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Asia » Japan » Tokyo
April 22nd 2010
Published: March 6th 2013
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“It is better to travel hopefully than to arrive disenchanted.” - Japanese Proverb



Ah, Japan. Land of the Rising Sun. Land of Geishas, as well as robots that can play the violin. Land of manga, Hello Kitty, Salarymen, capsule hotels, and Sake. I’ve always wanted to come here as far as I can remember. What attracted me to this land is hard to put into words. It seemed to me that the Japanese were a people that could be very serious and hardworking and at the same time know how to have fun. They seemed to be able to hone their focus like a laser on whatever task they are doing and make it into an art form. They also seemed eager to adapt to future technologies but at the same time don’t want to lose their identity or culture in the process. For whatever reason I felt I would have a personal connection with this culture and would be made better for it.

However, part of me didn’t want to come to Japan. I was afraid I had built it up too much in my mind and it was unfair to hold them to such high
Shinjuju Dori at night.Shinjuju Dori at night.Shinjuju Dori at night.

What do you think they sell in this building?
standards. Maybe I would leave disillusioned with photos of nothing but grey cities. Maybe I had it all wrong, maybe the Japanese were nothing more than merciless businessmen who wanted to take over the world through economy as Michael Crichton says, and maybe they eat nothing but baby dolphins and whale meat. I didn’t think so, but I tried to go in objectively.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF TOKYO


Ammi and I sat on a high speed JR elevated train as we made our way into Tokyo, all our worldly possessions in various bags at our feet. Somewhere along our travels we had made the transistion from backpackers to hobos, as we had worn out clothing and pots and pans that rattled when we walked. The various Japanese people didn’t seem to treat us differently than anyone else, however. “Hey Kev, listen to this,” Ammi was reading the classifieds of an Ex-Pat newspaper we had picked up at the tourist information center along with pamphlets of activities. “Single, energetic Japanese girl looking for a salaryman with lots of money to treat her like a princess. Must have own car. Man, they don’t beat around the bush here do they?”
Ueno ParkUeno ParkUeno Park

What a nice stroll
I laughed but was mostly entranced by the view outside. Tons and tons of Sakura (cherry trees) and maple trees lined the streets, giving Tokyo a very un-grey feeling in my mind. “Here’s an ad asking for native English speakers, no experience necessary, $40 an hour. And here they have an ad for a room for rent for 30,000 Yen, about $300 a month. Unfortunately the average sized apartment in Tokyo is 175 square feet,” I got a crazy look in my eyes. Visions of staying here learning Japanese danced through my head. No, we had to go home eventually. We can’t travel forever, much as we might want to. That’s one of the bad things about travel, is you keep adding things you want to accomplish in life that conflict with each other. My view of cherry blossoms was interrupted as another high speed train traveling in the opposite direction “BOOMED!” past us, a blur of technology that rattled the windows and our pots and pans. I looked around at our fellow passengers. Most were Salarymen in their trademark non-descript black suits, aged between 18 and 80, looking off into space. Others were young teenagers dressed in goth who
Pachinko Parlor. A cross between slots and vertical pinball.  Pachinko Parlor. A cross between slots and vertical pinball.  Pachinko Parlor. A cross between slots and vertical pinball.

So loud it seriously sounds like sitting under Niagra Falls. People will sit like zombies and watch little steel balls bounce around for hours. There is no legal gambling in Japan so they win "gifts" like lighters or whatever, and when they exit there's a door in a back alley that'll exchange the gifts for money. That makes it legal, right?
are called Harajuku kids, named after the neighborhood they gather in where they pose for picture takers, trying to look rebellious. Or I would see school boys in short shorts with Amish looking hats. One teenage girl had bleached blond hair, a white “Hello Kitty” jacket, short black skirt, pink leather leg warmers, and 5 inch heels. Her nails each had tiny statues made of bling protruding from the tops. I wondered how she wrote, used a phone, or did anything with those nails, they would probably qualify as a disability. It was right then that I realized something, something that was very strange after being in China. Nobody was on their cell phones, no one was yammering away, or texting, and no ring tones were going off. Nada. I also realized that people actually formed orderly lines here and let the people on the subway off first instead of pushing their way on first looking for that empty seat. It was our first, but not last introduction to Japanese politeness and it was a nice change. I realized later that this made us want to be more considerate to other people instead of being as defensive as we sometimes
Tokyo Nightlife!Tokyo Nightlife!Tokyo Nightlife!

Shinjuku Dori
get in certain countries. “How does a nice burger sound?” Ammi asked.
“Ammi, we didn’t come all the way to Japan to eat a…” She showed me the picture. It was at least 5 inches of beef, cheese, mushrooms, and avocadoes with a stack of fries. My mouth started to water uncontrollably. How long has it been since we’ve had a burger? 9 months? Too long. It was $10 but I didn’t care, we were going to eat that burger even if we had to fight a ninja robot Godzilla to do it.

NEW FRIENDS


We dropped off our bags and confidently set out in search of our burger, internet directions in hand. The Japanese are good at a great many things. Two things they are not good at, however, are creating comfortable buses making logical maps. Instead of listing a business as a number on a street they tell you which neighborhood it's in and give you a numbered block which are numbered in the order they were built, usually non-consecutive, which necessitates a lot of aimless wandering. After finally finding the block and realizing it was no burger joint but a school yard, we almost
Samurai swordSamurai swordSamurai sword

Tokyo National Museum
gave up. A red faced Japanese man was standing nearby and I decided to ask for directions. Not feeling confident enough to try my limited Japanese I showed him a picture of a burger and mimed eating. He flashed a huge grin. “Tabemas ka?” I turned to Ammi, “He says something something eat?” and then I nodded to him. His grin widened. He grabbed us by the arm and half pushed half led us to te playground of the school. After coming from India and China our defenses were up and I thought maybe he was forcing us towards his restaurant. That was until we realized he was leading us towards a picnic table that had been set up in the playground under a huge Sakura tree, a number of people eating various dishes and drinking saki. “Konichiwa,” I said timidly. “America jin desu ka?” one of the men asked. “Hai, America jin desu.” They all brightened up and bid us welcome to their table. Before we knew it large glasses of saki and bowls of mysterious food were thrust at us as if we were old friends. “Kunpai!” (Cheers!) Once a year the Japanese gather together for hanami (cherry
Samurai armorSamurai armorSamurai armor

Tokyo National Museum
blossom viewing). The guidebooks say the reason for this is that when they observe the flower petals falling to the ground they are reminded of the brief, fleeting amount of time that we all have to live, and they feel at peace because of this. It seemed to us that it was more of an excuse to be with friends and have a good time. It is somewhat magical to watch what looks like pink snow falling all around you. At just that moment everyone at the table started singing a melodious version of the SAKURA SONG (click to listen) . We drank lots of saki, (what they call Japanese whiskey) ate little cubes of unagi, (which I didn't tell Ammi was boiled eel) and tried to communicate with broken English and broken Japanese that we were enjoying each others' company. I suddenly remembered a friend we had met in India who lived in Japan for three years telling me that the Japanese were very stand offish and never welcome outsiders into their group. I didn't feel that at all here. The man who invited us to eat stood suddenly, spilling some saki with a large cherry bud floating inside. “I am Samurai Bodey!” he
HanamiHanamiHanami

Once a year for a few weeks the Japanese get together to watch the Sakura trees blossom...and get drunk too.
yelled in a warrior voice that echoed through the small neighborhood, and slapped his belly. I tried not to laugh, thinking that maybe something got lost in translation and he might be serious. But everyone else laughed. Every group has its goof, apparently. We all goofed around for a few minutes until suddenly, as if on a hidden cue everyone became silent. “Samurai Bodey” bowed his head solemnly. “Pearl Harbor. Gomen nasai. So sorry. So sorry.” I wasn't sure how to respond. The Japanese have a very intricate system of politeness and body cues and I was afraid I had done something wrong. Should I apologize about Hiroshima? I didn't know. The moment passed, however, and everyone went back to having fun. After we left we knew it was one of our better travel experiences. I felt an intense urge to study the language and customs and Ammi vowed that if we met any foreigners we would be hospitable. We never found that specific burger joint but something much better.


KYOTO



After seeing as much as we could of futuristic Tokyo, we took an overnight bus to the “Old Japan” in Kyoto. I really wanted to take the mag-lev Shinkansen train, but for that price you might as well fly (if the train is levitated is that considered flying?). We had a nice hotel picked out where we got the chance to try sleeping on tatami mats (surprisingly comfortable) run by a sweet Japanese girl, Jun. A lot of people are initially put off by Kyoto's modern appearance, but I enjoyed it because little bits of Old Japan are hidden throughout the city like easter eggs, a temple here, a miniature shrine there. And if you're really lucky you can spot a Geisha clopping along in her wooden Saba sandals. With 7 UNESCO World Heritage sites its hard to imagine not finding something interesting. Some sites are easier to appreciate than others, however. I didn't really understand the appeal of “Dry Gardens,” which are just yards of pebbles raked with perfect parallel lines and sometimes a few boulders in the middle, but some people can stare for hours, mesmerized. I did enjoy the Zen Gardens. We were in Cherry Blossom season, but Zen Gardens are designed to be beautiful no matter the weather or season. I made Ammi promise to take us back in the fall to see the Maple trees in bloom. After seeing more temples, gardens, shrines, and “Memoirs of a Geisha” locations, we made our way to Osaka. We had originally planned to fly home from Japan, but Golden Week had forced up the cost of tickets and we were forced to buy cheaper tickets in China. Plus Ammi suddenly decided she wanted to see the World Expo in Shanghai to it worked out. We hung out with some friends we'd met in Tokyo then made our way to Fukoku to take the ferry to Korea. We only had a short time in Japan, and even though we didn't see everything we had set out to see, it was OK because knew we'd be back someday. Japan was all that I hoped for and yet not all that I hoped for. After getting to know it I feel like I love it but am no longer infatuated with it.

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A SALARYMAN



This doesn't really have to do with our travels but I thought it was interesting. As much as Japan fascinates me and as much as I'd like to live here for a while, I'm equally glad I wasn't born here. Competition for the best jobs begins early, usually during grade school. Kids join Juku (extra school after school) to compete for the best colleges. Psychologists say too much school is bad for their development, and most teachers have to deal with bored students who have already learned the material in Juku. The intense pressure to succeed is one of the reasons Japan has such a high suicide rate (second to Russia). After getting a job their day proceeds as follows. They wake early, around 6am, to begin the 1-2 hours commute. During early morning “rush hour” most trains are full, and so the majority of Salarymen have to stand and are usually exhausted before getting to work. When the workers get off the subway they are still packed together and even if it's raining they wouldn't be able to open an umbrella. They usually eat at their desk while working, using lunchtime to go outside and smoke as many cigarettes as possible back to back. Overtime is common, and at the end of the day most workers choose to unwind with a few beers with their colleges, where it is the
New friends.New friends.New friends.

These nice folks grabbed us and insisted on feeding us and getting us drunk. All I can say is Arigato Gozaimas!!
only socially acceptable time to curse out their boss if they want to. At this point the Salaryman has 3 options: 1) sleep in the office, usually only coming home on weekends. 2) Try to catch the last subway home which is packed to the gills with other drunk salarymen that have to be shoved onto the train by white gloved assistants. They usually get home after midnight for a few hours of sleep before starting again. 3) Sleep in a capsule hotel which is about the size and dimensions of a coffin, but still manages to include TV, radio, and internet. At some point in their careers Salarymen are usually asked to relocate for a few years to another city. Few put up a fuss because to do so would be a mark on their record. The family stays behind because the kids are so entrenched in their education that they can't afford to leave. The wives run the households and budgets anyway, doling out their husbands a meager allowance. Absolute loyalty to a company is expected, and jobs are usually for life, although job security is slipping and retirement age has been increased due to increased life expectancy.
Shinto shrineShinto shrineShinto shrine

Meiji Jingu near Harajuku
Are Salarymen money grubbing? From what I've read most salaries aren't in the stratosphere I was expecting, and it is thought that the Japanese work so hard mainly because work is a tenant of Zen Buddhism and thought of as religious. An absolutely funny and zanny book about a Salaryman getting kicked in the gut by life is called DEATH OF A SALARYMAN . Great read. Another interesting book about Japanese culture is THE ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO JAPAN. CULTURE AND TRADITION.

***TIPS FOR TRAVELERS***

-In Tokyo try to stay near the Yamanote Subway line as it is the cheapest and most accessible to tourist sites.

- METRO WEBSITE will tell you which transfers to take to reach your Tokyo subway destination as well as the cost.

-Trying to keep costs down? Find souvenirs and groceries at 100 Yen stores.

- It's really hard to understand addresses in Tokyo. To figure out how to get where you're going read this.

-A fun activity is to cook Okonomiyaki (Japanese Pizza). A good one is called *** off Takeshita Dori.

-The hostels we stayed in were SAKURA HOSTEL in Tokyo, and SAKURA HOUSE in Kyoto.

-Taking a ferry out of Japan? Book early when you arrive cause they fill up fast
Sake barrelsSake barrelsSake barrels

Meiji Jingu
and the commission is usually only a few bucks. You have to see a travel agent.

-If you're taking the bus around Kyoto you might as well get an all day pass as it's about as expensive as one round trip. Go up to the driver and say “Ichi nichi ken kuda sai.” Have no clue how to pronounce that? Copy that text into this website. Make sure you switch it to Japanese.

-In Kyoto, if you're going to see the Fushimi Inari (orange shrines) cross the street after getting off the bus and check what time the return bus comes. It's irregular and sucks to wait a long time for.




Additional photos below
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This is the start of Fushimi-Inari Taisha, a 4km path of hundreds of red torri closely packed together.This is the start of Fushimi-Inari Taisha, a 4km path of hundreds of red torri closely packed together.
This is the start of Fushimi-Inari Taisha, a 4km path of hundreds of red torri closely packed together.

The first one is the head shrine for the 30,000 Inari shrines scattered throughout Japan.
Harajuku kidsHarajuku kids
Harajuku kids

Once a week kids dress in cause-play and act rebellious
Bamboo forestBamboo forest
Bamboo forest

Arashiyama, Kyoto


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