I emerged from my capsule pod cranky and tired. I had a familiar malaise I recognized as the beginning of a cold, but decided to ignore it and move on.
After checking out I walked out into the streets of the Taito ward and started walking toward my hostel over in Asakusa. It was hot - not as hot as Dubai but just as muggy, and I had my backpack, so it wasn't pleasant.
I really enjoyed the walk, temperature aside. Lots of people walking by or on their bicycles, which all ride on the sidewalk. The Tokyo Sky Tree loomed in the East and gave the simple suburban environment a techno-modern backdrop. Not that Tokyo streets need it. One thing I found odd was they played music constantly from speakers on poles along the sidewalk. There is absolutely no silence in this city.
I reached Asakusa and walked out of the way along some side streets that looked like markets. Most of the streets have decorations and some kind of theme to them - purposefully or not - so it was always fun to just take a wrong turn and see where it goes.
Eventually I got to the hostel and checked in, but I had an hour to kill before they were ready so I went to lunch. I had a Hell of a time trying to find the restaurant the girl recommended, and after I finally awkwardly asked someone to help me, the place was closed. Instead I found another place with Ramen, and had a black sesame noodle soup that was gooooood. Content and happy, I went back to the hostel and went up to my room. I was feeling incredibly tired, so I sat on my bed, then laid down, then simply passed the hell out.
I slept for almost six hours, and I woke up with a full blown cold. Shucks. With all the extreme temperature changes from alternating between summer heat and frigid A/C in Dubai and Tokyo, and the sheer number of people I was in contact with, it was probably inevitable. Better in a city though rather than somewhere I want to hike or snowboard.
When I got up it was nighttime, so I headed out for a walk and maybe dinner. I went past Sento-ji temple, which at night was way less crowded. There were plenty of unobstructed views of Tokyo Sky Tree and of the big Pagoda at Sento-ji.
I also walked through the area with shops to see what was there. It was nice, but felt completely set up for tourists and not like an actual temple. Guess I got spoiled in Thailand.
There was a tempura restaurant I wanted to eat at, but when I found it and tried to go in the lady opened the door, yelled "We are closed!" and shut the door. At least she was efficient.
I ended up walking to a place with lots of bars and little outside restaurants. My rule of thumb when hunting for a place to eat is find somwhere crowded with locals, no white people, and where they don't invite you in. This backfired on me when I found a place meeting the criteria, but full of people who couldn't speak English. I ordered an expensive meal that was very small and not very good. Can't win them all! At least the beer was tasty and something I've never had before.
After dinner I walked back to the hostel, but on the way I got another beer and a small bottle of sake at one of the millions of conbinis, convenience stores like 7-11, that you can find on every single block in Tokyo. I drank outside with a couple people while I updated this blog on my phone and chose my next hostel. I also talked to an American girl and Chinese guy inside for a bit then called it quits and finally went to bed. Next stop: Shinjuku.
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