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Links: Chinese steampunk RPG thread
Today was not very exciting. After finding out the hotel's laundry setup (coin-op in the back alley) and changing more traveler's checks at a bank with limited language skills, I went to Tokyo Station and downtown. Downtown was, well, downtown. Lots of tall buildings and people in suits. Not much of anything but such things, in fact, so even less interesting than where I'm staying. Hard to get cheap food I wanted, too; some restaurants in basements, a supermarket where I saw my first bento box here, but unappetizing. I hit the palace, which was closed on Mondays, and ended up walking through some huge park. It was hot and sunny again, and the park just had small spaced out trees nowhere near the walkways, so I was defenseless. Went around the south edge of the palace grounds, took photos of what I could, fled into the subway right before reaching the Diet. Went to Ginza, the a big shopping area, having eaten not much besides a Godiva bar and a banana. Finally found an udon place and had a nice sukiyaki meal. The tea was strong, he said it was a variety of bancha, lower quality stuff.
There's actually some shopping I should do, if I can figure out how. Bento box (the actual box), lacquered chopsticks like my family had and I foolishly left with the house, and various kinds of green tea. I'm not sure where, though.
A family friend had said to meet the next day at the Nihon Ki-in, the Japanese Go Association, a name I'd heard a lot as a child. So I went to Ichigaya, and found the place. That took a while; it turned out to be really close, but the maps made it look further, until I asked someone and followed him back there. "Sumimasen, Nihon ki-in wa doko des ka?" After that, home, and vegging out on the Internet.
Today was not very exciting. After finding out the hotel's laundry setup (coin-op in the back alley) and changing more traveler's checks at a bank with limited language skills, I went to Tokyo Station and downtown. Downtown was, well, downtown. Lots of tall buildings and people in suits. Not much of anything but such things, in fact, so even less interesting than where I'm staying. Hard to get cheap food I wanted, too; some restaurants in basements, a supermarket where I saw my first bento box here, but unappetizing. I hit the palace, which was closed on Mondays, and ended up walking through some huge park. It was hot and sunny again, and the park just had small spaced out trees nowhere near the walkways, so I was defenseless. Went around the south edge of the palace grounds, took photos of what I could, fled into the subway right before reaching the Diet. Went to Ginza, the a big shopping area, having eaten not much besides a Godiva bar and a banana. Finally found an udon place and had a nice sukiyaki meal. The tea was strong, he said it was a variety of bancha, lower quality stuff.
There's actually some shopping I should do, if I can figure out how. Bento box (the actual box), lacquered chopsticks like my family had and I foolishly left with the house, and various kinds of green tea. I'm not sure where, though.
A family friend had said to meet the next day at the Nihon Ki-in, the Japanese Go Association, a name I'd heard a lot as a child. So I went to Ichigaya, and found the place. That took a while; it turned out to be really close, but the maps made it look further, until I asked someone and followed him back there. "Sumimasen, Nihon ki-in wa doko des ka?" After that, home, and vegging out on the Internet.