Shopping Streets III - Japan

When you are in Japan, there's always one thing that you will notice that's different from any other country you visit. The way their local shops are set up in a cooperative known as a shopping street. I've mentioned about the shopping streets in Kyoto previously - Kiyomizuzaka and Sannenzaka.

In any city, you will find shopping streets like Oxford Street in London, Rodeo Drive in LA or Orchard Road in Singapore. These are major thoroughfare with malls and brand name shops along the street usually on both sides. More often they will be known locally as Main Street or High Street shops.

But in Japan, the shopping streets are distinctly different and have a unique flavor all of its own. The shopping streets tend to comprise small shops banded together rather than having malls or brand name shops.
Famous shopping streets in Tokyo would be Takeshitadori in Harajuku, Nakamise Street at Asakusa, Ameyokocho at Ueno or Sunshine 60 Street at Ikebukuro. These are unlike 'Main Streets' like the Ginza, Shibuya or Shinjuku which are dominated by major departmental stores.

In these 'neighborhood' shopping streets, you will find that shops are usually of no particular type. You will typically find restaurants next to clothing stores, cafes next to market stalls, shoe shops beside pharmacies. These shops are mainly owner occupied and most work under an informal association arrangement and you will find that many streets are covered with a roof over the street.

Typically, these streets are 100m to 200m long and going through these streets are a must if you visit Japan. The shopping streets usually do not have vehicular traffic so you can safely browse along the streets most of which have their wares all laid outside to attract customers.
The atmosphere and friendliness of the shopkeepers are completely different from those of the major departmental stores on 'Main Street' shops.

Free tickets to Japan

In view of the tremendous decline in foreign visitors to Japan following the triple disaster of March 11, 2011, the Japan Tourism Agency, a government agency, announced a 1.1b Yen budget to give out 10,000 FREE airline passages to Japan.  (Announcement here) *

Lucky travellers will be required to apply on the Internet by taking an 'examination' and also to provide a planned travel itinerary for scrutiny. They are also expected to use social media to disseminate stories of their visit while on their stay in Japan, especially on the safety aspects.

However, please note that the plan is still under government consideration and will not be in effect until April 2012. You can watch out for future announcements on the JNTO website.

I expect that many scammers and fraudsters will take advantage of this and will entice gullible people to part with their hard earned money.
So beware of any non-official advertisements about the free tickets.

* the announcement was reported by the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbum but is in Japanese. 
    You can use Google translation if you don't read japanese.

Crowded Tokyo trains worse than Singapore's MRT?

Whenever you see complaints about our crowded MRT trains, some readers will always bring out examples of other city trains, especially Tokyo commuter trains. For example in these videos...

(Youtube video by TheFatFinger)

(Youtube video by d0b33)

I have worked in Tokyo previously and I have been on those rush hour trains and truthfully, they are not as 'bad' as they are made out to be.

Yes, it is very crowded (Tokyo has 12.7m population) and it's true that people are packed like sardines into the trains as in the above video, but that only happens at the peak of the morning rush.

However, there is a cultural difference in Japan.
The overcrowding is accepted as a way of life in Tokyo.
During rush hour, you are packed into the train but everyone understands the situation.
Everyone knows the need for each other to commute to work or to get to school on time.

If you are in a rush hour train, you expect to be squashed cheek by jowl.
You will be shoved from all sides till everyone settles into their own comfort zone.
You know there is no room for any movement except to stand constricted till you get to your destination.

However, Japanese etiquette makes the journey tolerable.
The Japanese typically avoid any action that will make others uncomfortable.
Nobody uses a mobile phone on the train.
Nobody takes out their ipad or newspaper to read.
Nobody chats in the train.
The Japanese are fastidious about cleanliness, so there is absolutely no odor of any sort.
And if you are carrying a briefcase or backpack, you stow it in the overhead rack to make room for others to stand more comfortably.
And, they stand in orderly lines waiting to board the train.

What happens when you reach your destination and you are in the middle of the car?
No worries, just one word 'sumimasen',  and everyone near the door will get out to let you through, automatically!

Whenever, I take my friends on a tour of Tokyo, I make sure that they get this unique experience of taking a morning commuter train. They have all survived and I have yet to loose a friend on the train system. In fact, they are happy to come away with this unique experience.
I only tell them, if you are near the door,  get off!   let people out or you'll be stampeded!

The level of tolerance is vastly different from Singapore.

Although, our MRT system has been running more than 20 years, education on train etiquette was never ever emphasized. Bad habits have taken root and is now very hard to eradicate, so there is no comparison at all.

Grab poles & handles are available even near the door areas.
During rush hour, some seats are folded up to make more space for standing.
Bulky bags are stowed on the overhead racks.

Related links:

Surviving the train crush

St Mary Singapore & St Mary Tokyo

No matter how hard you try to prevent it, there are times when your mind drifts instead of being focused on the event that's actually taking place at the moment.

It happened to me this morning while I was attending Mass at St Mary.

I put it down to certain factors for this happening.  

One was that the air conditioning wasn't working properly while the humidity was increasing with almost a thousand faithful in the congregation. 

The other was the less than inspired delivery of the homily by the priest. 

(mea culpa, no offense meant)

While Franciscan Friar Joe spoke of how the early apostles were inspired during Pentecost, my mind drifted towards the ceiling of the church. There the architect had designed a skylight in the form of a crucifix which lets sunlight into the church.

Skylight at St Mary of the Angels, Singapore

While looking at it, I was reminded of another church which has a similar concept. 

St Mary Cathedral in Tokyo is located at Ikebukuro, within walking distance from  the Sunshine City Prince Hotel where I usually stay during my visits to Tokyo.

Designed by the great Japanese architect Kenzo Tange, St Mary Cathedral is a beautiful edifice in a cruciform design whose walls soar up to a skylight that lets in natural light to illuminate the interior. 

When you enter the cathedral, your eyes are magnetised and drawn to look automatically from the stained glass panels behind the altar towards the skylight at the ceiling.

It never fails to happen with anyone when they first enter the building.

I am sure that this was purposely done by the architect for dramatic effect.

St Mary Cathedral, Ikebukuro, Tokyo

From idle musings about St Mary Cathedral, my mind further drifted to think of some other buildings that I remembered seeing in Tokyo that were all designed by Kenzo Tange.

These are all famous icons not only of Tokyo but of  Japan. 

Some of the great buildings designed by Kenzo Tange are:-

Fuji TV Building at Odaiba, Tokyo Bay.

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building

Tokyo Olympic Stadium and Gymnasium at Yoyogi Park

The Cocoon Building at Shinjuku

Kenzo Tange also designed the UOB Bank building in Singapore.
Who's that statue at the front? Never mind him, he's just a white man.

Isn't it strange that how in just a minute or two, your mind can stray from the missal to illuminated crosses to cathedrals in Tokyo to Olympic buildings and banks and then back again?

What? Oh, "Let us pray"?

By the way, it might interest you to know that Kenzo Tange died in 2005 and is buried at St Mary Cathedral. It's really worth your while to see this place if you are ever in Tokyo. Better than the usual tourist traps and it's free.

Tokyo Disneyland

My first visit to Tokyo Disneyland was way back in 2002. Since then, I have been back there a total of 6 times, actually 4 times to Disneyland and twice to the adjacent Tokyo Disneysea. I was reminiscing and browsing some old photos when I came across this....

Pretty mundane, if you think about it, but what struck me were the lines of baby prams and strollers.  You have to be there to see this really unique Japanese trait.  Somebody parks their stroller in the open space, and pretty soon, everyone follows in neat order.  Row after row, like in a car parking lot, except that there are no lines or markings on the floor.

It simply just happens. You notice this happening at all the attractions, rows and rows of neatly parked baby carriages. And these disappear soon after the ride finishes only to be replaced again in  short order by the next group of visitors. Amazing! Such discipline.

Here are some photos of Disneyland taken during my last visit in 2008.

Entrance to TDL

Tomorrowland, futuristic pavillons

Space Mountain, indoor roller coaster through the dark universe, scarry!

Cinderella's Castle gift shop, ha ha.

Cinderella's Castle

Cinderella's abode seen from Adventureland tree tops

River ride,  do your own rowing!

Musicians

Marching Band

Gift Shop

Travel Movies - Tokyo Bay

Odaiba, Tokyo Bay

Odaiba is an unusual place to visit in Tokyo. Located in Tokyo Bay itself on reclaimed land, Odaiba was touted once as the city of the future. This was until the Japanese economy burst its bubble in the mid 1980s and has never really recovered from that episode. Development in Odaiba had been sputtering all along until recently when it now boasts some pretty sophisticated and futuristic buildings.

I can think of only 2 reasons why anyone would visit Odaiba. First is the Rainbow Bridge, the new icon of Tokyo, and secondly, especially if you are a follower of J-dramas, the Fuji TV Center built by Tange Kenzo. A trip on the driverless train, the Yurikomome, makes the scenic view of Tokyo Bay along the way worth the while.

Cosplay at Harajuku

Harajuku district in Tokyo has always been the epitome of youthful exuberance. Off beat, irreverent and often rebellious in nature, Harajuku has a life of its own.

Takeshita dori (street) just opposite the Harajuku train station is the place where this youthful subculture flourishes. Ever-changing and always trend setting, this is where the happenings are.

Cosplay, or costume roleplay, is the activity where the Japanese youth dress up as their anime or manga comic characters. Harajuku is where cosplay events dominates the weekend. The area just south of Harajuku Station is the grand mecca for all things relating to cosplay. This culture has even spread to areas outside Japan, including Singapore which has a large cosplay fraternity.

I shot this video around 2005.
Sorry for the low-resolution as some of you had mentioned the slow downloads.
If you want to see a high res version, click here

Travel Movies - Meiji Shrine, Tokyo Japan

Within the heart of busy, bustling and fast paced Tokyo lies one of the most serene and peaceful green havens to be found.

This is the Meiji Shrine, located next to Harajuku, built in 1920 to commemorate Emperor Meiji. He was the first emperor of modern Japan, having regained power back from the Shoguns in 1868. It was he who pushed Japan from a feudal country into the modern westernized country that it is today. He was the emperor in "The Last Samurai" who finally defeated all the traditionalist warlords with modern weapons. He died in 1912.

Video was shot in 2004 at the Meiji Shrine featuring a traditional Shinto wedding procession.

Travel Movies - Shinjuku

Tokyo, Japan

Shinjuku is where the metropolitan government of Tokyo is located.

Also the busiest train station in Japan and a major shopping district.

It has the most vibrant entertainment area in Tokyo.

I'll be posting snippet of various places in Japan, starting with this one of Shinjuku, Tokyo.

My Sydney videos attracted comments that they preferred to see the location instead of my friends, so I am cutting out the personal stuff and just showing you the places.

Travel videos can be quite boring for viewers, especially if you can't relate to the people in it, I guess. Anyway, enjoy the coming series. Drop me a comment if you wish.

31 flavors at Baskin Robbins is passe!

The temperature today was a sweltering 33 degrees indoors!
I am a sucker for real ice cream and there nothing better on a hot day than digging into a tub of cold sweet delicious ice cream. Was doing just this when it struck me that I never did tell you all of the weirdest ice cream place you can imagine.

At the Sunshine City Complex in Tokyo, where I usually stay at the adjacent Prince Hotel, there is a theme park right within the shopping mall itself.
Namco Namjatown, which was set up by the japanese video game manufacturer, is not the usual outdoor roller coaster type amusement park. It has several distinct attractions like Gyoza Stadium, serving all kinds of gyoza from all over Japan, video game world with the latest Namco video games, a haunted town area, and best of all... Ice Cream City!



There are about a dozen or so shops each selling various types of ice-cream, each unique in its own way. The Japanese call them Gelato instead of ice cream.

There are endless shelves and freezers full of freshly made creameries with all kinds of flavors imaginable.







Ok, the place is not weird but some of the flavors available can really freak you out.
The variety of flavors run the entire gamut available. If you are just a vanilla, chocolate or strawberry fan, then you will be sorely disappointed with what they can offer you.

Garlic, wasabi, pumpkin, really black and gooey sesame, tuna, octopus, squid, sea urchin and believe or not cow tongue flavor! And that's just for your appetizer.

Then there's miso, ramen, sakura flower, lavender, seaweed, curry, soya sauce and horrors, basashi - horse meat! I kid you not!
If you can get over your initial revulsion (and maybe prejudices), then Ice Cream City is more than just an 'amusing ' place to be.
By the way, I had my favorite pistachio, wrapped in nori seaweed and crepe, Japanese style.
Yes, they do sell the usual flavors too.

Sea Urchin ice cream, anyone?

Flavor of the month... COW TONGUE ICE CREAM!













Just another of the quirky stuff you find in Tokyo.
And people wonder why I always go back there. hahahaha.

Tokyo Feb 09.

This was meant as a draft but I guess I'll just put everything here till I get some time to organize and write a bit more about it. These are some of the events (using the term that my pictures were organized automatically by my iMac's iPhoto program.) that I went to on my trip to Tokyo last month.

Jizo statues. Originally, Jizo was venerated as the guardian saint of aborted, still born or miscarried babies. These statues are sometimes accompanied by little piles of stones, or wearing bibs or baby clothings left by grieving parents.

Tokyo Tower, 333m tall and icon of modern Tokyo. Elevator crush to get visitors to the mid-250m level. 3 elevators only moving thousands up and down everyday. Sigh.