Don’t get lost, or sleep in a McDonalds

Wait, what? Sleep in a McDonalds? Well, getting lost might seem like a hobbie to me, I truly have no cure. It might look like something where you could experience a lot of bad situations, but I actually enjoy it! That’s of course, until I get into real troubles for my bad orientation.

Most of the time it’s not really that bad; afterall, it’s solved with a just a let’s turn back and go from where we came. It turns out to be funny when I can’t remember where I came from, though; maybe it’s just that I got lost in the corridors of a hotel and I can’t find the exit. Or even inside a roundabout and I’m not sure about which way is the right one.

I think we can agree all those situations are actually not that bad. A bad one would be if I went cycling in snowing season and then turned to the wrong way; then I spent hours in the middle of nowhere with freezing temperature, light clothes, no other human being within kilometers. Plus, maybe thinking about sleeping inside a cave or on the top of a tree. But we all know something like that would never happen… oh, wait! It actually did! Ahem!

Whatever can happen will happen

Anyways, this is another of those stories, one where you think nothing bad can happen and you deliberately forget about Morphy’s Law, whatever can happen will happen. And in my case, getting lost is something that can happen to me all the time.

I had just arrived to Tokyo from Shizuoka, since it was night, I went straight to a Language Cafe place where I’d meet the owner of the guesthouse I’d be staying, and from there, another of the guests took me to the house. So convinient! The cafe was actually a warm place and I decided to go back the next day. Afterall, I knew the way already, it was about 20 minutes walking from the house or only one metro station. Of course I took all necessary precautions since I knew I can easily get lost, I checked for references, signs, places or anything that could help me quickly find the way in case it happened. Clever, right? I know, sometimes I also find myself thinking about how smart I am.

Getting overconfident with the references

So far I had one metro station, a flower shop and some huge Japanese symbols painted on the street as main references, easy cake!

The next day, after spending my day visiting some iconic places in Tokyo, I decided to pay a visit to the Language Cafe, spend some time talking with more people and making new friends as well. When it was time to close, some guys wanted to go dinner and have some drinks, I went with them. By 12:30am I was already tired and decide to go back home.

The Metro was already closed, which was not a problem since the guesthouse was only about 20 minutes from there; so I walked. Walking at night in Tokyo is fairly safe, I wasn’t concerned about that; I wasn’t even thinking about getting lost, I was pretty confident on the signs and places I had as references.

Oops! I did it again!

Fortunately everything was going as planned, I finally saw the metro station, and then the flower shop, and right after that, the huge kanji painted on the street. I knew it had to be that way.

Then the fun started, because I walked, and walked and walked, but I didn’t arrive to the house, I started to turn right, then left, then right again, but there was no guesthouse at sight. I did realize something more crucial though, the same huge Japanese symbols were actually on every street! No matter which way I went, those symbols were there!

I understood I had miscalculated the last reference and that I was into some troubles. It was 1:30am, no place to go and no place where to sleep, I had my cellphone with me, but it had run out of battery some hours ago, I realized I was lost again.

It was actually a very cold night, fortunately I was wearing so many clothes I didn’t worry about that this time; but still, I could feel the freezing air in my face. I was out of options, so I decided to keep walking and keep looking for the place, it had to be within the area!

So tired that I looked like a Zombie!

By 2am or 2:30am I was really tired, I was kind of frustrated that I couldn’t get to the place event with the precautions and references I had. Well, I guess I’m not so smart afterall haha. The biggest frustration came when I started to realize that I was walking through the same streets again and again, I was going in circles, it was dark, cold and very late. I was starting to think I was gonna be walking until dawn.

I had never felt like in a labyrinth before, but after reaching the metro station, then the flower shop, then walking through several small streets with the same kanji symbol; only to come back to the same metro station again has been the closest thing I’ve ever experienced to a labyrinth. I have to thank to my orientation for that, but it was 3am in the morning now and I only wanted some sleep, since I was starting to turn into a zombie.

I spent at least another hour walking and trying to find the place with no luck, I was almost completing my zombie transformation by then. I knew I needed to sleep somewhere, but there was no park close (at least not that I knew), perhaps outside the closed doors of the metro station would be a good place? Suddenly the streets where I was walking looked really comfortable too!

I remembered the guy who took me to the guesthouse the first time; he also mentioned something about a McDonalds nearby, or perhaps I spotted that McDonalds the previous night, I was almost sleeping I don’t really remember.

Let McDonalds be my hotel!

Thing is, in my 99% turned into zombie state, I went looking for that McDonalds! Why? Well, McDonalds in Japan are a bit different. Most of them are open 24 hours and some Japanese people go there to sleep at nights when it’s too late to go back to their homes. Other options are Manga Cafes and Capsule Hotels too, but I didn’t spot any of those around.

After walking a bit further than the Metro Station, I was able to see the lights of the McDonalds building, it was past 4am, and at 99.9% zombie, I entered the place and ordered a small coffee, I didn’t plan to drink it, I only needed my ticket to sleep there.

I took my coffee and went to the second floor where the tables were, hoping to find and empty place, but to my surprise it was very crowded! Many people were still awake, office guys working, students doing homework, etc. It’s an image I’ll never forget about how hard-working Japanese people really are. In my case, I only wanted some sleep, I went to a table, took a chair and completed my 100% zombie transformation. After that, my memories are vague.

It was a really bad experience

At sometime, I remember someone came to clean the place, I didn’t bother to check, I was totally out. And was out for other 4 hours, since at 8am I woke up, dizzy, with a sensation of being without rest. I had slept 4 hours in a sitting position on a table of a McDonalds, and that really sucked! Well, at least now I know what is it to sleep in a McDonalds, and I didn’t freeze in the process. I wasn’t that tired nor sleepy after waking up, but my body felt really unrested, staying more time there wouldn’t be of help, so I decided to leave and continue my search. Also, I actually don’t like McDonalds, so I didn’t even bother having my breakfast in there.

Let’s keep getting lost, it’s actually fun!

In the morning, with sunlight, it was actually much easier to find the way home. I had forgotten a small but very important detail that I didn’t consider within my references: I had to cross a small boulevard, but at night I couldn’t even realize there was one there. With sunlight, once I crossed the boulevard I could finally find the guesthouse.

I went to my room and slept a couple more hours, just a brief nap since I still had many places to visit and many more chances to test my orientation again. It’s actually quite fun, frustating at times, but you just have to go with the river and not against it. The final rewards are wonderful.

How is your orientation to move in the city? Do you have the same Ryoga symptom like me? Share in the comments!