Japan ... an experience of a lifetime! (1) The Tokyo Experience

as it may be figured out from the title.. japan a land of many wonders.. strange for our part of the world.. distant and our main aquaintance with the Japanese outside Japan is linked to strange language, habbits and richness... the experience in japan is such an enlightenment to the japanese history, habits and culture.

Mind you before you read what i will write.. these are personal reflections not based on research or thorough understanding of this great nation.. it is the outcome of visiting few places in Japan and it is yet to be updated after further trips in the country.

just for those who don't know...i comment a lot on bowing, because i don't bow except for god.. in our culture bowing is an expression of being submissive and in the old days before islam.. this was only done by slaves not the nobles or the free people.. so, when islam came... the ones who joined islam.. even if they were slaves stopped bowing except in prayers... as a sign of submissiveness to god and that we only bow to Him. it makes me really humble when i see the japanese people bow in their greetings..


first impression when landing in Osaka on my way to Tokyo:

1. organization is impressive.

2. failure to comprehend why do people in short transit coming from abroad have to disembark, go into the airport to pass a security check (not passport control) then back to board the same plane to Tokyo.

3. cleanliness is amazing.

4. leaving Osaka to Tokyo, while in the plane.. the ground service guys were waving "bye wave" and bowing to the plane and the people inside it.. this is a plane leaving for less than 1 hour flight between Osaka and Tokyo .. yet the cheer was astonishing for me. Didn't see that anywhere i have been to.

second.. Tokyo or Eastern Capital :

according to wikepedia, Tokyo was originally known as Edo, meaning "estuary". Its name was changed to Tokyo (Tōkyō: tō (east) + kyō (capital)) when it became the imperial capital in 1868, in line with the East Asian tradition of including the word capital ('京') in the name of the capital city. During the early Meiji period, the city was also called "Tōkei", an alternative pronunciation for the same Chinese characters representing "Tokyo". Some surviving official English documents use the spelling "Tokei". However, this pronunciation is now obsolete.

1. arrived in Tokyo at night after a very long flight.. with a jetlag.. made it difficult to figure out the feature or the character of anything around.

2. the Bus from Narita Airport to Tokyo.. was clean.. people are obligated to use seat belts.. it is not a choice.. people queued patiently and on the same spot several busses going to different destinations pick up their passengers.. the waiting spot by the station is categorized like a table...1, 2 and 3 to identify that passengers that will mount the first arriving bus should queue in 1 and so on..
anyone in the service answers your question with a bow..

3. Tokyo city... i tried to figure out what are the similarities and differences between it and cities i have visited before.. i wanted to get down to whether Tokyo is like Bangkok but cleaner and more organized or the Asian version of New York? so far it is way more Asian to be New York and maybe that is why it might be closer to bangkok.. i only compare to the later because it is the sole capital I have visited in East Asia..

The City is very clean... for it's size, busy streets with cars and construction.. it is very quiet city... i am the only noisy one in the street... even those who are drunk they don't make such loud noise.. in cafes, restaurants, bars or trains people are not loud.. they respect the others and they make sure that their noise is not annoying people around them.

as a foreigner, you are so easily to be identified and sometimes you can be subject to suspicion or amusement.. our moves are different, looks, shape, colour... everything... so you will always be subject to a second look out of curiosity.. but not necessarily a stare...

the trains and underground are clean... people stay in their coats even if they have a long trip in the train and it is pretty warm... the only trains i have even been into in the north where they have the heaters below the seats.. yes.. they do :)which makes the seat pretty warm :).. it doesn't get as cold as NY or Canada.. yet they warm your seat :)pretty nice .. huh :) of course, i had a sense some stared at me when i took off 2 layers of my clothes to end up in a Tshirt because it seems crazy for them and i guess they always try to figure out where one is from.. but they never ask :)

people are very neately dressed... always carrying a bag.. men and women.. no one goes around without a briefcase, carrying bags.. big handbags.. it is a must here.. they don't like to carry papers or anything outside of their bags..some get small pocket books to read.. with small japanese kanji.. katakana or hiragana.. i can't tell of course.. it looks like riddles to a japanese illiterate like me :) also, they like cute small things.. they love to hang things in their phones and bags.. it is not a female thing.. or childish.. all of them.. one barely sees a mobile phones without cords with zillion little things hanging out of it.. dolls, balls, comic images.. anything.. but it won't jut be empty.

the TOKYO TOWER:

another experience, the Tokyo Tower was built as a symbol of pride and resistance .. i believe this whole nation is a symbol of both.. everything was so organized in the Tower.. again very clean ..it is like a replica of the Tour Eiffel.. but with the colours of Japan's flag. again, anyone answers your politely and they take your ticket .. allow you to get into the lift with a bow..

the view is close to that from the Roppongi Hill Club Restaurant which overlooks a big part of the city but the nice thing int he Tower that you can see all angles and they show you how many kilometers each famous city is far from the Tower.. like Yokohama was 25 Km.. etc

Exchanging money in a bank:

i am considered as a relatively polite person.. i don't like swearing or scolding.. and i greet people with a smile.. i got a shock to the level of greeting one gets in a japanese bank!

i went down to change currency.. the first one to meet in the bank is the info individual.. i asked .. i want to change dollars to yen.. i got a bow, a smile, a ticket and directions in japanese with hand gestures for me to understand where i should wait and for which teller.

very clean and organized surrounding.. waiting and watching people.. and now my number buzzed. .went to the desk with two chairs where i will sit with the teller/ customer service like individual to change my money.. i said hi.. i want to change dollars to yen.. she smiled and bowed before saying anything.. i had to sit so she can sit.. then we started the procedure.. you can see it is bureaucratic but it goes smooth and all the procedures take very short time.. after finishing the process.. she gives back the receipt.. the money and an enveloppe in a plastic plate.. anywhere you will have a plate to use to put your money and to get your change.. be it a shop or the bank..

when she was done ... i was still getting my stuff into my bag.. she stood up to greet me .. and she bowed like 2 or 3 times until i left her desk...

i am sure the japanese have very flexible back muscles :) but the signs of politeness in the greetings in anything official put anyone into humbleness..


Streets of Tokyo:

the size of the streets in Tokyo are strange.. they've a highway in the middle of the city... and some streets are more like alleys.. pretty small and the pavement is just a line on the ground to separate cars from pedisterians.. however, again it is sooo organized.. the small streets are all having mirrors installed inorder for the drivers to see who's coming from where... because these tiny streets are full of intersections...these streets are also two way streets while their width can only pass one car.. hence, the cars coming from opposite directions wait until the cars that are entering the street pass..

if you are a pedisterian and waited for a car to pass while standing by the crossing lines.. the driver will bow to you as a sign of gratitude..

they drive on the right side like the UK... pretty confusing.. but i drove last night on the highway.. for a change i had to abide by the speed limit being it the first time i drive on the opposite side of the street.. but except for few exceptions.. the drivers stick to their lanes in traffic jams.. again things are pretty organized and signs are everywhere... so it is fitting with everything in the City.

the Sushi bar in the Fish Market:

in my first days in Tokyo, Ragui took me and Mai to a Sushi bar in the fish market area for dinner... it was almost closing time for fish shops.. but i managed to take a glimpse of how it is.. again, cleaner than most of the fish markets i have been to... i have seen a head of a fish bigger than the head of a cow or almost the same size and i have seen the huge pacific ocean crab that is kep alive in ice cubes..

the sushi bar is not different than those abroad, like the one in harvey and nichols in sloan street in london.. yet, the fish was very fresh and i have found out that you prepare your own green tea.. they leave the tea in a pot with an amazing tiny spoon.. we had cups to use for the tea and a tab that brings out boiling water every 2 or 3 persons... it was strange, different and yet practical way to serve oneself. wasabi is not served automatic here, unlike sushi places outside japan... you have to ask for it but the ginger slices are left in a box next to the green tea and the chopsticks for the customers.

they use different plate colours to identify the difference in prices for whatever you pick... then when it is time to depart, they come and count the plates from each colour and make the calculation for the customers... you don't pay the waiters but you pay at the counter.

Meeting freinds in Japan:

one of the very nice things in this trip as always is the reunion with friends and catching up after a long time.. the first one i met was one of my Finnish friends who is now married to a diplomat from New Zealand and posted in Japan.. it was very nice to meet up for dinner .. but unfortunately, time was so tight to see her 2 little ones this trip.. hopefully next time we meet we will have more time together...

the other reunion was meeting 2 japanese diplomats whom i used to work with in NY.. we had lunch in a traditional japanese restaurant.. it was so nice.. the restaurant experience was new for me and it was also nice to catch up with them and see how things are...it was so funny that somethings i have noticed, they never thought of.. i guess when one is an outsider.. one sees things different than those in the place.. it is the same when people come and comment about us and they appreciate things or have a critical view to things that we don't notice at all...but i believe this is the nature of things..


New Year's Eve a la Japanese in Meiju Jingu Temple:


Instead of going again to Asakusa Temple for new year’s eve, Mai and I went to Meiji Jingu Shrine, which seems to be one of the most popular destinations for Japanese that night. The walk from omotesando to the beginning of the shrine was long, but I didn’t realize that the walk in the woods to the holy site is longer and in stony ground…

The pathway towards the shrine took almost 2 hours or more because it was packed. People were standing patiently and there was no real pushing or attempts to take over your spot… the maximum was few people would push you a bit when the walking gets to a halt or try to take you over from the sides without hitting you if possible. It was as if they were queuing… in the middle of the pathway, we had a big screen that broadcasted live the rituals in the temple.

Finally, at the end of the walk we reached a point where we were relatively crushed with people trying to throw their coins and make their wishes for the new year… the bar that was installed in order to prevent people from reaching the wide spot in front of the temple where the coins were thrown was about to fall… the security guards rushed to save it by their own bodies and they managed until we left that spot.

I wanted to go into the temple to band the drums, but the entrance fee was between 10 to 30 thousand yen… so I thought that is pretty expensive so I refrained from going in.

Later, I have discovered that people in Japan all through January they go to the shrines and temples in order to make their wishes for the New Year… many consider it more of tradition rather than religion. My guide in Nara told me that it is preferable for this trip to dress up formally or in their traditional kimonos. It is one of the occasions that Kimonos are worn at ease as a celebratory uniform or like feast new clothes for us.

That was my Japanese New Year’s Eve experience. Different I would say than our normal parties whether dancing parties or traditional gatherings in that night.

Kamakura Temples:

Kamakura is a small town, not far from Tokyo… very traditional whenever you get closer to the temples… the temples we visited that day were Buddhist temples… although it is very hard to make a full distinction in Japan between Buddhism, Shinto or Hindu deities. They mix all together and they consider them all as gods, each with a specific power except for Buddha who is the head master of all. It reminded me with Zeus and the Greek gods and goddesses or the Pharaoh deities from Atun, Raa, Horus, Isis or Osiris…

The day we visited, the temples were packed… it was during the national holiday in Japan and people were going to the temples for getting their blessings and making their new year’s wishes.

At the temples, people stand with great respect and humbleness… they bow, they clap their hands and then hold them together like in the Christian prayers. They later buy from Monks wishes or slogans of protection on small pieces of paper and they hang them to little wires that have been installed at the exit of the temples for that purpose.. but I got to understand from Mai that originally they should be hanged on trees but these wires were made as a substitute to enable the big numbers to hang their wishes as close as possible to both the temples and the trees.
In Kamakura, we found sweet potatoes like ours in Egypt. Mai and I were so excited and we had very nice roasted sweet potatoes that were really sweet. We also visited an old store where they had hand painted lacquer and Japanese style porcelain and crystals… it was nice to see the fine little cravings they had on many of the items… which was wildly expensive as well… it was good for watching but not buying :)

One more experience in Tokyo was the Metropolitan Museum which included the biggest collection of Japanese art crafts including pottery, samurai swords, deities and others from different eras of the Japanese history, the Edo, Nara and other periods.
The Museum is located in Ueno Park so close to the Ueno Zoo and in a complex of different museums including the nature and science museum and the western art museum… but unfortunately, my knee problem didn’t allow me except going for the first museum and couldn’t do more that day.

One evening we went to the Ueno area Mai and her friend Chiho for shopping… it was a different style of shopping in comparison to the other parts of Tokyo. It doesn’t have the lavish shops as Ginza or omotesando, yet brands were sold together with many handmade silver and leather products designed by the shop owners themselves. I managed to buy some shiseido products for relatively ok prices which are quiet expensive everywhere in the world, even in Japan. The place also had a big fish market place where fresh and dried fish were sold. I still hated the smell, but it is still not to be compared with our fish market or the fish market that I have visited in Thailand… in both I won’t last for 2 minutes because I can’t stand the smell… still here it was not nice but I was able to stand it for a change.

Akihabara and the electronics:

no one should laugh at this.. this reminded me with abd Elaziz Street in Cairo.. where you have zillion shops selling all kinds of electronics.. except that here.. electronics are the top notch thing .. so from selling used electronics to the latest models that have just been released are here... i spent almost a day here... electronic addicts shouldn't miss that spot.. it is still expensive.. we are in Japan.. but it is worth taking a look at least :)


Kabukicho experience:

This is supposed to be the notorious part of the city… the place where the Japanese Mafia is active, escort services and different shows take place here. Display of nudity is forbidden in Japan and prostitution is illegal… that is why, in comparison to Soho in London or the Red Light District in Amsterdam or Antwerpen... there was nothing to see on display… there were only people standing out trying to talk to the pedestrians to step in. the shops charge by the hour, hence you would be provided with a table and you can order drinks, snacks and men/women escorts would come to join your table to entertain you.. depending on the place… there were many gay spots “gentlemen clubs” where gay guys will get nice looking guys to join them… at the entrance of these shops, you would find gay guys standing out of the place to promote it… naturally, they don’t approach girls. The funny thing about the area is the way people dress and look… you will find blonde Japanese guys… some even wearing make up… and in other parts girls who are wearing too much make up or kimonos in order to show to the pedestrians what to expect inside the shops.
We ended up in Izakaya, which is the Japanese local drink spots… they are not bars in the traditional sense.. they have tables and no counter drinking… you can order snacks or drinks depending on your liking… we had dinner there.. I got a pizza and my friends had eaten sort of soup with vegetables and chicken.. it came raw and was cooked on the table on a little moving gas cooker... of course, I didn’t even dare to taste it.. neither the look, texture or smell would have made it easier for me to try :)

Hakone, Gotenba outlet and Mount Fuji:

We decided to go to Hakone area where there is a premium outlet stores in Gotenba in order to shop in the sale and also see Mount Fuji… Mount Fuji is like Mont-Blanc is Switzerland… the top of it is always white because of snow… shopping would be fun in Japan if you are millionaire and you don’t travel a lot… the first is because you won’t care how much you are spending over a bag, shoes or any accessory.. the latter is because you will lack the edge of comparison… brands are way cheaper around the globe than in Japan.. yet again, the prices that are so expensive to the visitor are affordable to the Japanese… I am not talking about the rich Japanese who are driving Ferraris and Bentleys… I am talking about those driving Nissans or Mitsubishis… anyways.. we all ended up buying little things, which are normally extremely expensive, but we were able to spot few good bargains…
The view was beautiful and guess what? … Fauchon was a regular coffee place in the outlet… those from many parts of the world; especially Cairo would understand why I am commenting on that pastry shop rather than others :)

On our way back, I took over driving for the first time on the right side of the car… strange and confusing but on highways it is relatively ok…because there are no twists, bends or going left or right… it is just a straight line driving… thanks for the traffic jam.. it took us more than double the time… and I have beaten my record by driving most of the way abiding by the speed limit… the reasons are obvious.. . the first one was in relation to driving for the first time in a strange set up and a new country.. moreover, Mai was already in panic of the highway, mountains and I couldn’t afford scaring her more… so, in brief.. in the Guinness record of Namira, this night can be recorded for driving an entire highway without exceeding 100 km per hour :)