We can manage the subway.

No Insomnia Yet

After late-night Chinese food and a 16-hour time change on foreign ground, sleep, or lack thereof, was on the top of mind going to bed the night before.

Miraculously, both Garretts again slept mostly through the night. I woke up once with a confused body. But with a little reading, I fell asleep again, waking up feeling rested with no hint of jet lag.

Our hotel, the Grand Prince Hotel, reminded me of the large accommodations in Vegas - filled with many floors and rooms, with all the one-stop conveniences on hotel grounds. Although breakfast was included in our stay, our scouting highlighted the distance between our room and the restaurant.

Garrett chose to go down and check out the buffet spread. I chose to follow my US routine of just coffee and quiet reading first thing in the morning.

Although Garrett typically brings me coffee in bed, that was not a fair ask given the expanse of our hotel. I opted to tackle the language barrier at the coffee station in our room.

With a mix of English and Japanese instructions, I figured out the hot pot was simply that - just a hot pot for water. Red light on, warm up, ready to go.

But the coffee wasn’t the typical instant coffee, but a drip coffee pour-over, equipped with cardboard handles to lay in my cup as I performed the task. And it was delicious.

Without regret, I enjoyed my coffee and caught up on the world news without a grumble in my stomach. I set out a packaged protein bar as a safeguard in case I needed it before lunch.

With coffee-making accomplished with ease, the toilet was a different story.

Bathroom Luxury

We were aware that Japanese toilets would be ‘an experience,’ but I hadn’t a clue about both the complexity and luxury of these necessary accommodations. The first thing I noticed was the warm seat - not a function that needed to be turned on or waited for. The warmth is on and ready at ALL times. The many buttons and decision points in completing the task were daunting. Buttons included: Front, Rear, Pressure, Position, Dryer, and Privacy. I decided to work through trial and error.

What we soon found out was that these toilet features were not limited to hotel luxury. We were offered a warm toilet seat with multiple ‘finishing’ options at virtually every restroom in Japan, public or private. There was no American porta-potty equivalent in this country.

The public outhouses have perks

Local Guidance

Although this trip was a Gray Wolf Ski Club group adventure, our first days in Tokyo were open to us to explore independently. Along with our friends, Jim and Emily, we hired a local tour guide for the day. Emily and Garrett mastered our itinerary based on their research and our guide, Hiro’s suggestions.

Meeting in the hotel lobby, we were ready to take on busy Tokyo.

With a protein bar stashed in my purse, I kept thinking about the trip-planning videos stressing not to eat in public. Walking while consuming food was considered rude in Japan. Thinking this was likely overblown, I quickly noticed that no one, literally NO ONE, held any type of food or drinks in their hands. The byproduct of this rule is no litter. Tokoyo is an amazingly clean city.

Hiro, a native of Tokyo, had worked in finance throughout his professional career. Now in his 60s, he gives walking tours to tourists. As we chatted with Hiro, we found out that he has two young adult children and frequents the US to attend professional baseball camps run by the A’s. I had no idea this was a thing. Hiro excitedly told us about an upcoming trip where his son would join him. Hiro plays shortstop and 2nd base and loves these trips to America.

Our walking tour took us all over the city with the expert help of Hiro, navigating the complex but necessary subway system. Jim had experienced the tightly packed subway on a previous trip, so we were anxiously awaiting a cramped ride. A weekday morning had Tokyo subway underground filled with people. Three of us had our cards loaded and ready for subway passes. Jim missed the text on downloading the app and bought a last-minute day pass. Other than that quick setback, we followed Hiro onto a full, but comfortable, subway ride to our first temple tour.

The Japanese people filling the streets and subway were quiet and polite. There was no eating, drinking, or talking on the train. Most notably, there was no noise pollution from blaring phones, discourteous face-timing in public, or the other rudities we are used to in the US. The subway cars were impeccably clean, and, other than the sound of train engines, they were completely quiet. People looked at their phones, but kept the noise to themselves.

Temples and Shrines

Our first tour stop was at the Zojoji temple. A historical icon provided beautiful photo ops with the newer Tokoyo Tower in its immediate background. We learned that the Japanese are very spiritual, more so than religious. Hiro had frequented this temple as a child with a school nearby. The baby statues, lined in a row, dressed in red bibs and bonnets, caught my eye. Hiro explained that these were a tribute to infants who died (or were aborted). A wall was dedicated to people leaving their wishes and asking for blessings.

After learning the history of the Tokoyo Tower, we were back on the subway. We would follow Hiro closely as subway changes were necessary to reach our next destination, and the intervals between were very short.

Our next tour stop was the Meiji Jingu Shrine. Sitting in a large park, we had a short hike to reach the shrine. My stomach started growling at this point. I also noticed that our planning video was very accurate - no one ate outside. I was warned, and I was hungry. Sucking it up, we trekked to the shrine along with crowds of others. This shrine included lines of people first cleaning their hands and then giving homage at the base of the shrine - no photos allowed.

Walking back, I needed to find a restroom. Stomach growling at full range, I popped into the public restroom. Amazingly, the pot had all the luxuries of our hotel bathroom. Sitting on the warm toilet seat, I snuck bites of my Stinger bar, feeling like I snuck a flask into a ball game. Hiding my wrapper in my pocket, I planned to discard the evidence in the first trash can I could find.

Retail Includes Animals

Hiro moved us on from spiritual stops to retail overload. Walking through Takeshita Fashion Alley, we quickly caught on to its target market: Tokyo youth. Noting fashion displayed full of platform heels and bling, we also noticed many exotic animals on display, notably a mini pig cafe. All seemed perfectly normal to all the other people walking the alley and going into the cafe. Hiro explained that many of the apartments in Tokoyo were very small and most didn’t allow animals. People got their animal fix in the retail district.

From micro-pigs we moved on to Omotesando (Tokyo’s Champs-Élysées)

Walking through Kabukicho (the largest drinking town in Asia) in East Shinjuku, we noticed many heavily made-up, scantily dressed women handing out cards and encouraging patronage at different street-side establishments. Hiro explained that people paid for company, like talking and hanging out, a kind of company. They would pay for time with pretty boys and pretty girls. He also pointed out big buildings that advertised as kareoki bars with private rooms. Japanese love karaoke, but are also shy. Hiro, himself, enjoyed a private karaoke room to wind down by himself on a Friday night. The technology is set up so the singer can ask the computer for feedback on his performance.

Fried Pork on Rice

As our group started asking for lunch, I was aware of the wrapper still in my pocket. Not a trace of trash to be found. Not in the subways. Not in the busy streets. Not a single trash receptacle and not a single piece of trash on the ground. It is amazing how clean a city is when people do not eat or drink in public. The only drinking was from water bottles and small bottles of tea or coffee from the many vending machines. Where I would have expected a trash can at every corner was replaced with vending machines. The options were equal in hot and cold varieties, mostly tea and coffee, with water, juices, and hot, drinkable soups. Nothing is super-sized in Japan, and although medium-sized (by US standards) drinks were available, the most popular selections were the mini bottles. A friend tipped me onto their warm milk tea. I grabbed my first this morning, and it was delicious. With a bottle top cap, it was easy to put the warm can in a pocket.

Lunch time, Hiro guided us to the Great Tonkatsu restaurant. At a traditional Japanese cafe, we were excited to try one of the fried delicacies we had seen in YouTube videos. Adding on a Kirin beer, we toasted with Hiro, who reminded us that the slaw and rice were free refills. The food was just as delicious as it looked, with many sauces to add flavor, and tea poured as readily as the water glasses were filled.

Sardines and Silence

Full from lunch and feeling like we had mastered the maze of subways, we again went underground. This time, we got to experience the ‘packed like sardines’ Japan subway experience. There was an attendant whose job was solely to pull people out who were hanging over the door line. Cramped in like without an inch to move, I held my breath until the next stop. Again, the car was filled with silence. I have never been surrounded by so many people and so little noise.

The observatory at Tokyo Government Office in West Shinjuku did not disappoint. Hiro said we somehow avoided the typical long lines to the elevators, taking us 100 floors up to the top of the observation tower. The views gave the feel of how expansive a city of 15 million is. There was no edge in sight. Always gift shops; I made small purchases of a keychain and bookmarks as gifts.

Hiro complimented us on our pace and asked if we wanted to take in a couple of extra spots. He noted that only one group kept our speed. Perhaps we were afraid of losing our fearless leaders in the masses above and below, but our foursome held its own in the steps.

Our add-on stops included the famous Shibuya Crossing - the busiest intersection in the world, and then lastly Ginza Street (Tokyo’s Fifth Avenue). Although we enjoyed taking in these stops, we were exhausted from the 21,000 steps/9 miles we had logged.

Hiro complimented us on our efforts, “It usually takes a few days to cover all of this. Great job!” Keeping up with Hiro and seeing the local people as a very fit country, we appreciated the compliment.

Hiro is our Hero

Hiro also believed we were now well-equipped to take on the subway on our own to get back to our hotel. With Google Maps showing us the subway line we needed and pointing to the entrance, we felt confident. Well, kind of.

We walked around a block and back-tracked before finding the right subway entrance. End of day, the underground was packed with people. Double checking our route on the wall map by our designated entry point, things seemed off. Name of the line we needed didn’t correspond with the lighted sign. Some words were in Japanese, but nothing seemed straightforward to our hotel. As we all looked at our phone maps and discussed which way was the correct way, Emily say our saviour.

“There’s Hiro!”

In unison, we bolted to get Hiro before we lost him in the mob of hundreds on people moving through the transit system. We went from lost to found in seconds, whith Hiro guiding us back to the hotel. There was a tricky move from one line to another that was necessary and that was missed in the initial communications.

Hiro was our Hero as we safely walked into the Prince Albert Hotel. He would meet us back in the morning for day two our our walking tour. Nine miles later from when we started our adventure, our foursome was ready to meet up with the Gray Wolf Ski Group for a happy hour - the first planned group outing of the trip.

We Love Dewey

After a shower and a change, we met our fellow travelers at a hotel bar. We quickly heard horror stories from others of getting lost on the subway system. Some just gave up on trying to understand the proper line to their destination and stayed close instead. Everyone had a good day, and our small group felt good about choosing Hiro as our guide.

Our group also shared updates from United on the status of the luggage on its way back to Omaha. Just a day in, one of the group members needed to fly back to Durango due to a family illness. Our travel guide grouped several of us together on notifications. For this unlucky guy, we were in constant communication about the status of his flights and the location of his luggage.

Our tour party of 36 was now down to 35. Although many of our group were from Colorado, Jim, Emily, Garrett, & me were the only ones from Durango. At the Airport, through small talk, we found out that Dewey (from Alamosa, CO) had children who lived in the Durango area. Soon we pinned down that his son lived with his family in our same neighborhood. I had chatted with them on walks with Zeke. Dewey, a retired pilot and an all-around great guy, became a natural addition to our party of four.

We chatted over drinks, meeting others in the Gray Wolf crowd, trying to put to memory names and backgrounds for when the group would converge in a couple of days.

A Japanese Flavor Delight

Exhausted from a big day in Tokyo, we decided to try another restaurant in our hotel. This one was traditional Japanese fare, and Emily made sure we had a reservation. Dinner was served to us as we sat behind privacy curtains, enjoying the different tastes of sushi, fish dishes, miso soup, and dessert delights.

In addition to vending machines filled with drinks on every corner, there are also plenty of 7-Elevens. As we later found, this was very common in Japan; our hotel had one right inside the main entryway. A stop in on our way back to our rooms helped build our stash of chocolates and anything else interesting we felt we needed to try that we hadn’t seen in America - then to bed.

We needed to get plenty of sleep for another Hiro half-marathon day.

An amazing array of traditional Japanese cuisine

Video clip highlights from Day 2…

Missed Day 1 of The Japan Adventure - Unscripted series Read Here.

The Japan Adventure - Day 2

We can manage the subway.

The Japan Adventure - Day 1