Scott & Jo's Japanese Adventures: Two Tourists in Tokyo

Yesterday, as I was walking to work from the train station, I caught a glimpse of snow out of the corner of my eye. I had to do a double-take to make sure it wasn’t just rain, but it was, in fact, a light snow fall—Osaka’s first in a long time. It’s been freezing here lately and I guess I shouldn’t complain because the weather’s nothing in comparison to Canada. With the poorly insulated place we call a home and contraptions the Japanese call heaters (they are also air-conditioners in the summer), our apartment is rarely at a comfortable temperature.

It wasn’t just cold in Osaka—it was freezing as we stepped off the bus when we arrived in Tokyo on Sunday morning. Scott and I left for the big city last Saturday night after work and took a night bus from a nearby station. After a virtually sleepless night on a narrow and cold bus, we arrived at Shinjuku Station in Tokyo at precisely 6:40 a.m. Our plan of action was to drop our bags in a locker and scour the area for some kind of 24-hour coffee joint where we could down a dose of caffeine. We passed a Starbucks and because it was closed, we settled for none other than Macudonarudo (McDonald’s). We had some breakfast (which consisted of hotcakes, an Egg McMuffin, and coffee) and then passed some time figuring out what we were going to do that day. The McDonald’s was packed—even at such an early hour. There were students trying to do their homework, businessmen gulping down coffee before they had to go to work, and people who were still drunk from the previous night.

As Scott and I were discussing some potential plans, a man beside us struck up a conversation and asked us, in virtually perfect English, if we needed any help. I was quite taken aback because I had heard from several people that Tokyo natives were less friendly than Osakans. We had a good chat with him and found out that he had learned English from an American missionary who came to Japan after the war. He also helped narrow down some key Tokyo hot-spots.

At about 9 a.m. our somewhat less-tired selves wandered out of the McDonald’s to explore the city. We spotted our hotel, The Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku, just steps from the McDonald’s but couldn’t check-in until 2, so we headed to Harajuku. You might recognize the name of this area from Gwen Stefani’s songs. The girls from this area, also known as “Harajuku Girls,” have a distinct style that is best summed up as Lolita meets Goth. In other words—extremely ugly. The area is most famous for the Meiji Shrine and strange-but-cool shopping. After we arrived at Harajuku station, we visited the Meiji Shrine. On the way into the main gate, there were several ice sculptures and was kind of reminiscent of Winterlude in Ottawa. It was strange to see something so familiar in Japan! All the ice sculptures were absolutely breathtaking.

We were lucky enough to witness a traditional wedding at the shrine and snapped some pictures as we observed the procession. Because it’s traditional to visit a shrine in the New Year (for the purposes of praying for happiness and health), Scott and I thought it would be appropriate to write our own wish and pretend to be Buddhist. We wrote our wish on a paper, put it in an envelope along with a monetary donation, and then deposited the envelope in a bin while we lifted our hands in prayer. It was a really interesting experience and I’m glad we embraced the culture (even though we were a little hesitant at first)! We also explored the grounds surrounding the Meiji Shrine and Yoyogi Park. After Meiji Shrine, we decided to go shopping. We strolled down the main shopping alleys, Omotesando and Takeshita-dori. It was really interesting to see the styles and the types of shops on these streets—quite a feast for the eyes to say the least!

We ended up walking to another major area called Shibuya and stopped for lunch at a traditional Japanese Tendon (a bowl of rice with tempura and sauce on top) restaurant. It’s directly south of Harajuku and is also famous for its shopping and the Hachiko Statue. The statue doesn’t seem like that big of a deal at first glance, but it has a pretty significant history in Shibuya. The story goes like this... Way back in 1924, a man bought a dog and named him Hachiko. The man was a professor at a university in Tokyo and Hachiko greeted him at Shibuya station every day as he arrived home from work. When the man died, Hachiko still came to the station every day (for ten more years) and came to be known as the “faithful dog” to many residents of Shibuya. When Hachiko passed away years later in 1935, the city erected a statue to commemorate the dog and his loyalty. How kawaii! I thought the statue was going to be much bigger, but it was more or less a life size mould of the dog.

Later in the afternoon, we went back to the hotel to check in and take a nap before dinner. The hotel was a lot nicer than we expected and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay there. Although the rooms were tiny, they had everything we needed to make our stay pleasant (including pyjamas that were laid out on the bed for us when we arrived!). We headed back to Shibuya for a lovely dinner that night and wandered around the city before heading back to the hotel.

Monday was a national holiday in Japan, so everything was extra busy. Scott and I headed to a more historic area of Tokyo called Asakusa, which is home of the Senso-ji Temple. As we trekked to the temple, several cart drivers were coaxing us to take a tour of Asakusa. One of them even said, “I give you many Japanese memories!” Haha. The walk into the temple was a long path full of many interesting souvenir and food shops. Naturally, after touring the temple, we sampled several Japanese foods for lunch including yakisoba (buckwheat noodles fried with vegetables and sometimes meat) and okonomiyaki (an egg and cabbage omelette smothered in mayo).

In the afternoon, we headed to Roppongi area, which is in Southern Tokyo. It’s also well-known for shopping (go figure) and because many foreigners call it their home. Laura and Colin recommended going to The Mori Art Museum in Roppongi Hills, so we did. The art museum also has the Tokyo View, which is an observation deck where you can see the whole city. The sight was just spectacular—as was the art exhibit, which featured a metropolitan theme. We went to a fabulous Thai restaurant that was recommended as one of the best spots to eat in Tokyo and had absolutely no regrets. The food was magnificent! We also went to a bar that night and just relaxed and appreciated the sights of the city.

For our last day, we decided to visit central Tokyo and go to the Imperial Palace, home of the Imperial family. We didn’t get a guided tour, but had fun taking pictures of the building. After the palace, we made a quick stop at the Tokyo Stock Exchange before heading to Ueno Park. The park was probably one of my personal highlights of our visit because of its sheer beauty. It is the home of many museums and cultural emblems of Japan. We stopped for a short paddle-boat ride and then wandered to Ameyayokocho, a famous street market district just south of the park. It evolved out of an open-air black market that sprung up after World War II and today shops sell basically everything for really cheap.

Our last stop of the day was the Tsukiji Fish Market, on the bank of the Sumida River. Although visitors are informed to go at 5 a.m. to make the most of their market-going experience, we opted to go precisely twelve hours later. Although the main part of the market was closed, we still got to feel the vibe of the market and see some fish vendors and sushi shops. The sushi is really well-known in this area because it’s so fresh. Some people even go at the crack of dawn to sample it!

We headed back to Tokyo station to catch the shinkansen (bullet train) back to Osaka around 6:30 that evening and were somewhat relieved to be going home. The past three days seemed fast-paced (after all, we did cover quite a bit of territory in the short time we were there) and we both came to the conclusion that we were happy to be living in Osaka. I can’t really put a finger on why I like Osaka better...it’s something I just feel in my gut.

Last night, we went to a bar in Shinsaibashi for Indie-Night with Laura, Colin, Marcus, and some friends who were visiting from Korea. Just before we went into the bar, I spotted someone in the distance wearing a Queen’s Commerce jacket. I thought I was dreaming for a minute—so I ran up to the guy and asked him if he went to Queen’s. He was Japanese and I figured he had attended Queen’s and graduated in 2001 (like his jacket sleeve displayed). So I asked him, “Oh...you went to Queen’s? I did too.” And the look on his face said it all—he was totally confused. Turns out, he didn’t go to Queen’s. He just picked up the jacket at some thrift shop in Kyoto (who knows how it travelled that far). Anyway, Scott and I both thought it was pretty funny and so weird at the same time.