Tokyo Revisited Day 1

My first visit to Tokyo since August 2007 began with my arrival at the Tampa International Airport at 6:30am on Saturday, June 21st. Passing through the security check took relatively little time, for me at least. I noticed beside me a mother with two young children who put their plastic bottles of water through the X-ray scanner and got scolded by the transit authority agent who vehement informed them of the “no liquid in plastic bottles” rule since the family had obviously overlooked or ignored all of the posted signs and the collection barrels for plastic beverage bottles on the way up to the X-ray stations. So I soon found myself at my gate, hearing the sounds of The Ben Folds Five over the intercom and facing a 90 minute wait until my JetBlue flight to New York’s JFK airport boarded and departed.

My flight to JFK was smooth and as comfortable as a coach seat on an airline can be. Upon arriving at JFK, I realized that I need to reach “Gate 3” but noticed that all of the concourses surrounding me were domestic JetBlue flights rather than an international JAL flight. A distinctly bored-looking lady at an “Ask Here” counter provided a paper slip with instructions explaining how to traverse from terminal 3, where I’d arrived, to the international departures terminal 1.

As I proceeded toward Terminal 1, I realized, to my frustration, that I’d need to exit a secure area, meaning that I’d have to pass through security again at Terminal 1. After a walk and a ride on the airport train, I reached Terminal 1 where I stood in line for several minutes to again remove everything from my pockets, my shoes and belt, and remove my aging laptop, a borrowed iPhone 4, and an external hard drive from my carry-on backpack to go through the X-ray screening and full-body X-ray. Thankfully, I passed on through without delay and thereafter reached Gate 3.

As anticipated, most of the passengers on JAL flight 5, a Boeing 777, appeared to be Japanese citizens returning home from work or vacation trips. I was among the last to board the plane. After allowing onboard the VIP and business class passengers, elderly, and passengers with small children, the airline simply opened the remaining seating to everyone that was left. My window seat was very near the rear of the plane. When I finally reached my seat, I found all of the surrounding overhead bins full, so I sadly realized that I’d need to compromise my legroom for the next 14 hours with my backpack under the seat in front of me. The passengers beside me were a Japanese mother and her quiet teen daughter. Being the geek that I am, I noticed that the mother’s carry-on bag at her feet was decorated with images of Akiko Ikeda’s Dayan the cat, a character that got an anime TV mini-series last April.

Each seat back contained an interactive video monitor. During the lengthy flight I opted to watch the Hunter x Hunter: The Last Mission motion picture, director Takeshi Miike’s latest yakuza comedy Mogura no Uta, and the manga-inspired live-action Kuroshitsuji motion picture, each displayed with English subtitles. I’m a bit regretful that I finally decided to try watching the Japanese/Korean co-produced thriller Genome Hazard only to reach the film’s fourth act and have the display screens turn off in preparation for landing.

I chose a Japan Airlines flight across the Pacific not due to any excess affection for things Japanese but rather because the option was cheaper than the tickets offered by any of America’s domestic airlines. While attendant service on JAL is impeccable, long-distance economy flight is always uncomfortable. Although I’d brought along a book to read, Michael Crichton’s Prey, diligent concentration on an airliner is a difficult feat to accomplish. Likewise, comfortable sleep is always elusive. By ten hours through the flight, my butt ached as if I’d be riding an elephant instead of a stiff airplane seat. For the first of two meals served during the flight, I selected katsudon served over white rice with side dishes of salad and cold soba. For the second meal, all passengers received macaroni with cheese. The final snack before arrival was a bun filled with sweet white cream.

After 14 hours of sitting, I was almost pleased to have to stand in a surprisingly lengthy line at Narita airport’s emigration counters. The very long line that snaked back and forth had placards that warned that the wait would be over 45 minutes. Thankfully, the line did move quickly. However, by the time I did finally pass through emigration then move downstairs to swiftly pass through customs, enough time had passed that I had to make inquiry about where my baggage was. The attendant informed me that since my flight had landed a lengthy period prior, my bag had been removed from the carousels and held off to the side. So now knowing where to look, I quickly reclaimed my roller bag and stepped out into the main lobby of Narita airport. To my right, I saw a currency exchange counter and an escalator going down to the railways.

Unlike airport currency exchange counters at American airports, the currency exchange counters at Narita are operated by local Japanese banks rather than private financial companies, so the exchange rates offered at Narita airport are the same rates offered by banks in downtown Tokyo. So getting initial currency exchange at the airport is convenient and also necessary as I’d need money to pay for train tickets into Tokyo. I changed an initial thousand dollars (I did mention that I’m an obsessive otaku) and made my way downstairs. On advance advice from the from the friend whom I’d be staying with, I opted to purchase a ticket to Ueno at the Keisei Skyline ticket counter rather than take the slower and more expensive Narita Express train.

First time visitors to Tokyo and tourists with a lot of luggage are probably best served to take a bus from Narita airport to downtown Tokyo. The busses cost slightly more than the $28 that the train costs. The train takes roughly 45 minutes to reach Tokyo while the bus will likely take nearly two hours considering traffic. However, the bus service will handle all of a passenger’s luggage and take passengers to the door of their hotel. The train is a faster and slightly less expensive but “do it yourself” option that suited me because I knew from previous experience exactly what I was doing and where I was going, and I wasn’t going to a hotel.

I forced myself into the throng of passengers clambering into the express train, getting aboard just as the doors closed behind me, so I wouldn’t need to stand on the platform awaiting the next train. The express Skytrain stopped only at Nippori and Ueno.

As the train passed through Chiba on its way into Tokyo, I found myself again marveling at how compact homes and apartment buildings appeared in my eyes. But I also respected their economy and efficiency. When the train passed a Book Off store and a “Plaza Capcom,” I couldn’t resist feeling an immediate compulsive desire to leap off the train to go investigate.

At Ueno station I deposited by skytrain ticket in the exit gates, passed through, then found a small row of ticket machines and a map of the JL train lines. However, the map had no English captions, so I wandered downstairs, lugging my increasingly heavy suitcase, or rather it was probably me that was getting weaker from exhaustion, into the main lobby of the station where a bigger map did have English location names. I was going to Yotsuya, located in the heart of Tokyo, situated roughly in-between Shinjuku and Akihabara. I’d been advised to take the Yamanote line to Tokyo Station then transfer to the Chuo line. I noticed that I could also make the transfer at Kanda, one stop before Tokyo Station. Seeing that the distance from Ueno to Yotsuya cost 170 yen to traverse by JL Line, I purchased a 170 yen ticket from the machine and proceeded to the platform. I was able to sit on the Yamanote line train until reaching Kanda. At the Kanda station, I followed signs to the orange Chuo line platform. A small map informed me that I wanted the Number 5 platform that traveled in the direction of Yotsuya rather than the Number 6 platform that traveled in the opposite direction. While the Chuo line train wasn’t exceptionally crowded, it was packed enough that I had to stand. However, since I coincidentally got on an express train, the first one that had pulled up to the platform, Yotsuya was only the second stop away.

Upon arriving at the Yotsuya station, I discovered that I still couldn’t get the wifi connection on my borrowed iPhone to connect. Thankfully I spotted a green pay phone. I still don’t know how much a phone call costs, so I simply deposited three 10 yen coins, which was evidently enough money to allow me to call my local American friend Jonathon, who said that he’d meet me by the Atre shopping center. I followed a sign to the shopping center and purchased a bottle of lemon water for 160 yen from a vending machine while I waited.

Jon arrived promptly to fetch me. We went up the escalator then walked briefly down Shinjuku-dori to his apartment building, riding up the tiny two-passenger elevator to his apartment on the eighth floor to drop off my baggage. We then turned around, went back downstairs, and walked a block to a coincidentally named Jonathon’s family restaurant. I was privately amused that whether by coincidence or intention, the waiter directed we two Americans to the empty back room of the dining area, separated from the primary dining area filled with native Japanese patrons. I ordered a chicken curry dinner “set” that included a side salad and cup of vanilla yogurt with peaches. Jon ordered a hamburger with steak fries that turned out to be quite a sizeable burger, even by American standards. As we departed – I paid, as I figured that’s only fair since Jon’s allowing me to live at his apartment for free for the next two-and-a-half-weeks – I noticed a row a gachapon machines next to the cashier. Several of them offered Shingeki no Kyoujin toys, including one machine that offered miniature rolls of Shingeki no Kyojin scotch tape.

Back at Jon’s apartment, we toasted my arrival with a glass of wine, and Jon exclusively partaking of some fine Tequila, before I turned in for the night, uncertain of exactly what my plans for the following day would be.