Ten Things I Will Do On My Next Trip to Tokyo

1.) Buy Drinks from Vending Machines:  I am amazed by Japan’s vending machines 自動販売機 (ji-dou-hanbai-ki), which you’ll find everywhere you go, in the city, suburbs, and small villages. They sell such an incredible variety of items, from drinks to books to electronics.  I like the selection of drinks the best. They can be hot, cold, non-alcoholic, alcoholic, typical -- Coke, coffee, tea, Fanta Orange, energy drinks, and unusual -- aloe water, multi-vitamin infused, cucumber soda, Pepsi Pink, which is a strawberry milk product...  I will stick to buying my favorites:  iced coffee and milk tea. Vending machine items are available 24/7 by inserting spare change or, for residents, by swiping with a smartphone.


Some machines also sell food, even fresh Dole bananas.

Others are going high tech and feature a super large touch screen. I want to see one of these!

2.) Go to Koreatown  The area around Shin-Okubo Station is home to many Korean businesses and restaurants. This area is known as Koreatown:  'コリアンタウン'. Shin-Okuko is north of Shinjuku (next stop on the Yamanote line). It's close to Waseda University and Takadanobaba. In this vicinity there are plenty of Korean bistros, cafes, and groceries. The area is often called the Little Korea of Tokyo. Since I like K-pop and Korean skincare products, Shin Okubo is a must for me to visit. Korean cosmetics stores, here I come!

3.) Rent a Bicycle  These services have become popular during the past several years. When I lived here I bought a bicycle. Once I lost it by parking illegally, which was very upsetting.  Bike sharing and bike rentals have become a great way to get around by bicycle, for both visitors and residents.  See the blog post appearing this month for more information.

4.) Sing at Karaoke   I’m not a person with a talent to sing 歌う(utau), but the karaoke bars in Japan are so interesting to experience. To go to karaoke カラオケ is a very popular pastime and I like to take part when with a group of friends are going. I often went to karaoke with coworkers when I lived and worked in Osaka and Tokyo. I can remember a time when the selection was only Japanese songs but now there is a much larger selection of English language songs, too.

5.) Walk Around Harajuku and Omotesando-doori   I think Japan fashion is on a level of its own.  People seem to know how to dress, and many pay much attention to their appearance.  In Tokyo, they dress to stand out, to fit in, and to make a statement; they wear what makes them feel good.  I like to read Japanese fashion blogs ブログ (burogu) and fashion magazines 雑誌 (zasshi) to see what Japanese fashionistas like for the current season. Tokyo has the reputation for being one of the main fashion capitals of the world. Walk down beautiful boulevard Omotesando-doori and then turn onto Aoyama-doori and you’ll see why.  I also recommend looking around on the shopping street called Takeshita-doori 竹下通り to see what fashion trends the young people like. It is a beehive of teen and 20-somethings packing streets lined with boutiques and shops.

6.) Visit the Tokyo Sky Tree  This is definitely on my list since I have only seen it in photos. See a post we added last year about this impressive structure.

7.) Dine Out  Especially at Izakaya!  Every time I’m in Japan I love eating the food. All authentic and delicious.  There are high end restaurants of course, but I always end up eating okonomiyaki お好み焼きand yakitori 焼き鳥, croquettes and other simple foods at a neighborhood izakaya, a bar and restaurant with a special relaxed ambiance. 
 
8.) Visit a Cat-cafe: This establishment 猫カフェー is a cafe where you can watch 見る(miru) and play 遊ぶ (asobu) with cats 猫 (neko). It’s the perfect opportunity for people who love cats but who are not allowed to have them in their apartments.  As I love cats and have one named Geneva Suki, I really want to go. I have never even been to a theme café before.  (Maid cafés, robot cafés, and anime-based cafes are other specialty establishments where customers are welcome).

9.) Enjoy Coffee Shops   Coffee in Japan is the best. For a front row seat to the Shibuya scramble crossing I like to get a window table at the Starbucks スターバックス in the Tsutaya building right across the Shibuya station 渋谷駅.  There is place I haven't been to yet and want to try: the Nezucafe ネヅカフェーin Minami-Aoyama 南青山. It is said to have a fantastic view of a beautiful wooded garden.

10.) Visit Akihabara (秋葉原). This vicinity in central Tokyo is known as “Akiba” for short. Some call it Electric City too. This is said to be the largest district for electronics, computers, video games and anime in the world.  For many, many blocks in all directions, you can window shop or browse in stores that carry computer equipment, video games, kitchen electronics, smartphones and endless electronics supplies.  Some shops are duty free.  My favorite is the newest and largest department store just a block away from Akihabara Station on the Yamanote Line and Hibiya Line. It is called Yodobashi Akiba.  This immense store has nine stories full of high tech equipment and gadgets. I have seen computers and phones there with such features I didn’t know were possible!  The newest inventions seem to go on display at this store first, for all to see and play with. 

Old New Tokyo Station

Tokyo Station City

Tokyo Station has served as the main entrance to Tokyo since 1914. After the damaging effects of WWII, this historic building has been in use, even though parts of the structure were never renovated. Then in 2007 the city made strides to restore and rebuild the original look of the station. Now the construction has been completed. Tokyo Station is at the same location as it has ever been, and you can go take a look when it opens to the public on October 3. The new station with the 100-year old very original look is a sight you should see!

The video above showcases the Tokyo Station Hotel which also has been restored. It includes special suites that have a view of the inside of the restored South Dome of Tokyo Station, which had been lost in a WWII air raid. The video explains how precisely the dome interior decorations were restored using as references only six photographs and the descriptions in documents indicating the colors.

Last time I saw the station was right after the Earthquake. At the time the city was in energy-saving mode. Japan was not sure what could come next after the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster, so to prevent  blackouts, each individual managed to "save"electric power by reducing their use. In addition, each family followed their own power saving strategy, for example, to light only the living room or restrict hours of TV watching. Many street lights and electric signs were turned off so Tokyo and many (I guess"all" but I don't know any exception or sabotage) cities in the northern half of Japan had quite darker nights over the year. My last experience of Tokyo Station was under those darkened conditions. When I saw construction tarps all over the building, I thought it had damaged by the earthquake. Under the dim lights and the construction tarps, it seemed to me that Tokyo had died.

Well, I feel better now that I know the construction tarps actually hid such a beautiful building underneath.
The video clip further down features one of the opening events; the digital display projects the brick walls of the station.

Tokyo Station, as partially described in the 2/17 post, offers visitors many options for shopping and restaurants. Now you can have a completely updated shopping and dining experience inside of the Tokyo Station. But for the people who grew up before the age of flights, Tokyo Station was always the "central" of Tokyo. People moved here from elsewhere to Japan (mostly from the western half of Japan). The northern half arrived at Ueno Station instead of Tokyo Station. For people who were born and raised in Tokyo like me, the word "Tokyo" meant Tokyo Station. Its outside look with old bricks and classic architecture was the symbol of Tokyo, probably of Japan, for almost 100 years.

What a great job JR Higashi Nihon did choosing precise restoration of 100 years of nostalgia instead of demolition and adding another new building.

Original Shinbashi Station

Small History of Japanese Trains

The first station in Japan was not Tokyo Station, though. The first railroad ran between Shinbashi (at old Shiodome freight terminal) and Yokohama (nowadays Sakuragi-cho) and was built on September 12, 1872 (the test run was between Shinagawa and Yokohama in May 1872).

The original Shinbashi station has also been partially rebuilt at the original location and now is a small railroad museum. The original Shinbashi station gradually transformed into the Shiodome freight terminal after the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923. In 1909 Karasuma Station was built at the current Shinbashi station site. When the original Tokyo Station opened, Shiodome became freight-only terminal and Karasuma became the current Shinbashi Station. 

◆TOKYO STATION VISION (Opening Ceremony)

The whole experience of the new Tokyo Station is named Tokyo Station City. They have a nice website in Japanese but I haven't found one in English yet. I bet they'll have it some day soon but here is the Japanese version of Tokyo Station City website.

Tokyo's New Shopping Complexes in Shibuya, Odaiba and Asakusa

Shibuya Hikarie, Diver City Odaiba and Sky Tree Solamachi

Japan has been going through a long period of economic struggle, and the natural disaster of last year damaged it even more.  However, Tokyo recently added three new shopping complexes -- one in Shibuya called Hikarie, another called Diver City in Odaiba, and the third, Solamachi, under the Sky Tree.

Shibuya Hikarie Grand Opening

Despite the lack of English information available right now, which is unusual for a newly introduced attraction like that, Shibuya Hikarie opened its doors on April 26th.  Recently (meaning except during the recession after the disaster) most visitors are from China so lots of tourist attractions provide Chinese information which seems to urge English information as well; but this place doesn't seem to have it set up yet.

 

This is the successor of Tokyu Bunka Kaikan (Cultural Center) shopping center. This place has long been known for its planetarium. Even when I was a child, the planetarium was that building. I was shocked by the news they closed the business there, but in fact it has been revived by a new, modern establishment. Taking the place of the old Tokyu, this impressive refurbished mall has shops, restaurants, movie theaters and event halls as well as several galleries; and of course the planetarium. However the complex has been completely updated and targets adult women rather than teenagers. The name "Hikarie" is "hikari e 光へ" means "towards light". It has in the lower floors corridors that connect to the Shibuya train terminal, where 8 train lines converge.

Sorry, I didn't find a good video in English, so here is a clip in Spanish.

Diver City, Odaiba

Odaiba is a whole new place to me, you the readers probably know about it a lot better than I do. So I will explain what I know. Odaiba means battery. The island was built as a battery to protect Edo, nowadays Tokyo, after the 1853-54 visit of Commodore Perry. It had been a coastal park for a long time but I grew up in the age of air and water pollution; I never went there. I only knew there were ruins of the battery on that site, which was interesting to me.

A few years ago, one day I was talking with a guy who had just visited Tokyo. I asked him where he stayed and he explained the location, which went, in my knowledge, off the cliff. I mean, Tokyo Bay ended in the middle of his explanation in my mind but it continued in his visit. Yeah, they extended the landfill -- that I never knew. So, I think this is built on the newer landfill.

Diver City, which opened on April 19th, features a large complex of shopping, dining and attractions; you can browse in this page too. It seems, in my observation on the net, to target a casual crowd rather than high end. It has the regular suspects in the malls all over in the US such as Old Navy and Auntie Ann's pretzels. I know these places, so seeing them there is nothing special to me. But they are new to Japanese. 

The most talked-about spots are the Calbee's store and the life size (?!) Gundam, a robot transformer statue. They only have a take out only shop for Gundam Cafe - the eat-in cafe is in Akihabara - but the statue is a big favorite of visitors. Calbee is a large snack producer, probably the biggest, for Japanese potato chips. They have a take out shop in the store which serves fresh fried potato chips that I've seen many times in Japanese blogs of common people. They line up for a long time to get these just fried chips.

Tokyo Solamachi

Okay! This establishment is built in an area I'm familiar with, near Asakusa, by the Tokyo Sky Tree. It opened on May 18th. This large shopping and amusement complex surrounds and is attached to the Tokyo Sky Tree. It has a couple of restaurants in the high floors of the building next to the tower so I don't know how to describe the building location.

The area is in Oshiage of Sumida ward in current address, commonly known as an area of Shitamachi which is old residential area. Therefore this place is more traditional and domestic oriented. They have 312 businesses including shops and restaurants and many of them are from the domestic area. Some of them have been carried by a few generations. The video introduced shops selling original sweets and jewelry as well as traditional crafts and curios. It also has an aquarium.

Although the near-by train station of Tobu line changed its name to Tokyo Sky Tree, the station used be called Narihira-bashi (業平橋 Narihira Bridge). It was named after Ariwara no Narihira, a legendary good looking romantic poet who lived during the 9th century, and supposedly the main character of Ise Monogatari (Tales of Ise). The area used to be Narihira which is from the shrine dedicated for him.

The broader area also is known as Mukoujima - it is familiar to people like me who grew up in Asakusa, which means "the island across (the river)". The area is on the other side of Sumida river from Asakusa.

For the both sides of the river, the area never had been fashionable. Well, actually it had been at the turn of the century, around the 1870's. But it was hit pretty hard by the WWII air raids, and was a forgotten domestic dead area ever since, especially when we were kids.

It was a big topic a few years back when I visited Tokyo that the city would soon see a new tall tower like Tokyo Tower by the Narihira river.  My friends and I didn't that expect a major attraction like this would be coming, though. Fashionable boutiques and updated buildings don't fit the area. I thought it could adopt the updated fashion like Shibuya or Odaiba and they are close but not quite.

Even though the sleek look of the tower and all new shops in the brand new Solamachi mall are nice to look at, the architects did not forget to add the spirit of Shitamachi, that is what I observed from the video. The domestic shoe maker doesn't have one of those cute girls or boys, instead, they have this middle age guy explaining his long time inherited business and a guy sawing a shoe. The guy of the fish market says he wants neighbors to come and shop everyday... uh... you want to turn this major tourist attraction a supermarket, my dear?? I love these people.

Well, it's not like any other shopping malls I've seen but I bet it is a fun place to visit. Of course, you'll get the updated attractions as well.