Lost In Tokyo

Tokyo day 1 has not gone without its share of hiccups. To start, I didn’t have time to get a JR Pass, which essentially allows unlimited travel with few restrictions across Japan. You can only buy these internationally. I meant to pick one up yesterday at LAX, but I arrived quite a bit later than I intended due to LA traffic and was told I should go through security ASAP. This also meant I wasn’t able to pick-up a pocket WiFi, which is a small device that allows internet access wherever you are in Japan. So far I’m at 160% of my data cap for the month with 14 days to go. I’ve also been doing Roam Like Home for $5 a day in the US, but that jumps to $10 a day here in Japan. Money hasn’t been a big concern yet with the trip, but with all the money I hemorrhaged in LA trying to lock down an Airbnb, I should start being a bit more mindful of where it’s all going. Long story short, I gotta go dark on the data. I’m supposed to be disconnecting anyway, right?

My Singapore Air flight to Tokyo was pleasant, at least. I flew an Airbus, which I have flown on two occasions before with Etihad Airlines. I love this plane because the exit rows are so prime, allowing me to really stretch out and even stand-up straight in the aisle. I met a lovely couple sitting next to me who were heading to Bali for 8 days because she was 4 months pregnant and they figured this was probably going to be their last chance for a while. We chatted about the work I do and then talked at-length about LA. I mean… how could you not?

i'm sure the locals were impressed

Yavar was waiting for me at the airport, holding up a piece of paper with the word GODZILLA printed out on it haha. It was good to see him and I am glad he ended up waiting for me because getting around Tokyo is literally the most confusing shit I have ever experienced and it would’ve sucked doing it alone – better to suffer in the company of friends, yeah? From Narita airport, it seemed like there were a dozen different ways to get to our Airbnb near Hatsudai station in Shibuya. Again, this is where the JP Rail Pass would’ve really come in handy because figuring out how much Yen to pay and to whom and for what would’ve been one less thing to worry about. Something I’ll keep in mind for next time I come to Japan. So anyway, after about an hour dicking around Narita and trying to make sense of the world, it seemed like maybe we were on the right track. All in all, it took about 3-4 hours to get from airport to Airbnb.

ummmmmm...

So a few fire-from-the-hip notes on Japan so far. Vending machines are everywhere, even on the small side streets of Shibuya. E-money is big here, which is to say that the pre-paid cards you use to pay for transit can also be used to pay for other things, like items from the vending machines and fast food. It’s very clean and people are SUPER polite. I haven’t gotten the long gawks everyone told me I would get, but we’ll see what happens tonight at the bar.

That’s it for now!