Day 2: A Brave New World

Well, after making it safely to the hotel I needed to find something to kill some time before going to sleep so I could, hopefully, fight off jetlag. So, I headed to the Yahoo! Cafe within the hotel "complex" for a few beers and internet access.

While my room is tiny...even smaller than tiny...the hotel has 4 towers and a bunch of restaurants so it isn't the worst place to be. I went over to one of the other towers and got online.

I spent a few hours in the cafe and then headed back for bed. By the time I got in bed, it was 10:30pm so I should be on schedule. However, I first needed to call Compass regarding my ATM card.

After being on hold for a while and then transferred to the same place I initially called, I finally got to the proper department. As it turns out, my card was fine all along. The issue is that Compass ATM cards can only access the primary account they are linked to when you use a non-Compass ATM. Would have been good information to have at Narita, but no big deal. Now I'm off to sleep...

I woke up a few times during the night but managed to get back to sleep. I woke up for good around 9 or 9:30. At this point, I decided to head down for my free breakfast...available at any one of 5 restaurants inside the hotel. My choice, the Yahoo! Cafe, of course, for free breakfast along with free internet. My breakfast choices? The "Western" breakfast or the Japanese breakfast. I've never been able to eat Asian breakfast, so I stuck with the "Western". Yeah, right...Western. Runny scrambled eggs, some sort of vienna wiener in place of sausage, and the thickest slice of toast this side of Texas. OJ, tea, and a coke to round it out.

So, I've eaten...a little...got online and am ready to head back for a shower. My "free" breakfast cost me 1000Y. I guess the tea and Coke were extra. Whatever...

Now it's time for the shower. What an adventure. I figure the shower in this room is about half that of my shower at home...and my shower at home is the kind with no tub. So, I bang my shoulders on the wall repeatedly but manage to get myself clean. Thank goodness.

Next up...figure out why my cell phone isn't working and figure out where the train station is so I can get to Akihabara. I call T-Mobile and am delighted to find out that the $1.99/minute rate for roaming in Japan only applies if you actually have a phone that can communicate with their cell towers. 3G...all I've got is GSM. No dice. That sucks, but at least I won't be spending $1.99/minute.

I drop my key off at the front desk and get a map and directions to the ATM in the hotel and the train station across the street. Off I go. The ATM card works so I manage to get 40,000Y. I head out across the street...feeling just like the kid the first time he left the bubble.

I get into the Shinagawa train station and it isn't what I was expecting. Virtually no English. So, I struggle to find someone who can help or a map/directions in English. No dice. Last resort...call Matsumi. My contact in Okinawa for my work down there. She can't give me a ton of help, but she does give me the name of the line I need and directs me to find the informaiton office. I do, but the info office is no help. So, I watch some others and figure a little adventure won't kill me.

I find that there is a fare schedule in English. It's 160Y to get to Akihabara. Now, how do I buy a ticket and where is the train? I decide to just throw some money into the machine and pray. Luckily, even though there is a bunch of Japanese writing on the screen it responds to money. The next screen is a selection for the fare on the ticket. I press 160 and it spits out a ticket and change. Now for the train...

I follow the green signs to the line Matsumi told me to take. 2 choices...Shinjuku or Tokyo. I have no clue, so I choose Shinjuku. Wrong. Once I get on the train there is an LCD screen showing the next stop and the map in English. Realizing I'm going the wrong way I get off at the first stop and head back the other direction.

I get off at Akihabara and it's not at all what I was expecting. This place is shop after shop of everything electronic. It is really unbelievable. When it comes to electronics, the Japanese don't screw around!

I wander around, look at cameras and phones and just sort of checkout the scene. A few blocks from the station, I walk through what is a small village of everything electronic. Computers, cameras, phones, tools, screws, transistors, test equipment, surveillance cameras, GPS devices, and on and on. Wow. They really don't screw around.

Across the street is something Soft 2. I head in. It's 6 floors of music, videos and, I believe, some software. Being Japan, each floor is littered with LCD screens playing selections available for purchase. When I get to the 4th floor, I'm a little shocked. Naked ladies on the LCD. Not just one, but two. The first I find looks like a movie scene. Interesting. The other appears to be a nude photo shoot. Wow. I'm not in Kansas anymore.

I head up to floor 5 and it's Anime. Children's stuff, it appears, so I move on. Up to floor 6 and, again, I'm shocked. Porn. Porn and more porn. Lots of porn. Then, inside the floor is a porn room. Outside appears to be videos of, possibly, only women in bathing suits and stuff. I think they are nude but, if they are, what's with the porn room? So, I wander into the porn room. I normally stay away from this stuff (at least in the States), but I can't help myself. I go in and there are more LCDs. This is good, old-fashioned, Japanese porn. You know the kind with the little blurry boxes over the woman’s opening or the guy's penis. Wow. There are TONS of selections. Many of them have naked women on the cover so you can preview what you are buying. I'm impressed. When it comes to porn, the Japanese don't screw around! I didn't buy anything at the software place, but I'll probably be back in the area. I don't know that I can resist.

At this point, I figure I'll head back to a shop I was in earlier and pickup a digital camera for Tonny (my brother in law) to give to his mother. On the way, I pass Big Apple. I passed it earlier and still don't know what it is. So, I go in. It's another 6 floor place but this one is slot machines. Pachinko machines on another floor. Looks like gambling. It's smoke filled, loaded with Asian people, and noisy. I check out each floor and hang out to see if anyone is getting paid. I believe so, but I only saw them hand out tickets. I think those tickets get cashed in. When it comes to gambling, the Japanese don't screw around!

I make it to the camera store and negotiate a price. 44,000Y for a camera and Sony memory stick. About $380. Probably about $80 less than in the US. I give them my AmEx and passport (required to avoid paying sales tax) and away they go. Not so fast...AmEx declined. WTF? Ok, what's the deal? They tell me that AmEx doesn't tell them and that I can call AmEx myself. I do. Of course, my AmEx cannot be used internationally. Well, I guess the hotel and $200 cab ride didn't clue them in to the fact that I might be in Japan. Seriously, this is pathetic. So, after being on hold with them for about 20 minutes, I get a stay of execution until 9/2006. At that time, I'll have to call them before I leave the country. What a pain in the ass. And, all for less than $400. It isn't even a big spend. Oh, well.

After getting the camera, I figure I'll head back. But, I haven't eaten since breakfast and I see a row of restaurants...all Japanese. Good. I'll get into the local culture a little. I walk up and down the block twice trying to decide which one to try. I head back to this weird looking little place that has Yakitori in the window. It's got grass-like strands hanging that you walk through to get to the door. Inside, a lot of woodwork. Nice little atmosphere. They seat me at what I would call the sushi bar even though this isn't really a sushi bar. They do, however, have raw fish. Sashimi, though...at least that's what is on the English menu. They have Maguro Chu-Toro, so it's on. I order 2 pieces of that, 2 pieces of salmon, and 3 pieces of Chicken Yakitori. I request nigiri and that take care of me.

First out is the sushi. No wasabi on the plate. Instead, tamago (sweet omelette) along with the usual raw ginger. No biggie, so I dig in. Well, this is BY FAR the best chu-toro I've ever eaten. Moist, tender, sweet. Perfect. The salmon follows suit. I'm impressed. The Yakitori comes out and it is good as well. Hard to mess up Yakitori. I'm still hungry so I order tekka maki. They don't have it. But, they whip it up just for me. Nice. I also order fried garlic flavor chicken.

The menu is deceiving. When they say "fried garlic flavor chicken", they mean "fried garlic flavor chicken SKIN". Well, I can't be upset since I don't speak Japanese and I am, after all, in Japan. So, I try it but it's not good. Not good at all. Luckily, it came with french fries. Nice.

At this point I head back to the hotel...the train is now gravy...and relax up in my room. Maybe back to the Yahoo! Cafe later, maybe I'll watch a movie on my laptop, or maybe I'll venture out in the neighborhood of my hotel and look for a bar where I can mingle with the locals. Stay tuned...