In Summary

A few amusing points of Interest and Random Advice.

I just wanted to close with some things that didn't quite get into my daily blog.

Love Hotels

It is very crowded in Tokyo. Adult children are often renting a room from their parents. So what do they do when they have a boodie call? They go and use a Love Motel. There were a couple of these across the street from our place in Meguro and I took some pictures.

This is actually 2 places, right next to each other. The only "Mod" buildings around

Rest

A “Rest” is for a couple of hours.

A “Stay' is for the night.

Some of the things that theses places offer:

1. Automated checkin. No need to talk to a front desk person. Preserve your privacy.
2. No windows. (why would you need them?)
3. Many places have special settings (such things as round beds, mirrored ceilings,and sex toys).
4. In the one across the street, it looked like they even had special secure “car” check in. Drive your car in, and lock it up, no people needed.
5. It is all BYOG

Couple at shrine with funny T-shirts.

Saw this couple on our first day of touring. She was taking his picture. I took both of theirs. Obviously he used the t-shirts to propose to her. Perhaps on that very day. I wonder if brought 2 different shirts for her (just in case she said no).

Would YOU Marry ME?

Yes I Do

Condo Mania

Oh look, a giant talking banana trying to sell Condo's. Wait.......

Grand Open !! (skytower).

You build the tallest free-standing transmission tower in the world, you pay Hundreds of Thousands of dollars for signage and creative art, and you don't get the damn things spell check by a native english speaker?

Eating Out.

In general, it isn't too bad to get around the language barrier in Japan. However, if you go into a restaurant, make sure that there are pictures of the food outside or that you have some way of asking for what you want. We had a couple of times where there was no english text what-so-ever on the menu and we ended up just walking out. This was mainly because one of us was a vegetarian.

At dinner, you have to summon the waitress. Also, you always pay at the cashier on the way out. If you don't have a bill, just go to the cashier. But usually you will have a running bill sitting on the table.

The Metric System Kills.

I was walking down the street, checking out the route that Dan I would take the next day to get our luggage to the the airport bus. The desk staff said “10 Minutes” but I was untrusting. Suddenly this cab drives by and the driver throws something at me. It comes in fast by misses my head by inches and skids across the sidewalk in front of me. Hey !! What the frak? It is a tape measure? Huh? Perhaps he didn't throw it. Perhaps someone left it on the roof of his cab and it just came loose. I picked it up. I waved at the cab. He slowed down. He did a 3 point turn. OK, he is coming back. Hopefully he will not be coming back to kill me. He stops across the street from me and picks up a new fare. That is why he turned around!! He didn't want the stupid tape measure. BUT IT IS IN METRIC !!

No go.

Now that I look at it, it probably was on the street and he just hit it with a tire and kicked it my way with his cab. Hey, at least I have a +5 magic tape measure. In Metric.

Service Minded Culture

Asked for a cab. I thought the girl would call one on the phone, but instead, she grabbed an umbrella, walked out in the rain to the street corner, and stood there for 3 minutes until she could hail a one from the street. Was she thinking, “It is a honor to help our honorable guests” or “Stupid lazy Fraking Americans can't even get their own cab”.

Street Safety:

Daniels definition of how safe Tokyo is: There are random vending machines in the streets. These would all be vandalized in the USA.

Watch your Fingers

Elevator doors are not forgiving. They close hard and insistently. You can stop them, but you have to push pretty damn hard. Don't know if they could hurt you, but they can definitely cause pain.

And it saves Paper!!

All of the toilets have bidet and “shower” buttons on them that activate a hidden spray for “personal Cleanliness. I can't tell the difference between the to options, But I like both.

I feel as fresh as springtime.

Unless, of course, they are the traditional “hole in the floor” type of toilet. You find those around a lot also.

Why don't I have photographs for these things?

The Language Barrier

Pretty much impossible to predict who will speak english. The ultra western looking waitress may know no english, while the older lady in the kimono will be fluent.

It is unexpectedly hard to get around or even buy dinner if the place isn't using your alphabet. The japanese go a long way to use European alphabet, but there are still some places (out of the way subway stations) where the maps have no english. The station names are usually bi-lingual.

The poor japanese school kids have to learn like 4 alphabets. The chinese characters (kongi) two phonetic sets, and the European alphabet.

Travel Tips:

1. Get rid of all of your cotton things. Try and carry new synthetics. They are much lighter and you can wash them in the tub and they will dry overnight. I think this especially goes for mens underwear. I really wish I had a couple more of the long sleeve button hiking shirts and some of the hiking underwear.
2. Don't expect the waiting staff at a restaurant to hover over you. I think they find that rude. They give you your space. When you want something, wave at them.
3. In Tokyo especially, if you are a non-smoker, ask for a non-smoking floor. (not just room).
4. Go into a japanese grocery store or convenience store (they are everywhere) and try some local sweets that you don't recognize. They are fun and not too challangeing. (hey, same goes for the local beer. Cheaper than at the hotel).
5. In the better class hotels, it is probably worth it to get the room with breakfast. The japanese style buffets can be a lot of fun.
6. Explore the subways in Tokyo. Get a good map from a tourist agency and have some fun. It isn't that hard, and if you stand around looking confused in front of a subway wall map, someone will come up and help you.
7. I think a trip should include a trip to a public bath. Ideally, stay in a hotel that has one, but at least get out one evening to a recommended one. Be sure to be ready to be Naked. This means that no matter what happens you are determined to be nonchalent.
8. There are a lot of places that won't take credit cards. Either make sure that the restaurant or store will take plastic before you order, or carry a bunch of cash.
9. I really enjoyed being on a tour the first part of my stay in Japan. The tour groups really take care of you. They get you from one hotel or station to the next and take much of the worry out of travel. They sort of ease you into the idea that you really can do lots of the travel on your own.
10. In japan, all of the restaurants have japanese cooks. So the italian and chinese and american restaurants are all really japanese restaurants. So you might as well to japanese. The one exception I found to this was the Indian/Nepalese restaurants. These seem to all be run by genuine Nepali people who speak great English and love to have american customers.
11. If you tour guide says to be someplace at 12:15, be there at 12:15, dammit, I don't want to wait for your slow american ass.
12. Walk on the left. 
13. Eat at the sushi place with the long line. (but go the next day earlier).
14. Ride the Shinkansen between Kyoto and Tokyo. Then write your senator.
15. The green powder in front of you in the little bowl at the Sushi Go Round is green tea mix. Not Wasabi. Don't put it in your soy sauce.
16. If you are a Vegetarian, get someone to write on a card for you (in Japanese) “I am a Vegetarian, no meat or fish, please”.
    私はベジタリアンです
    ない魚や肉は、ご遠慮ください。

17. Recharge your camera battery every night.
18. The power in japan is fine for most american electronics. The only trick is that they use a 2 prong plug with no polarization. This means their plug is just like our 2 prong plug without the “one side bigger than the other” thing that you see on some high power electronics. Most of the hotels I was in had a compatible polarized outlet, however. The problem I had was that there was really only 1 outlet. You could only plug in 1 thing. So I think it makes sense to bring a 1 to 3 plug. In fact, what I did was get a 3 prong 1-3 and pull out the ground prong. Net cost, $2.50.
19. Aragato is a short thank you. Say it a lot. It makes everyone happy.

Daniel Adds

1. Go to Ahkibara for anime things. You need to look around a lot, it is a big place.
2. Beware of sex shops that look like anime cosplay shops.
3. Practice saying “Really, Dad, I thought it was an anime shop”
4. Get a good subway and train map.
5. If you like Tori Gates, go the the shrine of 1000 tori gates. It is only a couple of train stops from Kyoto Station.
6. If you want to buy a Kimono or Yukata, go to Asakusa and look in the shops near the budhist temple.
7. You really want a Yukata. Perhaps you can just get one of the ones from your Hotel.
8. Don't do the chinese restaurants. 
9. The Indian/Nepal food is awesome.