It's Tokyo Complicated

For all of the magnificent components that come with being in Tokyo (patience, quietness, politeness, vibrant culture, 5pm sing-songs, etc), there are a couple areas that have much to be desired and leave me with the phrase "it's Tokyo Complicated."

The first complication, there is no train nor no station that isn't bursting at the seams with people in the morning and evening hours. My first experience was, "Okay, lots of people...but I can handle this." THEN, upon seeing the sea of people and THEN seeing the men in action (who are hired specifically to push commuters into trains to ensure maximum capacity and who I now refer to as "THE PUSHERS") my train confidence began to wane. I mentioned before, when waiting for trains, folks wait in orderly lines....well, as I was waiting in my orderly line, it seemed I was going to end up standing in the doorway of the train and the next to be pushed...so, I causally backed up a few spots in line and let folks go ahead. After going through this back-up round a couple times, I could no longer pass-up and was forced into the mass of people....I felt like throwing my hands in the air and yelling, "Wwwwwhhhooooaaaaa!!" Once sandwiched into the train, I didn't even need to worry about holding on because I couldn't go anywhere....not a smidge to the right nor a smidge to the left. This "non-smidge moving" became a problem when it was time for me to exit the train. I think folks were reluctant to move because they didn't want to lose their spot, as well as just getting out of their spot was a challenge in and of itself. At this point my very best broken Japanese assertive voice came out to say, "Sumimasen, densha deguchi." Hopefully, the folks stepped aside because they understood that I was trying to convey, "Excuse me...exiting train," and they didn't step aside due to fear because what I was actually saying was, "Your mother rides a vacuum cleaner."

Those of you who are on Facebook have already been privy to the visual of the commute, but for those of you who are not, here is a little taste at how packed the trains are during the morning and evening rush.

Today I actually did this commute with my luggage, which I practically had to balance on my head.

The second Tokyo complication is vegetarian eating. Let me just say, I've been hungry since I arrived. Tokyo is not the most friendly when it comes to vegetarian dining. I found that even though they attribute "vegetarian" as eating no meat, chicken, pork, fish, etc....that do not believe that vegetarian means "absolutely none of the above." Basically their idea of "vegetarian" is that when you mix beef bits with mashed potatoes it no longer is meat; therefore, most spots that claim "vegetarian" will still incorporate broth or ground pieces of something into the dishes. Needless to say, I'm super excited to get to Kyoto which has lots more veggie options due to the large Buddhist population that still remains quite active in Kyoto. These vegetarian Buddhist meals are called "Shojin Ryori," and I believe they are not just vegetarian but are basically vegan. They usually consist of tofu, ground peanuts, rice, eggplant or bok choy, tea, and I don't know what else. So, for right now it's slim pickings on the food front, I'm hungry, BUT I'm drinking LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of delicious tea!

Traditional "Shojin Ryori"