I got up pretty early to get ready for the trip to Tokyo. I packed everything, and had cup noodles for breakfast. That way I would be full for longer. I also packed some snacks that I got. I got my suitcase together, packed up the trash and took it down with me. I went to the nearest metro station and looked around for the elevator. I found it easily and navigated to the train station through the metro. I was getting quite good at Japanese public transport. However, as per usual, I got a little bit lost once I got out of the metro, and asked for a local's help.
I found the ticket machines for the Shinkansen, and tried to buy my ticket on it. However, it asked questions like place ticket or not, and a couple of other things, so I eventually gave up on it. I also wasn't sure you could use a card on it. Behind me, was the ticket office. It said so in big letters. I went there instead, deciding that it was safer to get human help. I got the attendant I didn't really want to get, a stern-looking older guy. His English pronunciation was very hard to understand, and I had to ask him to repeat several times. I think he thought I was a moron, but really, Japanese accents can be really hard.
The thing is, when you start to learn a language, and how near the new language’s sound system is to your own or ones you learned previously is very important. I actually studied this at university, as I have an MA in TEFL. Oh, and BTW, foreign countries don’t accept my 5 years of schooling, but they often do accept a 6-week course you can take anywhere. Back to languages. I’ve learned that in Japan, they only start learning foreign language at the age of 12. However, that is very late. There are several windows that determine how well you can learn a language, and how strong your accent will be. The first window closes when you’re about 7 months. Your brain prepares you for reproducing sounds, and also the languages you hear until then, will always feel familiar. For example, I always felt warm towards Spanish. I was born in Texas, and while my parents didn’t know anyone speaking Spanish, I have always theorised that maybe some nurses in the hospital spoke it around me, or someone else. Then the next window is around when you’re 7 years old. Your brain finishes acquiring your native language until then, and makes a primary language center in your brain. However, you can cheat it by learning several languages the natural way, by listening to them. No formal training required. After 7 things start to get difficult. Your brain and your system of sound production have basically finished establishing the main sounds you will produce, and forcing your body to produce sounds not learned by then will be difficult, increasingly so as the years progress. You will have less of an accent in languages with similar sound systems, like if you learned Spanish early on, you will have less of an accent in Italian. Funny thing is that Japanese and Hungarian sound systems are very similar. Of course, it also helps if you have musical hearing, or other natural talents. However, Japanese only starting on a language with a very different sound system like English will have very strong accents. I also noticed that they instinctively want to pair consonants with vowels, even if in the language there is none. That’s how you get my favourite “Japanese” expression, dobulu dato (double date). So if Japanese as a whole wanted to improve their English as a nation, which is beneficial for individuals, then they need to start as early as possible, preferably in kindergarden. That was my little two cents on language learning.
My attendant at the ticket sales, however, probably learned English as an adult, and was therefore struggling a lot with the sounds. I did manage to get through, though with pointing and repetition. As it turned out, I did need to buy a seat ticket. It wasn’t that much more expensive, about 1000 yen, which is 7 GBP. The trains left every ten minutes. I didn’t want to get the next one, as I dreaded rushing, maybe getting lost at the station and missing it. The one after that only had middle seats available, it said so on a screen. I hate sitting in the middle, and on planes it makes me anxious, so I wanted to get the one after that. There were no tickets for the side that would have views of Fuji, but I could get a window seat on the other side. I got my ticket, and I went into the station after putting my ticket through the gate. I got some water, and then went up onto the platform. All the seats below were taken, and I much rather preferred sitting outside anyway.
As I was waiting, I examined my ticket. That was when I realised that the guy gave me a ticket for the train 10 minutes later than the one I asked for. It was lucky that in Hungary cashiers give out tickets for the wrong train all the time, so I’m used to always checking. Actually, in Hungary once I saw a ticket, where the woman asked for the 5pm train, and got a ticket for the 5am train. When it was just a few minutes until the train was coming, I got up and found my line. There were markers as to which coach stops where. I was getting my camera ready, when a station attendant corrected me, because I was holding the camera in the wrong direction. The beautiful train pulled gently into the station, and I entered it. I thought of putting up my suitcase, but there was no way I was going to lift it, so I just left it next to me. The seats were very comfortable, kind of like an airplane. My body comfortably slumped into it, and I checked the window sill to marvel at how clean it was. There was a table and at your arm a sort of little table under the window. A guy sat down next to the isle, and I got out my camera. I did a video as we pulled out of the station. I was kind of sad to leave, because I really liked Osaka. It also signalled that the first part of my Japan trip was over, and that a week from then I was going to leave. However, I was excited to go to Tokyo finally, the city I’ve seen on so many dramas.
There was a girl in a uniform pushing a cart around, and I remembered the time when we used to have that on trains in Hungary. Eventually everyone just stopped buying things, as they were a lot more expensive. Another thing I noticed was that when we pulled into a station the attendants on the platform always greeted the train with a bow.
We arrived into Tokyo, but took a while to reach Tokyo station. I leisurely got off, passing cleaning women dressed in pink, ready to board the train and clean. I had gathered all my trash in a bag, and stopped at the recycling bins, like so many others did as well. I took the elevator downstairs, and tried to find the red metro line, the Marunouchi line to take to Shinjuku, where I rented an apartment. The problem was that I would find a sign, follow it, but then there would be a crossing of ways, and no more signs. I found a map, and tried to follow it, but I realised I went the wrong way, so I returned to the map. As I was trying to find the right way in the maze of corridors, two Japanese women were also talking and pointing, and they mentioned the line I wanted to take. So I just outright told them that that’s where I was going as well, and I’m totally lost. Thankfully, they spoke English. One of them went off to try to get directions from someone, and I chatted a bit with the other woman meanwhile. The first woman came back, and she said she got directions, so we followed her. It actually turned out that one of them was from Tokyo herself, but as she didn’t frequent the station, she had no idea how to get around either. It didn’t help that the place was massive.
Miracle of all miracles, we found the red line! They already had one of those pre-paid cards, so I wanted to find a ticket machine, but couldn’t see any. There was a tourist information centre next to the entrance to the metro, so I went to the counter and asked them. It was well-hidden behind a wall to the side. I got my ticket, and went into the metro. I got out at the right station, but couldn’t remember which way I had to go. I had an idea, but I wanted to double check. I had previously walked around on Google, but that had been some time ago. Not wanting to wander around with a suitcase and a very heavy backpack, I saw a Family Markt and went inside to use the WiFi. I found out that I was right in my determination, and walked to the apartment. I checked in all right. It was a bit shabbier than I would have thought from the pictures. I realised that the problematic bits had been cleverly covered, but it didn’t really matter, as I intended to spend most of my time in bed while in the apartment. The microwave and the fridge worked, so that was good. With the apartment came a pocket WiFi as well, which is a great little gadget. You can connect anything with a WiFi to it, laptops, phones, and take it with you everywhere. You can rent such things while in Japan, but as I knew the apartment would have it, I didn’t get one for myself. Now, I connected my phone to it, and from then on I would have internet everywhere. That is actually a must, as you can’t download an offline Google map in Japan, and getting around in the busy, maze-like city without GPS is incredibly hard. Plus you can post on Instagram from anywhere. I would even chat with my mum online while walking, send her pictures and videos real time. It would be like she was with me!
I had previously booked a tour to take me around Shinjuku and show me the best places to eat on the Ninja Food Tours. I booked directly with their site. I was a bit afraid that the tour wouldn’t happen as they needed at least two people for each date, and being a solo traveller, that can be a problem. Luckily, they confirmed my reservation, so it was a go. I booked it for my first evening in Tokyo for several reasons. I knew that I’d be tired from travelling and the previous day, so I didn’t want to do anything too strenuous. Also, I figured if I knew the best places to eat around my apartment, it would be easier to go somewhere close in the evenings.
I used the GPS to find the rendezvous point, and it was very hard to watch where I was going, because I kept wanting to look up at the tall buildings, the billboards, everything. I went under an overpass, and saw a few homeless people. Then I arrived, and didn’t see anyone. I double-checked the time, I was on time, then the location, that was correct too. So I decided to wait. A guy came out of the cinema behind me, and asked me if I was there for the tour. I told him yes, and he let me know that they were waiting inside, as it was so incredibly hot outside. I went inside myself. We were apparently waiting for a group of people. They didn’t arrive for a while, and weren’t answering any calls, so I started off with one of the guys. We walked around the Golden Gai, he talked about the history of the place, we talked about other things, and then arrived to our first food destination. It was a standing takoyaki bar. We met up with the other guide there, apparently the other people never showed. I got some water from a pitcher on the counter, and I got to eat all the takoyaki balls. It was my first time, and I really found it delicious.
Next, we went to a sushi place. They gave me water in a beautiful glass. Then I had the sushi. The fish was so fresh, I had the urge to poke it to see if it would move. There were pieces with different marinade as well. We moved on after a few pieces.
After that came some okonomiyaki. Now there are two styles. I’ve had the Osaka style, and they were taking me to a Hiroshima style okonomiyaki place. While in Osaka they mix the ingredients, in Hiroshima they layer them. To start with, I had some grilled octopus. Then they asked me if I wanted some alcohol, and of course I did. I had a few things to choose from, but I ended up picking something they said they drink in Tokyo. It’s a beer-flavoured drink called a Hoppy, mixed in with some sort of a strong liquor. The liquor in this case was Shōchū. I liked it a lot. We shared the okonomiyaki, and I was already getting pretty full. A funny thing was that on the toilet door there was a picture of Perfume being there, the girl group whose CD I bought in Osaka.
We had a nice walk, went through “Piss alley”, an alleyway lined with small eateries and thus called because there was just one toilet for the whole street. Not anymore, I can testify. At Shinjuku station I had dango. I always wanted to try it, and the one I had had a sauce of honey and soy sauce on it. Very delicious, a good mixture of sweet and sour. That was the end of the tour.
They asked me if I had any questions, if they could help me with something in Tokyo. They had previously explained that Shinjuku station was one of the biggest stations in the world. Two days from then I wanted to go to Hakone, and knew there was a place to get the Hakone Freepass. So I asked them to show me where the ticket counter was, as I didn’t want to go looking for it in that huge place. They did, and we said goodbye. I went outside the closest door, to observe where I was exactly.
Night had fallen already, and the billboards were even more mesmerising than before. I felt the buzz of the alcohol, and called mum to chat about my day. I went into a convini to buy some things for breakfast, and other foods. I got quite a lot, and then went home.
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