Tokyo Two

3 October, Oak Hotel, Ueno

Film buffs, particularly older ones, will recall the 70s hit. Soylent Green, will remember that the core tenet of this flick was that, as food resources ran out, we humans turned to some outrageous substitutes for what nature provided. Shops in Japan are flooded with snack foods that, on the surface, are 'real food' - nuts, drinks and cereals that look and feel like the real thing. But! Examine a bit closer and what might seem from the labelling to be a pack of peanuts is more likely to be a few nuts, probably less than 10%, supplemented by heaps of nut-shaped wheat or rice-based substitutes that bulk out the package.

Since the war, the Japanese have never been able to produce enough food to feed themselves. To their credit, they have sought and exploited suitable alternative sources like seaweed and some of the less attractive creatures of the sea, like jellyfish. It might be just an early sign and a simple example as well, but the mix of a dozen or more real nuts with a packet of nut substitutes, is a frightening portent of what faces the world as population increases and food production inevitably falls further behind demand.

While on food, we tried our hand at one of the small cafes that operate using a coin-in-the-slot menu. A bit daunting with no Japanese language skills, but we had a go and managed to actually get what we thought we would. The system is quite simple. Ordering and payment is done through a machine which issues tickets that you take to the counter to get your food. There must be a good reason why ordering is done through the machine rather than at the counter. Who knows? It works for locals as well as travellers.

 

Our image of Tokyo as a crowded city is probably a little over the top. The city is enormous, no question, but the streets are not teeming with people, the traffic is moderate at the worst and the city has many wide open spaces, particularly around central Tokyo itself. From the observation deck of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Offices, we got our first panoramic view of Greater Tokyo. As far as we could see, in all directions, on this extremely clear and sunny day, there were multi-storey buildings. Not hundreds of them, but thousands. Not really a pretty sight, but all the same, spectacular.

We leave Tokyo for Kyoto tomorrow on the Bullet train, the Shinkansen. Another rail adventure. We will be back in Tokyo for a few days before we go home.

Later entry: Just got home from an evening trip into the Ginza strip.

Don't get us wrong. We loved the Ginza, but we seem to have lost the ability to be wowed by city lights. We wandered about, saw the shops, had a nice dinner and a few drinks, at a very reasonable price in what is reputably the most expensive street in the most expensive city in the world. Perhaps those who do the research haven't been to Oslo? Perhaps Still, it all lacked the same thrill that we've had in places like the Grand Canyon or the Olgas.

First day in Tokyo

1 October - Oak Hotel, Ueno, Tokyo

Lucky it was Sunday for our first day in Tokyo. By some accounts, Tokyo-Kawasaki-Yokahama is the largest city in the world. Thirty plus million people live in this tightly-packed, mega city and, while quite a few of them were out and about today, it wasn't the mayhem we had expected.

Trains and people filled most of our our day today. The whole of Japan is one big train set and Tokyo is the most dense part of the network. The stations are so large that finding your way around them is a bigger problem than working out which train to catch. We pride ourselves on our ability to navigate public transport systems and, today, we did ok for a first day. And what fun!

After a traditional Japanese breakfast of miso soup and a beef and rice dish, we headed off to Harajuku, a region of Tokyo that is the haunt of the very cool and very weird. To settle ourselves before the 'razz' of the streets of Harajuku, we took a quiet time-out in the Meiji Gardens, the site of the shrine to the Meiji Emperor who brought Japan out of isolation in the mid 19^th century. The shrine is a place of worship for many Japanese. The form this devotion is a little strange for us westerners. Families make offerings of money, paper incantations and, strangest of all, stuffed toys and traditional Japanese dolls. Even on this very average day, climate-wise, the gardens are a peaceful spot in the midst of this hectic city.

'Weirdo' spotting and people-watching are the reasons thousands flock to the narrow streets of Harajuku. The shops are crammed with almost unimaginable kitch – a 21^st century version of Carnaby Street of the 1960's. As to the weird and wonderful, it has to be said that it is very difficult sometimes to tell whether some of the outfits are fashionable, or just a reflection of the extremely unusual taste that typifies the style of many young Asian women. Wild and head-turning it certainly was, as well as a lot of fun, with hoards of young people out enjoying themselves, safely and with a strangely childlike exuberance, even amongst those in their 20's!

Back on the train, we sped off to Kagurazaka, a district of the city famous for its old, narrow streets, restaurants and markets. Leaving the station, we were confronted by a marching band which was led by a bagpipe-playing samurai, accompanied by several characters dressed as cats. Further down the crowded main street, a New Orleans-style Jazz Band of rather nervous, but technically competent young musicians, was entertaining an equally stiff crowd of locals. Not a tapping foot in sight beyond ours! Very restrained, the Japanese. No doubt they were appreciating the performance, they just aren't very expressive.

Not the end of the day for us. Ueno is the home of a cluster of museums, so we hit them as well. No disrespect intended, but Asian art doesn't rock our boat, so we managed five of them in a couple of hours.

Back in our caravan-sized room, we are cooling off with a couple of Asahi beers before dinner. Lucky for us, our super bargain Tokyo hotel is no problem. We have just spent a month in our caravan, on the road and that was off the back of a motorhome trip around the UK. Being able to turn the TV off with your toe before you go to sleep is normal for us!