If Symptoms Persist

Apologies about the significant lack of posts from Japan - plenty of things going on, just not enough time to capture them online... so without further adieu -

Sheri arrived in Tokyo last Wednesday, I took a train from Shinagawa out to Haneda airport... which involved an elaborate series of jumping off the train - checking for the airport sign, then jumping back on the same train and continuing to the next stop where I would repeat this process all over again. I managed to find the right train and arrived as Sheri picked up her luggage. It was nice to be reunited with my wife, who after her 14 hour journey was very ready to get to the hotel and recuperate. The ride back to Shinagawa was much easier now that I knew which train to take, and soon Sheri was thrust onto the streets of Tokyo in all of its crowded, neon glory. We decided to leave her bags in the hotel room and walk up the hill to Outback Steakhouse (not energetic enough to try any local places just yet). Outback was quite busy for a Thursday night, and considerably much smokier than any Outback I'd been in previously. Smoking is like the national past time here, so the 30 minute wait for a table seemed like an eternity... the menu was entirely Japanese, but we successfully used the point and nod method to order our food. We then walked our steaks off around the hotel/train station, and found a street filled of local restaurants (noodles, sobu, sushi), packed with the afterwork crowd. We then headed back to the hotel and snuggled in for the night.

I woke up around 1am shivering, at first thinking that my wife was making herself at home in Tokyo by taking all of the covers, only to find that I already had the sheet and comforter pulled around me. I didn't think much of it and went back to bed... at 3am I woke up in a sweat but freezing cold and knew something was wrong... I got up to get a glass of water and went back to bed. The alarm rang at 6:15 for work, and I was in terrible shape. I tried to shower but was too weak to stand. It became apparent that the minor sinus pressure I had been fighting for over a week with Advil Sinus had flourished into a full blown infection. I would need to find medical treatment in Japan! Not exactly an exciting proposition. Sheri, being the great wife she is, went down to the pharmacy and bought some Tylenol and a thermometer, which confirmed a 101F temperature. A team of coworkers and Sheri got me an appointment at a local British medical clinic, and the hotel manager helped explain the directions to our cab driver... who managed to find the clinic through nearly 30 minutes of un-air-conditioned traffic, all the while ignoring the Japanese instructions from his dash mounted GPS unit. The doctor's office was very contemporary, with low rise couches, pamphlets on why circumcision violates a baby's human rights, and posters depicting the immoral nature of eating mistreated pigs and baby chickens - apparently a progressive twist on the "cover your cough" signs at my old pediatricians' office. The doctor invited Sheri and I into his office / exam room, and within 3 minutes he had checked my ears, nose, and throat, determined I had a sinus infeciton and prescribed a 10 day supply of antibiotic... which had me back on my feet within 24 hours. I'm sure if was frustrating for Sheri to fly 6000 miles to spend her first 2 days in Tokyo watching her husband fight off an infection. I on the other hand was very happy she was there, it's bad enough to be sick away from home – at least I had somebody to help me sort things out.

We quickly got back on schedule Saturday afternoon, when I had regained enough energy to make a go of it - heading to the Imperial Palace (think Last Samurai) and touring the Higashi-Gyoen/eastern garden of the Imperial Palace, which is the only area open to the public. The walk from Tokyo station reminded us how intense the humidity was, and after about 10 minutes of walking up the hills of the Higashi-Gyoen we headed straight for one of the rest houses, complete with coke machines and air conditioning, providing much needed shelter from the heat. We decided to take the next path out of the gardens and try to find some lunch, because breakfast was quickly wearing off. So we headed back to Tokyo station, and headed North to Ueno, expecting to eat at a little sandwich shop that I had found in the Lonely Planet guide. 2 hours later we had stopped talking to one another and given up on the sub shop - we headed back to the hotel much worse for the wear, and in desperate need of showers and sustenance. We decided to keep dinner simpler than lunch, and tried an Italian place in the shopping area next to our hotel... best decision of the trip thus far. Great food, which has become one of many themes here in Tokyo. With some new found energy we decided to head back to the area where the doctor's office was, called Ebisu - and we walked out of the station into a tremendous festival. As best as we could figure out - at the end of July many of the towns go down to the local Shinto shrines, put the gods in heavy altars and bring them into town to party down with them. Dancing, eating and drinking were a-plenty, and we took advantage of this unexpected opportunity to grab a grilled squid on a skewer and cup of beer while watching some of the local dancing... we found out later that my friend from work had been there that night and got video of the "salary men" dancing in their suits with brief cases on the sidewalks behind them... these guys work hard and apparently play harder. The squid was a bit chewy, especially the tentacles, and be careful to not eat the beak... but where else can you chow down on calamari this fresh?

On Sunday we successfully located another Lonley Planet restaurant, not without a few tense moments... but we're glad we took the chance. Halfway between Ebisu and Shibuya along the major thoroughfare, is a 99 Yen store. Take a right and follow the alley for a few hundred meters and you'll find a quaint, Canadian owned establishment called Good Honest Grub. Probably 8 tables in the whole place, 2 downstairs, and 6 upstairs - where we ended up. We ordered a substantial brunch, complete with French toast, pancakes, BACON, eggs, toast, and fresh fruit smoothies that lacked the commercial feel of a Jamba Juice - although the seeds were a bit overwhelming near the bottom of the glass. The french toast was incredible, the best I've ever had (sorry Dad), it was made with french baguette and had visible pieces of egg from the fresh batter. Unfortunately for Sheri her pancakes were delivered to the wrong table, and by the time the young lady realized she didn't order pancakes she had successfully eaten half of Sheri's breakfast. But the pancakes were also worth the wait, and after about an hour we were stuffed, and back on the road walking another click North to the Shibuya station, where we caught a subway to Asakusa - a small Tokyo suburb with superb shopping and the largest Buddhist temple in town... when we exited the station we were greeted with a thunderstorm, fortunately some of the shopping avenues are covered, unfortunately it was Sunday afternoon - so it was busier than the Mercury Room on New Years Eve. We managed to find some really unique shops and gifts, snapped a few wet photos of the temple (really no as big as you might think for the "biggest temple in town"). By far the most interesting shop was the tortoise shell store we happened upon near the end of our tour of Asakusa. If the plastic food store had been open it may have given the tortoise shell shop a run for it's money - but apparently it's closed on Sundays, otherwise I could have bought some tasty artwork. The craftsman at the tortoise shell place was sawing real turtle shells right there in the shop, shaping them into various pieces - mostly jewelry and hair pins, really incredible stuff... at first I wondered how they obtain the turtle shells, but then I remembered some advice my friend Spencer once shared with me - "don't ask a question if you don't REALLY want to know the answer".