I was amazingly able to find reasonably priced tickets to Tokyo over the long weekend. Flight prices have generally been crazy ever since the covid restrictions have dropped, but I never thought it possible to be able to find flights to Tokyo from Hong Kong over such a high demand period. Not only were the tickets reasonably priced, but they were also perfectly timed. Flying out on Friday night, with a return late Monday afternoon. We arrived at Haneda late at night (another blessing given it's so much closer to central Tokyo) and we were confronted by an immigration queue that lasted well over an hour. Half way through the lineup, the change in the covid restriction requirements suddenly kicked in and all the officials began to methodically change all the systems they seemed to be using. Even the display screens around where we were lining up were suddenly switched off to remove all the warnings and notifications about the covid related entry requirements. Finally, we were able to get through and get to our hotel. We had decided to stay in Akasaka for both its convenience and because it was the only place we were able to get a room with a decent sized bed with such short notice. We arrived well after midnight, but after checking in and dropping our bags, we decided we wanted to go straight out. We were tired from the trip, but we were in Tokyo and we wanted to breath in the fun this city had to offer straight away. We wandered the still lively streets of Akasaka and found a late night sushi bar for beer and food.
The next day, we lingered in bed a little bit too long and it we only got out at around mid morning. Veronica had seen a famous place for ochazuke she wanted us to try. There would be a line, so we went over to begin the tedious task of waiting. As Veronica waited, I wandered off to find us both coffees. I found something and went back. There had been no movement. I looked at the long line and thought if this was the best use of our time. We were on holiday, so our time both mattered and didn't all at once. I looked at my watch and thought about how best to deal with the situation. We were in the Ginza area, surrounded by nearby shops so I thought that the best way to deal with this was a tag team approach. I told Veronica I would take the first watch. She agreed and disappeared off to go shopping in the nearby department stores. I stood and waited, playing with my phone and occasionally looking up. The line barely moved. Engrossed in my scrolling, I barely noticed when Veronica returned after over an hour. We had made some progress in the line, but there was still a while to wait. We were at that strange point of waiting, where we knew there would still be a long time to wait, but where the sunk time would be a complete waste if we were to leave. It was my turn to go do my own thing so I decided to go explore the area. I walked onto the main road and in the distance I could see a large building that seemed to stand out a bit amongst its surroundings. Looking online, I found that it was the Artizon Museum. It seemed as good a time as any to go visit.
The museum had several large galleries. There seemed to be a mix of modern and impressionist art. I couldn't quite work out what, if any, particular theme it had. The building was beautiful. Along two sides, there were large windows that opened up to the surrounding area. It gave the entire building a wonderful light feeling, as though it was a glasshouse surrounding the interior. I walked around the different galleries. There were some interesting modern art displays that focused on light and darkness. I found myself walking through some rooms that were almost pitch black, with small exhibits in the centre of these cavernous rooms. The rest of the museum felt more conventional, with paintings and sculptures like what you would find in more standard galleries in Europe. I took the time to sit, as my legs were feeling slightly tired from the long wait in line.
Feeling a bit more refreshed, I went back to the line to wait with Veronica. We had made good progress and after a little bit longer we were into the small little restaurant. Seated at the bar table with the rest of the guests, we were served a large bowl of rice, heaped high with minced tuna, roe and uni. After eating about half of it all, you passed it back to the chefs who then filled it to the brim with the most intense fish broth I had ever tasted. It was a lovely experience, but ultimately still not worth the long wait.
It had been a strange and long way to start the trip. I never thought I would ever line up for something for so long, certainly not for food. The tag team approach had made it more bearable, but I was still a bit disappointed to have lost so much time. We went back to the metro and made our way over to Akihabara. Veronica wanted to play with some of the fancy Japanese photo booths and I was happy to go and visit this crazy part of Tokyo. Once there I took in my fill of this unique part of the world, filled with a subculture that seems to be growing and moving more into the mainstream. We didn't stay too long there. We had a booking to go see the TeamLab exhibition. We jumped in a cab and sped across to the other side of Tokyo close to the bay.
How would I describe TeamLab? Interactive art? An immersive experience? A series of art installations? It was certainly impressive. Inside an enormous building, a series of large connected rooms had been set up, each one with a different approach to the theme of space. It was big and it was immersive, engaging you with all the senses. From the very beginning, you were made to remove your shoes and you entered by climbing a steep incline of flowing water. It was a clever approach to immediately draw you in and to clean your feet at the same time. Once inside, you moved from room to room, each with its unique approach to the theme.
The TeamLabs exhibition had become a huge draw card. Every one who had been to Tokyo recently raved about it and recommended that we go. It was understandable. The interactive nature of everything coupled with a high quality of execution. I did feel a sense of wonder as I moved from room to room. One moment, we were bouncing on giant cushions, the next moment we were in a hall of lights, then we were knee deep in water with virtual "fish" swimming around our legs.
After the very enjoyable time at TeamLab, we went to Shinjuku. There we met up with a couple of friends who had recently moved to Tokyo. I hadn't seen them since they lived in Hong Kong, so it was a good opportunity to reconnect and to introduce them to Ron. They had been enjoying the Tokyo life and as big foodies they had been exploring the different dining opportunities on offer. We had left the choice of restaurant to them. They took us out of the main centre of Shinjuku and up into a fairly non-descript building. The elevator doors opened and it felt like we were stepping off the street directly into an old robatayaki restaurant.
One of the last dishes brought to us was a simple iron vessel cooked rice. It seemed a strange way to finish a meal which included so many items grilled directly over the coals, but it was one of the dishes that the waitress insisted we get. The iron vessel was brought to our table directly from the hot coals, and when the lid was taken off we could all smell the strong fragrant rice. It didn't smell burnt or smoky, just welcoming and more "ricy" that anything we were accustomed to. The waitress divided the rice into bowls for each of us, then lay a shiso leaf on top of each bowl with a final flourish of a soy marinated egg yolk. It all seemed so simple, but the combination was unbelievably good as we each left our bowls completely empty.
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