A Yen for Tokyo

Pira and I were fully checked into our hotel room by about 5:30 p.m. To say we were exhausted is an understatement. It’s a pretty sad commentary when you have two hard core fujoshi, a block away from Mecca, when it’s all they can do to literally stumble over to Animate and randomly “grab an assortment of manga, doujinshi, and Otaku Crap(tm)*“.

[*Otaku Crap(tm) = character goods, but as time went on, we had to be realistic — WTF does one do with hundreds of shitajiki, notepads, clear files, pins, bookmarks, figures etc.?]

That’s my blind grab from Animate, not 4 hours on the ground, while utterly exhausted.

Back on track with this missive… It’s a wonder we didn’t do a face plant on the top floor. On to the hotel, which two exhausted ladies found quite fascinating!

I positively love the Japanese for their over-instruction. They’re so Virgo it hurts and warms my soul. I particularly enjoy that they give reasons in parenthesis for their “do not do…”s. By “incapacitated” I’m sure they mean “intoxicated”. It’d be awful for drunken salary men to burn their testicles on the toilet seat before they’ve had a chance to use them at end of evening.

Love all the buttons to play with.

I found the Save Water sign particularly fascinating in light of a nation that burns so bright that the Las Vegas strip looks a sad excuse for a light show. Mind, I do understand that water is revered commodity in Japan. But still… max times one million on power but save water!

Another plus for Japanese CIVILization. A deep tub with a shower. Shower yourself clean first and THEN soak in the tub for relaxation. I never understood bathing in your own dirt to get clean. Proof positive that the Japanese are one of the most logical people on the planet.

We had such an awesome view that we left the curtains open all the time after the first night. We had a small TV that swivelled and delighted us with Tokyo TV game shows and news (roads are very popular focal points during news casts… not sure why). We had a kettle and tea implements too! The refrigerator and safe are a great bonus.

The next morning. I think we woke at 4:00 a.m. Sick, we were. Yes, I’m the one who sleeps with a vertical pillow against my body (to rest my bad arms). The closet… I had issues with. You could only get into the left side. The right was evil, even for my tiny frame. But I did manage.

Yup, must have been about 4:00 a.m. Sun wasn’t even up. Note the packing tape and cutter next to the TV, ready to pack up boxes of goods.

The lights… confounded me. Don’t ask… just… don’t ask. How a tiny hotel room could have the most complex light switch system… I’ll never understand. There were numerous mutterings of “Aziz, light!”.

In conclusion, the Sunshine City Prince Hotel is a business class hotel. It’s Japanese. Don’t expect the Ritz. But don’t expect to spend much time here either. Good digs, and I’ll definitely stay there every time I stay in Ikebukuro.