Abandon hope all ye who enter

Jen was understandably sore the day after the marathon, and Ryan and I both out in 27k steps following her around the city so we were all gonna be going slow. After some “western” breakfast (scrambled eggs, salad with pickled onion and tomato, and cocktail wieners), we headed to Nerd Mecca in the Akihabara ward. Nicknamed “Electric Town”, there is no hobby or store too niche that cannot be found here.

Ryan and I headed to the ten-floor department stores to salivate over figures, dioramas, cards, and other merchandise from pop culture while Jen found a seat at the Maidreamin cafe where cute waitresses in French maid outfits serve drinks and desserts with overwhelming (literal and metaphorical) sugariness. Ryan and I got drinks and curry at the 82 Ale House and regrouped with Jen before checking out the arcades.

The last timed event I had planned on the trip was a return to the Eorzea Cafe featuring items inspired by Final Fantasy XIV, but I honestly found it pretty disappointing as all of the alcoholic drinks were removed in the past seven years and none of the entrees stood out. Fortunately, this was more than made up for by the karaoke we booked in a swanky former hotel.

We ended our last night at a fantastic ramen hole-in-the-wall and a local izakaya (small bar with only six to eight seats at a time). I’m glad I came (especially with friends!) but I fear my next international trip won’t be for a long while; my cats will have to forgive me first.

Jen was nervous to begin her first “full” marathon, and I can’t fault her at all – I felt anxious just watching. But the whole of Tokyo was excited for this marathon – the first open one since COVID.

Height worked to Ryan’s and my favor as we stood near the first turn by the entrance and watched the Paralympic athletes head off first. A second horn and smoke plume signaled the race proper, where ultrarunners blazed through for the cameras. The stream of runners surged into a constant wave; pacers with purple balloons signified finishing time by hours and occasionally blind runners were led by a volunteer tied by the wrist. Apparently this “major” international marathon in the same caliber as London and Boston also draws runners in costume, and I managed to catch a few photos of the best outfits. With so many people participating, Ryan and I actually missed a Jen’s first appearance so we cut across to the 10k mark.

I have to give kudos to the volunteers; easily five hundred people were stationed at aid stations, crosswalks (to direct traffic and physically carry bicycles up and down elevated walkways above the street), metro stations (to direct spectators), and media outlets (for encouragement and reporting to the NHK). At this point, we discovered that the thumbs-up sign is pretty universal as Ryan and I got plenty of feedback from the runners going by.

We actually got stuck on the wrong side of the road near Akihabara, so Ryan and I killed time looking at figures and electronics until the crosswalks opened and we could head to the halfway point. A strange observation we noticed was the lack of encouragement from the general viewers; we stood out as the obnoxious-yet-welcomed-by-participants Americans who cheered on everyone who passed by with “ganbatte!” and English phrases.

At the last 1k, Ryan and I posted up to give that last little bit of oomph to folks with dead legs. We’re damn proud of Jen for finishing below her goal of six hours!!

This past week has seemed more like a month in terms of unique experiences, but I’ll admit I was looking forward to seeing my friends the most on this trip. We were scheduled to meet up in the Minato Ward’s Tokyo station, which is the most expansive metro station by far (side note: I’ve now been to every ward in Tokyo). To kill some time, I checked out the in-station art gallery featuring a classic tortured-soul painter from the early 20th century. Gotta be honest, I couldn’t see the influences the cue cards claimed in each portrait but I’m just Philistine after all. No photos were allowed inside so you’ll have to imagine what they looked like from the advertising.

We stowed luggage in coin lockers and headed out for one of Japan’s staple commodity: conveyor belt sushi (also called rotation sushi). This place actually had a customized track for specific orders made on a table’s tablet as well as the lazy river style of options anyone could choose as dishes passed by on a track. I can now cross “shark” off the list of animals I haven’t consumed – not too bad considering my deep fear of the predator that hasn’t had to evolve since the Permian extinction.

Jen split off to collect her pre-race materials while Ryan and I checked out Sunshine City, a multilevel mall with two destinations for weebs: the Pokémon Center and the One Piece Mugiwara Store. Both were packed with the Saturday crowds; the line to the register in the former wound around the interior walls until a worker with a signpost delineated the starting point (it actually moved along fairly quickly). The One Piece store had a different method of traffic flow: keeping people in the actual store to a minimum with the line wrapping around the outside (this one on the other hand took an hour to get in).

We regrouped and collected our luggage to meet the host of our last AirBnB: the Zenhouse. I’ll admit I was uneasy to meet the host as they specifically wanted to drive us from the station to the house, but it turns out this was due to their unfailing hospitality. I’m glad to be wrong on this one; the locale and personnel couldn’t be more welcoming. I even got the tatami mat room!

This morning is the marathon, so expect some photos of the race at different locations. Go Jen!

Continuing to try and find places I hadn’t seen in my first venture to Japan, I booked a single day tour of Nikko, which is about 2.5 hours north of Tokyo proper. The tour group and guide was mostly from Hong Kong (China has recently relaxed its restrictions on travel), but also included two couples from Germany and Spain respectively. The first pit stop was in the “Strawberry Kingdom” of Tochigi where the fruit is famous for its quality and this becomes flavoring for everything from Kit Kats to ‘yogurt drink’ (hey don’t knock it, it’s actually good).

Toshogu Shrine was the first actual destination and houses the remains of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the shogun who united Japan after centuries of civil war and began the Edo period of peace & prosperity in 1610. His lineage continued to rule for over 250 years during the ‘sakoku’ (“chained country”) time of national isolation until the Meiji Era ushered in by Commodore Perry’s gunboats. Regardless, the site is a beautiful tribute to a beloved leader with several sections structured sorta like a question mark. The first structure notes is a stable with ‘three monkeys’ motifs along the outside; coincidentally this is where the expression “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” comes from.

No space was wasted in this memorial, and even the storehouses were decorated in extensive detail. One such is known as the “imagined elephants” as Japanese artists had never seen one for themselves and only had Chinese poetry to go off of (I have to say one of them was damn close). Perhaps the piece de resistance here is the Yomeimon – the most elaborate gate in Japan. One of the pillars is purposefully upside-down, as perfection is seen as inviting ruin by the gods. A smaller Chinese gate leads directly on to the Tokugawa remains but the actual pathway curves right up a series of over two hundred stone steps (each carved of a single slab) and under the Sleeping Cat archway, which recognizes both the shogun’s love for felines (good taste) and the stability his rule begat.

The last section is an acoustical wonder called the Crying Dragon, where a priest standing in a very specific unmarked spot underneath a massive dragon painting on the ceiling of a shrine can strike two wooden blocks together to produce an echo (nowhere else in the chamber does this happen). Photos and videos are not allowed, so you’ll just have to take my word. We piled into the minibus and headed to the Kagon waterfall next, considered one of the top three in the country. A 100m elevator takes you down to the roaring base which continues to flow down into Nikko as its main river. This waterfall is the sole egress from Lake Chuzenji which was formed by volcanic eruption two millennia prior. We took some time for photos and lunch before continuing onto the hot springs fed by subterranean thermal currents. Not going to lie, none of us made eye contact the ride home (it was a very small bathhouse…)

The 48-hairpin turn mountain road took us back to the Shinjuku ward and I had some local (phenomenal btw) curry rice for dinner. I had meant to try and give Roppongi a second chance that night, but my power nap turned into just sleep. Meeting up with Ryan and Jen today so now y’all can be assured there’s more fact-checking going on in my tales going forward.

As I mentioned in the family group text (aka 90% of this garbage fire’s readership), I was thinking today was going to be a bit light on content but surprisingly wasn’t on steps (19k and 240 working minutes). While there is indeed a bullet train that connects Hokkaido to the Honshu island, it’s only at the very southwestern tip and relatively difficult (and expensive, even with the JR unlimited rail pass) to get to. Luckily, one way flights from New Chitose to Haneda sound like baby chicks (cheep cheep!) so I hopped on another puddle-jumper and took off to the next AirBnB location referred to as a “cabin hotel.” These dorm rooms are a step up from the coffin-esque capsule hotels and come with much more privacy and their own bathroom suite.

As seen above, the design motif takes after manga and Ben Day dot comics which are quite striking (there’s free manga for lending as well). Sufficiently settled, I decided to head to Odaiba Bay, one of the areas I had foregone on my previous journey to Japan. Trekking across the Rainbow Bridge (not the sad pet one), I felt the gales and sea foam which evoked the port city Tokyo’s roots stem from. Across the bay lie recognizable landmarks such as the Tokyo TV Tower, the Fuji TV “sphere”, and most of all the life-size Gundam statue which was light up in bright red through the “joints” of the mobile suit.

I didn’t get any lit-up shots of the Rainbow Bridge like I planned, but the staircase next to the Gundam was on a pattern of shifting colors which was cool. I’m headed to Nikko tomorrow for an all-day hiking/shrine/hot spring excursion and hopefully some Tokyo nightlife; after all, I need to compare 2015’s rager of a Halloween to a baseline.

This is the first time I think this has happened on a trip but I’ve nearly “run out” of viable things to see (I had to pass on the Mt. Moiwa Ropeway as the overcast sky wouldn’t have made for good viewing) in Sapporo’s daytime hours. The last must-see location wasn’t open until noon so I just rehabbed my ankle sprain while emotionally cheating on Mona and Freya by visiting a rescue cat cafe. Like most other theme cafes in Japan, you pay by the hour/extension but are accompanied by ferals, strays, and other secondhand cats looking to be reincorporated into human society. Light jazz and kitties snoozing on your lap make for a pleasant reading atmosphere (and for me to catch up on curating photos for the trip album).

A long trek through the industrial area of the city led me to the Sapporo Beer Museum of which the namesake alcohol is produced. Some of the equipment on display comes from the founding of the brewery over 150 years ago when the government ran it (imagine that in the US today). Though not as in-depth as the typical exhibition, the tasting room at the end allows for a potable history tour with the original recipe, the current Black edition, and a local variety which cannot be found outside of Hokkaido.

Adjacent to the museum is the Sapporo Biergarten which is a bit of a misnomer. Certainly there’s plenty of alcohol (all-you-can-drink for 90 minutes was an option), but the real star is the food. Lamb sizzled on a personal grill is known as the “Genghis Khan”, and just like the drinks you can get an all-you-care-to-eat special at reasonable cost. The constant smoky atmosphere lends an antique feel to the hall which surprisingly is undercut by the robotic staff; refills are brought to each table by a multistory Roomba.

Before getting in a power nap at my Airbnb in preparation for my last night in Susukino (the entertainment district of Sapporo) I decided stop by a classic staple of Japanese economics – the Don Quixote. This seven story department store offers everything from daily groceries to school supplies to high tech electronics…which as I write it doesn’t sound too different from a US supermarket but it’s a big deal here where every store seems to be hyper-specific (e.g. I couldn’t find an ankle wrap in four different pharmacies I visited).

In the interest of transparency, I decided to forego any partying this evening in order to have the good sense to figure out my way down to Tokyo tomorrow. As compensation, I’ll post a photo of the club exterior I was going to hit up – you’ll get the gist of its atmosphere well enough.

Despite being in the city for three days, I hadn’t really explored Sapporo proper and decided to remedy that. First on the list was the Sapporo Clock Tower, a 150 year old schoolhouse built in dedication to agricultural studies and the development of Hokkaido at large. Importing professors from various agricultural colleges in the United States, the building served as a military drill hall, model farm, prep school and other functions required to educate future pioneers in botany, farming, and area development. The clock itself was apparently too large for the original design, but the bell tower was modified to match.

Not yet having my fill of towers, I moseyed over to the Sapporo TV Tower which overlooks the thirteen blocks of Odori Park. Built two years prior to Tokyo’s famous one, the first three floors are free to roam but the real view at the top costs 800 yen to see. I headed through the park below to see a famous sculpture/playground equipment called the Black Slide Mantra but unfortunately the season’s heavy snow made it appear like a utility fixture rather than an architectural marvel.

My long-awaited onsen visit was about an hour away, so I took a brief stop at my Airbnb to change and print the prepaid bus/entry ticket. In a panic, I noticed the start of the schedule was at Sapporo’s bus terminal and not the subway station; I ended up re-spraining my ankle running to catch the Kappa Liner only to see it rolling away just as I arrived. To add insult to injury, hindsight reminded me my first destination was correct (the third stop on that schedule is much closer to my Airbnb, which is why I scheduled pickup there). Luckily, a slower bus route still goes to Hoheikyo Onsen and back, but the defeat (and my tendon) still stings.

A long soak in the natural hot springs elevated both my body temperature and my spirits, so I decided to head to the Jersey Cafe (I met its owner at the beer cellar last night). This place was fantastic in its retro feel with awesome tour posters plastered on every surface along with knick-knacks of international pop culture ranging from Hanna Barbera to Hello Kitty. I sampled a wide range of local brews, whiskies, and local pub food favorites supplied by an izakaya downstairs.

Next up was the Electric Sheep Bar, a Blade Runner themed joint that mainly just featured cocktails based on terms from the series. I’ll admit I might’ve over-hyped myself on this one but they can’t all be knockouts I suppose. My final stop was meant to be a cool find: a bar based on the popular all-girl metal band BLACKPINK but to my disappointment it turned out to be both a hostess club AND exclusive to Japanese. So overall, I definitely had some misses but it’s a long race – speaking of which, my friends are getting nearer to their own with the Tokyo Marathon in five days!

Well, this morning started different to say the least. An old actual-bell fire alarm in the 7th floor hallway went off, prompting both the locals and us foreigners to poke our heads out and wonder what the hell we’re supposed to do. The Japanese fire department arrived and silenced the alarm (no actual fire, and not even the supervisor of the building knows why it triggered in the first place), but at least I know I’m in good company being out of the loop on how to handle a non-emergency.

With that distraction out of the way, I gambled on heading to a northern town not on my original itinerary called Otaru. This port town has a surprising amount of European influence as evidenced by the architecture in some buildings, a Venetian art museum and the fact the city is laid out in a square block format (Sapporo is too but I chalk that up to sheer luck). Unfortunately my first destination was a bust as the Nikka Yoichi whiskey distillery requires a previous reservation to tour, but the arcades (“outdoor” market alleys with arching roofs) more than made up for it with various shops and restaurants to soak up the local color. I made my way down the Otaru canal to the next stop in my northern tour: Kitaichi Hall.

The euro influence comes again in the elegant design of Kitaichi Hall, a converted dock warehouse committed to the crafting of glass. The cafe (45min wait by the way) featured 160+ oil lamps glistening to create the perfect ambience to grab a quick bite with live piano performance. The extensive gift shop gives consumers to purchase their own pieces of the atmosphere in several formats from traditional lamps to kitchen glassware to jewelry. Not to be topped in old-fashioned craftwork, the Otaru Music Box Museum features miniature Mozarts of every variety and tune. The standout attraction is the steam-powered grandfather clock outside, which has been running for over a hundred years.

I headed back to recharge and find a suitable dive to inhabit, and I couldn’t be happier than my Reddit find of the Sapporo Beer Cellar – the vanguard of craft beer in Sapporo (and by proxy the whole of Japan). Originated by an Oregonian expat, the beer selection, the ambient music, and the clientele all evoked an American west coast feel. I chatted up the owner of a local bar (apparently lots of places are closed Mondays in Sapporo) about flavor preferences, Japan’s top tourism spots, and live in general. Thoroughly buzzed and indebted to the patrons, I headed back and called it a night for Day 2 in Sapporo.

Jet lag sucks no matter where you end up, but a copious amount of caffeine can keep it at bay. I arrived at my final destination in Hokkaido’s premier city Sapporo at about 22:30 Saturday evening, just in time to notice the revelry of the weekend is undaunted by the snow and ice this time of year brings. Bags in tow, I hiked into the residential areas (taking note of interesting shops and restaurants to visit later in the week) and met my neighbor, an ushanka-wearing Australian guy as tall as me and somehow perpetually four beers in – man I missed Japan’s nightlife. I dropped off my luggage and joined him at the noodle shop around the corner to get that authentic hole-in-the-wall ramen with pork while hearing about the hot spots around town and catching two songs I actually knew on the radio.

Even outside of Japan, getting up in the mountains for skiing is an endeavor so I headed back to crash before the 6:00 wake up to take the bus to Sapporo Kokusai, the prominent ski resort in Hokkaido. To my surprise, my rental equipment actually fit me and the prepaid tickets had no issue so I rode the gondola up to the summit. Powder was aplenty as continual snowfall and strong winds gave a whiteout condition I’ve never skied in before; fog in my goggles made visibility so bad I couldn’t tell if I was actually moving or not. Yet muscle memory took over and soon I was back in rare skiing form (in that I actually did well keeping parallel legs and swiveled instead of skidded down the slope).

I took a few falls from challenging Kokusai’s toughest routes, and decided to take a break in the mountaintop cafe where meat pies and whiskey-topped soft serve ice cream dulled the growing pain in my sprained ankle (received from running in socks through Charles de Galle and Minneapolis St. Paul airports last episode). I had a lovely chat with another Australian couple on holiday finishing the tail end of their own ski tour of the area, and got inspiration to try and hit up a “local” (geographically-speaking) hot spring, or onsen. Remember how I said at the beginning that jet lag always sucks? Well, it finally came to collect when I fell asleep and got off at the wrong stop in Jozankei, which is a sort-of onsen town but much more involved with inns and restaurants that all need a week’s reservation. With dwindling battery and cash (all buses are coin-operated or have a special pass), I managed to catch one last ride back to my place and attempt it tomorrow. Again, no real photos will be from the inside of the hot springs but I’ll try to convey how good it feels.

I know I’ve owed you (all six of you) an update for the past couple days, and I apologize for the delayed posting. In the spirit of honesty, I’ve been torn on how to finish of this chapter of travel; Zurich is the largest and theoretically the city most full of opportunities but many of the attractions felt same-y to everything I’ve experienced so far. Maybe it’s travel fatigue, or the “full pantry/Netflix” effect where choice leads to paralysis, or something I haven’t thought of. To make a long preamble short: I’m sorry, and Zurich is Swiss through-and-through.

As with most cities, I tend to stop at the old bones first; Fraümunster is not as imposing as Grossmünster’s twin towers or St. Peter’s largest-in-Europe clock tower but is an integral contribution to the region’s history. The abbess of this convent ruled the city of Zurich in centuries past, beginning with the Princess Hilde of which it was named. According to legend, Charlemagne’s daughter was led by a stag to the spot of its inauguration and angels brought down a cord of rope to mark its outline.

While reconstruction and expansion efforts have occurred in the time since its initial construction in the 9th century, vestiges of the original version still exist in the crypt below. Perhaps the most striking feature is the beautiful set of stained glass windows depicting creation, the life of Jesus, and this really freaky dream I had once after taking a triple-dose of melatonin. Just outside lays a courtyard where nearly every wall is covered with beautiful murals of the history of the convent, biblical references, and other significant events in the city.

After blaspheming enough in one locale, I moseyed over to St. Peter and its massive clock face: the largest in Europe. The interior was no less impressive with ornate ceilings and individually-carved wood seating.

The final stop on the church train was the appropriately-named Großmünster (gross/groß means “large” in German) which is reminiscent to the Cathedral of Notre Dame in its twin-tower design. According to myth Charlemagne’s horse fell to its knees over the burial site of Zurich patron saints Felix and Regula, marking the origination of this 12th century building. It would later begin the Swiss arm of the Reformation movement and convert its allegiance to Protestantism.

Had enough of old churches yet? I had, which is why I hiked up to the University of Zurich to walk around the zoological and paleontological departments’ campus/exhibitions. A popular site for school field trips, the galleries portray the “living history” of modern species and their extinct ancestors. I also visited the botanical gardens, but for whatever reason they didn’t allow photos (maybe it scares the plants).

For three consecutive nights, I sought out the last item on my European bucket list: an authentic Discoteque. Apparently the Swiss are a bunch of half-assers because none of them are open from Sunday through Wednesday (and only a small handful are open Thursday). I contented myself with the entertainment district’s Langstrasse where dive bars and gin joints compete for your cash via overpriced drinks and ‘companions’ who request a drink for their company. In the future, it’s better to travel in a group (or be female) to avoid these leeches.

And that’s that. I overpaid for everything, missed some key items on the travel checklist, and my flight path home is now a disaster due to delays. But I don’t regret coming here for the attempt at seeing what winter in Europe’s heart could offer. In eight days I head back to the land of the rising sun, but I won’t be alone for all of that trip (which also means I can’t embellish as much). Til then, mahalo.