Leg 4: Tokyo

I plan to post several times about Tokyo, since it is the big part of my trip. In fact, when I booked it, it was my trip.

My trip started in Salt Lake City at 6:45 a.m. My plane to San Francisco was slightly delayed, which left some time for people watching. I sat down in an empty area, and I was quickly surrounded by no fewer than 8 elderly Japanese people. I have decided-and I am convinced that pictures of my grandparents touring in their younger years will back me up on this-that old Japanese people have uniforms they vacation in.

Old Japanese men

• short-sleeved plaid shirts tucked into khaki pants that are too high with a brown belt

Old Japanese women

• white pants and a navy-blue-and-white striped shirt. This ensemble is actually quite versatile. For going out, it can be paired with a blue blazer. For regular, all-weather travel, a blue or black windbreaker completes this outfit.
• a white, short-sleeved shirt tucked into elastic-waistbanded jeans, with a scarf tied around the neck.
• white low-top Reebok tennis shoes
  

I know these sound awfully specific, but when I find pictures of Grandma and Grandpa Oka wearing this outfits, I will feel vindicated.

My flights were somewhat uneventful, except that I made the mistake of exchanging money in San Francisco. A NOTE TO ANYONE GOING INTERNATIONAL: Don't do this. My family laughed at me when the found out what I exchanged my money for, particularly my brother, who checks the market every day.

I discovered that, had I flown to Tokyo on AA, I would have gotten a personal TV with movies to choose from. Apparently, the Japanese like to be able to watch TV on a screen the size of a thumbnail. I flew United, and Americans would much rather watch our TV on the biggest screen possible. Consequently, they played three movies that I couldn't watch because I was sitting in the middle section and couldn't see over the tops of the seats in front of me. However, they fed me almost constantly, two meals and one snack. This was my lunch, which hopefully you can tell, included udon.

I landed in Tokyo around 2:30 p.m. on Friday, and somehow managed to get on a bus for Yotsuya, where Shane's apartment is. When I got off the bus, I was supposed to take a taxi to the apartment. Instead, these people were waiting for me:

It was pretty exciting to see them. We walked a few blocks to the apartment, and I saw the best thing that Tokyo has to offer:


That's my niece Brooklyn, who has now lived most of her life in Tokyo. She's a sweetheart, and didn't seem to mind when, on my first night in Tokyo, we all went to dinner at a tonkatsu restaurant in the electronics district, Akihabara, inside a giant store that sold everything from toys to appliances. Tonkatsu is a breaded pork cutlet which is deep-fried and served with soup, cabbage, and rice. Shane explained to us that the missionaries eat at the restaurant and get their fill from the all-you-can-eat rice, cabbage, and pickled vegetables (tsukemono).

We did a little bit of shopping in the giant store, and we discovered how intensely creepy HD really is. We saw our faces through HD cameras projected onto HD tv screens. For the budding filmmaker, HD is the way to go, as you can shoot with amazing clarity. For the person who just consumed his or her weight in fried pork and is aimlessly wandering through a department store, it is less appealing. I saw every blemish on my face at a magnitude I cannot see with my naked eye. And I am grateful.

We also tried out some amazing chairs that simulated, for some odd reason, the sensation of a bucking horse. I have never seen such an item in the US. They not only sell this in Japan, but they have several models, ranging from one that costs about $80 to several worth upwards of hundreds of dollars.

I am already several days behind, but I will post more later, as my parents are attempting to contact their other son and make sure he shows up to pick them up at the airport in Las Vegas in two days.