Tokyo Times!

Some quick impressions of Tokyo...

For me, Tokyo's feels like Europe! Very fancy, clean, and expensive. Speaking of Europe, I noticed there are a ton of Italian restaurants in Tokyo!

Unlike Beijing, the Japanese don't stare at foreigners. I think it might be a combination of the being very polite and perhaps not as curious about foreigners as Chinese.

It's interesting because it seems that many more people speak English in Beijing than in Tokyo. But while the English signs here have some humorous typos and accidental miswordings (who can forget "The Anus Hospital"?) from what I saw, their English signage is spot on!

I love onsen time!

I went to an onsen (温泉), Japanese for hot springs, which are traditionally public bathing places that are a major tourist attraction because onsen water is believed to have healing powers derived from its mineral content. Some onsen pump the water from underground. There are outdoor and indoor ones, I went to an indoor one and the water was 42 degrees Celsius. It's cute because many old ladies were there and a few were trying to help me through the process as I was the only foreigner on site. When I got into the water my heart started racing and after a few minutes I almost felt a little drunk! I felt embarrassingly weak as my friend later told me that there are onsen where the water is 50 degrees Celsius and that was hard for me to imagine since I almost keeled over at 42!

Taxi ties, green tea rice, 460 kinds of fish
In Tokyo, the taxi drivers wear ties, I was impressed. Also, the cabs are said to be the most expensive in the world! While I was there I didn't see any buses. I read that Japanese can't call for information on buses and it's confusing to figure out the schedule. While Tokyo is not a grid like NYC, it seems like no matter where you go, there's a subway stop only a few minutes away. They also have women only cars so women don't feel uncomfortable being squished against people. It is said Tokyo's subway is the most confusing in the world, but I am a big fan! Even I had no problems, and I went on 8 lines in 3 days.

When I went to Tsukiji Fish Market fish market, I could smell the fish as soon as I got off the subway. It's the world's largest fish market, with over 460 kinds of fish! We had sushi there and it was the most amazing sushi I have, and probably will ever have! It melts in your mouth--amazing. Another fun food find was a dish we had at an izakaya, (an izakaya is like the Japanese version of a pub). The rice is soaked in green tea and then it is served with a pot of green tea to pour over the rice. Very tasty! Like many restaurants and other places, people take there shoes off at the door. When you go to the bathroom there are toilet shoes for people to wear. Some of the toilets have facets on the back of the toilet for flushing. It was so funny, the first time I saw it I thought, wait a second, am I suppose to wash my hands here? hahhaa.

Kimonos: tricky business
Well I have to admit to being very naive about kimonos. I thought you just wrapped them around your body like a robe and then put a nice looking sash around your waist like a belt and then you were good to go. I read Memoirs of a Geisha but I still forgot the complexity. I actually tried on a yukata, which is a more casual form of a kimono. I saw many women wearing them around as they are summer garments. I also read yukata literally means bathing clothes. For men, the most common time it is worn in public is for sumo wrestlers. When I tried one on, one of the salespeople helped me, and she was using a diagram to help her, but she was also stumped a few times. It was very long and had to be folded in such a way that all the extra material could be stashed in front, underneath the obi (belt). I didn't wear the obi because I was just trying it on and could not commit to the purchase. In the end, I didn't get it for two reasons. 1. It felt like I was floating around in A LOT of material and as we all know, I am accident prone as it is! 2. I could never actually put on a yukata by myself!

How is this for random....
In Tokyo's Narita Airport, I had my first bagel in a year! This could just be me, but I have not seen bagels in Beijing. Even if I hadn't had such a wonderful time, my Tokyo bagel would have been worth the trip in itself :)