Tokyo: In the Land of Gyoza and the Emperors

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I turned in my letter of resignation a couple of weeks ago. My boss asked me to take off and rethink my decision. It so happened there was this week-long training seminar in Tokyo, Japan and the boss thought it would do me a lot of good to spend a week in Tokyo. And so here I am at the Narita Airport, trying to figure out how to take the subway in Tokyo to reach my hotel in Kitasenju. Well, it wasn't really a hotel, but this association has put up learning centers in Tokyo and Hirohisma, where members can rent rooms at rates half what the hotels charge. Not bad, and it's clean clean, Japanese clean. I remember my foster brother, Kazuhiro Araki, an exchange student back in the 70's, who stayed with us for a weekend in my provincial home. My father would always joke then that Hiro should use the bathroom after all of us because he always cleaned after taking a bath. And it's "Japanese-clean", as my father would put it. And that was how Japanese-clean I found my room at the AOTS (Association for Overseas Technical Scholarship) Office cum Hostel. There was even a cafeteria on the ground floor of the AOTS Building and vendo machines on every floor. I quickly figured out how to have my breakfast without having to go to the cafeteria, and how I can enjoy my ice cream in the comforts of my small room.

Ready For Tokyo

Having arrived early, we had the whole afternoon to explore Tokyo before the seminar begins the next day. The "Guide to Tokyo" Handbook given as soon as we checked in was most helpful. This handbook had english translations for Japanese destinations and was a good guide when taking the subway. Complete with museum, park and store opening hours, subway transfers, reference maps and travel time, this handbook became part of my wardrobe. Back then, traveling around Tokyo was not easy as there were no English translations for Japanese destinations and some were even expressed in Japanese characters!




First off , I studied the handbook and checked out the popular area. There was Shinjuku, the shopping and amusement quarter. Ginza is the high-end fashion center where I found the famous toy department store, Hakuhinkan. There was also this old temple town which developed around the Sensoji Temple called Asakusa. Here, one can check out Nakamise, the street between Kaminari Mon (Thunder Gate) and Sensoji Temple, which is lined with souvenir shops. I enjoyed window shopping here. And then , there is Roppongi which is visited more after dark because of its many discotheques, pubs and ethnic food restaurants. Conscious of how I easily succumb to eletronic goods and techie gadgets, I imagined going to Akihabara on the day before my homeward trip. I am told your eyes would pop here as soon as you step out of the subway station and see line after line, stall after stall, of shops selling electronic goods.

Off From Training So Soon?

Our first training day started off well. It was a manageable class of about 30 middle-aged professionals, none of whom I found serious enough to draw lessons from this seminar. It was a good idea to have our group photo taken on our very first day in front of the AOTS office. I thought then that perhaps there was always a problem of locating the participants as the seminar progresses. Why am I not surprised? There were also scheduled field trips which I promptly checked out, planning on not joining the bus going back to the hostel and instead visiting some popular sights in the area. One such trip was in the neighborhood of the Imperial Palace. A couple of participants happily joined me in my adventure. We were not disappointed. The remains of the Honmaru (main citadel) of Edo Castle beside the Imperial Palace where the Emperor lives has a most beautiful garden. We strolled through this garden which we found sooooo quiet and peaceful, despite some teenage students strolling by in groups. The garden, the pond, the double-arched bridge all added to the charm of the place.




For a better appreciation of this modern city, we took a trip to Tokyo Tower. Built in 1958, this tower is even higher than the Eiffel Tower in Paris. We took the lift to get to the top and enjoy the panoramic vista of the metropolis. At the foot of the tower, there was an aquarium, a wax museum and several souvenir shops and restaurants. I would have wanted to watch a Kabuki play at the Kabukiza Theater at the Higashi-ginza area, but there were group study meetings tonight. Besides, no one seemed willing to join me in watching this traditional Japanese drama.

Tokyo Disneyland

Besides shopping for fashion goods and electronics stuff, my new pals decided we should pay a visit to Tokyo Disneyland. Oh no, not again! Some in our group have not visited any Disneyland Park and were eager to go except that they could not figure out how to get there. For some reason, I sensed they were banking on me to lead them to the park. And so, I promised the group I'd check the maps and the handbook and scheduled a trip this Saturday. As it turned out, it was an easy subway trip with just one transfer getting to this park. All under 1 hour. I did not expect there would be a crowd but the Japanese seem to really patronize this park as they far outnumber the foreign tourists here. Many Japanese kids there were obviously pampered and shopped like crazy. Their jackets were worn with several Disney pins and stuffed toys. There was an air of affluence, if you ask me. Anyway, my traveling group looked like they were enjoying their day in Tokyo Disneyland, oblivious to the chill. I tried to get them to watch many of the Disney shows, if only to escape from the cold in the open air park. Mulan was a big hit.




On our way back to the hostel, we checked out the many small restaurants lining the street just a couple of blocks from the metro. One would think there were no diners as the places were eerily quiet. Except maybe for the slurping sounds in a nearby ramen house. I was amazed how quiet it was in this area. Maybe because there were a lot of solo diners, probably having their fill before walking home. We tried one of the yakitori houses and enjoyed our authentic Japanese dinner so much we pledged never again to eat in the AOTS cafeteria! I especially liked the grilled squids and chicken with leeks. And the gyozas. And the rice smelled so good too!




The following days were spent on factory visits, shopping and eating. We did not have a chance to visit any other sights outside the shopping districts. Not much excitement. Shopping was limited as they do not come cheap. I also did not purchase a single techie gadget. But I did visit the toy department store and a few department stores where I got children's boots, lovely cotton handkerchiefs and Japanese food items. I silently promised myself that in my next visit, I would most certainly make time to visit Mt. Fuji and Yokohama.

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