ready. jetset. go!: Tokyo

cont'd from Takayama-Shirakawa

Arrived back in Tokyo in the evening and we'd changed hotels from Sunroute Plaza south of Shinjuku Station to Citadines Shinjuku which we just realised was at the Shinjuku Gyoenmae Subway Station, 2 stops from Shinjuku Station. Thanks to a forward-thinking Cheryl, we chucked our luggage into lockers at Shinjuku Station so that we could hang out around Shinjuku before taking 2 subway stops from Shinjuku to check-in at our hotel.

Ramen was a no-brainer when it came to dinner choices.

Shinjuku's a little bit odd in the sense that it's extremely happening and there're people everywhere; every street seems worth a visit and every building's lit in flickering neon lights but you don't actually know what the "happening" is all about. We concluded that there's just a lot of eating places to choose from and several were on the higher floors, hence touts/bouncers/waiters (ughh what do you call them?) were actively calling out for customers on the streets to their restaurants for dinner.

Tokyo
Thursday 10 March

Ivan, Lai Yeow and me went to Asakusa and Ueno (the touristy bits of Tokyo) while Cheryl went off to Shibuya for a headstart to shop for presents.

Snacking down Nakamise Street all the way to the Sensoji Temple. We were eating pumpkin and sweet potato fritters.

This is where you shake the container of wooden divinity lots until one falls out then you go to the correct drawer for the reading of the lot and bring it to someone inside the temple to decipher it for you. If it was a bad lot, you tie the piece of paper along the railings provided in the temple and leave your 'bad fortune' behind.

We didn't really have much to do here so took a couple of photos and left.

Ueno Park - We took a nice morning stroll in the park and by the lake. The park was pretty huge.

Cat in its classic laying eggs pose. The pigeons are not afraid.

An hour past noon and we were done at Ameyoko buying all the snacks and foodstuff for people back home. I dread lugging the bagfuls of snacks around the whole afternoon.

Back on Takeshita Street in Harajuku, we had pasta lunch while the girls next door decided to put makeup on each other. Then we looked around us and people on the other tables were doing the same thing.

Random sights in Harajuku. Small stand-alone buildings littered the street, each with their own interesting quirky designs.

Took pictures of several shop designs butcouldn't decide which to post and ended up not posting any!

I'd already confessed i'm obsessed with their uniforms.

Strawberry ice-cream and cheesecake crepe.

From Harajuku Station, we walked the other path (not the Omotesando way) round the Shibuya Park and Gymnasium all the way down to the shopping area of Shibuya. It was a pretty long walk with nothing much happening along the way. Unless you cared to visit the gym.

The busy Shibuya crossing. People criss-crossing everywhere.

Aargh... long queue at Midori Sushi. Seasoned Sakae Sushi queuers we were, we joined the queue. It took more than an hour. But i don't regret it one bit. It was melt-in-your-mouth delicious.

I ordered the extra-large portion uni. So yummy.

The sushi chef on the left prepared our sushi. He was quite funny.

Over here, the slab of sashimi (or amaebi in the above pic) overflows and covers the entire sushi rice below. It was ultra-yummy. Too bad we didn't know about the flame-grilled sushi beforehand to order those, apparently it was their specialty.

I liked watching the sushi chefs at work.

Dessert and drinks with Meriel at a Izakaya which is kinda like a drinking place that also serves food. The ume-soda was really refreshing and nice. It's basically plum wine with soda. We talked about earthquakes in Japan.

Tokyo
Friday 11 March

On an otherwise rather ordinary last day of any trip, Cheryl and I went shopping in the morning for last-minute presents for family and friends back home.

So, on this last day of our Japan trip, while i was waiting at Platform 5 of Shinjuku Station for my 3.10pm Narita Express train to the airport, the platform started shaking and i thought, gosh the arriving train must be really heavy but after some 5 minutes of continuous rumbling and shaking no train pulled up on the tracks. The two japanese girls with suitcases nearest to me gave each other frightened looks (but managed to look kawaii doing so) and approached the nearest pillar for support. Instinctively i did the same (doubt i succeeded in the kawaii part). As did two other cantonese-speaking guys who looked like brothers. So the five of us shared the same pillar for support as we waited for the tremors to subside. The good-looking cantonese-speaking guys talked to each other and ignored me. The pair of kawaii frightened jap girls indulged in each other's company, occasionally giving me "we're scared we don't want to die" smiles of reassurance. i smiled back and stared at the pillar wishing i had someone to talk to.

(Cheryl had gone off on the earlier train half an hour ago and later it worried me that she'd be stuck in the train on some underground track in darkness with nothing to drink. Ivan and Lai Yeow were, if i estimate correctly, just about done talking with Totoro at the Ghibli Museum some distance away from Shinjuku where their hotel was. I was supposed to be on the same train as Cheryl cos my flight was just one hour after hers but i foolished refunded my suica card before retrieving my luggage stored in the lockers at the train station. Turns out locker attendant was stationed at the opposite end of shinjuku station and for him to run over to open the lockers i had to change my reservation to the later train)

Thankfully the tremors subsided, not after leaving behind a burst overhead pipe from which water was spurting onto the tracks. Men in hard hats and various luminous coloured uniforms appeared on the platform and looked busy taking pictures of the burst water pipe while making notes. Then they hurriedly ran off and i was like, what is going on? I concluded we'd just felt a tremor from a distant quake, which from a dinner conversation the night before with a friend working in Japan, really is nothing to panic about. So I was more worried that my train was late and i might miss my flight.

Moments later i found myself nervously watching the hanging fluroscent lights threaten to sway and they did, picking up speed and then rocked furiously to the rhythm of the second tremor that broke, along with the steel columns and just about everything else. Kawaii girls shriek and cling to each other. Nearby a grandpa carried his grandson and crouched on the floor. i held on to the pillar and looked around for a triangle of safety but decided to remain plastered to the pillar. The by now predictably no-longer-accurate annoucement regarding the arrival time of our train in various languages played over and over futilely. Half an hour later came a fresh announcement entirely in japanese and before it even ended, everyone started lugging their luggage hurriedly towards the escalators. They were leaving the platform. Gasp. What is happening? Aren't these tremors a regular thing in Japan? Is my train still coming?

Once outside, near the entrance of the train station where a huge huge crowd had gathered, most keeping their eyes glued to the overhead plasma screens showing devastation by water everywhere and a fire in Odaiba, i eventually realised the severity of what just happened. The worst earthquake in a hundred and forty years just struck Japan. Breathe. Call someone. Don't call dad yet. Don't want to worry him unless absolutely necessary. Dialled some numbers. Crap, phone lines down, can't call. Check with station master what next. "No train, no bus, no airport, no taxi, airport close." came the halting reply. i find a spot against the walls and wait, like everyone else. i look around at their faces and everyone looks kinda grim, some were bored, some you really can't tell cos they're donning paper masks (a common sight in tokyo). Once in a while i see someone on the phone and with renewed hope of being able to finally call someone, i fish out my iPhone and dial. Still nothing. This happens several times more. Without success.

I venture from the walls of the train station across to the opposite fence for a change of scenery. There is a helicopter circling above and on the streets beyond the temporary construction hoarding outside Shinjuku Station, i hear sirens in the distance, sometimes getting louder, can't tell if they belong to an ambulance or fire engine though. I feel my surroundings rock gently and i am not sure if it's because i'm trembling. A few more times this happens and you could really get somewhat giddy from it. I didn't. There is no commotion despite the crowd and people are silently waiting around. I am not particularly panicking but just wished there was someone to talk with to discuss immediate plans. Someone who spoke english.

Then, i saw him. The caucasian. Surely speak english one. So i wheeled my luggage over and said, hi do you speak english? And as if he could read my mind, he gave me a knowing smile and said yes and went on to say it was his 38th time in tokyo and he's experienced tremors several times before but nothing as bad as this. To think when i was on the tracks i casually brushed the tremors i felt as minor. I recall now wondering why the kawaii japanese girls had the "omg we're going to die" faces and even postulated that maybe they weren't from Japan, hence their unfamiliarity with the tremor experience. He pats my shoulders and suggested we wait this out together cos it definitely helps to have someone wait with you. Calms the nerves, he said. I'm not sure if he was referring to mine or his.

... to be continued...

Tokyo
Saturday 12 March (post-earthquake Day 1)

This morning, we'd all somehow reunited with one another back at Citadines Shinjuku, the place we'd said our goodbyes only yesterday. We made several attempts to contact our respective airlines to book ourselves on rescheduled flights out of Tokyo. SQ informed that today's flight out of Narita was cancelled again and re-timed to Sunday at 4.55pm. Meanwhile, we've been receiving several text messages from family and friends back home, so thank you all for your concern and prayers. We've been very blessed.

Treated ourselves to a meal of strawberry shortcake and pizza after all the logistics were settled. Walked on the streets outside and almost everything was closed despite it being a saturday. No shops were open for business and although there were people on the streets, the mood was quiet.