Ferry Nice!

We were up and out at 7 to get some food at the konbini for the trip (there was only vending machines on the ferry, we were told) and make sure we didn't miss the bus or the ferry, as there were only two a day. Breakfast was at Mister Donut! Sumi was a little disappointed that they didn't have "real" donuts, and just varieties of cake donuts. They were still making the donuts when we got there and left, so I'm assuming the "real" donuts were forthcoming. The bus was right on time at 9:10 and got us to the port at 9:35.

Lots of cargo space.

The ferry didn't board until 11:10, and we couldn't get our tickets until the ticket windows opened at whenever they felt like it (it said 9:30 on the sign, they opened at 10:30). Despite specifically telling the woman at the counter that we had a regular "nitto" reservation (open room that you slept on the floor during the trip) even though we filled out a "nitto shindai" form (because that's all that was out there), which is a private room for $20 more per person, she happily gave us the private room (and charged us the extra). We figured it wasn't worth trying to explain it again and headed to the ferry to see what kind of room we were given.

Aye aye captain!

It was far better than we expected. A room for two with OUTLETS! The bunks were pretty hard, but comfortable, and the privacy was a bonus. Definitely worth the extra $20 just for the electricity. Once settled, we headed out to check out our new "cruise ship".

Definitely a cargo ship. We couldn't stay out on the deck and see the view due to the exhaust fumes from the ship's engines.

The "Plaza" which housed the vending machines, microwaves, tables and chairs chained to the deck and a TV.

So, all in all, the ferry was quite nice. There were several commons areas, a little convenience store, tons of vending machines, a few TVs and clean bathrooms. We estimated the passengers to total about 20, on a ferry that can hold about 400, so it was largely deserted, which was nice. We checked out the vending machines and found a number of full meals being offered. Not wanting to eat konbini snacks for a meal again we braved the vending machines, because really, where else will you find a frozen spaghetti dinner in a vending machine?

Well, it LOOKS like spaghetti...

They weren't that bad, again expectations being as low as they were, and were better than the potato chips and (yet more) granola bars we had in our room. As we got further out to sea, the ride got significantly choppier, and we headed back to our room. I'm thankful I don't get seasick, because this was the type of trip that would do it. The ship would rock at various angles and rise and fall several feet at irregular intervals. It had started raining, which a) killed the weather forecasts hitting streak of one b) added some nice gusty winds to the mix and c) kept us inside for the remainder of the trip. The rest of the trip was spent sleeping, watching some anime I brought along for just such an occasion (the very well done Natsume Yuujinchou, for those interested) and sleeping some more. Our first actual "recovery" day after the cycling.

We docked at about 5:30AM in Tokyo, meaning the whole city, except for the port, was still asleep. We tok a shuttle out of the ferry to the bus stop (all of about 300m, but I guess they didn't want us walking around the cargo), and another shuttle to the train station. By now it was about 6:30AM and the trains were starting to run, so we made our way up to Ueno, our home in Tokyo. The only thing open in the station when we got there was the Hard Rock Cafe, which we knew from past visits had good breakfasts. Eager for real food, we settled in to waste some time before the city decided to get up. Hamm, eggs, hashed browns and salad was a good choice.

And Comfort Sugar, for your ill at ease coffee

There was a free wifi spot in the cafe, for some reason, so Sumi logged on to work for a bit while I watched old 80's videos and did a little blog work until about 9. By then things were starting to open up. There was a Chiba farmer's market and promotion event going on in the central square of the station featuring fresh produce and, of course, mascots.

Meet Mukkun, Chiba's mushroom mascot

We still had hours before we could get in to our hotel, so we decided to leave our bags in a coin locker and take a walk down to Akihabara and do some shopping. It was, as usual, loud and chaotic. We spent about two hours (our limit) looking for various things before escaping the noise and grabbing lunch at the local Coco Curry house on our way back up to Asakusa. We also hit a few Book Off stores, and I've been amassing my Final Fantasy Ultimania collection (more about that in my next post).

Back up in Ueno, we grabbed our stuff from the locker and headed to the hotel, the Oak Hotel (more on THAT in my next post, as well). We dropped our stuff in our rooms, cleaned up a little and took a walk out to Kannon-ji, one of the more majestic temples in Japan.

The shopping street in front of the temple was  crowded with tourists

The big, white dog was attracting a lot of attention. Japanese in the city don't have large animals, for the most part. Here, he and his human are getting some ice cream. Seriously, the guy bought it for the dog. Also, I loved the American tourist in the flag dress. Classic.

Now THAT is a main gate.

The gold trim was really shining brightly in the afternoon sun.

Our last trip out here, we stayed in a hotel right next door to Kannon-ji, and would walk through here every morning. It was always quiet and peaceful. Not today. Thousands of tourists, school field trips, vendors and the occasional Buddhist clamored around the temple grounds. We did a little more shopping here (the shops have some great fresh foods) and headed back to the hotel to do laundry and crash after a long day. We miss cycling already, but all good things must come to an end. Tomorrow we are set to brave Ikebukuro and Sunshine City!