4 Days in Tokyo

Konnichiwa!

Wow. How to begin? I'll start by saying that Tokyo was without question one of the best experiences of my life. I didn't have any expectations and it all happened so fast I had very little time to prepare. Consequently I didn't do a lot of research and was completely bolled over. The only understanding I had of the Japanese culture was based on images projected to the Western world and I subscribed to all of them: reserved, polite, traditional, submissive - all the stereotypes. The reality being that while these things do exist in limitation they are not the overarching qualities of a Japanese life. There are so many contradictions. You'll find bowing aplenty but you're liable to get a surprising view up a young girl's skirt since the typical attire is a micro mini with garter belts, knee socks and heels. I'm sure it's just a fashion statement - although I learned that casual sex is widespread and condom shops and timely rate hotel rooms are common - but sweet innocents look like ladies of the evening. One of these little tarts could be seated on a train next to a woman donning a traditional kimono with obi and little wooden shoes. Maybe contrast is a better word. And such contrasts are glaring... like eating or smoking cigarettes while walking on the street is poo-pooed but public urination is perfectly acceptable. Mind you, most public toilets are nothing more than holes in the ground anyway.

Japan is the size of California with nearly half the entire population of the USA. With as many as 15 million people crowding into Tokyo it's insanely busy. There is so much visual stimulation vying for your attention that I felt like I was about to have a seizure with all the neon, flashing lights, jumbo-trons and other advertisements on a continuous feed. Everyone rushes around to and fro at all hours of the day and night. It feels like you're in an ant farm. I hope I get the opportunity to return and visit the countryside and small villages to really get a taste of Japan and her traditions. I met a European woman who said the best skiing she's ever done in her life is near Sapporo to the North. Japan encompasses 6000 islands and home to great seismic tumult. There is an entire region where natural hot springs erupt in boiling little pools.

I arrived to see the last of the cherry blossoms through the filter of a peachy sunset sky, a persimmon shade I've only seen in Asian paintings and silkscreens. After settling in at the hotel in a room so small we couldn't spread out our luggage but with the best shower I've ever had in my life, we set out in search of a good meal. Ameyoko, literally meaning American Alley, was just around the corner from our hub. During wartime this famous bazaar was the black market purchasing place for nylon hose, chocolate, cigarettes, etc. but nowadays you can find cheap designer label knockoffs, fresh fish marketeers, a litany of noodle shops and Pachinko parlors. For those of you not familiar with Pachinko it's a game like pinball that the Japanese are completely addicted to. Gambling is illegal so they play for coupons or tokens which can be exchanged for prizes but often they are sold for cash in the back room. Tokyo was practically decimated during the war so much of it's construction is more modern. It's a place where the avant guard designers come to express themselves amongst what remains of ancient temples and shrines. The city, every square inch accounted for, is webbed with all these little alley ways and walk streets where boutiques and amazing restaurants mash up for an extraordinary experience for the senses.

I was lucky enough to have an American chaperone whose made Tokyo his home. It is a very closed society and outsiders are not readily welcome. I experienced this first hand in Yakitori Yokocho in Shinjuku the night I was on my own. If you don't speak Japanese, btw, you're screwed. There is very little English spoken. My friend had left and it was pouring rain but that wasn't going to keep me from the yakitori that had evaded me the previous nights. Yakitori alley is made up of shack upon shack where yakitori, chucks of skewered meat and vegetables, is grilled in front of you. The spaces are so small with just a tiny lunch counter and five or six stools. Most of them were full but I found one with an empty seat and I tried to make myself blend in. The man behind the counter asked me if I knew so and so and when I replied no he said "no sit" and waged his finger at me. I was ousted as a gaijin (foreigner)! So much for blending in. I was waved into another shack where other Westerners were welcome too. I had 1/2 dozen skewers and a beer. If you order a beer you'll get the jumbo size as drinking is a central part of Japanese culture. It is considered a faux-pas to pour your own drink - you must wait for someone else to do it for you. It's a yummy and cheap way to eat. But beware they charge you for the "complimentary " bamboo shoots if you eat it.

As I was saying it helps to tag along with someone who speaks fluent Japanese and has been accepted into their circles. After a pint of "harf 'n harf" (a black and tan) we hooked up for oden. Oden is a traditional winter meal often made with eggs, daikon, meat and whatever else. So we duck into another alley and push back the shoji screen where the mama san heartily greets our host. Some of them are tatami style and shoes are to be left outside. Japanese business men are required to entertain clients and colleagues at least a couple nights a week so these dens are perfect to grab a drink and a small bite. Like I mentioned drinking is core to city life but it is always accompanied by some yummy little bits and bobs. When we entered we were the only three inside. The sake started flowing and I tasted the freshest most amazing sashimi squid ever. The rooms are tiny little places with a small grill and fridge in the center square. The mama san acquires the freshest seasonal things ahead of time and spends minimal time preparing the little appetizers. It is a wonderful way to eat and experience different flavors. Shortly after our arrival 2 men came in and commented on the fact that we foreigners were inside even joking that he didn't want to set his briefcase down because it was full of cash. Another moment passed and a famous Manga cartoonist showed up. Then three Swedish guys, one of them the Ambassador to Japan, squeezed in and our host happened to know them. What a wonderful night full of great conversation and first experiences. From there we went to a Belgian beer bar for more delicious goodies and, my favorite, trapiste beer. We were in celebratory mode after a stellar meeting earlier in the day and it was a great stress relief to just kick up our heels and party. What's a jaunt in Tokyo without a little karaoke? The karaoke bars are not like they are here where you get up on a makeshift stage and sing in front of the entire criticizing bar. You actually rent a little booth and can record yourself if you wish.What a hoot. So easy to lose track of time when you're having so much fun by the time we knew it the last train had chugged on down the track hours ago. A $60 dollar cab ride later put us back in our room at 3am.

Another great day is looming after sleeping in 'til 8:30. We'd been up so early the other days because the sun awakes at 5am and the city starts buzzing right around then, particularly since our hotel room was nestled between the train tracks and a thoroughfare. We spent the better part of the morning talking with other travelers and then decided to head out for a leisurely stroll in Omotesando, one of Tokyo's shi-shi neighborhoods. Michael remembered a special coffee house so we set out to find it. We climbed the teeny stairwell - all the stairwells are so small I felt like I had to tuck my elbows in to keep from touching the walls - to the second floor and entered a rustic room with a long coffee bar and a few tables. It was simply and tastefully decorated with ancient artifacts, books and gorgeous bronze ash trays (everybody smokes), everything sooty and oily with the film of coffee. The first thing I noticed coming through the door was the soothing and familiar fragrance of fresh roasted coffee. But what's special about this place is the gentleman seated in front of an open flame HAND ROASTING the coffee! The beans are nestled in a wire mesh basket resembling a bird's nest affixed to a bracket hovering over the flame and hand-turned over the fire with tender loving care. When the beans are ready they are transfered into a think greasy bag and then dumped into a large shallow basket and spread out to cool. The man then fans the beans further cooling them before they are ready to go into an old fashioned grinder. We ordered cafe au lait and watched as our most scrumptious cup 'o joe was handmade from start to finish. The process is like a tea ceremony. The water is boiled and placed in a silver tea pot. The beans come out of the grinder and the grounds for each cup are gently spooned into a small linen receptacle with a wooden handle. Not a word is exchanged behind the bar but I suspect the barista is the roasters wife. She positions the cotton sac over antique crockery and pours the boiling water over the grounds as the fresh roasted and ground coffee filters into the bowl. What an experience! And the best cup of coffee I've ever had. It was Michael's mission to make sure I got to indulge in some traditional treats. We had been roaming around town visiting different shrines and temples, even stumbled upon an earth day festival in Yoyogi park and he was determined to find a place to eat daifuku, which is mochi (a doughy rice mixture) with red bean paste inside sweetened like jam accompanied by a bowl of matcha, a supreme, finely ground, shade-grown tea. A fantastic combination for the taste buds. We also enjoyed a hand-roll size ball of rice smeared with miso and plum. I have to say the food in Tokyo is some of the best quality I've ever tasted. They don't over-process food like we do. We even had unbelievable Indian Food for lunch one day.

Our Tokyo host invited us for dinner at his home with his family. When we arrived he announced we would be having pasta. I have to admit I was a little disappointed hoping that I would get to indulge in some traditional Japanese food. But this wasn't just any pasta. I had never enjoyed homemade pasta before and certainly had never made it myself. I learned how to make pasta! What a treat. It was absolutely delicious and he served it with a slow cooked pork marinated with apples. He made a sashimi bruschetta appetizer with fresh herbs he'd picked from his container garden on the patio. Serve with a nice red wine and voila, oheeshee (delicious)!

We were staying in Ueno in Nothern Tokyo where there is a lovely park. The grounds house the oldest standing Edo period shrine, a handful of national pride museums, a lake with footpaths around the perimeter and peddle boat docks, and the Tokyo zoo. The zoo boasts a collection of panda bears - small red pandas, not giant Chinese pandas. Zoos are not favorable to me but I had some time on my hands while strolling through the park and decided to check out the pandas. I still haven't seen a panda (they were hiding) but I looked in on some of the other exhibits. Maybe it was because I've just returned from Africa and saw what an animal habitat should be but I balled my bloody eyes out the entire time. The animals looked so frightened and disturbed. There were fights in just about every cage and nothing natural about the environment. It was an awful thing to witness and I wish I hadn't.

Though we didn't participate, I'm glad I did witness the hosts of Kabukicho in Shinjuku where Tokyo goes to play. Kabukicho is Tokyo's red light district where host/hostess bars are found. Hostess bars are a modern adaptation of the traditional geisha and tea house scene whereby young women (and men) "entertain" paying customers by enjoying drinks, conversation and private time with their guests. We saw signs advertising forty minutes for 600 Yen (roughly $60) in one of these clubs. It is said that no sex is involved but who knows what happens behind closed doors. The hosts are distinctive all looking the same in fashionable jeans with a cool collared shirt and usually a sports jacket and shoes that are waaay too big for their feet. They all have bleached out hair, long and teased into a water fountain style. Hilarious. The young ladies are also well-coiffed, sexy and charming.

Tokyo is a cacophonous land of hedonism and excesses and holds a special notch in my travel belt.