Note that you can click on any picture to get the original full-size image.
Day 0: Getting in and Don Quijote
After a very long 12 hour flight from LAX we appeared at Narita airport.
Dazed and confused we happened to find our way to the hotel, where we then went
out to wander and stumbled upon Don Quijote.
It turns out our hotel is close to a theme park. Who would have thought? The
rides are named... entertainingly.
Everything in Tokyo is, undeniably, cute---including this bus.
We went to a store called Don Quijote, and suffered sensory overload.
This is a video---click to watch. I tried to capture the insane amounts of,
well, noise in Don Quijote. I am sure I was not successful but the video at
least gives an idea of the insanity.
They sell freeze-dried squid on a stick. I love the logo---everything that is
for sale has a crazy logo.
Seriously, want one?
They also sell Halloween costumes, despite the fact that the Japanese language
has no correct way of pronouncing the name of the holiday.
A valiant attempt at spelling.
A picture of the TV does not do it justice, but have you ever watched Saturday
morning cartoons recently? They all moves really fast, there's tons of noise,
and it's really hard to keep up with. It turns out, all TV shows in
Japan---including the 30 minute long infomercials, which is what we were
watching here---are like that.
Japanese news was concerned with last night's debate.
This is the view from the (tiny) hotel room. Note that this is only a tiny part
of Tokyo, and not even a particularly large part. It feels like many multitudes
of Atlanta downtowns could easily fit even in only the less dense parts of Tokyo.
This is the outside of Don Quijote. These last few handful of pictures from Day
0 did not make it in my upload last night.
Your guess is as good as mine.
Again, your guess is as good as mine.
The variety of health products we found that don't appear to have any useful
effect whatsoever was astounding.
Day 1: Akihabara, Trains, and Roppongi
After some sleep we were better prepared to explore. We wandered to
Akihabara, the otaku neighborhood (think anime and cosplay). It was full of
arcades, which we duly explored. Later, we took many trains to Roppongi Hills,
an expensive shopping district. We did no expensive shopping but we did poke
around. It turns out expensive shopping districts are about the same in Tokyo
as they are in the U.S.---hence the lack of pictures.
Lil' Jon would be so proud! (Also these were extremely good!)
Tokyo buildings have extremely small footprints. It's difficult to imagine such
a small building even existing in a U.S. city.
All parts of Tokyo that we have been to appear to have about this level of
density.
The river is surprisingly clean.
Would you like to buy a Hello Kitty toilet seat!? Bonus question: what is the
seat to the right of the Hello Kitty? I have not been able to figure it out.
Beat games (like DDR, Beatmania, and this) are very popular in the arcades that
we visited. Note that because of the small footprint of the buildings, a single
arcade might be 7 stories tall---but still have fewer games than any competent
U.S. beach arcade (admittedly, the games are far nicer than the schlock they try
to pass for functioning games at the beach!).
We discovered an entire building full of small shops selling individual
components. This one was entirely dedicated to obsessively organized
capacitors.
So many different kinds of switches! I could be so happy here!
I feel a little like a voyeur for getting this picture, but I mean, check this
guy out! He is serious about his claw games (another thing of apparent huge
popularity: the arcades we visited were generally at least 40% claw games).
The game I have been looking for: Super Table Flip!
Click for a video of me playing Super Table Flip (it's large and may load
slowly). Note that while I was only able to get 4th place in the high scores,
Emily flipped it so hard that she is the current high score holder on that
machine. Here is some
more information on this fascinating game.
We went to a cat cafe and paid 400 yen for 10 minutes. They had a Scottish fold
kitten.
And also this fluffy cat.
Apparently many people like to go to these cat cafes.
Cats can hide up high.
Sometimes out of reach (lucky for them).
The fire trucks are tiny!
We discovered one of the giant multitudes of above-ground train lines and
decided to ride it.
It's difficult to convey just how many trains and tracks we saw. A transit
nerd's heaven.
Most of the train ride looked like this, except more other trains. We saw no
fewer than six shinkansen (the bullet trains) during our short 15-minute ride.
We came upon some kind of art exhibit but we were asked to leave because it
wasn't open yet. "baka gaijin" is the Japanese term for "stupid foreigner".
I believe it applies here.
Tacky art is not a phenomenon limited to the United States.
This tall building in Roppongi houses the Mori Art Museum and Tokyo City View.
However it costs quite a lot of money (2300 yen) to get to the top per person,
so this time we passed.
Day 2: Tsukiji fish market, Ginza, Odaiba, and Shinjuku
After waking up it is easy to be overwhelmed; "what to do today?"---the list
of possibilities is endless. Today we chose to go to the renowned Tsukiji fish
market, and then from there we simply wandered and our travels took us to
interesting and very different neighborhoods.
The fish market is a tourist attraction so as you get nearer it gets very busy.
You end up shoving your way through small booths. Note that we are still a few
blocks from the market...
Whatever you want, if it comes from the sea, you can buy it.
From everywhere in Tokyo tall buildings---generally different ones---are
visible.
The market is filled with tiny places to eat that seat maybe six to seven
people, such as this one. This one was one of maybe 60 places like it that we
saw.
As we got closer to the market it was a cacophony of these interesting small
vehicles moving fish from... I guess the docks?... to the market. Click for
video.
When we got to the actual fish market, it was the first place in Tokyo I've seen
that was even a little dirty.
Here is a vegetable I have never seen.
The Japanese take their vans seriously.
This guy is using a bandsaw to cut up fish.
By 11am when we showed up, the market had quieted down---generally the action
takes place there from about 4am to 10am.
On the other side of the market, we found a great view of the city. Or, well,
some of it.
I discovered my phone takes panoramas. Note that skyline is in every direction.
We obtained sweat to drink.
Soon we found ourselves in Ginza, an expensive shopping district. It's
difficult to describe how many people were there. It felt a little like Times
Square... except bigger.
Inside a store this guy was advertising... this thing.
Everything in Japan has huge eyes and can only be described as cute.
Even underpasses are turned into operable real estate.
Next we found ourselves on a monorail that had really nice views of the city.
It took us across the "rainbow bridge" (see the next picture).
In Odaiba, where the train deposited us, there was a beach.
We saw what appeared to be an imitation Statue of Liberty (Riberty?).
You can do anything in Japan. Including paying to drive go-karts around and
dress up like Mario.
The number of fascinating bridges in Tokyo is uncountable. Here is a suspension
pedestrian footbridge.
I'm not sure I've captured in pictures how insane all of the advertisements are.
Here is just one example. Every train and bus and building and wall is just
plastered with colorful, enthusiastic advertisements such as this one.
Day 3: Imperial palace garden and Harajuku
When I discovered that a neighborhood called Harajuku is where all the
teenagers went shopping, it was undeniable: I had to go. I love shopping in
crowded places. First we went to the imperial palace garden, which was different
than a crowded teenager shopping place.
Despite being in the middle of Tokyo, the garden was really quiet and very
relaxing.
...but the skyline did not let you forget that you were in a city.
The trees are markedly different, with leaf shapes I have never seen before.
These huge spiders were everywhere in the park. Think "would fill up the palm
of your hand" size.
This is Harajuku. It is insanity.
No caption required.
We discovered an entire store where you can buy pictures of what appear to be
Japanese teenage fashion idols. (We later discovered several more of these
types of stores.)
Poor naming choice.
I agree!
Note the multi-level parking deck, which moves up and down to serve you your
car.
The "Consumerism Convenience Store". And how!
This is the second American vehicle we have seen during the entire trip.
At night, it seems like Tokyo gets really quiet and tranquil. The side streets
are very nice to walk down.
Everything that can have a cute image, does. This is a streetcar seat. (P.S.
streetcars suck everywhere, not just in the U.S...)
Conveyor belt sushi... it's a thing!
Day 4: Conference day 1
The conference is three days long. It
consumes the entire day, meaning that I don't really have a chance to take any
pictures. Therefore here are a couple that Emily took, but I unfortunately was
not around for.
I suppose that Australia is indeed closer to Tokyo. Note also the English below
the "Ikinari Steak" sign.
A view of Tokyo from the Mori art museum.
A panorama from the same location. The city never ends!
More buildings...
And more...
This is the neighborhood we are staying in (near Jimbocho station). It is
idyllic and tranquil at night---just like everywhere else we have been in Tokyo.
For the largest city in the world, it sure is quiet.
Day 5: Conference day 2
On this particular conference day, the banquet was held at Happo-En, which
appeared to be some kind of nice dining place plus an outdoor garden. I got a
few pictures of the garden.
To be honest, I wish we had been able to go there while the sun was still up,
but it was still nice at night.
Despite being a quiet place, it is still Tokyo---so there are bright lights
everywhere (even when the lights are "subdued").
Day 6: Conference day 3
The last day of the conference, like the previous two, was not worth taking a
picture of. But afterwards I explored with a few colleagues I met. In the mean
time, Emily found the book below.
I'm still on the fence about whether or not I wish she bought it.
I'm not sure the example sentences give good context.
After the conference some colleagues and I went to a sushi bar.
It was conveyor belt sushi.
They made corn and bacon rolls. (Hint: that's what they taste like too, no
surprises.)
Then I found myself at Harajuku again; the main street was madness and I dared
not venture down it.
I can buy the entire city??
These are strong opinions on caviar. Personally, I disagree.
A nearly-deserted road near Touguu palace.
"Hot dog". A dog place or a food place? Or both?
Day 7: Round two: Akihabara
With the conference over we decided to go back to Akihabara to try and find a
few trinkets. It turns out there was a lot of Akihabara that we did not explore
the first time.
Breakfast at Denny's ("denizu"). With melon soda (quite good!).
Goodbye to our humble room (a panorama).
A hot dog wrapped in an American flag. Truly a display of democratic freedom.
I like the concept of the salsa dog. Pretty sure that's ketchup under the diced
tomato.
Most of these just plain leave me speechless.
Ah, Itary.
This sign gives useful life advice.
In a bookstore with (not kidding) an entire floor devoted to train books, we
found an entire book (again, not kidding) of transit maps from different cities.
Even MARTA!
The bookstore---which was 9 stories, by the way (once again, not kidding)---also
had an entire floor for technical books, including gems like this. It also had
numerous deep learning books, which I'm pretty sure are already out of date even
if they were published this year. It seems the Japanese really like to learn
specifically from books. Could this be because of a lack of a good online
Japanese documentation?
Yo-yos? Yes! They are still popular, believe it or not. The store was full of
people doing tricks with them. I only ever learned to "sleep" mine. Couldn't
do the cradle or whatever.
We discovered an entire store devoted to gaming mice. (Sadly no store was found
for keyboards.)
This next picture is so strange I had to take it, but it is NSFW, so you
are warned. Not "pack up your desk" NSFW, just "what the hell are you looking
at" NSFW but NSFW nonetheless. Click for the
picture. Bonus: "do not hit with bat". As an aside, basically everything
is hypersexualized (at least in Tokyo) and it appears to be considered normal.
Beautifully painted garage door found near the Asakusa neighborhood, where home
is tonight.
The view out of the hotel window.
Day 8: Tokyo Skytree and misc. exploration
Tokyo Skytree is the tallest structure in Tokyo. We went to see it, but it cost
~$25 per person to get to the top. So we passed and instead went to the
aquarium.
Morning hotel room view. Tokyo never ends.
Tiny "ryokan" room---really it was more of a hostel than a traditional Japanese
hotel. But it still has tatami (or tatami imitation) and futons (these were not
very comfortable).
The streets in Asakusa, yet another neighborhood of Tokyo. Tokyo Skytree is
visible in the background---we are probably a few miles from it in this picture.
This neighborhood is a little grittier. It doesn't feel dangerous or anything,
but not everything is shiny and clean. This was actually a change that made me
feel more comfortable.
The stereotype is that Asians are bad at driving. But in Tokyo you must be a
far more precise driver than anywhere I have ever been.
It's difficult to describe how happy this sight made me.
Typical neighborhood roads in Tokyo seem to be only this wide. Many times they
are two-way streets.
That's smoking while smirking, for anyone who was wondering.
Tokyo's relationship with technology is very strange---there are many very new
things at the bleeding edge, but there are also antiquities everywhere, like
this pay phone.
The hot dogs in this country have strayed far from their roots.
(no caption required)
Efficient parking structures, oh how I wish...
Have you ever seen such a clean cement truck?
(no caption required)
This is Tokyo Skytree, looking up from the base.
The Sumida Aquarium was particularly small. It was advertised as having the
largest tank in Tokyo, but I can think of many tanks at the National Aquarium in
Baltimore that are larger. I did like the exhibits a lot, including this
penguin exhibit (click thumbnail for video).
We then went to an art museum which had an entire room for umbrella storage.
The theme of the exhibit was "the universe and art", and so I was very happy to
see this here.
All of these bottles neatly lined up on the street were full of water. I am not
sure why.
Day 9: Day trip to Kamakura and Shibuya Halloween
party
The weather was nice enough for us to travel 40 miles south of Tokyo to Kamakura for the
day, which was idyllic but not unexpectedly completely packed with people. For
dinner we went to a sushi place in Shibuya, which happens to be also the site
of one of the largest Halloween gatherings in the world.
Not a joke.
Tranquil pathways off the beaten path in Kamakura. There were houses up this
path that had no other road connection, so it appears that people who live up
there ride their motorcycles down this steep path in the mornings.
I did not know they delivered here.
This is the first time I have ever seen rice growing.
Slightly smaller than American pickups.
These unimaginably large spiders were everywhere.
Panorama from the top of a hill in Kamakura.
This is the tombstone of an important Japanese person about whom I do not know.
Non-North American trees.
Hey, gotta try it at least once, right? (It was just a plain McDonald's burger
dipped in teriyaki sauce. Nothing special.)
Shoreline at Edoshima, a little island that juts off the southern coast.
Like everything Tokyo or related to Tokyo, the Edoshima main drag was just a
roiling mess of biomatter.
Leaving Edoshima, we took a suspended monorail. Yes, really.
When we emerged from the trains in Shibuya, this was what we were presented
with.
Note the fog machine between the speakers.
Less insane costumes.
Slightly more insane costume.
The number of Marios sighted was uncountable.
No seriously, this is an actual police van.
Here is some video of the situation (click thumbnail to watch). The video is
only filmed on one particular street corner, but we walked through basically all
of this and the entire area that was this packed was probably 6 square blocks,
if not more.
I tried my hand at Pachinko. For those who have not experienced the inside of a
Pachinko parlor, it cannot be described in any utterances humans can produce.
Still I will try my best. Take all of your life's experiences, everything you
know about Japan, all of the noises that have ever been created by a human mouth
or a speaker, and an infinite number of small metallic balls. Play each of
these things at 4x speed (even those things that don't "play" in any meaningful
way), and then put them on the surface of the sun (it doesn't matter if they are
concepts). Now, take what this looks like, triple its intensity, and that is
what Pachinko sounds like. To describe what Pachinko looks like, envision Las
Vegas where every clinking noise from a slot machine or game is converted into a
burst of photons of every wavelength. Compress this photonic Las Vegas into a
smaller and smaller volume until finally it collapses into a black hole of neon
cornucopia, except that we all know this is impossible because that amount of
insanity can't be contained by anything, so what this collapse actually produces
is a Big Bang creation event spawning an alternate universe made entirely of
strobes, LEDs, and floodlights (if you are thinking of the hyperspace scene from
2001 you are in the right direction). Smash the entire existence of that
universe into one point in time and this is what the visual experience of a
Pachinko parlor is at the moment in which you set foot in it. No, seriously,
it's been hours and my ears are still ringing and I am still trying to
comprehend what even happened to the 1000 yen I put into the machine. Was it a
machine? Or was it a physical manifestation of the collective identity of all
that is Japan? I'm not really sure anymore.
Day 10: Leaving Japan
Now here is an image that made me sad. I will return someday!
