Day 2 (Tuesday): Ginza

I think I was up around 3:30AM and I really felt like Bob Harris in Lost in Translation. I couldn't sleep and just sat there for countless hours flipping through Japanese television, waiting for the sun to rise.

I left my hotel room early that morning to seek out some breakfast. I ended up going to Starbucks which was just down the street from my hotel. A cheese and bacon croissant and a hot chocolate cost about 600 Yen.
I headed for the Kabuki-za Theater which wasn't too far of a walk from my hotel around 9:00AM. Kabuki is a type of traditional Japanese play with very overt movements, dialogue and costumes with lots of makeup that tell stories from the Edo era. It's one where all the roles, including female ones, are portrayed by men.

When I got there, the box office which I thought opened at 10:00AM actually opened at 10:30AM. As a result, I headed further east to the Tsukiji Outer Fish Market to look around. On the way there, I stopped in at a couple of house ware shops that sold Japanese plates and fancy chopsticks. I also stopped at a grocery store as I wanted to get some fruit but fruit was pricey as hell in Tokyo. At the Outer Fish Market, they had these little noodle shops/stands just big enough to fit a couple of people and room to prepare food. The customers actually eat their noodles outside on the sidewalk where there are mainly standing room only tables. It was quite busy in the morning as people going to work were stopping to get their breakfasts. They buy their noodles, slurp it while standing at one of the tables and then leave for work. The inside of the market was lined with various shops selling seafood products. I planned to visit the Central Tsukiji market next week where you can see all kinds of stuff from the sea.

I headed back to the Kabuki-za theater to be first in line. I wasn't sure how busy it would get so I wanted to make sure I got a ticket. You have a choice of seeing an entire 4 act play which runs about 4 hours or you can purchase a ticket for a single act. The single act tickets are limited to the 4th floor seating area. I chose a single act play. The 2nd person in line was this elderly lady who spoke really great English and gave me clarification about the ticket process and how to get an English translation listening device for the show. Before tickets go on sale, they setup a table and bring out the listening devices for you to rent. I also got to ask her a few questions such as why people wear surgical/dust masks in public. It was quite common to look around on the street and see people wearing these things. I don't know what the percentage was but maybe 5% were wearing them. Dust mask usage was more apparent on the subways due to increased density of people. She said it was mainly for allergies but it wasn't really necessary. Some wore plain ones but there were some who wore these super duper ergonomically designed masks that really fit around the face. I also saw several ladies wearing kimonos and asked how frequent that was. She said not too frequently and usually for only special occasions but that there were some who wore them like regular attire. It was getting a little chilly waiting outside for the ticket booth to open so I got a warm canned beverage of tea from the vending machine.

Vending machines are everywhere in Tokyo. Not just at indoor locations either but on the street out in the open. The lady said they were an eyesore. I liked them! I like how they sold both cold and warm beverages. The cold ones have signage in blue while the hot ones are in red. In Tokyo, you get a lot of coin change but at the same time I found I was using it up just as fast at restaurants, in vending machines, for the subway, etc. 

Once I got inside the theatre a young Korean couple visiting from Seoul sat beside me and we began talking. I was amazed at how well they spoke English. They were both in University studying to become doctors. The single act section seemed fully packed once the play got underway so don't be late in buying your tickets and come early to get a good seat. The upper deck seats weren't too bad. The Kabuki I saw was about 4 samurai who were trying to convince a powerful and famed calligrapher to join their side to overthrow the Emperor. The calligrapher refused and wrote a poem about how like the frog that endlessly leaps on a tree in search of food, these samurai were searching for wealth and power. The 4 samurai end up confronting the calligrapher for refusing to join them. He takes them all out single-handed and brings them to shame. I wasn't sure why the calligrapher had such power and was a sought after man for assistance but I guess the pen really is mightier than the sword. Haha. There were several people in the audience wearing kimonos. During the play, some audience members began shouting words out. Apparently shouting to the actors on stage is one of the customs of Kabuki. Unforunately, no pictures were allowed inside.

It was lunch time when the act ended and I found this nice pasta restaurant called To the Herbs close by. So much for eating authentic eh? The restaurant was full so I had to wait with several others in line to be seated. I didn't have to wait too long to be seated though. I had carbonara (pasta noodles in a cream sauce with bacon) and it pretty much tasted the same as it did in Canada. Their menu's had English and also had pictures to boot just in case. I also ordered this awesome, awesome, awesome lemon soda. One thing I noticed in Tokyo is that when you order a drink, they will usually ask if you want it before your entree or after your entree. Japan is really known for its service and I noticed it today at the restaurant. Even though it wasn't cold at all inside the restaurant, they had courtesy blankets for those seated at tables near by the door's entrance. I've had several meals in Canada by restaurant entrances and felt a chill every time the door was opened. There is no tipping in Japan which makes calculating the bill extremely easy. In addition, the advertised price is almost always the final price too with taxes built-in. When the waiter brings your food, they will usually bring the bill also and leave it on your table either facedown or in a bill holder. After your done eating, you just bring the bill to the front cashier to pay. The waiters in almost every restaurant I went to also had the same thing to take your order. Instead of a paper pad and pen, they have this oversized looking foldout calculator like device that they punch your order in. I think this gets wirelessly transmitted to the kitchen and cashier although I could be wrong. Any passing waiter is willing to take your order also, not just your own. You always hear about Japan being super expensive and for some things it is, but for eating out, I found it to be very similar to Canada. You should not have to pay over $20 for a good meal. A Ramen/Soba dish will usually go for around 800 YEN (or about $8 CAN). The pasta place I went to with a soda cost under $2000 YEN. I find that the average sit-down restaurant meal (not fast-food) in Canada is between $10-15 CAN. I would say the same for Tokyo also.
After lunch I tried finding this toy store called Toy Land but for the life of me I could not find it. Aside from the main streets, I found that there are hardly any street signs to guide you. Instead, there would be city block signs signifying that you were entering a new city block. In addition, because land is scarce, everything is built upwards so you really have to keep your eyes ahead of you and more importantly above you to look for store signs. A store or restaurant could be on the 7th floor but have little or no signage at street level. After walking a lot trying to find this place, I gave up and heading to the Sony Building.

I will admit that I love Sony stuff but when I visited The Sony Building, I was disappointed. I expected to see all these hi-tech cutting edge devices from Sony but alas, it seemed more like a showroom for their current products. Many of the products were not available in North America yet but they were by no means mind blowing or anything like that. The only thing that I saw that caught my attention were the very pretty Sony ladies and this egg shaped "entertainment" unit called Rolly that played music and danced and lit up. It's like an MP3 player on crack!

I walked around Ginza some more and headed towards the Tokyo International Forum. Tokyo has such impressive architecture and this building certainly ranks up there as one of my favourites. It's all glass and made in the shape of a boat with the ceiling of the forum constructed in the shape of a boat's hull.

There's a tourist center on the bottom floor where you can pick up fact sheets for each of the districts in Tokyo which contain a map and a list of things to see and do.

I was walking around Ginza's main strip for a place to eat and decided to try this ramen place. There are many signs at street level that will lead you down a set of stairs to little restaurants beneath. It's as if you were walking along the street and see a restaurant sign and a menu posted at the top of a set of stairs. You kind of have to judge the restaurant by looking at its posted menu because you don't know what it will be like until you go downstairs and step foot in it sometimes. Same goes for restaurants that were located above street level. There would be a restaurant on the 7^th floor of a building and all you really have to go on is a sign in the lobby and possibly a posted menu. Having said that, there are many restaurants located at street level. I just wanted to point out that you can miss a lot of places located above and below you. I ended up having pork ramen in white sauce (alternatively, you can get ramen in black sauce, i.e. with a soy sauce base). It was nice to actually have ramen in Japan. I spent my whole life thinking Sapporo Ichiban instant noodles were good. It reminded me of the ramen you can find at Ajisen Restaurant (if you have one in your neighbourhood), although in Japan they use actual ramen noodles whereas Ajisen seems to use spaghetti noodles. I would say that the ramen in Japan is a bit oilier also.

By day's end, my feet were killing me. In addition to that, walking a lot + new pair of stiff jeans = major chaffing between legs! I popped a couple of Tylenols before trying to get some sleep.