Day 34: Caught in the Rain — Matt Goes Exploring

I may have picked the worst day to go long distance exploring. My first mistake was still going for it even after using up my morning to do laundry. But I really needed to do laundry.

I put off doing laundry for as long as I could, but I was at a point where I couldn't put it off any longer. I would normally have done laundry at night when I'm settling down, but the laundry here closes down at nine pm, so my best option was to get it over-with in the morning. Plus, I have no idea when I'll get another opportunity to do laundry. I have to take what I can get.

So after getting that done, and taking a nice shower, I finally felt clean and fresh. My goal for the day was to see Mt. Fuji, so while I ate lunch I searched the internet for places in Tokyo that had a good view. I thought about saving it for tomorrow, but the weather was nice, and it didn't look good tomorrow.

I decided to walk to the Bunkyo Civic Center which had a free viewing deck high above the city. Not as high as the Skytree, but it is free. The walk took about an hour, and of course within that hour, the blue skies disappeard and rain began to fall, only lightly at first. I kept up hope that I would still be able to see the famous mountain.

I was let down. When I finally reached the viewing deck atop the civic center, the clouds had rolled in, blocking Mt. Fuji from sight. Had the weather been more forgiving I would have had a nice view of the mountain mingling with the skyscrapers of the Tokyo skyline.

On a clearer day, I would have been able to see Mt. Fuji right on the horizon.

Somewhat defeated, I started making my way back through the city. Rain fell very hard when I started walking, so much that I needed to take shelter in a doorway until it calmed down.

I came upon Shinobazu Pond about halfway back to the hostel. I took the detour and it almost made up for missing out on Mt. Fuji. The pond is divided by a land-brigde/walkway, and it's almost as if each side of the lake is a completely different world. One side is completely serene, exactly what you would expect. But the other is a forest of plant life. Enormous leaves, like lily pads if they stuck further out from the surface, blanketing the surface of the pond. I could look out over the pond and not see any water, just green leaves. I couldn't help but wonder in curiosity what it must be like in the center of that side of the pond, something like a flooded rainforest.

I walked through the rest of the park, by some fantastic ancient Japanese temples, and into the busiest part of the city I've visited so far. Ueno Station is mainly to blame for that. I don't know for sure, but Ueno Station seemed to be a major train and subway station for the city, so the surrounding area was crowded. I remember at one point I was walking on a raised walkway while there was people walking below, cars on the ground, and cars on their own raised street. The phrase "concrete jungle" really does come to mind.

I had dinner in the area, and by the time I started walking again the rain had picked up. I had another half hour to walk before reaching my hostel, and the rain was only getting worse. Thunder and lightning clashed every few minutes. I thankfully had my rain jacket with me, but it wasn't enough to keep me completely dry. I hopped from cover to cover as I moved down the street, waiting to see if the rain would ever weaken. But it did not.

I arrived back at the hostel, very wet, and very tired. But it just made the air conditioned room and the big fluffy blanket that much more of a reward.

I hope tomorrow's forecast changes to one without rain, I would like at least one day here that isn't shrouded in grey clouds. Crazy to think that already tomorrow is my last full day here in Tokyo. I should focus more on enjoying it than anything else though.

Thanks for reading, and here's to tomorrow.