Asakusa

Asakusa... Sounds so beautiful when pronounced by Japanese... That's where I am staying tonight. It's not in the center of Tokyo (there is no a real center), but to get even here from Narita airport took an hour by train.

The district is very beautiful, lively, many places to eat (lots of deep fried shrimps and vegetables - tempura), street markets and not that many foreigners around. I spotted two Starbuckses, plan to have coffee there tomorrow morning. No internet though. No place can compete with Reykjavik in it.

I am staying in a capsule hotel tonight, wanted to try that experience while I am here. Capsule hotels are generally a male lodging, so when I arrived the women floor was completely empty.

For us, relatively westerners, it might seem to be an exotic experience; for them there is nothing exciting about it, it is one of the cheapest ways to stay. That's about it. My hotel is just next to the metro, very convenient and it could have had a nice view over the river if the rooms had windows. Normally they don't - there are 2 levels of shelves on both sides of the room with a narrow corridor in between. I thought you could close a door on your shelf-cabin, but it is a bamboo curtain that you normally put down for some privacy, but nothing you can lock. There are plenty of other lockers though.

When I just came (I did not reserve a... shelf btw, as I knew it was not that popular among women) I was asked to take my shoes off and place them in a small locker; I got slippers instead (frog-green and kind of nice). I was given a key for another locker, where a towel and a pajama was waiting for me. And then I had to put my luggage in the third locker, that I can open only when I leave if I do not want to pay every time I open it. Actually the shelf itself reminds a locker in a way, just you can't lock it.

On the second floor there is huge ballroom. They used it for dinner tonight, lots of small tables and pillows arranged by the perimeter of the room. Some huge group was having dinner. Then there is a common room (very small) with a computer that does not work and a TV. There is a Japanese old man in his pajamas watching football at the moment. He also has slippers like mine. I would not be surprised if the sizes are the same, both for slippers and pajamas... He was so kind as to let me use his adapter, as the electricity plug is not the same. It resembles US power outlet and I might even have that in my suitcase, but remember, it is locked and I don't want to waste money.

About the money, it is not as expensive as I expected. At least compared to Iceland. Even Starbucks is affordable.

It was raining when I went for a walk, so the guy at the counter offered me an umbrella. That was nice as I never carry one since I moved to Iceland. The streets were busy with people, same umbrellas like mine. I noticed that people were bumping onto me, which they did as they were walking on the other side of the street. I checked the road and learned that Japan has left side traffic. I might have known it before, but today I learned it again. Taxis are very similar to the ones in Shanghai. They have red and green signs on the window depending on if it is taken. The car models are also similar.

People are generally very helpful. Few of those that I talked to, spoke any English, but somehow it is enough to flash hand signs, they'd flash them back and you have the information needed. I was recommended a restaurant by an old couple like that, we might have played a nice pantomime together.

I am going to put on my green pajamas and check out the sleeping locker.
What a marvelous contrast - business class flight and a capsule hotel :).