Saturday, August 18, 2012

Days 144-146: In Transit

If you ever have to spend 20+ hours flying halfway around the world, Qatar Airways isn't a bad way to do it. There were a few annoyances that they don't have much control over, but overall it was a rather pleasant flight, if still a bit draining as all long periods spent in a seat are.

The trains to get from Narita to my hostel took quite awhile, and I got in late last night, but luckily the woman running the hostel was up still and didn't charge me the usual late arrival penalties. The hostel is pretty interesting, and very Japanese. It's run by a family and is one of the cheapest in the city, so to make money it really has to fit as many people into a small space as possible. I'm in what is basically a makeshift shed that sleeps around 20 people. The "room" I'm in is for 6, and takes inspiration from the capsule hotels - my bed being a little niche in a stack 3 niches high. I'll include a picture tomorrow to explain better, but I don't want to dig out my camera for the few pictures I've taken right now.

Tokyo is still very much the Tokyo I remember. I didn't venture far today, as there was a lot of rain and I was still feeling run down - both from the airplane and just the accumulation of travel. Just hanging out in the local area gave me plenty of that unique culture I haven't seen anywhere else: the endless vending machines with most of the same drinks I remember from last time, the roar of pachinko parlors when I walk by, the reflexive polite murmurs from every clerk and armies of people on street corners handing out flyers and tissue (and occasionally dressed in maid outfits with cat ears), and having a constant conversation of machines around you.

Tomorrow I plan to get a metro day pass and cover a lot more ground, and I should have some pictures to share.

2 comments:

Jess said...

I guess you can never run out of new things to see in Tokyo! Glad your trip from Europe went smoothly.

Linda said...

Looking forward to reading about your new discoveries in Tokyo and Japan. Know you'll enjoy it.