Tokyo is the largest city in the world – about 39 million people in the urban area. So there was no chance that we would be able to sample all of the sights it has to offer in a single day. But we – Marlene and I, along with new buddies Deb and Evie – decided to see what we could via the Tokyo subway. We decided to start our sightseeing at the Meiji Shrine. So we took the free shuttle to the nearby subway station. Easy. But then things got difficult.
I was given directions to the shrine, but I think there were two different shuttles to two different stations and we got on the wrong shuttle. Then we had to stand in a very long line for tickets. When we got our chance at the ticket machine the instructions were confusing. We wanted an all-day ticket but the guy “assisting” us kept saying that the ticket was “one way”. We ignored him and bought what appeared to be the all-day ticket (it was). But it was an all-day ticket only for the JY line. Turns out there are 3 or 4 different subway companies in Tokyo, all needing separate tickets. Very confusing.
We managed to negotiate the subway but when we got to the destination station we couldn’t exit. The tickets we had bought for the JY line didn’t work on the line that served that station (even though we did not have to change trains – the JY train went there but turned into a different line). VERY confusing. We were rescued by a German tour guide who spoke very good English and took us under his wing. We managed to pay the ransom to exit the station and followed the German group to the shrine.
Which was interesting, but only a little. I accidentally violated the “no photos” rule because I thought it applied only to the inside of the shrine (which we were not allowed to enter). So I got one illicit photo which wasn’t even good enough to include here. And suffered the reprimand of the shrine security squad.
The most interesting part of the shrine was the wall of prayer tablets. For a small amount of money one could purchase a small block of wood on which a prayer could be written, then hung on a wall to be processed by the priests (or whatever the Shinto official is called) the next day. The grounds were pristine and serene but we didn’t explore them.
We left the shrine and headed to the Shinjuku area which was recommended by our German angel as a good shopping area. We found our way there via subway without any difficulty and did, indeed, do some shopping.
We found a small restaurant for lunch and managed, with some difficulty, to order what we wanted. I had a beer (Asahi) – just my second on this trip – with my yakisoba. The women all had ramen. Evie had to send hers back twice because it arrived with soy mixed in, which she did not want. The food was good and not expensive at all – cheaper than McDonald’s.
Our third stop was the Shimbashi area. This turned out to be similar to Shinjuku. Deb and Evie were tired and left us to return to the ship. We continued to wander the area and bought some souvenirs. We were amused by the presence of a Hooters. We then made our way back to the ship which looked lovely in the dark.
My impressions of Tokyo? Well, it is very clean. Which was remarkable given that there are no trash receptacles on the street – I had to search very hard to find a place to toss a wrapper. The people are also extremely helpful. Every person we approached tried very hard to assist us. But we did not find any sights that were striking. No “Times Square” areas that were visually impressive. I am sure they exist (I have seen photos) but we did not find them. The city is huge but seem to be more like LA than New York City – sprawling.
We got back to the ship just in time to catch a performance by a Japanese drum and dance troupe. They were impressively synchronized and athletic. Their 7-year-old dancer was incredible. Very entertaining.
The casino was not open that night, so no further losses on this day. We stayed awake to watch a midnight movie: John Wick – Chapter 4. I can’t say I enjoyed it much. Someone needs to do a body count here. I suspect that I witnessed over 300 “deaths.” Ridiculous. In one scene a battle takes place in a nightclub. But dancing continues as men are being slaughtered. I would think the blood would make the floor too slippery to continue dancing. Ridiculous.