My Tokyo Trip - 東京の旅- Part 1

I am going to write about my trip to Tokyo and I am describing it in installments by day. It may not be full accounts because it has after all, been more than 2 weeks since I have been back, but I will do my best here to introduce my little trip. Unfortunately, I have not been able to venture very far outside the concrete jungles of Tokyo and also many places of interest, which I had already covered during my past 2 trips, so it may not be a very scenic “tour” for many of you. I have only revisited many places that I had loved during my past 2 trips, and as I mentioned before I left, a trip of nostalgia.

I first arrived on 14th July, after a 14 hour flight from Sydney to Narita Airport. This is the longest time I had ever spent on an airplane but thankfully, during the first leg from Sydney to Singapore, I had a really nice time with a lady who was on her first overseas trip from Australia to South Africa, Europe, and then the US. It is first time I had forsaken the movies and sunk into deep conversations with her about her trip and what we were both going to do respectively. I admired her taking 4 months out to explore her dream and she acknowledged me for my impulsiveness to fly on such short notice to fulfill a great dream come true. We didn't end up exchanging numbers at the end because I believe fate brought us there for a reason and if we are meant to be friends, we will meet again. However, I wish her a best time ahead.

I had a relatively easy time past Japanese customs as compared to my previous encounter, maybe because I was slightly more experienced and I wasn't carrying 4 suspiciously big bags. As I queued up to pass customs, I started to panic about the visa situation when I looked at the TV screens that warned of deportation if you do not have a visa to enter the country. I searched through my memory and recalled that I did need to apply for a visa when I entered Japan the first time, but was quickly put to ease when I saw the list of countries exempted from having to apply for a visa a little while later and I was safe.

I wanted to fill my customs entry card in Japanese but thought it might be better I not show off. So, I settled for only a Japanese comment "コンサートへ いきます (To watch a concert)" as the reason for entering Japan. I walked up to a counter with a friendly Japanese female customs officer and greeted her in Japanese. I learned that if you were friendly, they were likely to return the favour. She screened through the details and then asked whose concert I was going to. I replied "Nakamori Akina." She smiled and said "Honto" (Really), probably because she was partly surprised that Akina still held concerts, but still said "Enjoy your concert and your stay".

After walking down a flight of stairs, I picked up my luggage from the belt and started through the baggage checkpoints. Just when I was expecting a thorough search because he asked me to place my luggage on the desk, he asked "Where are you from", I replied "Australia", and he said "You're okay to go". I guess that was one of the biggest advantages of having one of the strictest customs in the world in Australia.



The first thing I did after entering Tokyo was to immerse myself in the morning air of Narita Airport. I think I kept saying "Natsukashii" (Nostalgia) even though the airport had been renovated since I was last there. There was still a sense of familiarity for me. I proceeded onto one of my favourite things about Tokyo ... their drinks vending machines. No other country in the world that I have been too, cares as much about packaging and there is such a huge variety of drinks and vending machines available, that I don't think I got to try everything in them. I was most delighted though to find that they have many recyclable bins nowadays which wasn't available when I was first there.



The past 2 times I've been to Tokyo, I had taken the limousine bus from Narita Airport to one of their destination stops, usually a hotel, and then a cab back to my aunts, but being more adventurous this time, I decided to take the trains, and was I in for a shock, when I looked at the various subway maps. After I tried looking for the station that I was meant to alight for about 5 minutes, I gave up and went to the counter to purchase a ticket. Thankfully, the lady spoke a bit of English and was helpful in letting me understand that the train was departing in about 10 minutes on platform 1.



I walked down and looked at the map inside the train for “Mita” Station. Since it was rather complicated and I couldn’t figure it out still, I decided to ask a schoolgirl if the train headed that way. It was a mistake because it was rather far away (about 1 and a half hour ride) and she wasn’t heading that far, so she said No. Just as the train was about the depart, I saw the train guard but as he confirmed, it was too late to board the train, so I had to wait for the next. I asked another elderly man this time who reaffirmed that the train does not go to Mita, and just as I was about to ignore him, he hurriedly pointed out further in Japanese that it does, and started rattling on. My Japanese is only rather elementary, so I tried to make out what he was saying. He started pointing to the subway map and it was then that I realized that I had to change at another station before I could get to the Mita station. I was so happy I nearly hugged him but I refrained, as he started talking more and more, and I could sprinkle many nods with “Hai” (Yes) and “Arigatoo” at the end, to thank him for his help.

It was a rainy day but nothing would dampen my mood. In total, it took me almost 3 hours and 3 changes of trains (including carrying my 30 kg luggage up and down the stairs a couple of times), which wasn’t fun (as opposed to 1 and a half hour via limousine bus). I finally arrived at a familiar place that I was going to stay for 7 days – Fudomae 不動前. The station has been renovated but the streets were still familiar from memory. It is a suburban town but I was surprised to see the development of the area and the increased number of people since I was there last in 1998, and later found out that it was because Motorola had opened a subsidiary there.



I walked to my aunt’s second storey apartment, and after unpacking all my presents and belongings, we had lunch at local inn which sold native “Indian curry”. It customized to the Japanese taste but it was still rather delicious. After that, I set out on my little adventure to explore Tokyo. I walked to the next main subway station with the JR Sen (Line ) available, which would bring me straight to popular destinations like Shibuya, Shinjuku and Harajuku. On route, I walked past this familiar and interesting sign board which is one and only in the world – a traffic accident report of the past day, letting commuters know how many people met with accidents and how many died. Thankfully, there were no fatalities on the board in this photograph.



I alighted at 新宿 Shinjuku and got lost at the station. It wasn’t a comfortable feeling because there were no information booths that I could obtain a tourist map and I couldn’t ask around because I was surprised most of them didn’t speak English (or maybe they were not confident enough to reply). It was also a huge station and there were North South East West and then New South Exits. If you exited through the wrong one, it would take you ages even to find your way back to the place you exited from the station. I was happier later when I realized that about 5-6 million commuters use the station everyday and it made the whole ordeal less daunting and more acceptable.

It took me about half an hour until I found my bearings and a familiar place – Alta Studio. Even when I tried to ask them where Alta Studio is, no one understood, and then I realized that I had to pronounce it in Japanese katakana before they realized what I was talking about. I think I cried in my heart when I reached there because there were so many emotions and memories. The past 2 times I had been to Tokyo, it had been the meeting place for Leslie and I, so there were many past memories that flooded back.

From that point on, I could roam around and enjoy myself. The buildings, people, neon lights, people giving tissue paper as marketing materials instead of pamphlets (wonderful because we use them instead of chuck them immediately), “Sakura-ya” (the huge electrical shop), all familiar signs of Shinjuku in my mind. I was surprised to see so many people in Shinjuku at 3 pm in the afternoon crossing the streets on a weekday but this is nothing compared to weekends. Tokyo is the biggest city in the world, so it should be no surprise but for people who do not like crowds, it would definitely a place to avoid.

The best way to describe Shinjuku is that it is the "in-place" for young adults, who have graduated from their hip and trendy teenage years spent in 原宿 Harajuku. One can call it the "New York" or for Sydneysiders the "Town Hall" for Sydney. It is a shoppers paradise although paradise is probably not the right word to use because most of the items are rather expensive. It has however one of the largest "collections" of huge departmental stores like a 12 storey Tokyu, 7 storey Tokyo Hands, 2 7 storey Kinokuniya Bookstores (old and new) etc. The station is one of the largest and busiest as well. There is a "Tokyo" station but it is the CBD and generally used more by working professionals. Outside one of their new South exits for the station, I managed to see some street perfomers equipped with their bands and they started performing their "new songs". What surprised me most was the response from the pedestrians. Most people in Sydney would just stand there and watch or even not bother, but the Japanese would start clapping their hands to the beat of the song as a sign of encouragement. I found that most interesting and it reflects on their pop culture which grooms many amateur singers and mask them off as professionals.

I walked around and stupidly decided to find out where the gay district is (新宿二丁目 Shinjuku ni-chōme ), because I wanted to compare it with the one in Sydney. I was expecting a small area but I was surprised that it was one small obscure street that took me more than 2 hours to find. After wandering around by myself and trying to look for it using maps near subway stations, I finally gave up and approached the police and the security guards before I finally found the place. I was a little disappointed when I realized how small it was (it is only about half of Sydney's Oxford St), but was surprised that one of the gay bookstores has a TV screen advertising upcoming gay releases. It was rather tame though which was why they could advertise in such broad mediums but it was still rather startling. If one reads gay guides to Tokyo, they would usually advise that some gay bars and places in Tokyo do not welcome foreigners, but it was strange because it contradicted with the politeness and the welcoming attitude prevalent in the Japanese culture. It took a Japanese friend after my trip to analyze that it is probably because Japanese hosts (people who own and entertain at the bars) like to chat with their guests as a form of entertainment, and since some of them may not have much of an education, they might not be fluent enough in the English language to ensure that their guests will have a good time, which is why they prefer to restrict their premises to local fare. This is a major revelation not discovered by any of the guides.

By 7 pm (closing time for shops are around 8 or 9 pm), I had not slept for more than 24 hours, and my feet were starting to get a little weary but my happiness pushed me on. I was fully conscious that we don’t usually get into the holiday mood till 3-4 days into it, and I wanted to immerse myself immediately into it, so I was delighted. I did a lot of walking and reminiscing, and when it was time for bed, I fell deep soon with a smile, knowing that there will be more adventures the next day.