Tokyo, Japan - 1-2 November 2007

Konnichi wa! Well, Tokyo most definitely lived up to its expectations. It really is quite an alien world, not too tainted by “western” culture or the English language. Outside of the main hotels, and even then, people don’t really speak English, which was nice to come across again. Although difficult at times to communicate, it didn’t impede any of my plans. The Japanese are lovely people, ever patient and always willing to help the dumb foreigner.

Driving into the city from the airport took ages. The countryside wasn’t particularly attractive: quite industrial, but that’s to be expected given the fact that Japan successfully managed to steal away most manufacturing industry from the old developed world at one time. Once we hit Tokyo, things were different, however. The freeways are actually elevated roads, winding their ways overhead in and out the skyscrapers of the city. It’s quite futuristic in a way, and resemblant of the MRT system in Singapore.

I stayed at the Hilton Tokyo in Shinjuku, a central area known for its up-market hotels, shopping, and the busiest train station in the world, apparently. The hotel itself was very grand and elegant (as are most of the up-market hotels in Tokyo) and I had great sweeping views of the Tokyo skyline from my large minimalist-designed room, which came with nice little Japanese finishes such as the flat-screen TV and Japanese window-blinds. Jetlagged, not having slept, I dumped my bags and set out to see what Tokyo had to offer.

Tokyo is huge, with some 12 million inhabitants so there’s a lot to do and see. Given the lack of English signage or language skills I was a little daunted by the prospect of maneuvering myself around the sprawling Metro system but it isn’t that hard if you have your English guidebook with the English version of maps etc. It was quite the adventure, in fact.

One thing you definitely shouldn’t miss is the Tsukiji central fish market in the mornings. It’s the largest and busiest of its kind in the world. Acres and acres of fish, fish-related products and seafood exchange hands here daily in this bustling, chaotic atmosphere as fishermen, vendors, wholesalers and the odd tourist convene to try to get a piece of the action. Accidents are common as the little vehicles and forklifts they are driving around whiz in and out of the many thousands of alleys dodging people, fish and other crazy drivers. Considering what it is, the smell isn’t too overbearing but it’s not a sight for the faint-hearted and certainly not a place for your new Gucci pumps. Fish are cut, dissected, gutted, packed and auctioned off all in front of your eyes. You will have to arrive early to see the main action, and most of the auctioning. I got up at 4am and caught the first Metro at 522am which was fine.

Afterwards, it’s traditional to end your visit to the fish market with a full Sushi breakfast in one of the places in the market. But be prepared, queuing to get into these tiny places can take 2 hours. It’s well worth the wait, however. As any Japanese will tell you, it’s the freshest and best sushi in Japan, and the world.

After fuelling up on Sushi for the day and leaving the chaotic atmosphere of the fish market, you’ll probably want a bit of peace and quiet to regain your sense of inner self. Tokyo is full with such tranquil retreats in the form of tranquil Japanese gardens. Near the fish market itself is the Hama Rikyu Onshi-Teien, a former Shogunal palace and one of Tokyo’s finest gardens, complete with a charming tea pavilion and wonderfully manicured trees, some of them many hundreds of years old. Another such city space is the Imperial palace grounds, occupying acres of land in Central Tokyo near Tokyo station, around half the size of Central Park in New York. Only the East garden is open for most of the year, but you can get close to the palace, and the garden itself is a stunning retreat from the city craziness.

For shopping you wand to head to Ginza, which is the high-end designer capital of Tokyo, Roppongi and Roppongi Hills for nice surroundings whilst you shop, and Harajuku for your quaint little windy streets of interesting and independent boutiques and eclectic mix of next-best-thing and next-old-thing in a pleasant setting for meandering (as well as the main drag of Omote Sando). You can also catch a glimpse of the girls of Gwen Stefani fame hanging our here on the bridge over the station. Akihabara has the world’s highest concentration of discount electrical shops and is the place to go to pick up an electronic goods bargain. Sony etc. is so much cheaper in Japan.

No visit to Tokyo is complete without a trip up one of the many skyscrapers for dinner and / or a drink, to take in the views of the city. Personally I prefer it at night, when the city is illuminated and comes to life with all the lit-up skyscrapers and neon lights, but day is also good. For dinner, I’d recommend HAKXXX in the Sky Garden on the 50th floor of the Nomura building, or the Aurora Lounge in the Keio Plaza hotel, both in Shinjuku. The former does modern, experimental Japanese food and the latter modern European. The Park Hyatt is also a good choice and is the setting of the movie “Lost in Translation”, which adds to the excitement there…..

I’ll sign off now and leave the rest of Tokyo to explore yourselves. Every person’s experience will most undoubtedly be different. Sayonara!!