22 Days in Japan, Day 7: At Least I Did Some Laundry

Today I wake up late, and accomplish a whole lot of nothing, unless you count the fact that I actually manage to sleep in. To me that’s a huge win.

Not that it really matters, though, as tomorrow I’ll be departing Tokyo for the time being (but I’ll be back). Nothing doing, nothing planned. But then again, I’d already seen most of what I’d come to Tokyo to see. I’m ready to move on.

By the time I get out of the hotel, it’s already 10:30. In Japan, that feels like noon.

First stop on the list is the Ueno train station, to the JR ticket office. There I find that you need to go elsewhere, or more specifically, to Tokyo Eki (Station) to buy a coveted “Puratto Kodama Economy Pass”. My life is seriously turning into an old-school RPG. I go outside instead to explore the environs.

The area around Ueno Station is loaded with small shops, stands, and stalls. It’s like your typical Chinatown, minus the fake goods and shady sellers. The Ameyoko shopping street in particular is pretty well-known and mentioned on TripAdvisor and so on.

There’s lots of shoe stores, lots of athletic equipment stores, lots of clothing stores, and so and so on. I actually need a pair of good walking shoes, since the brown leather “casual” shoes that I brought to Japan ended up being a horrible decision. You definitely, definitely do not want to walk around a rainy Tokyo in leather shoes, especially leather shoes with a thin middle sole that causes your ankle to occasionally roll over and play dead. But that’s besides the point, which is that shoes in Japan, like most articles of clothing, are expensive. Really expensive. Also, that brings an additional problem into the mix. My “suitcase” (more like an oversized weekend duffel bag) is already filled to the brim with clothes and other junk I thought I would need (GPS? Hah. Japanese for Busy People Volume 1? HAH!). I’d have to throw out my new pair of casual leather shoes or ship them back home. So I choose the rough middle ground and do absolutely nothing about my shoe problems.

After I get tired of traipsing around Ueno, I jump into the first metro station I see, and take the subway over to Shimbashi, and then walk to Tokyo Station where I manage to purchase the elusive Puratto Economy Pass without being embarrassed too badly by the ticket lady.

What’s so good about this magical pass, anyway? Well, the Puratto Economy Pass gives you a nice ~3000 yen discount on the Kodama train to Nagoya. The Kodama is the slowest of the shinkansens since it stops practically everywhere, but considering the prices of the Hikari and Nozomi trains, it’s well worth it (if you’re like me and on a budget). The time difference is about an hour and a half. Bonus: you also get a free drink.

The flip-side is that you need to go to the JR office in Tokyo Station and go back and forth with the desk people.

After a half day’s worth of excitement, I walk to the Metro, and make my way back to Hotel New Koyo. And the excitement continues as I proceed to do my laundry. At least I’ll have clean clothes for the next stage of my journey.

I leave the hotel in the late afternoon and head over to Shibuya, since my first attempt at visiting at 9 in the morning on Day 2 was a complete disaster. At night, Shibuya is bursting with activity, lights, and people. The intersection right outside the metro station is famous for being one of the most crowded stations on the planet, and yep, having experienced it first-hand, I’m inclined to agree. It’s still awesome though.

One of the places I end up is an HMV record store, where I’m greeted by a larger-than-lifesize poster of Ke$ha at the entrance. I’ve since learned two things: 1) Kesha has a really pointy face (see picture) and 2) she’s just as big here as she is back in the USA. Also, so is Lady Gaga. And the movie with the blue aliens.

Today’s entry is a bit of a bore, sorry about that. Hopefully my shinkansen trip to Nagoya will be more fulfilling.