Exploring Tokyo

A narrow street in Shinjuku.

Yesterday I went into Tokyo with my roommate Kim for the first time since arriving. We got on the bus that stops at our school, the 93, which took us to Musashisakai station. From there we took the Chuo line and got off at Shinjuku. Tokyo is its own city, but it’s comprised of many slightly smaller cities, or districts. From my experience on the train so far, the most popular cities in the Tokyo area are Shinjuku and Shibuya. Harajuku is Tokyo’s well-known fashion district.

Kim and I planned to go to a highly-reviewed cat cafe in Shinjuku. When we got off the train and onto the street, it was overwhelming. There is so much to see and look at, so many cool things to take pictures of, and so many people to avoid bumping into. I have never been in a place so busy. Even the busiest parts of San Francisco come nowhere close to how crowded the main parts of Tokyo are.

Tokyo’s layout is interesting, because it has wide, main streets, but the majority of it is actually dense, narrow streets packed with dozens of restaurants and clothing shops. These smaller alleys aren’t laid out on a grid, either. They wind, bend, go up, go down. On one small alley that’s maybe 50 feet long you could have 20 restaurants. Many shops are hidden on upper floors or down some stairs.

Kim and I made our way to the Calico Cat Cafe, which was on the 5th and 6th floors of a tall building in Shinjuku. The only way we found it was from the brown sign I recognized from the street view of Google Maps that had a picture of a cat on it. We went into the building and walked up some narrow, steep stairs to the 6th floor. It appeared to be a tourist destination, because along with Japanese people there were also people from other countries. I don’t think that many countries have cat cafes.

The Calico Cat Cafe in Shinjuku.

The cats wander freely on the 5th and 6th floors. There are about 20 cats there. They were interesting breeds that I had never seen before – most of them had squashed faces and short ears. Most of them were sociable and would approach you, but once they found out you didn’t have any treats they quickly lost interest and went in search of a new friend.

After the cat cafe, Kim and I got lunch at an Italian place! Yes, Italian. We had been eating Japanese food since arriving and wanted something different. The restaurant we went to had really good pasta with red sauce, Canadian bacon, zucchini, and basil. It was 690 yen, or about $6, for a large portion. That was a decent price, but we have come to discover that much of the food here is quite expensive. That’s unfortunate for us because we have to buy every meal, even in the dining hall.

The Shibuya crossing.

After lunch, we wandered around Shinjuku a bit more then decided to take the train to Shibuya, which is home to the “world’s busiest intersection.” The train system, though very busy, is an easy way to get around. The trains come every three minutes, without fail. They have to, because even in those three minutes the platforms in the stations almost completely fill up with people. We got on the Yamanote line to Shibuya and the intersection we were looking for was right outside of the station.

It was incredible – I have never seen that amount of people in any one area. I read that during rush hour this one intersection can have 2,500 people passing through it at one time. There were other tourists like us, but most of the people there were going about their daily business. It’s amazing to me that a city this busy can be a part of some people’s daily routine. And I thought I was cool coming from the city of SF! Tokyo is like San Francisco 10.0.

The train station at Shinjuku.

Kim and I walked around Shibuya a bit, which is even more downtown-like than Shinjuku. Bright signs everywhere, crowded alleys and streets, shop after shop after restaurant after shop after restaurant. We went into one store and I bought a pair of purple lollipop earrings. C’mon, I’m not going to find large purple lollipop earrings in the US.

The women here have great style. The young women, dressed both casually and professionally, really know how to put an outfit together. I really have yet to see one young Japanese woman who is ill-dressed. A popular style here is calf-length, brightly-colored, high-waisted skirts worn with flats or heels. People here take care with what they put on, and most look like they’ve actually put thought into it, unlike… some in the US.