Tales From the Land of the Rising Sun: The Final Chapter

Well it took me 7 months to blog this trip, but that's saying something about 8 days (+ 2 travel days) in Japan. Our final day in Tokyo was going to be chill, but still made its mark. Here we go.

When Ryan was coordinating this trip, he kept asking me about things I wanted to do. I was happy to be along for the ride, but I did list some things, and one of those things we haven't done yet. The world famous Shibuya Crossing. This intersection has multiple entry points and once per light cycle, it shuts down to cars to allow all the pedestrians to cross. Each crossing consists of a few thousand people. Yes you read that right. And somehow, when they all cross, no one bumps into anyone (most of the time). It's the smoothest flow of a crowd you can ever be apart of. And there was no way we were leaving Tokyo without doing it. So after a quick breakfast, we hit the world famous crossing. We waited with the masses for the light to change, and when it did, we were off. The sea of people flowed and I rode the waves. It was a mini adrenaline rush and not even a hair on my arm was damaged. It was worth the experience and if you ever go to Tokyo, don't skip the chance to do the Shibuya Scramble.

Not too far from the crossing was a massive Tower Records store. Ryan wanted to stop in so that's what we did. The store sort of resembled a giant jukebox. The escalators went up floor after floor, with each floor having a different selection of music. Each floor was playing different music over the loudspeakers. And the funniest part, Taylor Swift's new album had just dropped and there was a whole section for it with it playing throughout the whole floor. You could get a record of it of you wanted because Japan loves its vinyl. One could've spent a large portion of the day in this store no problem. 

From this point, we were playing it by ear. We stopped at a bakery that sold tea as I wanted to bring some home for my mom. Then we went for lunch. After 9 days we finally went to get sushi. I know I know. After all this time, we are final indulging in one of Japan's signature dishes. And it didn't disappoint. We got a full platter with various types and they were all incredible. I'm not a foodie some I'm not going to go any further in detail, but all I have to say is come to Japan and try it for yourself.

We took the rest of the day easy by traveling over to another well known shrine. The Yasukuni Shrine. The shrine has an infamous reputation due to having war criminals ashes interred there. But the walk to it is magical. A large, gravel path flanked on both sides by enormous trees that create a canopy over the path. It feels like you've entered another world. We wandered through the forest while Ryan explained the history. Eventually, we approached our first building. There were police there who formed the crowd into two lines on either side of the path. A wedding ceremony was taking place. We watched as a procession came. The bride, groom, and entire wedding party walked as if fully choreographed. Everyone stayed silent out of respect until they had gone into the temple. Then just like that, the lines broke and people meshed into a throng. 

We explored the temple grounds a bit before making our way out. We eventually came upon a museum that was free inside the doors, but you had to pay to go further. There was a full size Japanese Zero fighter plane inside. I can say that's another first as I never saw a full-sized Zero before. We decided not to pay for the rest of the museum and took a brief tour of the gift shop. We made this the last stop of the evening before heading back to our hotel. 

As we got close, we decided to wander the streets a bit more as the sun had set on the Land of the Rising Sun one last time for us. As witnessed on the entire trip, there were people moving about, cars here and there, but all that was heard was a soft roar. The lights of Tokyo beamed out into the night. The streets were still barren of even a candy wrapper blowing in the wind. The occasional glow from a vending machine and all the other sights and sounds were a constant reminder of the experience I had in those 10 days. Everything from the first step off of the plane into Tokyo to the final setting sun exemplified the wonder of travel. And while we didn't leave until the next day, I feel this is a fitting note to end on. As I've been telling most folks who have asked, if you have a top five list of countries to visit, Japan should be on it. And while I experienced so much in those 10 days, I merely scratched the surface of all Japan has to offer. Maybe some day I'll go back and have a totally new adventure. But for now, this is where this story ends. I hope you enjoyed following along and I wish you well in all the adventures you may find yourself on. 

"“All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost.”~J.R.R. Tolkien

Tales From the Land of the Rising Sun: Part 9

For those that know me fairly well, you know how much I appreciate a sleek body, four wheels, and a combustion engine. Those of you that also appreciate those things know that Japan is a field of Eden for car culture. And yet, I really haven't touched any of that in the writing of this journey. Well fear not because today was the day we went full throttle. So strap in, rev those engines, and put the pedal to the metal as we take a peek into Japan's car culture.

Ryan and I started the day by taking multiple modes of transportation to a rural part of Tokyo. Out here where the main flow and noise of Tokyo cannot be found, stood a Subaru dealership, with an STI gallery. It is here both the Subaru and car enthusiast can enter an up close and personal experience for this brand of car. Upon entering the doors, we were greeted by a young woman ready to welcome any visitor to the gallery. She provided us with a booklet that contained a treasure hunt designed to make you visit every section of the gallery. We thanked her and began exploring. Two things immediately caught my eye. The first is that they had actual Subarus used in professional motorsports sitting right there for you to see. And not only to see but they made sure we knew that we were allowed to climb inside. I have seen race cars up close many times, but this was the first time I was able to climb inside one, feel my body conform to the seat, let my hand hover over the shifter, and for a brief moment, picture myself flying down the track or kicking up dirt from a rally course while chasing the checkers. One of the cars on display was that of renowned rally driver Colin McRae, who tragically died in a helicopter crash. So it was a surreal experience to be able to see that car.

The second thing that I noticed early on was a couple of the cylindrical beam poles that had names written in sharpie all over them. The showroom allowed visitors to autograph those beams. So given the opportunity to note my presence in a foreign land, I signed one of the beams. If you ever happen to find yourself in the STI showroom in Japan, see if you can find my name. Other highlights a timeline of toy Subaru cars from the beginning until present day, a racing simulator you could play with a full chair and wheel setup, as well as the mini scavenger hunt they provided. 

Eventually we had our fill of the showroom, but before we left, we met a dude from Australia who started conversing with us. We talked cars, travel, and whatever else was on our minds. It's always fun to meet other travelers and discuss shared passions while in another part of the world. After a brief, but fun interaction, we said goodbye to STI and made our way back to the heart of Tokyo.

After a bus and a handful of trains, we were back in central Tokyo. The skies opened up and the rains began to fall. Luckily, our next destination was inside. We were at the Nissan Crossing. It's a multi-leveled, glamorous showroom, for Nissan cars. I'm talking the eye candy of Nissan vehicles on turnstiles. We climbed level after level, stopping to see the new toys on display, including a formula 1 car. I must add that I was multi-tasking at this point. There was a Pokemon Go raid event going on and like I've said before, playing Pokemon in the country that birthed it was something else. 

After we left the Nissan Crossing, we went back to the hotel to wind down for a bit as we had a big evening planned. You see the STI showroom and Nissan Crossing were only the tip of the motor iceberg. Before we left the good ol' USA, Ryan proposed we do something a bit off the cuff. What was it? The Daikoku car meet. Let me preface this by saying that this is not an official event. You can't buy tickets to it, your taking a chance on whether it happens or not, and it's not easy to get to. So what is it? It's actually a truck rest stop about 30 minutes outside of the main city. Sometime way back when, Tokyo's car culture decided it would be a cool place to meet up and show off your ride. Because it can get crazy and it is a rest stop, the police usually come after a couple hours and shut it down. It was originally just the locals, but once word got around that you could see a ton of sweet rides, non locals and tourists started flocking there. 

There's no public transportation that will get you there except a taxi which will be expensive. But trying to get a taxi to come back and get you is even more difficult. One option is to get a rental car and drive yourself out there, but we chose the only other route. That was to pay locals running a van and mini tour to get us out there. It's not like an official tour. You get in contact with the people through a messaging app and they give you a meetup point and time. Then there was a van that would pick you and other strangers up to take you out to the Daikoku rest stop. 

When the sun had gone down, Ryan and I made our way back to Tokyo station. There, on a side street, was a small line of vans. A crazy thought ran through my head that this was one of those movie scenes where you get in a black van and bad things happen. But thankfully, the host and the driver were two, young, chill, and very friendly dudes. One spoke English and was originally from Vietnam. The other was our driver who was a local and was apparently part of the underground scene at one point. After some conversation and the rest of the people who paid for this experience arrived, we piled into the van and off we went.

This adventure had four main points. The first was that we would be crossing the renowned Rainbow Bridge. It provided epic night views of the skyline and looked incredible lit up at night. I will note that the rain had let up a bit ago, but there was still some in the area. If the skies opened up, that would be bad news for us. Our guide mentioned that if there's a little rain, folks still meet up with their cars, but if it's pouring, then most don't show up. We crossed the Rainbow Bridge and were getting closer to our main destination.

It wasn't long before we could sense we were close. Cars that you don't see everyday started to appear. We took a ramp a pretty soon we found ourselves in a super crowded parking lot. The van weaved through people and cars until it found a space to park. We all got out and the guide basically told us to have fun, go explore, and be back to the van at a specific time. As my eyes tried to take everything in all at once, I felt like I had entered a Fast and Furious world. Everywhere my head swiveled was another car to drool over. There was a BMW of the exact model and paint scheme from the Need For Speed Underground video game, a mazda with a Lightning McQueen paint scheme, a bedazzled Lamborghini, and even a midnight black Dodge charger running the red and blue police lights found on police vehicles in the US. That's not illegal here as Japanese police run a different light scheme. So if you every want to zoom around in a replica of an American cop car, come to Japan. 

I really can't describe the car meet in enough words to do it justice. It's something you have to experience for yourself. I will say that it did feel like being in a movie. People and sweet cars as far as the eye could see. Even in the dark, with a bit of rain, the motors ruled the night. Eventually people started to disperse, knowing it would likely be shutdown soon. Ryan and I made our way back to the van and everyone else soon followed. We loaded up and headed out. There was a crowd standing on the corner of the entrance ramp, cheering on the existing cars to see them one last time. Our driver, who I mentioned used to be in the underground scene, revved the van engine and peeled out around the curve right in front of the crowd. We cheered and laughed knowing the crowd was not expecting a simple van to do that.

Our third stop was at a popular JDM (I don't recall its name) store where a lot of folks went after the car meet to shop for souvenirs for car lovers everywhere. It was a huge store with a lot to offer and still bustling at a later hour. This stop was shorter than the Daikoku car meet and I didn't pick up anything here, but it was fun to explore. We once again loaded up the van and headed for our fourth and final destination. The Tokyo Tower. 

While not as tall as the SkyTree, it still stood out in the dark of night. And one look would tell you that it was modeled after the Eiffel Tower in Paris. With the rain falling lightly and a foggy mist lingering all around, the tower's orange glow cut through the night. It made for an incredible site and a very opportunistic photo. Our guide took one of Ryan and I in front of that tower, a memory captured in time. This was pretty much where our night would end, but one last thing of note happened. Our guides were kind enough to drop everyone off near train/subway stations close to where they needed to be. After we said goodbye to our guides, Ryan and I walked under the glow of Tokyo's many lights towards the station we needed to get to. Then, a voice of a stranger called out through the crowd. He said two words that my ears instantly recognize any time they're spoken. "Go Birds!" I turned my head and saw they had come from another fellow American. "Go Birds!" I called back ecstatically. For context, I was wearing a Philadelphia Eagles athletic shirt. That's how he knew. One thing that never fails is that I can sport Eagles gear nearly anywhere in the world and someway, somehow, I will bump into another Eagles fan, just as I did here in Tokyo. And it warmed my heart even more. And with that, we can conclude the penultimate post for this adventure in the Land of the Rising Sun.