Tokyo on My Mind

I had been to Tokyo when I was 14.  I snuck off with the Air Force basketball team when my dad was stationed in Hawaii.  A different story for a different day...:)

A lot about Tokyo was the same, but much has changed!  Or maybe I changed (matured)? I remember a lot of staring and people not really being that friendly.  This time people were polite, smiled a lot, were very helpful.  I think we both regret not staying in Tokyo longer than 3 days:(

We arrived after that hellish flight from San Francisco.  We immediately notice how people move briskly, but politely.  Not like us, no pushing, elbowing to get off the plane. Just brisk purposeful movement.  The airport was clean, bright, and freaking efficient.  The luggage came out in 5 minutes!  I couldn't believe it, the plane was huge with hundreds of people, they must've have had robots unloading or something.  We get our luggage and walk outside into the crisp, cold Japanese air.  I hate cold, but this seemed different.  It was crisp and clean, like a nice glass of iced Patron (tequila) on a 110 degree day in Phoenix!  We got on the transport bus to the hotel (taxis are way too expensive), which was comfortable, clean and quiet.  I fell asleep immediately and woke up two hours later in Tokyo's city center.  The driver unloaded our luggage and I went to tip him, but he refused.  Lesson #1: It was explained to me that Japanese dont believe in tips, because you should take pride in your job and the service you provide to your fellow man; and not be motivated by something as trivial as a "tip".  What a concept....

Upon entering the Sheraton we were greeted with the "bowing" and the smiles and the service.  It was great!  I felt like a movie star or something.  The hotel was beautiful, clean and comfortable.  We chose to eat in the hotel restaraunt.  We were both disappointed about the taste and the cost of the meal.  I think it may have been "dumbed down" for westerners.  I could see it in her eyes, Carmen eat reflex kicking in. I knew tommorow I would be eating raw fish, pork stewed noodles, sea cucumbers, seaweed and god knows what else she had read about.  I unpacked the pepto for tommorow to prophylax myself!

The tour bus was scheduled to arrive at 0745 and that's damn sure when it arrived.  More bowing and more smiling.  Rode around picking up other people and switch to a motorcoach.  The day was sunny and bright with clean snow everwhere.  We watched the quick moving Tokyoins going to work after getting off the train.  Reminded me of home (Washington DC), but just in a parallel universe.  They are so different, but yet so similar.  Everyone in their conservative work clothes, umbrellas, ipods, and cofee in hand.

We did the Mt. Fuji tour and it was beautiful, clear day.  A good omen for the rest of the trip!  Tadashi our tour guide taught us alot about Japanese history, as well as its present.  He spoke of the complicated relationship between the U.S. and Japan.  It was my favorite part of our stay.  He answered so many questions in my mind.  I wont go into details because a lot of his discusion was very political and this is not the forum.  I will tell you this...the Japanese are reevaluating their embracement of our culture and whether it really works for them.

Mt Fuji is a volcano and the area around it still has many active volcanos.  We visited some quaint towns up in the volcanic region where there was a lake within a caldera (volcano crater) and ate a traditional Japanese lunch.  I ate about 15 different small things that were beautifully arranged, and could only recognize the tuna!  I went to the gift shop and bought some chocolate for the ride back.  I knew that stuff I ate wouldnt hold me over.  No wonder they are so damn thin!

We caught the bullet train back to Tokyo. Damn that was neat.  200mph and it was smoother than anything Ive ever rode in!  We changed trains two more times to get back to hotel.  It was pretty easy.  Most signs were in English and Japanese.  And when we got a bit confused, a subway employee noticed then helped us.  Then again we were helped by a businessman get to the correct side of the platform.  No pushing and shoving like the old days.  People smiled and bowed and kept about their way.  It was great people watching on the train.  The japanese are very stylish people.  Their appearance seems very important to them.  The young people really have a flair for combining traditional Japanese style and contemporary american styles such as hip hop styles or urban country stuff like ed hardy.  It was really cool.  I wish we could've gone to a club to do more watching. 

As we ate dinner and I reflected on the last day and a half, and wondered how in the world did we defeat these people in WW2?  Their culture is based on honor, pride, discipline, sacarafice for the group, and precision.  Being a left brained person, I really admire their society and how they just want to do things with perfection.  When you say you'll be somewhere at 10am, be there dammitt.  This is a whole society of people like me! Type A, perfectionists who pursue that perfection irregardless if someone else is watching and they do it with consistency and not at the expense of someone else.  If you are science or math inclined, make sure you put Japan on your list!  With that said, they probably need to loosen up a bit.  The pressure of perfection can be great evidenced by my high blood pressure!  They should think about going Shark diving with us!:)

Turning Japanese

I love Japan...I didnt expect to, not with the crowds and the "big city" atmosphere but I think we fell in love with the place. It honestly comes down to my simple principles of life...the people are amazingly polite and kind, the food was good (big ol plus) and it was really clean.  Anyone that knows me knows that I have a mild OCD when it comes to cleaning. I don't walk barefoot, sheets must be clean, etc. Well, I must have found heaven in Tokyo! Our room was so clean, it was like being at home!! The staff was so nice and I really got used to the bowing...The piece de la resistance was the awesome automated toilet in our room...There is NOTHING better in life than a heated toilet seat!!!! It was wonderfully cold in Tokyo, complete with snow on the ground. We arrived in Tokyo after a long, painful 12 hour flight from San Francisco. Although we were exhausted, we were excited to start our journey. The first thing we noted was the efficency of the airport. The customs and immigration line was non-existant and it was complete with nice policemen to usher you to the shortest line. Our luggage came out within minutes of us hitting the baggage claim and we actually easily found transportation to our hotel! Simple! The only hitch was the ride to the hotel. I had no idea that the Tokyo-Narita airport is actaully no where near Tokyo...Seems like the airport name is a misnomer. I think the airport was actually closer to Hawaii than to central Tokyo. We got on a nice, heated motorcoach and proceeded to drive 2 hours into central Tokyo...oh well, it was still a smooth trip thus far.
The next thing I noticed was the bowing and the extreme politeness of everyone. Anyone that you made eye contact with immediately folllowed with a nice bow. From the time we exited the bus at the front of the hotel to the time we made it to the reservations deck I bowed no less than 10 times to random people.  I think the thing in Japan is service above all else. There were people, standing around at the hotel who's sole purpose was to look out for any log-jams, lines or anything that could annoy you and immediately make it better. We never stood in a line. We kept getting ushered from one place to the next. It was awesome. (Bow, bow)
We also got a shocking dose of reality on our first meal in Japan. That place is expensive!!! Whew! We decided that after a $100 noodle dinner we would walk around more and price compare!

On our second day, we decided to do a day trip to Mt Fuji and a small village, Hokone. We had an cute little tour guide, Tadashi, who entertained us on the way up about Japanese Shogun history and information about the mountain. Mt. Fuji is the tallest point in Japan and also a huge volcano.  The special thing about the mountain is that it is usally very hard to see because of the beautiful cloud cover but winter time is the best opportunity to see the peak. We had a dose of amazing luck that day. Not only did we see the peak without clouds but it was such a clear, cold day!! It had just snowed and it looked like the set of a Japanese movie.  It was a memorable day. We actually dressed right for the weather!!!! Here is our pic with the beautiful Mt. Fuji in the background.

 On the long trip back into Tokyo, our guide, Tadashi kept us entertained with oragami paper tricks. We both tried our hand at the art of paper folding...see:

The most fun of the day was riding the famed Japanese "Bullet Train" back into the city of Tokyo from Hokone. Normally it is a 3 hour drive by car but the Bullet Train turned that into a quick 30min ride. We were armed with directions on how to ride the train and did just fine by ourselves, even though we had to make 3 connections. Once again, the Japanese were horribly nice and helped us several times navagate the station when we looked lost. One business man actually walked us to our train and almost missed his!

My only gripe about Japan? The toilets. I cannot tell you how happy i was to see "Western style Toilets". The alternative?

Overall, I wasn't ready to leave Tokyo. I really thought that it would be fun to explore a little more...I really thought the people were nice, the city was big and clean and I really loved the super punctuality of everyone!!! No sitting around waiting for no reason here! I'm sure one day, we may come back, but only if I can find Western Toilets!

Check out our pictures of Japan: Bruce and Carmen in Japan