From Parallels to the Contrasts in Tokyo

Though our legs were tired after exploring Senso-ji Temple, but the wooded area motivated us to walk a few more miles inside the Meiji forest (Yoyogi Park) spread over 70 hectares (170 acres). The freshly baked rice crackers we purchased at Nakamishi-Dori outside Senso-ji temple and a bottle of water bottle felt like a good option to have a quick picnic in the middle of the city.

                                        View from Tokyo Metropolitan Tower 45th Floor

The Yoyogi Park has been a venue for so many historic events in the past. It metamorphosed from being a runway to the first flight take off in Japan in 1910, an army parade ground to an athletic village and gymnasium built for the 1964 Olympics. Today, it is home to 120,000 trees of 365 different species and is a refreshing green space in the middle of the concrete jungle reminding me of the Central Park in NYC and the IIT campus in Chennai pumping fresh oxygen and absorbing carbon dioxide and other exhaust gases.

Only 22% of land area in Japan is inhabitable of which 68.5% are forests. As much as the Japanese respect nature and forest, they also recycle their land to maintain the ecological balance. At the entrance to the Park, hug wine vats and sake donated to the Shrine have been kept in display on either side. The wine was gifted by wineries from Bourgogne region in France to the Emperor of Japan (Meiji), while Sake was gifted by the locals.

We walked all the way to the Meiji Shrine and the Imperial Museum on the other side of the park enjoying the flora and fauna and lay on the grass nibbling on the rice crackers, starring at the blue sky and enjoying the beautiful weather.

From the company of trees, we headed to famous Shibuya to watch the locals and tourist at the world’s business crossing. It is mesmerizing to watch both the chaos and orderliness. The Starbucks on the 2^nd floor of the Q-Front building is a vantage point to watch the unfolding of the madness and orderliness that repeats every two minutes.

All traffics lights turn red at the same time for a minute and you watch people suddenly in the middle of the road talking pictures. Is it the modern day Masai mara or a flash mob? And when the light turns green in 60 seconds the orderliness returns and the place looks calm.

After going through the crossing a few times, we walked around the neighborhood looking for a decent India restaurant and to our surprise we discovered Milan Natraj on the 3^rd floor of a lean building, which served only vegetarian meal.  After an early supper, we headed to Akihabara.

Akihabara is named after Akiba, fire deity and is a Mecca for electronics goods. Is it a coincidence for the fire city to become electric? After the world war, this place bloomed into a market that sold home appliances, but now it has transformed itself into the world’s largest electronic district with stores after stores with 10-15 floors selling electronic gadgets including videos games and mini robots.

The stores are fluorescent and incandescent (very brightly lit) and made me search for my sun glasses. While I waited for my friend to purchase a headset, I wandered around the store looking at mobile phones, computers and other electronics realizing it is a Disney Land for gadget gurus and addicts.

I must have walked a few kilometers horizontally and vertically looking for my friend and finally when he came back after an hour he said he was unable to make up him mind, thanks to the million options. I paused and pondered about the recycle policy for electronic goods in Japan.

A walk into this district reminded me of Ritchie Street in Chennai where we get all kinds of electrical and electronics items imported from China. Similarly, at Akihabara, you can see two versions of the same product, one manufactured in China and another manufactured in Japan. 

As we exited the store, we realized this area is also popular among anime and Manga fans. The streets are covered with anime and Manga icons with saleswomen handing out pamphlets and enticing passerby to visit their cafes (Maid Cafes). One could also spot people dressed up as their favorite characters walking around the neighborhood. Fiction and reality became inseparable at this point reminding me of artists who walk around dressed as Rama and Hanuman in India.

From a lesson on culture and parallels at Senso-ji temple, tranquility at Yoyogi Park, chaos at Shibuya crossing to electric and surreal atmosphere at Akhibara we experienced the contrasts on day 1 in Tokyo. 

Drawing Parallels at the Cultural Hotspot of Tokyo: Asakusa

Now that we figured out the how to explore on the Tokyo Metro, we were confident to begin our journey to discover the country and understand their people.  And there is no better way to understanding people than learning about their culture and tradition. We began our exploration and education at the Senso-ji Temple at Asakusa, cultural hotspot in Tokyo that attracts over 30 million visitors annually (2.5 times the population of Tokyo).

Asakusa is on the North-East side of Central Tokyo on the Tokyo Metro Ginza line, approximately 1.5kms East of Ueno station, not far from where were stayed. We had no idea of what to expect when me made the trip, but what we experienced helped us get closer to the people of Japan.

Asakusa is like what Mylapore or Triplicane is to Chennai, it showcases the co-existence of the Tendai (Senso-ji Temple) and Shinto (Asakusa Shrine) sects of Buddhism, very similar to Shaivites and Vaishnavites. The Matsuri (festival) held at the Shinto shrine during spring and attracts followers, while food stalls, sumo matches and other entertainments is a big draw for tourists like us. 

Such a cultural hotspot was targeted by the Americans during the WW2 and was reduced to dust. Today, what we saw including the temples, traditional ryokan (guest-houses), homes, and small-scale apartment buildings were all rebuilt after the war. I also heard from locals that Akakusa is also the Tokyo's oldest Geisha district, and still has 45 actively working Geishas, who are akin to Devadasis in our temple tradition. Click here to read an interesting article on the similarities. 

We followed the directions from Asakusa Metro station to Senso-ji temple and came to a standstill after spotting the huge red lantern painted with black tones representing the thunder and lightning.  We came to a standstill looking at the intimidating visage of God of Thunder (Varuna) and Wind (Vayu) at the Nakamise-Dori entrance to the temple. 

This entrance is lined with small shops selling souvenirs. Like tourists, we curiously peered at traditional fans, wood block prints, kimonos, Buddhist scrolls and traditional sweets and saved the rice crackers for our trip back.

The side streets leading to the temple are closed to motor traffic with appealing displays. And sometimes it was interesting to see such displays on the roof/windows of buildings.

One of my friends was busy photographing the façade; the other got attracted by fortune sticks, while I went looking at the Warrior on top of the water fountain where people washed their hands before entering the temple. Nevertheless, we all tried to get our fortunes answered for 100 ¥ by drawing the stick and looking the right number and reading Japanese numbers in the chest of draws.

From the entrance the two-tier red and white roof looked majestic, but was devoid of ornate carvings.  The temple is dedicated to the Bodhisattva Kannon (Avalokiteśvara – God of Mercy). According to legend, the statue was found in the Sumida River in 628 AD by two fishermen, the brothers Hinokuma Hamanari and Hinokuma Takenari. I was reminded of similar tales about idols in our temple founds in water bodies.

Though we were not allowed to enter the main temple as the sanctum is restricted to only followers of Buddhism, we still lighted candles and prayed to the God of Mercy to bless us with a great trip and good weather. Before we stepped out of the main temple, I noticed the hand painted images of dragons and Apsaras on the roof reminding me of paintings in the Hindu temples.

Adjacent to the main temple, is a five story Pagoda believed to contain ashes of Buddha. Buddha is believed to have born, lived and died in India. How and when did we part with his ashes? Is it another story like Subash Chandra Bose?

Discarding my doubts, I stepped out of the main temple into the garden, the red exteriors and huge black doors with gold trims were striking enough to get my friends to pose for picture. We put aside our cameras and walked into the garden surrounding the temple enjoying its peace and tranquility. A huge stone statue of Buddha in the garden set the mood for contemplation. 

Besides the Pagoda, is another temple enshrining the 9 manifestations of Buddha with each one seated on an animal and propitiated for a certain blessing.  We discussed how similar this is to the Navagrahas (nine planets) in our temples nibbling some flavored rice crackers, a Japanese delicacy as we moved on to out next spot.

Understanding the culture and tradition is the best way knowing a city and its people and the visit to Asakusa and Senso-ji made us feel at home and helped us draw parallels and appreciate our kinship. 

Tokyo Metro: Observations & Admirations

Suddenly everything seemed completely under control now that my friend arrived ahead of us, checked into the Ueno Youth Hostel, found where to exchange our JR Passes for tickets and also located an Indian restaurant in the vicinity. Honestly, I felt like we had already conquered the city and was on our way to achieving our well-planned itinerary.

With our basic needs in Maslow’s pyramid (food, shelter, security) met and we focused on the bigger agenda ahead of us, to tour and enjoy Tokyo without having to validate clichés and escape tourist traps. We quickly figured out that JR pass is more helpful to get outside the city, while a Metro pass is both inexpensive and a practical way to travel within Tokyo.

While we are on the topic of the Metro, I must share my observations and admirations.

The Metro in Tokyo is unlike the ones we’ve seen and experienced in New York or Paris. Despite absence of dustbin at stations, it was devoid of liter.

Metros are truly passenger friendly, safe, and clean and the people are courteous. There are no drug addicts loitering or homeless living in the stations and I didn’t come across anyone jumping over turnstiles. Like the Germans, the Japanese are also obedient and respectful of rules.

There are two things that amaze me about Tokyo Metro – toilets and people. Their toilets are squeaky clean and people are polite and form a queue to get in the train. More importantly, they wait for passengers to disembark before getting into the train. 

It is common for you to see people wearing masks over their nose and mouth to not spread or catch infections. With ageing population, Japanese are cautious not to pass on infections. 

Metros are safe even at midnight and I’ve rarely felt safe while traveling in Paris and New York. None of them look intimidating or threatening or occupied seats reserved for expecting mothers and mothers with infants, elderly or disabled. While on the Metro people only whispered when they had to speak and most of them were either busy reading on their phones or engrossed reading Manga. Taking phone calls in trains is considered rude and an inappropriate etiquette.

But peak hours had its own rules and we had a first-hand experience on the Hibiya line between Ueno and Tokyo stations especially in the morning. One morning, we had to miss couple of packed trains wanting to respect their rules and orderliness. But then came to realities of life, elbowed people and found our way in. Also, it is not a rare sight to see the guard push people into the car to get the automatic doors to close.

The Japanese men and women are small made and don’t occupy much space or multiple seats unlike our American counterparts. Despite being petite there were instructions against manspreading on their Metros. Apart from how to behave, their trains were loaded with advertisements and I couldn’t spot any act of vandalism or defacement.

For 600¥ you can travel for 24-hours and do multiple journeys on the metro. It doesn’t matter if you snoozed on the train and missed your station or changed your plan, you can always do a fare adjustment when you get off the train.

Lastly, the staffs at the Metro stations are extremely helpful and always finished their sentences with Arigatou Gozaimasu (Thank you). Despite being the largest and most densely populated metro in the world, the orderliness, cleanliness in Tokyo and courteousness of its people are astonishing. Yes, Tokyo answers the questions on metros being kind and considerate.

I do carry with me experiences, but not clichés and prejudices and you shouldn’t either. If you still have time, read my experiences from traveling on Metro in India (Alter ego and altered ego; Is life a breeze in this metro) and in Paris (Paris Metro Chronicles; Elles sont difficiles).

Now you know why I admire Tokyo and the Japanese!

Let’s get back to visiting Tokyo in my next blog.

Exams and Friends

Visiting a country is like writing an exam, it requires some preparation and you are tested for your genuineness by the Embassy before you are given the admit card. While I was able to get mine without much trouble, my friend who was joining me on this trip from the US had a harrowing time trying to prove the genuineness of his trip.

The Embassy questioned our accommodations as the travel emails from Booking.com didn't have either of our names. While he tried to convince the Embassy by showing a copy of our tickets and my visa to prove the genuineness of the trip, the remained far from being convinced. They demanded more documentation and the back and forth conversation went on for 10-days and wasn't looking very promising. Should we even visit a country that didn't trust our intent crossed both our minds, but we wanted to prove our genuineness irrespective of our travel.

We had prepared for this exam together and had planned to appear together, but  now it looked like only I might travel. With just 24 hours to our journey the Embassy was still undecided on his candidature. At 3.45 am India time I get a message from my friend informing me that a decision was made. Am I alone on this trip or will he get his visa on time to catch the flight in three hours? And he did!

If the ordeal of getting the admit card was over, we now had to endure the stress of sitting for the exam. We had booked our flights to land an hour apart at Narita and also fixed a spot where we would meet to pick up our JR Rail pass and Ninja Wifi before we head into the city.

But what unfolded when my flight touched down Hong Kong airport turned the exam from a closed book into an open book. I missed the connecting flight and had to take the next flight 3-hours later, but to Haneda and not Narita. How do I get across the message to him and plan my travel from Haneda got to me. Shortly, what clouded my mind was his preparedness to travel on his own into the city and get to the accommodation. I sent him a text message with a hope that he would turn on his mobile upon arrival and boarded my flight to Haneda.

Once I landed at Haneda I had a text message waiting from my friend that instantly brought me relief. He had made it to the city and had in fact checked into the hotel and even finished his dinner at a nearby Indian restaurant. And he had also figured out my travel options and was waiting come at receive me at the Shinobazu exit at Ueno station and take me to the hotel. It is friends who make both life and exams feel like a breeze. Don't you agree?

The Embassy tested our genuineness, will the Japanese people make us feel welcomed and special and our preparedness prove adequate? 

How to plan and enjoy your vacation

Some people like Vasco da gama and Columbus went around the world for a vocation and ended up discovering fortunes and new worlds. But many of us travel for a vacation where we spend our hard earned money to relax, rejuvenate and return with rich memories.

Before we decide on our vacation jaunts many of us tend to ask around for opinions, experiences and budgets. But often, we get jaundiced by perceptions and prejudices and end up missing out on great vacation places. When I decided to book my trip to Japan, I refrained from asking around for opinions. And when I disclosed my travel plans, I was dissuaded citing Japan to be very expensive location, a non-English speaking country to lack of vegetarian food. But I didn’t pay heed to their unsolicited opinions.

After a two week trip in Japan, here I stand on the podium as a self-proclaimed winner and loser. I won against those naysayers by disproving their perceptions and I lost my heart to the country, its people and culture. But before I make the naysayers jealous with my travel experiences and pictures, I would like to share my approach to planning and preparing for a trip.

Have a reason to travel: There must be a fundamental reason why you would want to vacation in a certain place. You should fuel that desire by trying to read up about the place, its culture, history, lifestyle of people, their cuisine, geographical and climatic conditions, etc. to qualify or disqualify the place.

This summer, Australia featured during my conversation with another travel aficionado. But then when we did further reading and research, we decided against traveling there despite English being their native language and playing home to Kangaroos and exotic species in the Great Barrier Reef. Why? Because I didn’t find their culture and history compelling enough to spend my hard earned money and moreover, I was not looking for an opportunity to fill my Face Book page with scenic images to show off my affluence or happiness.

And when I looked up from Australia I spotted this beautiful Island Nation, Japan that was often rattled by earth quakes and nuclear disasters.  But what intrigued me was their faith and resilience. Soon I was mired in a million questions on their culture and faith and wanted to explore the country and experience their customs firsthand.

Do you research: While many jump on package tours, I prefer doing my own research and customizing an itinerary based on my interest. Packaged tours are like canned food – very much unappetizing and unhealthy. One just needs to invest time to match their interests and pick spots of interests before they set out to experience and explore. Though travel guides often do a quick job of outlining culture, places of interest, accommodation, food, transportation, etc., but doesn’t provide to in depth view into culture. When I watched travel videos on Kyoto, a city of thousand temples, I realized the similarities it bore to Kanchipuram and Varanasi and I could guess why our Prime Minister tied up with Kyoto to develop Varanasi. Only when you read and research you can understand the subtle parallels and enjoy the place and culture even more. Otherwise it would be a paralull!

Read their newspapers: An expert traveler understands the social, political and day-today issues before he/she travels into any country. The best way to begin your journey is to start reading an English Daily, develop your own perspective and go beyond guide books. By closely reading one of their dailies I discovered that the famous Tsukiji Fish Market was closing down for good on November 14 and I was able to go there and get an experience despite being a vegetarian. The digital age and social media has made this more easier; by simply following popular newspapers and journalist one can get access to day-today happenings and issues. This is how you can be a more knowledgeable, informed and sensitive traveler distinguishing yourself other vagabonds.

Go beyond guide books: Guide books are written for pedestrian travelers and may never be able to meet individual interests and needs. If you want to see the dark side of a city, throw away the guide books and start self-exploration. When you walk around the city you discover what guide books seldom share. I have been always interested in graffiti and during my visit to East Berlin I joined a paid tour to explore graffiti and learn about squatters. When I was wandering along the streets of Shinjuku in Tokyo, I asked myself could this dirt-free and beggar-free country have homeless and graffiti. And during my explorative walk from Shinjuku to Shibuya, I discovered the underworld that wasn’t describe in any of the guide books. The underpass was filled with graffiti and had a few homeless people. Had I gone with guidebooks, I would have missed a rare sight in this city.

Speak to a local: Most guidebooks and websites often exaggerate on what customs must be observed, traditions to be followed, tourist traps to be avoided and sometimes they forget to keep their material up-to-date. When we finished our dinner at Milan Natraj restaurant at Shibuya and as we got ready about to pay our bill, we realized that tipping at restaurants is considered rude and insulting. A few days later when we were at Tennoji Shrine at Osaka a notice at the entrance in local language warned us against playing their latest craze (Pokeman) at the temple. Though none of us played Pokeman at Tennoji, it is always safe to learn the customs and traditions with a local. While we all want to be a courteous and polite traveler, our actions can offend people inadvertently.

Disconnect from reality: To get enjoy your vacation to the fullest and get the most out of your trip you need to disconnect yourself from reality. Disable office emails on devices, uninstall Face Book, and stop reading newspapers from back home. As you are away you will neither be able to help nor participate and sometimes what you read can make you feel miserable.

A friend of mine on the trip was pre-occupied the day American Election results were out. He was constantly on his mobile checking the status and ended up feeling unhappy about Trump’s triumph. On the same day rest of India was crying and queuing up outside banks with demonization announcement. I had no idea of the pain and two weeks later when I landed at the Airport I felt life was as usual with no disruption. It is good idea to stay disconnected from reality and re-connect when you are back from vacation.

Sumimasen: Travel to me is  very much an intellectual and internal journey as it is fun. Not sure if you would ever want to travel with me after reading this blog, but remember to make your trips fun and memorable.

Get ready for the next one on Tokyo...from guide books to beyond guide books.

Arigatou Gozaimasu!