaka. We will return to Tokyo for another day after visiting the Kansai region, just before returning to the Airport for our late-night departure back to the states.
Our schedule is ambitious, but this is only meant to be a first experience in Japan for both of us. I can't wait to come back when I'll have more money, time, and knowledge to help myself get around. Sorry I haven't got pictures yet, but they will come soon (probably after I come back to London), I promise!
Kanpai! (Cheers!)
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