Sabbatikos

Next to Kiddy Land was an Onitsuka Tiger store, which turned out to be a dangerous development for our first afternoon in Tokyo. For the uninitiated, Onitsuka Tiger is the Japanese sneaker brand that gained a permanent foothold in pop culture when Uma Thurman wore the bright yellow and black Tai Chi sneakers in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill: Vol. 1. The shoes are sleek, retro, unmistakably cool, probably too cool for me, and apparently impossible for Tawny and Clara to resist. They went in intending to look and came out with two pairs each. Tawny bought the nearly identical Mexico 66, in both yellow and black, and white and navy blue, while Clara also picked up a pair of Mexico 66s along with a pair of the GSMs. Even then, they had their sights set on yet another style that was unavailable in the right size. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, someone mentioned that the larger Onitsuka Tiger store in Shibuya might have what they were looking for. Shibuya was only one stop away on the JR Line, but by then all of this shopping had worked up an appetite, and before we chased down another pair of shoes, we needed lunch.

Our friend Teri had recommended Uobei, a robo sushi restaurant in Shibuya known for surprisingly high quality sushi at very low prices, and that combination sounded impossible to pass up. Unlike a traditional conveyor belt sushi restaurant where dishes continuously circle the room waiting to be claimed, Uobei uses a direct delivery system. Each seat has a touchscreen, you place your order, and a few minutes later your individual plate comes racing down a track and stops directly in front of you. It was part sushi restaurant, part video game, and it was immediately one of the most entertaining meals we had ever had. We started with a few plates of nigiri, then some rolls, then sashimi, then more of whatever we had liked the first time around. The fish was fresh, the portions were generous, and the prices seemed almost ridiculous. Many dishes cost only a dollar or two, and even a beer was only a few bucks. Before long we had built an impressive stack of empty plates while continuing to tap the screen for repeat orders of our favorites. By the time we finally admitted defeat, we had eaten and drunk to our hearts’ content, and somehow I am not sure we had spent more than fifteen dollars per person. Uobei would end up being one of our favorite experiences of the trip and we’ve been plotting another visit upon our return to Tokyo at the end of the trip.

Properly fed and perhaps slightly emboldened by the midday drinks, we moved on to Mega Don Quijote because Clara wanted to find a face mask, probably something she had seen on the Tikity Tok. If you have never experienced a Don Quijote, it is difficult to explain what awaits inside. Imagine a department store, convenience store, pharmacy, electronics shop, grocery store, souvenir stand, discount warehouse, beauty supply store, and novelty shop compressed into the same building, then packed floor to ceiling with signs, advertisements, blinking lights, cartoon mascots, overlapping music, announcements, and more merchandise than seems physically possible. Now fill the aisles with people moving in every direction and make the aisles just narrow enough that no one can move comfortably. Kiddy Land had been sensory overload devoted mostly to toys. Don Quijote was sensory overload devoted to absolutely everything everywhere all at once.

We walked in together and almost immediately became separated. I was distracted by an entire section of Kit Kats in flavors I had never seen before, including cheesecake, orange, plum, strawberry, and matcha. Tawny disappeared into a section of Japanese souvenirs, while Clara and Ian headed upstairs in search of the face mask. Before long our phones were buzzing with messages as we tried to determine where everyone had gone. Clara reported that they were on the third floor but could barely get back down because it was too crowded. Tawny and I eventually found each other and began working our way upward, which was when we noticed a sign explaining that tax free purchases were processed on the seventh floor. Seven floors!?! Apparently there were seven floors of this hellscape!

At that point Don Quijote began to feel less like a store and more like a Japanese retail interpretation of Dante’s Inferno. Each escalator delivered us into another maze of merchandise, and the escalator to the next floor was rarely located anywhere near where we expected it to be, forcing us to weave through cosmetics, electronics, clothing, food, household goods, souvenirs, and entire categories of products whose purpose I could not determine. Even worse, every few feet there was something interesting enough to distract us from our mission. We eventually reunited with Clara and Ian, then promptly lost them again after Ian discovered a section of Super Mario belts and Tawny became determined to find the long Japanese towels people use to scrub their backs in the shower. Then a Japanese man approached Tawny and asked if her husband was Bruce Willis. He thought he had a celebrity sighting and wanted his picture taken with me. By that time Clara already had her face mask, while I had reached the point where my buzz was wearing off I desperately wanted to leave and yet remained completely fascinated by all of it. There were so many things. Useful things. Ridiculous things. Cheap things. Things no human had ever needed until somebody somewhere decided we did. Somehow, eventually, we made it out and spilled onto the street with new bags full of merch, tax free.

Emerging back onto the streets of Shibuya felt almost peaceful by comparison, despite the fact that we had stepped into one of the busiest neighborhoods on earth. We crossed the famous Shibuya Scramble, then crossed it again, and perhaps crossed it several more times because once you are there, crossing the Scramble becomes both navigation and entertainment. Thousands of people surged into the intersection from every direction beneath towering video screens, while an enormous animated Akita Inu appeared to leap through one of Japan’s famous three dimensional billboards. We found the Hachiko statue, made the obligatory stop at Starbucks so Clara could add another city mug to her “Been There” collection, and visited yet another Onitsuka Tiger store in search of the elusive shoes. They still did not have the right size.

From there we continued wandering and eventually ended up at Tower Records, (“No Music, No Life”) which I used to go to on previous trips to explore Japanese music. Floor after floor was dedicated to different musical genres, including J Pop, K Pop, rock, jazz, and even a floor for vinyl. We had agreed we would not buy records in Japan because it is difficult to travel with, but we abandoned that plan quickly. We left with three soundtracks from Miyazaki films and a BABYMETAL album.

Our final shopping mission took us to Bic Camera, where we had heard they might have a particular Seiko watch Ian had been chasing, the Prospex Speedtimer Solar Chronograph. They had one, and there was another customer hovering behind Ian making it obvious he was waiting to buy it if Ian hesitated. Ian did not hesitate. The watch was purchased, sized, and placed directly on his wrist, and he walked out wearing it with the satisfaction of someone successfully completing a side quest.

By then our feet were beyond sore. This is still only the second half of our Day 1! We had been walking since early morning through Meiji Shrine, Harajuku, Takeshita Street, Kiddy Land, shoe stores, Shibuya, Don Quijote, Tower Records, Bic Camera, and what felt like every retail environment Tokyo had to offer. We finally decided it was time to return to the hotel and boarded a train toward Shinagawa, only to realize that while the train would eventually get there, it was taking a considerably less direct route than we had intended. We jumped off at Osaki, checked Google Maps, and discovered that our hotel was only about a seventeen minute walk away. Google Maps works brilliantly in Japan, so despite our exhausted feet we decided we could handle another seventeen minutes (barely).

As we started walking through Osaki, I suddenly realized we were at Osaki New City, the neighborhood where the office I used to work from during my years managing a team in Japan had been located. It was familiar territory viewed from the POV of a vacation.

We continued toward the river as the rain began to fall. Umbrellas came out, and we followed a quiet, tree lined path along the water that felt a world away from the flashing signs and crowds of Shibuya. Our seventeen minute walk became somewhat longer after a few wrong turns and minor detours, and by then our feet were burning and the shopping bags seemed to grow heavier with every block. Still, there was something perfect about ending the busy day in this quiet way.

By the time we finally limped back into the hotel, we were exhausted, overstimulated and completely spent. The rain was still falling lightly over Tokyo, our feet were throbbing with every additional step, and the realization that this had only been our first full day. Clara went to her room and put on a face mask. Tawny and I went to bed.