tokyo- saturday

it started with a 4am taxi to incheon airport.

we were there with plenty of time so we loitered about, checked in, and grabbed a snack.

the flight was a little over an hour and a half. we spent a bit of time in customs. then some time figuring out the best route to our hotel. . . and off we were on a bus to downtown tokyo.

we stopped off at a hotel close to a subway line that would take us closer to our hotel. then another 5 minute walk to the hotel, where we still had to wait an hour to check in.

it. was. so. hot.

we were warned.

i figured wearing jeans the first day wouldn’t be so bad, since we’d be in transit so much- plus jeans have good pockets for passport and wallet and such. well, i guaranteed camille as we got off the plane- yes it was that hot just de-planing- that the first thing i’d do when we got into our hotel was remove my jeans. . . definitely needed lighter material.

i realize that as a kid, what i knew about the japanese culture incorporated pictures of beautiful women wearing kimonos and holding a fan or a parasol. well. . . the fan and parasol are not a fashion item. (though many of them are beautiful) it’s because japan is F’ING hot! men carried fans nearly as often as women. i mostly saw women carrying parasols. . . but a hand towel (a very popular item to sell in small shops) was an essential item for both men and women. (douglas adams holds true) everyone spent a decent amount of time mopping themselves off at train stations, in stores, and anywhere while trying to catch a break from the sun.

we were told this. i packed a cut down piece of a shamwow towel. it did me well.

so, knowing we had some time to kill at the hotel, we picked up a late lunch from a 7-11 to bring and eat in the lobby. (ps- 7-11 is a traveler’s friend. i was surprised at how they really become my atm of choice when using a bank card from the states.)

there actually wasn’t much of a lobby. there were a number of other people, also waiting to check in, but we weren’t moving from that oasis of air-conditioning. we ended up not waiting long. they opened up several rooms an hour early and camille and i settled in to relax a bit and check maps before we headed out. we also decided to let the worst of the sun pass before we left. (waiting for the sun to dip a bit only subtracted the burn factor, it was still horribly hot and humid.)

first on the list- ginza. . .

as we left korea, we had heard a few rumors that they might have to start rolling black outs, to conserve some energy. i had been walking around myeongdong and insadong. all the big shops had very large doors and window panels wide open with their very powerful air-conditioning spilling out. while it has a rather nice cooling effect to a passerby, it doesn’t seem very energy conscious. well. . . japan wasn’t much better. in fact, there was a car dealership which i passed several times, just to partake of its arctic gusts.

i was told to check out the sony building. . . not for the shops, but for the 3D aquarium. it was pretty fantastic. because of our timing we were pretty far back, but the fish seemed to reach out through half the audience- the best 3D effects i’ve seen. . . if i had another shot, i’d try to sit up closer. and, well, it got us out of the heat for a bit.

below the sony building we found a great shop- the Plaza. it became one of our favorites. cute knick-knacks, a good pharmacy. . . and an excellent worldly snack aisle. lucky for us. . . there were plazas all over the place!

we then headed out to find one of the many stores our friends had told us about. . . itoya- a nine floor stationary store.

we found it. . . and as wonderful as it was. . . it was a little upscale and pricey (much like ginza). i found some amazing notebooks and a bunch of gorgeous freitag messenger bags that were way out of my price range. but i walked away with a few fun things for friends and family.

we walked about ginza as it grew dark. . . ate a bit. . . and then headed back to the hotel. we had a bit of fun switching about the channels on our cable while snacking and planning the next day before getting some rest.