12 April 1984: Tokyo Tower and the Bath

12^th April 1984 Before going out I washed a whole lot of socks. Then I walked to Tokyo Tower, passing on the way Zojoji Temple. There were a lot of little old ladies dressed in kimonos and some sort of priests entering the temple. Along one side of the building are two double rows of identical baby-doll-like-but-made-of-stone statues [jizo]. Each one was wearing a little knitted balaclava of red and there were toy windmills beside each one.

   The Tokyo Tower is very much like a certain tower that Francophiles know so much about. However, it is much higher and far lighter, and painted red and white – safety colours, you see. It also has a five-storey building ‘neath it. There are two main observatories, at 150m with shops and telescopes (I had a hot dog, ¥250) and a special upper observatory at 250m. It costs ¥400 and ¥600 respectively.

   Today, this morning, we actually had blue sky, though ‘twas hazy on the horizon – Mt Fuji – n’est pas visible. It is quite a good view, and you can watch the Bullet Train go by, or ships coming in, or athletes (baseball players?) train. The tower was completed in 1958, taking only eighteen months to build. And it is supposedly earthquake and typhoon proof. Ah, so – but is it Greggo Clumerry-Clâte prrof? (Greggo Clumerry-Clâte has an intense dislike for heights and hates even thinking about towers, but he likes to blow up tall buildings.)

  On the fourth floor of the building below, where they let you out of the lift, are some showrooms. The Nippon Electric Company’s “Computer and Communications Land” tempts one to be naughty and play with the computers and video games.

  I was kicked out at midday.

Double page from the back of my diary. Kyoto Tower ticket (again), tickets to the two levels of Tokyo Tower, Kinkakuji (bottom left), Detached Palace at Nijo Castle (behind Tokyo Tower gold Ticket) and Ginkakuji

  I went walking down Sakura-dori Avenue until going down to Kamiyacho Station. I caught the train to Hibiya Station, which is just near the corner of the Imperial Palace grounds. This palace is also not open to the public [being where the Empeor lives] but the Imperial Palace Plaza (Imperial Palace Outer Garden) is, and people do the jogging-and-exercises at lunchtime. Tour groups also have their photo taken on old quite large format cameras. There’s a lot of gravel in the plaza and pine trees of some sort on the lawns. There are also the big black crows making more noise than the traffic 300 metres away. Tokyo is not as noisy as you would expect it to be (except maybe at rush hour) – I think the cars have quiet engines. Kyoto was very quiet.

  In this plaza I met Leanne and her granny Daisy.

  Then I went over to Tokyo Station. Outside the Japanese national Railways building was some sort of rally, with a politician (perhaps) talking. A lot of red and some white pennants.

  I went through to the Yaesu side of T. Station and bought a wiener schnitzel sandwich and real orange juice in a can with the meaty bits unsquashed. ¥350.

   I had a look in the Takashimaya Department Store on Chuo dori Avenue, then walked along the road to go back to the Mitsukoshi Dept. Store. These stores are massive and employ hundreds of staff, mostly women, in natty little uniforms. Some, like the information and elevator girls, wear little hats perched atop their heads.

   Each store has a huge array of merchandise – e.g. there were hundreds and hundreds of golf clubs in the smaller building of Mits. Store. I saw Leanne and her granny there.

  Then I headed back along Chuo dori Avenue and bumped into Les Ingram. I finally got to Shimbashi Station and bought an overground train ticket and tried to get into the subway. Sorted things out, but I had to wait a while for the train. (There’s usually a subway train every five minutes.)

  I stayed at the hotel for a while, did a bit of washing and talked to some of the louts that I know who were hanging about in the lobby. Chris and Linda have got their visas [for the USSR].

   ‘Twas the hour afore eight, and I caught the subway on the Toei Mita Line from Onarimon Station, which is just a bit closer to the hotel than Daimon. I got off at Otemachi (just past Tokyo Station, but on a different line) and walked down to Chuo-dori Avenue, on which grows the Suruga Bank, which is just down the road from the aforementioned Mitsukoshi Department Store. Simon was waiting for me. He’s so bloody tall.

  We walked along to Tokyo Station, stopping in a cake shop on the way, and caught the rapid train to Funabashi (actually Tsudanuma Station) – about 20km from Tokyo Station (according to the map). [Actually, 26.7 km. Tsudanuma is in Narashino City right on the border of Funabashi City.]

  Funabashi is where Simon lives and teaches English [though he had some classes in Tokyo, too, like at Suruga Bank]. We had dinner in one of his regular eateries – tofu, a bit of raw fish and something to start off with (a bit of fish with some greens).

  Tofu is a common Japanese dish, made of various preparations of bean curd. It was all right, but not for every night! I think this was a more traditional Japanese meal than you get at other places. We walked back to Simon’s place – about ten minutes’ worth over a railway line [the Shin-Keisei Line] and along narrow streets; but it was dark.

  Simon’s place is a typical Japanese flat, for the price. It has a little anteroom where you take your shoes off. The main room is a raised parquet floor; there’s a very small kitchen (room enough, really, for a sink), a small bedroom, and a small toilet – Japanese style, non-flushable. That’s all, except for some storage space under the stairs for the room above. The light for the toilet is behind the kitchen door, a very awkward place.

  He has little furniture – a couple of legless chairs, a small table, some bookshelves, a small fridge. I think this is what to expect in a Japanese house – and the beds; mattresses with a sleeping bag/doona type thing – futons.

  It being close to closing time, we went along to the local sento. Ah, what a terrific experience that was. For an entrance fee of ¥250, one strips off, goes into the washing room, sits on a small plastic stool in front of two taps (hot and cold) and a plastic basin, and proceeds to wash – with incumbent soap and very small towel. [Then you can get into the very large hot bath, followed by the cold bath. I remember feeling quite light-headed after getting out.]

  Oh, it’s great.

  After getting dressed, Simon made a call in the phone box outside and I waited in the cool evening air. The place closed – it opens from 3.00pm to 10.30 or 11.45 at night, and is recognized by a tall chimney.

 We returned to Simon’s place. Simon slept in the small bedroom, I in the big room, where sleeps Yaël (Jaël? Hebrew name) usually, but she was out that night.