Home Again

Continuing with the ‘Haneda airport is amazing’ theme, boarding was an absolute dream. Usually you end up having to stand around in a queue for far too long, but they seem to have staggering the boarding right on point. We were only in the queue for maybe five minutes in total, and were soon settled on the plane.

The flight was nowhere near as terrible as the way out was. It felt a lot shorter, too – maybe because we were less stressed this time. What helped was the polite Japanese man sitting in front of us. He asked if he could put his seat back, but then didn’t need to as he didn’t have a seatmate. He instead curled up on the two seats and slept for most of the flight, meaning we didn’t have someone’s seat smushed into our knees the whole time. It was such a dream. We mostly passed the time by listening to music and re-watching some of Chernobyl. I also found where the snacks were kept so we were happy with that too.

The plane arrived at Charles de Gaulle earlier than expected, which was cool. Going through security was awful – the staff were so rude, and kept instructing us in French even though we clearly didn’t speak it, then got annoyed when we didn’t understand what they wanted. I know it was like 5am, but that’s no excuse to be a dick to people. I was really upset by their bad attitudes, and there was also zero screening for the Covid virus. I thought that was a bit remiss as we’d just come from Japan, a supposedly ‘high risk’ area.

Our next 5 hours were spent hanging around the terminal and it was awful. The seats were all hard and insanely uncomfortable, the whole place smelled like a toilet, and nothing was open unless you wanted to pay 2,50€ for a croissant. Eventually a little shop opened, where we had to pay 5€ for a really disappointing sandwich. I seriously never want to arrive at CDG again, it was hideous. It’s so weird because departing from there was fine (or maybe I didn’t notice anything because I was excited to go to Japan).

We got really annoyed on the second flight. It was a smaller plane, and we’d all been herded onto it about fifteen minutes later than we were supposed to - the staff had been hanging around chatting and not actually doing their jobs. The pilot then spent an hour taxiing around the runway and stopping randomly for up to ten minutes at a time. Meanwhile, we had no updates on what was actually going on, and the couple of brief messages we did get were in French so most of the passengers didn’t understand it. At this point I had been awake for over 24 hours and my patience was just gone. Upon saying that, the flight itself was really smooth and quick once we were finally in the air.

Our arrival at Heathrow was surprisingly not too late, considering the runway faffing in France. We got through luggage retrieval and Nothing to Declare easily. There was a leaflet saying to watch out for the coronavirus symptoms, especially if you’ve been to Asia – otherwise we were able to waltz through with no screening at all. It really surprised and annoyed me that airports aren’t seeming to take this thing seriously.

We had to take two coaches to get home from Heathrow. Most of the journey is a blur because I was so tired and over it. Caz dozed and I sat staring at one spot for pretty much the entire ride. After I finally got home, I made it to about 7:30pm and then collapsed.

~

Today I woke up just after 2am and immediately panicked because I couldn’t remember where I was and didn’t recognise my surroundings for a second. I’ve been tired AF all day and slept for most of it, but I stuck to mealtimes in the vain hope that my body clock might follow suit.

I want to start saving money again so I can go back to Tokyo. There’s still a whole list of stuff I want to do and see there. Holiday blues are setting in really badly already, and the coronavirus thing appears to be getting really serious which is worrying and saddening.

A huge thank you to anyone who stuck with me for this mountain of Super Long Posts. I hope someone, somewhere enjoyed reading them. On that note, I’m going to lie on the floor and never write again.

Tokyo Day 14: Last Day & Haneda Airport

I want to take the time to talk about the hotel we stayed in during our time in Tokyo. It’s called ICI Hotel, and we stayed in the Ueno/Shin-Okachimachi-based one. The building itself looks a bit like a domino, and we stayed up on the 8^th floor.

The entire hotel was perfectly clean and tidy at all times and has great facilities which include washing machines, vending machines, really good WiFi, and some lovely air conditioning. In the lobby there is a self-serve kitchen and seating area, billiards table, Gachapon machines, and a small selection of snacks and drinks to buy. You can also borrow hairdryers and hair straighteners from the front desk, and there are communal reusable shopping bags and umbrellas that hotel guests can use as needed. The staff always greet you as you come in or leave the lobby, look impeccable, and are always ready to help with anything (there is also a bowl of sweets on the front desk which I thoroughly enjoyed).

I’ve already mentioned how much I loved our room, so I won’t go on and on. But it was seriously nice – wonderfully clean, bright and modern. The beds were a nice size and ridiculously comfortable, there were plenty of USB ports and electrical outlets, the whole bathroom was just divine, the pyjamas and towels provided were super comfy, and everything was in perfect working order. The view from our window was one that we loved waking up to every day.

Housekeeping was also 10/10. For the duration of our trip, we had the same lady working on our floor which was really nice as we built up familiarity and greeted each other every morning. If you stick the ‘please clean’ sign on your door, a ‘proper’ full clean of the room will be done while you’re out, but even if you don’t housekeeping works a bit of magic. They’ll pop in and straighten up the room, make the beds, change out used towels, replenish toilet paper, empty the bins, etc. It was lovely to come back to a tidied up space every day. You could also put a laminated paper on your bed if you wanted fresh bedsheets. It was just brilliant. As I touched on earlier, all of the halls, lifts, and communal spaces were spick and span.

I really, really recommend the hotel – apart from everything I’ve already said, the hotel is in a quiet and safe area, so it’s really nice and peaceful when you come back to chill out in the room. I can’t remember which day, but my lounge pants went missing, and I worked out that they must have been scooped up with my pyjamas and used towels. I called the front desk and muddled through a conversation about them, and asked them to keep an eye out for them in the laundry. Not only did they find them, they had them sent back up to my room and folded neatly on the bed! I thought I’d lost them forever so this just earned the hotel so many more kudos.

This morning, we sorted out the last of our packing before turf-out time, at which point Caz realised she needed a second suitcase. Neither of us were surprised, her side of the room looked like the contents of an arcade claw machine (which it basically was). We packed all we could, put the rest in shopping bags, and I looked up luggage shops. The closest one was near Ameya Yokocho in Ueno, about a ten-minute walk.

I had a bit of a panic when I went to get my things out of the room safe (which included my house keys, British bank card and British money!) and it wouldn’t open. It didn’t appear to even be on, as no lights were showing. I ran down to the front desk to ask for help, as I thought it’d be easier to tell them about it face to face. I asked that someone come and have a look at their earliest convenience. Instead, the girl I was talking to grabbed an enormous set of keys and came up with me straight away! The Japanese really do pride themselves on good service and convenience at all times. She manually unlocked the safe for me and I retrieved my things, thanking her profusely.

Before we left, I had time to write a note in my basic-ass Japanese, thanking housekeeping very much. I left it on the desk where it would definitely be seen, and we did one last sweep of the room to make sure we had everything. Then we said goodbye to our lovely room, our home for the last fortnight.

We went to the front desk and asked to check out, which was a smooth and easy process. I enquired about their luggage holding facility and explained that we had to make a quick errand before we left properly. They put numbered tags on our suitcases and gave us tokens matching the numbers to hand back in when we returned. They also very kindly agreed to take Caz’s extra bags of things, and laughed when we explained that our errand was to get another case.

The hotel had posters up saying that you could earn a gift if you made an Instagram post about your stay at the hotel. We’d noticed them earlier in the trip and Caz had made a post, so she showed them at the front desk. The gift was a pair of nail clippers with a girl wearing a kimono on the design. Caz picked out the white one with pink flowers, and then they asked which one I wanted! I said I hadn’t made a post yet, and they said that I could also have the gift because we were in the same party. So I chose the one wearing black because it reminded me of my yukata.

We set off for the luggage shop and were immediately distracted by Family Mart. We loved having konbini everywhere in the city, and we’re going to miss them when we get home. I decided we should pop in one last time. We got some snacks and things, and I finally bought something I had been eyeing all holiday. It’s called a ‘sandcake’ – it’s two sponge cakes with jam and cream in between them. So it looks like a sandwich, but it’s a cake! I was so happy to have finally tried one, on my last day here.

Ameya Yokocho, or Ameyoko as it’s known locally, used to be the site of Tokyo’s black market after the Second World War. It’s now a legit marketplace, but still known for its bargain prices. It’s a little higgledy-piggledy set of side streets next to and beneath the railway tracks in a layout similar to Omoide Yokocho. The narrow roads are lined with market stalls selling everything imaginable, and it’s apparently a very good area to find cheap sweets. I would like to explore it properly when I return to Tokyo – the walk through it today was interesting, but we couldn’t stop because we had a time limit and a mission to fulfil.

We soon located the luggage shop I’d found on the map and went inside. It didn’t take long to find a decently sized and reasonably priced suitcase. We took it to the proprietor of the shop, a man who looked like a Japanese version of Iggy Pop, who was really friendly and helpful. He also gave Caz a small discount for no real reason. We decided he couldn’t be bothered to count change, so rounded the price down for us. Whatever the reason, it was so kind!

As we exited the shop and walked back toward the gate to Ameyoko, a light rain had started and the sky was grey. This is literally the only rain we saw while in Tokyo, and I joked that the city was weeping because we were leaving.

We decided to have one last Lotteria because their burgers are to die for. The Ueno one wasn’t far, so we stopped there for an early brunch. As we sat and ate, we both talked about how ridiculously tired we were. We’d had big dreams about cramming in some more sights in before we left, but now we didn’t think we had the time or energy to do so. I wondered if there was somewhere we could nap and started researching on my phone. I’d heard about so-called ‘nap cafes’ in Japan, which is an exquisite idea, but all of them were out of the way of where we were eventually heading. Then I checked out capsule hotels, but they were a bit out of our price range. I even looked up the notorious ‘love hotels’ to see if we could get a room for a couple of hours, just to sleep in. No luck.

In desperation I searched for hotels near Haneda airport and came across First Cabin. It’s a capsule-style hotel that you can book for however many hours you need for a fair price, and is mainly used by people on layovers between flights. We decided we’d stop there for a few hours when we got to the airport and have a rest.

After our final Lotteria (which was just as good as the other times we went), we headed back to the hotel to pack up the rest of Caz’s stuff. The staff were amused by us scrambling to get it all done and out of the way, and my scolding of Caz the whole time. We traded in our tokens to get our other suitcases back and were given a warm farewell from the staff in the lobby. I packed up Sushi into his little pouch and put him in the return mailbag. We found a local postbox to post him in, and actually felt a bit sad about it. I’m going to miss our little gadget – I recommend Sushi WiFi, it served us so well for this trip.

The street that we called home for two weeks.

Our next port of call was Shin-Okachimachi station. The journey to Haneda took about 45-50 minutes. First we took the Oedo Line to Daimon station, and then got the Tokyo Monorail to Haneda’s international terminal. I made the most of looking out of the windows and around me at the train car as it was our last ride on the Tokyo subway. I spent a lot of the journey concocting how to get back to Tokyo as soon as I possibly could. I seriously love it here.

Once we were at the airport, we had to go over to the domestic terminal to get to First Cabin. I shambled up to the desk and asked for two capsules for three hours. The staff were very efficient and had us sorted in no time. We were given key cards to access the rest of the hotel, and they gave us tokens for our luggage, which they stashed away securely. The facilities were really good, though we weren’t planning on using them. The toilets were really clean and fancy, with huge mirrors, toiletries, hair styling electronics and products. There was also a bath room if you fancied having a mini onsen experience!

The sleeping room itself was huge, but luckily our rooms weren’t too far away from the door. The tiny, bed-only capsules weren’t currently available, so we had the slightly larger ‘deluxe’ ones (which are still tiny and cute). It was wonderfully warm and quiet in the sleeping area. It was hard to be silent as we always get the giggles in these scenarios. We soon found our adjacent capsules and said ta-ta for now.

The room was small and cosy, with light and heating controls. I bumped up the heat just a tad more to get really cosy, and shut the door, which was actually just a sliding screen with no lock. I didn’t feel worried or insecure about that though, Japan has proven itself to be such a safe place and no one could get into the sleep area without a key card. The bed felt really hard when I first got onto it, but I soon warmed up and felt comfortable and managed to get a couple of hours sleep.

I felt so much better when I woke up, and there was still a half hour left of our booking. After having a nice big stretch, I curled up in the bed again for a little while. When I was ready to collect Caz, I got my backpack and put my boots back on before creeping next door. I went in quietly in case she was sleeping, but she was sitting up on the bed playing on her phone. She hadn’t managed to go off to sleep but also said she felt way better after having a quiet couple of hours to just rest and be alone. We both felt really ready to take on the airport process, and the long journey home.

We got back to the international departures terminal and were blown away. It was huge and spacious and had ample seating. There was soft blue mood lighting with projections of leaves, which reminded us of onsen, and it was so quiet. Airports are usually loud and bright and stressful, but Haneda was like an oasis of calm. Japan is so awesome.

We still had a little while to wait for bag check, so we found some seats and I decided to wander off and explore the airport. Usually in airports, most of the shops and things appear after you get through security. In Haneda, though, there’s quite a bit to look at. There are three main sections of shops and eateries – one is old Edo-style, one is called ‘Hot Zone’ and looks like a jungle setting, and the last is the ‘Cool Zone’ which is space themed! It’s such a cool airport, and I wandered around for some time just taking it in.

There was a mini Don Quijote and I couldn’t resist having a look. I found a little lollipop that was neon green and shaped like unko (a poop). I simply had to buy it for Ethan because he’d find it hilarious. In another souvenir shop, I found an onigiri-shaped decorative plate with a ‘walking tour’ map of Tokyo and cats on it. I bought that for Caz’s mum because she loves decorative plates and cats so it was perfect. I found some stickers for the scrapbook I plan to make, and a notebook that looks like a Japanese passport. I also got another hamster-themed Gachapon prize – this one is a yellow squishy one.

When we had checked our bags, we went through security. It was a total breeze, and by some miracle neither of us set off machines this time! Airside, there were more shops and things that we wandered by and idly looked in. We spent a long time in the duty free shop, making last-minute purchases. I got a bottle of umeshu wine, some Hello Kitty plasters, a tin of baked cinnamon and chocolate Yatsuhashi, and a box of Tokyo Banana flavoured KitKats.

It was about dinner time, and it’d been a while since we’d had our Lotteria brunch, so we stopped in a little food area. I got a lovely big ramen bowl, which was warming and filling. Caz had a soba noodle bowl, which was so huge she couldn’t finish it, and some prawn tempura. We felt a bit sad again because this was the last meal we were going to have in Japan (until next time).

Seriously, I just want to reiterate how brilliant Haneda airport was. It was such a stress free experience. The whole place was quiet, warm and spacious. The staff were all really friendly, helpful and efficient. By the time we got to the gate for our flight, we felt so relaxed and ready for the long journey we were facing. I’ve never had an airport experience like it. I can’t wait until I’m able to return to Japan!

Tokyo Day 13: Asakusa (Again) & Komine Pass

I got up early enough to make a start on packing my suitcase. I got the majority of it put away, and was really gutted the whole time. I don’t want to leave Tokyo – there’s still so much I want to see and do! I wish I could take my lovely bed and the entire bathroom home with me too.

Caz was feeling perkier today, which is great because she was able to go to Shizu-Kokoro and experience the magic herself. Before I did anything else, I dropped her off and said hello to Soka. Then I went for a wander around Asakusa again – it’s really such a fab area. I saw three street cleaners who were dressed up as ninjas and went running and flipping around the streets as they cleaned. Sometimes they hid behind cars and walls, in stealth mode. It was so cool! I had fun watching them for a while.

As I walked around, I kept my eyes peeled for more lovely artwork and just soaked up the atmosphere. It was busy but still relaxing and cheerful. I saw someone in a Charizard onesie, holding an actual owl. From what I can gather from the sign they had, they were advertising some sort of owl café. It was so random that it made me laugh.

There was an antique shop that I wanted to check out. It took me forever to find – it’s tucked down a tiny alleyway and you can easily walk right past. There’s an old gramophone at the entrance of the alleyway, which helped a little bit once I slowed down and actually used my eyes for minute.

The shop is called Hotarudo, and it’s absolutely darling. Inside, old-timey jazz music plays on a gramophone and the place is dim and quiet. It’s absolutely stacked with all kinds of antiques from old clothes and bags, to old gadgets, trinkets and ornaments. There were several beautiful things that I was tempted by, but the price was a little too out of budget. It’s a shame, because I would love to own some Japanese antiques. If you like old things, definitely go and check Hotarudo out. I spent ages in there and really enjoyed myself despite not buying anything.

When I returned to Shizu-Kokoro, the sliding door had been left open and Caz and Soka sat inside, chatting away. It was really nice to see Caz so happy and at ease, and I immediately knew she was as zen as I’d been yesterday. We had a little talk with Soka before bidding her farewell. She’d recommended a little food place just up the road that served mostly okonomiyaki. It’s called Sometaro and it’s a little old Japanese-style building. Before we even set foot in there, we could tell it was going to be a really local, authentic place, and we were immediately excited. The fact that Soka often visits for lunch made us trust the place more – our tea sensei can never be wrong!

We stepped inside and were immediately in love. You come in to a traditional Genkan, which is a small stone-floored entryway, and wait to be invited in properly. Before you enter any further, you must remove your shoes so as not to damage the main floor. The step up from the Genkan was almost knee-height on me so it was quite a lunge to get up there. Utilising our tatami-walking skills taught by Soka, we walked carefully over to an empty table in the corner.

The tables were all low with black grill plates (Teppan) set into them, and you sat on the floor - there were cushions provided to save your knees. We had a good look around once we’d sat down. Apart from us, there were only a few groups of people and most of them looked local. It was nice and quiet, and people were really chilled out.

We were soon approached and handed menus to peruse. Both of us decided we wanted a Ramune soda, but also thought to order some sake as we haven’t had any yet! The bottles we got had a surprising amount of wine in them, and it’s strong (and delicious).

The word ‘okonomiyaki’ translates roughly to ‘cooked as you like’ and like any pancake, you can throw pretty much any ingredients into them. I decided on the ‘Mochiten’, which has rice cake, cheese, corn, and dried seaweed. Caz opted for ‘Gyuuten’ – cabbage, egg, sliced beef, and minced meat. The batter and chosen ingredients come in a small bowl, and you cook the okonomiyaki yourself. There were instructions in English on the menu, so we started ourselves off.

First, you tip the contents of the bowl onto the grill in one big blob and let it sit and sizzle for a couple of minutes. Then you take the enormous spatulas and flip the pancake, letting the other side cook for another couple of minutes. I had no idea that using two spatulas was far easier, but I managed to flip mine perfectly with just one! I really impressed myself as I’m not the most dextrous person. Caz’s flip wasn’t so perfect (I blamed the bulky meat), which got us into a laughing fit. A woman who worked there floated over to see how we were doing and was so helpful with Caz’s nightmare.

Once the pancake is cooked, you use a spatula to cut it into small segments that are able to be picked up with chopsticks. Toppings are then added – at Sometaro we had the special okonomiyaki sauce (similar to Worcestershire but thicker), seaweed flakes (aonori), Japanese mayonnaise (seriously, Kewpie is the nicest mayo I’ve ever had), and a little dash of soy sauce which sizzled furiously on the Teppan.

Okonomiyaki is absolutely delicious. We both really enjoyed it, and took our time savouring each bite-sized piece. Half the fun of it is cooking at the table, but the food is so enjoyable to eat too. I’m not a huge fan of egg-flavoured things - I’m here to tell you that these pancakes don’t taste overwhelmingly eggy. So please don’t worry about that if it’s one of your concerns, too.

The sake had gone right through me at this point so I excused myself to the loo, where I was confronted with a squat toilet (washiki). There was a pair of slippers to wear in the bathroom and I spent a long time staring at the instructions on how to use the toilet. I have really rubbish knees and cannot hold a squat for very long; I ended up clinging to the sink in front of me to keep my balance, so that I didn’t fall in. It was an interesting and authentic experience and I’m glad I did it, even despite my initial terror.

I had to leave Caz at Sometaro and find a cash machine as I hadn’t noticed the signs saying the restaurant was cash only. I felt a bit tipsy as I got outside and the cool air hit me, and drifted along the streets feeling very content and silly. I also saw this panda bus, which didn’t help:

After I’d toddled back to the restaurant and we settled our bill, we discussed what to do next. There is a place we’d really wanted to see during the trip. We had previously planned to go after visiting Doryo-do, but it was too dark and the journey was too long. We decided that we simply couldn’t miss it, and set off on the almost two-hour trek to Komine Pass.

I’ll stop here and explain a bit about Komine Pass, another dark tourism site that we were interested in seeing. Back in the late 80s, the so-called ‘Otaku Killer’ murdered four little girls under the age of 10. Their names were Mari Konno, Masami Yoshizawa, Erika Namba, and Ayako Nomoto. I’m not going to go into all of the terrible details, but Murderpedia has a really in-depth page about the crimes if you want to read up on it. I will warn you that this case involves mutilation, cannibalism, and taunting of the victims’ family – it’s truly horrific. The killer, whose name I refuse to use, was apprehended and executed for his crimes.

Komine Pass was a former road that tunnelled through and snaked around the mountains at the very, very edge of Tokyo in Hachioji. A new, more modern road, was built through the mountain and the Pass became a popular hiking trail. It’s less popular since the murders, as the ‘Otaku Killer’ is known to have murdered and dumped two of his victims in the tunnel there. It’s said to be the most haunted tunnel in Japan, so we had to go and see it for ourselves.

To get there, we walked from Sometaro to Tawaramachi station and took the Ginza line to Kanda station. From there, we took the commuter rapid Chūō line to Tachikawa. The Ōme line (which became the Itsukaichi line mid-journey) took us the rest of the way to Musashi-Itsukaichi station. It was a long trip. As we got further from the centre, less and less tourists were on the train until it was just us and locals. We garnered some interested looks from people, as we have before when we’ve ventured further out of the city centre. We rolled into Musashi-Itsukaichi as the sun was setting beyond the mountains.

During the last leg of our trip, we had an encounter with the cutest old man in the world. He was sitting opposite Caz, and I was standing up between them. He looked like he’d just finished work – dressed nicely, with a big black coat and a briefcase. I would put his age at around mid-seventies. As we’d been flying by the suburbs, I was pointing out of the window at things and Caz and I were enthusing about how nice it all was. We were especially excited when the mountains came into view. The sun was coming down and the sky was pink.

I noticed the man was turning theatrically to peer out of the window and then looking back towards us for a while, and sensed that he was wanting to say something. Maybe he was weighing up whether it would be rude to talk to us, or maybe he was feeling nervous about it. I don’t know, but eventually he turned to us, gestured at the window behind him, and said, “Beautiful.” We both nodded and agreed with him. I managed to say “Utsukushī” which means ‘it’s beautiful’, and he was surprised and thrilled that I knew some Japanese. It made him laugh, and we all laughed a bit together. Then he looked out of the window again and remarked, “Lovely sunset.” before turning to smile at us. It was such a nice moment, and I will always treasure it.

When we got to his stop, the man stood up and bowed his head to us. We bowed back and watched him disembark. Once he was on the platform, he turned back and waved at us with a big smile on his face! We waved back and couldn’t stop grinning – my heart feels full just remembering this. I hope he had a wonderful evening.

The station was small and fairly open-air, but it had these beautiful stained-glass windows.

As the light was fading fast, we decided to grab a taxi out to the pass itself. There was one idling outside of the station so we went over and asked for a ride to ‘Komine Park’, which is slightly down the road from where we wanted to go. I wasn’t silly enough to make our ghoulish intentions crystal clear, but I’m sure the driver knew what was up. He said things like “…But it’s getting dark.” and “Won’t you be scare?” several times, like the harbinger character in a horror film. And like stupid white people in a horror film we bullshitted that we just fancied a lovely walk near the mountains and wanted to see a quieter place away from the city and that we’d be fiiiiiiine. Seriously, we spend all of our time yelling at people in horror films for making Really Stupid Decisions, and yet here we were doing the same thing. He mentioned that about a year ago, some girls had asked him to go to the same place and added thoughtfully, “Maybe they were looking for the same thing you are.” He was far too polite to confront us, but clearly knew what we were up to.

As we pulled up to a road near the park’s visitor centre, the driver said, “The park is closed.” It wasn’t, but I think this was his last ditch effort to stop us. He suggested that we stop by the visitor centre before our walk, and we agreed in the hopes that he’d worry less. Before we got out of the car, he printed off a receipt with his phone number on it and told us to call him if we needed a taxi. Then he pointed out the bus stop across the road and informed us that catching a bus from there would take us right back to the station. It was really kind of him to make sure we knew where we were going. Having stalled as much as he could, he drove off and we felt sort of bad for putting him in that position. I hoped that he wouldn’t spend his evening fretting about us!

We had almost completely lost the light by the time we walked to the old road – the sky was a darkening blue and the sun had gone down completely. There was a chain strung across the road to stop cars from coming down it, but pedestrians can still enter. As we walked, the mountain rose steeply up to our right, covered in dense trees. Caz asked me what was rustling around up there and I said, “Just some critters.” Which is the sensible answer, but I was paranoid that it was ghosts or monsters, of course.

After a short walk, we came to a large factory or power plant-looking structure which hummed quietly. There were lots of lights around it, which was a momentary relief. From there, we could see lit-up houses and hear voices and laughter from the residential streets. This was the last little glimpse of other humans we had before going further along the Pass. As soon as we passed a gate to stop vehicles and rounded the mountain a bit more, the noise and light was just gone.

There were lots of sharp turns that made the road behind you disappear behind the mountain. The road itself is becoming overgrown with grass and creeping plants. The only really clear part was the middle with the dividing lines still visible. On one side the mountain rose higher still, covered in the stands of trees I mentioned earlier. On the other, a rusted old crash barrier was the only thing that separated us from a sheer, pitch-black drop. Looking over the edge was a huge mistake, it just looked like a void. Our phone torches barely lit the way in front of us, and taking photos with flash didn’t do much better. It was so, so dark and cold up there. The further we walked, the more we slowed down. A great blanket of dread hung on us and our nerves were on a hair-trigger.

Here is a terrible photo of the path that I tried in vain to brighten up. The sky looks really light, but it wasn’t.

I was used to the ambient noises of us walking and the sounds of the trees, but a new noise had suddenly started. It sounded like soft footfalls, coming from behind us like someone was trying their best to creep up. Like they didn’t want me to hear. I spun around so quickly that I don’t even remember doing it, and of course nothing was there. My heart was pounding and I felt like I couldn’t move for a moment – I wanted to scramble but there was nowhere to run. Caz asked me what was wrong, and I told her that the Pikachu coin purse that was hanging from her backpack had startled me with its jingling. I couldn’t bring myself to say aloud what I thought I’d heard, not there. I decided to share that later, when we were back in the light.

We stopped walking at one point and had a discussion about whether we wanted to proceed, the feelings of fear had gotten that bad. Instead, we talked ourselves up and swore at ourselves and told ourselves that we were so close now, that we had to see this through. So we continued, shuffling even slower and clutching each other’s hand. I was afraid that, any minute, the torch would illuminate something that shouldn’t be there. I don’t think I’ve ever been that viscerally frightened in my life. It was like Doryo-do but heightened by the pitch black. Something was sick there.

Here’s one of the photos Caz took of the beginning of the road. She has the better phone and it still couldn’t do much in that darkness. I’m putting it here to give you some idea of the atmosphere.

Caz almost gave me a heart attack when she suddenly said, “What is that?” She was pointing to a reflection of our torchlight, which we soon realised was bouncing off of a dusty old road mirror. I calmly asked her to never do that to me again before we moved on. We were literally around the corner from the tunnel itself when we stopped once more. This time we couldn’t bring ourselves to start moving again. Every single cell in my body wanted to leave, and my muscles felt tense and primed, ready to start running away. I think if we’d seen the tunnel itself we might’ve lost our heads completely. So we made the decision to leave. I’ve never been scared enough to have to leave a place before, and I have never felt the way I felt up there tonight.

Again, I’m willing to concede that knowing the history of what happened there might have made us more spooked. So did deliberately making it extra spooky by going on a dark winter evening. But I’m not easily rattled, and Komine Pass rattled me.

We got back to the power station where there were lights and sat down. We had forced ourselves to walk calmly away, back along the dark path and out of the gate. It was exhausting trying to keep ourselves in check when we felt so frightened. Once we were back in the light and sitting down, the abject terror started to melt away and all I could feel was a deep sadness. The place was evil, and terrible things had happened there, but we both expressed feeling melancholy.

We stayed there for a while and said some words for Misami and Mari, the two victims who had been left there. We told them that people still know their names and care about them, and we told them we were sorry that that had to happen to them. Before we left, we said, “Yasuraka ni nemuru.” which means ‘rest in peace’. You can pooh-pooh this if you like, but Caz is a Christian and I have always been very spiritual, and we like to believe we got through to those poor girls.

I was lost in thought as we walked out of the last part of the road. So much so that I walked right into the chain strung across the road. It was at knee height and caught me on my worse knee, so it really hurt. I now have a chain-shaped bruise across my knee like I’ve been hit with one. It was quite funny, though.

This is the new tunnel. Behind the corrugated fence on the left is the entrance to Komine Pass.

Once we were back on the main road, I told Caz the truth about the footsteps I’d heard. She was freaked out, but my blood went cold when she said she’d felt a tug on her bag, like somebody had gently pulled the Pikachu purse hanging from it. She said it was scary but hadn’t felt malicious at all, whereas I was of the opinion the footsteps were definitely not playful or friendly. I don’t know what to make of it, but I’m still getting chills remembering this and writing it down. We’ve decided that next time we’re in Japan, we will visit Komine Pass during the day, with plenty of light. Maybe then we’ll actually make it to the tunnel, and we can gauge how much of our fear response was from the cold and dark. It is one of the more stupid things we’ve done in our lives.

We caught the bus from the stop across the street and it was a relief to be in a warm, brightly-lit vehicle. It was quite a drive back to the train station so we were able to warm up and relax a bit before having to brave the night again. Once we got to the train station, we saw a taxi outside and wondered if it could be our driver from earlier. It was! I approached the window to say hi and he was so pleased to see us. He asked how our walk had gone, and if it was scary. I said, “Um, a bit… it was cold!” and he agreed that it was a chilly night. He asked us what our plans were now, and was really surprised that we had to get all the way back to Ueno. I don’t think he realised how far we’d actually come. We bid him a warm farewell and thanked him again for his help earlier, and he waved us off with a big smile. I’m so glad we got to reconnect with him, and he knows we made it back safely.

I really needed a snack and we were both thirsty, so we popped across the road to 7-11. As we walked in, the girls behind the counter greeted us dutifully then did a huge double take when they realised we are not at all Japanese. It was really funny – I imagine they don’t get too many foreigners out there, so it must have been really weird for them. When I checked out my items, the girl who served me went out of her way to thank me in English which was really nice. I hope we made their shift a bit more interesting.

I honestly can’t remember which station I found this train set in, but it’s so cute!

Back in the city centre, we called a taxi to take us to our dinner destination in Shibuya as it was still cold. We had made the hour and a half long journey from Musashi-Itsukaichi to Shinjuku and wanted to be off the subway for a while. Annoyingly, the top button on my shirt popped off in the taxi and I lost it forever. This was a pain because the top itself is low-cut even with the top button, so I was now essentially standing there with my whole bra out. Luckily, I had a cardigan with me and had to awkwardly button it in a way that kept my shirt together. Once we’d fixed it up, it looked ok and then the situation became hilarious.

We were having dinner at a place called Gyoza Lou. We had read recommendations about it on so many travel sites and blogs, but it still seems like a really local haunt. Every other customer was Japanese, and a lot of them looked like they’d come straight from work to get some food. It was lively and buzzing, people were really relaxed and enjoying themselves. It’s not a huge place, and the kitchen is right there in the middle so you can see everything going on. We sat up at the bar surrounding the kitchen and soaked up the vibe as we waited to be served.

The menu is ridiculously simple. There’s a small selection of drinks and then gyoza. You can opt for steamed or fried, and that’s it. No frills, no pretension, just amazing and authentic gyoza. It’s also really cheap – you can get six gyoza for 290¥ (which is like £2)! We had two rounds each but honestly, I could’ve eaten until I died. No additions or sides were needed, the gyoza was absolutely fantastic and tasty. We probably would’ve had more, but we were really tired from travelling out to Hachioji and wanted to get back to the hotel at a reasonable time to finish packing and get some sleep. I will definitely go back next time I'm in Tokyo!

It’s our last night here in Japan, and we’re feeling a bit miserable. We never want to leave, and we’re also feeling wary about the news of potentially having to be quarantined or isolating at home when we get back, depending on coronavirus screenings. This thing is getting a bit serious, it seems.

Tokyo Day 12: Asakusa & Laketown

Last night I fell asleep with damp hair so it looked like it had exploded when I got up this morning. I hadn’t planned on straightening my hair today, but was kind of forced to. For breakfast, I ate the Valentine’s Day cookie I bought myself in Ikebukuro.

The plan was to spend most of the day in Asakusa and then visit the Capcom Café in the evening. Caz still felt rotten and wanted to reserve her strength for the café, so I went to Asakusa on my own. As soon as I got out of the train station, I loved the area – it’s a lot quainter, with more old-fashioned buildings, market streets and stalls, and tiny authentic food places.

The ceremony I was attending was at Shizo Kokoro, a chado (tea ceremony) school. Because Caz had stayed home, I ended up being the only person in that session which turned out to be amazing. I got my own private ceremony, and the teacher all to myself. Speaking of, the teacher/host was the loveliest. Her tea name is Soka, and she’s a master of chado. She answered the sliding door wearing a beautiful pink kimono and welcomed me warmly.

Firstly, I was seated at the table in the downstairs room where there was a TV. Soka got me a sakura tea – it was literally hot water with a single blossom floating in it. It was gently flavoured and so calming and delicious. While I sipped that, a video was played about the history of tea ceremonies and their meaning. It was really interesting – tea ceremonies were originally made up by the samurai, and it was a space for them to be away from any fighting and stress, and to just be calm and social. It’s a tradition that stretches back to the 9^th century in Japan (in China, it’s even older!). I felt more equipped for the ceremony having the background information that the video provided.

In the corner was a small water feature, where Soka instructed me to perform the Temizu hand-washing ritual that I wrote about yesterday. She was impressed that I knew how to do it, but I soon set her straight and let her know it was still fresh in my mind from Meiji-jingu. She was interested to hear about other places we’d visited so far, and gave me two little wrapped sweets to take back to Caz. I found out that these sweets would be part of the ceremony too.

When I took my shoes off to go upstairs to the actual tea room, I asked Soka if she liked my socks. I was wearing the olive green Shiba Inu tabi socks that I bought in Odaiba. She said, “Oh, tabi socks! What’s on them? …Shiba!” and she sounded so delighted that it made me really happy. She mentioned the Shiba café in Harajuku and I revealed that Caz and I had visited it earlier in the trip. We talked about dogs as we climbed the stairs.

The tea room was so beautiful. Small and serene with tatami flooring and a soft olive green paint on the walls. Opposite the door was a small recess, with a  vase of sakura, a small incense container, and a scroll with hand-painted lettering. The first thing Soka taught me was how to walk properly on tatami. Because it’s made of delicate woven reeds, you have to walk very lightly and carefully. You start with your toes and then bring your heel down, and keep your steps small so you’re almost sliding rather than walking. Another rule is not to step on the black edges of the mats. I was really interested to hear that there’s a certain way to walk to preserve the flooring, and Soka was pleased with my form.

Next, she showed me the recess that I mentioned and told me that the first thing a guest does at a tea ceremony is come to this recess and appreciate the things set up in it. You sit on your knees in front of the scroll and have a good look at it, taking in the message itself and the craftsmanship that has gone into the art. Today, the scroll said ‘ichi-go ichi-e’; Soka explained that this was a phrase that can’t really be translated properly, but it means to treasure the unrepeatable nature of each moment in time. She said that, even if we were to meet again, we would never be sitting as we were in that moment, at that time. I really liked the idea of that – a lot of the things I’ve learned today have been steeped in mindfulness and zen Buddhism, and reminded me about staying in the moment and appreciating things around me.

Next, Soka asked me if I knew what the flowers were in the vase. I said, “Sakura! They’re my birth month flower.” She told me that she’d chosen sakura for decoration, as spring is beginning to come to Tokyo. I was invited to contemplate the flowers and appreciate their beauty, before we turned our attention to the little incense container. Soka explained that every single piece of equipment was picked out specifically for a particular ceremony and usually follow some kind of theme chosen by the host. She had chosen a springtime motif in preparation for the end of winter, so the incense container was white with a blue painted pattern of small birds. I was encouraged to pick up the container and have a good look at the design.

I was led to the small table where the host keeps their utensils and had a good look at them too. There was a yellow and blue theme, cheerful spring colours. Everything has a meaning, and is all laid out neatly and deliberately. Before we got started, Soka gave me a little sweet (wagashi) on a plate with a tiny sweet pick (kashikiri) used to cut and skewer it. It was a dusky pink colour and tasted lovely – just the right amount of sweet, with an almost floral aftertaste.

The ceremony itself was relaxing and soothing. The host first makes the ceremonial ‘thick’ matcha called koicha, and serves it in a handmade tea bowl of their choice. This is the really formal bit where you have to be reverent and quiet. She didn’t need to ask me to keep quiet because I was absolutely mesmerised watching her work. Every single action is deliberate and measured, and Soka moved like water. All of the equipment is treated with so much respect and care. I recommend seeing this being done because I’ve never felt so calm and focused.

She taught me how to take the tea from her in the appropriate manner, and instructed me to have small sips. You don’t get served a huge tonne of koicha because it’s purely ceremonial and really strong. I didn’t know if I’d like it, but – once you’re past the initial shock of the strength – it’s really quite pleasant. When you take your last sip, you have to slurp it to show that you’re finished. When Soka told me this, I told her that that would be considered really rude in my country which she was interested to hear.

The final part of the ceremonial bit is to admire the tea bowl selected by the host. Soka told me that that particular one was handmade in Kyoto – I could see grooves from the fingers that had moulded it into shape. The ceremonial tea is always served in a plain bowl, as you’re supposed to be focusing entirely on the tea. Afterwards, though, you are expected to have a good look at it and talk about it, holding the bowl close to the ground so as not to drop and break it. Soka said that the host doesn’t ask for comments, but that it’s appropriate to talk about the tea bowl so that the host can say where it’s from and boast a little bit.

After another sweet – this time it was higashi, which is a drier and lighter confection – it was time for the more casual usucha tea. It’s lighter, thinner and very frothy, and Soka was to teach me how to make it. The photo above shows the equipment I was given to do this. Everything has a special name and position when you’re making tea (see the piece of paper on the floor), and Soka was endlessly patient with explaining how to do things. There isn’t as much ceremonial flair with usucha, but there’s still a lot of respect for the equipment. I also had to pick a tea bowl from a set of six. Soka told me to go for the one that spoke to me most. My eye was immediately drawn by a light bowl with gold trim – the pattern was of fans with plants on them and I really liked the way it fit with the spring theme. I also really appreciated the artwork on it, which was traditionally Japanese and delicate. To make the tea, you add matcha powder to water and then use a bamboo tea whisk (chasen) to whip it up into a froth, ending up with a pale green bubbly drink.

As I enjoyed this cup, which was far less strong than koicha, I had a lovely chat with Soka. She asked about our trip so far and what we had planned for the last couple of days. She complimented my Japanese pronunciation and said she could understand me perfectly – I told her that I’d studied Japanese for a year in university and would love to pick it up again. I said, “I don’t know if this makes any sense, but Japanese tastes nice.” and she understood what I meant (the Japanese is a musical kind of language that rolls off of the tongue nicely). She is seriously the nicest lady, and even when it’s just you and her there isn’t any awkwardness. You’re immediately welcome in the tearoom and find yourself so at ease. If you find yourself in Asakusa, I really really recommend giving Soka a visit and having a lovely lesson in chado.

Here is a beautiful photo of Soka and me in the tea room – despite how tired and round I look, this is a really happy photo and memory:

I came out of there feeling really serene and happy. I was also buzzing a bit from the strong matcha! On the way to Senso-ji temple, there is a shopping street named Nakamise (Orange Street). I wanted to go there first to see if I could find the three more traditional Japanese souvenirs that I was seeking out. Taking my time, I wended my way through the streets and followed the crowds to the huge gate where a gigantic paper lantern hangs.

Browsing the small stores in Nakamise Street was so much fun. I really enjoyed seeing all of the traditional goods, souvenirs, gifts, and snacks. There were so many girls walking around in kimono – there must have been a rental shop nearby, and they all looked so pretty. It was so packed in the street, but it didn’t annoy me too much. I was too busy trying to look at everything at once.

As I suspected, I found two of the three items I was looking for. The first was a Hannya mask. FINALLY! It’s a sort of brushed metal and is a reddish-grey colour. It’s gorgeous. I got it right away, and then had to return to the store later to get Caz one too (I’d sent her a photo and she decided she wanted it) – the shop owners must’ve gotten dej’a’vu.

The other thing I found was a nice yukata! I’ve been looking for one since I wore one in onsen. There was a shop that was selling nothing but yukata, so I went in for a look. I was torn between a red one and a black one. They both had the same pattern – a pretty white, red and gold sakura one. A really cute older lady came over to help me out and was laughing at my indecision. I eventually settled for the black one, sticking with my goth brand. I asked the lady which obi belt she thought would be good with it. We both decided the red matched the flowers on the yukata, so that had to be the one. I paid and left feeling really happy because I finally had my own made-in-Japan yukata!

The last item I wanted was something I didn’t find, but I’m not sure if it even exists. I’m being really picky about it. It’s a doll, kind of in the style of a Hinamatsuri doll, but I want one that appears in Fatal Frame. They’re kneeling dolls in red kimono with long black hair, and their hands cover their eyes (like this). They’re super cute and creepy and I wanted one just like it. Alas, I think it may only exist in the game.

The last little shop of Orange Street is right next to the main gate of Senso-ji. It’s a stunning vermillion-coloured set of halls, with a five-story pagoda right in the middle. It wasn’t as quiet and serene as Meiji was, but it was still worth seeing and wandering around the grounds.

Once I’d had my fill of looking at the temple, I wandered the surrounding streets. There were lots of shops and food stands, and I was just enjoying walking aimlessly and looking at everything. I walked by an ice cream stand and my eye was caught by a tombstone-grey flavour. It was black sesame – I didn’t even know if I’d like it but I had to have it because of the gloomy colour. Luckily it turned out to be really nice.

I got two Gachapon prizes. One was a little bird sitting on a teapot (it looks like this, except the teapot is green with a gold flower design). The other was a little hamster sitting on a plate with a stack of pancakes! It’s the middle-right one in this photo. I was so pleased with my cute little finds.

There’s a lot of interesting art around Asakusa too – on the metal shutters of closed shops, on the pavement in the form of stone slabs, and on signs and walls everywhere. It was really nice to spot new pieces as I wandered around. It made me love Asakusa so much. I think it’s actually one of my favourite areas of Tokyo.

I also saw a freaking huge Hello Kitty on a Sanrio shop:

I went to meet Caz at the Ueno Lotteria so we could get a bite to eat. This time we got a bucket of fries each and another fabulous burger. It was just as good as the one in Shibuya, and we were so pleased. Caz got to see the Wholesome café that I wrote about in day 4, and we had a good look around before choosing a baked good each. I had a panda face-shaped bread filled with cream cheese and Caz had a custard-filled bread cube. So cute!

I want to add a note here about ATMs in Tokyo. Your best bet is to find machines in 7-11 or other konbini, as they’re the only ones that operate 24/7. I found this out the hard way this evening, when I tried to withdraw money and most of the ATMs were closed for the night! Another thing that stung me was specific to WeSwap users – you can only do two ATM transactions per day. And that includes checking your balance, so definitely only check your balance on the app. That’s the only inconvenience I’ve found with this debit card. Other than that, I thoroughly recommend WeSwap; they’ve been perfect the whole time we’ve been in Tokyo, and there was no trouble building up money on there prior to our trip.

We went back over to Akihabara because there were a couple of vintage game places we wanted to look around in. Caz was specifically looking for a retro Tamagotchi, for nostalgic purposes. We first went to a shop called Super Potato – it’s a few floors of stuff, but the floors themselves are small with narrowly-spaced shelves filling up most of the floor space. This added to its charm, though. We were having a blast reliving our youth while looking at all the old consoles and games. I got myself some Pikachu tabi socks because they sort of match my yukata. Unfortunately, on trying them on later, I realised they don’t fit my big fat Western feet which is really sad. I’m still glad I got them though, they’re very cute.

There was another place called Retro Game Camp, when Super Potato proved unhelpful on the Tamagotchi front. It was much of the same, except this time there were some really steep, treacherous wooden stairs at the back of the store which we climbed with much squawking and hollering. We made it upstairs in one piece and were rewarded with a little orange/yellow vintage Tamagotchi! Caz promptly bought it and was happy that the quest had been successful.

We went to another nerdy shop that I can’t remember the name of – what I do know is that there was a cute stuffed Totoro sitting outside of it. Inside was a tonne of merch from lots of fandoms. Caz found loads of Monster Hunter merch, as the 15^th anniversary is currently being celebrated. I bought some socks with No Face on and a cool pen which combined the Great Wave painting with Godzilla. We spent ages wandering around that shop.

Time was getting on, so we made the trek out to Laketown for our booking at the Capcom Café. We took the Keihin-Tōhoku line from Akihabara to Minami-Urawa station, and then the Musashino line to Koshigaya-Laketown. It took about an hour, as it’s a little further out.

The AEON mall that contains the Capcom Café was only a few minutes’ walk from the train station so it was nice and easy to find. It was a bit of a faff trying to find the café, but we asked some friendly staff in a clothing store for help and we muddled through together. In front of the café is a merchandise store, so we immediately had a look around that. It was pretty packed with cool things, and they had a small Ace Attorney section, so I was delighted. Unsurprisingly, there wasn’t a lot of merch left with Edgeworth on it, but I managed to get a mini pillow with him on it, and a little folder with the Capcom Café version of the characters.

I also spotted this tiny, furious Edgeworth sprite in the décor. So kawaii!

We weren’t familiar with the game or characters currently collaborating with the café, but we decided to have a drink and dessert there anyway. We were seated promptly as it wasn’t busy, and the waitress was so brilliant despite not having any English. It’s amazing how much you can communicate without words!

I had a drink made to look like a blue antidote, which looked cool but wasn’t overly tasty. We also got desserts – mine was a parfait which, again, was pretty average. The food and drink was really nothing to write home about. It was kind of disappointing. I wish we’d been here when the Resident Evil remake came out, as apparently one of the menu items was a ‘Jill Sandwich’ which I find hilarious.

We wanted to try out the current collaboration game that the menu was themed around (called Imprisoned Palm Refrain, a through-the-glass visual novel style game), but it was only available to Japanese App Store accounts. The gameplay we saw on the screen looked really cute, and the concept drew us in. Before heading back to the hotel, we stopped for a bit at the arcade in the mall.

I had been raving about Soka and the tea ceremony to Caz all afternoon, so she’s booked herself into a session tomorrow morning and is determined to go. She’s definitely on the mend after a few days of cold remedy and taking things a bit easier, so hopefully she can go. She must experience the lovely tranquillity!

I can’t believe we only have two more days in Tokyo. It’s totally flown by and there’s still so much I want to see. I’m absolutely gutted that we’re leaving soon and I can’t wait to come back again someday.