Splendors of Japan
Day One – 11 May 2014
Tokyo
Weather: Sunny, 24
I woke at 5 am and opened the curtains to a beautiful blue sky. That put only one thought into my mind. Where is the best place to see Mt. Fuji on a day like today?
At 6:30, I went down to the concierge and asked and the answer was what I expected: Skytree.
I wasn’t sure I wanted to go cause I didn’t want to tackle the subway or the long lines, but a taxi could get me there before it opens for a more reasonable price than I expected.
The tower was opened in May 2012 and is now the tallest free standing tower in the world. (Don’t forget, too, that this city is at the junction of four tectonic plates making it the most seismically active spot on Earth).
No, that’s not the head office of the Minnesota Vikings to the right there.
The Skytree opens at 8 am and the concierge got me a taxi at 6:45 and I headed on over. I’d rather spend 45 minutes at the head of the line than up to 2 hours in a long line. Being Sunday morning, the roads were empty and it was clear sailing all the way there for about $40 in taxi fare. I found the ticket office and the ten other people who had the same thought I did.
That was 7:15.
By 7:45, there were more than a hundred people behind us.
By 10:30 (when I last passed the lineups, there were probably 300 or more in the line – probably about a one hour to 90 minute wait).
Just before 8 am, the patient cashiers were joined by four other women who stood out in front and gave a short spiel in Japanese then bowed and welcomed everyone. I have no idea what they said, but I got the tail end of the welcome on video:
Which I should note now…they bow a lot more than I ever expected. Even as I walk by shops, there’s usually someone standing out front and they say something and bow.
I’m guessing they all have strong back muscles and rock hard abs!
And as in the airport, the lines are orderly. No one hurries. No one pushes. The contrast to China with respect to how they act in lineups is mind-boggling.
I got my ticket for the first level. The second level ticket has to be bought once you’re up to the first level. The whole process makes me recommend that one get there for 7:15-7:30 cause you not only avoid the long main line, you avoid any line at the ticket counter for the upper level. (Which you should go to as soon as you get up there. If the line is long for the upper level, don’t bother…while the spiral walkway was interesting, the view isn’t that much better).
The main level has three levels – the 340, 345 and 350m heights. The upper 450m level doesn’t really offer much better views but has a walkway that spirals around on the outside, but you don’t feel like you’re outside. I checked out the ladies room to learn that even public toilets have the buttons with one extra one – it controls the music.
I spent an hour and a half checking out the three levels and it’s easy to make out Mt Fuji on the horizon. Not bad for a volcano that is a hundred miles away. It’s a wonder the Skytree doesn’t lean because everyone crowds the side of the tower that faces Fuji.
The staff were everywhere and helpful. If I passed by something interesting, one would step forward and suggest I look. There was never any question as to where to go or what line to head for. There was always someone there, always smiling, always willing to help.
I heard something on TV recently comparing certain western societies with the Japanese one. They said that certain western nations are all about the individual. Japan is about community and I can see it. There’s an order I can see even after only a day. Even at the crosswalks, no one crosses unless the walk light is green. It doesn’t matter if it’s an eight lane crossing or a single lane that might see a car every ten minutes. If there’s a crossing light that is red, no one moves.
Except the odd tourist.
And I don’t fear the cars like I did in China. There are a lot of cyclist here as well and they often have the bike lane on the sidewalk. How often can you see a line of bikes sailing smoothly down a crowded sidewalk? Even if someone is in the way, there’s no words exchanged, no shaking fists, no bells ringing.
And come to think of it, I have yet to hear a car honk its horn.
Granted, it is Sunday. Everything might change tomorrow. LOL
So, where was I. Bed swaying? No. Fuji? No. Oh, Skytree.
After I checked out all the levels I went to the mall at the base of the tower. It has several floors and is open on Sunday, which worked out well. I was done by almost 10 am when the mall opened. After I checked out a few floors, I walked towards the shopping streets called Nakamise. On the way, I crossed a bridge and noticed a bunch of turtles! Yeah, turtles.
Haven’t seen a cat yet. But I’ve seen turtles!
It took about 15 minutes to walk to Nakamise where I browsed until my plantar fasciitis started to act up really bad, but I know that the street is on the itinerary for tomorrow, so I bought some of the basic souvenirs and gifts I usually get….and then I got interviewed on TV about one of the purchases.
Yup. They wanted to know what I bought and why I bought it.
All in a day’s work.
I dropped into McDonalds for lunch and went in search of a taxi. The hotel had given me a card to give to the driver and I showed it to him and he nodded and off we went. I knew enough to know he was going in the right direction…just to the wrong hotel. When he realized I wanted the New Otani and not the Okura, he started slapping himself in the held saying “so sorry, so sorry.”
I was like, no problem…the New Otani is just around the corner anyway.
Sweet guy. He even stopped the meter at the Okura.
Total cost for the taxi’s was 6700 Yen. Just over $70. The cost for the Skytree was about $22 for the first level and another $12 for the upper level.
There is also an aquarium in the base building. That was another $22 but I didn’t go in.
The taxi dropped me off on the lower entrance, so I found the shortcut out to the road where I can just cross the bridge to the east and find the restaurants and stores, like Hooters!
First I went to check out the gardens where I was led to believe there was a fair cat population.
Not a one.
So, at this point, I’ve seen more turtles than cats.
Live cats. I’ve now seen thousands of souvenir cats. And yes, I bought 3.
So, after my cat-less walk through the gardens, I walked towards Hooters where I thought there was a Subway Restaurant nearby but I couldn’t find it. I picked up a Coke and snack and went back to my room to sort through the photos and luggage, do a laundry and type this up while the bag of ice I have my foot sitting in leaked all over my bed.
Well, the foot is feeling better at least.
The welcome meeting was at 8 pm. This tour is among the new small group tours that Trafalgar offers. There are 23 on the tour – at least 4 Canadians, 4 Australians, 4 Americans and 2 South Africans. Quite the cross section on this tour.
Our TD is Kimiko. She gave us the usual stuff like name and luggage tags, evaluation form and our whisper system. And I got a pair of really nice chopsticks as my returning customer gift. Very nice. I think I noted this as great idea to give a return gift…let the TD pick something that is typical of the region…like the print of Dubrovnik I got in Croatia.
We had a drink and Kimiko offered us sushi. She told me they had vegetarian sushi and I said I’d try it. Now, I don’t like fish – the taste or the smell. I didn’t realize the vegetarian sushi would be wrapped in seaweed – with a very very strong fishy taste.
So, I pick up the sushi and pop it into my mouth, take a couple of bites and suddenly have fish overload in my mouth. It was everything I could do not to upchuck as the taste made me really really queasy – and all I could think, sitting there with a mouth full of rice and seaweed, was that if let go, it would be like confetti.
I have to admit, I admire my own ability to swallow it.
Needless to say, my experiment with sushi started and ended right there.
I had a chat with some of the others on the tour and Kimiko told us that we have our Tokyo city tour tomorrow and we don’t start until 9 am.
So I get to sleep in.
Probably will be wide-eyed and bushy tailed at 5:15.
Go to Day Two
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