Spotlight: Tokyo

Tokyo.

Its the mother of all cities. My first destination on my 60c60d trip. How long do I plan to spend in this area? Two weeks.

Almost exactly three years ago, I was driving through metro Tokyo towards Kichijoji city. I wasnt driving myself, but good ol Tucker Dendobukaichou himself was taking care of it. I was with about five other guys at the time, beginning my mission for the church.

I felt like I has just been placed on another planet. My eyes were wide open with amazement. It was the most beautiful and incredible city I had ever seen. We crossed the rainbow bridge and then past tokyo tower.

Arguably the worlds largest city, Metropolitan Tokyo is considered to be one of the 47 prefectures of japan. It is made up of 23 separate wards making up a total population of 8 Million. For someone like me, to put 8 million people in a city is almost unfathomable. I come from a town of 250,000, Columbus Georgia.

Tokyo prefecture contains 8 Million, but the greater metropolitan area of the city comes up to a grand total of about 35 million people. Simply extraordinary.

Despite the extreme population, the city runs like a well oiled machine. You can set your watch by the arrivals and depatures of inner city trains.

Tokyo is loaded with things to see and do.

Shibuya, one of the special wards of tokyo, has an intersection where thousands of people cross with each time the light flashes green to cross. Hachiko, the faithful dog, still chills out there like he has been doing for the last few years or so.

Fans of the film "Lost in Translation" may have seen Bill Murray playing video games, singing karaoke and watching a strip show in this part of Tokyo.

Harajuku, they got some wicked style at this kinda place. Harajuku girls show up on Sunday to show off their new whacked out clothing styles. For more info, check out "Harajuku Girls" by Gwen Stefani. Let me know if you can stand listening to it, you might be the first.

Oh my gosh, there simply too much. Kaminari Mon, Ikebukuro, Ginza...the list goes on.

For info on my personal take on my journey of this bohemoth city, my trip begins there May 2.

More havoc to come...

The Bicycle

The Bicycle

The bicycle is what happened when the heterocycle became a little...curious.

It also is a grand way to get around a country that relies on trains and has sprawling but compact cities. Apparently when Tokyo was rebuilt after the firebombing of World War II, it was made more expansive than its former, pre-destroyed design.

Here is a Japanese Gal just be-boppin with her trikey.

I suppose in the days before automobiles and coca-cola, people in japan put things close together in an effort to make it easier to commute. Osaka, from what I've heard, maintains this style, compact, small, easy to travel around with something like a bicycle. After all, Osaka was spared from firebombs so the old-school ways are still stickin around. God bless the people of Osaka.

A great way to travel within these cities is a bike. I think I'll perhaps pick up one of these little foldable darlings to use to get around certain areas of the cities without the aid of a bus. Who needs the bus anyways?

So I'm considering one of these.

Do ya think it would work for a 200 lb american? Oh for sure.

I reckon it would be an incredible way to get from takoyaki stand to takoyaki stand. Maybe even taiyaki stand to taiyaki stand. Yakitori stand to yakitori stand. I might even try to go from yakiniku stand to yakiniku stand with this bad mamma-jamma.

Whats another 200 bucks ya know? Its a bike...and it folds!!!!

Someone must have been reading my diary to know my greatest wish.

And wishes do come true.

This is just part of my options, we also got trains, busses and feets.

More havoc to come...

More Recent Developments

I was sitting down last night for about three hours trying to decide the best way to do this thing.

Trying to plan such a trip with no money raises a lot of questions and concerns...some greatest hits include:

1. Where will I sleep?
2. How will I get from one city to another with the destination being about 100 miles away.

So obviously these are things that I have been contemplating for the last month or so, but I've been getting more serious about it now and am weighing my options for how I'm gonna get around Japan and not die doing it.

The way I see it, if you wanna make an omelet, you gotta break a few eggs. As a poor college student, the figurative eggs im breaking will be the literal bank. It's gonna take moolah. Bucks.

But that's not the important part.

Right now, I'm not gonna worry about the money. The big issue right now for me is how I will be able to see the entire country in 60 days. People could possibly spend years in Japan and never be able to see every shrine, temple, amusement park or internet cafe the place has to offer, not to mention the bidet style toilets that made me feel like less of a man with each use.

But let me testify to you. The Japanese electric toilet is a thing of beauty, and the squirty thing will leave you in complete joy after one try.

But thats a whole different story.

Bottom line is this...

This is what I'm gonna do:

Two weeks travelling among the 23 wards of the humongous Tokyo and surrounding cities. The neverending metropolis.

South towards Kawasaki and Yokohama.

Then through Shizuoka past Mt. Fuji towards Nagoya.

On to Osaka, all surrounding cities, Nara, Sakai then Wakayama. Ferry to Shikoku Island. Cross the island, ferry to Kyuushuu Island.

Through Fukuoka, Kumamoto, Kitakyuushuu, back to Hunshuu, through Hiroshima, then Kobe.

North through Fukui, Kanazawa, Nagano, Niigata, Akita, Aomori. Ferry to Hokkaido. Five days on the northernmost island.

From then, a smooth southern return to the queen city Tokyo immediately following a long and lonely ride through Sendai. Then on to America out of Narita.

That is what it looks like to go through 60 cities in 60 days. This is what I'm going to do. The itinerary still exists albeit in a looser form.

Up next: Transportation

Ready and Not

I spent about an hour tonight putting together pictures that I am going to use for headers on the page in the future.

I had one of the best opportunities of my life to be able to go to Japan for the time that I did. I was there for a little under two years. From that time I can honestly say that I fell in love.

I looked through hundreds of pictures tonight of my experiences. I was able to experience unimaginable beauty. The people, the sunsets, the rivers, the mountains, the cities, the never-ending fields of green tea, they all still remain a solid and eternal part of my heart.

It makes me so glad to be able to go back to experience it once again even if the circumstances are on a totally different scale.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for joining me.

First Draft Itinerary

After a lot of careful thought and consideration into how and where i should try to spend my time in japan living like a hobo. This is the itinerary I have created for the cities i will be passing through during my trip. This covers the actual 60 cities over the 60 days

Ahem.

Part One: Tokyo

Day
1 Machida
2 Harajuku
3 Shinjuku
4 Shibuya
5 Roppongi
6 Kawasaki
7. Yokohama
8. Fujisawa

Part Two: Shizuoka and Nagoya

Day
9 Numazu
10 Fuji
11 Fukuroi
12 Hamamatsu
13 Toyohashi
14 Nagoya
15 Gifu
16 Ogaki

Part Three: Kansai

Day
17 Kyoto
18 Yawata
19 Osaka
20 Namba
21 Matsubara
22 Sakai
23 Wakayama

Part Four: Shikoku

Day
24 Tokushima
25 Takamatsu
26 Matsuyama
27 Yawatahama

Part Five: Kyuushuu

Day
28 Oita
29 Kumamoto
30 Ogori
31 Fukuoka
32 Munakata
33 Kitakyuushuu

Part Six: Hiroshima

Day
34 Shimonoseki
35 Hofu
36 Hiroshima
37 Okayama
38 Kobe

More to come...