2
Feb
Dad’s Day Off, #1
Topic: Family and Friends, Japan 2007
I kept the tone positive in my Big City, Small World post, but I have to admit my weekday routine has been much more claustrophobic than I ever expected. I was prepared for being a full-time dad, but I wasn’t ready for the the long hike to Kai’s school, the difficulty of getting around on buses and trains with a stroller in the winter weather, Eidan’s ever-increasing rambunctiousness, and his daily nap all coming together in a conspiracy that confines me to our small apartment, the playground at Kai’s school, and the journey in between. Like I said before, I’m looking forward to Kai’s switch to 1st grade in April, as that will allow some more flexibility in my daily schedule, but April is a ways off. So today Maria was kind enough to take the day off work to take care of the boys, and I got to run around on my own for the day. The first in an occasional series of Dad’s Days Off.
I decided to visit 5 destinations in Shinjuku, and then 3 in the Ginza, for a total of 8. I’m pointing out my planned numbers, as some misadventures along the way led to a rather different actual number…
- First stop, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Offices, for a free elevator ride to the 45th floor and a spectacular, 360 degree view of Tokyo. Given its size and proximity to the JR station, I found the building easily enough, and then found the right entrance by following a gaggle of school kids, as I figured their destination was the same as mine. I was able to catch my first glimpse ever of Mt. Fuji, through the haze that was lingering in the air past the edge of the city. It was awe inspiring to see just how gargantuan Tokyo is - the buildings extend to the horizon is every direction.
- Second planned stop, the Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery (a modern art gallery that has nothing to do with opera). Normally I wouldn’t put an art gallery on my short list of things to do, but I can just picture Eidan tearing priceless canvasses apart with his bare hands, so a day without him struck me as the right time to go. But it didn’t open until 11 and I was half an hour early. So I decided to switch the order with my next destination, and skip ahead to…
- My third planned stop, the Japanese Sword Museum - I was really looking forward to this one, as my Lonely Planet guide said it had more than 6000 swords on display. I got lost trying to find it. I went down a street, looking to take a left, but there were no lefts to be taken, aside from little alleys going into dense residential neighborhoods. I finally realized I was off by a block from the street I should have been on, so I figured I’d cut through one of the neighborhoods (a challenge with navigating in Tokyo is that most of the streets don’t have names - addresses are instead determined by lot numbers). Just when I thought I had gone too far, I saw a McDonald’s that looked familiar. Then I realized where I was - in the same spot we all got lost 3 weeks ago, looking for something totally different. So in the massive expanse that is Tokyo I’ve been lost only twice so far, and both times in the same exact place. It’s Tokyo’s Bermuda Triangle. I eventually found the museum - it turns out it’s in a small building down an alley, nestled right inside this residential neighborhood. I have to say it was a big disappointment - I don’t think the Lonely Planet author actually saw it, as they do not have 6000 swords on display. They may own that many swords, but after paying the admission fee, you are given access to a singular, modest size room displaying about 30 swords. They are all quite old and their handles are gone, so what you’re looking at is a series of unadorned, curved pieces of metal. There are extensive notes with each, but only in Kanji. Each sword had one of two terse English notes that said only - I’m not kidding - “Important Sword” or “Special Important Sword.” So I made it through the room in about 10 minutes. So when you come to Tokyo, skip the Sword Museum.
- On my way back to the Opera City Art Gallery, I realized my cell phone was off, so I turned it on and gave Maria a call. She had been trying to call me, as she forgot her key when she left in the morning, and she and Eidan were locked out of the apartment. Fortunately there’s a modest, publicly accessible kids playroom near our apartment, so they hung out there. We agreed to meet at Shinjuku station so I could give her my key and we could have lunch. But she had to make it back in time to pick up Kai, so I set off for the station and skipped the Art Gallery.
- After lunch, it was too far to head back west to the Gallery, so I headed to the east side of the station for my fourth destination, the Shinjuku nightlife. It was daytime, so there was no nightlife to experience, but I wanted to see the Golden Gai, which consists of a bunch of narrow alleys and very rickety looking buildings, all filled with very small bars. It looked like a sort of 1950s era shanty town, which Maria tells me is something that holds a certain charm for the Japanese. I passed through Kabukicho, which is the red-light district (another place I can’t take the kids!), and one of the inspirations for the look of the movie Blade Runner. Whatever glitz it may have in the dim shadows and flashing lights of the night is sorely lacking in the unforgiving glare of the midday sun, where the seediness seems more sad than anything else.
- I skipped my fifth planned stop, the Shinjuku-Gyoen. It’s supposed to be a spectacular garden park, but my legs needed a break from strolling at this point, and I figured it’d be a better destination in the spring than the dead of winter anyway. So I hopped back on the JR to the Yurakucho Station, and the Ginza district (it’s a big, high end shopping district with a fair number of small museums sprinkled in).
- I headed straight for Muji after taking a 10 minute nap on the train (like a good salaryman, I’m mastering the art of train-napping). You can think of Muji as a store that has the very best of the kind of furniture you see in Ikea, plus clothes and stationary. I’ve been switching between the same 3 shirts for the past month (we traveled light), so I needed some new ones, and Muji is the place to go for cheap but decent looking clothes. You can also buy a very cool, small but livable Muji house - they will actually build and furnish a house for you - more on that in a later post.
- Next on my list was the World Magazine Gallery, described by Lonely Planet as a no-loan library of thousands of magazines from around the world, where you can hang out, browse, and visit their coffee shop. Unfortunately my Lonely Planet guide was out of date - after I found the place, I was unsuccessful understanding what the security guard was telling me in Japanese, so he dug up a note in English that said the the public part of the building closed in 2003
- On my way to my last stop, I passed the Kabuki-za theater. I didn’t have time to take in a Kabuki show, but I thought the building was an interesting blend of western and eastern
architectural styles. My last planned stop was the Tokyo Gallery which Lonely Planet says specializes in political art - something I’d find interesting. But it wasn’t where the book said it was. I looked it up on the web after I gave up and came home, and it’s the Ginza, but at a different address. So the book is just wrong, or the gallery has moved recently.
In the end I made it to 3 of my planned destinations (or 2 depending on how you want to count the Sword Museum…). Lesson learned: check websites or call before going anywhere in Tokyo - guidebooks can be wrong or fall out of date quickly.
Despite the setbacks, it was still a great day - it’s always fun to just walk around in Tokyo. I got to see parts of town I’ve never been in before, and it was a nice change of pace to be on my own for a while. What struck me the most is how endless each district is when you take the time to just wend your way up and down the streets. It’s an endless sea of shops and restaurants. And they’re all busy.
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