Tokyo !

My friend from secondary school Krishnan had been bugging and asking me to arrange a trip to somewhere at least before he got married. “Ayooo Jipp, time is running out you know. You really have no sense of urgency la”, he’d say.

I had initially planned to bring him to Lombok to conquer Mount Rinjani which over the years had been gaining more and more popularity among adventure seekers. But then, the fact that Mount Fuji is only open for climbing during summer had prompted me to change my plan. Mount Rinjani could wait. It had to be Mount Fuji this year – or so I decided.

My trip to Japan was very timely. I was cursing at how inconvenient it was to enter Japan with all the fusses regarding Visa requirements and all when the government of Japan announced that visitors from Malaysia and Thailand are no longer required to enter Japan with a visa provided they are biometric passport with ICAO Standards holders.

The government of Japan had probably realized that Malaysians and Thais are quite well-off now, that they come to Japan to spend money and not to work illegally (and profited hugely from the currency conversion) as they used to. With that announcement, I whistled my way to the Immigration Department to renew my passport which was nearing its expiry date anyway. Very very timely indeed. La la la ! 😀

It would be my very first time coming to a 4-seasoned country during summer so I didn’t know how it was going to be like. I knew that it was hot but still I had no idea how people in Japan would dress like during summers. I usually wear shorts when I go traveling in a warm weather but I heard Japan don’t wear shorts so I didn’t want to attract too much attention by wearing one. LOL!

Then when I arrived there, I was slapped with the reality that it was indeed hot – even hotter than our tropical weather in Malaysia. The sun felt closer to earth and a lot of people actually wear shorts! Phew.

We stayed at at Guest House Shinagawa-shuku in a very nice neighborhood in Shinagawa. The fact that it is close to the Shinagawa Station makes it so easily accessible from all corners of Tokyo.

Japan has always been a role model to other Asian countries at least in term of economic accomplishments. Their economic achievements have been amazing, even highly regarded by Western countries. How did they do it? Well, it’s quite easy to see how they did it.

The People

Japanese are probably some of the most disciplined people in the world. They seem so passionate in just about everything they do. Even in the way they react to you when you ask for help or anything clearly shows how disciplined they are. They are even very attentive to whatever you say, exclaiming ‘hait!’ and nodding so responsively as if whatever you say is a matter of life and death to them.

They are so culturally developed and polite and probably a little bit shy. For me, being a first world country, they have some reason to be ignorant but that is not quite the case. Unlike people in their neighboring country which is known for being loud, Japanese people seem to communicate in a very lowered voice, almost whispering.

They don’t really talk when they have food in front of them. I remember one time when we went to a restaurant where a group of teenagers were about to order their food. They seemed to be chatting to each other but once their food was served, they fell completely silent and they wouldn’t really talk until they have finished their food. Now that is what I call manners.

I have been to quite a few countries where the people are quite helpful but the people of Japan seem to go some extra mile to be helpful more. Some people might be helpful because they want to feel good about it but Japanese people seem so genuinely helpful and expect nothing in return. Me and my travel buddy could not stop talking about how helpful they are even to strangers.

Some people consider Japan as the land of the weird but after going there; I would say a majority of Japanese people are very ordinary. It is only (some of) the attention-craving teenagers who would go some extra mile to stand out from the rest at least in the way they dress and all.

The Public Transport 

Tokyo has always been considered the largest metropolitan in the world at least by urban area or even by population. Its public transportation system serves excellently to its 13 million inhabitants, something that is hardly achieved by most other cities in the world.

The train system can be a little bit confusing if you are new in town but once you get it, it won’t be as hard as you think it is. The human traffic can be a little bit intimidating too but then just take it as a part of the fun and you’ll be alright.

Tokyo Visually

I would say Tokyo despite being a sprawling city is not really that beautiful at least visually and our visit to the observation deck of Mori Building at Roppongi Hills had proved just that. The heights of buildings are quite disproportionate to each other. The fact that it is located on a very flat land lacked the charms that the likes of Rio de Janeiro or Johannesburg probably have. But it is still a beautiful city.

Tokyo was also hazy when we were there which came as a surprise to me because I really thought that haze was a problem associated only to 3^rd world countries.  I was told that Mount Fuji could be seen in the distance when the air is clear but who cares whether we could see it or not when we were going to stand on top of it later in the trip right? :_P

Food

Japan – or Tokyo to be exact, has always been considered one of the most expensive cities in the world and I could see why. Everything is so expensive there, even more expensive than things in London and probably Paris that I remember. It is one of those places that you literally have to pay for just breathing the air. I don’t know how people there could survive.

A proper meal could easily cost you about JPY 700 – 1500. Converting that into MYR, it’ll be around MYR23 – RM50. Good thing about restaurants in Tokyo is that they always provide drink water or tea for free so you really save a lot on that. A small bottle of mineral water can easily cost you JPY100 (RM3+) at mini markets.

I would say I’m not really a big fan of Japanese food, not before and not even after I went there. Most of their food is quite salty which reminds me of the food in the Philippines except that foods in the Philippines are much drier (while foods in Japan are soupy). May be because I’m not quite familiar with the menus so I don’t see much of a variety in Japanese foods or at least at the restaurants that I went to while I was there.

One interesting fact that I found out was that, if you think Sushi is a routine food in Japan, think again. In fact, it is considered a luxurious food there with a small set of it can easily cost you some JPY1500. In fact, I didn’t see anybody eating sushi when I was there!

Shopping

I would say Tokyo is a shopping haven – if you’ve got good dollars in your pocket. If you’re from a poor country like Malaysia (ouch!), shopping in Tokyo can be a little bit painful.

We spent most of our shopping time in Shinjuku which is probably one of the most crowded areas in Tokyo. There are just about everything that you want to buy. Being one of the most prolific industrial countries in the world, you’d see so many new models that you have not seen back in your country.

You might want to be careful when you want to buy a gadget say a camera because some of the models don’t have English setting which was why I didn’t buy a Lumix waterproof camera – something that I had planned to buy before coming to Tokyo.

I remember complaining about the double-pricing system in Vietnam where tourists would pay almost double the price than that of paid by the locals. Here in Japan, it is quite the opposite. You are entitled to 5% discount if you are a passport holder!

We actually went to Shinjuku at least three times because it was like the epicenter of activities in Tokyo. It was such an amazing experience to be part of the crowd at the Shinjuku Station which is considered the busiest train station in the world.

Apart from its shopping attractions, we also went there for the Red District which is something that I wouldn’t miss doing in any major cities that I’d go to. Now don’t get me wrong. Despite the (surprisingly) affordable prices of girls that they put on the display, I didn’t go there to be part of the sex industry. We kinda just walked across the area, ignoring all the cat-calls and offers made by brothel agents along the streets.

Places of Interest

With the very good transport system in Tokyo, you can actually cover just about every place of interest in just a couple of days. We went to Tokyo National Museum which was quite a disappointment to me because I was expecting more from a country like Japan where the emperors had had a history dating back to hundreds if not thousands of years. The museum was more like a museum of calligraphy which I’m not really a big fan of.

It did however have my very first glimpse of real samurai swords at the museum. I shivered by just looking at their shining blades.

The Mori Museum at the 53^rd floor of Mori Tower did not really impress me either. It was a museum dedicated to love and whatever related to it. The museum is probably one of the steps taken by the government of Japan to encourage its people to engage in relationships and get married.

The population has been declining due to lack of interest in marriages among its people. To tell the truth, I didn’t quite get it – or whatever it was that was displayed at the museum. The locals, as always, seemed to take things in with much enthusiasm.

Then of course went to the most famous intersection in Tokyo – The Shibuya Intersection. It was quite an experience to be standing there and watching the mobilization of people at a place which is so reflective to the 13 million people of population of Tokyo.

I had to agree with Lonely Planet’s suggestion that the best spot to watch the mass traffic of humans at the intersection was from the Starbucks on the 2^nd floor of Tsutaya building. I was almost unbelievable to see how lively and crowded a place can be.

If there was one thing that I regret most about my trip to Tokyo, it would be my visit to the world’s biggest fish market – The Tsukuji Fish Market. I did know that I needed to go there very early in the morning or I’d miss the action. Still, the bed was too magnetic for me to break away from. We ended up going there when all the fish mongers were already cleaning up the market leaving us with nothing much to see. At least we did get the idea how big the fish market was anyway. Uhuks!

With so many things that Tokyo has to offer, I would say that it should be in any traveler’s bucket list. It isn’t so much about the places of interest but more of the culture and its people. Believe me, they have so much to be admired.

And learned.