East Meets ACE – A Journey to the Land of the Rising Sun
East Meets ACE – Prologue: Tokyo
When I first joined ACE in 2003 I was fascinated by the article in Roller Coaster about ACE’s European Coaster Odyssey in 2002. I thought how interesting it would be to go on an international trip with ACE. But in 2005 when ACE joined ECC for a trip to Japan, I never even considered going. I had only been out of the country once and I did not know many people yet. Later, as I read the reports of that trip I wished I had been able to go. I jumped at the chance for an international trip when ACE went to Spain in 2009 and have been on every ACE international trip since. When I learned ACE was going to Japan, I was excited, but also a little concerned about such a long flight. I studied up on Japan and the parks we would visit. I knew it would be the trip of a lifetime. And I was right.
On Thursday, September 20, 2018, I headed for Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport for the 12+ hour nonstop Delta flight to Tokyo. I met up with my friend Richard Bostic at the airport. Our flight left around 11:30 Thursday morning, and when we arrived over 12 hours later it was 3:30 Friday afternoon. The sun had been up the whole time. We flew north over Canada and across the northern shores of Alaska, giving us great views of the Arctic Ocean.
In Tokyo as we landed it was raining, which unfortunately would be a theme of this trip. Once in Narita International Airport we met up with David Lipnicky and made our way to our hotel by limousine bus, passing by Tokyo Disneyland along the way, which we would visit in a few days. Traffic was unbelievably heavy on this Friday afternoon of a holiday weekend – it was Autumnal Equinox Day on Monday. After a more than two hour bus ride we finally made it to the Keio Plaza Hotel where we would stay for the next week. By the time we checked in Vanessa Thomas had arrived, so our group of four who had planned sightseeing and other activities together before and after the ACE trip was complete.
Our original plan was to venture out from the hotel a bit this night, perhaps to nearby East Shinjuku, the nightlife center of Tokyo, or maybe even a short subway ride to Shibuya, party town for Tokyo’s youth where the latest in fashion, food, music and gadgets could be found, but due to our late arrival and how tired we were from the flight, we decided to stay closer to the hotel and find something in West Shinjuku. Just a couple of blocks away we found a street with many small restaurants, so we scouted out a place that would satisfy our diverse tastes. With two sushi lovers and two who will not eat sushi (including me as I refuse to eat uncooked meat), and with various limitations regarding meat and fried food, finding something we could all agree on would become perhaps the biggest challenge of this trip. We settled on a small Japanese place and had a somewhat light meal to start our trip, but it was good. We returned to the hotel to get ready for a full day of sightseeing the next day just ahead of the ACE Trip.
On Saturday, September 22 we got an early start on our sightseeing. Although we would enjoy good breakfasts at the Keio Plaza Hotel throughout the week, breakfast was not included with this day as our stay the previous night was on our own, not part of the ACE trip. After a quick stop at the hotel market for some food items, we were off to Tochomaeo Station for a short subway ride to Yoyogi Station. From here we walked a few blocks to the entrance to Meiji Shrine. Located in Yoyogi Park, this is considered the most important Shinto shrine in Tokyo. Here Emperor Meiji (1852-1912) and his wife are enshrined. The Park is quite large and fairly heavily wooded, so it provides great tranquility from the bustle of the city around it. We walked in and admired the many buildings, especially in the area of the Inner Shrine. We explored various pathways and saw many interesting sights.
We headed back to Yoyogi Station and took the subway to Daimon Station where we changed lines to travel to Asakusa Station. We arrived at Asakusa Station and made the short walk to catch the Sumida River Cruise. This covered boat ride with a glass top travels along the main river in Tokyo and gives great views of the buildings along the waterfront while passing under 12 bridges, each painted a different color. Although we had only dealt with light off-and-on rain that morning, it was raining some now, making it hard to take good pictures through the glass roof. We enjoyed the journey anyway as we got to see a good bit of this side of Tokyo. Some 35 minutes later we arrived at our stop, Hama-rikyu Station where we disembarked.
We now got to tour Hama-rikyu Garden, a 62 acre garden dating back to 1654 when it was a retreat for shoguns. Nakajima Teahouse, which President Teddy Roosevelt once visited, has been faithfully rebuilt following World War II bombings that destroyed it and much of the gardens. The gardens are beautiful, like a country oasis in the heart of the city; it was nice to feel so secluded in such a large metropolis. We wandered the winding pathways past shrines, pavilions, statues and even a few cats (which I took pictures of for my cats Waggles and Sonny). It was here that we saw the first squat toilet that we encountered. Fortunately our hotels were equipped with state of the art toilets!
We headed out of the park for the Shiodome Station. It is here that we would divide up. Vanessa is an avid baseball fan and wanted to go to a game in Tokyo. We had all considered going until we could not find a game that would work with our schedule and not take away an afternoon of sightseeing. So Vanessa headed to Tokyo Dome to see the Giants vs. the Swallows, while Richard, David and I continued our sightseeing journey.
We arrived at Ryogoku Station and walked to the Japanese Sword Museum.
While the museum is rather small, it had a good display of Japanese sword craftsmanship, some dating back to the 12th century. It was fascinating to learn more about how swords are made and to see the intricate artwork involved.
From here we admired the attached garden
and headed backto Ryogoku Station and took the subway to Ueno-okachimachi Station near Ueno Park.
Our plan was to have a quick lunch, visit the Shitamachi Museum, which showcases the history of Shitamachi, the low city of Edo, as Tokyo was once known, and walk through a bit of Ueno Park. Realizing that this might be our best opportunity for a Japanese beef meal, we opted for a sit-down meal. We chose a place where you could grill your food at your table. I was quickly accused of hogging the grill, but my thought was to get everything cooked as quickly as possible and then be able to eat. Apparently you are supposed to cook some and eat it and then cook more, but in an effort to ensure that raw never touches cooked, as I will point out the health code dictates, I took a little more than my share of the grill. Despite that it was a good meal, with several types and cuts of beef. I am not certain what some of it was, but I will leave it at that. We had been a little behind our schedule when we arrived and the meal took a while, so we realized we would have to skip seeing Ueno Park and the Shitamachi Museum. We headed to Ueno-okachimachi Station and took the subway to Kasuga Station.
We walked to Koishikawa Korakuen Garden.
One of Tokyo’s best traditional stroll gardens, it dates back to 1629.
Covering 20 acres in the heart of the city,
it is especially known for its noteworthy bridges
and it is filled with picturesque vistas.
It was a little more formally landscaped than the Hama-rikyu Garden we visited earlier, but both are beautiful in different ways.
It was also has more changes in elevation, which adds to its beauty.
It is located right next to Tokyo Dome, so we could hear fans cheering at the baseball game where Vanessa was
as well as see Thunder Dolphin (Intamin, Hyper, 2003) that we would be riding the next day. We headed out to Korakuen Station, transferred lines at Otemachi Station, and arrived at Sendagi Station.
From here we began a long walking tour of the Yanaka District, a quiet area of the city that survived the 1923 earthquake and World War II bombings.
It provides the look and feel of old Shitamachi with tightly packed houses on narrow alleys and traditional shops, restaurants and food stalls. This would have been an excellent place to have dinner, but we had to be back to check in for the ACE trip and meet up with Vanessa. As we walked along it began to get dark as the sun sets in Tokyo around 5:30 that time of year. With such early sunset comes early sunrises in the Land of the Rising Sun. We walked past the Tenoji Temple and the Yanaka Cemetery, which is huge. We walked and walked and yet the cemetery still remained on our left. After a while we made our way to Ueno Park, the large city park with many statues, temples, shrines and museums, finally getting a chance to see it after having to skip it earlier in the day. It was quite active this night, with concerts and various activities taking place.
We made our way to Ueno-okachimachi Station and took the subway to Tochomaeo Station, headed back to the hotel. Back at Keio Plaza Hotel, we met up with Vanessa just as the check-in time for East Meets ACE was getting underway. After seeing with many of our friends and catching up, we joined Vanessa’s parents Dan and Judy Thomas for dinner.
We went to a complex across from the hotel and found a good Spanish restaurant upon which we could all agree. After a long, tiring but rewarding day, we headed back to Keio Plaza Hotel to get some rest before an early start to our roller coaster adventure the next day.
Up Next: Tobu Zoo Park
Ronny's Travels 