Tokyo Station

Of Interest: Imperial Palace park, Ginza shopping district

Lodging: yes, expensive

Tourist Office: no

International ATM: post office near station (exit to the west)

Tokyo Station serves JR East trains, JR Central shinkansen, and Marounichi subway trains. It was originally built in 1914 as a way to connect lines originating Shinbashi with lines originating at Ueno. It is currently the main shinkansen station in Japan. You can go almost anywhere in Japan from here. Maybe not anywhere in Tokyo.

The original facade is still intact on the Marunouchi (west) side. Go to the Marunouchi side to go to the Imperial Palace. On the way, you can stop by one of the best English language book stores in Japan. You can see the building where the store is located in the picture above. The building has a clock and almost looks like it curves.

The Yaesu side leads to the Ginza shopping district. The main shinkansen exit leads to this side.

Walk south from either side to find cheap eats.

Ebisu, Tokyo

Lodging: yes

Tourist Office: in old brewery complex

Of Interest: Original Yebisu Brewery museum, Yebisu Garden Place

Internet Access: in Yebisu Garden Place

Ebisu is a quiet neighborhood in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo. The neighborhood was named for the beer that was brewed there. Today the brewery is a museum and is surrounded by a commercial development called Yebisu Garden Place. This area contains many restaurants, a luxury hotel, two museums, a department store, some small shops, offices, and even some residences. Sapporo Beer has its world headquarters here and owns the development. The company still brews Yebisu Beer, just not here.

Ebisu Station serves two lines of JR east and the Hibuya subway line.

Shibuya, Tokyo

Of Interest: shopping, entertainment district

Lodging: multiple
Tourist Office: Probably yes, but probably unfindable
International ATM: post office (check map in the station plaza)

Computer Access: multiple internet cafes with good prices
Accessible: No, lots of barriers, lots of stairs

Shibuya is the fourth busiest railway station in Japan and the single most confusing train station that I have ever been in. Almost every line has its own little station so you have to change stations to change trains. The Ginza line is inside Tokyu Department Store. Other changes require walking through a mall.

Shibuya Station is in the middle of Shibuya Ward's central commercial district. The area is very businesslike during the day, but at night it attracts young people from all over Tokyo. Because of the variety of people the area attracts, you can find almost any kind of leisure activity. Prices are very reasonable here. If you are looking to save money by staying overnight at an internet cafe, this is the place to do it.

JR East, Tokyu Corporation, and Keio Corporation serve Shibuya Station. JR trains all come to one set of tracks, but there are two different Tokyu station areas. (They want you to walk through their store and buy something.) Three subway lines also come here. Ginza comes into the third floor of the department store while the Hanzomon and Fukutoshin lines run underground. You can change between those two lines without going through a ticket gate.

Here is a review of a Shibuya area hotel, the Granbell Hotel, by Aki, one of my favorite bloggers. Another post on the same hotel has a nice picture of a typical Japanese breakfast. Yum.

Shin-Yamaguchi

Lodging: budget hotels
Tourist Information Office: No
Of interest: good restaurant

Shin-Yamaguchi station is in suburban Yamaguchi. In other words, JR built a station in the middle of nowhere to save money. The second nicest things about the station area is some concrete with some water running through it.

The first most nicest thing is a really good restaurant. The best restaurant that I ate at during my trip. If I am in the area, I am going to go back. Even though I hate empty suburbs.

To get to the Green Park Mare, go right on the road in front of the station. The road will curve. The good restaurant is across from the McDonalds. I had the lunch special (heegawari?) for 880 yen. The Green Park Mare serves French influenced Japanese style lunches.

Like in that show, "Queen of Lunchtime Cuisine".

Nagoya

Lodging: multiple, mostly at the back entrance

Tourist Office:

Of Interest: ramen tour restaurants in the station, international center, downtown (20 mins.)

Tourist Office: in the center of the station

International ATM: post office to the left of the Sakura exit

Internet Access: international center

Nagoya station serves three different train companies, Meitetsu, Kintetsu, and JR Central. It is about a half hour walk to downtown Nagoya (Sakae). The shinkasen to Nagoya stops here. Three lines of Nagoya's subway system stop here.

Downtown Nagoya is about a twenty minute walk from the station walking straight down Sakura-dori after leaving the station by the Sakura (main) exit. The International Center is on the way. It has a good library with books, magazines and newspapers. The center also has information about Japanese classes and some local events. To get to both the International Center and downtown, take the Higashiyama (yellow) subway line.

Dusil Station (Busan)

Lodging: No

Tourist Office: No

Of interest: Busan Ahnkook Zen Center, Busan Masjid, Turkish restaurant

Dusil subway station comes right after line 1 goes back underground heading north. The surrounding area is primarily residential with the exception of an area to the northwest.

The Busan Ahnkook Zen Center is the first building to become visible while walking away from the subway. It is a multi-story building located on the side of a hill. I first saw it the week before Buddha's birthday when it was covered with lit lanterns. Very beautiful. Inside, there are a few pieces of magnificent art. On the top floor is the largest meditation hall that I have seen since I have been in Korea. The Ahnkook Zen Center offers meditation classes to lay people. Most of these classes are in Korean. However, the Seoul Ahnkook Zen Center does offer an English language meditation class, so it is possible that something similar is offered here.

As you walk closer, the Busan masjid becomes visible. At first it looks like the zen center and mosque are the same building, but there are really across the street from each other. It was built in 1980. It is an attractive building, but not flashy.

Note: Neither of these buildings are tourist attractions. Their purpose is to serve locals practicing their religion.

There is a Turkish restaurant next to the masjid. The restaurant is a bit touristy. On the one hand, it serves hallal food and authentic Turkish dishes. On the other, this also serves a couple of non-Turkish dishes that are based on outsiders stereotypes of what middle easteners eat.

Islam was first brought to Korea by Turkish soldiers during the Korean war. Turkish restaurants are commonly found near Korean mosques.

Daelim Station

Lodging: No

Tourist Office: No

Of interest: Chinese restaurants and stores

The same day that I discovered Soyosan, I discovered a real Chinatown in Seoul.

As anyone who visits Korea (or Japan for that matter) discovers, there are a couple of fake Chinatowns in Seoul and Busan. You might think that there are few Chinese people living in Korea. In fact, there is a large Chinese community in Korea. Most Chinese do not live together in one area, but are spread out through the country. One area that has many Chinese residents is an area south of Daelim Station.

Daelim Station is a transfer point between lines 2 and 7 in southwestern Seoul.

I walked out of one of the line 7 exits and started to explore. At first, I didn't see much, although the area is one of the more attractive in Seoul. Between a triangle of main streets is a maze of alleys and houses. In the middle of this labyrinth is a road that is larger than the rest that is lined with restaurants and shops with signs in Chinese.

I used to know more than 500 characters. I used to be able to read the names of at least some Chinese dishes. But not anymore. I couldn't read much, but I noticed that a few places were advertising Szechuan food. That is interesting because most Chinese residents of Korea come from north eastern China, particularly Manchuria. I also noticed a dish whose first two characters were "cow" and "sun". I would very much like to know what a cow sun is.

Perpendicular to this road is a food market with many Chinese products along with the typical Korean stuff.

With all this and finding out that part of line 2 runs above ground, I thought I was never going to come to the end of the days discoveries. Rail travel opens up whole new worlds.