Dear Friends,
On my way back from Beijing, I decided to stop in Tokyo, Japan. I made the stop for some business meetings - but really, it was to come back to one of my favorite places on the globe. This last week at work has been particularly difficult. As has happened so many times in my life, my Heavenly Father has blessed me with a little comfort during trying times. This time, the blessing comes in the form of a visit to Japan ; )
The difference between Beijing and Tokyo is vast. It's night-and-day. I admit that I'm biased, but my perceptions have been confirmed by several people who have been to both countries. In China, it's a very self-centered culture these days, born from the race to get ahead with increased capitalistic markets. In Japan, it's much more about how your actions impact those around you. There are obviously examples of each culture in both countries...and I'm making a gross generalization about billions of people. However, I'm sticking to it...until someone can convince me otherwise ; )
I think the thing that works for me in Japan is the efficiency - when everyone sort of works together, things work better. The engineering side of my brain really appreciates this. For example - when getting on the subway in China, it's every man for himself. When the doors open to a train car, there's a made rush to get in, and and people are still trying to get out. Chaos. In Japan, people about to board the train will approach the car, but move to the side, so that people can exit quickly and then folks can board. Order. I could go on...but I won't. Needless to say, I like how it works here ; )
After arriving at the airport, I took the Nartita Express (NEX) train to downtown Tokyo. The main international airport is a long distance from the city. This high-speed train helps reduce the transit time to a little over an hour. Most people take the bus, because it will deliver them directly to their hotel. I'm more comfortable with the train system, so I enjoy the comfort of the train.
I'm staying at a hotel in the Shinjuku area. It's the same hotel I've used for over a decade. It's located right next to the Tokyo city hall, known as the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. With a population of over 14 million, the local government has a lot to deal with. The building is magnificent - 48 stories tall, designed to look very much like a Gothic cathedral:
My hotel is beautiful, but not terribly modern. It does, however, have a great view of Tokyo, which stretches for miles and miles and miles. Here's a quick video from inside the elevator. You get to see the lobby, amazing chandeliers, and the view. To appreciate the view, stick with the video until the end, as the camera had trouble focusing on the exterior (two Japanese women were also talking in the background):
The rooms in the hotel - like many Japanese hotels - are quite small. One feature that is always interesting, are the toilets. Yup, I said it. They always have more features than you'll ever find in the West. This one can act as a bidet and much more:
I love the diagram of the "bum"
After meetings the first day, I met up with my cousin - who happens to work in Tokyo. He's on an ex-pat assignment for his company and moved his family here. I forgot to take a picture with him, but I'll see his family on Sunday. We ate at a tiny Yakitori restaurant. Yakitori is a cuisine in Japan that revolves around food that is cooked on wood skewers, over hot coals. The absolute best is when chicken thighs are marinated and basted with a sweet and savory sauce, combined with fresh onion, and grilled over the hot charcoal:
Dinner was great...and expensive. Afterwards, I walked back to the subway station. One of the great features of Tokyo, is the constant presence of vending machines all over the city. When it's hot outside (it's actually quite cold here right now), the drinks are always cold. I really missed refrigerated drinks while in China. In these vending machines, you can find all kinds of drinks and food. Water, sports drinks, soda, tea...even chilled coffee.
One of the most popular drink brands is Calpis - you can see it on the side of this vending machine:
The funny thing is that when the Japanese pronounce this word, it sounds like "cow piss". I'm not joking. The first time they offered the drink to me, I hesitated ; ) At one train station, I found this cool machine - a video vending machine. This screen is huge - about four-and-a-half feet across. All the products are on the screen, so they can replace items without having to change a lot of the machine itself. Very cool...
On Saturday, I visited an area called Omotesando. It's a big shopping district, with high-end brands from all over the world. My destination, however, was Kiddy Land. This is a terrific toy store that I've visited often.
There are six floors of merchandise, and I have fun on each floor. One floor had action figures - an obvious favorite:
I enjoy the crazy Japanese characters. Here are some toys that I couldn't really figure out. They look very emotionally unstable. Why would I give these to a kid??
After my Kiddy Land visit, I met up with some old friends for lunch. These are two sweet ladies that I worked with at Sega, almost 15 years ago. We've been good friends ever since:
The appetizer for our meal was listed on the menu as "vegetables". It was one of the most amazing dishes I've ever seen - I couldn't believe the artistry that went into it:
I can confirm that everything was edible...and delicious ; ) I'm so glad I was able to see them again, after not traveling to Japan for a couple of years. Good relationships will always stand the test of time.
In the afternoon, I went to an area of Tokyo called Akihabara. This is one of the electronics centers for the city. You can find just about anything related to consumer electronics there. Not only finished products, but every individual component that goes into electronics. I like to think of it as the biggest Radio Shack in the entire world.
These stalls go back for quite a distance
Here's a quick view of Akihabara...it was a busy day and your ears are overcome with quite a bit of distraction:
In addition to all the electronics, Akihabara has quite a few stores selling video games. Not as many as in the past, but this is where all the big games and consoles are launched for consumers. Akihabara also has several fun toy/figure shops. I saved money that I received from my folks and in-laws from Christmas. Now it was time to shop!
I found this strange character. Basically, it's a mother mushroom, with little baby mushrooms. I was really tempted to bring this one home ; )
One thing that's becoming more popular, are shops that sell consignment toys. Basically, an individual gets a large plastic "cube" that they place all of the toys that they want to sell. The store takes a cut of the sales. It's like eBay, but where you can go and look at all the items.
In the back of one shop, I found about 80 people all playing card games - like Pokemon and Magic the Gathering. I'm nerdy, but I draw the line right here...
Back near Shinjuku, I was walking outside the train station and found this group performing on the street:
You have to give it to these ladies. The drummer doesn't even have a real drum kit. She's using a plastic bin and a cymbal. The bass player had the only real equipment. Behind the vocalist, was a girl playing a very traditional Shamisen - or Japanese guitar. You don't see this every day! ; )
The streets of Shinjuku are very bright at night, with neon signs everywhere. There are several shops selling cameras and phones throughout this part of the city:
I finished the evening at my absolute favorite noodle shop in all of Japan. There are plenty of great noodle shops - make no mistake about it. This one is truly special. It's tiny - there are literally only about 10 seats at a tiny counter:
The cooks are making things right in front of your face - also part of the appeal. The name of the shop translates roughly into 7 Ingredients. I don't care, it just tastes amazing. On a cold night like tonight, after walking for miles through the day, I couldn't think of a better way to end the day! I ordered some ramen noodles with some salted pork that is cooked in a delicous broth:
D-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s
That's it for now - time to get some rest, before heading back out tomorrow!
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