A day of Culture and A/C

Any time I get to go to a great city, I always want to check out a museum or 2. The top of my list here is the Tokyo National Museum.
I figure a day inside and Art is a good plan.

Here are a few random things I’ve noticed far here in Tokyo:
• There is huge skincare marketing campaign geared towards men. I saw 5 types of small jars of foundation, helping them achieve the flawless, yet manly skin they so desire.

• Cooling deodorant wet wipes are very popular in Asia. When you are hot and sweaty,
You wipe yourself down with them and it instantly cools you off. I found that the ones geared towards men are HALF THE PRICE as the ones geared towards women. So I will not be smelling like a peach when I use these but more like a Japanese man, lol.

• I think the real reason I want to retire in Asia is just to have access to 7/11s.

• The Japanese walk on the left side of the sidewalk, stairs and stand on the left side of the escalator. Unless the signs on the floor of the metro station tell you differently.
But in Osaka, you stand on the right side of the escalator and do everything else on the left side. I guess they are special.

• Tourists are annoying in what ever country I am in. I find I leave tourist areas quickly and am more comfortable in the local areas. They are just quieter and more peaceful.
-The Australians are loud.
-The French speak quietly and are low key.
- The Metro system has signs on board with “suggestions” how to be a better passenger:
I.E- “Do not walk and look down at your phone,
This may lead to conflicts with other passengers”.
Most of these are in English, lol.
• All that said, people are people where ever you go. I have laughed a few times and thought, “Well, at least it’s not just us”.

• Yesterday on the long subway ride home, I found a corner of the metro car, where I could lean up against the corner and set my bags behind me, and where the a/c was blowing.
In 2 stops, 4 French tourists got in and stood around me. 3 more stops, and a British couple got on and stood by us. I thought it was funny. I could see down though the next car and we were the only Westerners, and we all ended up in the same section. I guess we tend to gravitate towards the familiar.

So the main museums here are in Ueno Park. It’s a lovely park and close to a main train station. The Tokyo National Museum focuses on strictly Japanese art and artifacts and is amazing. I went to a special exhibition called “Women in The Edo Period”. It was about the wives of the Sho-guns, and the Power they held and had to fight for.
They had original kimonos and all kind of artifacts.
My favorite wife of the group; never remarried after her husband died, and became a Buddhist Nun. They say she ended up being the happiest and most powerful. I think it’s because she didn’t have to deal with men anymore, lol.
I spent about 3 hours in there and then headed over the the Asian Gallery. But I needed to eat 1st. They had the gallery cafe, but the also had a couple of food trucks, so I picked the one that looked the best. I had cold Udon noodles with grated yam and a soft boiled egg. It was so delicious. All the noodle dishes I’ve had this trip have been cold. It’s too darn hot to eat it any other way. And I could eat cold noodles all day long.
The Asian gallery was very cool. It had artifacts from all over India, the Middle East and Asia.
They were very careful to explain how they came to have artifacts from Cambodia. From other countries, no explanation was given.
It was about 3 when I left the museums. It was so unbelievably hot and humid. It’s been about 95-98 degrees this week. And we all know how the heat builds in the afternoon. But here, it’s not raining in the afternoon, so there isn’t that build up of thunderstorms.
I have just given in to the fact that I’m just going to walk around super sweaty anytime I go outside.
I decided to take the metro down to the big main Tokyo station and check out the basement food center. Well, I forgot how intense Tokyo station is. And I was tired and dragging. So I went back up to Ueno station ( heading towards my hotel) and realized I wanted to pick up a few more of my favorite lip balms. So I went in search of a drug store. I found a little one and it did the trick. Lol, I didn’t clean them out, but I will have plenty for a while. I think that’s my favorite store in Japan. The drug store. I just get excited and happy when I’m in them.
What’s nice about Ueno station is I get on the Ginza line, go 2 stops over and I’m 5 minutes from my hotel.
Another thing I needed to do this afternoon is prep for tomorrow. Last time I was here I wanted to get a tattoo from an artist I found on Instagram. I have been following his work for several years. But last trip I decided to visit Northern Japan instead. When I decided to change my plans, I knew it was the right time to schedule an appt.
So I have a tattoo appt tomorrow at 1:30 pm. I have to drink plenty of water , get a good night sleep, and eat properly before the appt. And since the tattoo shop is 40 minutes away, I’m going to splurge on a taxi to take me there. Otherwise, I’d have to take 3 trains and I’m not interested in possibly getting turned around, being late and sweating my ass off before I get there. That happened in Thailand and it was no fun.
So I’m going to get a good night sleep, And have an easy morning tomorrow.
Oh, and I have discovered Raspberry/Vanilla Oreos and they are next level.Les mer