Tokyo Part III
July 28, 2007
Yet another sweltering day in Tokyo. They say Kyoto and Hiroshima will be worse, but I really don’t know how. That said, I am enjoying how moisturized my skin feels. The air just hangs so heavy it is difficult not to sweat at all times (except when there is air conditioning). Today, thank god, was a “casual” day. We performed our group “skits” – have I mentioned how much this feels like a summer camp at times? – and then an RT meeting before heading to the adjacent Yoyogi park to play capture the flag. The park itself was much larger than I expected, and full of all sorts of people drumming, playing casual sports, and exercising. Our “game” was fun, especially when I sprinted and saved our prisoners and we won the first round. The downside was 1) the cicadas that truly are ear piercing at times and 2) the invisible bugs that kept biting yet left good sized bug bites. After a much needed shower, we actually had a chance to leave the Olympic Center and explore Tokyo, which was just as crazy as I expected.
With a few other American delegates, we headed to Harajuku, the famous shopping/crazy fashion district. My first hint of what was to come, as I have show, was the two girls in goth/punk/kimono get-ups in the subway station. My few pictures don’t even begin to show the diversity of clothing, hairstyles, wigs, makeup, shoes, etc. It was almost like a circus. Not to mention the hilarious and ever-present English language shirts, signs, stores, and the like. “Condomanium” was a good one. Though I didn’t take pictures, a few other names of stores were “Nude Boy” (clothing store), “Make Happy Goods,” and “Don’t Forget Woman” (clothing store). I know it is perhaps culturally insensitive to point out these things, but man was it just too much walking around being bombarded by them!
Harajuku is comprised of major streets with extremely large sidewalks (approx. 30 feet wide and crowded!) and small alley streets full of people, shops, and mayhem. We searched for a while for a good place to eat, which was not as easy as expected, since many good Japanese restaurants lack obvious signage and plastic food models and strange concepts (pizza with what I think was cheese, hard boiled eggs and other assorted items or perhaps the “supagetei house” a spaghetti joint that served a weird looking Japanese version of spaghetti type things I was not brave enough to try). We ended up finding the perfect place, I suppose a standard Japanese restaurant with a broad range of food. Despite all my Japanese training, the menu was still quite difficult (almost all in kanji!) but I managed to order yummy vegetable tempura that far surpasses any North American variety, and an assortment of yakimono, or grilled things (shown in the picture). It, along with cold Kirin beer, was superb.
From my limited experience so far, Tokyo is truly different from anywhere I have ever been. It is easy to picture the Japanese as a homogenous group of people, and to a certain extent that is true, but what I have seen shows just as much diversity as we have in America, from blonde and awfully (fake) tanned girls, to punk rockers, to groups of African men, to gaijin (foreigners) like myself to otaku (nerds) to sorority-type girls to average looking couples on dates to rowdy guys at bars. It really is an amazing place to experience!
Yet another sweltering day in Tokyo. They say Kyoto and Hiroshima will be worse, but I really don’t know how. That said, I am enjoying how moisturized my skin feels. The air just hangs so heavy it is difficult not to sweat at all times (except when there is air conditioning). Today, thank god, was a “casual” day. We performed our group “skits” – have I mentioned how much this feels like a summer camp at times? – and then an RT meeting before heading to the adjacent Yoyogi park to play capture the flag. The park itself was much larger than I expected, and full of all sorts of people drumming, playing casual sports, and exercising. Our “game” was fun, especially when I sprinted and saved our prisoners and we won the first round. The downside was 1) the cicadas that truly are ear piercing at times and 2) the invisible bugs that kept biting yet left good sized bug bites. After a much needed shower, we actually had a chance to leave the Olympic Center and explore Tokyo, which was just as crazy as I expected.
With a few other American delegates, we headed to Harajuku, the famous shopping/crazy fashion district. My first hint of what was to come, as I have show, was the two girls in goth/punk/kimono get-ups in the subway station. My few pictures don’t even begin to show the diversity of clothing, hairstyles, wigs, makeup, shoes, etc. It was almost like a circus. Not to mention the hilarious and ever-present English language shirts, signs, stores, and the like. “Condomanium” was a good one. Though I didn’t take pictures, a few other names of stores were “Nude Boy” (clothing store), “Make Happy Goods,” and “Don’t Forget Woman” (clothing store). I know it is perhaps culturally insensitive to point out these things, but man was it just too much walking around being bombarded by them!
Harajuku is comprised of major streets with extremely large sidewalks (approx. 30 feet wide and crowded!) and small alley streets full of people, shops, and mayhem. We searched for a while for a good place to eat, which was not as easy as expected, since many good Japanese restaurants lack obvious signage and plastic food models and strange concepts (pizza with what I think was cheese, hard boiled eggs and other assorted items or perhaps the “supagetei house” a spaghetti joint that served a weird looking Japanese version of spaghetti type things I was not brave enough to try). We ended up finding the perfect place, I suppose a standard Japanese restaurant with a broad range of food. Despite all my Japanese training, the menu was still quite difficult (almost all in kanji!) but I managed to order yummy vegetable tempura that far surpasses any North American variety, and an assortment of yakimono, or grilled things (shown in the picture). It, along with cold Kirin beer, was superb.
From my limited experience so far, Tokyo is truly different from anywhere I have ever been. It is easy to picture the Japanese as a homogenous group of people, and to a certain extent that is true, but what I have seen shows just as much diversity as we have in America, from blonde and awfully (fake) tanned girls, to punk rockers, to groups of African men, to gaijin (foreigners) like myself to otaku (nerds) to sorority-type girls to average looking couples on dates to rowdy guys at bars. It really is an amazing place to experience!
The details are fascination (e.g., the showers, the pear, the technology, clothing, noisy cicadas ...) Resist excusing rudeness as "cultural diversity." That 'elderly Japanese man" exposed his prejudice by refusing to offer his meishi before you told him what you are studying. There are rude people in all cultures. With your efforts to speak the language and to read kanji, you are making a great impression in Japan. What an experience!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the fabulous and lengthy posts. It is a joy to read all about your experiences!
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