I’ve had the luck and luxury of traveling to Japan in my previous life for work. Those trips were intense, scary, interesting, and took me way out of my comfort zone. Hopefully they were also productive and meaningful for my past employer and for the Japanese folks I met and worked with when I was there.
When I traveled for work I met a lot of Japanese from my company who tried to teach me a bit about their country, their culture, and their way of doing things. Unfortunately for me, I was there, to a large extent, to try to get them to do some things differently, which didn’t always go over very well.
This trip was totally the opposite of work. I was there to learn and enjoy. I wanted to learn their culture, see their history, take in their architecture, and learn about their food – the way they cook, serve, and eat it. I was able to accomplish most of what I set out to do, and in addition I was able to spend time with an interesting Japanese person I’d met through social media who had a common interest in photography, Canada, and the Philippines.
I began the trip in a place that was familiar to me in name and by its rail station, but not much else. If you’re staying in Tokyo, it’s a place I highly recommend – Shinjuku. I am familiar with Shinjuku because it is a (the?) major commercial and administrative center in Japan and, as I understand it, has the busiest rail station in the world, named aptly, Shinjuku Station. Shinjuku is one of the liveliest areas of Tokyo for nightlife, lights, food, and shopping.
One of the first places I ate was a working man’s ramen diner where you order from a ticket machine and wait for a space at the counter. Tickets are taken through an opening in the wall in front of you and the meal is presented via the same opening.
Tokyo is beautiful at night and a great place to see this is from the Observatory Deck of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (the North Building is open until 11:00 p.m.).
The Imperial East Garden is a terrific day visit. I entered through the Otemon Gate and wandered the beautiful Ninomaru Garden. The gardens, moats, and some guard houses still stand from the Edo Castle site of the Tokugawa shogun for some 250 years. There are also the foundation remains of the castle tower.
I traveled Japan with a Filipino who was amazing at getting around using the wonderful Japan rail system. We purchased passes for the duration of our visit and made use of them every day. One thing we didn’t understand at first was how connected these passes were for tourists. There were even some buses and boats that were “paid” using the pass. If you’re going to do a lot of traveling in Japan, look into getting one for yourself here.
I met a Japanese friend for a day trip to Asakusa, as well as Tokyo Skytree and book talk.
Omoide Yokocho (alleyway of ramen, soba, sushi) is a tiny road with loads of little places to eat. Not a very pretty name in English, ‘piss alley’, it’s a popular place in Shinjuku. We ate in a place that wasn’t phone friendly, which is unusual for Asia and Japan in general, but there was a very prominent sign right outside the door that banned cameras (phones actually, but it’s all I had at the time). At least I was able to capture a picture of the outside.
I felt very safe in Tokyo. I’m not a big night person, but even so, walking around at all hours did not seem like much of an issue (and most tourist comments will confirm that). Of course there is always the possibility of a problem, so I recommend you don’t do things that you would not normally take a chance on. And please remember, you’re a guest in a foreign country. Act like a guest. Be polite, be neat, and treat the differences you observe with respect, just as you expect to be treated.
I will insert a map of the area I visited, along with a Tokyo rail system map, below. While it looks complex (and I guess it is) it was actually much easier to get around than I expected using the Japan rail line app. I recommend you do your research before you go and it will be much easier!
This was the beginning of a fun and educational trip to Japan. I’ll be posting about other places I visited while on this trip in the near future.
