Hey there, Joel
If you search for what to do in Tokyo on Tik Tok or YouTube every single one will talk about FOOD. The food is simply amazing. The best ______ you'll ever have. And you know what?
They're all absolutely right. With one minor change. Most videos say find this restaurant or find this street food booth but we're discovering that's not really needed - ALL THE FOOD IS GOOD HERE. Nobody makes bad food. Ramen at one shop is as good as Ramen at another shop. Sure, you'll have some more fancy Michelin stars exceptions and what not but for the budget we live in pretty much anywhere you see food is going to be good.
Today was a recovery day. We moved a *lot* these first few days and it was time for a break. Jamie and I slowly marched from west Tokyo to east Tokyo to our final hotel destination for this trip. It will be nice to no longer have to pack everything up before heading out for the day. We started off in Yokohama where we hid from the rain and got on our way to our first destination of Shinjuku. During this little trek we parted ways with Jethro who ended up with his hotel in a different part of town. We'll catch up with him later.
At Shinjuku Jamie and I found another locker to drop off our luggage before heading off for a very rainy walk to a place called Musashi no Mori Diner. However, upon exiting the station we discovered buckets and buckets of rain falling, so we opted to stay indoors and wander around the department store Takashima that is attached to the station. We were on the hunt for some lotion that we used in Hakone on Day One but we ended up in the basement grocery store gawking at the food.
Staring at all that made us really hungry and we set off for our walk of about a mile to the diner. Along the way the buckets of rain returned and we half walked and half cowered under some cover to stay mostly dry (We did have umbrellas). Eventually we found our destination and now it's picture time.
These pancakes were INCREDIBLE. The peaches were perfect. Presentation was perfect. This was ~$14. So, the price was perfect. I don't know if anyone is serving Souffle pancakes in the states but my goodness someone needs to start.
On our way back we stopped a huge electronics shop to buy a small handheld electric fan because IT'S SO FREAKING HOT AND MUGGY HERE and you're bouncing between AC trains and then dead air hallways and AC indoors and that transition can be so brutal. It's been many many years since I've sweat this much by just existing.
This morning when we woke up Jamie said she wanted Noodles, Sushi, and Beef to eat today. This afternoon as we were walking to our last hotel in a more suburban part of town we passed all 3 of those in small restaurants in about 50 yards distance. Tokyo is amazing.
Sometimes as you're moving about getting from train to train you lose a little vision on where exactly you are and what exactly you're a small part of. Today, while waiting on a platform for a transfer to our hotel Jamie realized just how many people and trains and movement are going on. This photo is at Tokyo station and it's spanning several train tracks with several train lines all going multiple places. When you see images of Tokyo from high you see endless buildings. Tokyo is huge. When you're on street level... the scale of Tokyo is still huge.
Thoughts from Jethro
Empathetic Signs
One thing about Japan is that there are signs everywhere!
Yes, there are advertisements, but I’m talking about signs giving direction.
In the shower, there are six signs about different things.
Now, when traveling in the states, you do see lots of signs in hotel rooms, but these signs are everywhere, even in the bathroom.
One thing is that seems that the signs are designed to help people know how to act appropriately. But it’s not just about rules that are posted, it seems like the signs are saying, this is how we act to have a more wholesome community.
It also seems that the signs are designed to treat everyone as though they are new to the experience. That’s not a bad thing because it is beneficial to teach new people and worthwhile to remind people who have seen the signs millions of times.
Furthermore, it’s not like it was when I was in Russia, where there was the exact same message on every sign. These signs are unique and will have different messages, fonts, characters saying the same thing.
The uniqueness of the signs, the way they are focused on supporting everyone, is what makes them empathetic. They show care for the reader.
Perhaps my favorite sign is the exit sign, which shows someone running out of the room.
I just love it.
A brief note about accessibility. I’m not sure what the prevalence is of certain disabilities are in Japan, and I haven’t seen many people out and about with disabilities, but it seems that almost everything is accessible. They even have grooves and bumps on the sidewalk that I believe are there to assist people who are blind. All the bathrooms have a “deluxe toilet” for people with disabilities.
And now the day is done. Our last hotel room is on the 23rd floor and has quite the view of the largest city on earth.
Until tomorrow!
- Joel, Jamie, and Jethro