My 34-ish hours in Tokyo consisted of uneducated meanderings and some down time. I landed at Haneda airport (much closer to the city than Narita) at 10:30pm without a hotel reservation and convinced someone at an airport information desk to call one of the hotels in my Lonely Planet guide. Luckily, I got the last room!

This information desk person then convinced me to navigate the insanity of the Tokyo public transit system instead of taking a taxi. The interesting thing about Japanese people is that they generally don’t give you a flat-out no, but when they pause uncomfortably and look at you askance, you get the feeling that you’re about to make a bad decision. So against all my seemingly sane instincts to take a taxi, I decided to navigate my way by train. Which looks like this crazy mess:

I stayed in a super cute Japanese inn called Kimi Ryokan. Picture a Japanese zen garden with sliding shoji paper doors, tatami flooring all around you, and a comfortable white fluffy bed-like cocoon on the floor. Robes and slippers are provided, and it is peaceful. I paid roughly $40/night with shared clean bathrooms and showers. I quite like the story of the place and the whole concept of living a life without much furniture, mostly on the floor, cocooned in wood, paper, and cushions.

I somehow managed to avoid the classic Tokyo spots of Shinjuku, Akihabara, and Shibuya. I.e., no Times Square-like experiences, no weird stores (though I did go to the bathroom in some insane arcade type of place), no hordes of anime chicks. There will be future trips for that.

Instead, I went to the Meiji Shrine, walked around Ginza, and went to the famous Tsukiji fish market on the only day it’s closed. Oh, and I spent an entire day carrying my empty Starbucks ice coffee cup because they apparently don’t believe in trash cans in Japan. All in all, it was a great success. Er, and I had some Chicago deep dish pizza at DevilCraft in a makeshift patio of this craft beer and deep dish pizza spot (i.e., some dark alley in the Kanda neighborhood).

There were no grand plans, no checklists of greatest hits. Instead, I let myself wander in my thoughts and my route across the city. These often lead to the greatest discoveries and fulfillments. Kind of like this beauty…

AHHH! Ha. Okay, maybe something more universally appealing, like this beauty…

And that’s how I randomly ended up at one of the great but unpretentious sushi spots in the city, Sushizanmai. The atmosphere was convivial and the food was top-notch, including the unassuming but surprisingly tasty chive flower nigiri. Oh, and it was less than $30.

Human connection is also a wonderful discovery. I met someone who was on a similar journey – he has quit his job 6 weeks ago in NYC, had also somewhat impractically just re-signed his expensive lease, and traveled to Asia to get some perspective and think about what to do with his life. It’s good to know you’re not alone.

I’ve broken 500-word count barrier. Gotta go. Kyoto awaits!