Tokyo (とうきょう)
The first day. All about finding your bearings, isn’t it. Well, we did, and we didn’t, in equal measure.
A hint at the Japanese way (absolutely not meant in a patronising way) was dropped on us during the flight over. We flew with All Nippon Airways (ANA); direct flight from London Heathrow to Tokyo (Haneda): 14 hours. Come the in-flight meal, we were handed a laminated card. A simple choice, A or B, with an image of each menu option. Not unlike this assortment of culinary delights displayed in the window of a restaurant in Shibuya that we passed by this afternoon.
Easy to see as off-putting but, if artificial (plastic, in my language), the price is clearly displayed, as is a 3-dimensional model of that you may choose to purchase and consume.
It couldn’t be simpler than that, could it? Apply the same logic – as it is – to the Tokyo transportation system, and there the fun begins. As we found out, boldly stepping out, with our ambitious plan for this, our first day in wonderful Tokyo. More of that to follow.
We are staying at the Marunouchi Hotel, close by Tokyo Station. First off, we walked across to the area around the Imperial Palace. A wide open space, as we wanted to move after a long day of travelling, yesterday.
Every tree has its own personality, don’t you think? We are looking forward to meeting Japan’s very own model of trees over the coming weeks. It came as no surprise to witness the gardens by the palace being so tenderly groomed by a team of gardeners. The trees bear witness to the care afforded them over many years.
Then we headed over to Jimbocho, an extraordinary book lover’s idyll.
The images don’t do the area justice, certainly in terms of scale, for Jimbocho is made up of hundreds of such establishments.
That done, fuelled by coffee and lunch (cheese and seaweed sandwich + baked cheesecake) we headed for something quite different, the shopping district in Shibuya. And this is where we return to the logic discussed at the head of this post – as applied to the Tokyo transportation system.
The information is all there, in code: letters, numbers, code… Just follow it…
Long story short, we got there, eventually! It all makes perfect sense. It’s the application that is the hard bit. The logical simplicity rubs up against the scale of the system itself. I am stating that as fact. It is my excuse and I stand by it. Fathom this… when in London, for example, you make your way up from the underground and might be faced by up to 4 exits onto the street? Well, when in Tokyo, you really are faced with a subterranean world and many, many, many more exits (and so, entrances, for that matter). It’s finding the correct entrance, and then exit, that proved the ultimate challenge. In doing so, you make your way across vast underground concourses, following an array of signage. Let your attention wander and you can, quite literally, find yourself half a mile down the road from your originally intended point of egress.
All that said, we did it, we patted each other on the back, heartily, and had a ball in Shibuya…
And then, come the evening, we enjoyed a well earned (and found!) bite to eat + beer in the crazy world that is Shinjuku…
Bring on tomorrow, we are loving the Tokyo vibe and cannot wait to explore further!
Final word:
Everywhere is very busy but calm and orderly. Nobody seems motivated to go against the flow: no crossing of the road until the green light flashes; orderly lines up stairs and escalators, all standing to the left. Although, late at night, as we wended our weary way home to base, I did discover to my horror that…
Sailing off to Sparta 
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