22 February 2013, Friday

I started my last full day in Tokyo with a visit to Asakusa Kannon Onsen, a historic bath house just three minutes’ walk from my K’s House Tokyo Oasis hostel. It was conveniently located between the Hanayashiki amusement park and Sensoji temple.

Established in 1961, Asakusa Kannon Onsen was one of Tokyo’s most famous bath houses, preserving the atmosphere of Japanese public establishments during the postwar period. It was a popular place for locals to take an early hot bath as it opened at 6:30am daily. I was sad to learn that it has closed permanently in 2018.

When I went at 8:55am on that Friday morning, I was practically the only visitor. I paid JPY 700 (S$9.52) for admission, and proceeded to deposit my shoes at the shoe locker. It was quickly evident that not much had changed since the bath house opened in 1961. Since there was no one around, I took some photos of the premises. These pictures are even more valuable now that the bath house is gone for good.

The furnishings and décor remained steadfastly old-school. Paint was peeling from the walls and English signs were haphazardly handwritten on paper. To me, that was the charm of the place – like a time capsule, it had resisted modernising itself to cater to the younger generation.

Asakusa Kannon was known for its very hot water. The entire bath area was filled with steam when I entered. After taking the requisite shower, I stepped cautiously into the bath. The semi-circular bath was divided into a Very Hot section and less hot section. However, both felt equally hot to me.

As I soaked in the less hot bath, I admired the iconic mermaid mosaics on the wall, but not for long because the water was simply too hot for me. My entire visit lasted 50 minutes but it was a good one. Really glad I got to experience an authentic Tokyo bath house. Such a pity it closed down.

At 9:45am, I walked to EKIMISE Asakusa, a large shopping mall beside Asakusa station. I was there because my friend WK had recommended me St. Marc Café. At the time, the popular café had only just opened its first Singapore outlet for three months (since December 2012), so I had not tried it yet.

The café was also deserted when I visited. I ordered the Chococro (chocolate croissant), mustard hotdog and coffee set. The Chococro is St. Marc Café’s signature item. I love croissants and I love chocolate, so it was the perfect combination. The crust was flaky and buttery, while the chocolate oozed out when I sunk my teeth into it. So delicious!

After my satisfying breakfast, I took the train from Asakusa to Shibuya, arriving at 11:26am. I had arranged to meet MB again for lunch at 12:30pm, so I had an hour to spare to shop at RECOfan and Tower Records, two of my favourite record stores in Tokyo (Sadly, RECOfan has also closed permanently in October 2020). I managed to buy two Janet 12-inch singles from RECOfan and the excellent The King Of Style: Dressing Michael Jackson book from Tower Books, so I was very pleased with my haul.

At 12:30pm, I met MB at Tower Records Café for lunch. I was obsessed with Tower Records (I still am) so I jumped at the opportunity to have a meal there. Unfortunately, the food didn’t live up to my expectations. It wasn’t bad…it just wasn’t great.

At 3pm, we met up with MB’s friend Kei and went to Nishi-Ogikubo, a quaint and less-explored neighbourhood only about 13 minutes away from busy Shinjuku on the Chuo line.

Nishi-Ogikubo is one of those places that only the locals will know about. There are no big shopping malls here but instead, you get many small, independent shops. We visited Country Quilt Market, a handicraft shop specialising in colourful fabrics, ribbon and lace.

Walking down the streets was a pleasure in itself. We passed by many antique stores, cute cafés and cool music venues. Every now and then, we would pop in to a shop that caught our eyes. It was a relaxing afternoon with no agenda.

I also saw many banners hanging on the lamp posts, promoting Tokyo as a candidate city for the 2020 Summer Olympics. I remember thinking to myself then that I would love for Tokyo’s bid to be successful so that I could return in 2020 to watch the Games.

Fast forward to January 2021. As I am writing this post now, and I can only lament at how COVID-19 has wrecked all the best-laid plans – for the organisers, athletes and spectators. When the pandemic first emerged in early 2020, it led to the unprecedented decision to postpone the Games by a year. At this moment, it is still not known if the Games will proceed as planned this summer. I certainly hope so, though I have long given up hope of attending the Games in person.

Anyway, back to Nishi-Ogikubo, we found a nice yakitori restaurant called Ikenoya to have dinner. It was a small restaurant but it was very local and atmospheric. The food was simply marvellous and the three of us ate so much that night. It was a wonderful way to end my Tokyo stay – with beer, good food and great company.

After dinner, I made a trip to MB’s apartment at Nakameguro. After learning about how I bought so much snacks and CDs that I wasn’t able to fit them all into my backpack, she offered me her old hand-carry suitcase that she didn’t need anymore. I was super grateful for the kind gesture because it saved me the hassle and cost of buying one. The suitcase is very hardy and I am still using it till this day.

I thanked MB profusely for her wonderful hospitality and companionship for the past nine days. She certainly introduced me to lots of good food and hidden places that I otherwise wouldn’t have discovered on my own. After saying my final goodbye to MB, I made my way back to my hostel at Asakusa. What a fulfilling day it had been. One last sleep before returning home tomorrow…or so I thought!