Tokyo or Bust

So we finally took the train. We left the kids at home and walked over to our nearby station ready to take on the challenge. Not going to lie, it was a day I was a little nervous for. I had heard the stories about how complicated and big, not to mention how crazy busy the train system is here. I was sure we would get lost and possibly trampled. I still remember the first time I saw the images rail workers pushing more passengers into the cars. I was sure that would happen to me.

See what I'm talking about?

We boarded the first train. I noticed two things as I walked on the train: there were no seats available and everyone was quiet. It was the longest ride we had, clocking in at 30-ish minutes before switching to the next train giving me plenty of time for people watching. I saw people dressed for work, falling asleep or playing with smart phones. I saw parents with children of all ages. All of whom were either silent or speaking in low whispers. Oh, and this idea that Japanese children behave better than American? I would like to counter by saying, not better, just quieter. I am here to say, happily, children everywhere are just children. One perfect example was a mother with her two sons standing next to us who (quietly) bopped her tween on the head after he was intentionally squishing the younger one into the door and laughing.

After a half hour of my quiet observations, it was then suddenly time to switch trains, the real test of a transit passenger. I was sure we’d get on the wrong one and somehow end up in another city entirely. We followed the large crowd up the stairs into the main terminal where we were relieved to find most of the signs and ticket kiosks were available in English. But we made it to our destination in one piece and feeling accomplished.

 

View of the city from the Imperial Garden

Wanna know what else I noticed? Tokyo is huge. Not just huge, massive. I have spent a number of years living in or near New York City. Tokyo makes NYC look like a quaint town. We got off the subway in a neighborhood called Roppongi, walked around and then headed for the Imperial Garden, another reminder of just how big the city is. Then we got lost finding food. And then we got lost finding the train station. By the time we made it back to base we had walked 8 miles.

 

Hubby in the Imperial Garden

I was pooped when we finally made it home. But you know what else I was? I was excited! I had done something kind of scary, traveled to a place where I don’t speak the language and can’t tell one character from the next. But my husband and I did it and we did it together. It took about an hour for me to start planning the next trip. I can’t wait to go back and even plan on taking the kiddo’s.