Impressions of Tokyo

Rather than give you a minute-by-minute account of our visit here, it seems more appropriate to paint a big picture of our impressions of the city.

#1: It's big. There are over four million people who live here. You really feel that when you are crowded into a train car with no room to move. Or when you are waiting at a traffic signal and it turns green - a wall of people head your direction.

#2: We in America see the cosmopolitan face of Japan. We see the modernism, the advancement in high tech gizmos and the (to us) monolithic "Japan Inc" economy. Tokyo, at one level, is a city of neon lights that puts Las Vegas and Time Square to shame, amazing electronics shopping areas and Pachinko parlors (gambling with vertical pinball machines). But at a more basic level, it is a city of small neighborhoods with narrow winding streets and small businesses. It is the old woman running the gas station from her home, filling liters of gasoline cans to be delivered by pick-up truck. It is the woman riding with her two small children by bicycle to work. It is the person stopping by the neighborhood shrine to say a prayer before continuing on their day.

#3: The streets in Tokyo are almost impossible to navigate; even the locals can get lost. There are no street names and there is nothing that bears any resemblance to a grid system. The blocks are irregular shapes and the streets curve and dead-end. And we thought that driving in Boston was difficult! Since there are no grids and few streets that extend more than a few blocks before turning away or dead-ending, Tokyo is divided into named regions. Then, each region is further divided into named precincts. Within each precinct, there is a system of numbered areas, numbered blocks and house numbers. If you understand the system and can find a map on the street (there are many) you can find your way around. We were quite proud of ourselves when we found a new location by numbers only. But beware; don't stand on the corner scanning the map in your hand. You will have three people come up to ask you if they can help you find where you are going.

#4: Anderson’s bakery in Iketeburo Station is heavenly. Rod kids Fran that we are doing the fabric tour of the world (more about that later). But Andersons might be the beginning to the bread tour of the world (and we all know how much Rod loves bread!) The bakery is so popular that hundreds of people crowd in to pull items hot off the racks. Everything is fresh --often still too hot to touch. We had to make many visits during our stay to sample the varieties of pastries and breads. The top choice is cheese bread (we never learned the Japanese name) - a sourdough ball with a hole in the top filled with Gruyere chunks and melted cheddar. It is a fondue on a plate worth trying to re-create when we get back home, made of fresh sourdough and hot melted cheese straight out of the oven. Oh!

#5: The Tokyo International Quilt Show was (to Fran, at least) well worth the visit. Rod heard about the show from the woman sitting next to us on the airplane from LAX- she's the senior editor of Quilter's Newsletter (Sue later tells us that's near nobility!). The Japanese have really taken the art of quilting to another level. See some of the quilts and close ups of techniques in the photo section. (Unfortunately, we don't have the names of the artists to give them proper credit).

#6: Some of the architecture is really very modernistic and unlike anything we've seen. The Tokyo International Forum is a convention center in Central Tokyo. We have pictures of the lobby area in the photo section. Even better, check out the pictures on a website of the great buildings of the world: http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Tokyo_International_Forum.html. The building looks like a huge, glass ship the height of at least six stories. Walking on the ramps from the bottom to the top makes you feel suspended in midair. The Tokyo Municipal Offices is a 50-story building with twin observation towers - you can see Mt. Fuji and all of Tokyo on a clear day. We weren't so fortunate when we visited, though. The walls are polished steel and granite, with lines etched into them so that they resemble computer chips. The architecture is quite unique, since the towers need to be earthquake proof.

#7: It is possible to find a quiet, contemplative spot in the midst of the traffic noise and crowds. After many days of neon lights, trains and a hectic pace, we needed to find a garden. We went to the Imperial Garden at the Palace and were disappointed. It was a great open space with trees, but had none of the delights of our idea of a Japanese strolling garden. Then we found the perfect garden - Koishikawa Korakuen. It has many winding paths with new discoveries around every corner. It even has a demonstration rice paddy that school children plant and harvest. It has high vantage points with structures to view the garden, creeks, waterfalls and ponds. It is everything we think of when we imagine a Japanese garden. We leave the garden feeling very restful.

#8: We meet Jizo, the patron guardian of children and travelers. As we wander through a new area on our way to the museum, we find a shrine with 84,000 statues of Jizo (yes, someone counted them). They are of all sizes and lined up, row upon endless row. We wonder at the eccentricity that leads one to create such a shrine!

Tokyo Train System

We have our first real experience with the Japanese train system. Our plans are to explore Tokyo and use an all-day train pass to get around. While Rod had experienced it before, Fran was not quite prepared for what she saw - rush hour in Ikebukuro, the second busiest station in Japan. Imagine yourself in a foreign country where you can't read many of the signs and you're looking for the direction of your train platform. All of a sudden a train empties and a thousand people in mass rush in your direction as they head for the exit gates. Fran learned, quite soon, to go with the flow of the crowd!

A word about the Tokyo train/subway system. The crowds are amazing - around 800,000 people pass through Tokyo station every day. From Tokyo station there radiates a complex web of subways, above ground trains, long distance trains and Shinkansen (bullet trains) that allow you to travel anywhere from a small neighborhood in the city to the ends of the northern or southern islands. The system is incredibly efficient; there is never any waiting for a local train: just walk up to the platform and step into the car. Trains roll onto the platforms every few minutes. There is a longer wait for long distance trains, but they ALWAYS run on time.

The tunnels which connect the subways and the trains stretch for miles - it's really like another city underground. There is everything that the traveler could want: restaurants, supermarkets, clothes shops, convenience stores. Many department stores connect to the tunnels by escalator. It's possible to navigate great distances through the maze of underground tunnels (as we did one day to get out of the rain for 1/2 hour to get from one station to another).

Tokyo, January 19-20, 2002

We have been preparing for this day for two years - reading travel books, selling possessions, resigning from Boy Scout commitments, watching our sons get married and generally letting go of our lives in Oregon. This is the much-anticipated first day of our 18-month journey around the world: our adventure.

We awake early with images of masses of people and endlessly long lines to wait through in the international airport at LAX. We expect customs hassles and baggage inspections. We plan in plenty of extra time. Nothing could have prepared us for what we saw as we arrived off the LAX shuttle bus at 7 am: emptiness, sheer emptiness. There was no one there to check us in. We sat and enjoyed a coffee. The lines eventually started forming, but we sailed through without having to open our overstuffed and all-too-heavy bags.

After a long flight with excellent service we arrive at Tokyo International Airport. We're finally in the country that Fran has dreamed of visiting since studying Japanese in college. We gather information at the tourist center and then board the first of many trains in Japan, heading for Ikebukuro station. At our destination we surface on a Tokyo street. Ah, the cars, the neon lights, the action, the people.... and the confused looks on our faces as we search for the direction to walk for our hotel. A young man approaches within a minute, motions to look at our map, scans it for a moment, and then motions for us to follow. We do, wondering if this is such a good idea on a dark and winding street in an unknown city. He leads us, though, all the many blocks to the door of our hotel! Then he disappears in the night. (We will find in the days to come that this friendliness and helpfulness will be repeated many times).

We are staying the next four nights in a ryokan, a Japanese style inn. We take our shoes off at the door; receive our room key, neatly stacked face towel, Yukata (cotton robe) & sash, then head for our room. The room is simple but practical with tatami (straw rug mats), futon and heavy quilts on the floor, a bench and closet. The communal sinks and showers are just outside the room. There is a Japanese soaking tub down the hall and Fran opts for a soak to wash off the travel weariness. Bliss!

Before Arriving in Japan

For two years we planned to start our trip in a sunny location. At the last minute, we switched it to Japan, since that routing saved us $800.

 It will be cold! The temperature is unlikely to get above freezing, even during the day. We will stay in inexpensive hotels and hostels --no tent camping in this weather!

The exciting part is that we will visit the Sapporo Snow Festival. That is an amazing festival that attracts two million people from all over the world to see ice sculptures, including statuary and even buildings!

It is really too cold in January and February to camp in Japan. Too bad --it is a wonderful area. Check out the National Camping Association of Japan, www.camping.or.jp (link expired). Rod sent them email, and they said it is possible to camp in southern Honshu below 1,000 meters, but above that is snow. We will see if Fran agrees to that!

Trains are amazing. To get an idea, look at www.japanrail.com link expired). We anticipate making extensive use of the trains. Rod spent an inordinate amount of time figuring out the potential costs of the trains, and the Japan Rail pass is both expensive and a great deal. We bought them, and are on our way!