TOKYO – One blond in 40 million!?

RECAP OF TOKYO

I am leaving this truly unbelievable city somewhat changed.  I may have been a little less shell shocked, had I had the time to research the city prior to my travel.   I leave Tokyo noticing the stark differences from how we live in the Western world:

The trains in TOKYO were alarming to say the least.  I feel like New York is a small village in comparison.  Getting around New York seemed so simple compared to learning the Tokyo rail system.

I was shocked at how few people speak ANY English at all.  Young, old, didn’t matter – they are in their own bubble in Japan.  Even if I asked a question with the word Tokyo?  Tokyo?  They could not understand me saying Tokyo.  It was quite something!! I have always found the concept of language very interesting. Getting instructions in Japanese to a bus I needed to take with symbols I could not decipher, and none of my translator apps were working was a challenge.

The population is 100% mind blowing.  I had to google some stats to understand the phenomenon around me.  Tokyo, Japan’s capital, is the most populous city in the world with over 37 MILLION in habitants.  How did I not know this before I came here? I also googled stats on the railway as I had never imagined such a system.  Google tells me the Greater Tokyo has the most extensive urban railway network and the most used in the world with 40 MILLION passengers (transfers between networks tallied twice) in the metro area DAILY!!!!!!!  Daily.  I believe I saw millions of people during my time in Tokyo.  A little much for this country gal to compute.

The one thought I kept having consistently is, how do elderly people live in this city?  I kept thinking of how my mother could never visit this city.  Every day I have walked between 12,500 – 19,000 steps!  And many of those include long sets of stairs at train stations, up and down, up and down.. sometimes carrying my luggage. 

On the rail system, I learned very quickly that the trains have their own sort of culture.  Though every car, every station, every direction is jam packed, nobody makes eye contact.  100% of the people are staring at their phones / devices.  I sat there many times (or stood) taking it in.  No conversation, only silent rides between stations. 

I did notice that on the weekend trains, people were slightly more social.  People boarded with friends and chatted amongst themselves, mostly the teenagers.  As well, some families with young children on the trains on weekends.  During the week, every train car is jammed full, people are falling out of the doors as they close.  How can such a massive system be insufficient to service these people?

People must be used to the sound of trains.  Even the hours of miles between all cities have rail going through at all hours.

I saw no litter at all, anywhere in Tokyo.  And very few garbage cans anywhere.  On the platform, before boarding a train there was generally a garbage can, or in a washroom but otherwise nothing.  Washrooms were also few and far between.  There may be one per massive area of train stations but really, I saw very few public washrooms.  Where do all these millions of people go to the washroom?  And do they all tote their garbage back home with them?

There are no benches outside or inside anywhere for people to sit.  People move and move and move.  Heading to a destination could mean 3 trains and numerous long sets of stairs up and down in every station.  I do not think I saw one overweight Japanese person in Tokyo and I understand the reason, every person is moving a large portion of the day.  Moving and walking to trains is the primary way to get around in the city.

I saw a total of 5 dogs during my stay in Tokyo, and I hit almost every major district.  The very opposite of my neighbourhood at home where nearly every home seems to have 1 or 2 dogs. 

I saw no high-end housing whatsoever.  Downtown high rises, yes.  But every single ‘house’ I saw was definitely old and run down.  Though clean!  Everything is super clean.  I did ask a couple of people about housing prices and it seemed very in line with West Kelowna where I live, maybe even less!  I was surprised, as I expected it to be much higher. 

I was hard pressed to find another blonde anywhere in Tokyo!  What in the world!?  Even tourists… seemed odd to me, I definitely stuck out like a sore thumb that way.  It was not bothersome, it was just surprising. 

In all my time in Tokyo, I saw ONE homeless person, on my last night.  An older gentleman sitting / sleeping on the sidewalk close to my hotel. 

I did not smell marijuana even one time in the city.  Wow, I cannot leave the house in Canada without smelling it everywhere.  Cigarette smoking seemed more prevalent here in Japan, which is more passe in the West.  No other drugs either.  At home in Kelowna, I cannot walk downtown without seeing countless people yelling out agonizing thoughts while high on the last drug they took.  Tent city takes a lot of space in our city.  Homelessness is a major problem at home.  How, with 37 Million people in one city is there not a homeless / drug problem?

Of the millions of balconies I saw, I scoured every one of them to see humans.  NOT ONE.  Many balconies had clothing hanging out to dry .. but it was an odd feeling to see so many many balconies and no people, ever.  All the people are in the core centers, I do not believe they spend much time at home.

I saw no conflict anywhere in Tokyo.  Not even people getting annoyed. 

I was also surprised by how flat Japan is.  I expected mountains everywhere.  They are in the distance but certainly not among the people in the cities, all land is flat. 

I ride away from Tokyo to Kyoto on this fast train with my personal thoughts and questions.  Initially when I boarded the trains, everybody seemed cold and impersonal to me.  What I quickly realized is the waste of energy it would be to greet literally a million strangers each day.  I am guessing that by the time they get on a train, it is their dead zone time to decompress from work and life.  I too, after Day 3 was closing my eyes if I had a seat, and staring into space if I was standing to gather my thoughts before the next door opens and I’m back in a sea of strangers trying to find my destination. 

It occurred to me as well that living this way would also result in much less drama, less gossip, less worrying about your neighbour.  Nobody concerns themselves with the business of anyone elese.  Great concept! 

Overall, my first impression was that it seemed to me this culture is very suppressed and that they keep all emotion inside.  Present as stoic and impersonal.  I realized over time that this also may be a coping mechanism.  With so many people, it would be the only way to keep sane.  As well, this really seems to be a more self-focused way of living instead of worrying about others and playing the comparing game.  The people I did approach to ask for help were generally sweet, kind and helpful.  One guy, Toshi even rode 2 trains with me just to get me to my destination.  He insisted.  Wow! 

As I leave, I feel less overwhelmed with all the people, I guess just craving a little bit of quiet in a comfy bed.  Being on a budget, I chose a location close to many activities with a single room to myself in Tokyo.  I am grateful for the room I had, but looking forward to a softer pillow, and not a bunk bed.  Grateful for the experience Tokyo.  I am so happy I spent some time here.  I cannot believe I went my entire adult life really knowing nothing about the massive life that happens here. 

On to Kyoto!!

Below is my daily journal.  Probably very boring, but I will keep a record here for myself and anyone who is interested to read.  <3

DAY 1 – Oct 16

Travel, long productive flight learning how to use a blog.  3 meals on my flight wow, like the 80’s when we traveled as a family getting food on flights. 

DAY 2 – Oct 17

My arrival was a disaster.  They would not honour my Japan Rail Pass, which I had purchased and did not bring the piece of paper with me that I never got in the mail… but had full confirmation codes on my email.  $600 down the drain, hope I get a refund on that. 

Getting off my 10-hour flight to a SEA of people and no understanding of their railway system, and shockingly most people do not speak English was a lot.  Even most employees understand very limited English.  I think I’ll send my kids to Tokyo for life skills!! 

After 3 hours at the airport, I pieced together my way to my hotel.  This (and every other destination) consists of generally 3 different trains.  First train has about a dozen stops before mine, 2nd train has a few stops, 3rd is pretty quick, at which point I must walk 15 min to my home.  I have yet to see a fancy or ‘nice’ area in Tokyo with living quarters.  Feels a little dark and seedy walking alone at night up and down stairs by various rail tracks everywhere you go. 

I purposely booked Japan to be a little more ‘roughing it’ style so I could afford to be a little more swanky in the tropical countries.  Sheesh, washroom sinks are just above my knees, and with so many people it’s not easy to find a super quiet corner.  So, I downloaded a white noise app on my phone to drown out any outside commotion and went to sleep.

DAY 3 – Oct 18

Mount Fuji was great albeit we couldn’t see the mountain haha… apparently about half the year it stays hidden due to fog, yet a massive global tourist attraction.  Very cool town up there, Lake Kawaguchi.  Met Sherry and daughter Lisa from London, Ontario and spent the day together .. such a great day.  Until trying to get home, just when I think maybe I can lick this transit system it throws me for several loops. 

Sherry suggested google maps wants me to go to E27 in Shinjuku Station, which by the time I got there was 7 levels underground.  The last escalator down was tilted so people were standing / lying down..  I have never seen anything like it.  Only to find out, my gate is actually JR07.  At this point, fully jet lagged, no sleep, walked 16K+ steps, I made my way back up there only to find out my swipe card is blocked.   It took me forever and 2 different stores to find the right place to help me.  One guy angry because I speak English, the other guy told me I made a mistake that is why my card was blocked.   I asked him ‘I made a mistake?’  Yes, he said, you made a mistake. 

At this point, I didn’t care to try to decipher anything in translation.  I owned it, I made a mistake.. who knows!?  They cleared the mistake and I was off back to try to find JR07.  To take my 3 trains and walk the 15min dark seedy walk home to bed. 

Mount Fuji, then Shinjuku (love Shinjuku!!) was wonderful with Sherry and Lisa.  Slept 4 hours and woke up due to time change.  On to Day 4.

DAY 4 – Oct 19

I woke up just after 3am and stayed awake.  Decided to get up about 4am, man I need to change my clock around or I will be suffering for days from this jetlag.  I grabbed myself a coffee about 4:30-5ish from downstairs and there were 3 people in the lobby drunk from their night out, sharing dating stories with eachother loudly.  I walked in with a housecoat on, much too early for a drunk ‘all the people I have slept with’ convo – wow. 

I RE-purchased my Japan Rail Pass for all my big long rides on the fast train.  Hopefully the other company gives me a refund on the pass I never received. 

I took the train to Tokyo Disneyland.  Met Rei and her family.  She told me she lives in a house in Shinjuku.  I asked for market values on housing.  She paid $560K for her house 10 years ago, which has doubled plus some since then.  Makes sense to me.  We snapped a pic and separated at the park.

Disneyland, you do not have my heart.  The app showed each ride line was 3 hours long.  No thanks.  I walked through, with a blister on each heel from rotating only the 2 new pairs of shoes I brought.  I had 2 wish list items for Disneyland.  One was to eat a Disney churro, the other was to go on the It’s a Small World ride, only because when I was a kid I had a toy baby stroller that when I pulled the string, it played that song.  I think I pulled that string 1000s of times over the years.  A great childhood memory.  Well, the ride was closed only for the day today to change out some parts.  And I did get my churro, though it was flavoured caramel apple or something like that.  It was ok, would have preferred the plain ones they always sell. 

I was in the park for exactly one hour haha.  $100 ticket for one hour was good for me.  I could not wait in a 3 hour line for a ride, and the set up was the same as American Disney but I am glad I went. 

I wanted to find other flip flops since both my shoes rub the blisters on the backs of my heels.  I saw a hundred fancy stores, not one with anything casual like that.  As well it is their winter here so they sell nothing like that.  Tho it feels like our summer. 

After shopping forever for those around Tokyo Station, which is MIND BLOWING…. (Tokyo Station is literally a city.  And across the street, the International Forum is a 5 level mall of all high end restaurants and shopping… unbeilievable to see)  I decided to go home. 

The amount of shopping in Tokyo is to die for.  If you are a shopper, this is the place to be!  Every brand, every style, great food, everything available here!

I guess I missed my exit!  It seemed like a long time for my stop Minami Sonju to come up.  I checked and I had long passed it.  I got off at the next stop.  I asked a man who actually spoke English pretty well.  An engineer who travels for his work so I got lucky.  This man, Toshi said he would walk me to my train, he said it was complicated.  He then proceeded to ride the next two trains with me until my stop.  How unbelievable is that!!  Walked me right to my exit street.  Now that is kind!!

I grabbed an ichiban type meal with a huge water and walked home.  17K steps yesterday, 14K today with time warp.  Getting my steps in for sure!

DAY 5 – Oct 20

Last night I slept 11 hours!  YAYYYYY!!!   

For breakfast, I finished the itchiban bowl I didn’t finish last night - haha.  I headed out to Minami-Senji station.  I thought, I’ll head to Ginza market first.  When I arrived, I a police officer on the street, do you know where Ginza market is?  Oh the questions tourists must ask!!!

He kindly said, this whole area is Ginza.  Haha.. I took a pic with 4 of the police officer together… then walked into Ginza.  WELLLLLLLLL, Ginza must be the Tokyo Rodeo Drive.  Every designer seemed to have a 30+ story building in Ginza!  It was incredible to see. 

I had also wanted to go to Tsukiji Market, which was walking distance from Ginza.  OMG, when I arrived, I hit 100’s of thousand of more people.  WOW!  Biggest fish market I’ve ever seen.  I bought 3 ceramic birds for myself and my kids, which are chopstick holders.  Everyone was buying birds so I thought I better not miss out on this souvenir haha.

I had lunch at a sushi train place, super yum!  Then walked around in wonder.  What an amazing place! 

I decided to try my luck at catching a train from a smaller station.  I somehow got myself to Skytree station.  It is the world’s tallest freestanding tower.  I went to the top.  The amount of floors to get there first filled with designer shops and food was mind blowing.  I bought a quilted tote from CETIN, a Japan brand.  And sat on a glass floor at top of the tower, unbelievable view!  The staggering amount of buildings and size of the city is something to see from up there! 

My last stop of the day was Sensoji Temple in Asakusa.  Oh my Lord, every stop was mind blowing today.  this temple is probably the most famous in Tokyo and probably Japan.  There had to be 1 Million people just at this temple alone today.  I threw in a coin and said a prayer at the front of the temple.  People come from all over the world to say a prayer at this oldest temple in Japan. 

I realized at about 6pm that I had not gone to Shibuya Square.  I had already showered and planned to do some work for the night, in pyjamas after already 11K steps.  I knew I would not be able to let this go so I got up, walked back to the train station, took a few LONG trains to Shibuya, and went to see it.  Of course, I’m glad I did, I would not have forgiven myself not to walk that famous crossing.  Almost missed it.  Another incredible night!   Ended the night with 19K steps.  Good night.

PICS

Kind lady who helped me on my first night in Tokyo when they denied my Japan Rail Pass, I was in tears

My first train ride. The guy wearing white with bag over his shoulder didn't speak a lick of English but nodded to me when to get off after I asked him about my stop, showed him my screen

My first bed on my trip. Private room - check. Luxury - X

The view from across the track everywhere you go in Tokyo

Next 2 pics are with Sherry and her sweet intelligent daughter Lisa

Disney!

Disney castle

Disney It’s a Small World

Stroller memory of me taking the kids to Disneyland as well as Disneyworld. We took in a stroller of food, I couldn’t afford to take them as well as buy Disney food so we took in sandwiches and water. It worked!

Space Mountain, so many memories of going on this ride 100x in a row when we were kids there were no lines, my parents not even with us. Also showing my Disney churro :)

Bye Disney!

Toshi rode 2 trains with me to get me to my exit. Instead of explaining, it was complicated, he rode with me home. How kind is that!

Day 4 same outfit! Japan gets same outfit every day 9 days I guesss..

Fish market

Sky Tree next 2 pics

Temple and prayer

Kind bus driver who helped me get off at the right stop with no English

Free umbrella program all over the city?

Shibuya Crossing

Mall across from Tokyo Station, WOW!!!