In Tokyo, navigating the culture was more difficult than navigating the streets.
The JR Yamanote line was our saviour. The circular train line was easy enough to understand and we were able to tour the different neightborhoods conveniently.
We rode the JR line everywhere. It took us to Harajuku to spot some street fashion. Actually, Harajuku surprised me with what must’ve been the world’s longest line to H&M. Young Japanese women were queueing outside and there was a doorman letting people enter in carefully calculated portions. There was a seperate, designated queueing area on the street outside the store, leading me to the conclusion that this probably wasn’t a one-time phenomenon.
JR led us to Shinjuku, where we fulfilled our tourist duties and did the compulsory pilgrimage to the famous crossroads featured on every Tokyo guidebook’s cover. It was raining and everyone had umbrellas with the craziest decorations. The more discreet ones were see-through plastic umbrellas like the ones I had as a child in the 1980’s. I suddenly wanted to buy umbrellas and walk around with them, and not just because of the rain.
By venturing a transfer onto another line (leaving the familiarity of JR!), without the stops written in the Western alphabet, we made it to Roppongi to snap some well-timed sunset photos from Mori Tower.
For such a huge city, Tokyo had a surprising amount of green to compensate with, zenful parks with peace and quiet on offer. We watched koi fish swim around, encountered some huge spiders in the bushes and wondered at a Zeppelin silently sliding past us in the sky.
In the parks, we strolled among the locals, one of whom had a pet dog that ran around in circles around me until it became dizzy. My legs were by then already tangled in its leash and the owner laughed as hubby took photos. Many locals were practicing their music outdoors after work.
One day we got lost in a residential area looking for a sword museum. An old couple who were tending to their garden tried to point us in the right direction. It might’ve been routine for them.
Despite occasionally getting lost, we always found our way back. It was the everyday things that were hard to navigate. Like recognising food! Is it savoury or sweet? How do you eat it? Will I make a fool of myself if I order this like that? How do I open the toilet door from the inside when there are no handles and all the buttons have text in Japanese? Why are there vending machines on every street corner but I never see anyone using them?
Places like Tokyo make you want to go back and explore more. To get answers to all your questions and to learn to navigate.
26 replies on “Wandering Around Tokyo (Part Two)”
Seems like you had such a wonderful time in Tokyo! Thank you for sharing you experience. I could almost picture everything before my eyes 😊
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Thanks for the kind words 🙂 Happy to hear that!
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Tokyo is a fantstic city! Shinjuku… while we were walking on the JR bridge there was a brief earthquake… 😛
Japanese did not react at all!
Ciao
Sid
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That’s something I’m sure you won’t forget!! 😀
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😀
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I can totally relate to what you’re saying. This was our experience when we visited Japan a year ago. I was mortally afraid that I was always offending someone with my behaviour. Also being vegetarian meant it was doubly difficult to identify food to eat.
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Being a vegetarian would certainly make it harder! Or if you were severely allergic to something like fish or peanuts, how would you know for sure that your food didn’t contain any
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The potato chips had bonito flakes on them- that was literally the breaking point for us!
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I was in Tokyo a few years ago. It’s a visual feast!
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It is, so true! All senses alert
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It is difficult also for me to navigate Tokyo with cultural eyes. I live in Yokohama just next to Tokyo, though.
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Interesting to hear that. The lovely diversity that Japan has – I hope I get to go back one day and explore more
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Snow! This is great! 🙂 Have fun!
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Thanks sweetie for the comment! 🙂 It’s an old trip though, not there right now. I wish!!!
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What an amazing trip! I have not been to Japan, but hope to go some day. Love your photos, especially the first one! Great perspective!
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Thanks! 🙂
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wow Japan is so beautiful and the way you describe JY lines I think I gotta keep it in memory… I love Japan and now I am gonna dig all the posts about it!! ❤ thanks 😀
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Thanks! 😀 Your comment made my day! I loved Japan, too
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Fun, lovely post. Last time I was in Japan, I saw a dozon strawberries…big, giant, perfect ones…for sale for US $23.
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Perfection is expensive!! 😉 I bought a banana there and they very slowly and carefully gift wrapped it… It was expensive, too..!
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So interesting to read your Tokyo posts as we are thinking of visiting for the first time early next year. Where did you stay?
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We stayed at Ikebukuro which was an excellent location for conveniently visiting different areas of the city with the JR line. As a location, I can really recommend the Ikebukuro area! It was business-y and busy, clean and it felt safe (as all of Tokyo, really.) As for the hotel, I can’t remember its name but it was from either booking.com or hotels.com and quite affordable, though the rooms were tiny. (I’m sure they would’ve had more expensive larger rooms if you’re willing to spend.) I hope you enjoy Tokyo, I loved it and would love to go back! 🙂
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Really interesting to read this as we are thinking of going to Japan next year. Whereabouts did you stay and was it nice? Best wishes, M.
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Just replied in the earlier thread! 🙂
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