I guess I should continue with my story. Basically we left off at the airport. We bought our Suicas, without NEX tickets( the NEX wasn’t running when we got there). Suicas are cards for the train, subway, some buses, vending machines, and some stores. They are extremely seductive in that you could waste all your traveling fare on vending machines alone. If you thought a credit card was bad, you can simply chose and swipe and your item pops out! Anyways we took the Keisei and the Yamanote toward Ueno, which is close to Iriya. There we found our little haven called Toco Hertiage Hostel. I wrote a little about it, basically 3 friends renovated a 90yr old house to be a hostel. It’s complete with creaky wooden floor boards, veranda that overlooks a garden with a mini hill ( with rocks from Mt.Fuji), and my beloved little butoh (pig) mosquito repellent holder. I squealed with delight, in which Aoi got confused and assured me there were not mosquitoes at this time. I had to explain that I loved that little holder because it was very ‘Japanese.’ He looked surprised but understood then. For some reason it’s not really kimonos or things like that, but ceramic bells, butoh repellent holders, old style paper doors, and plants that roam odd walls and street corners. J was surprised in our many walks through the neighborhoods at the odd little surprises you could find. Fish in plant potters and all the plants within the city.
Anyways I digress! I love Toco because it’s like getting a kind of Ryokan experience but less orderly. We also got breakfast from the den mother of Toco for 300 yen. It was warm and tastey, mostly consisting of miso soup, rice ball, onigiri, and hot green tea. I loved Toco. I feel like if I go again I want to stay there the whole time. Not to say I didn’t enjoy T-tower guesthouse. T-tower was cheaper for 2 people to stay, besides a 10000 yen deposit.
I can’t remember den mother’s name. She’s actually a gentle young soul who sports an almost art bohemian style with scarfs around her head and flowy earth colored dresses that grace her ankles. She is one of the 3 friends who made Toco. I liked instantly and talked with her a few times. We talked about the Earthquake, with a capital “E.” Also about the nuclear plant. She was kind of surprised that people wouldn’t come to Tokyo because it wasn’t happening there. I liked that she was a very grounded person about this stuff. I think people were quite divided on what they felt and believed. I met another Japanese lady and she was quite afraid of the nuclear happenings.. So I think there is just general caution. Also some foreigners said that they felt the city was oppressed and serious. While others felt it was fine as they could be in moving on. I felt that Japanese are pretty amazing and pretty much continue as normally as possible… Even with lights turned off or escalators not running, I didn’t feel an oppressed atmosphere… I think at one point people understand we are at the mercy of nature. And that to survive and to have survived, we developed a skill to deal with what problems come our way. The less adapative a person is, the more likely they are not going to survive when bad things happen to them. Something like that.
Well more about Toco! It’s pretty artsy and quiet. It’s in Taito-ku, which is a blue collared area and often touted to have lots of homeless. Honestly last trip and this I stayed in Taito-ku. I had seen maybe 2-3 total in both trips. They never bothered me and I didn’t feel fearful of them. It could be that I’m used to our homeless, whom would attack people and make being homeless a career choice. Also we left our unsecured belongings in our room and nothing gotten messed with or taken. Japan is pretty safe in this manner. And you’ll find a lot of people still out and about late at night. I would mention that there are paper walls in Toco, so sometimes it felt like we were sleeping with the people next door since they sounded so very close to us! J had ear plugs and I had my hard sleeping manner, so we didn’t suffer too much. J did have a problem with sleeping on the floor, even after Den mother brought her an extra mat. I did like the bedding at Toco, huge lovely comforters and fairly fluffly futons, as well as extra warming blankets. I was quite comfortable since I have floor sleeping experience. I used to have a hard buckwheat pillow that was a cylindrical shape. My dad swears it has dented my head.
Toco also had a few of the nubby tailed cats and 3 koi in a tiny pond. Their toilets are modern and superb. And they have shower rooms. I think it was a good idea not just because of space but because I’ve seen Japanese style baths shut down because foreigners tend not to take a shower before getting in, and pretty much making a mess of baths that aren’t monitored. Not saying all foreigners, but it’s been enough that the baths in smaller places get shut down ( not sentos).
I digress way too much haha. Well we had the twin room, which was sandwiched between the triple and the mixed dorm. It was fairly empty due to so many cancellations. I suggest trying to reserve a month ahead time, maybe more? Their website has a calendar to see what rooms are open, so I’d check that out. At first we could only get 2 days and then after earthquake, we could get the twin privated for more than 2 days. We already made plans at T-towers so we had to stop our stay at 2 days.
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| At the Combini near Toco!! |
Our first day we just cooled our heals because it was already late afternoon, heading into evening. We left our door wide open so we could enjoy the lovely garden view and check our email/contact family. I met Cosette for the first time and Clover. Cosette is my doll that J helped me get and Clover is J’s doll. Its funny, lots of things I may not have liked before, I’m oddly getting into now. I’m not such a big doll person, I always loved horses and such. But Cosette is something special. She is Korea in Origin and ball jointed. Even her torso moves. She is hand sculpted and customizeable. She is unusually tiny but detailed and not baby doll like at all. That’s the short of it. She’s really a work of art and made of resin. I adore her. Well that’s all for now! I think our first adventure starts with Akihabara.. more next time!
Our main goal there was to go see Fairyland store, which has a lot of Soom Ball Jointed Dolls. Of course I am always looking for lolita, gothic lolita, and Gyarus! J was purely uninterested in them and shook her head every time I try to go get pictures.
