Nihongo Notes

Tokyo was the first and last place of my tour of Japan in May. The best day I had there was actually my last day in Japan. I spent the day with a friend I’d made online. We’d been talking in English and Japanese for a while and she was kind enough to show me around Tokyo. However, rather than describe a whole day, I’ve decided to pick a few of my favourite moments from the 4 days I spent in Tokyo.

Food

The first memory of Tokyo, and closest to my heart, is food! The food in Tokyo, and the rest of Japan, was amazing. My favourite was in a sushi bar across the road from Harajuku station. It was busy, with everyone sat around the conveyor belt that weaved its way around the room. I sat on a stool and waited with 2 friends from the tour. We were taken over to our seats and we began to pick random plates from the conveyor belt. Everything tasted amazing! We also attempted to order directly from the chef, but the language barrier meant we ended up with something different… we ate it anyway!

Sumo

I was lucky enough to be in Tokyo at the right time to see a Sumo tournament. I can now say I am a big fan of Sumo! We queued in the morning for tickets and then returned later in the evening for the big matches. It was great fun and everyone got into the action, shouting “Come on blue pants!”. We didn’t know their names, so we named them after their pants, but everyone around us was shouting louder so I don’t think they noticed. I’m going to see another tournament in September and I can’t wait!

Sanja Matsuri

I did a little adventuring on my own on the first 2 days of my trip and what an adventure! I went to Asakusa for the Sanja Matsuri festival and it was a really fun day.

Akihabara

Akihabara is strange. I like the electronic stores and the arcades but you have to be careful not to end up surrounded by porn DVDs. Not that I mind, but it’s a little weird when you’re casually browsing through the comedy films to find yourself facing a shelf full of porn films with a guy next to you inspecting the back of one of the DVDs. I decided not to go to a maid cafe. It was all a little too weird for me. Maybe another time.

Harajuku

Harajuku was fun. There were people near the station dressed up in all sorts of costumes simply standing there. I loved the “Free Hug” people and the gothic girls were cute. I felt sorry for some of them because they had massive crowds around them taking photo after photo like a pack of paparazzi, but I guess that’s why they’re there.

Shinjuku

I arrived just as the evening started and as I walked around taking photos of the neon lights I was amazed at how busy it was getting. By the time I left the place was flowing with masses of people.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building was brilliant, when I finally arrived… First of all the taxi driver took me to the Metropolitan hotel instead. So what should have cost me a few pounds ended up as £20. The observation floor is free to access, but I would gladly have paid £20 to see the view, so I didn’t mind too much!

My strongest impression

The friend I mentioned above took me to the Rikugien Garden. It looked like a really nice place, however we arrived just after closing time! So we walked around the outer wall and I was struck by the silence and peacefulness of the area. Just moments ago we’d been walking along a busy road surrounded by high-rise buildings. This had become a recurring theme throughout Japan, but especially in Tokyo. One moment my senses were being blasted by foreign sounds and sights and the next moment I was in a peaceful area surrounded by trees, shrines and temples.

Tokyo has a special place in my heart and so does the friend I met on my last day, because she’s now my girlfriend. I have a lot of good memories of Tokyo and I hope to make plenty more when I return in September. I’ll be spending a whole week in Tokyo this time, so I will have much more to talk about when I return!

This is my entry into the Japan Blog Matsuri!