Tokyo 2013 (Day Two): Meeting friends & Kagurazaka

The Shinjuku Station area.

Day two of our trip to Tokyo, and I was keen to get moving early and to achieve as many items of my itinerary as I could throughout this day (remembering to stop for free drinks at the entrance of our hotel; the City Hotel N.U.T.S!). We set off at a reasonably early time, mindful of the fact that both Yas and Angie would be climbing Mt. Fuji that evening (!), while Rainer and I would be enjoying ourselves within Tokyo.

A gorilla?
Can't say I'm a fan of this! (Groan)

The previous day had been quite busy, and we weren't quite fully rested by the time we set off, but we pushed through.

Shibuya Crossing. Busy as always.

Yaseen split up from us early, as he was heading off to meet a former Kagawa JET named Jordan who he had become good friends with. They would be having lunch together. Meanwhile; Angie, Rainer and myself made our way over to Shibuya, where we would be meeting some old friends.

Lunch with Michihiro and Yutaka

Rainer and I reunite with Yutaka and Michihiro.

Long-time readers of this blog will remember that Rainer and I popped over to Tohoku last March to do some volunteering in the areas worst hit by the infamous tsunami in 2011. While we were there, we were lucky enough to meet two great guys from Akihabara in Tokyo, who we became friends with and invited us to a very pleasant evening in Akihabara.

Knowing that we would be coming back to Tokyo, I got in touch with both Yutaka and Michihiro, who Rainer and I hadn't seen since the previous year. Both were in the midst of intense studying as they finished off their university courses (which would be over very shortly) and dissertations, but they managed to spare just a little bit of time in order to have lunch with us and be introduced to Angie.

We met the pair at Shibuya station, where the cafe they had in mind was. We went over to a small place which was perfectly concealed downstairs and below the street level; the kind which would be completely overlooked by the casual passer-by. We spent the next couple of hours catching up while enjoying free salad and Okinawan-style dishes. I wish I could remember the name of where we went, or even how to get there, but I'm afraid I wouldn't have a clue!

We also had a chance to meet Yutaka's sister, who was absolutely lovely and a very interesting girl. She lived abroad in England for a while, and had flawless English ability. Very impressive.

The Gundam in the cafe.

The whole team.

Shibuya Crossing

Shibuya Crossing: a busy place.

After lunch, our trio (Angie, Rainer and I) decided to spend a little time at the area around Shibuya station before we caught up with Yas and Jordan. Naturally, the first port of call was to check out Shibuya Crossing.

The last time I had been here was with Richard Kinsella almost exactly one year prior. This time I was able to see the area during the day-time, and it was just as busy - if not even busier - that the last time.

A musician plays electric guitar on top a mini-van with loudspeakers. Very "Japan".

I made a point of looking for the famous Hachiko statue, which I had missed on my previous visit. Hachiko is a famous dog with a story very similar to that of Greyfriars Bobby in Edinburgh. Hachiko supposedly retuned to Shibuya station - where he would normally meet his owner every day - for years after his owner died.

Hachiko.

The whole area was full of life, but it seemed unlikely to be due to the political rallying. There were so many youths around - many of whom were wearing rather eccentric clothing and hairstyles - and I could only guess they were here for some other event in the area that day.

Then again, perhaps this is just how it always is there at Shibuya Station?

Mascot madman. He must be cooking in there.

A local celebrity walks through the crowds.

This guy constantly walks around wearing a school girl's uniform.

We made our way across the street. I was ready for a Starbucks (my second in as many days), but it wasn't to be, as we were planning to have coffee with Yas and Jordan when we reunited with them. To kill time, we decided to check out the shop directly below the Starbucks, looking at all the DVDs and CDs on display.

Busy.

Game of Thrones in Japan!

Japanese DVD stands with nifty 3D displays.

I don't know what this is. I'm not sure I want to know.

The man's wearing pants on his face, for starters.

Eventually we heard from Yas and Jordan, who were making their way back to Shinjuku station. We turned about-foot and made our way over.

Shinjuku and Starbucks

We arrived very quickly back in Shinjuku, though Yas and Jordan didn't arrive at the same time. Their journey took a fair bit longer than ours, so we found ourselves having to wait around for a little bit.

Hanging about.

I managed to sneak in a wee play session of Pikmin 3 on the Wii U.

Luckily, the group eventually reunited. It was nice to see Jordan again, who had previously been a Kagawa ALT in Marugame before moving to Tokyo. Jordan, who lived near Shinjuku, had a place in mind for us to visit for coffee - something a little different from Starbucks, at least.

Coffee trek.

Things continue getting political.

Unfortunately, this being Tokyo in the middle of the day-time, the cafe we went to in Shinjuku Station was completely maxed out. Not unexpected. We were told our waiting time would be at least another hour, so we decided to just pack it in and go elsewhere. Initially, we had decided to avoid Starbucks, but as we wandered through the streets looking for an alternative we eventually stumbled upon another one, where - again - we couldn't initially get seated.

We decided to bite the bullet and get coffee here, hanging around until seats became available. I was feeling quite sorry for Angie and Yas by this point, as the two of them would be climbing Mt. Fuji later on that evening. I gave Angie my seat, finding myself having to sit on the floor, but luckily a member of staff took pity on me and brought an extra chair out.

Still busy.

Jordan relaxes at Starbucks.

Angie rests her feet.

Rainer and I were feeling fairly restless at this point, as we had a whole checklist of ideas for places to visit, yet the day was starting to get away from us. I was keen for us to head to Ueno Kouen, but the mountain climbers wanted to rest up prior to the big climb.

...Rainer?

Rainer decided to check out one of the local arcades. I decided to follow him (leaving just a little after he left), but I'm sure in the crowds that we must have ended up in different arcades, because we couldn't see each other in the one I went to. Either that or we continually walked past one another. I gave up and went back to the coffee shop, where we decided to go our separate ways for the evening. I finally tracked down Rainer and the two of us decided to make our way to Kagarazaka.

Kagurazaka

Kagurazaka, AKA. "Little Paris".

Kagurazaka is an interesting part of Tokyo, often known by the title 'Little Paris'. It had been on my "hit list" for quite some time, so Rainer and I took the opportunity to finally explore this part of the city for the evening.

We arrived in Kagurazaka approaching the late-afternoon. The train station by a river wasn't near any particularly busy streets, and at first we wondered if we'd gotten off at the wrong stop (albeit a much quieter and more peaceful one). We followed the signs to where the main street appeared to be, stopping for a brief detour into a manga store and a conbini.

We found what appeared to be the main street that ran through the area. Following it along, we were struck how nothing in the area appeared to be particularly French in nature. Despite being 'Little Paris', and supposedly having a large French immigrant community, there were no caucasians in sight. It appeared to be just another suburban area of Tokyo, with the exception of a patisserie facing the main road. Perhaps we just weren't in the right place, but it must be said that our first impression was a little underwhelming.

A patisserie: getting closer to French things?

However, the streets had beautiful paper lanterns dangling overhead, which created a lovely Japanese feel. We also discovered a nice little temple where students were practicing their drumming drills, presumably for an imminent festival, along with the other decorations. I popped into a small sweets shop and found some lovely jars of sweets to give as presents to people, and decided to stock up in preparation of my imminent trip to Scotland again next month.

Whilst I was in the shop, I asked the woman who served me where the local French restaurants would be. We were pointed in the direction of a lovely little place only five minutes from where we were. We headed round there, and opted to eat there for the evening - although the restaurant was currently closed at the time of our arrival. We wandered further up the street, looking for evidence of French residency. Overall, we found very little.

A "Natural" Lawson?

French stuff this way?

No matter. The area was wonderfully peaceful and a great relief from the flooded streets of Shinjuku and Shibuya earlier in the day. Rainer and I were honestly just pleased by how quiet this area was. As the night came in, we wandered back down the slope we had climbed to the restaurant, settling down for a taste for France.

At last! A French restaurant!

French Dinner

After a day where we had been on our feet almost constantly, and had spent a fair amount of hanging around, it felt great to be able to finally just sit and enjoy drinking wine and fine food. And, at last, here was some evidence of the French presence we had been searching for in Kagurazaka.

The waiters were indeed authentically French (at last!), which gave me an opportunity to try out a little bit of my French skills that I'd acquired in high school. Sadly, it was left waning somewhat. "Je ne comprends pas".  I'd known for a while that a lot of my French language skills had fused with my Japanese, and here were the results. Not pretty. It made me feel a fair bit of motivation to revise a little French again, so my old skills didn't completely go to waste.

Hats off to the waiters as well, who spent the evening persuading us to buy more and more expensive alcoholic concoctions. We were feeling fairly intoxciated by the time we left! Nevermind; the food was sublime.

Back to the Hotel

Lanterns in Kagurazaka by evening.

Feeling fairly intoxicated by this point, Rainer and I left the restaurant and began our journey back to Shinjuku and our hotel. We had a little bit to travel, but we were feeling merry enough.

At this point, the lanterns hanging on the streets above us had lit. The tranquil evening was even quieter than our wander around the streets before dinner. The atmosphere was peaceful and very other-worldly, and it was lovely just to wander lazily up to the train station while admiring the scene.

Of course, eventually we had to make our way back onto the subway. Which we did. Back in Shinjuku, it was a fair walk to our hotel, but we carried on merrily.

That evening we both conked out feeling pretty exhausted from all of the walking we had done. The tragic thing, of course, was that Angie and Yas would just be starting their ascent up Mt.Fuji! As we passed out on their beds, they would already be on their way up. Poor guys. I certainly didn't envy them.

A Tokyo subway map. Good luck navigating this.

Overall, a much more mixed and tiring day than our first in Tokyo. There had been a number of highlights and some great places to visit, but there had also been a fair amount of hanging around which had slowed down our journey somewhat. No matter; we still had two days left to have fun, which was exactly what we intended to do.

Tokyo 2013 (Day One): Shinjuku & the Ghibli Museum

Back in Shinjuku!

With Tokyo being just so damn big, it was essential to make a return journey to tick off a few more items on the seemingly-endless list of attractions that I wanted to visit. As such, I decided to make my way back to Tokyo in mid-July, accompanied by frequent travel companion Rainer, plus Angie and her good friend Yaseen. Angie and Yaseen were looking to climb Mt. Fuji, which is something I'd accomplished last year. The four of us decided to combine our trips, though Rainer and I would be skipping on the mountain climbing (Rainer had also climbed the mountain a few weeks after me when a friend of his visited Japan). This was to be an extended four day trip in the heart of the city for Rainer and I, and we intended to make the most of it.

The drop-off point for the night bus in Shinjuku.

Arriving in Shinjuku

We arrived in Shinjuku early on Friday morning via night-bus, though Yas had to take a separate bus due to buying a slightly different ticket. Angie, Rainer and I attempted to clean ourselves up in the toilets while we waited for Yas, but found them just a bit too busy and instead decided to wait until a little later on.

We caught up with Yas at the bus park, and after a fair bit of dilly-dallying over where to eat breakfast, we ended up back in the familiar sights of a Starbucks in Shinjuku Station. This had definitely become a common theme of my trips around Japan by this point, but it's no bad thing. After breakfast we managed to clean ourselves up in the bathroom at last, though we may have caused some slight chaos and confusion by using the single cubicle simultaneously to brush our teeth.

First port of call for the day: Starbucks.

Angie shows off her just-cleaned teeth.

Early morning Shinjuku.

Being Tokyo, the area was by no means deserted (and was in fact fairly busy already) around Shinjuku station. Usually I'd seen most of this area around night time almost exclusively, so wandering around in the early morning gave quite a new perspective on a lot of areas I'd previously only really seen in the dark.

Yas had indicated a desire to check out the Sompo Japan Musem of Art, and so we made it our first destination for the day, as it was only a short walk away from Shinjuku station. At the time of our arrival, though, it turned out to be closed for another thirty minutes until the doors opened.

Angie cranes her neck to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building.

We decided to kill time near the doors rather than run away and have to come back. Still, that didn't stop Angie and Yas from heading off to track down ice cream at a local Family Mart, nor Rainer and I from checking out and getting some shots at the famous "LOVE" sign.

The iconic "LOVE" statue.

Seiji Togo Memorial: Sompo Japan Museum of Art

The Sompo Japan Building.

Image from Wikipedia.

As mentioned above, our first port of call was an art museum which Yas was keen to visit; the Sompo Japan Museum of Art. This was somewhere I'd never heard of before, but which had piqued Yaseen's interests and we were happy to investigate.

This Museum of Art was almost exclusively focused on modern art, which I'm afraid isn't an area of expertise for me at all.

A view from a Sompo Japan Museum of Art window.

There was quite a large collection, though as per usual photographs were forbidden inside the premises. The artists celebrated were mostly ones I hadn't heard of before, but the modernism on display was quite appealing. I particularly enjoyed the minimalist style of Seiji Togo, which a lot of the museum focussed on. They also had one of Van Gogh's original Sunflower paintings on display, which was breathtaking to see in the flesh.

Left: A nicely understated piece by Seiji Togo.

Right: The Van Gogh painting on display. Wow.

It took about an hour or so to make our way around the museum. As I say, art is something at which I am by no means a scholar. However, it was nice to make our way around this museum, especially as a small counterpoint to our more local artworks on the Seto Islands (such as on Naoshima and Inujima, for example).

Buffet Lunch

Following our trip to the art museum, we were lucky enough to stumble upon a lovely place to have lunch directly underneath the Sompo Japan Building. In a small passageway, there was a collection of several lovely places to eat lunch (and also a Subway, but we skipped that). We opted for an Italian buffet restaurant by the name of Pizza Salvatore Cuomo.

In Pizza Salvatore Cuomo.

We were all pretty damn hungry, having not really filled ourselves up too much at Starbucks. It was the perfect excuse to indulge in an Italian buffet lunch, which we duly did. The setting was very sophisticated, although the Simpsons Movie was playing on TV screens throughout. The food was wonderful, although they did have some rather odd variations of drinks on offer as opposed to the conventional options. All in all, a damn fine choice for lunch.

My plate. Yum!

Yas and Angie get stuck in.

Following lunch, we still had a fair bit of time before we were able to check into the hotel. We decided to make our way to the next important destination on our list; the Studio Ghibli Museum.

The Studio Ghibli Museum

The Studio Ghibli Museum Entrance.

One of the main reasons Angie had wanted to come to Tokyo (other than wanting to climb Mt. Fuji, of course) was to finally see the famous Studio Ghibli Museum. With this trip, we were finally able to do just that.

For those not in the know, Studio Ghibli is one of (if not the) most prominent animation studio in Japan, with acclaimed animated films internationally. It's huge collection of films (including Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, Laputa, Grave of the Firelfies, and My Neighbour Totoro, etc.) have caused many to call it the equivalent of Disney in Japan. The films really are quite spectacular, and well worth seeing by anyone who enjoys hand-drawn animated cinema.

Angie and Rainer wait by the entrance to the Ghibli Museum.

Note Rainer's iPad: he never goes anywhere without it!

Getting tickets for the Ghibli Museum isn't so easy. You have to apply several weeks in advance from a computer terminal (in Japanese) at a Lawson convenience store. I don't presently know of any other way to get tickets. There are four access times a day, each lasting around two hours, and you must book a specific slot when you book your tickets. It really does require quite a bit of planning. I had hoped to go to the Ghibli Museum last year with Richard when we went to Tokyo around this time, but unfortunately the tickets had all been sold out when we tried to get them.

A friendly-looking Totoro looks out on the visitors.

Thankfully, this year we'd been able to pick up tickets for all four of us.

We made the (slightly lengthy!) trek to Mitaka station from Shinjuku, which took about twenty minutes on the train and about another twenty minute on foot to the museum. The first impression was quite overwhelming; the building was three stories tall, positioned right next to a large park, and looked as if it had just dropped out of a Ghibli film itself.

We arrived slightly early for our timeslot, but after a short wait we very quickly we found ourselves at the door a little before our official entry time of 2pm. We made our way into the museum. On the way in, we were handed a little slip containing three replica film slides from various Ghibli films, which we would be able to use in a projector inside the museum.

A happy Angie.

Inside, we honestly didn't know where to begin. It was huge.

The place still seemed to be filled with people from the previous timeslot, so we quickly surmised that the door policy was slightly looser than we had anticipated (unless a lot of people just happened to get in right in front of us). The exhibits on display were magnificent, though - yet again - photographs were forbidden inside the museum (boo!). I can say that some of the most striking displays were replicas of the personal study rooms in which Hayao Miyazaki worked (which were overflowing with books of foreign influences, stream technology, and planes). There was even a book of Scottish landscapes on display! There was also a giant soft Cat Bus replica (from the video Totoro), which children climbed all over. I also thoroughly enjoyed a corridor where many optical illusions could be experienced with the aid of various projection tools (and even periscopes). There was also an opportunity to crank old-fashioned cinema projectors and project images onto walls.

The museum was designed in three tiers, with no logical way to move around. Instead, visitors are encouraged simply to make their own path, and explore in the way a character within a Ghibli film might do. The architecture was very in-keeping with the aesthetic: even the toilets were filled with noteworthy trinkets!

The amount of content on display was quite staggering, and would truly be a dream for any Ghibli enthusiast. There was also a small fifteen minute Ghibli animation on display, which can only be viewed inside the museum in their own cinema space. Apparently there are several of these films, which rotate regularly. We saw a fantastic little short involving a rabbit and a little boy who raced each other in order to claim a walking stick... It sounds bizarre, but it was charming and very in-keeping with the Ghibli stylings. A very memorable highlight.

Ghibli-branded beer!

After spending a fair amount of time exploring almost everything on display in the museum, we made our way out into the garden space where people could sit and enjoy drinks on the veranda area. What was particularly exciting was some home-branded Ghibli beer! It was pretty good, truth be told. I'm pretty sure it's only on sale within the museum, though.

A drink in the garden.

Yas is overwhelmed with joy.

There was also a cute little cafe, where we decided to get some tea and cake. Again, the aesthetic was absolutely charming. We treated ourselves to strawberry and chocolate cakes, and had huge cups of tea. It was a relaxing break from the intensity of the gift shop, to be sure!

In the Ghibli Café.

.

Strawberry Shortcake dream.

Our final stop before leaving the museum was on the roof of it. There, very easy to miss, was hidden a special surprise. We climbed up a spiral staircase to see a life-size replica of the robot from Laputa.

The robot from Laputa!

The rooftop space offered not just a chance to pose with the giant robot statue, but also offered a unique little garden space of its own, as well as a view over the grounds of the museum. As always, the surreal nature of the area felt just like a fantasy world.

 

All in all, I can't recommend the Ghibli Museum highly enough. Even if you aren't traditionally a fan of the Ghibli movies (though, really, who isn't?), the exhibits can't help but take your breath away. It's a remarkable place with some incredible sights to see.

Political Rally

As we made our way back to the hotel to finally check in, we stumbled upon a rather unusual scene happening near Mitaka station. Of course, this was the weekend of the Japanese Upper House elections (which would be taking place on Sunday). As such, one candidate was out in full force, campaigning with a fairly modestly sized crowd by the train station.

Not the actual candidate, but a spokesman for him.

Of course, I don't know much about Tokyo's distinct politics, but we watched a little bit of the speech out of curiosity. We had no idea who the candidate was, or what his policies were, and the Japanese was far too difficult to follow. Still, it made for some curious viewing. As we would discover, there would be similar scenes all across Tokyo throughout this weekend trip.

Thai Dinner

The Thai menu.

After finally checking into the hotel (the 'City Hotel N.U.T.S'), and having some much-deserved showers, we weren't really in the mood to go trekking around town again in search of somewhere to eat dinner. Thankfully, we didn't have to, as we stumbled upon a lovely little Thai restaurant right across the street from our hotel.

Time for Thai! Although Yas looks a bit worse for wear.

We all opted to have a variation on curry of some form or another. I had never had a Thai curry before, but I can safely say that it was wonderful. The restaurant was owned seemingly by a husband and wife couple, who had various other Thai guests that night. It was a very quaint and intimate setting; very different from the huge sights of Shinjuku and Tokyo which we had seen earlier.

A Thai curry for dinner.

Elephants.

An especially kind gesture came from the restaurant owners after we finished our meal. We were treated to a special dessert, free of charge, which I remember being delicious (yet don't actually remember what it was! Argh!). It was a nice little note on which to end the day. We made our way back to the hotel, and put our heads down for the night.

So, our first day in Tokyo had been a success. With three more to go, we still had a lot to come.