My big problem was that I really didnt have a plan when I got on the airplane. I knew that I was going to lose 14 hours and that the flight would last almost that long. I just didnt know if I should try to power through the whole thing or knock back a few quick beers and try to log eight hours sleep. I quickly noticed that almost the entire plane started dozing off within the first hour. Uh-oh. I figured that my primarily asian travel companions must have known what they were doing, so I tried to get a little sleep. Unfortunately it was noon my time, not even early enough for me to take my first weekend nap.
Anyhow, I managed a few half hour naps here and there. Maybe one of them lasted an hour, it's tough to say. I destroyed a decent sized chunk of my podcast directory during those dozen hours, however. Four episodes of the Denver Post's Lyrics Uncovered (who knew that Def Leppard's Pour Some Sugar on Me was based on the Archies Sugar Sugar?), a crappy holiday version of NPR's All Songs Considered, two episodes of This American Life, a full month of CNN's Race to '08, and two episodes of the 10,000 things. I always do my best to save Chi Li's work for when I'm traveling, as he concentrates so heavily on travels, it just seems right to wait. Anyway, if you havent listened to him, and I'm betting you haven't, it's true social/cultural history that he's working on, and he's on a hot streak right now. If you're between thirty and forty and you're reading this, you should give him a listen. He'll convince you that you've been living in the center of the world and that everything revolves, somehow, around Atlanta, Athens, or Portland. I also started reading Murder in Amsterdam. Pretty compelling.
Before you quibble with my choice of podcasts, just note that if this trip were taking place during baseball season, that list would look a lot different. In fact, I was disappointed not to have a Mitchell Report cast to accompany me on this trip. I digress.
I landed here at about 2:30 AM your time, 4:30 PM Tokyo time. The airport really wasn't all that difficult to navigate. Everything's in english, as you might imagine. What really struck me was that everything was quiet and efficent. I was ushered through without slowing down. Grabbed $200 in Yen (the exchange rate is 109.59 Yen to the dollar), bought a bus ticket, and the next thing you know I'm taking the hour long ride into Tokyo. As a hat tip to Lost in Translation, I decided to let My Bloody Valentine provide the soundtrack to the ride. Other than a few droning sections that almost put me to sleep it was, I think, the correct choice.
I'm staying in a beautiful hotel in a neighborhood then seems young and hip and bright and pretty much overwhelming. I'd have to say that this might be more overwhelming than Times Square, if only because of all of the little side streets and underground spaces. I only walked around for a few minutes, to get my bearings and grab a quick bite, but I have to say, its pretty amazing. Now I'm going to sleep for ten hours.
Here's the view from my hotel room:
Another one from the hotel:
And from the street below:
1 comment:
Thanx for the plug! The world very much revolves around NYC and Japan as well, just wait until I get ya in front of a mic...
Chi Li
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