Day 3: Mostly Parks. Sugamo, Komagome, and Asukayama

Good morning, world! I went to sleep when the sun was up which was not the most pleasant experience but it'll have to work. I did manage to wake up before the afternoon though, which is good because I really hate sleeping into the afternoon. Just makes me feel ultra lazy. This was my view right before sleeping:

I guess it's nice that I managed to catch a sunrise? Anyway, I didn't manage to drag myself actually out of bed until closer to 12:30 and didn't manage to leave until closer to 1. Mostly, I spent the time trying to actually figure out what to do and where to go for the day. I need to start doing it in advance so that I can fully utilize the time between morning and evening rush hours on the train. I had to ride during rush hour the other day and I don't really like being packed into the train so tightly. Especially if I get unlucky and have to stand right in front of the door and awkwardly trying to get out of people's way. You can step off the train to let others pass and then step back on but one time I did that and then awkwardly got back in line (rather than just standing closer by the door), so when I got back on I was still directly in the doorway LOL

This actually reminds me. During rush hour yesterday, I saw a lady drop one of her wireless earbuds in the area between the train and the platform and she bent down to grab it, froze as she realized what happened, then just went dead-eyed and accepted it. Was quite an experience to watch.

That's enough about previous days though, let's talk about today. I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do but remembered I had asked ChatGPT for quiet activities I could do in Tokyo near where I am staying like a month ago. I went and looked at the saved conversation and about half the ideas were salvageable so I stringed them into a route, added a couple extra things I noticed on Google Maps, and then set off.

The first item on the itinerary was visiting Sugamo Jizodori Shopping Street, which ChatGPT called "Harajuku for the Elderly". Its words not mine. But I will say that a quick search does seem to back up those claims.

I arrived and the street was as advertised.

The street was fairly calm and most of the patrons did appear to be elderly. None of the wares appealed to me in any way so I basically just walked all the way up and down the street without buying anything. Most of the shops seemed to be clothing stores catered to older ladies and I can't say I was particularly inspired by the patterns or cuts of the clothing. Either way, I did enjoy the atmosphere and think it was worth a look, especially considering I'm here for an entire month anyway. What am I going to do, go to Shinjuku every day?

The street did have one stand out vendor though - specifically, this vending machine.

Vending machines are ubiquitous in Tokyo, so much so that they actually begin to blend in with everything else. Then when thirst strikes, they seemingly pop back into existence. The fun thing about vending machines here is that they serve both cold and hot drinks, which I don't think I've ever seen even once in the states. They are also really cheap. In the Pikachu vending machine above, everything was like 230 yen or less - less than $1.75. I noticed a few that had monster energy for ¥220 which is really cheap for it!

After marveling at the glorious vending machine, I made my way to Rikugien Gardens. This is an artificial garden that was set up to depict various scenery that was scene in another prefecture in Japan, which is pretty cool.

The gardens had plaques around the whole thing that would outline each of the "88 Views of Rikugien". Maybe I should have tried to view each one myself. I think at most I read 20 of the plaques, so I have more to experience if I decide to visit again!

This arched stone island is called "Horaijima", and I think it is part of at least one of the 88 views but I actually can't tell from the pictures I took or a quick Google search.

I had meant to eat on the long-ish walk to the garden but hadn't found anything (OK I found a lot but was intimidated lol), but was surprised to see a cafe-type place in the middle of the garden. It had a nice down-to-earth vibe and the 2 people working were really nice and I was able to order a Tanuki Udon and Cream Soda. The chef asked me and/or let me know that the cream soda would come out before the udon, but it turned out I did not actually understand what he was asking and it came out after the udon. No hard feelings though, because I didn't mind either way!

The udon was so hot but pretty tasty. At this place "Tanuki Udon" is udon with bits of tempura in it, so I guess maybe a vegetarian dish.

After I spent 10 minutes on the dot eating it, I stopped with my facade and finished the udon. I don't want to eat too fast in case it's impolite (although the opposite CAN be true if you're eating at like a stand-up ramen shop). I think began drinking/eating the Cream Soda they had finished making and brought over while I had been eating noodles one-by-one.

In Japan, cream soda is actually not what we typically think about in the west (a really sweet drink that tastes like cream), but is instead a melon soda float. Melon soda is like absolutely top tier, they should sell it everywhere in the world, and adding ice cream amps up its deliciousness. Needless to say I was satisfied with the meal.

I thanked them for the food and headed on my way. While I was walking around, I actually thought that Rikugien Gardens reminded me a lot of my beloved Sharon Woods park in Columbus atmosphere-wise. It is actually quieter than Sharon woods, I think largely because it has buildings surrounding it on every side whereas Sharon woods is directly adjacent to roads. That being said, vegetation-wise, it's more like the Arboretum in Seattle.

Either way it's really nice and I would recommend a visit.

After I left the park, I charted course for the Former Furukawa Gardens, a cool-looking Western style manor, designed by the "father of Japanese modern architecture" (an Englishman), and surrounded by a Japanese garden. It looked pretty cool so I wanted to check it out.

On the way, I meandered through some pretty empty streets like this one

And made a quick stop at a temple

Apparently, I had started my day too late and meandered too long because by the time I got to my destination, it was closing for the day. These may work out in my favor though since next week, this garden is holding a nice sounding event, the Spring Rose Festival, and so I can go to that and not be blasé about it due to visiting before.

A little dejected, I carried on to my final stop of the day, Asukayama Park. I had chosen this order of parks strageically in order to take me in a giant loop to head back home so I wouldn't have to ride the train during rush hour, which was a good thing because I was running out of steam.

The park itself was pretty nice and lively. Kids were playing in the attached park and there were people practicing musical instruments. They clearly weren't professionals but you've got to admire the guts it takes to practice in the park when you're a beginner. (unless they were pros and I'm just mega rude)

There were a few museums in the park but they were also closed and not on topics I'd want to spend time in a museum for (Japanese paper, the father of Japanese capitalism, etc.)

I didn't take any pictures but I walked back home and grabbed some rice balls on the way. I tried to nap but couldn't, but I did manage to make it to work on time so that was nice.