Travel

[World Traveler]

We’re staying at the “B Ikebukuaro Hotel,” which is five minutes from the metro transit.

My room is very small. I had already been advised that it would be, but this is smaller than imagined. You kind of have to back into the room with your luggage; no turning around easily. We all were told there would probably not be closets, and that turned out to be true!

We asked why there were no drawers in the small cabinet that obviously once had been a makeshift dresser. The guide said the Japanese do not want to put their clothes in drawers that other people had put theirs in......kind of like “ewwwwww....yuck,” or the Japanese version of that. They prefer to hang their clothes on pegs on the walls.

So, with the drawers pulled out, they use the shelves to put a coffeemaker, hairdryer, very tiny refrigerator, and disposable slippers. In fact, our guide said that even the homes have many pegs on the walls and you can see a whole wall of clothes hanging. They are good at utilizing space.

Also, the Japanese prefer to be outside and not spend a lot of time in the room, so there is no reason to have large rooms. In addition, land is scarce and expensive. Japan is 70% mountains. The other 30% is left for building.

The toilet was a surprise; not because of the bidet feature, but because the seat is heated. Startled me the first time I used it, but can see how really nice that is in the middle of the night. Am attaching a copy of the sign by the toilet; it’s also in Braille.

I noticed on the long drive to the hotel from the airport that I did not hear a vehicle’s horn, not a single one, not even in downtown Tokyo. I asked the guide about that and she said that it is not a law, but rather it is an effort not to be rude, and to be courteous to one another, and to remain peaceful. She said sometimes the light will change and the car in front hasn’t been paying attention to that. So you might hear a very timid toot-toot of the horn to alert that driver it is okay now to drive forward. I don’t see the U.S. ever getting the whole country to follow that example.

[SXMGirl]

@World Traveler, I have enjoyed hearing about your first foray into your hotel room and look forward to your reports as they are always enjoyable and informative.

[dex]

We will need a pic of your room now for sure.I love the hook idea rather than drawers?I don’t like not seeing my stuff anyway.I make better use of everything that I see in front of me.

Happy nighttime potty trips...stay well and keep reporting.

i think the Japanese people have the right idea.Stay outside busy seeing and doing rather than watching tv or computer.

[World Traveler]

Sunday was our first full day in Tokyo. We had a short meeting right after breakfast to get an overview of the city. Some of the group came in a few days earlier to spend more time, but for me, this was the only time to see the city.

We drove by the Imperial Palace. You may not go inside, so we drove all around it. It is surrounded by a moat and full of trees on the property. There were lines and lines of people who were going thru part of the property. This will be the second year the Emperor has allowed people to walk thru so they can see the garden’s cherry blossoms, which are in full bloom now.

We saw thousands of people walk at a pretty good clip. The police made sure they did not hesitate too long, and I must say it was a very orderly crowd. We drove by at the end of the day, and there were still thousands walking thru. Our guide did it last year and said even though it looks like they are walking pretty fast, it took two hours because of all the people that came for that one glimpse of the gardens.

Our guide, Mariko, said that Tokyo does not have a pollution problem. Well, I could not let that be said without asking why are so many people wearing masks? She said they used to have very bad air quality, but heavy restrictions on vehicles had taken care of that, and now the people wear the masks because they have problems with hay fever, pollen, or colds. And we talked about how some girls will wear the masks because they don’t want to wear makeup that day. Ha! There are stores with many very fancy masks to purchase; it’s not just the white paper masks.

I mentioned last time about the cars not honking. Today we were cautioned to look left, right, left again, not only because of cars, but because of the bikes. They do not follow any rules. They can even be up on the sidewalks. Plus, they do a lot of texting while on the bikes.

Graduation is this month. Then in April, the new school year starts.

We saw many of the places where the Summer Olympics will be. They are going to use the same stadium as they did in 1964; however, it is costing so much money to renovate and bring it up to code due to earthquakes.

I was surprised to learn that the birthrate is 1.24. The comment was made that they have more dogs than children now. Because of the reduction of children, some schools are closing due to lack of students. There is no mandatory reduction in births, like there is in China. Mariko said you sometimes see dogs riding in the strollers that are no longer used for children.

[World Traveler]

1. 

They do some serious propping up of trees to withstand the wind!

[World Traveler]

[World Traveler]

We took a boat ride on Tokyo Bay and saw the beautiful skyline. I think it would have really been a sight if we took that ride at night.

Our city tour also took us by the Ginza district and we visited Odaiba, a man-made Island. We stopped off at some shopping places, walking inside to get a taste of what the Japanese like to buy. We were struck by how very small and compact things are for the home. The furniture for kids was the type where they sleep in an upper bunk and below is their desk and hooks for clothes. Really cute and functional, but must say it looked like a doll house!

We visited the Shiodome district, where we had lunch up on the 47th floor! Typical Japanese luncheon, and I wish I would have thought to take a photo. I am not exaggerating when I say we each had eight dishes squeezed on our tray, and then they brought us a bowl of miso soup! Where was I supposed to put that? It was all followed by black bean ice cream. Their scoops are way too small!

We later met with a 40-year Japanese man who is running a non profit helping support the Hikikomoi, who are isolated people from society. He told how they are trying to help people who are avoiding various social situations, like attending school, working, or having interactions outside the home. Very interesting information, and it illustrated how much the father’s expectations for the children can cause them to regress and become shameful

[Alter Ego]

Sounds like a busy first day - and you are only at lunch!!  

I would be lying if I said I wasn't checking periodically to see if you updated your report or wasn't looking at what time it was in Tokyo!

[World Traveler]

@hatnow wrote:

We will need a pic of your room now for sure.I love the hook idea rather than drawers?I don’t like not seeing my stuff anyway.I make better use of everything that I see in front of me.

Happy nighttime potty trips...stay well and keep reporting.

i think the Japanese people have the right idea.Stay outside busy seeing and doing rather than watching tv or computer.

---

@dex  Here you go!

[World Traveler]

Leaving now for another full day. Talk with you later!