The next day (July 29th) was rainy and dismal. We spent the morning fighting the rain and wind to get to the 45th floor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government offices. The view from both sides was spectacular but the clouds meant that Tokyo Tower was indistinct and the Imperial palace grounds beyond were invisible. We then had some sweet hot dogs and coffee at Dotour. We then headed to our rendezvous with Sara Ellis on the Chuo line in Koenji where I saw one of the saddest things I have ever seen. A total otaku ugly beard white guy wearing capris with a super hot Japanese girl. After watching Sara run around the station a bit looking for us (we had assumed sniper positions near the bus stop), we finally got introduced, only to realize that the things she wanted us to see in Koenji were closed. It turns out Sara writes screenplays for Japanese movies and teaches English composition at the local university, having lived in Japan for nearly 20 years, while her partner just got her humanities PhD and a job offer from Kyoto University. We headed out to Kichjoji where we spent some time buying gifts at the department store and some time in Inokashira Park which is on the way to the Ghibli museum. We also saw a neat store that sold all the necessities of life (food, bags, bikes, clothes) all completely unbranded as a reaction to the crass commercialism that struck Japan in the 80s. Ironically, when the store expanded to the US (in NYC) it became a brand of its own! One thing to note about this adventure is that Sara’s navigation method seems to involve random sights and guesswork. We had some yakitori (beef tongue and normal chicken) from one of the most rude places I have been to in Japan and headed out. After briefly helping to mob a fire alarm that happened only a block away from our hotel, we headed to bed. As it turns out, I have now purchased the first 4 books in The Lost Fleet series and am totally addicted to its brand of low brow sci fi magic.
On the final full day of our trip (July 30), we arose early (5 AM) to make it to the Tsukiji fish market before it essentially closes at 8. We barely made it before then at around 7:45, transferring there through Shinjuku and to the Toei Oedo line. Interestingly, the Toei Oedo line only has 4 stations listed in English on the station map - Shinjuku, Tsukiji, Roppongi, and one other. I guess those are the only stations foreigners might want to go to on that line! Even with all the rain, we were still rewarded for our troubles with a crazy marketplace where we were nearly run down many times and saw fresh seafood of types that I had either never seen in my wildest nightmares or had only ever seen dried. Braving the rain again upon leaving, we were accosted by a dubious-looking Japanese man who wanted to interview us for “TV”. He just asked us about our reactions to Japan and the fish market in general, although his English sounded rather limited. So we’ve both blessed a baby and appeared on Japanese TV - definitely a complete Japan trip! We crashed at the hotel for a good hour or two, proceeding to a quick lunch at McDonald’s, before returning to Akihabara for remaining souvenirs. After deciding that buying Miyazaki souvenirs just before going to the museum and dragging them around inside would be a bit gauche, we rushed around Akihabara to find Raynor Battle Royale DVDs and a DBZ scouter. Succeeded at the first part (although not before accidentally going to a few 18+ video sections), but not the second. Rushed to the Ghibli museum in Mitaka, found the (not cat) bus, and rolled in. No cameras allowed but I did manage to take a few “phone calls” (pictures with phone silenced). In short, a childhood wonderland that recalls my childhood much more strongly than even Disney. It even had an amazing staircase for children! I was moved to tears a few times. We also watched a Ghibli museum-exclusive short film straight after My Neighbor Totoro with giant cat buses and everything. A disappointing lack of Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke products decorated the gift shop and, by the end, I was all Totoro’d out. We went back to the hotel and grabbed some dinner from C.C. (rice and curry katsu chicken), dressed up for Roppongi and headed out. Let me tell you - that was the worst mistake of our whole trip. When we got there, straight out of the subway, we were assailed by Africans trying to pitch us on their individual scam clubs. One would stop following us only to be followed by another. We never even got close to a legitimate club like Gas Panic. We were literally shaking. I have never seen the sales pitch so bad and I have been in many major metropolitan areas. I have never felt more harassed as a young, white, English-speaking, male minority. The scams all involved getting you to come into their clubs where one initial cheap drink would be followed by many expensive ones put on your credit card. Just to evade these guys, we ended up making up a whole bunch of stories (speak Spanish, meeting a friend, there on business, had a friend sick in a hospital - worked best). To evade a guy we thought was stalking us, we ducked into the back of a bookstore. That was the one wise move of the night as we ended up getting basic kanji books. On our way out of Roppongi, we saw an older gentleman no doubt guiding home a woman of ill repute he was speaking to a little too fondly. Headed back to the hotel and grabbed a few hours of sleep before waking up at 7:30 AM for our flight.
The last day of our adventure, on July 31, has been minimally crazy, especially as compared to the day before. We made it to our plane with only a minimum of fuss. I did totally knock down a woman running for her train, which she missed, with my suitcase. Exchanged my last ¥5000 for $55 and grabbed some ice cream, Pringles, and gum for our journey. So far at least since I know what the food choices are (chicken >>> Korean rice), it’s been a much better flight as Raynor and I managed to grab an aisle and window seat this team as opposed to the center seat I was stuck in last time. I do feel sorry, for the poor Japanese girl seated between us who looks about 15 and is an exchange student to Irvine, with limited English. We both smell and are not in the best of shape after 2 weeks of traveling. All in all it was an amazing journey, punctuated by many extreme highs and no real lows, except Roppongi.