On Tokyo Streets & Addresses and the Neighborhood

After sleeping two and a half hours, I’m awake and can’t get back to sleep. Ahh, the joys of jet lag!

I’m used to the address system in the USA: some cities are grids, addresses follow a similar pattern (more or less), and that streets have names. In Tokyo, not all streets have names, as their address system is different (please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_addressing_system for a MUCH better explanation than I can give right now). Because of this difference (and that I never printed a map), and me being jet lagged, and probably because of other-stuff-which-I-cannot-think-of, that is I how I got lost earlier tonight.

Something I didn’t see in the above Wikipedia article (and I’m too tired (lazy?) to look it up), was that the current city of Tokyo was the amalgamation of many smaller villages that grew together over the centuries. The roads followed the organic creation of paths and streets. If you take a look at a map of Tokyo, you will see it. Check out Google Maps or Google Earth or any other map software (or an actual paper map) to get an idea.

It has been years since I felt panic at being lost. Though it wasn’t drining-myself-stupid-with-friends fun, it was a surprising nice change, because I forgot what it felt like to be disoriented and have close-to-no external means of gaining my bearing. Hell, I actually tried using the moon as a navigation point (until it was covered by clouds and it started raining! HAHA!). But, I have a base of operations. Well, a base for one more night after this, then I need to find another night of lodging until I can get a train to Nagasaki on (what day is it?) Wednesday.

While being lost (or while I was creatively exploring), I did manage to get a feel of this area. Where I’m located is an area called Asakusa, in Taito, Tokyo. I am still IN Tokyo, but I’m still trying to figure out how this city is organized. I think Taito is a Ward, and that Asakusa is a neighborhood in the Ward. I also passed by a “Koban”, a police box, and asked the officer on duty where to find a landmark that I remembered (from what I looked up directions earlier last week). The instructions he gave were accurate, though I didn’t have the confidence to fully explore them. (Sorry for my lack of faith, Keisatsukan-sama!) Before passing the Koban, I walked past the same police station twice. I didn’t realize that an officer is posted guard in front of a police station. The people around here are fairly nice. McDonald’s (yes, I went in one) has VERY good customer service. And the location I went to (across from where I excited the Minowa station) there was someone who knew just enough English to answer. Whew!

Time to try to get more sleep (and my battery is running low and I don’t know where the outlet is in my room). Until next post!