Lost and Found in Akihabara (秋葉原)
I finally checked into my first night’s accomodation – the Capsule Inn Hotel of the Akihabara district of Tokyo. I came through the door soaked in sweat after a 3km goose chase around the maze of Akihabara in the humid Japanes summer trying to find this place. As soon as I stepped off the elevated subway station and into the Times-Square-esque lights of Akihabara, I knew I was already lost before I ventured off the set of directions that I scribbled together to get this far. The trip from Narita airport was seemless enough, as I raced from customs to the JR Rail express line to the Tokyo Station within followed by a transfer 4min north to Akihabara.
I saw little English or romaji (japanese in the latin alphabet) when I first stepped into the Tokyo jungle. I chickened out fast and found the nearest police officer and asked “Sumimasen. Capsule Inn wa doko desu ka?”, which I hope meant: “Excuse me. Where is the Capsule Inn hotel?”. I awaited a response that I prayed would be in very slow Japanese so that I could pick up some common words I learned from “Japanese for dummies”. Believe it or not, he spoke great English. Too bad his directions were completely wrong.
1 hour later I was still wandering backstreets like a typical gaijin tourist. The streets were getting darker and less populated. I hailed the first cab I could find. As the automated taxi cab doors opened, I spoke into the cab: “Capsule Inn Hotel e itte kudasai.” I’m pretty sure that was wrong, but I was hoping it meant: “Please go to the Capsule Inn Hotel”. The man had no idea where that was and called HQ for reinforcements. We drove off and 2 blocks north back in the direction I came from, we found the place on a corner that I passed about 5 times. “WTF” I said to myself – the fare was about 710en (about 7 USD). Most expensive 2 block cab ride ever but I was going in the complete opposite direction anyway. When in doubt, hail a cab and have lots of money.
Capsule Inn Hotel, Akihabara, Tokyo
So I’m here now. I didn’t get a chance to explain the nature of the hotel. Basically, it’s another manifestation of the sardine-like living conditions of Japan. “Capsules” about 3 feet x 3 feet x 8 feet line a wall, where people sleep. Imagine those steel body drawers in a morgue, but more comfy with windows and TV inside. They supposedly were marketed towards Japanese businessmen who missed the last train home and needed a place to sleep and shower for the night.
I’ll try to take a few photos and post some later. For the rest of the night, I might join another American (a student from Standord) who is looking up places that serve fugu (that poisonous blowfish that Homer ate on the Simpsons in season 1) and whale. Yes, whale. I’m against their whale hunting industry, but when in Rome…
