May 12-14: Travel Days
Saying goodbye to the dogs is the hardest part of any travel. Grateful for good friends who are willing to take care of these kids.
Squeaking through international terminal security just before closing at midnight, we spent the night in the Atlanta airport international terminal F in a cluster of roughly 40 other overnighters. It recalled group camping, except in place of wilderness we had liminal man-made spaces: single bucket-seat couches pushed together for form a chaotic cluster of lumpy makeshift bed, bright lights, a forest of palmettos in large ceramic pots, a background cacophony equal only to a forest pond’s frog choir but consisting of airport jazz and the bustling of overnight shift janitors, and for the wildlife, cockroaches. :(
The woman nearest our own campsite, commented something to the effect of “why would you pay for Minute Suites for $70 an hour when you can spend $0 and sleep in the company of others” and I couldn’t agree more. Despite the obvious pitfalls of spending the night at the airport, everyone we encountered was absolutely delightful, from our Sri Lanken groome shuttle driver with a keen interest in wildlife, who raises pigeons in his backyard, loves snakes, and allows rat snakes to steal the pigeon eggs because the birds multiply too quickly otherwise, to the extra kind airport staff who actually seem to enjoy their jobs during these eerily quiet hours at the airport. Chris pulled an all nighter studying up on information that will be useful for navigating Tokyo public transit, and I dozed intermittently. These hours were not without strife but overall happy with our decision.
At 5:30 we walked to our nearby gate and boarded the plane to Toronto where we had a pleasant 4 hour layover. The terminal was small, clean, and uncrowded, with some interesting large scale public art and interior design. We passed the time talking and drinking coffee, before boarding our flight to Tokyo at 1pm. Thankfully we were fed almost immediately, as Air Canada seems to be adjusting us to Japanese time in advance by serving dinner when we would’ve otherwise had lunch, then turning the lights. Side note: ordering the vegan meal on planes is a secret life hack because all the special request meals always get handed out first. We spent the next 12 hours napping and reading (On Trails by Robert Moore and Genki Elementary Japanese Textbook).
On arrival in Tokyo, we had to immediately figure out how to use Suica public transit card via Apple wallet (otherwise the Suica app is all Japanese), then took the train from Haneda to Shinagawa, transferring there from there the JR line to Ueno, where our hostel is. The train was packed because it was rush hour, and we watched the sun set over the city as we flew toward our destination on an elevated rail line. We got off at Uguisudani station and stepped for the first time in 2 days into the fresh air right around sunset.
One thing immediately noticeable is that the Japanese never miss an opportunity to make even the most benign thing kawaii (cute).
We walked to our hostel and got checked in, at this point almost delirious with fatigue. Our room is the perfect soft landing to begin our trip. The hostel is very old and well cared for, with a lovely Japanese garden.
The bed is cozy, it’s quiet, there are operable stained glass windows behind the bed, a single light hanging on either side of the bed by which to read, a small desk, and a private patio through a pair of double doors.
After wandering out for nearby Vegan Gyoza (delicious), and suffering through my first attempts to use Japanese face to face with a person (rather than the safety of my language learning app) we fell asleep to the sound of rain outside our window.
Fri, May 15
Chris woke me up at sunrise before we realized that the sun rises at 4:30am this time of year in Japan and promptly returned to bed. On our way out in search of brunch after a restful morning, we stopped at a couple convenience stores (Lawson and 7-11) to browse the products. It was a good chance to practice using google translate’s camera function to read packaging labels.
When we arrived at Guruatsu vegan cafe we both ordered the lunch plate with soup and coffee, along with a couple muffins to go (earl grey/orange and black sesame with bean paste filling). The meal was among the greatest either of us have had in our lifetimes to date. It was a mound of colorful veggies prepared in different ways and soft pan-seared tofu, with a side of soup.
From there we walked to Ueno Park where we visited the National Museum of Tokyo. Here we got a better sense of the history of Japan and evolution of Japanese art, seeing impressive exhibits such as samurai outfits and swords, Lotus Sutra Scroll, and several takes on the Night Parade of 100 Demons (my personal favorite as I like to imagine the artists had fun on this one).
After the museum we walked around the Ueno Toshogu Shrine and caught a glimpse of a lovely five-story pagoda.
Stomachs rumbling, from there the JR line from Ueno to Tokyo Station, where we embarked on an advanced scavenger hunt for the first recommendation in our friend Anna’s Illustrated Recommendations for Japan (an extra special wedding/graduation/honeymoon gift)! Locating Soranoioro Nippon on Ramen Street, a lower level eatery inside the station felt like trying to find a needle in a haystack. I eventually spied the first character of the restaurant name around a corner and we enjoyed vegan dan dan ramen; while practicing slurping - a customary way of expressing gratitude for the meal (also “Oishiiii” (delicious))!
We are slowly getting better at communicating in broken Japanese and navigating the train system, although admittedly it is a bit overwhelming at times!
We made it back to the hostel without incident, although my phone was reaching precariously low battery levels and I was having anxious visions of wandering the streets of Tokyo completely lost. Safely back at the hostel we accepted a complimentary drink from the bar; I got Japanese sake and Chris got sweet potato shochu with soda water. We met another traveler who had just arrived that night from LA. He told us about a cell phone plan that he used and we ended up signing Chris up for it that night so he could use his phone on cellular as well as wifi. While I am mostly the Navigation Person it will be nice to be able to easily communicate with one another if separated (this doesn’t seem out of the question in the throngs of commuters in the stations).
We showered and went to bed, exhausted and happy to feel as though we are getting a better handle on how to navigate this city and daily interactions.
Sat, May 16 (Tokyo > Kyoto)
We got up around 6:30 and had a peaceful morning. We made very strong instant coffees that we enjoyed on our patio. On our way out we noticed the light was hitting our table just right, casting a smiley face on the ground. A very kawaii good omen!
It feels like a miracle when we find a restaurant we’re looking for onsite in Tokyo station. T’s Tantan ramen for lunch. Chris got a rice bowl with teriyaki seitan and gyoza, and I got a black sesame bowl.
Then we walked to the Shinkansen (bullet train) ticketing area and I got as far as “good afternoon, we are two people going to Kyoto.” (To which the Ticketmaster responded in rapid Japanese) then, “I’m sorry, do you speak English?” I was happy to make it that far before having to abort though. It is getting easier to spit out words without choking on them or accidentally using Spanish.
We purchased non-reserved seats (cheapest) and headed in search of the non-reserved Shinkansen cabs, watching others to figure out what to do. The Shinkansen is Hiroshima bound but makes a stop in Kyoto where we will disembark. We ended up with two seats together next to a window and settled in to enjoy two hours of quiet and relaxation to study Japanese, journal, and read.
All public transit we’ve experienced so far has been astoundingly clean and orderly. The sounds are pleasant too: twinkly happy video-game noises to indicate the speaker coming on, or a train arriving soon. Even on the most crammed train ride (where I was certain not one more person would fit after us) at LEAST ten more people got on. At least we didn’t have to hold on as no one would be going anywhere until exploding out of the open doors on arrival at the next station.
Chris has felt right at home in Japanese culture so far, while admittedly it has been a bigger learning curve for me. Coming from Texas/Mexican culture which is big and boisterous, it’s a stark difference to find myself in a place with such a reserved and polite people. People eat quietly (apart from the slurps), speak softly, display outsized gratitude and extreme humbleness.
The Shinkansen got us to Kyoto at speeds of around 150-200mph. We passed several mountain ranges on the way out of Tokyo, including Mount Fuji, which dramatically peeked out from behind the clouds.
On arrival in Kyoto, with some two hours until check in (it is bad form to be early or late in Japan) we decided to find a cafe to pass time at. Near the Shinkansen station was a place called Mercy Vegan Factory Kyoto, and we ordered a Sando, Matcha pudding, and mock egg salad sandwich to tide us over. After, we headed back to the station to take the Kyoto subway to our b&b.
When we arrived at Azukiya B&B, at 5pm on the dot after successfully navigating two train transfers with zero margin for error, we were greeted by a delightful woman who manages the b&b. This place was recommended to us by our friends Anna and Chase who incidentally also honeymooned in Japan (and hiked the kumano kodo)! Chieko complimented my Japanese and pronunciation which made my day (although one must always reject any compliment: “no, still long way to go…”). We had a funny interaction when she brought us some mochi and green tea. I tried to ask in Japanese “does it have dairy products? Because of allergies he cannot have dairy at all” but instead said something to the effect of “I’m smiling, and because of an allergy he cannot have smiling at all.” Nyūseihin (Nyū = dairy, seihin = products).
Like Guesthouse Toco, Azukiya b&b is another quiet oasis in a major city. This time however, we have a lovely private bath and kitchen, and access to a charming Japanese garden just outside our room. One of the best things about this trip so far for both of us has been catching up on sleep, and this is sure to be another special spot for solid rest.
