Current mood:
amused So here's a math problem for all the math nerds out there:
How many calories would a 150 (*cough* plus a few) pound person burn after 9 hours of walking/standing CONTINUOUSLY!!!! <---totally literal. We left around 8am to find an ATM that would accept our card so that we could take out additional cash. The little map said there was an ATM near the station so we tried to swing by before we boarded the train. We entered the center and proceeded to try every possible way to get the ATM to accept our card (how could it not, it actually had a button for INTERNATIONAL CARDS), and as we moved around from ATM to ATM (there were 5), a lady finally approached us and told us that our card wasn't accepted and I could just hear her inner thoughts as we walked away shamed, "Dam*, foreigners." <----theme of the day.. However, because she is Japanese she is obligated to be kind to us and let us know that the Post office had ATM's that would work. We headed over to the Post office about 1/4 mile up the road and sure enough IT WASN'T OPEN. I'd like to interject something here, but I'll add a section on Japanese stereotypes at the bottom. Strike One.
We had enough cash on us to make it to Ginza where we were going to try to catch a matinee of Kabuki theatre at Kabuki-za. Suprisingly we missed rush hour and easily made it to Ginza where we walked about a mile to a second ATM that we KNEW would be open to grab some cash. However, it appears that our bank has put a limit on how much money can be withdrawn each day. And though it had been a full day HERE, it had NOT been a full day....well at home. So we walked back to Kabukiza (about 1 1/2 miles down the road). And what to our SURPRISE!!! They were closed, but my ability to read kanji sucks something amazing so I didn't notice the sign that said: NO SHOWS TODAY. I did notice a guy near the box office who was able to read the sign to us and all I could do was imagine him calling us "stupid foreigners" as we walked away. Strike TWO.
With no other choice, we decided to do what we had planned for tomorrow morning and check-out Harajuku's Meiji shrine. This is another AMAZING shrine that has a very large and beautiful iris garden and a pond with what looked to be 2 feet long Koi fish. Jeanette, you and John would have had a field day there, it was UNBELIEVABLE. Gorgeous green trees, hundreds of feet tall, and beautiful haibiscus that smelled like heaven. This place was huge, easily 1 1/2 miles around the entire area. After walking around the area, we went on a hunt for their infamous 100 yen store (around 80 cents). This place was 4 floors of everything you could ever want for only 80 cents. Mind you, we had probably already climbed 9 or so flights of stairs before this and of course these are no ordinary stairs, in order to optimize space the Japanese make stairs so steep that you might as well be walking up the face of a mountain. <---figurative. So we wondered up and down 2-sets of stairs for all 4 floors and filled a basket full of stuff and headed to the register. The lady counted up our items and let us know that our total was around 1000 yen and we tried handing her a 10,000 yen bill to which she pointed at a sign (written in Kanji) that apparently said that they don't accept large bills. To our embarrassment we counted up our loose change to find that we could only buy 2 of the items in our basket. So an hour later we came out with a pair of cheaply decorate chop-sticks and a sign that said "UDON here" (a restaurant sign I'm going to hang outside my classroom). Again, I'm sure the register lady and the 5 people waiting behind us were all mumbling under their breaths "dam* foreigners".
The idea of additional wasted time really irked Casey. I tried to calm the storm by going to a clothing shop across the street to see if I could buy a top that would allow us to get change and go back to get the rest of the items...To my dismay, however, it appears that in Japan I'm a plus plus size. All of the shirts in the store were a medium...which was fine, except that my bulging biceps can't seem to squeeze into a medium. So I tried to find a pair of jeans (according to the tag they were a LARGE). I'm guessing they were a kid's large because I could only pull them up to the bottom of my ass. So much for that idea. Thus we left Harajuku with a map of a shrine and some cheap gifts. Strike three; however, this isn't a baseball game so instead of being sent to sit on the bench <---which would have been HEAVEN.... we were allowed to keep moving along with a little less dignity than when we started.
We checked our tourist map to see what else we could hit up before heading back and found The Museum of Emerging Sciences. This is a place where you can participate in hands-on activities and look at displays of new technology and fields in science. After spending 10 -15 minutes staring at the map, we thought we managed to find a train to Odaiba, so we hopped on and headed out. We got to Odaiba and headed for the JR window (a window that is manned and allows you to show your pass and go through without paying). Much to our dismay, but continuing with the day's theme, the man at the window told us that it wasn't a JR line and that I would have to pay 380 yen (I can fortunately count in Japanese if nothing else)...Dude, I'm not paying anyone 380 yen to get to a museum that only costs 500 yen to enter...so we turned around and went back to where we came from thinking we could head back on the JR line and head towards another station. Unfortunately, this didn't work out the way we had planned and instead of paying 380 yen, we ended up having to pay 390 yen to exit the station. BWA HAHA...it's a conspiracy, I swear!
Instead of the museum, we went to the next best thing: Akihabara, aka Electric City, where you can buy all of the latest electronic devices (many of which are even made for American use, WOW-WEE). Nonetheless, we were slightly overwhelmed by the electronic shops and instead proceeded to the Tokyo Animation center, which was slightly more than a large gift store full of animation related toys and gadgets (I decided to buy a few souvenirs that I thought some of the Japan club kids would like). Casey proceeded to take every free pamphlet that was available (and there were a TON!). From here we walked to the Academy for advanced knowledge and found a display containing a large, flat screen Panasonic television that displayed a 3-D image w/o the need for 3-d glasses. UnFREAKIN'beLIEVABLE! We finished wandering around Akihabara like idiots and went back to where we were staying and wandered around there like idiots buying gifts. In the process, we noticed a JTB sign where Casey and I continued to belittle ourselves as we tried acting out leaving our bag on a tour bus for the counter ladies to laugh at (Jeanette, don't ever say that I don't love you). Poor counter-lady...having to spend all of her time dealing with dam* foreigners like us. With zero dignity left and no feeling left in my feet, we headed home.
My learnings from today's trekking:
1. I always wondered how Japanese people managed to stay up so late at night and I think I have figured it out. I believe that it's because the average Japanese business does not open until 11am. This amazes me because even in the middle of the day, in the middle of the week every street is bustling with people. On top of that, many businesses (aside from food/bar services) close around 7pm. So weird....Fortunately for them, the Japanese people have also mastered the art of sleeping. Somehow in the 15 - 30 minutes subway ride, they manage to fall asleep sitting or standing up-right (many times laying face-first against the subway door----this seems to be safe...unlike say....in New York subways). Other skills the Japanese have mastered:
- Starring without starring - Japanese people don't make eye contact with ANYONE at ANYTIME. You could be standing right in front of them and somehow, without looking down, they manage to be looking right through you. It's almost impossible to tell where their gaze falls, it's like they're looking into another dimension or something.
- An unbelievably efficient subway system. In Tokyo, there are a number of major subway service providers. These providers may all share large stations and then also have their own smaller stations scattered throughout the cities. Each subway train has electronic monitors that show you where you are along that station line (which is great because I can't read kanji). Once you get off, there are large signs with color-coded subway-lines and arrows directing you either to the exit or the line of your choice. If you follow the signs it is extremely easy to find your way around. In all, there is a train that will take you within blocks of anywhere in Tokyo that you want to go...all without having to wait more than 3 minutes for a train. On top of that, even the people using the station are extremely organized and file along specific paths up stairs and escalators and out doors without shoving or beating the snot out of one another.
- Customer service....even if they don't speak English and it's obvious that you don't speak Japanese, they will do everything they can to help you (or apologize profusely when they can't). And tipping is a no-no, which makes it extremely easy to eat for under $5.
- Related to customer services - I would say that the Japanese have also mastered the ability to cook and serve food unbelievably fast. Maybe we haven't visited a "real" restaurant yet, but every sit-down place that we have visited has gotten our food out in under 5 minutes (even if the place is packed and there is only 2-3 people working in these small food shops).
2. Most of the subway staff consists of cleaning staff. We even saw woman cleaning off the moving walk-ways....AMAZING!
3. Japanese woman have mastered the art of running in heels...however, I noticed most japanese woman have not mastered the art of walking in heels. Most of the time they're bent kneed and pigeon toed when walking, but yet they still manage to run like a gazelle? No way...
4. Japanese people do NOT all look the same. It is amazing how different they look. Today we saw people with all sorts of ear piercings, face piercings, and clothing of ALL types. No matter what though, Japanese people definitely dress to kill. Both Casey and I couldn't believe how beautiful every female looked, even the "plus-sized" ones were dressed in the latest fashion (heels and all). While I can't say the same for ALL of the men, I would say that ugly men are definitely in the minority (same as woman). After looking at all these beautiful woman, I can't imagine why anyone would want anything else. They're smart, polite, they dress to kill, are as cute as a freakin' button, they have beautiful curves (not like skinny American girls without a figure) and they have boobs the size of cantaloupe <-----jealous much...I'd say so! And Jeanette, you'll die, but even though it looks like a kindergartner applied their make-up, it somehow makes them look even more beautiful (though on anyone else they'd probably look like a circus clown).
5. It's no wonder the Japanese have such a low illiteracy rate, almost every person on the train is reading a magazine or a novel, or text messaging...which might be considered a form of literacy....
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