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Published: August 5th 2007
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I had decided that I wasn't going to leave Japan the first year I was living in Japan. I wanted to drink in the full experience and let my Japanese language studies sink in. So for my fall break I just stayed in Sapporo and made the rounds and drank myself further into my Hokkaido home. But with my friend flying in for spring break and the knowledge that I still hadn't seen Tokyo yet in my head I decided it was time to see what the biggest city in the world had to offer.
It was strange arriving in Tokyo and not feeling like it was an alien environment. I had always expected that landing in Tokyo would feel like the opening to Lost in Translation, but it felt for the most part normal. I think it had something to do with the fact that I had already been living in Japan for seven months. And since I was feeling self assured, and knowing how safe Japan is, I decided to head into town by train and navigate the subway until I got to my hotel. I almost made it directly there too, but stopped maybe 50 yards short
Japan
Day in the park of the entrance and went the other way. I wandered around again for about 15 minutes before I found my bearings. Tokyo was definitely bigger than Sapporo. Even on the train ride in from Haneda you see all this city life everywhere you look.
I checked into my hotel room on the 25th floor, which was ridiculously fantastic and equally ridiculously expensive. I figured that Tokyo was a city of over the top energy and money, and it had to be done big. I hurried over to the big picture window and there it was. The city of Tokyo spread out before me. A vast spread of grey buildings and you could just get this overwhelming sense of the sheer amount of people living out there. Looming in the distance was Mt. Fuji. I couldn't believe my luck. I would be staying with Fuji-san for the duration of my trip. Just then my friend burst in the door. I had come from Sapporo. He had come from England, but we had arrived within ten minutes of each other. After a bit of time to recover we went off in search of the Tokyo buzz.
Our first stop, besides
Shrine
Japanese scene a Japanese curry shop, was Harajuku. We had gone there to see all the kids dressed up all goth and crazy. It was still early so there weren't too many out yet. So we went into a near by park. We took in a shrine and wandered around in the stillness. The wind blew through the trees, but it wasn't cold. It was great to not be wearing a snow jacket like in Hokkaido. After that we went back out and there were all the goths. We walked around Harajuku and found it to be a very trendy and sanitized area. Not exactly what I had in mind when I thought of Tokyo. It was time to go back to the hotel to rest up for the night.
Back in the hotel room a brief glance out the window caused me to jolt up from a nap and gasp. The sky was an electric orange and there on the horizon an imposing black figure rose out of the Tokyo cityscape. It was Fuji-san and he was just emanating a timeless power. I sat there in my bed and marveled at the scene.
That night we went out in
Tokyo at night
Endless possibilities Shinjuku. And I realized something about Tokyo. If I lived in here I would be fired. There is just too much going on even on the weekdays. We went to an Irish pub and just surveyed the scene. It was great. Beautiful girls just wanting to hang out and have fun. There was a lot more western guys here in Tokyo, and the competition was a little more hard edged. And it wasn't just western guys either, but the Japanese guys were getting in there too. But this being Tokyo there were plenty of girls to go around. We were however, I thought just surveying the scene that night.
Somehow at the end of the night we wound up at a bar in Roppongi. I saw a cute girl sitting at the bar and that was it. I stopped in mid-sentence and went over to talk to her. She recommended a couple of other places. Time was lost to me. So there I wound up just me and this Japanese singer eating McDonalds in Tokyo. We found a place to chill. Altogether it was a surprising first night in Tokyo.
The nights would follow like this. My friend
Asakusa
sakura alley and I would go out. We would drink, have a laugh, but eventually a pair of japanese girls would catch one of our eyes. My friend would go get a drink and I would just do the leg work and go over and start talking. There were many interesting happenings that occured. One ending with a taxi driving away with me and two girls, but my friend standing puzzled on the curb. A crazy night in a Gas Panic nightclub full of misunderstandings. Not to mention the last night when my keitai was blowing up with possibilities. But all together I was relaxed about the whole thing. Living in Japan I wasn't going crazy or anything to get it all in. I was actually more interested in seeing how the Tokyo scene differed from the Sapporo scene.
During the days we didn't do too much sight seeing. We would start the day by getting something to eat. Then we would usually pick one area and visit it by subway. We would spend the day wandering around taking in the Tokyo scene. My favorite day was going to Asakusa. It was inspiring to see all the sakura after such a
Imperial Palace
A view across the moat at the end of the day long winter. The little lanes of the old area were great for exploring and imagining yourself in a Japan that has long since past. There was the main shrine to see as well. I made a wish there, whether it will come true is still to be seen.
After a days sightseeing we would go back to our Shinjuku hotel and have a drink in our hotel bar as the sun was setting low in the sky. It was a stylized bar in a Lost in Translation kind of way. The city was set out before us and it was the perfect time and place to reminisce and work out our various plans for the evening. I was spending money, but I didn't care. Life, especially precious vacations, are meant to be enjoyed not limited.
I also managed to see Fuji-san one lavender morning at sunrise one early waking day. But he is elusive you don't always see him. Some would say rarely and I had gotten lucky. The morning of our departure I rose and said goodbye to Fuji-san. Who knows when I will back under such perfect conditions.
Note: The trip to Tokyo Dragon
My days in Japan helped me realize many things about Japan and myself. I realized how far I had come in my life in Japan. I learned the effect that this country can have on people. It took a few weeks after to let it all sink in, but afterwards I arrived in a much better place because of it. Tokyo was a fantastic experience and I would recommend it to anyone.
added july 27, 2007
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