From Here To Tokyo, Pt. 2
- Tokyo, Japan
- Apr 22, 2015
- 6 min read
The sun is shining, I’m in a great mood, my JR Pass is burning in my pocket: today’s a good day to go back to Tokyo! I hadn’t been able to get in touch with Noura anymore, so I’d have to go alone. That was sad, ‘cause I’d have loved to see her one more time, but I was sure I’d be able to enjoy myself anyway.
When I got on the train, almost all of the seats were taken, so I sat down next to this working class Japanese guy. I was excited! The weather was much better than the last time I went to the capital, so I figured I may have a better shot at getting a good picture of Fuji-san. The chap I sat next to seemed to have different plans though – he may have been bitter towards tourists, I don’t know, but he was clearly trying to keep his petty head in front of my phone while I tried to take pictures of the majestic mountain. It was incredibly annoying, because the famous landmark was much clearer than it was two days ago, and it was probably the last chance I had to get a good gawk at it. I spent the rest of the trip treating my new friend to the dirtiest glances I could manage. He deserved it.
Bonus video: watch what it looks like to enter Tokyo by shinkansen!
お茶の水 [Ochanomizu]
First stop: お茶の水 [おちゃのみず, Ochanomizu]! Some of you, namely the ones who can read Japanese, may wonder why I would possibly want to visit a district that’s called ‘Teawater’ (お茶 [おちゃ, ocha] = tea; の [no] = possessive particle; 水 [みず, mizu] = water). Well, before I went to Japan, I promised my boyfriend I’d try and bring him back a musical instrument from Japanese origins. I’d been looking for a 尺八 [しゃくはち, shakuhachi]: a traditional Japanese flute) or something like that all over Japan already, without luck. Now, Ochanomizu is said to be the musical district of Tokyo. There are supposed to be many shops that sell musical instruments. So if I’d find it anywhere, I’d find it here!
When I got off the subway and out on the streets, I immediately got a nice and vibrant feeling of the place. There were people with wide smiles handing out napkins at every pedestrian crossing, and almost everyone I saw seemed to be cheerful. When I went to grab a bite at a nearby 7-Eleven, the girl at the checkout even complimented me on my naildo.
I guess she must’ve liked the ‘destroyed look’, ‘cause I hadn’t done anything about my nails for weeks. Anyway, I hadn’t met any strangers yet who were as outgoing as to talk to me on their own accord, let alone be as bold as to compliment me. Was she just having a good day or did the people in Ochanomizu have a different mentality from the rest of Japan? Whatever it was, I liked it!
The rumours about the district didn’t lie. The streets were lined with music stores – but to my great disappointment, they either sold electric guitars or fancy, modern instruments like violins, pianos and brass. I’m sure my boyfriend would have loved to walk around here, but facts were that he was on the other side of the globe, and I wouldn’t be able to bring him back a traditional instrument. The only thing I found that came close was an ocarina (a weird kind of flute), but I wasn’t sure if those things were originally Japanese, and they were quite expensive. The only other ocarina I found was a cheap, plastic children’s one for ¥300. Ah well, it’s better than nothing – mission sort of completed!
Why in the world they named the area ‘Teawater’ remains a mystery to me. Oh, hang on: I just read on Wikipedia it’s because of the nearby Kanda river, from which the shogun got its actual tea water when Tokyo was still Edo. Mystery solved.
港区 [Minato-ku]
Next, I visited 港区 [みなとく, Minato-ku], a district close to the coast. Judging by the Kanji, the name of the district meant something like ‘Harbour District’. The most famous structure in Minato is probably the Tokyo Tower, which, with its 332,9 metres, is a petty 8,9 metres higher than the Eiffel Tower. Apart from its colours, it looks an awful lot like the French structure itself. I wonder if Japan was having some kind feud with France when they built it? If they did, I guess they won.
From Ochanomizu, I went to Hamamatsuchō station: a big, businesslike station with walking bridges and an awesome park next to it. When I wandered onto the street, I walked straight into a monorail line that rose high up into the sky. Once again, I was intrigued by the technology they used in this country. A monorail, that’s pretty cool! I decided to walk towards the coast, and relax while watching some interesting ships or something. While I was walking, two things caught my attention: the palm trees that lined the street, which made me feel like I was walking on a tropical island, and the quietness. There were almost no people around, even though this was quite a big street. Who knew you could have so much privacy in a metropole that’s famous for being overcrowded?
I had a nice walk past the harbour and ended up at Takeshiba Station, where I stopped for a smoke. The most interesting thing at the station was the fire prevention: two bottles of water next to the ashtrays that had the same Kanji on them as the fire poles and everything else that had to do with firefighting. I could only hope that they wouldn't be necessary, ‘cause I figured they wouldn’t do much good. Other than that, there was quite an impressive playground next to the station: it appeared to be a ship’s mast planted in the ground, and it looked very tempting. If only I’d have had more time!
I walked back inland and watched the Tokyo Tower from a distance. This part of Minato was pretty dynamic again: it was the perfect image of a city buzzing with life. I love places like this, so I hung around a bit, until I remembered I still wanted to visit Asakusa before it was time to go home. On to the subway, once again!
浅草 [Asakusa]
When watching television with Hajime-san a few days ago, the district of Asakusa came on, and he told me that when I went to Tokyo, I just had to visit Asakusa. So here I was. 浅草 [あさくさ, Asakusa] is a district that’s known for its massive temple grounds and many market stalls. I disembarked the subway at the side of the river: on the other side I could see the Tokyo Sky Tree (which is even taller than the Tokyo Tower: who did they want to beat this time? What city could possibly have need for two towers?) and the famous Golden Turd. For a moment I started to have doubts: wouldn’t I rather go see the Sky Tree? Nah, I was on my way to Asakusa, so let’s go.
As soon as I came close to the famous temple, I realized that Hajime-san often sent me to see the more tourist kind of things. Up to now that hadn’t really been a problem, but being among other tourists isn’t my favourite thing to do. I was about to get a lot more than I bargained for, though: Asakusa seems to be one big tourist lure. I saw mainly Chinese and Western people. I didn’t like the Chinese ones: they were very loud and messy and rude to the Japanese shopkeepers. They even tried to order in Chinese: for some reason, it always pisses me off when people refuse to speak in another language than their own. I quickly left the shops behind me and went to search for the temple itself.
I must admit: the temple is made up of very impressive structures. There’s a main building, a giant gate, a pagoda and a big garden around it, so all in all, it’s a very beautiful place. It’s just such a waste that it’s so crowded! I decided to quickly leave the place and do some mandatory shopping before I had to catch the shinkansen back to Nagoya. With pain in my heart, I had to leave the capital behind me, and I wasn’t going to be coming back any time soon. But I will return eventually: there is so much left to see in this giant metropole!
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