(Continued from Journal 2011: Day 5, Sardines, Shibarikyu, and Pokemon!)

So.

Our last full day in Tokyo.  The train situation towards Kamakura/Enoshima is still FUBAR.  Can’t get there, can’t get around if we did get there.  Getting back is not a constant….  I guess that is right out.  CRAP.  Not only that, but the non-zero probability of another major earthquake followed by a tsunami loomed over us like, well, a giant monster.  The last thing I want to do is be on the coast should something like that happen again.  It sounds foolish now, but there were still “advisories” for the area up until the day before.  Even if we could get there, would it be worth the chance?

I’d so wanted to go back to Enoshima and have a proper look around the place.  On our last trip we’d gotten there, went to Kamakura, went back a bit late, and then everything closed up on us.  It was 95 degrees and we were miserable and our feet were killing us.  This time was supposed to be different.  I guess its that “last day” curse that our spring break trips seem to be developing.  Last year on our way back from Arizona we almost got stuck in a blizzard in Colorado and were then stranded two days in the Oklahoma panhandle before we could get home.  Now we’re basically stranded here.  (I really need to update that site!)

So what else can we do?  After yesterday we are extremely gunshy about trying to just jump on the local trains and see what we can find.  That was the alternate plan.  None of us felt like being squished like yesterday again.  Ever.

We never made it back to Ueno, either.  The museum and zoo were still closed.  They were closed on Monday, just because they’re closed every Monday, but they were still picking up the pieces there and inspecting everything.  Yeah we could go just for the park, but the trains, THE TRAINS.

Shinjuku?  What’s the point, really?  None of the things to see are going to be really see-able at this point.  And I definitely didn’t want to be stuck on the top floor of the TMG building (also on the list) should another major quake hit.  Let alone try and deal with Shinjuku station, if yesterday’s experience on the platform was any indication.

In hindsight, we should have just sucked it up and went back to Harajuku and Meiji shrine.  But for some reason it didn’t even cross our radar screen, and having the rest of our plans dashed we just didn’t feel like it.  One of those “DUH!” moments after the fact.  We almost could have walked there.

The first order of business, though, was to get back to Shibuya station and get our rail passes and shinkansen tickets.  Here’s a tip that would have helped us out.  There are basically TWO JR stations at Shibuya.  There is the famous Hachiko entrance, which is where we were trying to find stuff last night.  Then there is the larger, “central” entrance.  Which, of course, is where we needed to be.  Once we figured that out, and where it was…  the rail pass exchange counter (right there in the middle of the place) hadn’t yet opened.  Another big sigh.  There were at least three different times listed for when it opened, depending on where you read, so I picked the earliest one.  Wait around, finally get that accomplished, and then its off to another place entirely (figures) to get tickets.  Why they couldn’t all be in the same place is a mystery.

I’d written down the exact train number, times, start and end point, and how many tickets so that if needed I could just show the guy at the counter and grunt like the filthy gaijin I am.  Luckily, I was actually able to communicate well enough to get the tickets.  Judging by the big red X’s on the screen for today’s trains in the ticket office, though, it looked like everyone else had the same idea:  Get out of Tokyo.  I’m not sure if it was normally that way or not.  It just was the first thing that came to mind.

Tickets in hand, we decided that, dammit, we were going to get some sushi before we left Tokyo.  The original plan (ha!) was to go to Himawari in Shinjuku while we just happened to be there.  Nope.  Ah well, Mark City didn’t fail us again and we got some fair sushi, in canned (not literally of course) “sets”….  It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t the same as sitting around that counter getting all the really odd (and good) stuff.  We did pass a couple of shops on our way over, but they didn’t seem particularly appealing….

That accomplished, we had to line up to get our bags sent on to Kyoto.  Now, from everything you read, this is a really, really simple thing, right?  Find a place with the black cat on a yellow field flag, and get them sent off?  Not quite so simple.

After finding one of these places (we’d actually found it the day before) I went in to try and take care of things.  What happened next was the strangest conversation of half-english, half-japanese, miscommunications I’d been in yet.  Fortunately, we finally got to the point where we understood that they’d actually come around to collect the bags, and she called the driver, who happened to walk in the door almost immediately.  Whew. BUT they couldn’t guarantee that they’d make it there the next day, due to all this earthquake fiasco.  GASP.  (Just kidding)  Fair enough, but it was still a big shock, since Kuroneko and other services like it are renowned for having your junk there when its supposed to be there.

They’d be there in an hour to pick them up.  Crap!  We hadn’t packed yet!!   I’d been operating under the assumption that we’d take the bags *there* and that would be that!  So back to the apartment to quickly pack up the big bags, keep what we needed in our “carryons” (for TWO days, mind you, just in case) and not mess anything up.

Bags picked up, the only thing left to do was wait out the evening.  Dinner was a quick run to the grocery store and finish off what remaining food we hadn’t eaten yet….

The only two photos from that day worth publishing you see linked in this post.  Our shinkansen tickets, and an odd building that was being constructed around that was visible from inside Mark City.  It struck me really odd that this architectural relic still remained amongst all the steel, concrete, and neon.  I don’t know for sure, but it looked like it may have dated to pre-war days, which I suppose merits its saving in some respect.

Tomorrow we would leave Tokyo for Kyoto, and hopefully bring a much needed “do over” to this trip.  As much as I love this city, I was glad we were leaving.  There was just too much uncertainty and too much hassle at this point.  Yes, I will be back here someday.  Probably not very soon, though.  At least not until things return to normal.  If that’s even possible after what’s happened.

Oh, and no map today.

Next: Bound for Kyoto

No related posts.