Tokyo - part two

Second Day - Aug 31, 2004

After dozing thru the night of typhoon, the sun woke me up at around 9:45am and I felt so blessed that the day is sunny (with no little rain at all)!!

Looking around everywhere in ryoken, the scenery was so nice! It had a bit of zen garden feeling. It was open door access. The only security system was the beeper when anyone walked into the ryoken. (Perhaps this Tokyo neighborhood was known to be safe) There were two social rooms, one having massage chairs, TV, CD player, computer with internet access, and the other one having two sofas, two more computers, and a long-distance calling card phone. (Both with Air-con too!) On the other side, there were public bathrooms in Japanese style - one for women and one for men (you got to shower with everybody else and share the hot tub bath!).

After touring around the ryoken, I started the first day of adventure with a metropolitan touch!! JR Train, metro, and walking all day. I also thanked Watai Sensei (my JAPN 102/3) and Lonely Planet survival phrase section, for easing the language barrier. Well, there're places who don't prefer to speak English, and Tokyo is one of the them on the toppest list!!

1. Asakusa Kannon Temple/ Nakamise Shopping Street
Buddist Temple - Guan Yin (unbelievable!!!!)
I-ching
Japanese sweeties and cookies (in gd prices!!)
Organic Plums
God of Earth *tou dei gong gong ^^ - character from Doraemon located and found!
Legendary Seven Gods


2. Ginza
Itoya Bookstore *bought cool cards and stationaries
Mitsukoshi Department Store *bought a Burberry!! ^^
Yamaha Store *got Horace a gift


3. Tokyo Tower
Overlook the night scenery of Tokyo! And meet with many tourists from Australia and Taiwan! *went up to the special upper deck too!!


4. Roppongi
Nightlife *didn't stay coz it was already too late to go home... but restaurants, bars are great there!! love the ambiance~~



I got 'home' (my ryoken) at around 11:30pm. The bathrooms were all closed! Had to sneak in the public one, which seemed to be unlocked, and get a good bath with a lot of unfamiliar Japanese facilities~ Wearing an oversize kimono, I had to go over to the social room - meeting a couple of other foreign travellors. There I met a karate student from Bombay who helped me with shiatzu for the strained left leg and right elbow (which got worse in Tokyo... as I slightly injured myself from Shanghai~). I heartfully thanked him; and in return, I taught him how to go to Tokyo Tower in English as he told me that he had been isolated in ryokan because he didn't know how to speak or read Japanese/ Chinese. He also told me that he was very lonely for not being able to go out and missed home a lot =( Trying to help but maintaining a distance, my heart told me that it'd be good to keep talking with him and cheering him up! May God bless this soul in loneliness and help him to successfully finish his karate certificate for professional teaching in Bombay.

Writing an email back to my home(s)... Correspondence:

Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2004 09:20:43 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Patricia Ma"
Subject: My First Day of Tokyo Tour

Dear guys,
Sorry for letting you guys worry in the past few days.
I`m doing just fine and is quite tired after coming
back for a long trip of walking today. I went to
Senjo-ji (temple), Ginza, and Tokyo Tower, going
through the Japan Railway and the subways. It has
been an enriching experience because I`ve got to talk
in Japanese, reading maps and doing research, finding
food, and interacting with local people here :) A
couple on the street knew that I came from Canada -
the man bought me a treat (green tea paste cake, and
it`s superly oishii!!!) and the woman pinched my face
saying `kawaii ne~`... and I`m so glad to find
friendly faces around!
I`m planning to go to Imperial Palace, Ghibli Museum,
Shinjuku, and Odaiba (where the romantic Rainbow
Bridge is!) tomorrow. Wish that it`ll be a good, nice
experience :)
I`ve got to give instructions/ directions to tourists
here in my motel and in Tokyo Tower going back home...
maybe I do have a talent in giving correct directions
(as dad has always praised me when I was a little girl
pointing to the right place to find our family car in
strange parking lots)! Hehe!!
Unfortunately, I couldn`t find my friend, Julia, here
because her cell no. is just a wrong one... probably
the area code 80 isn`t correct. (For numbers here
always begin with 02 or 03, but those don`t work
either) Anyway, I`ve sent her a follow-up e-mail and
hopefully she`ll get back to me tomorrow.
Furthermore, I`m planning to leave 5-6 hours ahead
from my motel to get to Narita airport on Sept 2.
Thanks Dad for your directions. Yes, I took the
Keisei skyliner, exchange in Nippori (instead of
Ueno), and transfer in Kamata in order to get to
Chidorichi, where I live at the present.
Shopping and eating are very irresistable here in
Tokyo... but I really have refrained myself because
this trip is a backpacking experience. Girls here
dress up so nicely - just like those from Nonno
magazines everywhere in central Tokyo... *wow*
It`s getting late at night, so have to talk again
later... hai~ konbanwa! :)
Miss you all!
luv,
pat ma

After the day of experience, I came to enlightenment that being an independent travelor isn't an easy one - no matter how many little stories that my dad told me about Tokyo since little child, how much Japanese I was able to speak and things I got familiar, how lucky I got to meet with some locals/ other travelors for help - at the very end, there were just things that I just couldn't control... like the typhoon on the first night, the fact that I'm a solo-woman travelor... no vigilance or smartness could get away from these situation~ Walking thru the first day alone (with God beside me), the only reason why I put myself thru this was finding the Answer - an answer that explains why there are sickness and death in human beings. I couldn't understand why... my family had to go through so much... years after years of brokeness (for almost 10 years till 2004)... which had been very deeply hurting me - and sarcastically, this isn't sth that I could speak or compose on paper cognitively so that others could help~~ coz at the end, no one can help except myself. But, there has always been one thing for sure. One voice - coming from my heart to my mind - telling me to keep moving on, and things would soon be safe, good, and over. Just keep believing and smiling! =)

With no complaints, taking the grace that I've already had, humbling my ego, and developing a more heightened awareness for making it a safe and fun adventureous journey. Thank God for protecting me and disciplining me for being a 'rebellious kid' at heart before! The day was a rich harvest day of blessings indeed... with love from divinity.

~ to be continued


Resources:

Ginza - http://www.chuo-kanko.or.jp/chinese/ginza/profile.html
Yamaha - http://www.yamaha-ginza.co.jp
Roppongi - http://www.roppongihills.com/jp, http://www.azabujuban.or.jp
Tokyo Tower - http://www.tokyotower.co.jp


Good Travel Books:

Att. Japan - http://www.att-japan.net
My Dearest Life-Saver Book -- Lonely Planet Japan!!!!!