Tokyo Vacation May 2018 Day 1

All three of us got varying amounts of sleep in the LA Airport Hilton before catching the shuttle bus to the airport. At terminal 4 we approached the self-check in terminals to check in our baggage. At that time we realized that we’d been assigned three randomly chosen seats throughout the 787 airliner despite having purchased our tickets together. Scott, being a big guy, asserted that he absolutely needed an aisle seat. However, the automated terminal refused to acknowledge his credit card and allow him to purchase a seat upgrade. So we proceed through security. Our flight from Gate 41 as the very first waiting area past security. So while Scott went in search of an attendant to inquire about a seat change, Justin & I wandered up the concourse in search of affordable food. Our search proved fruitless, as a breakfast burrito was an intimidating $17, and even a cold sandwich started at $10. Justin spotted a patron with an infant and mother at a restaurant. Justin was certain that the young man was an actor from the Glee television series. When we returned to Gate 41, Scott hadn’t yet encountered a live attendant, so I mentioned that down the concourse was a manned American Airlines customer service station. So we walked to it, and Scott successfully petitioned for a seat re-assignment.

Scott was seated in 17C. Justin was seated in 32A. I was near the back of the plane in seat 36B in between a young man who appeared to be a college Japanese language teacher and a petite Japanese-American woman visiting family in Japan. I spent most of the 12-hour flight either sleeping to attempting to sleep. During the trip I did listen to Don Henley’s Greatest Hits & Justin Heyward’s “All the Way” greatest hits collection. Justin watched a number of movies including Black Panther, Geostorm, and The Disaster Artist. Scott watched 3 Billboards. The first meal service was a choice of beef tips with rice or chicken couscous. The “snack” was a turkey sandwich on flatbread. The second meal of the flight was a breakfast choice of omelet or noodles. Judging by our post-flight anecdotes, my flight was a bit more peaceful than Justin or Scott’s.

Our flight’s landing at Haneda airport startled me because the plane felt as if it distinctly slid to the right then overcompensated back to the left before straightening out. Upon disembarking, we stopped in a restroom. Even though I’ve experienced Japanese toilets before, I was still surprised by how high tech the toilet stall appeared. All three of us were also surprised to see that upon entering the customs inspection an infrared camera examined each entrant to scan for elevated body temperatures suggesting infection or illness.

We passed through immigration then picked up our baggage. The layout of the Haneda airport is practically identical to Narita. After we passed through the customs inspection we considered what to do next. Since Scott & Justin already had enough Japanese yen to get by, we decided to forego immediate currency exchange. Instead, we attempted to purchase 690 yen tickets for the monorail ride to Hamamatsucho then transfer to Shinjuku. My Suica card had only 669 yen remaining on it, and the minimum amount possible to recharge a Suica card is 500 yen, so I borrowed a 500 yen coin from Scott to recharge my card. Then we boarded the monorail and rode 7 stops to Hamamatsucho. Scott took the escalator downstairs while Justin & I grabbed the elevator, particularly since I was dragging along two large roller totes. However, upon descending, Justin & I discovered that Scott had exited the escalator on one side of a barrier while we were on the other. Justin felt anxious about having enough money left on his Suica card, so he tried an automated machine, but the machine rejected his card. After a few failed efforts, he switched to the adjacent machine that also rejected his card. Eventually an elderly lady terminal assistance approached us. When the machine refused Justin’s card under her efforts, she directed us to the uniformed station security. That young man eventually motioned for Justin to try using the fare adjustment machine. That machine did acknowledge Justin’s card, so Justin put more money on the debit card, and the two of us finally passed through the automated gates to rejoin Scott. The only train at the Hamamatsucho station that went directly to Shinjuku was the Yamanote line. So we boarded the green Yamanote line train and rode the loop for 27 minutes before finally reaching Shinjuku. On the train, Justin remained standing near the door. Scott and I sat opposite each other. Scott’s two suitcases and my two stacked totes nearly blocked off passage through the train.

We exited the train and proceeded down two flights of stairs, across and underground tunnel, and up a flight of stairs leading to the Central West station exit. There we were greeted by a small crowd of Japanese people snapping photographs of a live-sized display of an automated jockey astride a race horse. Scott stepped up to the information desk and asked for directions to the hotel shuttle bus terminal. The attendant directed us to the elevator around the corner that took us up to ground level. Once on the sidewalk across from the Nishi Shinjuku shopping area and Yadobashi Camera stores, Justin & I waited with our luggage while Scott walked up and down the street to locate the bus drop-off location. Upon finding it a half-block to our right, we stationed ourselves at the pick-up point and waited ten minutes until the free shuttle bus from Shinjuku Station to the Hilton Hotel made its “once every 20 minutes” scheduled arrival.

When we arrived at the hotel, Scott checked us in. We were assigned room 2128. The room was cozy with two single Japanese sized beds. Scott realized quickly that his feet extended off the end of the short Japanese bed. He went back downstairs to the lobby to inquire about a room change. After being informed that no larger rooms were available without an additional up-charge, Scott went downstairs into the “Hiltopia shopping arcade” and purchased a baked pastry for himself and a pair of onigiri for Justin & me.

Back in the room, Justin & Scott managed, through experimentation and trial & error, to successfully get their cell phones’ internet data connections working. So after nearly an hour’s rest, we decided to venture out. In 2016 we’d discovered that the Travelex Currency Exchange company offered a percentage bonus when exchanging large sums of money in a single transaction. So we walked over to Shinjuku station and eventually found the Travelex counter after passing by it once. The company’s exchange policies appeared to have changed, so as an experiment, Scott exchanged $100 at a mere 101 exchange rate, meaning that he got only slight over 10,100 yen for his hundred dollars. On the way into the depths of the station we’d passed by a MUFG Bank World Currency Shop. So I walked back to it with Justin & Scott in tow. The MUFG Currency Shop offered a 106.58 exchange rate, slightly more favorable than Travelex’s 101 rate. So I changed $500, half of the amount I’d initially anticipated changing. I held back in hopes of later finding a still more favorable exchange rate.

We wandered back into the shopping area of the station where Justin & Scott purchased some fried cutlets from a take-out window. Then we took stairs up to the street level and navigated toward the Yadobashi Camera store “D,” the five floor game & hobby store. First we popped into the 7-11 across the street. I was surprised and pleased to see canned coffees with manga panels printed on the cans. We passed through the first floor of the store, the video game floor, to reach the elevator to the second floor, which was primarily plastic model kits. To our surprise, the stores’ plastic model floor was hosting a promotional demonstration and meet & greet with a celebrity modeler wearing a green luchador mask. Justin & Scott both introduced themselves. The masked modeler gave each of them a foil sticker.

Scott paid particularly close attention to the selection of Mospeada plamo as well as a line of 1:144 scale Macross Frontier Valkyrie model kits. Since the store only carried new items, the prices on select small or old items like small Yamato 2199 starship models were very good while prices on many other items were reasonable but not cheap. Eventually I herded us up to the fourth floor that specialized in boys’ & girls’ toys. Justin immediately gravitated to the section of hanging Ultraman & Godzilla vinyl figures. Scott was a bit less interested in the offerings of this floor. I was surprised and amused to see beer pouring devices on sale as “childrens’ toys.”

When we returned to the street, I noticed a sign for a Yellow Submarine store. I warned Scott & Justin that I wasn’t certain if the store carried models or collectable cards. This particular store turned out to specialize in the later. We explored the store’s second and third floors but skipped the basement floor that advertised primarily offering Yu-Gi-Oh cards.

The “Yokohama Iekei Ramen Ichikakuya Nishi-Shinjuku Main Branch” restaurant across the street looked delectable, so we entered the second floor entrance and took a table. Justin order an appetizer of sausages then a bowl of rice topped with minced meat and raw egg. I ordered the large “sutameshi” bowl of rice topped with thin sliced pork and green onions. Scott ordered the cheese tonkatsu ramen with extra noodles and egg. The entire bill for the three of us was a mere 2,690 yen.

I then notice the oddly named “Ramen Shinjuku Shukuguchi-ten” store which was evidently a hybrid anime and adult erotica store. We ventured into the first floor, and tucked among the video games and home video found a selection of used and discounted anime figures and goods. Primarily to possibly re-sell them, I purchased an Idolm@ster Azusa figure with a slightly damaged box discounted to 380 yen then a pair of clear plastic display standees of Rem from Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu discounted to 100 yen apiece.

Scott, in particular, was feeling very exhausted after going so long without sleep. So we made our last stop at the Daily Yamazaki convenience store. I noticed a cup of Cloretes chewing gum in a commemorative Lupin III package with a Fujiko Mine label. I also purchased a bottle of Pepsi J-Cola to keep, just because I like the design of the bottle. Then I purchased a bottle of Pokka Sapporo’s Sparkling Lemon, and from the self-serve hot food counter, a teriyaki chicken skewer and two fried croquettes that I later discovered were a slice of deep fried ham and a chunk of deep fried cheese & chicken. Scott purchased a canned Hi-ball and a twin box of peach flavored Pocky. Justin purchased a selection of chocolate sweets. Outside of the store, I purchased a 140 yen bottle of C.C. Lemon that I drank on the walk back to the hotel. Back in the hotel, Scott & Justin discovered that the canned hi-ball was a mix of whiskey with beer. On television we happened to catch the current episodes of Jushinki Pandora, Hakyu Hoshin Engi and Full Metal Panic: Invisible Victory.