We "slept in" until 9 this morning and went down to the tasty, but sparse (relative to our other hotels) buffet breakfast in the lobby. After breakfast, we spent an hour or so pouring over our Tokyo books and e-mail advice from friends - by the way, thank you to everyone who offered us advice on the countries and cities we visited on the VacAsian (you know who you are!); we would not have had NEARLY as much fun without your input - trying to figure out how we wanted to first tackle Tokyo. True to form, we opted to head to the Ginza Shopping District to kick things off.We each bought a day pass for the Tokyo Metro, which is phenomenally easy to use. There seem to be at least two trains that go within 3 blocks of anywhere and everywhere you want to go in Tokyo - words like "redundant" and 
"superfluous" come to mind - and Huey is convinced that a visually impaired person could wander into a Tokyo subway car unaided and eventually end up where he or she needs to be. It is virtually impossible to get lost, and, unlike Family Mart, there are plenty of signs that are not in Japanese characters to guide you no matter which language(s) you speak. In addition, the Metro stations connect to underground concourses that connect buildings and multiple stations and are filled with shops, restaurants, and other services, so that depending on where you are going and what you need, there's often no need to go above ground or leave the station.
"superfluous" come to mind - and Huey is convinced that a visually impaired person could wander into a Tokyo subway car unaided and eventually end up where he or she needs to be. It is virtually impossible to get lost, and, unlike Family Mart, there are plenty of signs that are not in Japanese characters to guide you no matter which language(s) you speak. In addition, the Metro stations connect to underground concourses that connect buildings and multiple stations and are filled with shops, restaurants, and other services, so that depending on where you are going and what you need, there's often no need to go above ground or leave the station.
We emerged from the Metro in the heart of the Ginza district and our first stop was the Sony Showroom, where the latest Sony consumer electronics are on display, most of them not available to the public (or at least in the US) yet. From there, we window-shopped in a host of major department stores, where Huey was reminded of the myriad differences between Asian market and department store shopping. We had lunch at I Primo Italian Restaurant (pizza and salads - we needed a change) in one of the department stores, then headed back to the Sony Showroom, where an unexpected adventure ensued.We read in one of our guidebooks that there was a Ticket PIA ticket office in the Sony Building and Huey proposed that we try and get tickets for a professional baseball game and any other shows we might be able to fit in to our schedule. At the Sony Building, we were informed at the information desk that the ticket office was no longer in the building, but had moved across the street to the underground concourse in the Metro station. We were given the exit number the ticket office was adjacent to and we headed off, thinking this would be easy. But once in the concourse, the Ticket PIA was no where to be found. We consulted a wall map (they are everywhere in Tokyo) to make sure we were in the right place and an older woman who spoke some English approached us, offering to help. We told her what we were looking for and she told us she thought she knew where the ticket office was. What followed was a whirlwind tour of the various businesses along the concourse, as she inquired in each one where the Ticket PIA office was located. Eventually, we found the ticket office (as far as we know), and wouldn't you know it? The agent spoke no English. Our new friend translated for us and we purchased two tickets for the Yomiuri Giants baseball game at the Tokyo Dome 
the following night. The transaction complete, we thanked our impromptu interpreter and Metro station sherpa and, like a Nipponese fairy godmother, she disappeared to catch her train.
the following night. The transaction complete, we thanked our impromptu interpreter and Metro station sherpa and, like a Nipponese fairy godmother, she disappeared to catch her train.Bibbidy, bobbidy, boo!
Our next stop was the very cool Hanukkhan Toy Store, with floor after floor of mainstream and Japanese toys, games, and gadgets. And after our concourse escapade, what should we stumble upon at Hanukkhan... but a ticket office! This time around we didn't need our fairy godmother to grab two tickets for The Blue Man Group in Tokyo for our last night in town. We also picked up a few toys and books before we headed back to our hotel.
We stopped at the concierge desk and got a recommendation for a steakhouse serving Kobe beef, made a reservation, and went to our room to nap. Ironically, Gyuan Steakhouse was also in the Ginza District where we had spent the day, 
and it was a short train ride to what was one of the best meals of our entire VacAsian. Though it is not cheap by any stretch of the imagination, Kobe beef is probably the juiciest, most flavorful, melt-in-your-mouth steak either of us have ever had the pleasure to taste, and we enjoyed salads, miso soup, plum wine, and, of course, hot tea with our steaks. Completely stuffed and thoroughly satiated, we took the Metro back to our hotel and called it a night.
and it was a short train ride to what was one of the best meals of our entire VacAsian. Though it is not cheap by any stretch of the imagination, Kobe beef is probably the juiciest, most flavorful, melt-in-your-mouth steak either of us have ever had the pleasure to taste, and we enjoyed salads, miso soup, plum wine, and, of course, hot tea with our steaks. Completely stuffed and thoroughly satiated, we took the Metro back to our hotel and called it a night.Tomorrow we find out the hard way why Japan is known as "The Land of the Rising Sun."
No comments:
Post a Comment