On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
Last year, in the spring of 2019, Captain C spent two weeks traveling in Japan, a dream fulfilled. This is the first of several posts from this trip that we’ll see over the next few months. With longer sets of photos, I’ll introduce the series with the first submission, and then let the rest speak for themselves. Today we are in Tokyo! ~WaterGirl
Captain C
In late March and early April of 2019 I was able to fulfill a long-time travel dream of mine, and visit Japan for two weeks. I started out in Tokyo (where I got to stay with a friend of mine, we’ll call him C), and then went to Kyoto and Osaka before returning to Tokyo for a few more days. My trip coincided with cherry blossom season, which was both by design and happily timed.
These photos are from my first couple days in Tokyo.
Normally for a long flight, I prefer an aisle seat if possible, the easier to get up and go for a walk, but for my first trip to Japan (and indeed, over the Pacific), I was happy to get a window seat. I sat next to an elderly Japanese couple, who basically adopted me for the flight after I tried using some of the 30-50 or so Japanese words I learned from the Pimsleur courses I’d been taking before the trip. It turns out the word gozaimasu is a very good word to learn.
This is a picture of JFK taken shortly after takeoff.
I left NYC on a Sunday afternoon, and arrived in Tokyo on a Monday. My friend C met me at Haneda, and took me back to his place (and to a soba joint for dinner). The next day, we went to the Edo-Tokyo museum, which is kind of shaped like a post-modern Samurai helmet.
If you’re at all into history, it’s a must-visit if you’re ever in Tokyo, a fascinating museum which documents the entire history of the fishing village that eventually became Tokyo, one of the great world cities.
There are so many interesting exhibits and dioramas in the Edo-Tokyo museum that it’s impossible to do them all justice. So I picked a couple representative ones.
This is a screen painting depicting Edo before the great fire in 1657. As per the label, “there are several theories as to the dating of the screen.”
This is a replica of a bookstore of light fiction and prints, circa 1800 or so. Books and prints were increasingly popular in this period of Edo history.
Unlike many large cities, Tokyo is not organized around one central downtown. Rather, it is organized into neighborhoods, often centered around a train station (Japan has an excellent rail system. I’m positively jealous). My friend C lives in Nakano, and near the train station is a shopping mall called Nakano Broadway. It has the usual variety of food, clothes, and other stores, and second floor is dominated by about 8 or 9 stores called Mandrake, each of which sells a slightly different set of manga and other collectibles. This is one of them. The net effect is not unlike if Comic Con exploded.
As C had to work, after checking out Nakano Broadway, I headed east to the Asakusa neighborhood (described by C as “old-school Tokyo”), to visit Senso-ji temple, Tokyo’s oldest temple.
After spending some time on the Senso-ji grounds, I headed east across the Sumida River to the Tokyo Skytree, a recently-built TV tower that tops out at 634 meters, with observation decks at 350 and 450. I stopped to explore Sumida Park along the way, which is where I took this photo.
Phylllis
My dream trip is London/Oxford/Bath, but Japan is gaining on it. Journeys in Japan on PBS is must-see TV for me. These photos are lovely; looking forward to the the next installment.
Yutsano
Fun fact: the longer your honorifics are in Japanese the more “polite” you sound. It’s a language which a lot of subtlety, which is why some Japanese believe their language is too hard for foreigners to learn. So even just using a few phrases correctly will get you some massive brownie points in Japan. Even more so if you can read without too much assistance.
raven
I got to be there for about 30 minutes 50+ years ago!
J R in WV
I too would rank Japan on my doomed to never be well attacked bucket list. Would like to walk the path from Inn to Inn, taking the water at each one, and sail the Inland Sea. That’s a metaphor, son.
Thanks for the virtual trip, fine pix, too!
MazeDancer
Excellent photos and story. Look forward to more.
tokyocali (formerly tokyo expat)
Thank you for this. I’ve lived here more than I’ve lived in the US. There’s a great deal that still delights the senses, but it’s always wonderful to be reminded of how Japan hits people for the first time. There’s a great deal to explore in Tokyo and beyond, from traditional crafts handed down generations, to historical sites far older than the good old US of A, to quirky spots that are just so Japanese. For all of you who have it on your bucket list, I hope you get the chance to visit. You won’t be disappointed.
The Pale Scot
Must mean Godzilla’s coming! RUN!!
Miss Bianca
Oh, Japan! So hoping to get there before I die! Thank you for these photos!
Robert Sneddon
@Yutsano: I go with the three “en”s as the basics for anyone visiting Japan.
“Gomen”. I’m sorry, it can be extended by adding “nasai” to mean very sorry.
“Sumimasen”. Excuse me.
“Wakarimasen”. I don’t understand.
They will indicate to Japanese people that you’re trying very hard to be polite and that effort will get you a long way.
Minor correction — the shops in Nakano Broadway and elsewhere are Mandarake, not Mandrake. I usually visit the one in Akihabara just off Chuo-dori (the Black Tower) as it sells a lot of older and second-hand stuff, including toys and the like.
Crusty Dem
This was my summer trip. Had it all planned and paid for. Fortunately I got nearly all of the money back, but so sad I didn’t get to see it. Hope to make it there soon…
Laura Too
This is so wonderful! Thank you for sharing the beauty. When lockdown was in full force here we watched the quirky series of James May Our Man in Japan. What a delight, and lots off the beaten path that tourists would never find. It is our dream to visit there. At least until then I can visit through these.
Emma
Glad you had a good time! Narita Airport used to be my family’s layover spot between Seattle and Singapore, and one year, my parents decided to make it a 3-day layover on the way back. Yes, turns out 3 days in late August was not the best idea, in terms of temperature. On the first night, we tried shabu shabu (next to some loud Americans lol), and the next day, I fell ill. Not from food poisoning, but as if I’d caught the flu, just felt so tired and crappy, although to this day, thinking of shabu shabu still makes me a bit nauseated. But I had museums and shit to see, dammit.
Turned out the National Museum was closed that year for earthquake renovation, and the only thing I remember about the other major museum I did get to see was that it only had captions in Japanese. (I’m the type that could spend a whole time between lunch and dinner in a museum, so that sucked.) There was a nice small museum that focused on Art Noveau, I think, so that was probably my favorite thing in all of Tokyo that I got to see.
Honestly, my main memory of Tokyo was the one night we tried an izakaya that a family friend had recommended, because the food was good plus the upstairs room was where Mishima Yukio did some writing. Or something. It turned out so awkward, with the Japanese proprietor hustling us upstairs while the all-Japanese patrons gawked at the Asian tourists speaking English (my brother’s Level 1 Japanese was sadly not enough to ingratiate us to the head lady). The nicest interactions we had were from the Chinese waiter, who I think was just happy to speak Mandarin to my mom, even though my mom’s Mandarin is only sorta-kinda-OK. The waiter was our only point of contact with the restaurant, and we just relied on her recs for what dishes were good. Meanwhile, we were baking in a 37 degrees C attic with semi-functioning air-con. Maybe we were getting the true Mishima experience, after all.
The food was good, as it was in all the other places we tried in our short time there, but I didn’t have the greatest time there, even if I hadn’t been sick. Being used to the variety of cuisines in Singapore and the US, 3 days straight of Japanese restaurants was also a bit much. But oh well, maybe one day I’ll have the chance to see another part of Japan, where I won’t be felled by a mysterious illness.
KrackenJack
@Yutsano:
Noted physicist and bongo drummer Richard Feynman famously gave up on learning Japanese when he found out that that there are different words based on your relationship to the listener. e.g. my hovel versus your palace. Check out Kiego for more details.
Also there are different words for the same thing depending on your gender. That caused a lot of consternation among the students in the classes I took.
I’ll note that it was very hard to get constructive criticism while I was in Japan. Any Westerner fumbling their way through a sentence was treated as a prodigy.
Just don’t speak it too well. The difficulty of the language is a point of pride for the Japanese. I knew two university-level speakers (N1 on the JLPT) who had both experienced some resentment from actual Japanese for their facility.
Captain C
@Phylllis: Thanks!
@Yutsano:
That was my understanding, and with etiquette, too. That is, it’s too much for a foreigner to learn properly, so if you’re trying and being respectful, most people will appreciate it.
@J R in WV: Thanks! I hope you get to go.
@MazeDancer: Thanks! Lots more to come.
@tokyocali (formerly tokyo expat): It was definitely good to have a friend there who could show me a few cool things that I wouldn’t have found on my own.
Seconded.
@Robert Sneddon:
I don’t think I learned ‘Gomen’, but the other two definitely came in handy, especially “sumimasen.”
Ah, yes–as I’m a long-time fan of Dr. Strangelove, you can understand the confusion on my part. Regardless, I’m glad Manga is one of those things I appreciate but am not totally fanatical about, as I would surely have needed another suitcase or two for the return flight.
@Crusty Dem: I hope so too.
@Emma: Yeah, spring or fall would probably be the best times for a visit. I hope you make it back and have a better time.
Thanks for the compliments! Many more photos from this trip to come…
Captain C
Hey, did my reply here get eaten or put into moderation? (If the former, I’ll try and redo tomorrow.)
WaterGirl
@Captain C: More than 7 links in a comment throws you into spam. I released your comment this morning.
Stick to 7 or fewer and you’ll be good. 8 or more, and the comment has to be manually approved.
Captain C
@WaterGirl: Of course. I was trying to be slick and get every reply into one comment :^).