Family Visit: Downtown Tokyo

Tuesday was our last full day in Tokyo before our mini-holiday within a holiday to Kyoto. This was the day when we wanted to see the bright lights and big city that Japan has to offer.

During the day we visited my Gaba school in Omotesando, and because there weren't any lessons going on my family could come in and see the booth where I normally teach and meet some of my colleagues. I was a bit worried in case they couldn't come in but we got more than I expected!

After that, we walked up the road (it was lovely sunny day) to Meiji Shrine in Yoyogi Park and saw the largest wooden torii in Japan (and I guess the world).

Then we walked into Harajuku for lunch, and weirdness. We saw a few Harajuku Girls wandering round through the crowded backstreets. The one road which I think is the best is called Takeshita Doori, which goes from Harajuku Station back towards Omotesando. I took videos last time I visited.

Then we took the train to Shibuya to see the world's busiest pedestrian crossing. It was just before rush hour so it wasn't as impressive as I would have liked.



Shibuya station was very busy but we found our train and took the Yamanote line back past Harajuku and into Shinjuku, for rush hour!

Shinjuku is the world's busiest station (not the largest, that's in Sendai, north of Tokyo) and it has over 60 exits. It's ridiculous trying to find which exit you want but our destination, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (much easier to say in Japanese - 東京都庁 - Tokyotochou), is clearly signed.

We walked through the impressive Skyscraper District after taking a 'Moving Walk' down a looong dark passageway under the city. My family had fun "following the Yellow Brick Road", which was in fact the strips of studded pavement designed to help blind people navigate!

There was a huge queue for the lift up to the 45th floor Observation Deck, and I was really worried that it would be so crowded we wouldn't be able to get to any windows. The queue moved very quickly and when we actually got to the top it wasn't crowded at all! I'm sure the other lift must have taken the passengers to some sub-basement.

You can see pictures from my previous daytime visit here, but the following are twilight and night shots.

This time I could actually see Mt Fuji! Yay!
Shinjuku park in full sakura bloom.

The blue you can see dotted between the trees are the mats people use for hanami (blossom-viewing) parties. The Tokyo Park Hyatt.

Sorry about the glare on some of these shots, glass reflects!
Sprrrawwwll...


The Skyscraper District.

As the sun faded, artificial lights flickered and burst to life across the city.


Such bad reflection!
The Empire State Building and Tokyo Tower in the background.
Beautiful, beautiful city...

This video goes on for a bit but it gives a good impression of what it's like to be there.

We bought some souvenirs (surprisingly cheap for a touristy place), and my mum got a miniature sign of my local subway station for her mobile phone.

We were all quite tired after everything we'd done that day, and we had an early start to catch the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Kyoto in the morning.

Kyoto baby!

Family Visit: My Official Birthday

My itinerary prescribed that we must visit Hakone on Monday, but plans change, and my family wanted to spend another day in Tokyo. Everyone said how much they loved the place! The thought of whether they would like Japan or not hadn't even entered my head, strangely, it felt like they were coming to see me more than to go on holiday. And there may be an element of truth in that!

We decided to make that day my "official birthday" as they weren't here for my actual one. We slept in for a bit and then met at Tokyo City Air Terminal where we had seen a nice cake shop. We ate a gorgeous breakfast of birthday cake, fruit and coffee.

And then I got even more presents! I had only asked for money as I didn't really need anything else but I think they wanted me to have things to open. I did get lots of money too, but I opened a 1kg Cadbury's Dairy Milk (wow!), a calendar of my local area in Birmingham, a placemat and coaster, a desk lamp and underwear!

I was so grateful for everything I got. I wasn't expecting anything near as much as that! It made it really special. But what made it most special was the 'I'm 19!' badge I got and wore all day.

Instead of doing more touristy things, we went to my local swimming pool in Hamacho Park. I took them down the alleyway of trees and bushes that I visited in January, and I was right, it was beautiful with the blooming sakura.

We swam for a long time, and then went into the sauna. We weren't sure if children were allowed in there but nobody said anything.

To go in, we had to buy tickets from a machine and then go through a gate like on trains. We couldn't quite figure out the machine, so we asked for help and the gate attendant woman helped us out. The ticket from the machine locks your locker in the changing rooms, and lets you get out afterwards. The lockers were huge - you could actually fit everything inside them!

Then you walk through to the pool area, through a shower area that senses you're there and sprays you clean. We got into the pool straight away, but then a lifeguard came over and (I was impressed that I did this conversation entirely in Japanese) told us that we all needed to wear swimming hats over our heads and hair. He said it was free and he'd give them to us.

So we all ended up looking like Ali G swimming round a pool.

They had a 'Walking Course', a 'Beginner's Course' and an 'Expert Course' separated by floats in lines. It was lots of fun, and relaxing as I hadn't had a bath since the onsen in Hakone.

At one point, they called everyone out for five minutes, while a woman wearing diving gear and flippers (not slippers) dived in and swam up and down the lanes. We had no idea what was happening but it seemed to be pretty normal so we just waited.

That evening, we headed to Roppongi on the Hibiya line from Ningyocho station. Roppongi is famous for its bars and clubs, popular with ex-pats. I'd never been there before, but it was interesting.

We went into one bar but I didn't like the look of it much so we found a TGI Friday's! It reminded me of 'The Simpsons' episode where they go to Japan and eat at America-Town. But I didn't care, it was great. I drank three cocktails (the 'I'm 19!' badge was safely pocketed at this point) and we all had a fun evening.

I even had a sundae with sparklers stuck in the top while people sang Happy Birthday to me!

Even as I write this, I haven't turned 19 yet, but that day was so special that I feel like my birthday has already been and gone! Yesterday a woman in the library asked me how old I was, and I so nearly 19.

Thank you so much to everyone who made it what it was!

Family Visit: Asakusa & Imperial Palace

On the third day we went to the traditional area of Asakusa to see Sensoji Temple. I visited when it snowed in February, and you can see the photos here.
It was much busier this time, but it was Sunday. I guess it would be quieter during a weekday.
This is the view I sent on a postcard to my family, and they saw it for real! The sakura (cherry blossom) was out 100% by now, so their visit was really perfectly timed. Thank you to the Church for making Easter early!
My mum was really taken with these samurai swords. We were all really surprised! We didn't buy one because we weren't sure of the laws regarding bringing a sword to the UK, especially after someone was killed with a samurai sword. We guessed they'd be banned so decided against it. Would be great to have one though!

We did buy a Throwing Star though, which will look very impressive. Obviously it's not sharpened.

We went into the gardens that last time were covered in snow, and were now flooded with blossom!

Then we had a wander through some more stalls, and had a tapas-style lunch with lots of different Japanese dishes forming one huge meal. Japan has changed my appetite and it was the first time in my life my mum gave me more food because she thought I needed fattening up! (Don't worry, I'm eating chocolate as I write this!)

Then we had a coffee in a very expensive coffee shop that was playing Lily Allen and planned our afternoon. I had written Ueno Park on the itinerary but everyone was too worn out for that so we decided to skip and go straight to the Imperial Palace near Tokyo station.

We took the Ginza subway line to Ueno station, and then transferred to the JR Yamanote line for Tokyo station.

Of course, as soon as we left Tokyo station's Renaissance-style facade, it started pouring with rain, but we pressed on to find the Imperial Palace.

The view was very atmospheric, albeit a little wet!

We went back to the station for dinner (the restaurant area inside Tokyo station near Yaesu North exit is actually really good - you'd never go to a station in the UK for a nice meal!) and headed home for some rest.

Family Visit: Odaiba & Ginza

On the second day, my family came round to my house (wow, that sounds strange) for breakfast (even weirder) before we set out for our first day of sight-seeing in Tokyo (okay, I need to make my peace with the fact that it was strange!).

They gave me the things they had brought for me from home, including decaff tea (impossible to find anything remotely decaff), lots of Cadbury's chocolate, some books and kanji cards that I had made for myself to learn some of those crazy Chinese characters.

Then I introduced some of my housemates to my family and it was nice that they could finally put faces to the names!

We walked up to Ningyocho and took the Toei Asakusa line down to Shinbashi (pronounced Shimbashi) station, where we changed to the Yurikamome monorail line which goes from Shinbashi to Toyosu in Odaiba, and back.

We bought a Pasmo card each (there's a Y500 deposit, which you get back when you give the card back, and then you charge it with money for subway journeys), which made all our journeys a lot easier and quicker. We charged each one with Y3,000 (£15) and that was perfect as they all had nothing left on them after our last journey!

We got on one monorail train but it got a bit crowded, and one going to the same place pulled in on the platform opposite, so I suggested we get that one. As we were getting off, the doors closed and my dad was trapped inside that one! He motioned that he'd go to Daiba station and meet us there. My mum, my brothers and I got the other one and followed him. Thankfully, we all got off at the same station and there was no harm done. The views were lovely over Tokyo Bay and Rainbow Bridge, just like last time I visited Odaiba.

We went to places I hadn't seen last time, like this Statue. Recognise it from anywhere?


Near here, there were a group of salarymen taking photos of each other (it was Saturday) and my dad tried to get a shot of them, but they caught him and roped him into posing with them as they took photos of the gaijin. It was so funny to watch, I tried to take a photo but missed it.

We walked to the beach and had lunch in a restaurant there. We passed two hilarious shops geared to dogs. One of them was a dog restaurant where you order a meal for yourself and your pets, and the other was a pet grooming salon. You could even rent a dog for an hour at a time!

We walked to a place called Joypolis (I'm sure they meant Joyopolis), which is a SEGA-themed amusement park and my dad and brothers went in, while my mum and I (who were too tired) wandered round some shops and then had a coffee to catch up with news and things.

By the time we were ready to leave, twilight had been and gone and the light was fading fast. That gave great photos opportunities of Rainbow Bridge and the city, including Tokyo Tower, beyond.

We took the Yurikamome monorail back to Shinbashi station, changed to the Toei Asakusa subway line and went to Higashi Ginza. Somehow my sense of direction took us to the famous sight of Ginza Yon-choume (fourth block) crossing. I think this is the second busiest pedestrian crossing in the world.

It was an amazing sight at night with the neon glow making it seem like midday.

We walked all the way to Tokyo station, and ate dinner there. Then we walked through the maze that is Tokyo station to ground level to find Otemachi subway station. We then got on my line (Hanzoumon) and I recited everything the announcement says as the train approaches the station.

It goes something like this:

"三越前。三越前です。銀座線・ＪＲそうぶ快速線はおのりかえください。出口は右がわです。足もとにご注意下さい。"

"Mitsukoshimae. Mitsukoshimae desu. Ginza-sen, JR Sobu Kaisoku-sen wa onorikae kudasai. Deguchi wa migi gawa desu. Ashimoto ni go chuui kudasai."

Which means:

"Mitsukoshimae. It's Mitsukoshimae. Please change for the Ginza line and the JR Sobu Kaisoku line. The exit is on the right. Please watch your step."

You might think that it's very sad that I know that by heart but if you hear it twice a day then you do find it nestling in your memory.

My family were very tired as they didn't sleep well last night and had had a full day, so they went straight to bed. I chatted to one of my housemates for a bit and then followed suit.

The guiding was going well so far. I realised I knew more Japanese than I thought. I'm constantly comparing myself to my amazing housemates and native Japanese people, and I think that's not the way to go about it, as that way lies madness!

Family Visit: An Arrival and A Departure

Okay, it's about time for some catch-up I think! I'm very sorry about the huge gaps between posts at the moment, but things keep happening, and then nothing happens, and then huge things happen!

But the really huge huge thing is my family's visit last week. The original plan was for them to come to Japan for my birthday (9th April) but because the Church decided that Easter would be early this year the school holiday didn't coincide (for the second time in my entire life!) with it. Of all the years to make it early!

But anyway, they booked the holiday, having to miss my birthday by a mere four days. It still worked well, as it was very close to the halfway point through my trip, and split it into two bitesize pieces of being away.

The morning they arrived, another of my housemates moved out. It was very sad as I like him a lot. I had gotten him a small leaving gift, because he always chatted to me when I was feeling down or homesick, or just felt like talking to someone! And he never complained when I babbled away for hours about nothing in English, and asked for random translations to Japanese. I think that deserves knighthood, but unfortunately that gift wasn't at my disposal so a book had to do!

After saying my farewell (he has visited since then and still lives in Tokyo so I will meet up with him again), I headed out to Narita Airport to meet my family.

I took the Keisei line, which originates from Tokyo as the Toei Asakusa Line and then transforms past Oshiage station into an above-ground train. This was a hideous mistake. There was no direct train to Narita Airport, and I ended up changing train four times along the route until I finally found one that could actually take me there. It was ridiculous. On the way back to the airport when my family left we used the JR Sobu line from Tokyo station, which was direct. But if you want to use the Narita Express (N'EX) then you need to reserve. There is also a Skyliner from Ueno station.

My mum rang me when I was two stops away saying that they were waiting in the Arrivals Lounge and the plane had arrived half an hour early. Surprisingly, her phone worked in Japan as it was quad-band and 3G. I don't think any other phone types work in Japan at the moment.

I arrived at the station (the train stops at Narita station first but this is the town, not the airport, then Terminal 2, and finally Terminal 1, which is called 'Narita Airport') and a sign said that my bags would be inspected at a checkpoint, but they just asked for ID. Passport or Alien Card is okay.

I had a choice between North or South Arrivals Lounge, and naturally I chose the wrong one. I walked round to the other and ambushed my family. I saw my mum first, and ran forward to give her a hug. She told me that my youngest brother, Dominic, was waiting at the entrance downstairs, and I should go down and see him.

I found him, then we went to find my middle brother and dad. It was so incredibly surreal, and so incredibly amazing, to see them in Japan.

Just like me, none of them had slept on the plane journey over but they were all wide-awake with excitement. We had a bit of lunch in the airport, but I couldn't eat anything because my stomach was so jumbled up with emotion.

After that, I bought our Limousine Bus tickets from the counter, and we wheeled the luggage out to the front. It was exactly like my first day in Japan, which added to the surrealism.

We didn't have news to catch up on, as we email and Skype each other regularly, so we chatted about random things, just like normal. I was the guide right from the off, translating signs and annoucements, pointing sights out from the window of the bus.

We hit bad traffic on a road into Tokyo and my brothers and mum closed their eyes to get some energy back but my dad was busy reading the travel guide and asking me questions about the language. During our conversation he pointed at me as he said something, like people do naturally, and I was shocked to find that I was really taken aback by the forwardness of the gesture. I have been careful to always use open hand gestures when indicating direction or a person. If you want to point to yourself, you should point to your nose, and never use a direct motion towards another person. So that was interesting as I hadn't realised how 'Japanised' I may have become.

The journey from Narita Airport to Tokyo City Air Terminal (TCAT) was meant to take 55 minutes, but I think it must have been more like 90. I live very close to TCAT and my family's hotel was about 15 minutes walk from there. They stayed in a new Toyoko Inn, which was surprisingly cheap, and very convenient as it was so close to me.

I took them to the hotel, pointing things out from my local area as we went. They couldn't check into their hotel until 4pm, and it was only noon or something. Getting up early makes the day a lot longer!

We left our luggage at the hotel, and went to find some lunch. We went to my local supermarket, Daimaru Peacock, and bought some ready meals. This is not as bad as it sounds, Japanese ready meals are surprisingly good quality.

Of course, it started to rain as soon as we sat down outside, but we didn't care. We were together!

After that, I showed them my local shrine, Suitengu Shrine. My mum got her fortune from the fortune telling drawers. You put Y100 in the slot, and then shake one of the wooden cylinders full of thin wooden straws, then tip it upside-down until one comes out. Then you match the number painted on the stick to the right drawer (the numbers are in kanji) and take a fortune slip from the drawer. If it's bad then you can tie it to a string nearby and give it back to fate, but you can keep it if you like it. Unfortunately, I couldn't decipher my mum's so we don't know if it's good or bad!

Everyone was pretty tired after that, so I took them back to my guesthouse via a Doutor coffee shop and showed them my home. It was really nice to be able to show them my life, so they could have an image to attach to the information and stories I'd told them.

After a bit of recovery, we went back to the hotel and had some dinner, and sorted luggage out. Everyone then went to bed, except my dad because he was still hungry and went to a ramen (noodle) restaurant nearby.

My family had difficulty sleeping that night due to jetlag and maybe a bit of excitement, but I slept quite well.

The next day it was time to start the itinerary I had made for the holiday. Everyone needed to be well rested because it was very full!

Reserving Shinkansen Tickets in English

No mean feat!

I went to Tokyo station yesterday (which was the Vernal Equinox public holiday where people visit their ancestors' graves) to investigate Shinkansen (bullet train) ticket prices from Tokyo to Kyoto for my family for the Kansai-leg of our holiday.

Yesterday seemed to go swimmingly, except for the crazy price of Y123,000 (over £600) for five of us (four adults, one child) so I told them I'd return tomorrow (today) and buy them then. I spoke with my family that evening and discussed the best course of action. We decided to go ahead and buy the reserved tickets. I did find unreserved tickets that were much cheaper from a ticket machine at the station for Y71,000 (£350) but unreserved means there is no guarantee of a seat, or that you will be together, plus it will probably be a smoking area. Those tickets are valid for seven days after purchase.

So today I went back to buy the reserved tickets. I didn't get as lost in the maze of underground tunnels and shopping malls as I did yesterday, but it wasn't easy to find the Midori no Madoguchi (Reservation Window).

I got to the front of the line and asked if the man spoke English, same answer as usual - "sukoshi" (a little).

I had written my request for times and type of train down in kanji so I just pointed at it and said "Kore o totte okitai desu" which is probably wrong but it's the closest to "I want to reserve this" that I know! He seemed to understand anyway, and put all the information into the computer and showed me the price. Same as yesterday, Y123,000. I gave him my VISA debit card and everything seemed to be going well. What followed then was about twenty minutes of miscommunication, which eventually resulted in me understanding that there was a limit on my card of Y60,000. He told me I should ring VISA to change it, but I asked if I could pay Y60,000 by card, and the rest in cash. He said that was "Daijoubu" (this is the most useful phrase in the world I think. It means "It's fine" or "Sure" and I say it at least five times every day). I told him I would come back soon, and he held the tickets for me.

So I trekked to several ATMs, all of which didn't accept foreign cards, so I had to go and try to find a combini (convenience store) but stumbled upon a yuubinkyoku (post office) with an ATM Corner. This did take foreign cards so I took Y40,000 (£200) from my Nationwide account. It wouldn't let me take more than this, whether that's because my account had no money left, there was a limit on the card, or on the ATM, I don't know. But I got another Y10,000 from my Lloyds TSB account and headed back to Tokyo station.

I queued again, and waited until the same man was free. This time it was very easy. He took Y60,000 from my debit card, and the rest in cash. I even got Y1,000 change! In the middle of this, a Japanese woman who randomly spoke excellent English interrupted and asked the man to write something down for her, but I didn't mind. Once again, "daijoubu"! I told the woman her English was "sugoi" (great).

The seats I reserved were in the non-smoking section, and were in one row. Shinkansen seats are three on one side, two on the other, so my family will fill a row. My logic for choosing this, rather than a clump of seats, was that whichever side of the train the sights like Mt Fuji are, we will be able to take photos without leaning over anyone. The only thing I'm unsure about is the direction the seats are facing, I don't know if we'll be going backwards or forwards (I later found that all the seats are forward-facing), which may be unpleasant but fingers crossed it will all be okay!

The man gave me five JR rulers, which was very nice, and I thanked him many times and said "Anata wa shinsetsu desu" (You are kind).

I had no idea there was a limit on my card, but Sakura House took Y80,000 from it without a problem occuring. Maybe they did two transactions or something.

We've decided against buying JR Rail Passes for the duration of the holiday because the price of the Shinkansen tickets falls just short of the JR Pass' cost. Random trips on the Yamanote line around Tokyo won't make up the difference, but if the trip to Hakone we'll do was on a JR Line, then it would be worth it, but it's not so we will do without.

Either way, I walked away with a sense of satisfaction, pleased to have accomplished something!

Spring is Here

In mid-February, there were a few days of really strong wind, which made news every day here. It caused a lot of damage, billboards being snapped off Shinjuku skyscrapers, restaurants in Ginza being gutted, and shops' wares flying across roads.

A couple of days after this, I realised that it was Haru-Ichiban. This is the first wind that blows from the south of Japan, and it signifies the start of Spring. This warm wind symbolises something good, but it does it in a rather destructive way! Thankfully, I don't think anyone was hurt this year, but it must have happened in the past.

And, with Spring, comes Japan's prized sakura (blossom). It's hard to explain how much they mean to the Japanese people, having these beautiful natural art-pieces bloom on trees in the darkest, gloomiest corners of Tokyo.

And I didn't really understand, until I saw my first bunch. As it's still only mid-March, they haven't bloomed fully yet, but I hope that by the time my family arrive, the country will be a canvas of pinks and whites.

Here are some photos I took near Kiyosumi Gardens over the Sumida River from my guesthouse.

This tree is directly outside my window. It stands in the centre of the smallest park in the world, basically just a few slabs of concrete and some plants and a tree. But it's the smallest park in the world, right next to me, so I like it.

These two aren't of blossom, I know, but I think they're pretty anyway!

These are not the only symbols of Spring arriving. The temperature has hit 17C several times over the past two weeks, and that was lovely. Unfortunately, with Winter behind us, so are the days of continuous bright, clear blue skies.

Now, there are many dull, overcast days. Everyone seems a little duller in this weather, but I'm very comfortable and at home with the grey and omnipresent twilight - I'm British! What I don't like is that it's already becoming more humid! It's not warm enough to go out without a coat, but I get all sticky and warm with a coat on! Where's the comfortable medium!? Still, better than the 8C and rain that Birmingham has I suppose.