Day 1 & 2: Oh the Human(d)ity - Eating in Tokyo

Landing in Tokyo I am greeted by heat and humidity, enough so that you don’t want to leave the confines of an air conditioned apartment. If you do happen to find yourself outside you will want to spend all your time in a department store or restaurant. Being a desert dweller, I am accustomed to the heat but not the humidity. The average temperature was 95 with 80% humidity and it was awful! These two days I did practically nothing other than recover from jet lag and enjoy amazing Japanese meals prepared by my loving wife.




The morning I arrive I was starving so Michi made me a quick curry and rice. It was delicious! For lunch we had sashimi with tuna, and octopus. It was a delicious meal and a perfect way to start my time in Tokyo.

Last year being my first time in Japan I wanted to see and experience as much as I can traveling from place to place, eating as much variety I could during my last experience. It was my first and I treated it as if it were my last. This time around, I’m here for an extended time with the goal to enjoy Japan in a different way, as a temporary resident. With an apartment with a “full” kitchen, our goal was to spend as little as possible eating out but instead, going to the local grocery and buying grocery every other day. This way, it is very economical and we get to really immerse ourselves in living rather than visiting.

So with that, we stay indoors, eat at home, make breakfast, lunch and dinner and enjoy really being in Japan rather than running from place to place in Japan.

On the second day I wanted to see if I could find one of the most amazing finds I made last year, a camera accessory. We ventured into the heat and humidity at noon and made a quick trip to Akihabara, Japan’s electronics hub. Here we walked down the street with a mission, to find the small hole in the wall store that I found this rare item (which I still can’t find online) only to not locate the store or the item.

We wandered over to the 8 story Don Quijote where we found out it was the headquarters of the new Japanese pop sensation AKB 48, a teenage pop girl group, but it’s different since it’s not really a singing group but a singing team comprised of members who’ve won audition contests. The group has grown over the years from a few to now 60. It was started by the owner of Don Qui because he wanted to create a pop group where people can easily meet the idol. With that, the 8th floor of his store in Akihabara is devoted to their theater, merchandise and a place you can meet your pop idols. Pretty crazy if you ask me.

Having been thoroughly defeated we went over the a mega department store featuring 8 floors of electronics, home electronics, books, games and restaurants right next to the station. It was fun walking in this giant electronics store and see their premium items and prices. Multistory department stores are a common thing in downtown Tokyo.

Heading back we cool off and I prepare myself for my own journey, to Shinjuku to retrieve a bicycle from Michi’s Father. It was hot, it was humid, and even after dark it’s still miserable. At 7 I head out on the subway to Shinjuku, making it there in 30 minutes. I meet her father, locate the bike and begin my ride back to Itabashi. It was estimated that it would take me 45 minutes. I mounted my camcorder on the bike and head on back home. It was a good ride and had two tough points where I was going up a fairly steep incline. It was made even more difficult with the bike being old and a single speed. It also had a friction powered light which took away some of my riding energy. Making it back, I was soaked and exhausted but happy to be back in air conditioned comfort.

Here is a link to my ride so you can see my path, elevation and heartrate.

My video blog of the day 1 & 2