FOUR DAYS IN TOKYO ON A BUDGET

It's the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen. – Coach John Wooden

Friday, February 20, 2015 (DAYS 1,082 -- 1,086)
When considering the world’s most expensive cities to visit, depending upon which list you are searching and the criteria used in determining so many factors–transportation, accommodation, food, entertainment, etc and etc–as a global budget traveler that is quickly approaching three-years of continuous years of world travel, I have determined my own ways of how expensive cities or even countries for that matter is, and it is very simple: what are areas within your budget that ARE negotiable or expendable and what elements are FIXED ABSOLUTE COSTS–meaning possible visa entry fees, public (not private) transportation costs, cheapest accommodations options (including Couch Surfing, hostels, etc), and again relative cheapest food options, whether that is buying and making your own meals or taking advantage of the often cheaper and less attractive places that locals utilize to fill their bellies.

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Using the above criteria–I feel that as a global budget traveler–Tokyo is for good reason, typically in the top 10, if not top 5 of the most expensive cities to visit in the world. First of all, I have had the opportunity–really only thanks to amazing friends from the States, Rommel living in Singapore and Dana in Japan for business–in having the financial ability in visiting each of these extremely expensive countries! Most of the lists I searched for 2015 listed Singapore as the numero uno, top city in the world to visit or live as the most expensive, and after enjoying a $34 pint of beer thanks to Rommel and an $80 meal in Tokyo thanks to my Japanese friend Hiro that treated both Dana and I, this is certainly true. Especially, when Hiro took us to a very hidden local Japanese restaurant, that only took cash, as Dana was planning to use his remaining business account on our meal and drinks, but even after noticing the final bill, Hiro made the comment that it was relatively cheap for three of us to eat six small dishes with an average of three items on each, two bottles of warm sake, and a single cold beer each. This hospitality has been incredible, and I can’t thank both Hiro and Dana for making this trip possible. My next major advantage and the reason I chose to visit Tokyo in the prime tourism season of the dead of winter in February (LOL) was because Dana was here on business and it worked out perfectly in a sense, that his meetings finished on Friday and instead of flying back to Orange County, California, he extended his time in Tokyo to hang with this guy! This also coincided with Lunar New Year, which most people think of it as ‘Chinese New Year’ but fail to realize that many Asian countries recognize this as a national holiday even if it’s slightly renamed, such as in Vietnam it’s the Tếtor Vietnamese New Year. In Korea it’s a five-day holiday, which most Korean’s view as ‘taking a long rest.’ I still love using that phrase.

Well, returning to how even a budget traveler was able to spend four days in Tokyo and still managed to spend close to $1,000 including–a poorly planned, on my part for procrastinating–round trip airline ticket at the inflated rate of ₩338,600 (roughly $315 at the current currency exchange rate), and budgeting for between $50–$100 per day. This budgeting aspect I need to mention DID NOT include my accommodation costs at the beginning, since Dana did an awesome job by not only using his business reward points for booking us into a proper Hilton Hotel (ahh can’t tell you how nice this was living in hostels and guest houses for almost three-years solid, again it’s the small victories as any TRUE global budget traveler will admit too, haha) and I took the time to send out Couch surfing requests, which I thought I had secured, but that long story may be further down in this blog post. Therefore, I adjusted for these specific costs, and quickly realized that Tokyo is much more expensive when it came to their subway systems, since many of the lines are privatized and owned by different companies, therefore meaning you have to transfer and pay for a separate ticket depending upon where your final destination may be. Overall, I understand that Seoul may be cheaper in terms of public transportation, thank God, for the sake of traveling all over the city sometimes to meet with clients, but the food costs in Seoul are probably triple if not quadruple or more than that of the United States and other considerable First and even Third World countries I’ve lived in.

Our average transportation ticket cost to get around the city, even utilizing the ‘All-Day Foreigner JR Pass’ was ¥1500 (roughly $15 at the time of the current exchange rate) and beyond that, the average point-to-point single journey ticket was around ¥200 ($2), while in Seoul the average fare is ₩1,050 ($0.94 cents) point-to-point (meaning one stop to the next as compared with Tokyo), the costs speak for themselves. Also, in my opinion as a global BUDGET traveler and having the amazing opportunity to spend time in Europe, Australia, Asia, South America and of course major US cities such as; New York City and Chicago, when it comes to navigating mass transportation systems, the Seoul Metro Subway System is not only described as being the “world’s largest multi–operator metro system by route length,” but it is also one of the most affordable in comparison.

Since I was born in Korea and I was adopted by an American family, this particular aspect of my life has allowed me to obtain the legal visa status to run and operate my own business in Seoul, which has not only provided me with the opportunity to replenish depleted bank accounts from the previous two-plus years of travel throughout Central and South America–spending close to a year and a half in this region of the world, before traveling more than 10-months throughout South East Asia–it has been with this opportunity that I have continued to grow and experience a different level of travel life. Some people may have known that I have started several small business in the past, each one surprisingly was profitable within a one-week (seven-day period), and I treat my business here in Seoul just the same as I did with all others. First, I utilize free advertising resources via the Internet, and while this has many freedoms even feelings of envy, people often forget that it is a lot of work! Not only am I the CEO, Marketing Director, the accountant, sales team, etc and etc. Therefore, this is one reason I have been so busy and it’s been hard to keep in touch with many friends knowing that I am one of the ‘most wired’ countries in the world when it consider the technology aspect. And secondly, I feel that I have continued in developing strong professionals skills, whether there is a time that I ever return to a so-called ‘normal life’ or whether I continue to be this traveling vagabond that people may view me as either a symbol of absolute recklessness, haha, or complete freedom. Either way, know that while I have matured and grown in ways I can’t even begin to explain, I have taken many of the fundamental aspects of my life–both professionally and personally–through business ethics and moral stands, I feel into an entirely new level and category through this journey, of not just travel, but also of life, as we are all going through in different ways. So therefore, continue to chase your dreams, however foolish they may seem to others, because as Jeff Bezos the CEO of Amazon said, “I strongly believe that missionaries make better products. They care more. For a missionary, it's not just about the business. There has to be a business, and the business has to make sense, but that's not why you do it. You do it because you have something meaningful that motivates you,” so find what motivates, inspires, and drives you, because to me that is your God-given talent, so therefore don’t waste it, but learn to accept and embrace it, by being a so-called ‘risk taker!'

Speaking of, or utilizing LinkedIn, I recently I received message from one of my larger supporters and former work colleagues, Miguel an amazing graphic designer, whom sent me a very humorous, yet encouraging message which read: “Dude, I don’t’ think it’s fair that you figured out how to travel around the world and have so much fun.” It’s funny how these small things from time to–short brief messages–are often what I need to hear, both to encourage me in what I continue to do, and in also bring back those ties to Colorado, and home.

I hope that this blog makes some amount of sense as it’s been written over the course of several days, primarily late nights, and since I am horribly bad at going back and proofreading as well as attempting to try harder to improve my writing amid owning and operating my own business here in Korea, it’s quite true that I’ve in many ways embraced the Korean work culture, which often has me working close to six-days a week. However, this entry is supposed to be about my time in Tokyo, so let me get back to this subject.

The last time I had a chance to spend time with Dana along with some of the other Cali fellas was a brief stopover after traveling Central and South America for close to a year and a half, and it was in August 2013, just before flying out to Asia. I can't say enough great things about these friends that I've had for many years and all that they have accomplished both professionally and personally. As expected we had a great time in Orange County--my second home in a sense—I had a chance to enjoy that real genuine USDA beef steaks (I don't even care if they are filled with hormones) plus I got to indulge in other favorite things, pretty much all food! Checking in to the Hilton first, it was a surreal feeling to have such a luxurious place to stay, especially in comparison to many of the Third World conditions and shared dorms for almost three-years of travel. After Dana arrived, about 90-minutes after myself, we began making the journey in to Shibuya to meet up with my friend Hiro whom I met traveling while in Peru. During the train ride, Dana and I discussed quite a bit of various topics, mainly business, which anyone that knows me knows that I enjoy business discussions like fat kids love cupcakes! Unfortunately, we all forgot to take a photo of us at dinner, but it was a great authentic little Japanese place that no foreigners or tourists go, and Hiro became the champion of the night, by treating both Dana and I to dinner and drinks which came at the cost of close to ¥10,000 (roughly $80 USD). We had the traditional sushi (UH-MAHZING) along with hot sake, and several dishes. But, just as quickly as we arrived, we felt we had to leave. The train schedule in Asia has got to be one of my biggest qualms. The fact that not only do trains stop operating around midnight, on weekends in cities such as; Seoul, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, and now Tokyo, they also adjust for weekend schedules, where you would think the time would be extended but is often shortened. Yes, frustrating for anyone that has lived or traveled Asia more extensively than a resort stay. After quick goodbyes, we are back on the train heading to that big white comfy bed!

Arriving after the last hotel bus, we had no other choice but to take a taxi, and to show the comparison between Seoul and Tokyo, this 15-minute ride cost us $30-plus dollars, which once again thanks to Dana for the ride, and in Seoul you can travel two or three times the distance for the same price, AND in Cambodia you can take a private taxi for 221km  (137 miles) for 3.5 hours for $50. Just a very clear monetary example of both budget travel and why I opt more for Third World countries, not just because of the prices, but that does certainly help. Waking up completely refreshed, Dana and I begin our day with one of the most glorious Western breakfast buffets! Dana tells me while riding the elevator, "load up on breakfast!" I tell him that won't be an issue. As you can see in the photo above, I've got it all, including reading the New York Times. After breakfast we spend the entire day checking out Tokyo, and we followed Dana's rough itinerary, similar to One Day in Tokyo via Wikitravel.

Our last night together in Tokyo, Dana and I shared in what can only be said is the stereotypical Japanese 'to do' by indulging in sushi and sake. We have a great time talking about all that has been going on in each other's lives, but unfortunately I can't mention too much, as some surprises of course are left with anticipation. I can say that I truly value Dana and many of the other amazing friends I have, even if months or years go by without communicating, I know that I can always count on them, and they can always count on me.

After a series of confusion between my Couchsurfing host and I, eventually I had to make a decision and after running the numbers I made the choice to book a budget hotel nearby and this actually probably saved me money, as opposed to taking the train out to my CS Hosts' home, even for just one night. Well, with booking in to this hotel, I also had requests from clients to meet so I ended up making this a partial R&R and business trip wrapped in to one. However, the most amazing thing to me was the fact that this hotel had a tub! It’s the small victories you gain as a traveler, and a bathtub is certainly one of those. I know it can be very wasteful the amount of water, and while I felt a bit guilty from an environmental standpoint, when I stop and think about how I have lived green by carpooling in a minivan with 30 other people in Honduras and many other instances, the guilt melted away just as it did to my muscles. Yes, it may be a very unmasculine way to end a blog, admitting to a love for enjoying a bath after years without one, just as I said, "as a budget traveler, it is the small victories!"

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