Tokyo, Japan
The bullet train (or shinkansen) is one of the fastest trains in the world. An amazing feat of engineering and one that runs on time every time (an even greater shock to someone who is so use to British Rail)! We went on the fastest route also, from Kyoto to Tokyo, reaching 300 kph!!
Tokyo was as expected almost – more English and more busy. However what was not expected was that there is so much that’s not on the beaten track. The typical temples and shrines were awe inspiring again but this was a place where there was so much more. It seemed to always chase re-invention – always wanting to go one better than itself (a tricky thing to keep up with as a tourist).
It is a huge city of 12.56 million and most of it is up. The buildings are tall everywhere and space is one of those things that we struggled to find! We had three days here which felt like nothing once again and we crammed as much in as possible.
We spent the first day, Sunday, exploring the city itself and wandering into a few electronic shops here and there! The place was manic – due mainly to the fact that they have 6-day working weeks and so Sunday is the only time to go shopping:
The hustle and bustle did not stop in the major areas either. In the evening we went to a part of the city known as Asakusa (spoken by the Japanese so quickly that you can barely hear it)! Here there was a great market:
And a great temple:
And a fantastic place to eat where we sat on straw mats and had Okonomyaki which is a selection of meats and vegetables with vegetable batter mixed up. This concoction you cook yourself on the griddle that makes up part of your table – it was delicious!
The second day was spent outside the city in the hills. Being extremely cold we wrapt up very warm and headed north to Nikko. A very old town which was created by Buddhist monks as a training centre and was the point of a large mausoleum for Tokugawa Ieyasu – a warlord who took control of Japan for more than 250 years, until the Meiji Restoration ended the feudal era.
Our first point of call was an onsen – perfect for the cold! These are essentially spa baths which are fuelled by hot springs. They literally pop up everywhere in the mountainous regions and they are quintessentially Japanese. Onsen are usually around 50oC and extremely relaxing. Etiquette is important in these establishments and one must wash thoroughly before entering in their birthday suit! Quite an experience and just what one needs after a cold morning.
It took us a while to get back into gear after that. We still had the afternoon to tour the mausoleum and Buddhist temple. Quite a temple it was too, with snow still hugging the ground, it made for a picturesque landscape:
On our return to the station we dropped by a restaurant where travellers had left their business cards and written messages all over the walls and ceiling. We had some excellent Sake there (to keep the warmth of the onsen going)! We also left our own message (Gochisō-sama deshita – meaning it was a real feast, a very high compliment) along with our business cards for the ceiling!
Our last day in Tokyo was spent haphazardly trying to cram as much in as possible as we were leaving Japan that night from Kansai-Osaka airport and had to get the shinkansen there mid afternoon. I went to Shinjuku which is known as the soho of Tokyo. This was the Tokyo I had witnessed on films such as Lost In Translation with bill boards covering tall buildings from head to toe and small streets full of electronic shops. It was as busy as Oxford St on a Saturday afternoon before Christmas but was extremely exciting.
All in all one amazing trip. We barely even dipped our feet into Japan but came out feeling rewarded for our efforts anyway. Many people were very kind and helpful throughout our trip – a very welcoming country. I can’t wait to go back and explore more!!
