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Published: February 5th 2010
When people who have never visited this country think about Japan, the image that most frequently comes to mind is one depicting its super-populated cities. Confirming this commonly-held perception, I have witnessed many times the expression in the faces of new visitors when they arrive for the first time at places like Shinjuku or Shibuya stations in Tokyo.
Invariably, they seem to become overwhelmed by the sheer volume of people moving in all directions in these huge and labyrinthian train stations and their general environs. After all, both Shinjuku and Shibuya are two of the busiest districts in Tokyo and every day, about one million people go through each of their largest train stations.
Though I no-longer qualify as a new-comer, my frequent visits to Tokyo since the time I used to live in Japan always include a moment or two when I relive the wonderment that I felt the first time that I saw this great city.
How is it possible for Japanese people to live in such crowded environments? This extreme urban environment actually has a natural and spiritual counterbalance that you discover as you spend more time in this amazing country.
On this visit
to Japan, I wanted to make time to enjoy this other extreme to population density that appears to always co-exist with the more common reality that all new visitors encounter. Amazingly, this parallel dimension, a stylized and serene natural world is ever-present and occurs typically a few steps away from busy places like Shinjuku and Shibuya.
A place that never appears to exhaust its appeal for me is Kamakura; in spite of my many visits there over the years, I tend to come back often and I always manage to find a new magical corner that deserves to be discovered. This ancient political and religious capital of Japan (only fifty minutes away by train from Tokyo) gave me the perfect opportunity to experience Japan’s altered state.
Kamakura with its many monuments, temples, shrines, and illustrious past is perhaps the ideal place for Tokyo residents to maintain their deep communion with nature and their inner self next door to one of Japan’s densest urban environments.
This time, I visited several of the town’s amazing sites, but the highlight of the visit occurred at Hokokuji Temple, 報国寺, with its surreal bamboo forest, where it is impossible not to see
beyond the modern, material world as you stop to listen to the sound of the wind going through the tall shoots and leaves overhead. In front of you, is an abstract yet natural landscape that lifts your awareness beyond any mundane concerns that may have accompany you as you left the world outside.
I had searched for this famous temple in previous visits to Kamakura, but I had never succeeded in finding it. This time, thanks to a Kamakura city map facilitated by my hotel concierge, I had an easier time finding it.
But Kamakura was not the only place where I experienced Japan’s natural and spiritual counterbalance. Almost within walking distance from my base in Tokyo, there is another magical place that begs to be visited and enjoyed.
Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden 新宿御苑, was the estate of a noble family during the Edo Period and later became an imperial garden. This large park is within a few blocks from Shinjuku Station, but for all practical purposes, entering its gates is almost equivalent to going through a star gate and transporting yourself to the other end of the universe. The difference between this tranquil and carefully-manicured park
and its busy urban surroundings is so extreme that you might as well be in another planet.
Natural environments in Japan need not be as extensive as Gyoen National Garden. Japanese culture thrives in creating these environments in the smallest of spaces, and you even find them in the tiny flats that most Tokyo citizens call home. These urban natural spaces manifest as tiny koi ponds, ikebana arrangements, or personal gardens sprouting in any available space.
But the effect of this parallel natural world in urban Japan is as effective as it is unexpected. No matter how stressful urban life can become, spending even a few minutes in these oases of nature brings Japanese urbanites back to their inner balance.
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Gatoon
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Very good information janpan tourism.
Very good information janpan tourism.