It’s hard not to love Japan—the place is clean, modern, and everything tastes good. Just walking down the street, you also get glimpses of both old and new, coexisting with each other as if life had always been that way. You see women in kimonos alongside the eclectically-dressed Harajuku kids, centuries-old temples near modern amusement parks, traditional grilled mochi next to An Pan Man lollipops.

Thus, getting a 12-hour layover in Narita was like getting a "gift with purchase" for our trip! We had two choices: 1) Go into Narita, which is about 20 minutes from the airport and would give us more time, or 2) Go into Tokyo, which is about 1.5 hours from the airport but would give us more choices. We chose option 2 since Mari used to live there, and made plans to get to Asakusa.

It’s funny—developed cities/countries make it very easy for you to get around, even if it’s your first time. I think Mari thought I had low initiative throughout southeast Asia because I simply could not figure anything out, and always had to turn to her to lead us. Once in Tokyo, however, I could actually take over and tell Mari what to do, much to her surprise and amusement.

After spending all that time in southeast Asia, coming to Japan was suddenly chilly! And it was about 75 degrees!

In keeping with Fodorite ways, we met up with a fellow poster, Bola (a.k.a. bmttokyo), a Filipina doing missionary work in Japan. This was Bola’s first time meeting Fodorites, so naturally her kids thought she was crazy and about to lose her kidneys. We met under the famous Asakusa Kaminarimon gate, sped through the 300+ year old, 250 meter, 89-shop lane called Nakamise Dori leading to the Houzoumon Gate, and finally to the main Sensoji Temple. (While strolling we saw a guy wearing a SAME SAME BUT DIFFERENT Tshirt!)

After saying a prayer and taking photos with some visiting sumotori, we strolled to the Asakusa Kannon Onsen, a 200+ year old, ivy covered public bath. You pay 700 yen for admission, then pay extra for soap, shampoo, and towels that you may need. The shoe lockers, clothes lockers, and toilets were ancient, the bath itself cavernous, the fixtures were lime crusted and there were a few very friendly old ladies enjoying their bath (obviously regulars). Note that 700 yen is a little more expensive than the newer onsens—Bola thinks older onsens charge more because theirs feature mineral water.

This was my first time to a Japanese public bath, so it was a little odd for me not just to get butt naked in front of my friends, but also with Bola, whom I had met just a few minutes earlier! Mari, Stacey, and I think Elyse had already done this, and of course Bola is an old pro, so body consciousness was not a consideration (although Mari was yelling "no pictures!" at Elyse, who was awed at the old style of the bath house and wanted to document it). And amazingly, it seemed pretty casual to be chatting with Bola about life in Japan as we soaped or shampooed. It would help, though, if the onsen towels were full-sized instead of these tiny little strips of terry.

After showering off, you get to soak in the huge ofuro, which is the best part of the whole deal. We were in a rush to meet other people, though, so it was not possible to soak for 1-2 hours while talking about the meaning of life like real Japanese people do. Oh, well, maybe next time.

We had to meet Tanaka-san’s sister, who now lives in Japan with her Japanese husband; and another of Mari’s friends (also named Mari), who is an Associated Press reporter based there. AP Mari said that she had been following our trip on this blog, so I can now claim international fame.

We headed around the corner to Kawamatsu, a famous unagi & tempura restaurant passed down through several generations. Tanaka-san’s sister, husband, and I had unagi, of course, but AP Mari took a different twist and had unagi don. Bola & Stacey had tempura don, and Elyse, who was starving, had a complete Tempura Teishoku. (Mari was sick so she just had miso soup.) This was a fairly expensive meal—about $25 to $30 each—but we bit the bullet since we were starving and it was, after all, very famous.

From there Bola dropped us off at the 100 yen store. It’s just like the Marukai 99 cent store, but better!! Well, just different, I guess. It is easy to go crazy in one of these stores, and we had to exercise a lot of restraint, knowing what we could and could not carry. Trying to maximize our time, we spent all of 20 minutes in the Matsuya department store, where Mari + Mari went to the food section and the rest of us went to the clothes. I could have spent the next few hours in there, combing through the very cool clothes & accessories, but alas….no time. I guess this means I have to put "return to Tokyo" on my to-do list, but we need to fit it in with South Africa (April 2009), where AP Mari and I will be running the Two Oceans Marathon. Ah, too many places, too little time.

That was quite an adventure! Singapore seems like it happened ages ago. This particular trip was a lot of work, given the language differences and the development of the countries. But whether you work hard at your vacation or not, it’s always a good thing to do. After all, you need to travel not just to see the world, but to understand your place in it.

Photos will be posted later this week!