In the post-Fuji window- we were hobbling around everywhere we went. Once fearless at the sight of a spiraling number of stairs, the three of us were reduced to look for an easier method of ascent/descent. We had now become likened to paralytic patients trying to rehabilitate our own selves back into a normal routine. A never ending moment in my mind’s sketchbook would be off Sarah hobbling down stairs after a nice steak dinner. Her grip never let go of the hand railing as she braced herself for every step to come. We rode the shinkansen over to our supposed climax of the trip: TOKYO. Every horror story that we were told about their transportation chaos was soon proven true. When we arrived at their main metro station, we laid eyes upon their subway lines and were amazed to its spilt spaghetti resemblance. Sarah, Paulie, and I knew that we were up to any challenge that would detour us from walking the extra mile.
Tokyo: the place I had always dreamed of coming to. It was the birthplace of animation of its kind and I was bent on being reunited with my long lost obsession. We soon dropped off our backpacks to the Capsule Inn [a literal bed in the wall as featured on the travel channel] and sluggishly ventured out into the world of Tokyo at 8pm. The first stop of the night was def. going to be shibyua crossing. For those who don’t know, it’s a well recognized place in many mainstream movies. Simply put, it’s a massive intersection of about 8 crosswalks where all of the people have a green light for a 60 second time period. Sarah pointed out a Starbucks with a coffee counter that overlooked the madness. Amazing. After getting our first glimpse of the Tokyo life, we soon noticed that small businesses were closing and giving way for nigh-life: bars, casinos, arcades, clubs. The norm. We soon realized that to get the full experience, we needed to start our day a tad bit earlier in this gimugous city.
The next few hours were spent in the comfort of our capsule beds. A truly remarkable feat. Now thinking about it, I wonder why the States hasn’t adopted something similar. It’s a big saver on space and cheap to upkeep. When most Americans think of their lives being downsized to an “un-euphamistic” “5 star” experience-
Never mind.
As expected, we got a good start on the next day. When it comes to vacation, I am all for waking up as early as humanly possible [not before 6] and trying to explore as much as possible. If I had to pay for this trip, I’m going to get the most for my money [classic famous words of my father]. The next stops were luckily along the same subway line and not as confusing as we initially thought. At this time, I had suffered a severe hit to my esteem after being turned down for tickets into Miyazaki’s Anime Studio. ><
To compensate, Sarah and Paul agreed to venture out into Akihabara [the metropolis for anything anime]. Great friends. Once we reached this literal Nirvana, we were soon greeted by several eccentrically dressed teens welcoming us into a Maid Café [Oh, happy memories of AWA].
I was bombarded with store after store offering relatively expensive anime products only seen before at anime cons. I could ramble all day about it but thats for only my close friends.
Oh what the heck- I ran into one store and literally spent bukoos of yen. Shirts, model figures, ramen, lightsaber chopsticks, another shirt, a key-chain, a wallet, candy, sodas, posters...a sign for my kitchen....
I was in HEAVEN. Good thing that Sarah and Paul were with me. I would have been misunderstood by so many.
They dragged me out of that subway stop and onto our main adventure toward Minikami. Going from such a metropolis to such country side was a shock for my mind's eye.
Minikami is in the pure country side of the Japan. Imagine a small country town where everyone knows who comes and goes, neighbors watch out for one another, and when you step out into your backyard- you can literally start walking up the mountain range.
We checked in with the adventuring company -CANYONS- and were soon greeted by a dozen so eclectic mountaineers. The bulk of the men and women who ran this company were from New Zealand and up unto this point I had mistaken them for Aussies [given their envious accent and friendly nature]. I can have lots of admiration for anyone who can rock dreadlocks for months at a time. There were several girls there who did that very thing. We were lucky in that our rafting instructor was one of these stated girls.
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