Dark Night

Tokyo

Once we got through Customs, we checked into one of Tokyo's famous capsule hotels for the experience. We had arrived in the early evening, so we checked into Bay Hotel. Because by law the sleeping pods can't be locked, the hotel provided lockers to stash your stuff, and for safety, the floors were segregated by sex; I was up on the women's levels and Grandpa was down on the men's, with locks requiring a passcard to get through to the accomodations on each floor. On check-in, we were issued towels for the shower, light pajamas, and an amenities package that included two cotton swabs. There were showers and a common bathroom on each floor. Bemused, we stashed our things in the lockers and went out to eat.

After a delicious dinner, we went to Kappabashi-dori, which is basically a cook's paradise, a whole big street of shops devoted to the kitchen. Tons of pottery, chopsticks--both big packs of disposable ones and beautiful ones meant to be washed (I got a beautiful pair of green and blue enameled ones with thin gold lines separating the colors) , appliances... anything and everything that can be used in a kitchen, basically. There is some sort of enormous market for fake plastic food, apparently--the things that are used in restaurants to entice customers or in nutrition classes. There was a lot of it and apparently popular with tourists. Neither Grandpa nor I  saw the appeal and passed. But Grandpa kind of lost his head when we passed a store named Kama-asa, which sold knives. Beautiful Japanese-made knives, the kind that cost the earth back home. He bought a few knives for himself and two vegetable knives in the Japanese style, single edged, and two Western-style knives for meat, double edged. And there was an artisan on site who engraved Japanese characters into the metal. Grandpa had his name on his knives and "Delia, love Grandpa" and "Stan, love Grandpa" on the two other sets. "Checked luggage, punkin," he said before I could say anything. I smiled. Grandpa isn't much for shopping at home, but apparently, get him on vacation and he's eager to stimulate the local economy.

After wandering through the street, we exited and went back to the hotel. We retrieved our necessary gear from the lockers and separated for the night. I used my passcard and entered my assigned floor; it was quiet and there were no overhead lights; the light came from empty capsules. I found my number after stopping at the bathroom. There were a couple of women going to their units but nobody spoke. The capsules were a meter high and a meter wide, a little over two meters long, off-white, with the end a black curved screen. There was an LED tv with headphones, which accounted for the quiet on the floor. It came with a pillow and a duvet and free WiFi. I crawled in and closed the solid door behind me. It was really cozy but also kind of claustrophobic and I didn't want to spend a lot of time in it. I wanted to relax a little so I sorted my photos and uploaded some that showed the luxurious plane and food (normally I don't think anybody's really going to be interested in what I eat but the airplane meals had been flabbergastingly good) as well as my capsule and the knife store. Then I got myself settled and set the alarm before turning off the light.

I didn't sleep as well as I'd hoped because not being able to lock the entry to my capsule made me a little uneasy. But I was also really tired so I still got a decent amount of shuteye. I was glad to exit my capsule when the alarm went off to go shower, and pulled my hair back in a ponytail, ready for the day's adventure. I met Grandpa downstairs.

We only had one day in Tokyo, and not even a full one, to my regret, but the Olympics were waiting. He'd picked a few sites to hit, and we had a hasty breakfast before going to the Meiji Shrine, which is dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his consort, Empress Shoken. Emperor Meiji was the first emperor of modern Japan. He ascended to the throne in 1867 at the peak of the Meiji Restoration when Japan's feudal era ended and the emperor was restored to power. Japan became Westernized by the time Emperor Meiji died in 1912. The shrine was destroyed in WWII but rebuilt and is currently a serene oasis in the crowded and busy city.The main complex of shrine buildings is located about ten minutes inside and is marked by a massive wood torii gate. A forest of about a hundred thousand trees that were donated to the site from all around the country adds to the tranquility. After planting, the trees have been untouched by arborists and it is a completely natural forest.  At the shrine, visitors can participate in Shinto traditions, including making offerings at the main hall, buying charms and amulets or writing out one's wish on an ema, a wooden plate, in the hope that the wish will come true. Thinking quickly, I wrote the wish that my brother would do his best in the competition. I bought omamori, traditional charms in beautiful fabric pouches, for me and my friends. I bought my old friends from Duke's Crossing ones for success in school exams, and different ones for my newer friends who weren't going on to grad school. Feeling a little sheepish, I also bought one for myself for luck in love. Honestly, I needed all the help I could get. We visited the Treasure House, which displays some of the  personal belongings of the Emperor and Empress, including the carriage in which the emperor rode to the formal declaration of the Meiji Constitution in 1889. It was all pretty impressive. It was so beautiful in the snow, serene and peaceful.