After 14 hours of travel where everything was on time (surprisingly for Jetstar!) I arrived in Osaka. Immigration was fine, validating my Japan Rail pass went fine, getting my first convenience store purchase likewise. Then I went to the wrong station. You see, there's Osaka and Shin Osaka. And I was at the wrong one wondering where the hell my hotel was. With some assistance I got where I was going. To my ahem, compact hotel room. But for one night after getting lost and after 14 hours of travel it was most welcome. However lost was to become a constant theme over the next few days. I had experienced Tokyo station before in all its vast madness before and again it was only with lots of help I found the right subway platform. Now, word to the wise, print out the directions to your hostel before hand. Unusually for the hyper organised me I'd forgotten and in the absence of any free wifi (there will be a whole entry on that later) I had to rely on vague memory to find the hostel. Khaosan Tokyo Ninja hostel (my first in over a decade) was interesting. I was in a cabin dorm - think capsule bunk beds. Apart from the thin mattress it was quite cosy and private. And lockable. Downside, up 4 flights of stairs - no lift. And thus my Tokyo adventure began. I must admit my time there was mostly acclimatising, to both the weather and Japan in general.
Lots of getting lost. The subway stations are vast with multiple exits that even with a map I managed to be at the opposite end of where I needed to be. Not to mention the shopping centres they are invariably encased in. So to day one. Museums, well, one museum. Many museums close from around the 27th to the 3rd so my choices are limited. But I spent a fun couple of hours at The National Museum of Science and Nature. Their prep team must be huge because sooo many dioramas! And this:
CSIRAC's Japanese cousin! The museum is near Ueno station which has an astonishing view, its hard to tell from this photo but it looks like somethings out of a science fiction film - The Fifth Element maybe:
It was also a day for provisions namely indoor slippers. No shoes inside the hostel. So I bought a rather fetching pair, red with white spots from Daiso - very me! The next day I headed for the Ghibli Museum, a place high on my list. I had tried to buy a ticket before I went but the agent's allocation was sold out. So I bought one from Lawson, a chain of convenience stores on the day which I didn't expect to be able to do. But luckily I did because it is the sweetest, loveliest place. A monument to one man's vision and love of film. And it taught me a good lesson - this is their no photography philosophy:
Photography and video recording are not allowed inside the Museum. The Ghibli Museum is a portal to a storybook world. As the main character in a story, we ask that you experience the Museum space with your own eyes and senses, instead of through a camera's viewfinder. We ask that you make what you experienced in the Museum the special memory that you take home with you.
How beautiful is that?
I had a wander through Aoyama Bochi, a large cemetery. Among the Japanese graves were those of Westerners, mainly from the late 19th century. They each told and intriguing story, the baby who died at 3 months old, the Scottish missionary or the American envoy who married a local and lived the rest of his like in Tokyo. It's also where when eating my lunch I tried natto for the first time. Natto are fermented soy beans that are held together with a caramel like goop. Certainly an acquired taste but not inedible.
Speaking of food, its all so good, even the bentos from the 7 11. I could eat all day. I've been eating rice balls for breakfast most days (purchased the night before from the convenience store), had sushi train where i tried 3 different grades of tuna, ramen from a little hole in the wall place, curry and rice ordered on a ticket machine and beef/chicken and rice bowls from cheap chain restaurants like Yoshinoya. Oh, and check it out:
Supermarket fugu! Tasty fish!
And with that I will sign off. Until next time when I'll be reporting from Kyoto.
H.
