Zenful

The pod has exceeded my expectations on cleanliness and etiquette. I'm on a women only floor and those who were getting up early were very mindful and quiet.

I stopped by the front desk on my way out to chat about checkout tomorrow and if I can leave my duffel with them early. The clerk didn't speak English nor Korean, so he FaceTimed on a tablet with a translator who was able to answer my questions. Yay technology.

I took the subway eastward from Higashi-Ginza to Ningyocho. Here I got a little lost, but found my way to Arashio beyo, or a sumo stable. I knew I was in the right place when I saw these big fellas on the street:



So this stable has windows that allows folks to observe practice every morning. They practice everyday except during tournament weeks. The coaches watched as the participants played "I get winner!" The winner didn't last long usually as his energy would be spent - the windows got periodically so much condensation, that an assistant had to wipe them every so often.







I throughly enjoyed watching them practice and the camaraderie. Some were lifting weights to the side - one guy had another guy on his back while doing squats. A foreigner on a bicycle asked if it was a bathhouse and I had to explain to him what it was - it got that foggy on the windows, but no dude, we're not peeping on bathers. Ew.

On my way to the metro, I stopped in Yoshinoya which is a fast food chain. Not much was open this early, but I enjoyed a solid sukiyaki style beef over rice bowl with an egg.



I then walked up to Higashi-Nihombashi where I took the train to Asakusa. Hordes of people exited with me as we were all visiting Senso-ji Temple. At the entrance to the complex is the grand gate, Kaminari-mon - underneath the lantern is an engraved dragon.





Leading up to the temple is Nakamise-dori which is famous for its shopping and street food.



Part of the complex is a 5 story pagoda:



Some other views and sights:





There is an incense cauldron that apparently produces smoke with healing powers. Little kids cried as their eyes were getting irritated by the smoke.



After walking around the temple, I headed to Daikokuya, popular for their tempura in sesame oil, an Asakusa specialty. Here I chatted briefly with a girl from San Jose as we shared itinerary ideas.



I walked through Nakamise-Dori and picked up some street sweets filled with red bean.



Next on my agenda was the Tokyo National Museum. So I took the subway to Ueno where I meandered through the lively park. This area has lots of museums, shrines, a zoo, and etc. There was a concert and food stalls everywhere - not sure for what, but I was thoroughly entertained by these dance troupes:



I decided to focus on the national museum which has extensive Japanese works and is a complex of buildings. It ended up being free for the day - for the win!



I explored the Japanese arts gallery and then the National Treasure gallery. Sometimes you were allowed to take photos, and sometimes you weren't. In order to avoid getting in trouble, I took very few, but here they are:





It was only about 3 pm at this point, so I decided to walk 15 minutes to Nezu Shrine. According to Lonely Planet, the most beautiful in Tokyo. I thought it was serene and peaceful. This is what I pictured when I tell people I wanted to zen out. Here are some photos:











I then walked to the subway and took the train to Suitengu-Mae, where I planned to have an early dinner at Tamahide. The restaurant is known for its oyako-don, or chicken over rice. However it was closed today for the holiday and a lovely woman translated the sign for me. She ended up being of Korean descent and was excited when I clarified I was American of Korean descent when she asked if I was American of Chinese descent. Someone always asks if I'm Chinese when I travel - even the Koreans...

So I decided to walk about 15 minutes to Taimeiken which is known for serving western comfort food, but is famous for creating an Omerice or omelette rice for the cult foodie Japanese flick, Tampopo. I saw it at an indie theater with my good friend Shirley earlier this year. I also used to eat omerice all the time as a kid as my mom would make it.

The waitresses were sweet as they explained I had to cut it in half. They also thought it was funny when they asked if I wanted an English menu, I responded I didn't speak Japanese. Their accents were so thick I thought they were still speaking Japanese. Here's a picture with my beer and of course, ketchup!



After dinner, I headed to the metro and back to Ginza. I walked through the lovely street lined with Christmas decorations in the fancy stores. This time I saw Santas on bicycles!

Back at the hotel, the women's floor was pretty empty as it was only 6:30 pm. I headed down to the foot bath to soak my feet and the hot water soothed my tired toes. A big foot bath for my tiny feet and I felt like a new person:



So I got ready to sleep early as I plan to wake up early to try to see the tuna auction at Tsukiji market!