Tokyo Travels Part 23: Ometesando and Shibuya Redux

Note:  This is the latest in a series of posts about a trip The GF and I took to Tokyo in May, 2010.  More posts are available here.

It’s tough to take in the sights and sounds of Tokyo in just one exposure -- even if that exposure is to just a small part of the city. One day we decided to head back to Harajuku and to Shibuya during the day on a quest -- a quest for squished pennies.
You may have seen these machines at tourist stops around the country. You put in two quarters and a penny, and then you turn a crank. As you turn the crank, the machine flattens and elongates a penny and imprints a design. You get your now fancy penny back, and the machine keeps the quarters. There are websites that track these machines and a surprisingly large and passionate web community surrounding them. It’s a fairly inexpensive souvenir; the GF has been collecting them for years.

Of course in Tokyo, they don’t use pennies. Or quarters for that matter. The machines come preloaded with copper blanks, so all you need to supply is 100 Yen. Armed with a list of locations, we set off to find the machines.

First we headed to Omotesando-dori in the Harajuku neighborhood to visit Kiddyland, a seven floor toy store known around the world. They have an entire floor dedicated to Peanuts merchandise and another dedicated to Sanrio. It’s a pretty amazing place. A couple months after we got back, they closed the store for remodelling and expect to reopen in 1.5 years. The idea of a store planning to close for a year and half and then reopen is something I have trouble wrapping my head around.

The Omotesando Hills shopping center is across the street from Kiddyland. It’s a high-end mall, surrounded by dozens of high-end, stand-alone retailers. We wandered the narrow streets off the main road and peeked in the windows. We walked through the Tumi store and fortunately did not buy anything. I liked the location of the Tumi store, though. It was just off the main strip on a quieter street.

The wandering itself wasn’t all that pleasant. We were there in mid-May and it was warming up. It was humid. And then the humidity hit 100% and it started to drizzle. So now we were damp and warm and starting to feel a little moldy.

Our next quest was to find the Marimekko store. They don’t have a squished penny machine, but they do have some cool designs (or so I’m told). The GF is a big fan of this Finnish brand and they have stores all over the world.

The challenge was finding this location. This was the only major navigation challenge the two of us encountered on the trip (I did get myself temporarily misplaced in Ebisu, but that’s another story). Google maps wasn’t much help, and neither was the Marimekko site. It listed the address, but the map function didn’t work. And and as I understand it, many Tokyo denizens have trouble decoding local address, so I had little-to-no-chance. I led the GF up and down roads and across boulevards in what I guessed was the appropriate direction. I was usually wrong. I finally found a few directions in an article about the opening that were published a couple years earlier. 
Here's the location, in case you're looking for it:

View Harajuku And Shibuya By Day in a larger map

We got there, walked around a bit, and were distinctly underwhelmed. It mostly had stuff the GF had already seen online and elsewhere. I’m sure we would have been more pleased if it hadn’t taken so much work on our part to find it. I can’t fault them for that; that’s just one of the risks inherent in travel.

We had planned to find a nice ramen place for lunch and headed into the Omotedano Hills Mall.

Ahhhhhhhh. Air conditioning.

When we got there, we decided it was bit too warm for Ramen, and opted for Gelato instead. That turned out to be an excellent choice.

Sufficiently chilled and sugared up, we headed out on the next quest -- the squished penny machines at the Disney store in Shibuya.

We headed down Meiji-Dori. Here is the map of the day’s wanderings (including the train ride from the hotel).

We found the Disney store with no problem and the people couldn’t have been nicer. The first penny machine was right inside the door, and as soon as one of the reps saw us using it, she immediately pointed out the other machine they had, too. She was also more than happy to make change for us. And then we had one of those encounters we would have throughout the week.

She asked where we were from.

“Seattle,” I said.

“Ahh,” she said. “Ichiro”

We wandered more though the streets, visited Tower Records, crossed the street at the Shibuya, and had coffee at the safest and perhaps busiest Starbucks in the world.

This visit to a Starbucks had the distinction of being the most expensive one I’ve had. It’s that combination of Starbucks expensive coffee and Tokyo’s expensive prices.

Okay, that’s not it. Sure I had a Matcha Latte and the GF had an Iced Latte, but what probably put it over the top was the snacks. And the snacks for later. Okay, and maybe the souvenir mugs. Afterall, we needed our toys.

Afterwards, we headed back out to the muggy streets, turned a corner passed a significantly strong and yet limited zone of “fragrant” storm related air as people walked past. We continued to be amazed by the sights and sounds, and after 25 feet, no longer the smells as we plied the narrow streets. After almost succumbing to the allure of the Outback Steakhouse (we resisted) we headed back to the train station to see Hachiko.

Back at the hotel, and back in the airconditioning (Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh) we caught some rest and began to record the day’s adventures.

Tokyo Travels Part 22: The Prostitutes

This post is part of a series describing a trip I took in May, 2010.

Note: This post does deal with prostitutes (whom I did not hire -- let’s be clear on that) and some readers may prefer to avoid it. It does discuss sex in a roundabout manner, but there is no actual sex in this post. Nor are there any roundabouts. Now you may consider yourself appropriatly warned. Ironically, this disclaimer is also the most explicit part of this post; I don’t know if that means you’ll skip this post or bookmark it.

As a business traveller who frequents hotels in various cities, it’s not uncommon for me to encounter call girls offering their services. Vegas is where this happens most, but I’ve also encountered the saleswomen in Denver and in a hotel hallway in Anaheim (a rather entrepreneurial young woman who chose to go door-to-door).

I was coming back to the hotel in Tokyo one evening by myself. I got off the train Shinbashi and went out a different the Hibiya exit instead of head toward Shiodome and the hotel like I normally did. I was on my way to this McDonalds .

Now, I know what you’re thing, “You’re in Japan and you’re eating at McDonalds?! What are you thinking?!?!” It’s not like that. We heard they have a Fillet-O-Shrimp. How could we pass that up? Okay, I picked up some burgers and fries, too, but really, it was all about the exotic shrimp at McDonalds. That’s my story.

That exit from the station took me to a hopping area, and I decided to explore a little.

There were small noodle shops and and restaurants and bars with music.It looked like any other entertainment district. There are small side streets closed to traffic to accommodate the revelers. They were too small for much traffic anyway. I had stumbled into some party zone just outside of Ginza. It started to rain slightly.

Now, I know I looked like a tourist. Big white guy with a camera bag on his back doesn’t exactly scream “Local!”

I pass in front of building that I think has a narrow canopy. A young woman standing near the curb (so I pass between her and the building) stepped toward me and said, “Massage?” gestures to the building which apparently offers those services on a higher floor. In my confusion it took me a moment to realize what she was saying. I declined and she said something else that seemed to be related to her services and I kept walking.

Now I realize there are non-sex industry versions of the “Thai Massage” she was offering, but I’m guessing that this was not a therapeutic variant.

I rounded another corner on my way to the McDonalds and another attractive woman walked up to me with her umbrella, and put it over us. She was dressed conservatively and yet frillily and said some sort of greeting in Japanese and then, “Sexto?” I declined and kept walking. She said something else, again finishing with, “Sexto?” Again I declined. She tried a couple more times and then finally closed her umbrella and walked off.

There are few things to note here. To begin with, I am assuming they are prostitutes because otherwise these scenarios just don’t present themselves to me.

Besides that, these were probably the two most attractive prostitutes to proposition me. Well dressed, made up to blend in -- nothing that screams “Sexual Services for Sale!” (excpets of course their lips when they spoke).

I was curious about their rates and how they charge (by the hour or piece work) But I didnt’ ask. Since I did not intend to complete a business transaction, it seemed silly to open a negotiation.

This may be an inappropriate reaction but I am flattered by these encounters. Sure, the reason they were willing to supply their goods was for money, but still. At least I was desirable as a customer. Anyone who has worked retail or food service knows that there are definitely some cutomers you don’t want to deal with. For these two business women, I did not fall into that category.

There are three possible reason they might approach me.

1) I look like the kind of guy they might enjoy providing services to.
2) I look like the kind of guy who can afford their services.
3) I look like the kind of guy in need of their services.

I prefer to think it’s number 1.Yes, that may be delusional, but it’s my delusion, and I’m sticking to it.

After those little adventrues, I continued my assigned tasks for the night. I hope the evening was productive for my potential suppliers. I did learn something valuable that evening, though.

The Filet-O-Shrimp is a mighty fine sandwich.

Tokyo Travels Part 21: Conrad Tokyo

When we stayed in Tokyo, we stayed in what would be considered a luxury business hotel. Rooms at the Conrad Tokyo regularly sell for $400+ per night. More importantly, they also sell for 50,000 Hilton Points a night.

Hilton Points (and their equivalent from Marriott, Starwood, and Holiday Inn) are the hotel version of frequent flier miles. I build up Hilton Points whenever I stay at a Hampton Inn, Embassy Suites, Homewood Suites, Doubletree Hotel, or any other property in the Hilton family. I cashed in a bunch of points for the trip to Tokyo so the room cost us nothing.

The hotel is on top of an office building. An express elevator takes you up to the hotel lobby and its high-end restaurants. The staff at the desk was awesome. They were friendly, and spoke excellent English. After checking in, we didn’t have to deal with them often except to get change for 10,000 Yen notes and ask for directions to the subway. When we checked out, they were even able to charge our bus tickets to the room (Note: even on a reward stay you still earn Hilton Points for incidentals).

It was a fantastic room, and fairly large by Tokyo standards. We had a king room with a great view of some neighboring office buildings, and a couch of sorts that ran the length of the windows.

That long couch was a fantastic place to stretch out at the end of the day, with a blanket and a reading light, and write about my thoughts and experiences while looking out at the city lights before crawling into the soft king bed to rest up for more adventures.

The bathroom had a deep soaking tube (which the GF loved (especially since it came with some neat rubber duckys)) and a separate shower.

The toilet had more electronic controls than many cars.

We also had access to the Executive Lounge, which meant we could start each day with complimentary snacks and coffee.

One thing we didn’t see was a housekeeping cart or an ice machine. Apparently all that equipment gets hidden in secret alcoves and closets. I’m not entirely sure how the staff conjured them into existence when they needed them, but they managed it.

Whenever we needed ice, we would have to call room service to deliver some. There was of course no charge, and the advantage is that I didn’t have to hear or figure out the machine in the hall. And since it’s Japan, we weren’t expected to tip the staff.

Guests at the Conrad also get to take home some little reminders of their stay.

The location was convenient. The hotel was across the street from the Hamarikyu Gardens, a short walk from the Shiodome and Shinbashi train station where we could catch the Japan Rail Green Line, a loop that runs around the city. Walking just a couple blocks more brought us to the heart of Ginza. To the south, we were just a 20-30 minute walk from the Tsukiji Fish Market. When I walked a few blocks the other way, I found a great collection of convenience stores which were always a great place to pick up a shockingly tasty dinner and beer.

In short, the Conrad was fantastic. If you have the cash or points it’s a fantastic place to stay. The room was awesome and the staff was friendly and fluent in English. I can strongly recommend the Conrad.

You can see more pictures from the hotel here.

You can find more pictures from my Japan trip here.

And you can find more posts about my trip here.

Tokyo Travels Part 19: Wandering Shibuya

I visited the Shibuya area twice this past May -- once in the evening, and once in the afternoon a couple of days later.  It really is a fascinating area with great people watching.

It's best know for three things: the major street crossing, the Hachiko statue, and the shops.

The Shibuya Crossing is a Barnes Dance, or Pedestrian Scramble.  It's a major intersection where all directions of traffic get a red light at once so pedestrians can cross in all directions at once.  This design is common at pedestrian heavy intersections.  What makes the Shibuya crossing interesting is the scale.  Hundreds of people cross the street during each cycle of the light, and they do that throughout the day.  All these pedestrains are going to someplace or coming from someplace, and they need to cross that street.  Even while crossing the street, those hundreds of people still (mostly) stick to the crosswalks.

I shot this 2 minute video during a visit.  It features a look at the general area, a view of people crossing, and a shaky view of actually crossing.




This is Hachiko, a major meeting point just outside the train station.  You can read more about Hachiko here. Basically, in story that would one day lead to an episode of Futurama, Hachicko was a loyal dog who used to meet his owner at the train station everyday.  His owner became sick and died, but even after that, everyday Hachiko still went to the train station to wait for him.









I wandered around just amazed at not just the neon, but the high quality video signs.  I had the sense I was walking around a city that's just about 10 years into the future.  During the day, it's busy, and has energy, but the buildings themselves come to life after the sun goes down.

I took the night time pictures below with a 50mm f1.4 lens.  I was quite pleased with how it performed in low light.

I wrote about this Starbucks once before.  It's one of busiest in the world, and, I'm guessing, one of the safest.





Video screens are almost as prevalent as traditional bright signs.















You can get a late night haircut in Shibuya.





You can surf the web while you do Karaoke.





You can buy new electronics.





You can buy used electronics.





You can buy a dog.

You can even find a Guinness.

There are plenty of other ads to soak in and shops to wander about.

It's easy to get caught up in the excitement and energy of Shibuya after dark.  

For more pictures from this trip, click here.

For more posts about our Tokyo trip, click here.

Here's one more awesome thing.  I have nothing to do with this video, other than being glad it exists.

Tokyo Travels Part 18: Meiji Jingu

Before we wandered about Harajuku, we spent some time in the Meiji Jingu Shrine.  It's a Shinto shrine that honors Ermperor Meiji and Empress Shoken. You can read more about the Shrine here.

The entrance to the grounds is set a giant wooden Tori, or gate, that tells you are crossing the border.

There were plenty of people there but it wasn't crowded on the Monday afternoon in May that we visited.  The wide gravel path ways made it easy to get around.

I like this image because of the broom the sweeper is using.  It appears to be just straw tied to a pole.  It's simple and likely not the most efficient sweeping instrument, suggesting sweeping efficiency is not its primary purpose.  I also like that the woman is carrying an umbrella for protection from the sun.  We saw that all the time in the sunny streets of Tokyo.  I'm surprised we don't see more people doing that in Seattle on those rare sunny days.

Wine barrels and rice containers faced each other across opposite sides of the path, illustrating the Meiji policy of "Japanese Spirit and Western Knowledge."

There is  a separate garden within the shrine.  There was an admission fee for the garden and another ticket required for a well in the garden.  The wait for Kiyomasa's well was estimated to be over an hour so we opted to skip that part.

The gardens were pleasant with a well manicured lawn around a tea house.

The Koi pond had plenty of fish and more turtles than I usually see in these ponds.  There were plenty of gold koi, but they seemed a bit camera shy.

The heart of the Shrine is in the inner grounds.  There's another gate to pass through before you enter a large plaza.

While we were there, a bride was getting her picture taken.  What was fascinating was how many people were photographing her in traditioanal garb.  The photographers were more interesting than their subject.

The Meiji Jingu Shrine is definitely worth a visit on a trip to Tokyo.

You can see more of my Tokyo pictures here.

You can read more about my trip here.