Two kids, Tokyo, and many months ago (Part 3)

 Tyler Reporting:

The third and final installment of me transcribing my Morning Page entries chronicling the weeklong trip I took with the kids to Tokyo, last late-July/early-August. Let's jump right in.

#1784

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Yesterday, which was our last full day, was brutally hot. Like, "95 degrees, but feels like 115 degrees" hot. It definitely crossed the line from "hot but manageable" to "what are we even doing outside?"

It was also problematic that I had planned on doing the Imperial Palace, which was outside and largely exposed, so we just spent our visit there hurrying from tree shadow to tree shadow with the other daredevils that who ventured outside.

The grounds were really beautiful, and as you can see from this photo, we had them nearly to ourselves. But pity the soul who stepped out from under the shadow of a tree.

"One last photo, kids, and then we'll go find some A/C."

Having made the obligatory loop, we tried to track down food in the underground mall that was supposed to be under Tokyo Station. But, despite being underground most of the time, we were never quite sure we found that specific mall. Eventually, we just gave up and ducked into a restaurant that Google maps promised sold yakitori skewers... but instead sold set plates of fried chicken, ginger pork and tempura. We were all thirsty... so randomly they weren't selling drinks and I had to use Google translate to just get some water for the kids. (I stuck to the cold team that came with the meals.)

After that, we made our way back to the Hotel, but Stella and I peeled off to do shave ice. We were planning on going to the place we tried to get into the previous day, but there was a long line. So, we went to a place around the corner. Not as trendy, but it was run by a nice older couple, and the woman who worked there humorously tucked a napkin into my collar.

Stella towering over the other patrons and employees of the shave ice place. You can see the kindly old lady handing out napkins.

Then it was back to the hotel room to hide from the heat. But, after a bit of time there, I started to get hungry again. We decided that we'd go to the kitchen street we'd tried to visit the first day, but had been closed because it was only 7am, and then go get sushi for Otto. But, humorously, by the time we got to the kitchen street, everything was closed again... because it was too late. Nice symmetry there!

This was probably the most successful sushi restaurant for Otto, on this trip. Unlike the conveyor belt sushi, which hadn't actually had a great selection, this place was kind of a chain with a solid, straight-across-the-plate selection that allowed him to feast on salmon and fatty tuna. Also, the founder's image was everywhere, humorously wearing a white suit and standing in the same pose with his arms spread.

"Welcome to sushi!"

After that last adventure, it was back to the hotel for snacks, reading and video games. Basically, hiding from the heat.

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#1785

Back at home, and all the things that come with that. But let's recount yesterday, which was the longest day ever.

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OK. Longest day ever. It included the "day" from when we got up until we departed Japan (18.5 hours), the flight home (8.5 hours) and then the rest of the day in Seattle (13 hours). So, y'know, your typical 40 hour day.

Anyhow, we woke up, got breakfast from 7-11, packed and checked out of our hotel. But we didn't have a flight until 6:30pm, so we had a fair amount of time to burn. Stella wanted to get matcha powder from the tea stand we'd visited a couple times, so we did that first. But, after that we decided to go to the Ueno neighborhood to hunt for Sakujans. (Japanese embroidered bomber jackets.)

The ride out there was pretty by the numbers and it was really hot when we stepped out to wander down a market street tht ran along one side of a raised rail line (and under it as well). Eventually we found some Sakujans, but while I was still sort of weirdly fixated on the idea of them, I didn't see any patterns or designs that really spoke to me and -honestly- I didn't think I'd wear it in everyday life, so I ended up just window shopping. Then we doubled back to an indoor mall we'd come out of the subway through.

Hunting for Sakujans on this market street in Ueno. The right side of the street's stalls were built under an elevated rail line, and a train would roar overhead frequently. (You can see one in the center of the image.)

In that mall, we enjoyed some shaved ice in the obligatory underground food court and then went upstairs where I bought a warm-up jacket at the Onitsuka Tiger store... a Sakujan replacement that I would wear.

More shave ice! You can tell at this point that Otto *might* have been getting burnt out on having his photo taken. This restaurant's theme felt like it was "Hello Kitty Country Kitchen."

Then we headed back to Asakusa for lunch. There we wandered the busy tourist streets trying to pick out a place to eat before finally settling on the first place we looked at. Primarily because it had the elusive yakitori skewers we'd been trying to eat for the last couple of days. It was while waiting there that we received a message and realized that Sarah had already made it home from hiking, which was happy news, even if we were still many hours away from home ourselves.

One last celebratory soda-flavored popsicle before we head for the airport. (Gotta beat the heat!)

Finishing our meals, we headed back to the hotel to pick up our bags and head for home. We departed early, giving ourselves 3 and a half hours to get to the airport before our flight. But first we missed a transfer point on our trip, then got on the wrong train and had to double back. Then it turned out that when the "Skyliner Express" train arrived, we needed a separate ticket for that and it was too late to buy one. So, by the time we finally got on our train to the airport, we were scheduled to arrive less than a hour before our flight departed. I didn't tell Stella this at the time, because she was already so stressed, but in the meantime, I'd read that the airline actually wanted people to arrive 3 hours early... and the ticket/baggage check closed one hour before hand... which, y'know, was before we'd arrive. Still, somehow, we made it onto the airplane. 

And, once airborne, the rest of the trip home went smoothly.

Editor's Note: Mission accomplished! It was fun revisiting this trip. My first time traveling internationally with the Stella and Otto, but no Sarah. I thought it went pretty good overall, and we all look back on the trip with happy memories. It might have been hot, and there might have been hiccups... but I was grateful for the time with them and the experience.