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BACKGROUND
Much like my fourth trip to Japan, this one was self-funded, short, and only in Tokyo. But I did plan it out several weeks in advance. The result was less successful at pulling me out of my current mental state though, so maybe I should look somewhere else for this kind of thing. I'm open to ideas, if you have any, please post them in the comments.
So, let's see what the pictures will provide by the following categories:
Each of these links should take you to that section, so you can bounce around a little easier.
Cars
Ok, well, some bikes this time, also. Maybe I should change the name to "Vehicles"
This one was a joke for some people at my last job. They were struggling to purchase a VW Golf, so I asked them if I should steal this one and bring it home for them. 😀
Neat story with this one. I was walking to a shrine or temple on the eastern edge of Tokyo. I saw this and sent the picture to my friend who lives in Japan, and rides motorcycles up until a month ago when he turned his into a taco. After putting my phone away, the owner came out and talked with me about the bike. Super nice gentleman who owns the hair salon that it is parked in front of. We had a really nice conversation, and then he had to rush off to prepare for his next client. I might go visit again if I'm ever back in this area.
Another awesome old motorcycle. It is so clean. I wish I could have one for myself.
I love how the filler hose comes out of the ceiling, because this station is so small.
A Volkswagen Beetle convertible, I assume last driven in 1975 by the license plates. I didn't see the "No Photo" sign until after I'd taken the picture. Whoops.
This is a Japanese postal van near Ueno, Tokyo. The age, and size, make me think that western postal services should stop complaining so much.
A true car aficionado in Japan. I believe this is a 1970's model, air cooled, with the duck-bill spoiler. The color and perfect paint is something else also. I gave the driver a thumbs up as I walked by, and he responded with a big smile, a thumbs up, and a ripping launch after the kei-van made some room in front of him.
Animals
The most golden goldfish I've ever seen, in the "river" near Senso-ji.
It posed for an "out of water" picture for me.
Then swam under the bridge I was standing on to take these pictures.
The waterfall that feeds the "river" near Senso-ji. I liked watching the fish pop their heads up in the far left edge of the water fall. Maybe eating stuff coming down? Or just forcing air into their bellies?
You may be wondering why this picture is here. But if you look closely, you will see two statues, one of a horse, the other of a dog/wolf type thing. I can't read Japanese, so it was not possible to identify from the plate.
Shrines & Temples
Senso-ji:
I'm not quite sure why the hand-washing dragons have straws now. That is new to me. Any info?
Gardens, Plants, & Scenery
Flowers
"The perfect blossom is a rare thing. You could spend your life looking for one, and it would not be a wasted life." - Katsumoto, "The Last Samurai".
Now, I'm not a big fan of Tom Cruise, and this was a Hollywood movie, but this line spoke to me. And this might be the closest I've ever been to a "perfect blossom". I feel my life is not wasted.
This pair of flowers were really pretty, but the one on the right had a weird brown spot on it when I first saw it. Then the brown spot moved. What was it?
WARNING - One Spider 🕷 ahead
This spider hid when it saw me. So I had to squat down and super-zoom on it to take its picture.
This was my entry in a photography contest, here on peakd. You can see the story in the link.
I wish I knew what this flower is. It was almost like a flamingo egg, hatching micro-baby flamingos from an upside down nest. Anybody know what this is? Probably a weed, but it is prettier than the weeds we have in the US.
Trees
Gingko in autumnal yellow leaf
I've seen lots of gingko trees in my days. But not until this trip have I ever noticed this on a gingko. There are these stalactites near the trunk, at many of the major branches.
Here's a close up of the stalactite I'm talking about. I wonder what the function is of this, and what the wood grain inside looks like.
More gingko behind the statue twins at Senso-ji.
This tree looked so tortured, but beautiful at the same time. I hope to use this as inspiration for my bonsai work in the future.
Not sure what kind of tree this is, but I bet it is beautiful when fully leafed out.
This tree was amazing, if the story is true. The plaque says that it is over 600 years old. No wonder it needs the crutches.
The plaque, if you want to read the details of this amazing tree.
Lanterns
The most ornate lantern I've ever seen.
People in Gardens, in traditional Japanese clothes
I presume this is a couple getting their wedding photos made. The fellow on the right is their photographer. And there were several couples doing things like this all over Tokyo this weekend.
So I hid where they could not see me, and the photographer couldn't either, and took their picture. I wish I could have given it to them, but I didn't want to intrude.
In another garden across town, I was walking up a path (toward the flamingo weed) and saw this young woman in a very colorful kimono(?) or yukata(?). I can't tell them apart. And someone who I guess was her mother, following behind in all black. Lots of contrast in this family.
Others
I bought two of these pots for one of my orchids, when I split it. The guy selling them was so happy that I didn't try to bargain with him, he gave me a third pot for "free". Look for those in another blog when I get to documenting my plants.
A statue that had been in this exact spot in the year 1669. That's longer than the country I live in has been an independent country.
Food & Drink
I should have got the Lemon Sour, after a suggestion from a Yooz Toobz video. But alas, I didn't.
My breakfast on Friday. I came back here because the first day, the server asked me to come back in very well pronounced English. It felt like it was a family run shop. I was disappointed this second day because none of the staff were the same. Oh well, live and learn.
I went to a sandwich shop specifically because I was told they had great food. They basically said there was no way I would get in, even though the native people in front and behind me did. I understand nationalism a little better now and it is awful. So I walked around for a while and found this great ramen store. Felt a little bit like the "McD of Ramen", but the food was so good, I didn't care.
Another spicy ramen, but different that above. This one was definitely in a small family run shop, on the western suburbs of Tokyo. My friend and I ate the same thing, and had a good talk about life, and my first trip to Japan, almost 20 years ago.
This was interesting for me. I love "water of life", as you may have guessed from other blog entries. I had never tried Irish Whiskey though. And since I first tried Scotch in Japan, I figured what the heck, let's make it a thing.
Note the shapes of the glasses are very different. But the same whiskey from the same bottle in these two glasses tasted very different. It was mind-blowing to me.
I preferred the taste from this glass. It was more full-flavored. But I don't understand why that little peg of glass poking up into the chamber makes that big of a difference, when the rest of the shape was virtually the same between the two. Any ideas? I wonder if banana at Whiskey Tribe could get me an answer.
I had a time limit, and so I ordered my final drink because time to leave was approaching. This was spectacular. An espresso martini, with dried blood orange on top. I was so amazed how they turned a martini into a layered liquid to make it look so much like an espresso. Simply amazing!
This was an interesting stop for me. After my friend went home, I wandered out to another whisk(e)y bar. The gentleman that greeted me let me know up front that there was a ¥710 cover charge, which was very cool. It has been my experience that bars do not tell you this. Anyway, I sat down and had a beautiful Scotch. Right as I'm finishing the first one, a gentleman sits down next to me with a strong German accent. We get to talking (in English) and had a great discussion about how we see world events. We listened, and considered each others viewpoints. This is what should be happening right now, in my opinion. Anyway, I had two more Scotches and then went back to the hotel feeling more cultured than before.
A supposed izakaya :
Background story: I asked the desk staff at my hotel where I could find shishamo anywhere in Tokyo. The nice woman that helped me kind of disappeared into the back office for a good while, and I was starting to wonder if I called her a bad name accidentally. Thankfully not. It was just that she was being VERY thorough in a search for an izakaya with shishamo. So I wandered to where I thought the first one was, and just could not find it to save my life. I then went to the second one and found it. I think it was more of a chain than I was looking for, but this was my last chance to get shishamo and the third suggestion was very far away, so I went in. This is where the shoe locker incident occurred, below.
So, of course, sake for drinking. I love these masu cups.
For westerners in Japan who want something that suits that palete, order tsukune. It is essentially a chicken hamburger (but usually a ball on a stick) covered in sauce and in this case, served with an egg yolk. It was fabulous!
Maybe not so much for westerners, the menu has horse available also.
Having had horse sashimi before, I knew how delicious it was, so I had it again. The server made a strong suggestion for the sauce, seen on the right side of this picture. I ate the shiso leaf also. I love them!
They also had chicken sashimi, but I couldn't get past my prejudices of raw chicken.
And finally, the reason for going out in the cold this fine evening. SHISHAMO! I was a little disappointed because it wasn't grilled very much (notice the lack of char marks), and their bellies were empty, no roe at all. But I still ate them, since that was one of the primary reasons I'd come to Japan.
Airport Lounge:
Sake to get me ready for the flight from HND to SEA. By the way, I've flown many places in the world. And I'm here to tell you, SEA is the worst airport I've been to for international arrivals into the US. Maybe I will make an airport rating sheet as to why I feel this way. But if at all possible, I suggest any other airport than SEA for international arrivals.
Because it was just after the American Thanksgiving holiday, the lounge made special turkey sushi rolls and gave everyone a piece. I know it sounds weird, but I'm here to tell you this was absolutely fabulous. The cranberries gave it that "Thanksgiving" taste, without feeling like you had to eat 12 heaping plates of food. I'd eat this again for sure!
The lounge was feeling creative, so the bartender tried to one-up the cooks and made this creamy-chocolate drink. I can't say what it was, I was just told that it was a special drink for the holiday travelers like me. It was really nice, but very sweet.
Yebisu Beer Museum
I mentioned in another post how I always go to the Yebisu Beer Museum, when in Tokyo. This time was the exception, though. The museum was closed for renovations or something. But while walking back to my hotel, after a long day of drinking with my friend, I saw a Yebisu only bar in one of the train stations. So I stopped as a substitute to the museum. The beer (as expected) was delicious. And a Japanese gentleman and I had a nice conversation, to the point where we became Diss Chord buddies.
Why Japan? (and other Japanese cultural things)
Saturday night, 8:00 pm JST, walking the streets of Japan til I got lost, and what do I see on the horizon? That's right, a herd of dogs out on their walk. There were so many, and they stayed so close to each other, I couldn't count them. I'm not sure why some of them have pee-pee belts on though. Is it bad to let your dogs go wee in public in Japan?
My shoes are a little bigger than the average Japanese shoe, apparently. I had to fold one of them in half to get it to fit in the locker before dinner.
Coke machine, but no Coke!
I know that chikan is a problem in Japan, and I fully support womens' rights to not be raped on their commute. But this is not a thing where I'm from, so I always find it strange and try to avoid those cars, even if the time means it is not being enforced.
There's a town in Michigan with a "golden ring" to greet you to the city. I wonder if this is the counterpart to that?
This was so lovely to see. A young woman with a hard violin case on the escalator in front of me. But the sticker on her violin case made me smile, and for that, I thank you kind lady.
The unicorn of Gundam. That dude is big, but I always imagined they would be about 50% bigger than this one was.
I didn't understand this crosswalk sign. Do you only need to push the button at night?
I see this is becoming more popular in Japan, compared to my first trip. Many statues at shrines & temples had hats and sweaters. The engineer in me wonders how they work if the stone does not generate body heat, though.
Butts!
2022-Nov, masks are still a thing in Japan. So to not be "that guy", I wore mine also. It is a car themed one that my mother made for me. Thanks mom!
The obligatory Shibuya Scramble picture.
I was aware of this already, since a former boss of mine lived in one. But Toyota, famous for making cars, also makes homes in Japan. My former boss's house was really pleasant, and I could totally live in that.
Rental property in the western suburbs of Tokyo.
A store which sells a variety of wooden screens, to decorate my house (if I ever get to move there).
Nippon Budokan:
This way
Is that it, behind the glorious flower bushes?
Yes! Yes! It is Budokan! But wait, where is Cheap Trick?
CONCLUSION
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