The Tokyo Wonderer

Ok, so after some struggles with Picasa (Why can't it be easy to use like facebook pictures?), I've finally uploaded here. Please don't waste your time criticizing my picture taking skills, I think my writing is better anyway.

I guess I'll start with where I left off in my last entry. After recovering some of my energy I went for a walk in Asakusa. Of all the things that I've done here so far this was probably the most enjoyable. There are temples here, and the Nakamise-dori street, a large market street with tons of souvenir-type things on sale. Yes, I may be somewhat lazy here and not posting any direct links in my blog, I will do so later. Interestingly enough most shops around here close at 5PM and the place becomes practically empty. The only thing I don't like here is that the historical area is dissapoingly small. After talking to some people here I will definitely make it a priority to check out Japan's old capital of Kyoto, It may not happen until right before I return home, but I will definitely do so.

The next day I pretty much went around half of Tokyo by using the Metro. I will say this about the metro system, it works very nicely with all the stations written in English and Hiragana(The basic Japanese phonetic alphabet, this is usually the first thing people study when they start learning Japanese). The way things work is that at the entrance to the station there is a board that gives you the coast to get to each station. The prices range from 160-300 yen (Around $1.70-3.20). You then approach the ticket machine, that you can use in English and tell which ticket you wish to buy (how much it costs). Then when you arrive to your destination, if you traveled farther then initially intended, you will be expected to pay before leaving. What makes the metro system complicated is that unlike most cities where the Metro is controlled by the local government, here it is a private comapany so there are 2 metro companies. This complicates things since if you're staying in the same company you can buy a ticket directly to your destination, if not you have to exit one line and get on the other. Its not obious which lines belong to which company. In addition you have the Tsukuba express which associates it itself with neither compnay. The Keisei electric line that goes to the airport, and JR Yamanote line, which goes around the city. All of these are more expensive then the regular metro, especially the JR Yamanote line, however, it is possible for tourists(locals can't buy it) to purchase the JR Rail passes which gives unlimited rides on local trains and discounts on limited express and some Shinkansen trains. I did not feel that this pass was necessary for me.

My day started out at Akihabara electric city. I've read on Wikitravel that supposedly, the main street, the Chuo-dori is closed on Sundays to traffic and that its full of cosplayers. Neither were true, it took me a while to find Chuo-dori, it was open to traffic, and the only cosplayers I found were "Maids" from Maid cafes promoting their cafes. As a result I did not stay long and ended up taking the train across the city to the city to Yoyogi park. Yoyogi park was much nicer, there was some interesting fashion there and it was a nice place to just walk around. I might've spent more time there if it wasn't for the heat. I read the mid-spring and mid-autmn are the best places to visit Japan, I have to strongly agree with this analysis. This is also where I tried the McTeriyaki burger at a Japanese McDonalds, it was very good and I strongly recommend it.

After spending most of my day out I returned to the Hostel. Overall, my feeling is Tokyo is a nice place to visit with friends or family. As a whole however, it feels like another large city. As a result I am looking forward to Akita which is pretty rural and its also why I want to go to Kyoto.

I spoke a little bit previously about the Narita Airport Hostel, Now I wish to talk about the Hostel I'm staying in Tokyo, Sakura Asakusa Hostel. If you ever need a cheap place to stay in Tokyo I would definitely recommend this place. The staff speakes English, there are vending machines, you can buy all you can eat breakfast for 315 yen (Around $3.25) which is toast with Jam and Tea which was fine with me. And instant noodles are on sale 24 hours a day (for 200 yen, around $2.05). The hostel is air conditioned, the front desk is always open, it has laundry services. Wireless internet is free.

Anyway, my plans for tomorrow is to check out the main campus of Tokyo University and the Ueno area. I will take advantage of this to take one of my bags to Ueno station from where I'll be taking the bullet train to Akita. I will lock the bag in a coin operated locker so that I don't have to carry both bags at the same time. Well, that's it for now, comments are welcome.