Flashback: Standing at the Base of Tokyo Tower…No Time to Go to the Top!

From October 7th-10th, Angela and I took a short trip to Hiroshima, Himeiji, and Kyoto. Although the trip was great fun and a success, the first day didn’t look promising. When we got to Tokyo Station, we couldn’t get a shinkansen (bullet train) for several hours. So, we stored our luggage in one of the countless lockers at the station, and went sightseeing. (Note: Japan has its share of inconveniences, but they do so many things right here. One good example is all the coin lockers in/around stations. You can easily store your bags, so you don’t have to carry them around all the time.)

We decided to try to go to the Imperial Palace, since it wasn’t far away. We were also hungry, so we walked around looking for a place to eat. But everything was closed! We ended up having a really pathetic meal at Wendy’s. Angela joked about asking them, “Where’s the beef?” but it would have gone over their heads, and we definitely didn’t have time to try to explain that one to them! (In Tokyo Station, there are many restaurants and coffeeshops. We should have eaten there! There was also a vending machine that sells different kinds of bread in a can. I still need to go back and try that!)

Finally, we got on the train and we were on our way. Our next problem came when we got to Hiroshima, and had trouble finding a place to stay. I had lost my cell phone, so I had to get in a phone booth and just start dialing numbers like crazy. The good thing was I learned how to ask for hotel openings in Japanese very well (Yes, I did everything in Japanese, from hotels, to restaurants, to the trains, so I was proud of myself…) A couple of nice older ladies tried to help us, but to no avail. Finally, a couple employees at the train station helped us find a Capsule Hotel.

Capsule Hotels are uniquely Japanese. Basically, you sleep in a little capsule with a TV, an alarm clock, and a radio. The sleeping arrangements are quite spartan, but the facilities are not bad. They had hot/cold/salt baths, internet, lazy boys with private tv screens, etc. I spent some time soaking in the hot and cold baths, then I dropped off into a deep sleep.

The next day, we went to Miyajima Island, and from then on, we stayed in hotels. But that first day, I thought I was going to be a bad luck charm! On the bright side, we had a nice time in Tokyo before we caught our train. Another dumb idea I had was to walk from the Imperial Palace to Tokyo Tower. By the time we got there, we had to turn around and go back to the station to catch our train! I felt so bad. But I did manage to take this shot, as the clouds drifted rapidly to the left…

The rest of the trip went quite smoothly.  We found hotels and we saw many interesting and memorable things.  But that first day was a bit odd.  Still, looking back, even that day was wonderful.