Come Fly With Me

Sunday, April 8, 2007
Jeff and I are off to Japan and to see Brian! Today is Easter and we drive up to JFK airport and stay overnight at the Ramada Plaza where we park the car for our trip. Next morning we took the shuttle to ANA, All Nippon Airways. The flight left at 12:30pm and took about 12 hours landing us at Narita Airport at 3:30pm on Tuesday afternoon. It was a great flight considering the length. The flight attendants were lovely Japanese gals who smiled and were very attentive. Food service was excellent with two meals and a snack service. They had many items on the food trays including an adorable toothpick. Soft drinks and liquors were brought around several times and you could stop in the galley and pour yourself juice or help yourself to a snack or fruit. We had our own movie screens and could choose from a variety of movies, TV or audio programs. I watched Pursuit of Happyness and Happy Feet. Good news is we arrived safely on Tuesday afternoon and found the airport bus to Shinjuku and our hotel, the Keio Plaza.

Our hotel is a large, tourist facility and very nice with large, comfortable rooms. The toilet looked a little scary with an electronic panel on the side with controls for the bidet and spray. The flush was on the wall below the sink, but once it was all figured out very pleasant. I’ve always been afraid to use a bidet, but now I am a fan of the warm water spray. Yes, there is a temperature control. Our bellman was a trainee and spoke hardly any English and is the custom refused to take a tip. He did show us our slippers and we have a beautiful view from the 19th floor. We look out at the Government buildings, a huge complex with an observation area in one tower. We met a couple at the airport who are on our Club ABC Tour. They are Toby and Stan Cohen from Old Bridge, NJ.

After settling in the room we called Brian and he came over after work. It is definitely worth flying half way around the world to see him. He looks wonderful and is comfortable living here. We walked out the back door of the hotel into a commercial area of Shinjuku. Narrow streets are loaded with small restaurants, pachinko parlors, bars and lots of neon lights. Brian chose Yaki…., a Korean grill. We sat in a raised wood booth with a round coal pit in the middle. The staff spoke no English, but Brian ordered for us in Japanese. We had salad, tongue (traditional with a lemony sauce), marbled beef strips, vegetable plate and a dish of sliced tomatoes that were delicious. We grilled the meats and vegetables and ate the tomatoes and small pickles. Everything was fresh and very good and it was fun to sit and cook and talk. With the bill they brought individual sticks of “dessert” gum. Afterwards we walked around a little soaking up the sights and realizing that we were very tired. On the way back to the hotel we passed a group of “salarymen” out after work. These are middle management types wearing dark suits and getting very drunk. One guy actually passed out and fell to the ground where he stayed. We were aghast, but Brian said that kind of drinking is normal and everyone is safe and happy and there is virtually no crime in Japan.

Wednesday
After a great night’s sleep we rose and made our way to the second basement level where there are three restaurants serving breakfast. As we were being shown to our table I noticed a guy who looked like my next door neighbor. Well – surprise – it was Barry Bloom and Susan Cohen. They are not only staying here – they are on our tour! What are the chances? We are all so amazed. Actually there are only seven people in our ABC group and after breakfast we headed out on a morning tour of Tokyo. A bus takes us to the central bus station where we board another bus and drive to the Tokyo tower. This looks like an orange Eiffel Tower and is a few meters taller than the Paris one. The young female employees are wearing blue suits and large stylish hats. They look so cosmopolitan. Up at the top you have a terrific view of Tokyo and all the adjoining areas. Our guide points out some interesting sights and Jeff and I fooled around taking a photo in a booth with Japanese instructions. Back on the ground we got on the bus and saw several limousines, photographers and police. Apparently the Iraqi prime minister was visiting too with lots of security.

Next stop was the Imperial Palace. The Emperor and family live there so you can only visit outside the gates and one garden area. We got off the bus and walked around a little seeing the moat, macro bonsai trees and a large stone wall. This is in downtown Tokyo and we saw the main train station and also the building where Brian works. We drove to an older part of town and visited the Akasuka Temple. This beautiful complex includes a large pagoda. The main wooden temple was crowded mostly with Japanese. People come here to pray for good health and luck. We bought fortunes by making a donation, shaking a stick (with a number) from a metal container and then finding the drawer with that number on it which contained a paper with your fortune. Of course the numbers were written in Japanese characters, but a lovely young lady helped us and there was an English translation on the fortune. We liked our fortune, if not there is a rack with metal bars and you can tie your paper on that rack. We also tossed 5 yen into a large pit and prayed for good fortune. Brian told us later that 5 is a good number and never to use 4 yen as that is very bad luck. The Japanese word for four is the same as the word for death. Outside was a round kiosk with incense burning. You waft the smoke onto yourself and ask for good health. We walked around a little and there was also a street with little stands selling things. There were cherry blossom branches and beautiful paintings along the way. A good place to spend more time.

Back on the bus we headed to Ginza and decided to get off there and not continue on the tour to a pearl factory. Ginza is exciting. Wide avenues and all neon like Times Square. Large department stores and specialty shops are plentiful and the intersections allow pedestrians to cross across or diagonally and there were crowds everywhere. Jeff, Susan, Barry and I visited the Sony showroom and saw all the latest technology. They have Walkmen the size of a cigarette lighter. Then we headed for one of the department stores where the 8th floor had several restaurants. We chose a tempura place and were seated in a private room in the back. Luckily the place had plastic food displays and pictures on the menu. Jeff had soup with two large tempura prawns. The remaining three of us had a ginza special meal. First a small salad with seaweed and something white. Then a relish tray with tiny sweet pickles and daikon radish slices. A rice bowl with tempura shrimp and zucchini on top was next with a soy sauce. I opted for cold noodles which came in a bamboo box with a little jug of sauce which you poured into a bowl and then using the chopsticks dunked the noodles before slurping them up. For dessert there were dried fruits with a bean paste on top and green tea. Very sweet and refreshing. The tableware and service is so interesting and beautiful. Noodles and/or rice are usually eaten after the meat or fish.

After lunch we were beat and returned to the hotel to nap and get ready for dinner. I should mention that the subways are delightful. Good signage showing maps, fares and station exits are very helpful. On the train there are electronic signs that show where you are and announcements are made in Japanese and English. The staff are extremely nice and go out of their way to assist you often leaving their station and walking you where you need to go. Everything is done with yen, foreign currency is not allowed, and tipping in restaurants or cabs is just not part of this culture.

Dinner was quite an experience. While our hotel is very nice, the Park Hyatt is just exquisite. Situated around the corner from our hotel we cabbed over and were greeted by a female bellperson in a dark suit. All the employees wear this uniform and all spoke better English than we had encountered elsewhere. We took an elevator to the 42nd floor and then walked through a library area and other public rooms before taking another elevator to the top floor, home of the New York Grill. Jeff and I were seated in the bar where we ordered drinks and waited for Brian. One side of the room is all windows and the view is amazing. Despite the cloudy night there were lots of buildings and bright lights. This is the room that the movie Lost in Translation was located. It looks identical to the movie scenes and that was pretty cool. The prices are not cool, $20. for a mixed drink. Luckily for us we were Brian's guests. When Brian arrived we moved around the corner to the dining room with more windows and a different view. The meal was delicious and very New York. Huge painted murals on the walls depicted the Yankees and Radio City. Western cutlery was used and I even had mashed potatoes while Jeff and Brian had steaks and fries. After green tea ice cream for dessert we fell into bed.

Thursday
We met Susan and Barry for breakfast in the buffet restaurant and Jeff had an unpleasant experience where he drank apple vinegar thinking it was water. He did this twice - don't ask!!! A gorgeous day beckoned and we set out for the subway to visit the famous Tsukiji fish market. This is the largest fish market in the world and it opens with an auction (closed to the public) at 5am. We arrived about 8:30 and wandered through the butchering and distribution areas. We saw some amazing fish. There were frozen and fresh tuna. Some so huge they were being cut up with electric saws and one guy had a six foot knife. Remembering John Belushi as the Samurai came to mind. One fish was so big it took the strength of two men to hold the knife to cut through the jaw. We saw all knds of fish and shellfish. Trays of snails, eels, scallops, squid and large octopuses (octopi?). Some things I have never seen before. Most of the fish were alive until they were cut up and buyers were selecting seafood for their restaurants and individuals were shopping there also. It was so hectic with things moving very quickly. Fish was being moved by cart, bicycle, scooter, truck and special forklifts where the driver stands and steers with a large rotary column. There were also areas for packing and shipping and we only saw a small part of the entire operation. A truly amazing morning.

Our next stop was the Ahibara Electronics District. This was one for the guys who thought they had died and gone to heaven. Imagine streets and streets of electronic stores. We did shop at one duty free place where Jeff bought a microphone for Skype and Barry got a new digital camera. This place was seven floors with phones, ipods, PDA's, computers,cameras, accessories and more. Back to the subway we headed for Ueno to visit an Asian outdoor market. This place was a hoot resembling the shuk in Jerusalem. Small crowded streets housed vendors of every type. You want to buy - they have it from food to clothes, luggage to golf clubs and anything else you can imagine. We stopped at a tiny tempura restaurant and tried more noodles and soup. The waiter was very accomodating following us outside where we pointed to the plastic food displays in the window. We all got what we wanted and had fun slurping our noodles. The place wasn't so clean, but had an interesting bathroom. It was immaculate and the toilet had a sink kinda built into the top of the tank. When you flushed the toilet it automatically ran cold water from a spigot at the top to wash your hands. Pretty clever. The addition of a paper towel would make it really remarkable. Jeff and I returned to the hotel while Susan and Barry visited a temple area in Shibuya.

I was so tired I fell sound asleep and only woke up when our phone rang just before 6pm. We were supposed to meet in the lobby and go to Ginza and the kabuki theatre. Jeff decided not to go, so I threw on some clothes and met Susan and Barry. Now Barry has become expert in navigating the Tokyo subways and he led us to a staircase right in front of the theatre. They have a line for last minute seating and were were able to get seats for a one act performance starting at 7pm. We trudged up four flights of stairs to sit in the last two rows which are reserved for the last minute people. Our area was mostly foreign tourists and I sat next to a lovely French women and practiced my high school French with her. The performance was ghastly and that is kind. It was hot and no one understood what was going on. They did sell headphones with a translation, but very few people had them. Most people were snoozing after a few minutes and there was lots of folks looking at their watches. The set and costumes were beautiful, but the language is sing-songy and annoying. The music was drumming and a mandolin. All the parts are played by men and they wear white makeup and traditional wigs. The show was about a small guy who wants to become a sumo wrestler. There was a love interest in the beginning, but she never came back and no one in the entire audience laughed much or seemed to care. But, it was another experience and I'm glad we went.

When we went outside Brian was waiting for us and we strolled down the Ginza to see the bright lights. It reminds me of the theatre district and was bustling. We stopped in for cheesecake and coffee and a little conversation. Later we subwayed home and I cannot believe how crowded the cars get. I have never seen anything like these mobs, even on the trains at home at the holidays. I did not see any employees pushing people on, but folks do back into the cars so they are facing out and there is no personal space. Back at the hotel I showered and packed an overnight bag. We are meeting in the lobby at 8am for the ride to Mt. Fuji and the next leg of our adventure.