Tokyo Day 2 and Kamakura

Like Tokyo itself, the last two days have been a bit schizophrenic--dividing my time between urban frenetics and pastoral serenity.

Yesterday I started my day off with a wholesome breakfast at Mister Donut. Well, the donut had some matcha (a type of green tea) in it at least:



From there I wanted to check out Akihabara district, the electronics mecca of an electronics mecca if you will. Unfortunately that neighborhood gets a late start (manga and electronics nerds are universally night-owls, I suppose) so I consulted the guide book and learned a Shinto shrine was nearby and decided to check it out:


Kanda Myojin temple

Akihabara was in full tilt by the time I went back a little later and was everything it was billed to be...shops full of arrays of gadgets and accessories, electronics components etc. etc. I restrained myself to a larger memory card for my digicam and some mundane necessities like an alarm clock and flashlight.

From there I checked out the nearby Harajuku district, popularized recently by Gwen Stefani because of its cool shops and zany clad youth. I was expecting some sort of crazy costume party I guess and wasn't quite blown away in that regard but I got a rad t-shirt at least and the internet cafe there had a foot and leg massager!


Bonus!

Right next to Harajuku is the beautiful Meiji gardens and shrine which honor the emperor who ended the long era of Japan's self-imposed isolationism (with some persuasion from the US). Two shots from there:





The atmosphere was so nice and peaceful and I couldn't believe that in the midst of a city of millions, there were paths I walked down alone.

I returned to my capsule hotel in Shinjuku and took a nice soak. The bathing area is communal which initially seemed less than ideal to your typical prudish westerner (i.e. me), but the beauty is that there's a huge tiled hot tub with jets and a sauna too, standard. Plus, somehow being in the midst of a culture where "nakedness is the great equalizer" (according to my guidebook), made any embarrassment fly out the window and I was soon soaping up my nether regions unabashedly like everyone else. Here's me chilling in my capsule after a nice soak:


(Left hand strategically positioned)

I ended my day with a drink with Abram, a guy I went to high school with and whose brother I used to take piano lessons with way back when. He's been living in Japan for the last 4 years teaching English and gave some great pointers about what to see in and around Tokyo and in Asia in general as he's traveled quite a bit since being here (thanks Abe!) We met at a place that only locals frequent, which is to say cheap, delicious and a hole-in-the-wall but was actually in the movie Babel for a few moments towards the end, I'm told. On another movie note, the following picture is Shinjuku across from my hotel room...this is where an early scene of Lost in Translation was filmed:



Kamakura

Today, wanting to get out of the city for a bit, I decided to take a day trip to Kamakura, a town about 45 minutes south of Tokyo by train. Kamakura is home to some phenomenal Zen Buddhist temples and is essentially where Zen gained a foothold and subsequently spread through Japan. The town is nestled in a valley and the nearby hills with various temples peppered around, many of which are connected by little wooded trails:


One of many buildings at one particular temple grounds


Everything was so green and beautifully arranged


Shy graveyard cat


Daibutsu (meaning freaking huge old bronze Buddha)

I made my way back to Tokyo after seeing the Daibutsu, stopping in Shibuya district. This area has some great pedestrian streets and is fun to walk around in. The weather today was sunny and quite warm so even at night everyone was in t-shirts. There's also the highest grossing Starbucks in the world there which has an incredible view of the busiest intersection I've ever seen. For those who have seen the movie Baraka, remember that scene where there's about a thousand people and cars taking turns streaming across an intersection every few seconds? Yep, that's this one.


Don't walk


Run!

I squandered some money in an arcade on my way back to the train station and now here I am, about to call it a night.

Miscellany: There are vending machines everywhere in this place. I have been literally a stone's throw from upwards of 5 vending machines at a time, all for canned beverages, leading me to believe this is an excessively thirsty and/or hydrated society.



Also, each train stop seemingly has it's own whimsical jingle that plays when the train doors are getting ready to close. Oh, and just about everything that plugs into an electrical outlet talks to you cheerily.