Mikey’s Around-The-World 2024/2025 trip: Tokyo Japan.
My last stop before settling into Thailand for the winter was Tokyo. I though it would be a convenient stopover point starting from Mexico City, but according to the American Airlines around-the-world trip planner, it wouldn’t let me do it. I checked other flight systems and found that AA flies from JFK in New York to Tokyo, so I added JFK as an intermediate connection and it worked! So I flew to JFK for 5 hours in a strangely uncomfortable first class seat and slept on and off with a sore neck, then fought the stupid USA transit passenger security and baggage process, then spent the 4 hours of layover at the AA lounge eating breakfast and trying to stay awake. I boarded the flight to Tokyo and settled in for the 15 hour flight time, in a business class cubby. According to the flight path display, we deviated significantly east of the planned route, avoiding any contact with the Russian coastline. Hmmm, I wonder why.
I arrived at Tokyo Haneda airport which is a little bit south of the city center. Getting through immigration with approximately 2000 other people and contradictory information about filling in 2 or 3 different pieces of paper, not very Japanese I have to say. Got some Yen out of a 7-11 branded ATM . Took the Airport monorail to Tokyo station, then changed to the JY Green line subway to Okachimachi Station. Enjoy the picture of the Tokyo subway system. I was examining the map while we were underway and the man sitting next to me went into his briefcase and handed me a multi-page glossy flyer describing the entire Tokyo subway system, what a thoughtful gesture!
Now this is where things get interesting. I booked a men-only ‘capsule’ hotel. This is a place where your ‘room’ is basically a coffin, equipped with a thin mattress, sheet, power outlets and a flat screen TV. They give you a cloth top and elastic bottom to wear during your stay, and no shoes inside. There are two levels of cubbies and I made sure to ask for a lower one for my current hip issue. The downside is there is a shared toilet area on each floor, with no showers. I was told about a sauna and public bath on the 4th floor and my first morning I had a shower in an open area while 10 guys were sitting in the hot tub staring at me. Later I asked at the front desk if this was a gay hotel, but the clerk said no, it’s just the Japanese way. Later I explored the hotel and found 3 private shower stalls tucked away at the back of the 2nd floor, lesson learned. My suitcase was stored on the 3rd floor and I had a small locker and my coffin on the 5th floor. I spent a lot of time going up and down the building.
My neighbourhood was alive with narrow streets, neon, video and pachinko gaming parlors, karaoke shops and restaurants with unidentifiable food. I settled on pork dumplings with the help of an English menu. I avoided the dish of pig uterus. A young couple sitting nearby asked if they could join me and practice their English so of course I said yes. I applaud them for being brave and we enjoyed our conversation. Every Japanese person I met was wonderful, refreshing in these times.
As a side-effect of my current Angel investing program, I was offered a slot in a pre-IPO investment in Rimac, the Croatian electric hypercar company that coincidentally I tried to join as a software engineer a few years ago. When I found out that the minimum buy-in was 10 million Euros, I told them I had to pass.
Up at 4am with jet-lag but good timing to watch the Austin Formula 1 race. Went 2 stops on the subway to the famous electronics mecca of Akihabara. I was quickly underwhelmed as the area has transformed to almost nothing I remembered from previous visits. I did manage to find one small shop geared towards Raspberry Pi, Arduino and other microcontroller parts, I bought a stepper motor and controller board for a project building a remote control system for my window blinds. I finally found a 7-story building full of consumer electronics but I came away disheartened that COVID and online ordering probably killed this cool techy neighbourhood. Had a nap and woke up at midnight. Everything on my street was closed so I just took a long walk through the area.
The next day I went to a Maid Cafe called @home Cafe. They have a strict no pictures or video policy and I can’t begin to describe what happens, so if you want to understand this part of Japanese culture, search YouTube for the cafe name and be ready for the weirdness. I have to say it was entertaining, and something that you just have to do when you’re here. There are dozens of this type of cafe around the city.
The next day I took the subway to the mega-high-end Ginza shopping district. Realizing I’m not the customer these places want and it was cold and drizzling, I walked to the Imperial Palace area and was amazed at the beauty of the park and the palace grounds I could see from the public side of the barriers. Check out the pictures.
I booked a bus trip to Mount Fuji, because again you have to. I was at the meeting place at 7am, fell asleep instantly on the bus and woke up at Fuji Station 5, which is pretty much the highest place that buses can go. Sadly due to climate change, Fuji had no snow on the cap, just bare volcanic rubble all the way up. I was given a Mt. Fuji blessed golden bell on a velvet cord, supposed to give me good luck. I’ll take it any way I can get it!
Back on the bus to a large lake area, took a gondola to the top of a small mountain but the peak is socked in with fog, can’t see a thing. Back down and onto a large boat that took us across the lake, then back on the bus to a train station where I got on a Shinkansen bullet train back to the city. It was only a few stops so we only hit 280 kph or 174 miles per hour.
Stopped at a pharmacy for drops for pinkeye, yay, what else can go wrong with my body?
I prepped and packed up my little suitcase and reversed my path back to Haneda airport. It was 8am on a Friday and the subway was PACKED, wow. Very fast path checking in and through security, no outgoing immigration step. An hour in the JAL lounge and then onto the plane, business class cubby for 7 hours, with a different but good business class layout than AA. During the flight an announcement stressed that vapes are banned for entry to Thailand. This is a problem because I bought a vape back in America, not to smoke but to take apart and try to use the circuit board and full LCD display in the case in a project of some kind. So I decided to take it apart to avoid any problems. The cabin crew lady walked past as I was prying apart the vape with a knife and I think she got a little scared until I explained what I was doing. I showed her the board and LCD display later to make sure she was OK and hadn’t arranged a special uniformed greeting party for me upon our arrival.
I showed my brand-spanking-new Destination Thailand Visa paper to the immigration officer in Bangkok. She looked surprised because it’s very unusual at this early stage of its rollout, but she processed it correctly and I’m good for 6 months. If I want to stay longer I just have to do a border bounce for 1 day to another country then back in for 6 months. Rinse and repeat. I have come up with a general plan that I will stay in Barcelona for the summer (to avoid becoming a tax resident) and Thailand for the winter (since I have been unable to sell my condo). I’ll just bounce back and forth each year and do some other fun travels on the side.
After a week in Bangkok I’m comfortably settled into my winter home here in Hua Hin. I won’t be posting any travel updates until I head back to Barcelona in March unless something happens. I am trying to get a trip to Shanghai or Shenzhen to watch my EV Fuel Gauge circuit board get manufactured and assembled, we’ll see how things work out with my YouTube channel sponsors. Also I’d love to go to Shanghai to see the Tesla factory there, even though they don’t offer tours at this time.
So take care and try to come out alive on the other side of this galactic shitshow we call America.
