In March, I managed to get away to Tokyo with Wei-Han for almost 4 days. Wei-Han was there for work while I explored the place. I was so blessed to have two different tour guides, both whom were friends of my friends here. So though I didn't know them, we both knew someone in common. The first guide was Ayu, a Japanese lady - actually she's more of a girl since she was still in her mid 20s! I'm still adjusting to the fact that there are many people much younger than me! Anyway, Ayu was great. She took me to the Tsukiji fish market, followed by the tiniest Japanese restaurant I have ever seen for breakfast. We had raw salmon, tuna, squid, prawns and fish roe, some tofu and egg all with rice and wasabi, miso soup and green tea. The only thing I enjoyed raw were the salmon and roe, the others would take some getting use to. She then took me to Asakusa where there was a Buddhist temple and it was surrounded by touristy stalls. And then to some shops where they had gourmet Japanese and western food, mostly for take away (kinda like David Jones on the basement of the city store). We had a yummy lunch there , though we had to sit on a bus stop to eat it. I was taken by how decorative and beautiful the disposable takeaway containers were - it seemed like such a waste.
But that is the way things were here. Many things were very detailed oriented. Every shop front was incredibly extravagant, esp the top brands like Gucci, DKNY, Chanel,...etc. I walked past one of these stores which had a proper sized merry go round with 3 horses studded with Swarovski crystals and they sparkled like you wouldn't believe.
Another example was the toilets. For those who have been there before, you know what I'm talking about. Every toilet has a panel on the side of the seat with these standard buttons/knobs: to spray your behind, to spray the middle section (for women), to warm up the seat and to adjust the pressure of the water jet. BTW, the water jet sprays warm water. Some of the toilets have extra buttons: to blow dry your posterior, to deodorise the cubicle, to call for help (emergency) and to play a flushing sound to hide your intimate sounds so that others don't hear your noises.
Some cubicles also provide a special sanitising wet wipe to clean the toilet seat, a toddler chair to confine your child so they don't end up opening the door crawling under the floor while you're doing your business and a fine serrated edge for the toilet paper to tear easily. I'm sure there are more - I certainly have not seen every toilet in Tokyo!
The next day, I had organised to meet Diane who ended up being an hour late. When she told me it was because of the train delays due to a man who had jumped onto the tracks to kill himself, I was shocked and saddened. She then quickly said "Oh don't worry, it happens here all the time." I think that saddened me more. In what must be the most technologically advanced country and a clean, safe, orderly and rich country, there are many who are suffering and have no hope.
Diane is an easy going American lady married to a Japanese man with children who are adults now. She lives and breathes Japan and speaks fluent Japanese, which was so wonderful to witness. She took me to the Shinto temple which was a beautiful temple without any image of their god. That is because they believe there is no god, rather there are stories of mystical deities which come and go, and the concept of the deity in the form of natural forms such as the waters and rocks, or just an abstract creative force. This religion places a high importance on families which explains the culture in Japan of people celebrating 'family' occasions such as weddings and births at the Shinto temple. However, because there is no god, no theology and because it does not deal with death, most Japanese will go to the Buddhist temple when there is a funeral. Apparently, every temple in Japan has a fortune telling option which you can pay a token sum for and upon reading it you may choose to take it with you, or if you so decide that you really dislike the 'fortune', you may hang it on a tree on your way out so that the bad fortune will not follow you out.
After that, we walked through Harujuko and Shinjuku. Some young girls looked like they just stepped out of some crazy costume party. It was incredible how much effort they put into making themselves look so strange - they seem to enjoy it dressing up and the attention they receive and costume retailers are certainly making money off their fetish. I also walked into a shop that sold only clothes for dogs of all sizes - unbelievable. I couldn't help it, but my mind flashed to an image of a near naked malnourished African child. I found it incredulous, despite the fact that I have a dog.
We had a nice traditional Japanese lunch at a quaint little restaurant which apparently had produce which came from a certain province. It was a nice lunch and their bathroon was beautiful. The bathroom sink was a smaller version of the wash area in the shinto temple. Had I not gone there before this, I would have had some trouble figuring out how to wash my hands. You had to scoop the clean water out of the sink and pour the water over your hands over another smaller sink to wash them.
We then went to Shibuya to take part of the well known crazy scramble of humanity when the pedestrian lights turn green. It wasn't so busy when I was there, but even then, there were many people there crossing every 4-5 minutes. We visited a toy store and a souvenier store in between - but I didn't buy much as things were expensive there.
By then, we called it a day and I was happy to make my way home and rest. The rest of the time was spent just walking around and doing a little shopping (this time I shopped without making purchases). I had dinner near a railway station at a tiny eatery which sold noodles like soba and ramen. They had an interesting system where you paid a machine the money and pushed the button which corresponded to the dish you wish to order. This machine then spat out a receipt which you would give to the chef who cooks up your dish in less than 5 minutes. By the time your dish is ready, there would be a seat available for you. It was incredibly efficient and the food was tasty. Only in Japan....
I also came across an interesting passtime for many Japanese men. They seem to love spending hours playing a game called Pachenko. It was a machine decorated with manga animation and filled with tiny silver balls. The men would sit in front of these machines much like a gambler would in front of a jackpot machine, but these machines spat our those balls instead, which they then apparently and illegally exchange for cash in the back alleyway. The establishment that I saw with these machines was large and extremely noisy and smoky. I honestly don't know how anyone could put up with all that noise for more than a minute.
The next day Wei-Han and I flew off. Tokyo is interesting, strange, weird and yet in some parts, beautiful. I don't know if I would want to live there, but it was definitely worth visiting at least once
But that is the way things were here. Many things were very detailed oriented. Every shop front was incredibly extravagant, esp the top brands like Gucci, DKNY, Chanel,...etc. I walked past one of these stores which had a proper sized merry go round with 3 horses studded with Swarovski crystals and they sparkled like you wouldn't believe.
Another example was the toilets. For those who have been there before, you know what I'm talking about. Every toilet has a panel on the side of the seat with these standard buttons/knobs: to spray your behind, to spray the middle section (for women), to warm up the seat and to adjust the pressure of the water jet. BTW, the water jet sprays warm water. Some of the toilets have extra buttons: to blow dry your posterior, to deodorise the cubicle, to call for help (emergency) and to play a flushing sound to hide your intimate sounds so that others don't hear your noises.
Some cubicles also provide a special sanitising wet wipe to clean the toilet seat, a toddler chair to confine your child so they don't end up opening the door crawling under the floor while you're doing your business and a fine serrated edge for the toilet paper to tear easily. I'm sure there are more - I certainly have not seen every toilet in Tokyo!
The next day, I had organised to meet Diane who ended up being an hour late. When she told me it was because of the train delays due to a man who had jumped onto the tracks to kill himself, I was shocked and saddened. She then quickly said "Oh don't worry, it happens here all the time." I think that saddened me more. In what must be the most technologically advanced country and a clean, safe, orderly and rich country, there are many who are suffering and have no hope.
Diane is an easy going American lady married to a Japanese man with children who are adults now. She lives and breathes Japan and speaks fluent Japanese, which was so wonderful to witness. She took me to the Shinto temple which was a beautiful temple without any image of their god. That is because they believe there is no god, rather there are stories of mystical deities which come and go, and the concept of the deity in the form of natural forms such as the waters and rocks, or just an abstract creative force. This religion places a high importance on families which explains the culture in Japan of people celebrating 'family' occasions such as weddings and births at the Shinto temple. However, because there is no god, no theology and because it does not deal with death, most Japanese will go to the Buddhist temple when there is a funeral. Apparently, every temple in Japan has a fortune telling option which you can pay a token sum for and upon reading it you may choose to take it with you, or if you so decide that you really dislike the 'fortune', you may hang it on a tree on your way out so that the bad fortune will not follow you out.
After that, we walked through Harujuko and Shinjuku. Some young girls looked like they just stepped out of some crazy costume party. It was incredible how much effort they put into making themselves look so strange - they seem to enjoy it dressing up and the attention they receive and costume retailers are certainly making money off their fetish. I also walked into a shop that sold only clothes for dogs of all sizes - unbelievable. I couldn't help it, but my mind flashed to an image of a near naked malnourished African child. I found it incredulous, despite the fact that I have a dog.
We had a nice traditional Japanese lunch at a quaint little restaurant which apparently had produce which came from a certain province. It was a nice lunch and their bathroon was beautiful. The bathroom sink was a smaller version of the wash area in the shinto temple. Had I not gone there before this, I would have had some trouble figuring out how to wash my hands. You had to scoop the clean water out of the sink and pour the water over your hands over another smaller sink to wash them.
We then went to Shibuya to take part of the well known crazy scramble of humanity when the pedestrian lights turn green. It wasn't so busy when I was there, but even then, there were many people there crossing every 4-5 minutes. We visited a toy store and a souvenier store in between - but I didn't buy much as things were expensive there.
By then, we called it a day and I was happy to make my way home and rest. The rest of the time was spent just walking around and doing a little shopping (this time I shopped without making purchases). I had dinner near a railway station at a tiny eatery which sold noodles like soba and ramen. They had an interesting system where you paid a machine the money and pushed the button which corresponded to the dish you wish to order. This machine then spat out a receipt which you would give to the chef who cooks up your dish in less than 5 minutes. By the time your dish is ready, there would be a seat available for you. It was incredibly efficient and the food was tasty. Only in Japan....
I also came across an interesting passtime for many Japanese men. They seem to love spending hours playing a game called Pachenko. It was a machine decorated with manga animation and filled with tiny silver balls. The men would sit in front of these machines much like a gambler would in front of a jackpot machine, but these machines spat our those balls instead, which they then apparently and illegally exchange for cash in the back alleyway. The establishment that I saw with these machines was large and extremely noisy and smoky. I honestly don't know how anyone could put up with all that noise for more than a minute.
The next day Wei-Han and I flew off. Tokyo is interesting, strange, weird and yet in some parts, beautiful. I don't know if I would want to live there, but it was definitely worth visiting at least once
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home