January 2nd.
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I experienced an earthquake for the first time in my life! Being the light sleeper that I am, around 3:30am I felt a light shake on the bed. I mean a very light shake, like mom just wanting you to know you need to wake up in 10 minutes, go back to sleep. This being the first time I experienced an earthquake albeit a light one, I went into full panic. Thoughts racing through my head included: Where are the exits? Do I hide under the desk? Will there be some sort of announcement about this? Do I leave the building? Do I seek shelter? The answer to these questions is: don't worry about it.
Japan has an amazing earthquake detection and warning system, so if there was going to be a big one, you'd be able to seek shelter under a desk, bed, or doorway in advance. Never try to leave a building during an earthquake, and stay in place until further instruction. Turns out the one I experienced was just a little dude, and it was already the 4th earthquake that day. Japan averages 1,500 earthquakes a year, and for the most part people go about their days not even knowing they experienced one. The desk staff at the hotel did confirm my suspicion that there was an earthquake and that's what I felt, but that I wouldn't need to worry. The earthquake itself was registered around a magnitude 5.4, but happened over 100 miles offshore, so I only felt a magnitude 2 in Tokyo.
Seeing as I'm wide awake first thing in the morning, I decide to shower and head out for a morning walk until the places I want to see are open.
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| 6:23am, Hibiya Park. |
Hibiya Park is a cute little park just around the corner from my hotel, it has a big clock to remind me of just how early in the morning it was when I decided to leave the hotel. The main road which runs along side the park will take me to Chiyoda and the Imperial Palace. According to google, the Imperial Palace usually opens at 9am, but today is a special day: New Year's Celebration! The day after New Years, the Imperial Palace typically opens for the general public to visit, and visitors from all across Japan will start lining up as early as 4am to be the first to enter the grounds. As much as I enjoyed the idea of waiting in a line for two and a half more hours, I decided to start my way to the Skytree to be there for opening.
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| The line at 6:30am, with the Imperial Palace in the background. |
Tokyo Skytree is the tallest tower in the world standing 634m tall, or 2,080 feet, and is the second tallest free standing structure in the world. For comparison, Tokyo tower is half the height, at 333m or 1,091ft. The Burj Khalifa is the tallest building, not a tower, and free standing structure in the world, at 829m, or 2,722ft. Architectural definitions are funny sometimes. The tallest guyed mast in the world is the KVLY-TV mast in North Dakota at 629m, or 2,063ft.
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| Tokyo Skytree |
This thing is huge and this is now the best time for me to mention my fear of heights. I used to have an extreme fear of heights, to the point I uncontrollably cried at the SkyDeck in Chicago, not as a kid, but a 25 year old man. I've slowly been picking away at my fear of heights, I fly more, and every city I visit I try to go to the tallest building. I think knocking this bad boy out first thing in Japan ain't the worst idea in the world.
The views from the SkyTree are incredible, and I always will recommend if you visit a city to go to their tallest tower or observation deck first thing, because it showcases the city and will give an idea of where you can visit next. The main observation deck of the Skytree sits at 350m, and the second section (extra $) is at 450m. Always pay extra to go higher up, it's worth it!
The views from the Skytree are incredible, and I couldn't have asked for better weather. Mt. Fuji in the background, the largest metropolitan in the world spreading out in all directions. This is a great start to the perfect trip.
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| Tokyo Skytree, view from 450m, Mt Fuji. |
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| The shadow of the Skytree, Northwest view. |
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| Tokyo Skytree, Southwest view. Can you find Tokyo Tower? Mt Fuji. |
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| Tokyo Skytree, Eastern view to Tokyo Bay and the sun. |
Thing I'll be getting better at as the trip goes: use my selfie stick to press my phone against the glass so that photos have less glare on them. In the case of the Skytree, there is a large gap of a few feet between the railing and the windows, but honestly, not a single photo can do this justice. You really have to see it to believe it.
There's a Kirby Cafe and an Aquarium at the Skytree, as well as an entire mall. "Skytree City" is almost it's own self containing area of residences, offices, shopping, and entertainment, and it's success so far has lead other cities in Japan without towers, or looking to update their current ones, to follow the model this has created. Sapporo has talks about a new radio tower to take over for their old one in almost an identical fashion to the Skytree.
While I was flying in the air, my spouse was hanging out with my friends at a new years party and someone suggested Kikanbo, or "Two Demons Ramen." Arriving at the shop, I was intrigued by their use of red chili pepper for heat, and sansho pepper for numbing and flavor. The broth is thick and packed with flavor and heat dancing together. It could be that I haven't eaten much in the past two days, but I'm sold that this is the best ramen I've ever had in my life, and it was my first bowl in Japan. Can it only go downhill from here? Who knows, but for sure, I want to find out!
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| Kikanbo Premium Ramen, Medium Heat. |
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| Kikanbo Two Demons Ramen storefront and line. |
Waiting in line is no big deal for me, Yume Wo Katare in Boston regularly has a wait of around 30 minutes to make it inside, and some days we've waited over an hour. Luckily for me, I made it to Kikanbo right at opening, so my wait was no longer than 20 minutes.
After lunch, I decided to walk around the area on my way back towards downtown. I specifically didn't put much on my itinerary for my first couple days in Tokyo just incase I was severely jet lagged and would miss something. I know at the end of my trip my hotel will be right by Odaiba, which is where the Gundam Base is located, but I figure I'm in a good mood, and it's only 1pm, so I might as well make my way over to see the big Unicorn Gundam.
As I was Googling the directions for how to get to the Gundam Base I learned two things: 1) The train would take me over the Rainbow Bridge (a sight on my to-do list), and 2) my Pocket WiFi was low on battery. I figured I'd just plug it into my portable battery pack when it hit me: I left that in my work bag at home, and I'd need to buy a new battery pack. I spent $30 on the cheapest one I could find, which weirdly, was Sony. I'm used to brands like Anker, who sell a battery pack that will power your whole house for a weekend at $25. Some Japanese brands I'd never heard of before were selling theirs smaller battery packs for significantly more money, $60+. It was bizarre that I was in technology mecca and couldn't find a cheap portable battery. Oh well, lesson learned!
Odaiba is such a cool place to visit for tourists, Diver City Mall is six floors of shopping and entertainment, there's the Fuji TV building, a replica of the Statue of Liberty, the Gundam, Rainbow Bridge, a Ferris wheel, parks, museums, and even a beach! I spent about 4 hours just wandering around looking through shops, taking in the atmosphere, and of course, taking photos of the big boy.
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| Odaiba, Statue of Liberty. Perfectly original pose. |
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| Fuji TV Building, Odaiba. |
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| Toga from My Hero Academia. |
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| Unicorn Gundam. Big Boy. Odaiba. |
After a long day of shopping running around and fun, I was exhausted. I decided it'd be best to head back to the hotel and get some rest before I needed to catch the first train out to Sendai in the morning.
January 2 by numbers:
- Photos: 228
- Miles walked: 12
- Steps: 23344
- Total Calories Burned: 4245
- Bowls of Ramen: 1
-Joe
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