Random Bullets of Crap, the Tokyo Edition

So I end where I started, at the Nihonbashi Exit Starbucks at Tokyo Station. Best way to end this trip is with some musings or what other bloggers call, “Random Bullets of Crap” or RBOC:

1) Spent my afternoon at the Edo-Tokyo museum. Really cool and a neat way to get to know Tokyo; very well done.
2) I purposefully left things undone, so that I have stuff to do when I come back to Tokyo in the future – hopefully when Mel comes next March.
3) Handkerchiefs are really popular here, to the point that brands such as Celine, Givenchy, Burberry and Yves Saint Laurent make them for about $15 a pop. Granted they are cotton (the silk blends are $30); but back in the States they go for more than $50. Here, they use them to wipe the sweat off their faces or blow their noses – me? I use them as head and neck scarves. I picked up a Celine at Mitsukoshi (think Bergdorf Goodman) for 1500yen and two Liberty prints for 525yen each at Daimaru. Love them.
4) Never again, unless in severe financial straits will I ever stay in a backpacker hotel place. Not to knock those who do, but I don’t like it – I am not suited for it.
5) I was able to afford my Birkenstocks AND I stayed within budget. This is what you get when you do not blow money on souvenirs that are totally pointless (i.e. Hello Kitty cell phone charms – I can get that in Kyoto as well as many other things souvenir wise here).
6) The stories regarding Louis Vuitton and Japan are not only notorious, but also true. I should have done a count of how many bags/wallets/etc. I saw.
7) Apparently, Kansai is much more dangerous than Kanto. I was told that Tokyoites are sh*t-scared of Kansai people. And if I want to check out who is yakuza down in Kiyamachi-dori in Kyoto (part of Pontocho, one of the geisha districts and now has hostess bars) look at their feet. Traditionally, yakuza wear white shoes.
8) I spoke the WHOLE DAY with Maki – well, the 8 hours that I was with her – talking in Japanese, save for like 10 words.
9) I felt like I was being watched, all the time. Maybe riding on the subway, I was exposed to more people on a daily basis than back in Kyoto – school does NOT count – but I walked by a stationary police car back to my hotel and the one thought that was going through my head was “Don’t you DARE come out of your damn car and ask my for my bloody gaijin card for no damn reason other to amuse yourselves.” The “foreigner dynamic” in Kyoto vs. Tokyo is different I think – there are so many foreign students in Kyoto whereas there are a lot of foreigners doing some shady stuff especially in Kabuki-cho and Roppongi.
10) I hate traveling on my own – unless it’s to a spa or to a Greek/Mediterranean/Hawaiian/South Pacific/Caribbean island where I can plop on the beach or somewhere with a book and relax. Traveling when it involves exploring is lonely and because you are on your own you tend to finish stuff faster or get listless. I was very lucky to have gone out with Maki and Jessica and her friends. But it was lonely.
11) I don’t think I will ever take the bus again simply because the traffic risk is very evident. Besides, the next time I would be in Tokyo is when Mel comes to Japan to help me move back – as a “tourist” he can get the JR pass so that lets him use the Shinkansen cheap. Poor me who is a “resident” has to pay the full $250 for the SLOWEST Shinkansen but I’m going to ask for a bit of help there. Not fair…even in England I had the chance to get the Eurail pass even with me having the student visa!
PS:
12) My trip back home went without a hitch, except for the fact that when I arrived at Kyoto Station, the JR bus guy wouldn’t let me out of his sight for ten minutes because I lost my ticket and we have to give them the tickets at the end of our trip. Asshole. I missed the bus and didn’t want to wait 45 minutes for the next one, so I took a taxi – 1300yen. Bah. And in the end, I skipped 5 days of class because I was so tired.