Japan - Day 1 (and part of 2)

Flew Singapore Air from LAX-Narita. Overall solid flight. Films viewed: Weapons, Austin Powers Goldmember, Predator Badlands. Enjoyed Predator and Weapons quite a bit -- maybe on the plane, with the other option being looking at the back of the seat, makes the films better. Only now I realize they are making an Alien-Predator greater cinematic monster universe which isn't as offensive as I thought it would be. Read a little: Wind Up Bird Chronicle by Murakami to prepare myself for Japan.

Upon arrival, got a car to our Airbnb in Sumita, near Honjo-azumabashi. Rode in a mini-van but in true Tokyo form, it was smaller and more compact than US mini-vans. Along the way, I admired all the cars - for the most part, they are skinnier and smaller. Surprised how fast the driver weaved through the highway and Tokyo. At one point, I thought he was going to run into a toll arm but at the last moment the arm whipped up super fast and we zoomed past. I literally flinched (riding in the front seat). Since then I've been admiring the Kei cars, especially lusting after a small Sukuzi SUV that looks like the Japanese version of the Ford Bronco.

Airbnb clean, tight, 3 bed, 2 bath. 2 stories. Ran into major confusion about the toilet with a sink on top. Experienced problem the first night where the sink overflowed when you flushed the toilet. Took me awhile to figure out a little paper was blocking the connection from the sink water to fill the toilet bowl. The system they have here - the sink is used to wash hands after using the toilet and the dirty water flows into the toilet bowl to be the target of the next BM. Inventive idea to save water, but can't say I'm a huge fan. Like Taiwan, I find the home appliance situation a bit overcomplicated. Maybe it saves resources? But each room has a heater, A/C unit. The washer and dryer is one single unit. The hot water needs to be turned on at certain locations around the house. The toilet seats are warmed and all have bidets. But they don't have an oven, just a grill and hot stove and microwave. What I see are more points of failure and need of maintenance. But again, maybe it saves resources.

That first night we did the obligatory 7-11 visit to stock up on basics. Tried the famous egg salad sandwich - yes, quite good and the right price. Eldest son loved the chicken katsu. 

Day 2

Familiarized self with neighborhood. Sumita is about a 10 minute walk from the Skytree Building and Solamachi Mall. Versus my impression of Tokyo, it feels like a quiet neighborhood. We are right across from a middle school. Sitting outside the apartment waiting for the family, I listened to a bird caw and a stray cat wandered the street - which incidentally is the same scenario that begins the Wind Up Bird Chronicle novel. A bit weird. 

In the morning, we walked to the mall to shop and explore. Visited a Uniqlo and a Studio Ghibli store among other things. Passed a little river and an interesting outdoor gaming facility. They were playing a racket sport that seemed to be a mix of tennis, picke ball and squash. The court looked pickle ball sized, they played with tennis ball, but could play the ball off the back wall of the court. 

For lunch ate a pork katsu restaurant at the Solamachi Mall. One of my favorite meals so far. Every detail done right. Cabbage salad with delicious sesame dressing, pork cooked for perfect juiciness, dipping sesame seed katsu sauce flavorful (although I liked it better with just a dash of the salt). Soft serve ice cream for dessert. Caught part of the World Baseball Classic on a big screen at the mall with a huge crowd watching outdoors - reminded me of world cup games in Korea 2002, albeit significantly smaller crowd. Saw one Otani at bat that ended the game. Japan lost. 

On the way home, saw one cherry blossom tree.  A few other things - a lot of bikes, no one wears helmets. Of all the home design elements, the one thing I like best - the shower room. A separate room with a tub and shower, but half the room is I'll call a "wet floor" with a drain and where one could shower if you wanted. Or wash a dog, or dry off. It has shelves and a mirror. I love this idea. If I designed a home from scratch, I'd include a separate shower room. Really cool idea. 

Day 2 tbc...