In five days, we approximately spent one full day inside the complex 90-year old Tokyo subway train system and there’s definitely a different world down there. Rush hour or not, the locals would remain composed as they queue up, no one’s rushing and nobody’s annoyed. If there’s one thing that lingers on about my recent trip to Japan, it is the virtue of being calm amidst all the hustles of the world. I never dreamt of coming to Tokyo, really, but this highly urbanized city isn’t as cold and lifeless as I would expect it to be. In fact, I felt the total opposite.
I never had any leaning towards big cities and fast-paced life; I find
it cold and lifeless like what I remembered feeling when I first stepped in
Singapore some years ago. My constant travel buddies who’ve been to Tokyo a few
times already wanted me to reconsider what I thought I knew. So when a promo
fare for a roundtrip Manila to Tokyo flight came, they immediately
booked an early autumn trip for the gang without me knowing it.
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| Tokyo's Skytree (tallest structure in Japan) as seen from Asakusa |
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| Stillness at Tokyo Metro |
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| Vendo-operated Restaurant |
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| There are lockers everywhere especially in Tokyo Metro |
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| Calm. Composed. Chaos. |
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| Early morning in Asakusa |
Tokyo Metro
is the subway train system in downtown Tokyo that has 13 main color-coded lines
and almost 285 stations. Of all the urban jungles I’ve visited, the train
system in Japan is the most complex yet very efficient. We purchased a 72-hour Unlimited Tokyo Subway Pass for a discounted rate which saved us tons of money and time as we
tend to get lost a number of times (poor research problems).
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| Autumn light packing |
Asakusa
It was drizzling when we emerged from the Asakusa station (orange line). With our
backpacks in tow, we braved the incessant light rain as we struggled to search
for our hotel. It was my first taste of Tokyo—wet, well-organized, and
expensive. As we tried to keep our cool, we still had the time to look for a
cheap breakfast place. Cheap in Japan standards, I must say, is different from all our other Asian trips. We ended up having our first meal on a famous fastfood
chain where I had a simple cheeseburger (which can actually buy three burgers back home).
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| Orange Street at Asakusa |
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| Senso-ji Temple at midnight |
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| Asakusa shops at night. |
Shibuya
The scenes from the Japanese movie Hachiko touched me in a very special way. I
don't have any inclinations with dogs, or pets for that matter, but the first
thing that came into my mind when we emerged from the Shibuya station (purple, orange and brown lines) was how Hachi fervently waited for his master at
the train station during the 1920s. His love and loyalty nine years after his
master’s death was remarkable.
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| Hachiko statue |
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| The famous Shibuya Crossing-the busiest crosswalk in the world. |
And, it's just a plain crossing. I've seen this
scene when we were in the party area of Lan Kwai Fong in Hong Kong but it was more
frenzied in Tokyo. A good mix of tourists and locals were included on the
bunch. It was a sure fun way to really get a sense of what it feels like to be
in this vibrant city.
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| Shibuya shopping |
We weren't satiated much so we grabbed another
chow on a ramen restaurant which I didn't enjoy that much (it's just me though
and my disinclination with noodle soups).
Shinjuku
We woke up on a rainy Friday on our second day
in Tokyo. The group decided to do a side trip on a nearby prefecture (district)
to get a nice spot for Mt. Fuji sighting, to no avail.
Our jump-off and drop-off point was Shinjuku station (red line). We got
back to downtown Tokyo after our Hakone adventure on the evening, still with
incessant rain. With nothing to do, we checked out BIC Camera store with its
jaw-dropping Japan-made camera stuff which made us hoard everything we needed
(and wanted). My buddies got cameras, drones and I went home with a new lens
for my camera (which was thousands cheaper compared to the ones they have in
Manila).
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| Shinjuku at night |
On our third night, we still went to Shinjuku
and checked out the famous Omoide Yokocho
or Memory Lane. The infamous area for
yakitori (skewered barbecued meat)
was actually an illegal drinking quarter during the 1940s. Locally known as Piss Alley because of the absence of
restroom facilities before, it’s now famous for its cramped food stalls and
cheap beer, again, cheap in Japan standards (I have to emphasize this every chance I have. Haha).
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| Shinjuku's infamous "Piss Alley" |
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| Cramped. Cheap beer. Salarymen. Fun night. |
Akihabara
It was still raining on our fourth day and a
super typhoon is coming its way to Tokyo, bad timing, I know. But instead of
sulking, we grabbed this chance to indulge in techie haven on, again, BIC
Camera Shop. But this time, we got off at Akihabara
station (gray line) and explored this lively area.
The vibe was hip, food is cheaper, people are
more relaxed and shops are everywhere. Akihabara is made more famous by the
electronic shops and funky themed cafés around (like the maid café or the anime
café).
Camera lens and other gear were our target for
that day. We got a great deal on shopping because of the on-the-spot tax-free
counter (8% less the original price) plus additional 5% off when we used our
credit cards. Totally amazing!
Odaiba
There's this huge robot that everyone is raving
about. My robot childhood started and ended with Voltes V which I couldn't
remember much—I'm no cartoon person, that's why. We set foot on Odaiba, a man-made
island in Tokyo Bay which was originally made for defensive purposes but has
now turned into a shopping and entertainment district. We went away from our
usual subway train and boarded the new transit waterfront line and got off at Daiba station.
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| Odaiba Statue of Liberty and Rainbow Bridge |
Gundam, it's Gundam and not Daimos, Carla. My friends were laughing
at me as I try to guess who the robot was and failing each time.
The show was about to start when we got there. My
friends were amused to see the newer version of Gundam. Flashbacks of scenes
from the show started to flash at the building. I was too engrossed in watching
at the projected scenes while the huge robot was showing off with its small
robotic moves. I almost clapped and cheered at the end when I noticed that
people started to disperse. Why weren’t
they moved, I kept on thinking.
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| Larger then life Gundam |
Ueno
We were all packed and ready to leave Tokyo at
around six. It was the morning after a super typhoon hit the
city. But then, I felt an urge to check if our flight will be delayed and my
hunch was right.
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| One of the shrines at Ueno Park |
Our bags were packed, plus we had some spare
money to last that day. We went to wherever our hearts leaned to and it spoke
of Ueno.
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| Ueno Toshogu Shrine |
We roamed around and got lost at the park which
was originally part of the Kaneiji Buddhist Temple in 17th century. We chanced
upon a couple of temples which were both closed during that time because of the
inclement weather the day before.
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| Calm after the storm |
Prices here
are surprisingly low compared to supermarkets and other shops. You can find
just about anything here such as Anello bags, Kit Kat chocolates and other Japanese thingamajigs. We didn’t have spare money to spend so we just
roved the market alleys.
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| Ameyayokocho Market |
Tokyo Tower
When my buddy asked me for a specific spot I'd
like to check out, Tokyo Tower came into my mind. It was just a tower according
to him, and there’s nothing special about it, he added. But I wanted to go
anyway, so we did.
The sky was clear and blue the moment we emerged
from Kamiyacho station (gray line). The
glaring red tower stood out from the rest of the structures. I took a quick
snap and told my buddy that one photo is fine with me. He then suggested that we
should go to the base of it for a closer look at the second tallest structure
in Japan after the Tokyo Skytree.
It was just a
tower, yes, but what sets it apart from the rest was its red color that popped
out from the blue sky and lush greeneries. I kinda liked it though. I
could imagine it turning into a romantic chill spot at night with spotlights
and all. We have to go back to Tokyo for that.
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| Tokyo Tower |
Meiji Shrine
We still have enough time to visit another spot
and found ourselves rushing through the most famous Shinto shrine in Tokyo. We
got off at Meiji-jingumae/Harajuku station (blue-green and brown lines) and raced
our way through this 70-hectare forest in the middle of Tokyo.
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| Torii at Meiji Shrine's entrance |
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| Sake barrels collection at Meiji Shrine |
We reached
the main complex of shrine buildings after a hasty 10-minute walk. There were
improvements going on at that time for the shrine’s 100th year in 2020 so we
only got the chance to see the main shrine from a distance.
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| Entrance to the main shrine |
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| Kimono kind of day |
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Five days isn’t enough to explore Tokyo. The eccentric mix of ultramodern and traditional can be felt and seen in the structures, locals and the culture itself. The fast-paced life was surprisingly hushed by the subtlety of the Japanese people. It felt weird and calming altogether. I still couldn’t find the exact words that could define my feeling towards Tokyo. It will all be just confusing and conflicting words.
And I love it, I love getting lost in Tokyo. And I suppose I will intend to get lost again here, someday, somehow. I’m sure of it.
Check
for discounted Tokyo accommodations here.
would love to get lost in Tokyo too :) Sarap mag photowalk dyan :)
ReplyDeleteSuper True! :)
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