Kyoto to Tokyo - Monday
Woke up at 6 am again to a sunny day again but the smog is choking thick. We packed a fold-up bag with just what we'd need in Tokyo for three days. The hotel gladly stored our two large suitcases until our return on Thursday.At the station, I found a pharmacy and bought 1800 yen worth of foot remedies. We had reserved seats on the Shinkansen to Tokyo - the Hikari Express. It only differs from the Nozomi in that it stops at five stations enroute. Still it was only a two hour and 43 minute journey and was so fast, so smooth and so comfortable that I wondered how much better it could be travelling in the 'green cars' - first class. City after city, a little countryside between with hillsides a mosaic of colour - evergreens, deciduous trees in their spring pale green shade and the ubiquitous katsura (cherry) interspersed. Rice paddies in backyards, industry and smog that got as thick as smoke the further north we travelled. I had anticipated a lovely view of Mount Fuji but the mountains were cloaked with the fetid air. No wonder so many locals wore surgical masks. We could feel our chests get tighter, so we figured we should curtail any strenuous exercise. That would also help my feet. A lot of shallow coughing could be heard all around.
How do they do it? leave and arrive right on the minute? We had a 12:43 arrival as printed on our tickets, not a minute before or after. Before we left the Tokyo Station, we reserved seats on the fast Hikari train back to Kyoto for Thursday, April 21. Our hotel was a subway ride away so we searched for the Marinouchi line and connected with the Ginza line to Aoyama-Itchome station in Akasaka. The Tokyo subway system is no way as simple as Kyoto's. It has so many interconnecting lines and JR lines and other railway company lines - an amazing network of tunnels.
It took us a while to find the Asia Centre Hotel. I had printed out a map of the hotel's location from the web but I couldn't find it - yikes! Eventually with the help of two young women who had a bit of English, a desire to help and a cellphone, we found it tucked away on a side street. Our expectations were not high as the Asia Centre is designated a 'budget' business hotel at a bargain price of 14,700 yen a night for one of their better twin rooms in the new building. In a city where 50,000 yen a night is not unusual, we did very well. What a surprise! We had an extremely pleasant though small room with all the amenities including kimonos, comfortable beds and as much bottled water as you want. Internet access is 100 yen for ten minutes and the onsite restaurant served delicious meals for the cheapest prices I've seen in Japan. Seared tuna and rice for 600 yen; curried shrimp for 800 yen; decent red wine for 500 yen/glass. After lunch we did a walking tour with the help of my guide book through Akasaka, an area of consulates and upscale though small apartments (approximately 350 square feet advertised at 18,000,000 yen which I thought was pretty low), florists, pet facilities for grooming, boarding and doggie clothing, coffee shops, and reasonably priced restaurants. We stopped at Caffe Veloce for coffee and tea when we saw the cheap prices - 230 yen for a cafe au lait and 160 yen for tea.
It was quite a coincidence that Debby from Israel would be in Tokyo at the Asia Center Hotel at the same time as us. It was almost a year ago that we chatted on the World Travel Forum about our anticipated trips to Japan, not realizing that we'd be there at the same time. So we met for dinner in the cafe at our hotel and talked non-stop for two hours, sharing our experiences so far in Japan as well as just getting to know each other. A very amicable meeting of like-minded people.
We had intended to walk down to Roppongi after dinner but after two glasses of wine, an early night seemed the best option especially as we wanted to go to the Tsukiji Fish Market early the next morning.
posted by O'Leary @ 8:00 PM
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