3 minute read
Reflections On Tokyo
Interview by Michael Kanert
We asked these Tokyo visitors to tell us: what surprised you most about your trip to Japan's capital?
Advertisement
I left my backpack containing all my money and my passport at the subway station. I noticed straight away, and went back to the station about 10 minutes later. The station manager had my bag and had already listed down all the contents. I managed to get it back with all the money (around CAD$2,000)!
Located west of the main ring line in Tokyo, Shimokitazawa is awesome: funky, great food and a very non-touristy vibe. People even bought us drinks! Also, Tokyo’s mixed expat/ local Ultimate frisbee club, Iku, provides a great way to keep fit and make new friends while travelling or living abroad in the city. It’s even open to drop-ins and beginners!
With 20 hours’ layover in Japan on a flight back to Canada, we decided to spend some time in Tokyo, and part of the itinerary was to go to Mandarake (a popular anime figurine store) as requested by our daughter, who is a big anime fan. After several minutes looking for the store to no avail, we asked a Japanese gentleman we bumped into for assistance. Instead of just giving directions, he accompanied us up to the front of the store, which we realized was actually a few blocks away from where we started. Not only did we get to where we wanted to go, but we also had a nice chat with the kind man on the way. What a wonderful guy indeed!
I discovered that the ubiquitous tea shops have surprisingly good, inexpensive food, and I didn't need a single word of Japanese to order: there were pictures I could point to! On top of which, the breakfast bar at our hotel had the best ginger tea I had ever tasted!
A concrete jungle: that’s what I expected of Tokyo. And while it does have those neighbourhoods, the city is surprisingly green. Part of this is due to a generous sprinkling of shrines and temples, which often have groves of trees or gardens on their grounds; but beyond those sacred spots, the city has a fabulous network of parks. From traditional Japanese gardens, to wide-open green lawns dotted with cherry, willow and plum trees, to vast combination parks, there’s a huge number of spots to re-energize and sneak in some “forest bathing” (or shinrin-yoku, as the locals call it) right in the city.
There are so many options in the vending machines that you can get a different drink every time you’re thirsty for the duration of your trip!
Tokyo is very clean, with safe trains and helpful staff and locals. For a large, densely populated city, there are also tons of parks and little green spaces tucked away in unexpected corners. As for food, lunch is cheap—we like Marugame Seimen udon, which can feed a family of four without putting much strain on the pocketbook!
Many things surprised us in Tokyo. Washrooms everywhere were ultra-clean and high-tech. It was surprisingly easy to order in restaurants— with many menus having photos, we didn’t have to worry about not reading Japanese. At times we may have confused a soup with a dessert pudding, but heck: that was part of the adventure! As for advice for a fabulous feast? Takeout from the underground "food court" of Shibuya Hikarie. We loved buying all sorts of delicacies in small quantities, having them wrapped in gorgeous packages, then eating them in our hotel room. The selection was incredible!
It’s my first time in Japan, and my wife and I are drinking at a bar in Asakusa. Then some young Japanese businessmen come in, so we start drinking with them. Soon enough there are about 15 of us drinking— locals and tourists. Now, I’m wearing this T-shirt that has the Japanese poster of Return of the Jedi on it, and one guy says in Japanese: “Where did you get that? I've been looking for that shirt all my life.” And I'm just like, “Really? I found it at Square One in Mississauga.” And he's like, “I'll be right back.” So he goes into town, picks me up a T-shirt, comes back and goes, “Can we do a T-shirt exchange?” And I'm like, “Yes, please!” So in front of about 20 or 30 people, we took off our shirts and exchanged them. He didn’t just ask for it—he went literally half an hour into town and bought me a shirt.
