Japan, Land of the Shining Sun!
Part A: Tokyo

Personal Photo Album Part 21

 

Metropolitan Tokyo is the most populous city in the world, with over 37 million inhabitants.

 

[This is the first of my four-part travelogue on Japan, the future three will be dealing with my experiences in Hiroshima, Kyoto and Osaka, respectively]

 

Traditionally, Japan is known as the land of the rising sun. The description appears to have arisen from the fact that the country is located east of China and the Sun appears to always rise from Japan as seen from southern China. Having visited China as far back as July 2009 to witness a total solar eclipse [see my blog article 03) Total Solar Eclipse of 2009 (Feb 10)], I was more than keen on not just looking at the Sun rising over an invisible Japan, but actually to go on my own expedition of discovery to this fabled land someday. Though long delayed for no particular reason, my opportunity came in June 2018 when I finally did go on a two-week trip to this great land over which the Sun not only rose but also shone in all its glory, a land of immense natural beauty, of incredible cleanliness and punctuality, of a great people for whom courteousness is a way of life, of rich culture and tradition little affected by mind-boggling technological progress, and above all, the only one which rose  like a phoenix from the ashes of a near total nuclear holocaust to reclaim its rightful place  among the greatest civilizations in history. 

Preparation

Having already visited several southeast Asian countries as well as Australia, I realized I was needlessly procrastinating on my long-intended visit to Japan and started my preparations in all seriousness just a month in advance. Obtaining a visa through the Japanese consulate in Bangalore turned out to be the easiest of these and cost me less than the journey to Bangalore and back from Mysore.  This appears to have been part of the agenda of the Japanese government to promote tourism on a more visible scale.  It was far easier than getting my Australian visa earlier that year for which I had to undergo a mandatory medical examination for being over 75!   

It was common knowledge that travel in Japan’s world-famous Shinkansen bullet train network was as expensive as it was fast. Luckily, it was possible to purchase a pre-paid railway pass for unlimited inter-city travel for a specific duration, and the facility, meant only for bonafide tourists from abroad with a valid visa, was available right there in Bangalore.   The credit card type pass came in very handy and made the inter-city travel even more comfortable than the intra-city ones.  Hotel bookings in centrally located small hotels also came in easy, except in Osaka where I had to settle for a large and fairly expensive one.

Journey  

I had booked a return ticket to and from Tokyo’s Narita Airport via Kuala Lumpur where I had to change flights, something easy to do since I always travel light and carefree.  The Kuala Lumpur airport is an ultramodern, sprawling, multi-terminal airport spread over a vast area, with fast electric trains providing connectivity to the terminals.  It is a major connecting airport for air travel in Asia and the far-east.  Here is a picture of the spot where I had to make the changeover between terminals:

After landing at Tokyo’s Narita airport in time, the efficiency of airport operations, including immigration checks, was such that I experienced the quickest exit from the arrivals complex of any international airport anywhere in the world.  It was almost like walking out of any domestic airport in India.

The exit gate led me straight to the departure complex of the metro lines between the airport and the city.  But, before I could leave the airport, I had to get my tourist railway pass ‘validated’ for which I had to stand in a long line.  Though the process was progressing fast, I found it quite irksome to stand in a long line clinging on to my baggage.  One of the lady officials in attendance was quick to notice it, and as on several other occasions on the trip, my senior citizen status (perhaps also the stature) came to my aid.  I was soon heading towards the metro line to board a train that would stop at almost all intermediate stations because, that way I could get off at one of the stations nearest to my hotel. It was quite a long journey, enlivened by the fortuitous chance to get acquainted and spend time with a family of four, including two small smart kids, who were tourists from Mumbai. Here is a picture taken inside the train just before I got down, and unfortunately after they got down. Incidentally, though most public display signs in the country are in the native Japanese language, visitors still find it easy to make their way about because all key information is also displayed in plain simple English.

Smile Hotel 

The Smile Hotel where I had made my booking was located within easy walking distance of the Nihombashi metro station where I got down, but I still needed a little local help in sign language to find it.  It was a narrow multi-storey building with a nondescript façade which did little justice to the top-class interior, with just the name of the hotel displayed, surprisingly only in English, along with a befitting colourful smiley face (see picture below). The long narrow entrance led me to the front office where I was greeted with appropriate smiles all around.  I was told that there was plenty of time for the day’s check-in to begin, but I didn’t have to wait till then since my room was already fit for occupation. I was quickly handed the key to it on the top floor.  The room looked like a miniature version of any typical hotel room in most countries. The attached bath room looked even more so, with room barely enough for one person to squeeze in amidst a toilet, a wash basin and a bathtub to boot. But what was lacking in size was made up by absolutely superb quality, functional design, spotless cleanliness and a plethora of thoughtfully provided amenities.

For the first time in my life I was looking at a ‘smart toilet’, which I needed to explore leisurely and learn to use effectively if I needed to. However, I had other priorities in mind.  Here is a view of the smart toilet I saw, with attendant amenities in the bathroom:

 

After a quick shower, and a bit of rest, my immediate need was to get a SIM card for my smartphone, something I could use everywhere in the country.  I had to walk a long distance to a shop where I could get the right type, pe-paid for just a short period of unlimited use.  This done, I dashed off a series of messages, calls and pictures to relatives and friends back home. I also purchased a variety of fruits and other eatables to last the next three days of my stay in Tokyo. I explored the neighbourhood aimlessly the rest of the evening and returned to the hotel for an early night sleep.

Exploring Tokyo

Shinjuku Station

With a population of nearly 38 million, Tokyo ranks as the world’s largest metropolis.  A distinctive feature of it is the huge network of high-speed trains to all parts of it and to all other Japanese cities. With an estimated 3.5 million people passing through it every day, the Shinjuku Station is reputed to be the world’s busiest railway station.  On my first full day in Tokyo, I headed straight for this via my nearest metro station and spent a good bit of time exploring its innards.   It is said to have a total of 52 platforms, including an underground arcade, overground arcade and numerous hallways, with 17 of the platforms accessible through hallways to 5 directly connected stations. The whole station complex has well over 200 exits.  Amazingly, one doesn’t get lost inside easily because of the superbly designed and positioned signboards, maps and other helpful means, with important indicators displayed prominently in English too. Here is an attractive part of a mall inside the complex:

Here is a view of the exterior of part of the Shinjuku station as a came out to catch a glimpse of the neighborhood:

Shinjuku Garden

Takinng a long winding walk, my next stop was the sprawling Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden not too far off,  for which admission was free that day for some unfathomable reason (see picture below). I spent well over two hours inside, taking in the fresh air and the beautiful weather.

The bright Sun had lit up the garden to its brilliant best, prompting a long winding walk to all parts inside.  From among the scores of pictures I shot, here is a view of the rich flora and natural beauty inside:

Edo-Tokyo Museum

I spent the rest of the day in the Edo-Tokyo Museum, which is devoted to the historical aspects of the rich culture and traditions of Tokyo, which was known as Edo in earlier times.  Here is a display at the entrance to the vast museum complex: 

The exhibits include numerous full-scale and scaled-down models depicting the life of the populace.  It was a long and even tiresome walk trying to understand the essence of the exposition.  Here is an illustrative scale model I particularly liked:

Also catching my special attention was this rich, colorful, accordion style long graphic display panel along a wall: 

                                                            

Mount Fuji and Lake Hakone

For the following day, I had booked a full day tourist bus journey to the fabled Mount Fuji, with a visit to scenic Lake Hakone on the way back to Tokyo.

One of the most enduring images of Japan is a spectacular picture of Mount Fuji with a bullet train shown in the foreground.  Mount Fuji is the country’s tallest peak and an active volcano, and a highly revered pilgrimage site, located about a hundred km from Tokyo.

A hi-tech bus (see picture below) left an equally hi-tech bus station in central Tokyo, apparently only for tourist buses, at 8:00 am right on the dot, with just eight of us and a lady tourist guide who spoke excellent, though highly accented, English.

The bus was meant to take the tourists only about two-thirds of the way to Mount Fuji and show it from a few well-chosen intermediate spots like the one pictured below.

The handful of us in the bus had the extraordinary luck of being able to view the distant snow-capped mountain in nearly cloudless skies and in bright sunlight all through. Our guide remarked that most visitors never got to see Mount Fuji since even partial visibility, let alone the total one we experienced, could not be expected for more than thirty days in the year.  Here are two widely different views of the great Mount Fuji that I captured from widely different locations on the outward journey:

In the afternoon we reached picturesque lake Hakone and had a long boat ride on the lake, absorbing the great scenery all around. Here is a picture of the lake I took from a nearby hilltop to which we were taken by cable car:

On the bus ride back to Tokyo, I had the option to take an intercity bullet train for a superfast 20-min ride back home that would have been my first experience of its kind, but I opted for the much slower bus journey because of the rapport I had established with my tourist guide, exchanging memorable experiences, views and anecdotes about our respective professions.

Senso-ji and Asakusa shrines

Next day I first visited the Senso-ji and Asakusa shrines. Senso-ji is Tokyo’s oldest Buddhist temple and one of the oldest and most ancient shrines in the country.  It is also one of the most visited religious shrines in the world as is evident from the rush of people and their religious fervour seen in the picture below.  It felt like being in one of the large temples back home in India.

Adjacent to the Senso-ji temple is a five-story pagoda, the Asakusa Shinto shrine, as well as many shops selling traditional goods. This is seen in the picture below, with the far-off Sky Tree, the tallest building in the country, peeping up on the left. 

Sky Tree Tower

Next, I took a metro ride to Sky Tree, Tokyo’s and indeed Japan’s iconic observational and broadcasting tower, the tallest in the country, pictured below:

After purchasing an admission ticket, I went up the 450 m high observation deck at the top in a high-speed elevator, much like I had done a few years before, going up the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the world’s tallest building.  Here is a picture of mine on the observation deck:

As expected, the whole of the city was at my feet all around, with the weather and visibility nearly as good as on the previous day when I went to see Mount Fuji. My camera went on overdrive. Of the scores of pictures I shot, I am reproducing only two here:

The Senso-ji and Asakusa shrines, pictured earlier from the ground, can be seen clearly in the above picture taken from the observation deck of Sky Tree.

In the rather hazy ultra-zoom picture above, the tall structure that looks much like the Eiffel Tower in Paris is indeed an Eiffel Tower look alike, slightly taller too, built in post-war Japan.  Simply called Tokyo Tower, it was the city’s most iconic one until the Sky Tree displaced it. 

Meiji Jingu Shrine

In the afternoon I went to the Shinjuku station and from there went on a long walk leading up to the famous Meiji Jingu Shinto shrine, established in honour of Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken who had laid the foundation for a modernized Japan, leaving behind its feudal heritage.   It is located within a vast forest land, right inside Tokyo megacity, somewhat reminiscent of Central Park in New York city.  The tranquillity of its surroundings is incredible and makes one totally forget the hustle and bustle just outside this wonderfully isolated and well protected area.  Here is the huge ceremonial wooden gate to the shrine:

Just a short distance away from the massive entrance gate is the shrine complex.  It has  several structures in traditional style, the most eye-catching of which is shown below: 

After this visit, I walked further up the tranquil wooded path to reach one of the busiest areas of Tokyo, not far from Shibuya Crossing, which is billed as the busiest intersection in the world.  Shown below, it was no comparison whatsoever, at least at that time, to anything I have experienced in any mega city in India, which incidentally has just graduated to the dubious status of the most populous country in the world!

 

Imperial Palace Gardens

The day before my return flight home from Tokyo, among the principal attractions for me to visit was the vast Imperial Palace East Gardens, adjoining the Imperial Palace of the Japanese titular emperor, accessible through several gates. 

I had returned to Tokyo and to the Smile Hotel again, after my trips to Hiroshima, Kyoto and Osaka over a period of eight days.  I found myself located within walking distance of the garden’s eastern Otemon gate and explored the gardens leisurely all morning.   Here is a picture of this gate to the sprawling complex:

As a garden, it has many similarities to the Shinjuku garden elsewhere in the city.  Here is one of numerous pictures I took of the rich flora distributed over different sections of the palace associated gardens:

Here is a long pathway separating two large sections of the garden complex.  One can’t help wondering how spotlessly clean such places are maintained, apparently everywhere in the country!  

Tokyo Main Station

“It is often said that the Japanese are extremely clean at home, or inside any house or office, but dirty and untidy outside. ‘Go and look at a railway station,’ I was told, ‘and you’ll be horrified.’  I went and was horrified; horrified by the cleanliness of the place.” — George Mikes

Served by the high-speed railway lines of the Shinkansen bullet train network, Tokyo Station or Tokyo Central is the main inter-city railway terminal in Tokyo. It is also the busiest station in Japan, with more than 4,000 trains arriving and departing daily and more than 500,000 people using it every day. It is also served by the Tokyo Metro network.

Tokyo Central is a strange mix of the old and the new, the latter contributing hugely to the overall size of the station, though not apparent in the following picture taken in dull evening light:

Below is a picture looking at the entrance to the ultra-modern backside of the station.  Once again, one can’t help but admire the meticulous cleanliness of the place, considering the fact that it is one of the busiest railway stations in the world.

Here is the front part of a bullet train on an inter-city platform, apparently ready for departure to an unspecified place:

Punctuality of trains in the Japanese railway system is legendary, as is cleanliness in the stations and trains. The railways administration is known to make formal apologies for late arrivals and departures by even as little as a minute!

As the final picture of this blog article, here is a picture showing two adjacent platforms, each with a bullet train ready for departure:

Conclusion

Of all the megacities I have visited in all the continents, Tokyo simplify stands out as the most memorable.  It has everything that others have, and much more, especially in humane aspects.  Courtesy, cleanliness and punctuality are three bywords that can best describe it.  

Understandably, I could explore only a very small part of the megacity in the five days I spent there.  Yet, this was sufficient to consolidate my view that Japan was very much a land of the shining sun despite the problems of a stagnant economy, a negative growth rate in population and attendant demographic issues, the demands of an aging population requiring special measures, and the need to continue to honour the post war commitments and assurances the country made to the rest of the world.