Wanderlust V2 - Japan & Beyond

Wander Tips: Guesthouse vs. Hostel

12/18/2011 05:02:00 PM |

A pathway very near T-towers

Just to note, I will intersperse " Wander tips" between my entries of actual travel. These will basically be my limited experiences, but give you a hint at the possibilities or a reference to places I've been as well as a possible help. Like pretty soon I will put up how to buy Ghibli tickets in Japan, with tips about how to check tickets and such.

This trip was my first time booking a Guesthouse, mainly because they are a bit pricey for the single traveler, but wonderful to 2 or more! My usual travel experience is to find the cheapest stay possible, without really sleeping in a ditch or a dank hole in the wall. A warning to westerners, most likely you will find the accommodations to be cramped for your taste. Just remember it's a place to keep your stuff and lay your head. For me, I found it cozy. I am not afraid of small spaces, though honestly I have never stayed at a capsule hotel so maybe that'd change my tune. This time around our rooms were small but not tiny, due to us staying in 2 person rooms.

Anyways, this time around I was traveling for 2. Me and J agreed to share a room to save money. J didn't understand the concept of the exchange rate so everything got screwy with paypal between 3 country's exchange rates. Also I couldn't convince J to go with the usual procedure which was to pay when you got there, in yen, rather than trying to pay it online. What a mess. I suggest that you make reservations but pay at your accommodations when you get there, in yen. This is quite normal, rest assured. I haven't had issues with the guesthouse or my hostels with keeping my reservations. So don't get scared that they won't hold it just because you didn't throw down the cash or credit card. They often have a process of you paying in full when you get there in Yen. Probably easier for them overall.

Magical downstairs Toilet

So what is a guest house you may ask? It's for longer term foreigners. The normal procedure to get an apartment is a nightmare, with gift money for the manager, key money, and all the deposits. Not to mention it's supposedly pretty hard to get a place as a foreigner. So if you can't quite get a regular apartment ( though I've heard of foreigner channels to do this), then you could try a guesthouse. T-tower Guesthouse, where we stayed, was offering short term stays. I found them on another site where you can rent people's apts for short vacation stays. The guesthouse was most like a hostel, except no dorm rooms. The rooms were about the same size almost and could hold 1 -3 people depending on the room. Also you will notice people leave their items in the shower room and no one messes with it. Same thing with blow dryers or make up in the sink room. Also the people who stay there take care of guesthouse vs. hostels where the staff take care of the hostel.

T-towers consisted of 5 floors. Office, dining room, kitchen, and parlor were on basement floor ( you walked down from street level to get to entrance at the basement). Manager's room was on 1st floor. 2nd and 3rd floor was tenants. 4th floor was the roof, where a tv room, outside deck, washer/dryer, and outside drying lines were located. I liked that you could air dry to save money and no one touched your stuff. All floors had a little toilet room. Living floors had sink room attached to a separate toilet room and a shower room that wasn't attached to anything else. There was actual cable in the basement tv. Our room consisted of a bunk bed, desk with chair, and closet. The heater also belted out extreme heat. I eventually found out on my own how to put on a timer and use the temperature controls. Wish I wrote them down for you, but I didn't. The manager couldn't really explain that and just told us how to turn it on and off. It'll cook you if you have it on constantly. Some nuances about a guesthouse is that you really didn't see other people as much as a hostel. Also we had to pay 10000 yen deposit ( about 100 dollars) that was returned to us at the end of our stay since our room was still in good shape afterwards. You also had to wash your bedding and clean your room, before you left.

So some observations between the guesthouse and hostel?

G: Paying a deposit of 10000 yen vs. H: maybe key deposit of 500 or 1000 yen.

G: More toilets vs. H: possibly less toilets or a lot of toilets in public style bathroom

G: You can split room price vs. H: some places will charge a double room by each person, doubling your price!

G: Appt. needed to see the manager when you arrive and leave vs. H: some staff always about

G: Long term foreigners/natives have more respect for your items and peace vs. H: Sometimes very noisy and some foreigners steal or destroy stuff.

G. Further away from train lines or bus lines vs. H: pretty close to transportation, usually clustered with other Hostels

G: More interesting neighborhoods and more authentic area vs. H: a bit more touristy area

G: Clean your own stuff vs. H: they take care of your room after you leave when it comes to cleaning

G: Bring your own stuff vs. H: may offer free shower soap

Lots of small bars in Ttower neighborhood

So which did I like more? Probably the hostel for it's atmosphere and plushy futons. J liked the guesthouse for western style beds even though the mattress pads were thin. The hostel was much colder than the guesthouse but they provided heating blankets and very thick blankets. They even offered extra blankets as well and an extra futon since J said she could feel the floor. Beware though, there are hostels that have " Guest house" in their name, but are really a hostel.

Lots of plants in Ttower neighborhood too!

Both places had electronic toilets that boasted heaters and bidets.Ttowers one kept getting shut off( probably trying to save power)? But it had a heater.

We stayed at T-tower Guesthouse and Toco Heritage Hostel. Toco is made from an almost 100 year old house and their reception area turns into a bar lounge in the evening. They were also very generous in helping us with anything we needed. The T-tower manager also tried to be helpful but was not as available ( he wasn't just loitering around). Toco also had a traditional Japanese atmosphere and a gorgeous garden with koi, cats, and actual pieces of Mt.Fuji. Toco was a dream come true for me since everything was so woodsy and traditional. J really liked the guesthouse for it's modernness, more private bathrooms( you could use the random one upstairs where no one went to really), and possibly the earthquake proofness. We only experienced our first tremors in T-tower and then many there after. For either place, you better make reservations fast! Both fill up rather quickly.

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Harajuku and Meiji Shrine

12/08/2011 01:08:00 PM | Labels: harajuku, japan earthquake trip, meiji jingu shrine

Lolita gals! Harajuku

After Hanami(Cherry Blossom viewing) in Ueno, we decided to visit Harajuku again the next day. I was thinking I would like to attempt to see the kids that dressed up on the bridge by the park. I always came too late in previous trips ( or I could of been in the wrong area). I also was attempting to convince J to buy the doll she wanted since there'd be no wait! She was on the fence about it and I thought a trip to Soom again might encourage her. I also wanted to see Volks in Harajuku, but never quite found it. Most likely it was upstairs in the Foret department building. I think we were too tired to check.
After Soom we actually tried to find a convenience store called Lawsons, that sold Ghibli Museum tickets. My last trip was easy peasy to get my tickets at the machine and the store was a hop skip and a jump from my hostel. This time we just had a hard time finding one and walked all over the area like crazy. We found it finally and the attendant helped us get our tickets. I think I will always still do it this way. I suggest you familiarize yourself as well, because there's a mark up if you go through a service and it says you can't buy them if you are in another country which is true ( but if you go to Japan you can buy them there). Basically you can't buy them on the convenience store website, but you can check the ticket availability on the website by copy pasting the characters into the search function and buying them directly from the store when you get there. Also you can ask the attendant to help you buy it. Just say Gi-bli ( say G as the letter, not like the G in Go) for Ghibli. The machine shows a calendar. Familiarize yourself with the word sunday so you know what day your are picking. The times are knowable as numbers. The attendant will present the calendar and try to gesture at it for you to pick what you want. If you can, I would put down a few days and times, using japanese for the days. Then bring it with you and you can show the attendant! Honestly I made a mistake on the days and we ended up getting tickets for the next day over. I was double checking our tickets and found that it was indeed my error. Just glad I double checked it and found out before we made the ride out to Ghibli Museum for nothing. After this post I will post how to check Lawson site and some tips & tricks for buying tickets in Ghibli in Japan.

Soom Display

Anyways back to Harajuku! J still did not buy a doll but instead got a clothing item for one of her dolls and a wig for my Cossie. I waffled over some eyelashes for Cossie but decided I was racking up a tab for Cossie and declined the eyelashes. J was getting quite tired of all the walking and didn't want to go down the main street of Harajuku. At that point I had to agree and we went one street over. There were lots of fancy stores. I knew we had to go see Kiddiland. J liked toys as well, so she agreed to that. The original location was closed and had relocated for reconstruction onto " Cat Street." After a bit of confusion we found cat street. It look like it was stone and mainly a walking path rather than a street.

On Cat Street

Kiddiland is pretty awesome. I could of dropped a couple hundred. As it was, I only had limited funding. I got 4 stationary pads and they were around $2.50 or so each. Well needed! They are about $8 + online. I got San-x circus bunny, a black cat ( Kuroi Neko), pears that are kind of animals, and 7 brothers with an angry looking fat cat. There were also many Ghibli things. I told J to wait a bit cause we were going to the museum and they also had a store. She agreed but then got a small something. I could totally understand that because Ghibli stuff is so darn alluring!

We left soon after. We saw the Condom store as well, J had to go in. Unfortunately she had to gasp at the prices! I shrugged. I expected to cost more than a convenience store or wherever you would get these things in Japan. They were specialty right there. We continued to walk. I recognized the area and saw Chicago thrift store. We went to Chicago thrift store. I do not recommend it for cheap clothes. They sell American styles that are rather costly! I do recommend Kimonos! The prices are very reasonable and you can get everything including pre-tied obis ( obis are hard to tie for the uninitiated). Otherwise for real bargains, I think either Sunday or Saturday, there's a guy who sells kimonos on the corner in the open air. They can be as cheap as $10 and Obis galore! I mainly went to Chicago because I had seen a camera from the camera project was there online, but couldn't find it once I got there.Neither of us bought anything there, since we were spoiled by the thrift stores at home. I later found out that Japan also has some real thrift stores with cheaper prices, I hope in the future I can find some! Or maybe Percy can direct me to some in Ikebukuro.

J was feeling over stimulated by humanity, so I suggested the park where Meiji Shrine was situated. You really felt you were away from everything when you went amongst the giant thicket of trees. It was a bit chilly in the trees shadows. Probably a godsend in the hot days of summer. As it was J did not bring a jacket because she hated carrying jackets around. I brought mine regardless. I also get cold easily due to my thin blood and being used to the desert.She as freezing and it also got cloudy/wet. I did convince her in the future to bring a jacket just in case but I had to carry it if it wasn't. Which I'd rather carry a jacket than watch someone freeze and feel guilty that I came prepared.

Temizuya

Meiji Jingu Courtyard

We washed our hands at the area where you were to cleanse. It was a stone basin with water continually flowing and little scoops to scoop the water out. Our hands were like ice, especially since we wanted to take pictures and video of us doing this.If you aren't sure what I am talking about, just before you go into a shrine, there is a basin called Temizuya that is traditional to cleanse yourself at. You pick up one of the dippers, rinse left, then right, pour water into your left to rinse your mouth, and then rinse your left again. Don't drink from the dipper or spit in the water or anything random. I found a guide for etiquette : Etiquette in English!

Shrine Maidens

Wedding Photo

I was glad to go to Meji Shrine to get my new Omamori for the year. Omamori are good luck charms for various areas in your life or situations. They have charms for driving, health, happiness, money, success, etc. I also got a votive board of wood to put my wish on for the year. J declined, not feeling it at all and didn't want to waste money on it. We continued on into the actual courtyard of the Shrine where I put my votive board. And we went up to the holy area and tossed money in the box, clapping our hands, and ringing the bell so our prayers would be heard. After that we went and sat for a while. We watched priests and shrine maidens walk around the area following one another like a line of ducks, perfectly taking every corner on the pathways and in a brisk manner. They walked with a precision. There was also a wedding that happened while we were there and photo ops for them. Last year there were tons of weddings when I went. Usually the weekends and good weather/seasons it'll be busy and you'll see lots of lovely kimonoed guests and wedding Kimonos.

We continued on to get out of the area to the train. We thought we could try going the opposite way but it seemed further. We headed back toward the entrance we came in and came upon a restroom. As she tried to go in, we both noticed that the men's restroom had no partition in the front, so we could see 3-4 men using the restroom at the urinals. We gasped and ran out, which embarrassingly enough led to heads turning to see what was going on behind them. We ran off. As we got to the main path we saw a large building, another type of rest area with a store, food court, and bathroom! I got a cheap kit to make decorative cord, but never could figure out the directions when I got home. Then we decided, even as cold we were, we'd get ice cream. I knew in this aspect, J was of my own heart. I eat ice cream ALL YEAR ROUND. J got green tea and I got Sakura flavor ( cherry blossom flavor). This trip since I made it during the blossoming time, I'd try as many cherry blossom flavored items as I could! The ice cream was in a cone. The attendant removed two little tubs and put them in a hand pressed machine that squeezed the ice cream out through the bottom. This made a very pretty cone! It's just like the soft serve machine coming out in a swirl, but it was a tiny tub of ice cream and a human being pressing the ice cream out by hand.

Side note on my cherry blossom flavored stuff. At some point I had a few cherry blossom buns from the bakery. It had a leaf on the top and then inside was white bean with blossoms inside! I also got a tiny ball that was pink and kinda like smashed rice consistency, but very tasty. I had also heard of a cherry blossom coffee and tea... They are very lovely to look at! Never tasted them though :)

We were freezing by the time we got out of the park and misting with rain. Lucky the train was a steamy hotbed of humanity. We were glad it was so hot on the train and relaxed into our pocket of space for our jounry. It was another tiring day! Honestly you can lose a ton of weight in Japan with all the walking. Also due to the earthquake and power plant, a lot of elevators or escalators were closed, so we walked up tons of stairs. A very healthful vacation! :) Next time I would like to try to taste EVERYTHING cherry blossom!!! YAH! Forgot to add as we went into Meiji Jingu outer entrance I saw a fun gal who graced me with a picture opportunity!

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Hanami and Ueno zoo

12/04/2011 08:17:00 PM | Labels: japan trip hostel tokyo

Marimo Characters? Moss/alge balls?

The day was perfect for a stroll through Ueno zoo and the park. The air was tepid, the blossomes were spilling forth from their furled buds into the wind, on the walk ways, and anywhere they wished to be. We took the faithful Yamanote line to Ueno. We squealed over the cute Marimo moss balls on the side of the train! We wanted to see the real ones in Hokkaido one day. I have to say I love how Japanese can turn anything ANYTHING into a mascot!

Hanami Kitty Tree

Hanami Kitties

As we walked with the large crowds to the park, we noticed the profuse and enchanting atmosphere of the snowy blossoms. I was immediately drawn to the hanami kitties, as I had dubbed them. At the start of the great cobblestone walkway filled with blue tarps and groups of people, there was a tree with two felines. I had seen a photo of these felines online in someone’s blog. It was neat to actually see something of some notoriety. They lay on top of two t-shirts and were quite the pohtotgenic felines. They languidly blinked their eyes at the hordes of people who brandished cell phones, camers, and camcorders in attempts to capture cats enjoying cherry blossoms. Maybe it was a testament to their humanity in that they could enjoy the finer cultural experiences in life. I may have felt the same way If the illusion was not shattered by the owner who hopped over, to adjust the t-shirts and give the cats strong handed strokes and familiarly talked to them.

Cross dress Alice

Only after a bit my attention had waned and I had to look about. J was still very interested in the kitties. My attention was snagged by a cross-dressing Alice. He was dressed in white stockings, blue dress, and a blond wig. There was a gentleman with a large professional camera and another gentleman attached with a microphone. I edged closer and closer, till they couldn’t do anything else but notice my not so subtle intrusion. They looked at me questionly and in my mangled Japanese I requested a photo. Much to my relief their curiosity odd approach turned into pleasant surprise and assenting to a photo, with much posing by Alice! I bowed an thanked them several times. I only wish I had taken a picture with Alice. As I was hugging my camera to my chest, I turned an ran right into J. She asked what I had been up to. I stammered, as if caught in something quite tawdry, and replied I had taken a picture of Alice. J eyed Alice and flatly said, you know that she’s not a she? I nodded.. in which again my strange obsession with crossdressers popped up. I liked it because he had dressed well and wore the dress better than I could! J shook her head and didn’t get it at all.

We continued down the cobblestone walkway, taking in the beauty of the flurry of bright petals and people reclining. They helped themselves to food, liquor, and card games. Some were setting up for larger parties. On my own I would of definitely tried to schmooze into one of these groups, but J was not one for crowds or strangers. She pointed at a small Buddhist temple on the hill. We looked around and then went down again. I wanted to try to capture the festive atmosphere some how. So I paused at the base of the steps where some young men had set up a majong table and were just beginning to play. This time they noticed me right away. I pointed at my camera. One guy offered to take a picture of me. I shook my head and indicated them, playing. One gentleman got it right away and told the others. I thanked them profusely. I loved these candid yet extremely normal pictures. No one would look at them with much awe, but I was glad t have them to remember. I do want to experience Hanami again.. But ALL DAY, into the night! Maybe one day.

J got bored and urged me to do something more interesting. So we went to the zoo. Ueno zoo, being rather large and famous, it was definitely a to do! So we angled ourselves back the same way to get to the zoo. It was opening day for the pandas. At first we were rather excited.. but when J saw the snaking line… we walked right passed the line. Seriously it was larger than a line to Disneyland magic mountain.

J loved the owls and spent the longest there. I liked the enclosure with the goats, sheep, and chickens. By the second half of the zoo, J was very much done. I was able to drag her to the lemurs and then it was time to go. We went out the back instead of walking back toward the front. It was kind of a blessing, because we saw the animals on the man made pound. J of course saw the most detail type of thing. A tiny turtle sunning himself on a rock near some giant hawks. I have to admit, J saw a lot of things I just never even paid any mind. She found neckalces, stuffed animals, gloves.. etc.

J can see the tiniest turtle

Looks like squid!!

Fish on a stick.. MMMMM!

Takoyaki! Octoballs and tentacles!

We finally exited out the back of the zoo. The pond continued on the outside. There was a small temple in the water, with a bridge extended over the water to link it to land. J decided to go and drink a canned coffee and waited for me standing in the shade of one of the vending machines. I was estatic! I wanted to eat everything there. The bridge was lined on both sides by street food vendors, not just Japanese street food either. There were fish on a stick, dango, fried soba, octoballs.. etc. My money was already dwindling..but I couldn’t convince J to share something with me, so I got something tastey and cheap, which was Dango. There was a small fire and dango on sticks around it. I paid for it and he roasted it a bit, then added the sauce ( somewhat tastes and looks like bq sauce, but a bit sweeter). I brought my prize back, never making it over to the temple. We sat on the curb. I ate my dango and J made noises of disgust. I didn’t dignify with her a reply. The dango was heavenly. Finally curiosity overrode J. She asked to taste the meat I had gotten, even though she didn’t really like meat. I didn’t even say anything, I handed it to her and she took a bite… Her eyes lit up… What was she eating, she asked. I laughed and said it’s not meat at all, it’s stick rice balls that were roasted with sauce on them. After that I had to wrestle it away from her because she began to devour it earnestly. I offered to go get her one, but she contented herself to mine. At that point I had wished she still thought it was meat haha. But it was nice. The weather was beautiful, our canned coffee was tastey, and we shared delicious dango.

After a bit a young couple came to sit on the curb across from us. They shared a can of coffee and the boy slipped out an ashtray from his bag, as well as a cigarette. They shared that too and stared at us while we stared at them. It was a weird and slightly uncomfortable moment. But we all sat and drank our coffees, unabashedly staring at each other for some reason. I wanted to take a picture, but I couldn’t really ask and they wouldn’t offer.. So I had to keep this moment in my head. I think the thing that gets me each time, is the ease in which Japanese people pull out a full ashtray from their bags and just pop a ciggy in a hot minute..

Cherry Blossoms close up! You know it!

Ameyayokocho street

Finally we decided to head back to the Guest house. We headed through the park, it was unfamiliar, so I had to stop at a police box and ask where to go. Luckily the train station was pretty much a hop skip and a jump away. We even finally passed Ameyayokocho street. I had tried to find it previously on another trip and failed to find it. We went down a short way, but J hated the huge pressing crowd. Plus behind us someone had the most squeakiest cart, that could drive one mad. So we pressed back toward the exit again. We made it through the mad press and onto the train, in which I think J dozed a little, very Japanese style! We did end up going out a bit in the evening to the local activity building? It had bowling, arcade, puri kuri, etc. We did puri kuri! As we went back, we saw that there were some bands and tiny holes in the wall for them to play, besides the numerous Izakaya and bars around.
Forgot to add that day.. I found a porno vending machine. Our usual way home, we stopped for some drinks. Previously we considered that there were hardly any food vending machines. So I saw some machines in the alcove behind the drink machines that I assumed was food. They were porn machines! They had videos and items. I only have pictures of J next to them, so I can't put them up heh. And who would really want them up! Teehee

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How many months??

11/20/2011 04:25:00 PM | Labels: Japan trip hostel

I can't believe it's been months since I posted... I'm going to try to gather my thoughts and complete my Japan entries eventually. Unfortunately, unlike my trip before this recent one, I didn't make a customary itenary;p So it'll be all over the place based on my photos and what I can remember we did. The next set of photos show UENO ZOO! :) So It'll be that and looking at Hanami. I swear I wrote about Hanami at one point.. but who knows at this point eh?? XD Or maybe I was 'writing' in my head. Too bad there's no technology to write thoughts.. It'd be wonderful and horrible at the same time. Cause I bet they'd use it in investigation rooms or something.. o.o Could you imagine? People would have to be trained not to think thoughts!!!! o.o
I miss Japan. I want to go again around the same time next year. But I need to see my mom and stuff. So we'll see how it all goes. :) PLUS oddly enough tickets to Japan are really steep right now, for around that time. Maybe after holidays they'll go back down? Tickets to Italy are rockin.. Normally $1200, they are going for $700-$800 o.o

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Harajuku Shuffle

5/17/2011 05:59:00 PM | Labels: BJD, cats, Fairyland, harajuku, Japan, Japan Bakery Tokyo, Soom

Our next adventure was to Harajuku. Sadly it would be our last day at Toco, so we took hasty pictures of everything there! Oh how I would miss Toco! But on to wonderful Harajuku!

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.
This day we weaved a different path through the neighborhood in which we met a cat who was patiently waiting at this gate. We wondered why he didn't just go in? If he was simply more polite than the usual cat? He has such a consternated look. I think he may be a Scottish Fold. Another cat themed item on this trip was the new being polite on the train posters.

We didn't spend a whole lot of time in Harajuku that day. We mostly went down Takeshi street, where J bought some socks for her mom. I didn't see my arm warmers for some reason along the way, which I looked for. It was massively packed, and we shuffled slowly down the street. They even had police directing foot traffic, keeping each direction on it's perspective side. You've seen this photo in an earlier entry. That was the day I went. I repost it just to show the amount of people down that street. If you wondered if Tokyo was normal a few weeks after the Massive earthquake... here's part of the proof. No one cowers in their homes, refusing to leave.. Oh no we go shopping haha :)

Finally I show you Soom. J and I chatted on whether we could take pictures. The shop was small and we didn't see any signs. Finally after much staring and debating, the shop lady anticipated our excitement! She said we could take picture and take our picture in the store!! It really was lovely. J bought an alfit and helped me afford a blond wig. It ended up not really fitting but it was lovely and cool to buy something actually at a soom store!!

We ate crepes and searched for a Lawsons to buy our Ghibli museum tickets! :) After that we called it a day! We did end up walking about a bit more, but it was mostly shopping about. ^^ Next entry will be a bit more exciting! UENO and HANAMI!! :) I didn't see any real lolita taking picture opportunities here ;p It gets better! :)

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Akihabara Electric Town! Time to play :)

5/14/2011 01:00:00 PM |

In the twilight of our room I peered at my cell phone ( a glorified watch/alarm clock, having no international access without costing an arm and leg) for time. I twas only 5 am. I nestled in my covers feeling quite peaceful in the predawn twilight. I tend to always wake up early when I first come to Japan. I don’t know if it’s the excitement of being there or simply a weird time lag pneomenom. I pondered if I should sleep more. I peeked at J and she was quite curled up and asleep. I could hear the depth of her breathing and just the abandon in which she had cocooned herself in her covers. I let myself doze then. I woke again after 6:30am and was greeted with movement outside in the hallway veranda. I decided that using the facilities were in need at that moment and extricated myself from my bedding. A couple were up and Den mother was cooking them breakfast. Wearing my oversized Mickey mouse sleep shirt and loose cotton pj bottoms ( which were mismatched to my top) I murmured a Ohiyo and we all looked at each other curiously. I disappeared into the restroom to be greeted very kindly by a toasty warm toilet seat. I could nearly sit there all morning it was so comforting! A few more half bows later, I disappeared back to our room. J appeared to have woken at that point and went to use the facilities as well. We began to get ready for our day, starting with some morning ( usa and Canada evening) chats with our loved ones. J was fairly surprised she had woken up so early since she had told me that she would definitely not be waking up early during vacation! She also ended up Skyping with her mom, showing the room and chatting. I simply left a note on facebook and one in T’s textbox through my email.

Yodobashi at Tony Section

J asked “ What are we going to do today?” I pondered this because she was admanant about not planning the trip at all. I had done a bit of research regardless, being as OCD as I am. So I thought Ueno zoo since it was only a few minutes away, but as J mentioned how excited she was to go to some doll stores, my mind changed to Akihabara, that housed Volks and Azone. I was particularly excited about Azone because it has clothes for 27cm dolls, mostly Obitsu which are cheaper customizeable dolls. The Obitsus’ are usually plastic instead of resin. But regardless of all this, their clothes would possibly fit Cosette! We brought our dolls in case we met any other doll lovers along the way. Getting dress, a short walk, and train ride later we showed up in Akihabara! We actually took the metro for about 160yen ( around $1.75 usd or so).

Egg Bacon bun and Melon bun

Akihabara Electric town was hard to find this time around. Last time it found me, but this time we wandered a bit. The signs for it seem to point us in a weird circle. We gave into hunger as we stood in front of a Bakery( quite possibly a Vie de France Bakery, which is a popular chain). The delicious smells wafted out each time someone walked in, which was quite frequently! We saw a good deal on the board and decided for a small repast. 2 buns and a coffee. Then took a picture in a cut out board for Yodobashi Camera store and then entered in the huge Department store. It's got a lot of floors that actually range beyond merely cameras or electronics! We looked at most of the floors, spending a good amount of time in the toy section. I really wanted to buy whipple, but it was too pricey for my limited budget. I stared at it longingly. J had a small growing pile of randomized toy statues... I regret not being able to stare at the book section there. J was not interested so I had to try to keep up and missed out on the books. I love Japanese artbooks because they are detailed and so wonderful!

Volks Dolls in their boxes

After that we headed toward Electric town again! This time we finally succeeded. I recognized the exit and the building we sought was right out in front! This building was filled to the brim with hobby stores! J got her realistic squishy mushroom cell phone charm from a vending machine. I got two chubby squishy cats. One for myself and the other for T's good friend who loves cats very much.

We visited Volks, in which I already took some pictures before noticing a photo prohibition sign! Heh. We also went to Azone and I got one alfit for Cosette. It was a kimono lolita dress with cat ears and cat tail, as well as a made apron. The Azone gals who were store clerks were nice enough to try the alfit on Cosette to see if we wanted to buy it. They oohed and ahhed over Cosette and said a lot of "KAWAIIIIIIII.' In which I also mentioned her alfit was made by J and they commented on how great it was and looked pleasantly surprised! All in all, such a great experience with the gals. Really wonderful! We also wandered about the area and went to the Sega building, and went to an arcade to enjoy Purikura! It's these photobooths you pay around $4 to get awesome photos done. Then you go around to the side with your friend to decorate your photos. And then two prints come out so you can share. Each print has multiple tiny pictures of different ones you did. J commented she looked great in every photo. The photobooths are equipped with good lighting that washes out flaws and can increase eyelash darkness or eye size! Incredibly fun. We did Purikura through out our whole trip. Even doing one at the amusement park we went to later in our trip. It was Neon Genesis one and quite fun. So basically that was our day! Just incredible!

One side note is that in town we wandered about and found a random shrine on the corner of some towering buildings. I couldn't tell you the exact location, only that it was through wandering, so WANDER!! Also cute little bidded foxes to the left of the shrine on rocks :)

Next Entry :Harajuku!

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Toco and some sundries ( JAPAN TRIP ENTRY)

5/07/2011 04:21:00 AM | Labels: Japan

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.

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!

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Wanderlust V2 - Japan & Beyond

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