Japan Day 2: Japanese trains - 1, Krystle - 0
I lost to the system. Total knock-out pare.
It was supposed to be a garden-hopping day. I even wore a green shirt. The plan was to stop by Akihabara for a bit then proceed to Iidabashi and Koishikawa Korakuen (and maybe Tokyo Dome City) then to Hibiya Park, Hamarikyu, then a nightcap at Odaiba.
Three cheers for anyone who can guess what happened.
I started the day late, it was after lunch when I went out of the hostel. So I already knew the list above will be too ambitious. I was ready to settle for Koishikawa Korakuen and Odaiba. Walked from my hostel to the Iriya Metro station to hop on the Hibiya Line to Akihabara. From there I was supposed to board the JR Line to Iidabashi.
Goodness! Akihabara is... interesting. The only things of interest for me were the Gundam Cafe, the AKB48 Cafe, and the Mandarake branch. I didn't even take notice of all the electronics. HOWEVER, it took so much time for me to figure out where these places were, it felt like I saw all the side streets around the station. It's easy to get lost in these streets (actually, I can say the same for all of Tokyo so far) and having little or no preparation beforehand would never help.
The only things that lifted my spirits were finding so many idol goods in Mandarake - they even had Arashi Blast in Hawaii goods - I didn't buy anything, though, (yay for self control) the Book Off branch I accidentally saw, (where my self control actually broke down, haha) and the sporting goods store next to Mandarake: naglaway ako sa mga Gore-tex boots and Deuter bags! Pero syempre, mahalia pa rin, di na ako naglakas loob pumasok.
At around 3PM I made my way to catch the train for Iidabashi. But I never thought it would be so difficult to understand the trains. What is Chuo? What is Sobu? What is Chuo-Sobu? Local? Rapid? Special Rapid? I was unprepared. I relied on the station names only to realize (too late) that I should've been relying on the train departure times. It is so embarrasing but I'll admit, I spent an hour on the Akihabara JR station, going around in circles, hopping on and off the waiting Rapid trains, waiting for the Yellow train that never showed up to save me while I was there, figuring out if the train waiting for the next departure time would bring me to my destination. Because the Korakuen Garden closes at 5PM (and maybe because of too much frustration with myself because I couldn't bring myself to ask around) I ended up in Tokyo Station, where it all became even more confusing. Imagine, dalawa lang kalaban ko sa Akihabara, e pano pa sa Tokyo station, maryosep!
I ended up going back to the route I was most familiar with - went one station back to Kanda and then boarded the Ginza Line back to Asakusa. (As I'm typing this, I'm on the Tozai Line going back to Nakano, and next to me is a grade school kid who's travelling ALONE. My newfound "confidence" is once again shattered) It was only 5PM then, and I was already on my way back (as compared to the 2AMs I did in Hong Kong) I was determined to plan my day after. I stopped by a Lawson store across my hostel and picked up the first rice meal I would have since arriving. Comfort food dahil wala akong napala that day. Nanghihinayang akong nakatulog nang hindi ko naubos ang aking kinakain. Being alone on a trip is starting to stop being fun.
It was supposed to be a garden-hopping day. I even wore a green shirt. The plan was to stop by Akihabara for a bit then proceed to Iidabashi and Koishikawa Korakuen (and maybe Tokyo Dome City) then to Hibiya Park, Hamarikyu, then a nightcap at Odaiba.
Three cheers for anyone who can guess what happened.
I started the day late, it was after lunch when I went out of the hostel. So I already knew the list above will be too ambitious. I was ready to settle for Koishikawa Korakuen and Odaiba. Walked from my hostel to the Iriya Metro station to hop on the Hibiya Line to Akihabara. From there I was supposed to board the JR Line to Iidabashi.
Goodness! Akihabara is... interesting. The only things of interest for me were the Gundam Cafe, the AKB48 Cafe, and the Mandarake branch. I didn't even take notice of all the electronics. HOWEVER, it took so much time for me to figure out where these places were, it felt like I saw all the side streets around the station. It's easy to get lost in these streets (actually, I can say the same for all of Tokyo so far) and having little or no preparation beforehand would never help.
The only things that lifted my spirits were finding so many idol goods in Mandarake - they even had Arashi Blast in Hawaii goods - I didn't buy anything, though, (yay for self control) the Book Off branch I accidentally saw, (where my self control actually broke down, haha) and the sporting goods store next to Mandarake: naglaway ako sa mga Gore-tex boots and Deuter bags! Pero syempre, mahalia pa rin, di na ako naglakas loob pumasok.
At around 3PM I made my way to catch the train for Iidabashi. But I never thought it would be so difficult to understand the trains. What is Chuo? What is Sobu? What is Chuo-Sobu? Local? Rapid? Special Rapid? I was unprepared. I relied on the station names only to realize (too late) that I should've been relying on the train departure times. It is so embarrasing but I'll admit, I spent an hour on the Akihabara JR station, going around in circles, hopping on and off the waiting Rapid trains, waiting for the Yellow train that never showed up to save me while I was there, figuring out if the train waiting for the next departure time would bring me to my destination. Because the Korakuen Garden closes at 5PM (and maybe because of too much frustration with myself because I couldn't bring myself to ask around) I ended up in Tokyo Station, where it all became even more confusing. Imagine, dalawa lang kalaban ko sa Akihabara, e pano pa sa Tokyo station, maryosep!
I ended up going back to the route I was most familiar with - went one station back to Kanda and then boarded the Ginza Line back to Asakusa. (As I'm typing this, I'm on the Tozai Line going back to Nakano, and next to me is a grade school kid who's travelling ALONE. My newfound "confidence" is once again shattered) It was only 5PM then, and I was already on my way back (as compared to the 2AMs I did in Hong Kong) I was determined to plan my day after. I stopped by a Lawson store across my hostel and picked up the first rice meal I would have since arriving. Comfort food dahil wala akong napala that day. Nanghihinayang akong nakatulog nang hindi ko naubos ang aking kinakain. Being alone on a trip is starting to stop being fun.