A Winter's Tale: The Matysiks Visit Japan, Part 1--Tokyo

Christmas Eve 2006--We left our home in Ryuo, taking a coach bus three and a half hours east, and arrived at Narita airport, excited for the arrival of Matt's family that evening. Waiting in the airport lobby, watching the big "score board" of arriving flights, noticing that the Northwest passengers were supposedly going through customs at the moment, our hearts were racing in excited anticipation of seeing familiar faces after five months of living 6,000 miles away from our home. Watching the exits, I spotted a familiar blond head and yellow coat and, quickly gathering our backpacks and jackets, Matt and I, dodging other expectant family and friends, ran over to greet Greg, Michelle and Allison with big hugs and huge grins! Finally, our long-awaited reunion with family and friends had started!

The Matysiks traveled around Japan with us for almost two weeks, and in that time, we saw many sights, ate all kinds of foods, and shared our admiration and disappointments of Japan with each other. The following account is how it all began:

Travel itinerary: Day 1--Tokyo

I awoke at 6am on Christmas morning and, emerging from my tiny room at the New Koyo Hotel, I was surprised to see Michelle already up, dressed, and brushing her teeth. We quickly assembled our 5-person group and, stepping into the bright, sunlit morning, we began our day's excursions around Tokyo. Taking the subway to Ginza, we walked toward the Tsukiji Fish Market, for a look at the morning's freshest catch. The market was teeming with people, buying, gazing, and snaking through the narrow walkways between each "booth." Narrowly escaping the fishermen's motorized carts and picking our way around pools of fish blood, we made it through the bustling market and into the fresh, less fishy-smelling air. Finding a small street to walk down, we happened upon a small sushi shop and entered. We sat at the little bar, ordered our meals and awaited the glorious moment when the fresh fillets would be placed on our leafy plates, ready for our ravenous stomachs. This was actually my and Matt's first time eating "fresh" sushi in Japan--and it was no less than amazing! Topped off with miso soup and bottomless green tea, we had a fantastic first meal in Tokyo.

Leaving the sushi shop, we ventured over to Kabuki-za, where we got tickets for one act and were awed by this traditional Japanese art form. Kabuki theater was nothing like I had imagined--the costumes were stunning, the music and singing gripping, the dancing magical. I felt I had a bird's eye view into a time long ago--an older, more mystical Japan--and while this is certainly the point of theater in many respects, it was really something special to experience. Exiting the theater at 12:15pm, we decided to take another train to Asakusa, to see the famous Senso-ji (temple).


Asakusa is a really unique part of Tokyo and the feeling of traditional and modern is distinctly present when walking its streets. Before reaching the temple, we encountered a large gate, with a huge paper lantern hanging from the beams. On the other side of the gate were masses of people emerging and disappearing into the tiny shops lining the canopied street. We poked our heads in and out of specialty shops, buying small trinkets to remind us of our trip here, and then followed the crowd toward the temple grounds. Senso-ji, situated amongst a world of concrete and neon lights, emits a kind of power and serenity over the entire grounds. Cleansing ourselves at the water pool and at the large incense pot, we entered the temple to gaze in amazement at its intricate designs and detailed drawings. Our trip to the temple ended with a delicious soba lunch at a nearby shop, where Allison and I partook of some soft-serve ice cream afterwards and then, at least I, regretted it once we stepped into the brisk, December air.

Soon after we found ourselves in Shinjuku, on the 45th floor of the Tokyo Municipal Government building, gazing at the "endless" city below. The sun was just setting and as the lights began to flicker on in various skyscrapers and districts of Tokyo, we found ourselves slowly wearing down from a long day of sightseeing. Taking a small break at the top of the building, we concluded that the night could not end and, after regaining a bit of strength, we forged ahead with our "night on the town."

Deciding to skip a normal dinner, we wandered the streets of Harajuku looking for a coffee shop to rest in. Along the way, Matt and I stopped for a double chocolate crepe, which almost did me in! Then, finding the familiar and beckoning circular Starbucks sign, we squeezed into a small table and had our caffeine fix for the evening. Sitting around the small table, people watching out of the thinly-paned windows, Matt told us that he wanted to go to Shinjuku to find a special area called the Golden Gai. We agreed that we could go for a little while longer and, with that, we left and walked back to the station, where we boarded the Yamanote Line train to Shinjuku station.

The lights of Shinjuku brighten up the sky like the mid-day sun, and with all the flashing colors, imposing store music, and hoards of people, we soon found ourselves with a good second-wind. We walked down the main street, past Kabukicho (red-light district) and then made an unexpected left turn down a quiet, dimly lit, cobblestone pedestrian pathway. I was a little nervous, walking down such a "shaddy" looking street, but soon, and to my great surprise, we found ourselves in a new world, full of tiny streets with bar after bar after tiny, hole-in-the-wall bar. Meandering around, we decided to test one of them out and, finding a place called "The 60s bar," we stepped inside, filling up over half of the capacity on our own. The woman who owned the bar was very nice and even put some Andy Williams Christmas music on for us. We enjoyed Nihon-shu (sake) in wooden boxes and had lively conversation with some other gentlemen who entered after us. After a few more drinks, we decided to call it a night and, after a short walk and a few train rides, we made it back to our little hotel and fell fast asleep.

Travel itinerary: Day 2--Tokyo and Ryuo

I awoke on December 26th to rain smattering against my window. Knowing that we would be outside for the good part of the morning in the foul weather, I grabbed my small, travel umbrella and headed down to the lobby. The minute I stepped outside and heard the pattering of raindrops on the canopy over my head, I knew our hours spent outside would be close to miserable. We went down to the 7/11 for a quick breakfast, shaking as we ate outside in the dampness, and then we went to Ueno, to walk around the park and to visit the National Treasury Museum. Both the walk and the museum were "below-average," but we continued and tried to make the best of our current situation. We found a little place to eat some lunch--various kinds of udon bowls--and then we decided to retrieve our luggage from the hotel and to get to Shinjuku station, where we would take the Kaiji Limited Express back to Kofu.

Well, by the time we dragged all the luggage through large puddles of standing water and transfered a few trains, we were ready for the hour and a half train ride back to Yamanashi-ken. We were all tired and cranky and the weather hampered our scenic view. My jeans had just almost dried out when we reached Ryuo, when we had to brave the elements once again to make it to our tiny, freezer-like apartment. Entering the cold kitchen, I felt awful for having dragged the Matysiks through this crappy weather only to enter an unheated residence. But, once we got our kerosene heater working and sat around the kotatsu drinking jasmine tea, things started to get better.

Matt and I took Michelle, Greg and Allison to our favorite Indian restaurant, Suriya, for dinner and then, with our bellies full of delicious curry and nan, we drove to the Yamanami onsen to really warm up. Inside, I explained to Michelle and Allison what the proper way to "experience onsen" was and then we had a nice, relaxing hour in the baths. Feeling warm and tired afterwards, we came home, talked a little bit and then, laying out the futons, blankets and comforters in our 6 tatami mat room, we called it a night and prepared for our next day in Yamanashi.

And this concludes the first two days of our winter vacation with the Matysiks. After these 2 days, we did a few things around the Yamanashi-area (which will be highlighted in the next post) and then began our intense 14 days of travel all over Japan. But, for now, we were just sleeping on the night of the 26th, happy to be out of the elements and dreaming about all the exciting adventures to come.