I came to Japan forty years ago for a long summer and was certain that I would return time and time again, but it has taken much much longer to get back. Much has changed in forty years. Booms and busts have come and gone, and Japan has expanded and receded more than once.
I flew into Haneda airport this time, and it was uncomplicated to find the train and get to Shinagawa Station and walk the five minutes to my hotel. There were signs and announcements in English this time, and machines communicated multilingually as well. The people I asked questions of did not speak English, and I could neither express myself in a way they understood, nor did they offer me any words I could understand.
Men wore white shirts and dark pants, so at rush hour, I saw a sea of white upper and dark lower figures, crossing the streets in rushes. The women sometimes wore colourful attire, and there were many more women on the streets than I remember, although 40 years ago, many wore traditional dress, especially in Kyoto, but this time, amongst the sea of humanity I encountered today, I saw one kimono.
The massive city of Tokyo feels like a village. People are coming to and from work, going to restaurants and the pachinko parlour, meeting friends, rolling up their shirtsleeves, flirting with women, appearing to enjoy their lives. We met our friends Emily and Robert and Nathan, and met at an okonomiyaki restaurant past the train station, past the outdoor food stalls and into a concrete tall building, where we sat in a line for an hour waiting for a table. The pancakes have vegetables, noodles, all sorts of seafood and meats, and are place half cooked on a grill in the middle of the table to continue cooking. I burnt my whole mouth while tasting a piece. Chopsticks were a challenge, but no other cutlery was available.
My day started in the afternoon after finding my hotel and cleaning up after a long flight. I am expecting horrible jet lag, but am feeling fine so far. I found a great place for cappuccino in the middle of the day. That would not have been possible 40 years ago. In fact, while walking to dinner, I saw a Denny's, a Dean and Deluca, Sarabeth's bakery, in fact it was a mini New York. I tried to get internet at a Starbucks but left when it turned out that I needed a relationship with a Japanese phone company to get free wifi.
Getting to the Tokyo National Museum was easy, although much farther than expected, reminding me that the city is MASSIVE. It was a good way to start my short visit to Japan, with an overview of the history of cultures that settled in Japan from neolithic times. It was a totally manageable experience in that the curator was selective in showing us what he felt was representative of the country, and I was not exhausted after two hours of artifacts. The objects were all beautiful and refined and reminded me of my impressions of Japan so long ago.
I do not remember it being so hot and humid. It will be 99 degrees tomorrow when we are in Kyoto. We will stay at a BnB without air conditioning. We are trying to live like the natives, which I what I did so many years, when I stayed with Japanese families in their homes, one in the country with an old grandmother, and the other in Kyoto in a very traditional home. I was not particularly exposed to the more modern part of Japan at the time, but it appears that the buildings I see are 1980s and 1990s, from the boom times. Tokyo in the mid seventies was just as spread out, but not as tall.
So far this is feeling good. I loved everything about Japan during my visit as a teenage; so far this place is giving me a good feeling.
I flew into Haneda airport this time, and it was uncomplicated to find the train and get to Shinagawa Station and walk the five minutes to my hotel. There were signs and announcements in English this time, and machines communicated multilingually as well. The people I asked questions of did not speak English, and I could neither express myself in a way they understood, nor did they offer me any words I could understand.
Men wore white shirts and dark pants, so at rush hour, I saw a sea of white upper and dark lower figures, crossing the streets in rushes. The women sometimes wore colourful attire, and there were many more women on the streets than I remember, although 40 years ago, many wore traditional dress, especially in Kyoto, but this time, amongst the sea of humanity I encountered today, I saw one kimono.
The massive city of Tokyo feels like a village. People are coming to and from work, going to restaurants and the pachinko parlour, meeting friends, rolling up their shirtsleeves, flirting with women, appearing to enjoy their lives. We met our friends Emily and Robert and Nathan, and met at an okonomiyaki restaurant past the train station, past the outdoor food stalls and into a concrete tall building, where we sat in a line for an hour waiting for a table. The pancakes have vegetables, noodles, all sorts of seafood and meats, and are place half cooked on a grill in the middle of the table to continue cooking. I burnt my whole mouth while tasting a piece. Chopsticks were a challenge, but no other cutlery was available.
My day started in the afternoon after finding my hotel and cleaning up after a long flight. I am expecting horrible jet lag, but am feeling fine so far. I found a great place for cappuccino in the middle of the day. That would not have been possible 40 years ago. In fact, while walking to dinner, I saw a Denny's, a Dean and Deluca, Sarabeth's bakery, in fact it was a mini New York. I tried to get internet at a Starbucks but left when it turned out that I needed a relationship with a Japanese phone company to get free wifi.
Getting to the Tokyo National Museum was easy, although much farther than expected, reminding me that the city is MASSIVE. It was a good way to start my short visit to Japan, with an overview of the history of cultures that settled in Japan from neolithic times. It was a totally manageable experience in that the curator was selective in showing us what he felt was representative of the country, and I was not exhausted after two hours of artifacts. The objects were all beautiful and refined and reminded me of my impressions of Japan so long ago.
I do not remember it being so hot and humid. It will be 99 degrees tomorrow when we are in Kyoto. We will stay at a BnB without air conditioning. We are trying to live like the natives, which I what I did so many years, when I stayed with Japanese families in their homes, one in the country with an old grandmother, and the other in Kyoto in a very traditional home. I was not particularly exposed to the more modern part of Japan at the time, but it appears that the buildings I see are 1980s and 1990s, from the boom times. Tokyo in the mid seventies was just as spread out, but not as tall.
So far this is feeling good. I loved everything about Japan during my visit as a teenage; so far this place is giving me a good feeling.
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