Me and Ali at the hotel having fun in our kimonos
This morning we had breakfast at a coffee shop which was conveniently located right in front of the Baba residence. We all had coffee except for Ali who had tea which was shortly followed by a plate of what seems to be the standard coffee shop breakfast here in Toyohashi. Two thick slices of toast, small mounds of scrambled egg and mashed potato, a slice of tomato and a small wobbly cube of what looked like a jellified version of tiramissu. I ate everything it was so delicious. Kinko then rushed us off to the post office before taking us to the train station. She was playing strange music in the car very quietly. There were times when I couldn't hear it at all. When I did hear it, it sounded like there was a tiny opera singer under water hidden in the car. I liked it because it was relaxing, although Toyohashi is far from stressful. Just as we were about walk through the gates leading to the platform, I thanked Kinko again and gave her a hug. As usual she corrected me saying "areee-gato". I'm sure that's what I said. I'm running out of ways to pronounce the word.
Quicker than you can say "hamachi", we arrived at Tokyo. I noticed police two feet above everyone else in the subway station standing on small wooden boxes. They almost looked like street performers pretending to look like a statue. I tried calling Mieko from several phones until finally I found one that displayed English instructions. She answered straight away and asked me where I was. I told her we were outside 'Becks' coffee shop (Japanese love their coffee here - I'm in heaven) and she told me to wait right there. Mieko is Baba's close friend from high school. Baba gave me her number so that we could meet up or call her for help if we needed to. She lives in Tokyo with her family and speaks very good English. She, her husband and the "little 2 year old monster" as Mieko described him, walked around the corner and greeted us five minutes later. We had lunch together in a sparkling new skyscraper that had just been built. We ate at a tofu restaurant. I was amazed at how many things you can make out of soy beans. And I thought eggs were versatile. Soy milk, soy soup, flavored tofu, tofu curry, tofu filled egg rolls, fried tofu croquettes and even soy milk ice cream. Oh, and they even had soy bean coffee. I wondered if they had any soy bean sugar to put in it. From the Marunouchi building we look the subway to Asakusa which is also known as Old Town. I will never forget the first time I looked at the Tokyo subway map. I remembered laughing out loud at how complex and extensive it was. Asakusa has one of the oldest temples in Tokyo which is called Sensoji and is said to have been built in 628. The Grand Kaminarimon Gate with a large lantern is a landmark. It was here where Ali read her fortune. She picked a wooden stick from a tin which indicated a number. In front of her was a hundred or so small drawers, each with a written fortune inside. She opened her allocated drawer and read what was on her piece of paper. "Bad Fortune" was the title. She continued to read about how it would not be wise to travel at this particular moment in time. I found it very amusing and of course let curiosity get the better of me. I paid the 100 Yen for a stick and followed the same procedure. I picked No.32 and apparently had "Regular Fortune". I continued to read what was written on the piece of paper; "The jewel is hidden under the deep stone. Let's stop trying to find it with non-skilled eyes, it is a vain trial. The skilled jeweler can pick up the true and real material, it is impossible to the amateurs. The skilled jeweler's work will make up the marvelous brilliance. *Your request will be granted. *The patient keeps bed long, but never hurt his life. *The lost article will be found. *The person you wait for will come but late. *Building a new house and removal are both well. *To start a trip is well.". I felt so much better knowing all that. I could now continue my day without fear.
I'm starting to realise how big of a trend all these mobile phone dangly things really are. Almost Everyone who owns a phone has decorated it with keyrings, strings of beads and all sorts of hanging objects. Today I saw a group of three girls all dressed up wearing Kimonos. They looked very pretty. I wondered where they were going. Why were they dressed like that? Were they Geisha girls? Another thing that I love about Japan is their love of fake food. Almost every single restaurant displays their entire menu in the form of faux dishes. They look incredibly real. At first I wondered why they were stupid enough to put fresh food outside or in glass cabinets. But then I remembered. This wasn't the first time I had seen plastic entrees. In Chicago there is a huge Japanese supermarket which has a food court. They used the same visual aid system. Not only do the dishes look real, but they are an exact representation of what you will get if you order it. No nasty surprises or false expectations. What you see really is what you get!
Mieko happily answered every question that we fired at her as we walked around the city. This is what made our experience in Tokyo so much more insightful and rewarding. There were times when I wanted scream with frustration at the size of Tokyo. Anyone who visits should plan at least 2 weeks. We had less that 2 days! I stopped looking at the city guide and focused on what I was lucky enough to see. Even if it was only a small part. We headed to Shimbashi in Ginza "a flamboyant city for sophisticated adults" as the guide book told me. As the train pulled in to the station I looked out the window to see a world full of neon and flashing lights. I wondered if we would be able to find the hotel from Lost in Translation. Mieko took us past the many pichinko arcades, bars and restaurants before reaching a busy eatery spot under the arches of the train tracks above. The small outdoor restaurants were popular with the locals and we nestled in with them quite snuggly. The atmosphere was buzzing. We drank beer and ate some interesting snacks like liver on a stick and wasabi octopus bits. We sat there squashed in with everyone else that was dining under the intimate heated archways. We talked for hours. I was asking Mieko all sorts of questions about Baba and she shared lots of stories with me. I feel like I understand Baba so much more now that I have visited his family, friends and native homeland. My only wish is that he could have been here to show us around himself.
We found our hotel pretty easily and were more than delighted with what we saw. Traditional Japanese in all its elegance and simplicity. We walked up the winding steps through an oriental style garden which led to the small complex above. The receptionist behind the counter handed us our room key and gave us a quick tour of the hotel. She showed us the reading room and another place which had internet, DVD players, and two massage chairs. Japanese style bath for men on the left and women further down on the right. We then made our way to the room. I opened the door and it was like something from a James Bond movie. A small table with cushions, 2 Japanese style beds on the floor, lattice wicker flooring, sliding wooden screens with square panes of paper inset covering the window, a tea set with a flask of hot water and a kimono for each of us. We immediately stripped off our clothes (separately and in privacy of course) and changed into our patterned gowns. We fought over whose belt tying technique was the most effective and aesthetically pleasing. Next, a photo shoot was in order. With our new attire I felt very special to say the least and decided it would be a great idea to take photos of each other in this stunning environment. I liked the theme of contrasting traditional Japanese with crazy English culture. Well, actually... it wasn't so much what we liked, but more how it turned out. Bored of that whole experience we decided to explore the premises. The first thing we did was test the massage chairs. We both sat down, put the headphones over our ears and pressed play on the CD player. I was sitting behind Ali so I could watch her every reaction. We both explored the many buttons on our control panels and I found a few that I liked. It really felt like someone was giving me a massage. I could feel it nipping and pushing my muscles. Ali at times made me chuckle. Every now and then I'd look at her whole body shaking vigorously. She looked like she was being electrified. I took a picture to document her apparent euphoric state. I couldn't tell if she was in pain or experiencing extreme pleasure. We hit the sack shortly after.
