Places

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15
Jul 11

Shinjuku: Tall Buildings and Entertainment

In a first for the “Places” entries about Tokyo, we’re looking at an entire special ward of Tokyo: Shinjuku. This ward is the home of Shinjuku Station, not only Japan’s but the world’s busiest train station. You’ll also find the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, one of the tallest buildings in Japan and the seat for the local Tokyo government.

Among the more culturally appealing attractions of the area are the Japanese Sword Museum and a number of parks. The Japanese Sword Museum, which offers English-language information about the exhibits, has over 150 swords on display. You’ll also find Japanese armor. The Shinjuku Gyoen (Park) is especially crowded during the hanami season because of the spectacular view of blossoms.

Shinjuku is also known for an expansive array of shopping opportunities. A number of department stores have an anchor store in Shinjuku and you’ll find mini malls as well — stores and malls such as Iseten, Odakyu, Takashimaya, Mylord and Lumine. Popular electronic stores include Yamada Denki and Yodobashi Camera.

If you’re looking for food, you’ll find a plethora of cheap, tiny restaurants in Omoide Yokocho. (It’s sometimes called “Piss Alley,” but the food isn’t all horribly cheap!) The mini malls and anchor stores have slightly higher-class restaurants so you can grab a bite while you’re shopping.

Kabukichou is in Shinjuku as well. Kabukichou is Tokyo’s “red light district” with adults-only entertainment. That’s where you’ll find a large share of love hotels and host and hostess clubs. Unofficially, you’ll find over 1000 members of the yakuza, the Japanese mafia, as well! Shinjuku Ni-chome is Tokyo’s best known gay district, with gay bars and gay host clubs and love hotels.  You’ll find plenty to do during the day and during the night in Shinjuku!

Have you ever been to Shinjuku? Are you more interested in shopping there or spending time at nightclubs?

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10
Jun 11

Ueno: Museums, a Park and a Zoo

In the east area of Tokyo, another of Tokyo’s wards, Taitou, is home to Ueno, a famous destination for tourists and Japanese culture enthusiasts alike. Ueno Park is one hotspot in the area that houses quite a few of Ueno’s biggest attractions.

There’s the Ueno Zoo, a 35-acre area. Opened in 1882, Ueno Zoo is Japan’s oldest zoo and is also home to the country’s first monorail, which you can ride to get around the zoo. Almost 500 species of animals–a total of around 2600 animals–call Ueno Zoo home. Their most popular animals include two giant pandas who arrived in February of this year.

Also in Ueno Park are three museums: The National Science Museum, Tokyo National Museum, and the National Museum of Western Art. The National Science Museum is ideal for science enthusiasts and people who love to see the progression of technology over time. The museum houses exhibits from pre-Meiji-era Japan as well as from modern times. The Tokyo National Museum is the oldest museum in the country and has been open since 1872. The museum focuses on Japan’s history and culture through ancient artifiacts and art. The National Museum of Western Art is newer; it’s been around since 1959. The museum remains the country’s only national museum that houses only foreign Western art from Europe. You’ll find works by artists such as Monet, Van Gogh, and Picasso at the museum.

Ueno also houses many buildings in traditional Japanese architecture, such as Buddhist temples like Bentendo and a Shinto Shrine called Toshogu.  A famous temple during the Tokugawa shogunate, Kaneiji, resides in Ueno Zoo. There are a number of ponds within the park as well, including the famous Shinobazu Pond. The Shinobazu Pond is featured in many works of art. Part of the Shinobazu Pond is called “the Lotus Pond.” So many lotuses grow in that area, that you can hardly see the water at times.

Many of Japan’s homeless congregate in Ueno, particularly around the ponds.

Have you ever been to Ueno? Which part of Ueno would you be most interested in seeing?

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22
Apr 11

Akihabara: Electronic and Geek Wonderland

This week we’re taking a look at another famous part of Tokyo: Akihabara, the best place to find the latest electronics and computers. Not only will you find electronics, but you’ll also find anime DVDs, video games, manga and anime merchandise. This makes Akihabara a favorite place for anime fans to meet up and buy goods. The kind of merchandise you’ll find there have earned the area the nickname “Denki Gai,” or “Electric Town.”

Although they exist throughout Japan, maid cafes and other themed cafes are a popular mainstay in Akihabara. These cafes are watered-down versions of host and hostess clubs and cater to people with specific interests. The classic maid cafe features women in short-skirted maid outfits, whereas a foreign butler cafe may be filled with men from outside of Japan who call every lady guest their “princess.”

Don’t confuse Akihabara with the actual Akihabara nearby. This may be confusing, but the Akihabara “Electric Town” is actually called Soto-Kanda and is part of the Chiyoda ward. It’s called Akihabara because the train station that lets out into the area is called Akihabara. The actual Akihabara is in the nearby Taitou prefecture.

Akihabara “Electronic Town” is the site of a 2008 massacre in which a murderer drove a truck into a crowd and then jumped out of the truck to stab people with a dagger, killing a total of seven people and wounding ten others. In a country in which violent crime is extremely low (and guns are prohibited), the incident shocked the nation. The murderer, Tomohiro Kato, was tried and sentenced to death for the crimes. The pedestrian crossing in which the murders took place was closed until January 2011, when it opened only on a trial basis until June.

Have you ever been to Akihabara? Would you be interested in seeing what you can find for sale there? Did you hear about the Akihabara Massacre in 2008?

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4
Mar 11

Ginza: Glitz and Glamor

We’re taking a look at another area of Tokyo today: Ginza. Ginza is part of Chuo, one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo. Ginza is an upscale area of Tokyo, famous for department stores, restaurants, and other high-end boutiques and shops. The Apple Store and the Sony Store are among the most often visited stores in the area.

Ginza is a great place for window shopping, as you’ll find high-end international brands like Chanel, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Dior, as well as high-end Japanese department stores like Wako, Seibu, Matsuzakaya, and Mitsukoshi. However, be careful when spending money and remember the exchange rate. (A basic rule of thumb is to remember 100 yen equals $1, but the amount can actually vary quite a bit. At present 100 yen equals $1.22.) Many of the items for sale are rather expensive, although you’re likely to find something that’s more affordable.

Restaurants are rather high-end as well. Be careful to peruse menus before you sit down and remember the old adage if there’s no price on the menu: “If you have to ask, you can’t afford it.” Sushi restaurants in Ginza can be especially expensive, with an average of a 20,000 to 70,000 yen bill ($243 to $850) per visit, depending on the number in your party. However, if you like the nightclub scene, you may be in paradise. Just be aware that the cover charge may be pricey. If you want to spend just a little less but still enjoy an elegant dining experience, try the coffee shops or tea houses in the area.

Don’t forget to take a look at the Kabuki-za in Ginza, one of the rare all-kabuki theaters in Japan. It was built in 1889.

Although this is largely true throughout Tokyo, most people who walk around in Ginza dress up in fashionable clothing. You’ll stand out in Japan as a foreigner, but you’ll especially turn heads if you wear typical comfortable tourist clothing.

Have you ever been to Ginza? Would you be interested in going to Ginza? Would you buy anything?

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21
Jan 11

Harajuku: Street Fashion Capital

Tokyo is Japan’s most populous city, so it’s no surprise that there are almost as many different sides to the city as there are people. For instance, there are 23 special wards in the city of Tokyo–just in the most populous area. You may have heard of some of these wards in pop culture references to Japan. These days, Harajuku is one of those pop culture words that’s popular even outside of Japan.

Harajuku isn’t a ward–it’s a section of the Shibuya ward, specifically around the Harajuku Station. But this small section of a Tokyo ward is famous globally as one of the fashion capitals of the world. However, the fashion you’ll find here is different from the high-class fashion you’ll find in other areas of Tokyo. The “street fashion” you’ll find on teenagers and young adults is usually bright, bold and one-of-a-kind.

The fashions tend to gravitate toward one of three styles: lolita, visual kei, and cosplay–however, in Harajuku, anything goes. The young people who show off their clothes in Harajuku take pride in creating their own mix-and-match designs.

Lolita: Lolita fashions (exclusively for women or men crossdressing) are somewhat reminiscent of Victorian-era clothes with much shorter skirts and a few modern accessories. There are a number of subcategories within the style, including “Gothic Lolita,” which makes use of mostly black and dark colors, and “Baby Lolita,” which emphasizes pastel colors and cutesy accessories.

Visual Kei: Visual kei, which we’ve covered as a musical genre, is known for theatrical outfits that mix Gothic black and dark colors as well as Victorian-era type of clothing. Brightly colored hair and kabuki-style makeup complete the ensembles.

Cosplay: Cosplay is short for “costume play” and it refers to dressing up as fictional characters. Most often in Japan, this refers to dressing as characters from anime, manga, video games, and famous bands, but it can also refer to roleplaying by wearing costumes, such as roleplaying as maids, nurses, and even schoolgirls.

Have you ever heard of Harajuku? Have you ever been to Harajuku? What do you think of the street fashion there?

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5
Nov 10

Visting Nara for Culture and History

The city of Nara in Nara Prefecture is a quiet, gorgeous place that lovers of history must visit when in Japan. A city of about 368,000, Nara offers plenty to do without overwhelming you with the huge, metropolitan flavor of larger cities. Nara was actually the first official capital of Japan during the years 710 to 784, before the capital moved to Kyoto. (The capital is Tokyo today.) Many of the city’s monuments have been preserved for 1300 years or more, which is remarkable in a country that has historically been victim to wars and earthquakes.

There are a number of important shrines and temples in Nara, including Toudai-ji, Kasuga Shrine, Saidai-ji, Toushoudai-ji, Gangou-ji, Yakushi-ji, and Koufuku-ji. A trip to Nara isn’t complete without stopping by a few of these shrines, if only to see the beautiful architecture. Be sure to learn what makes each temple or shrine unique. Toudai-ji, for example, is the world’s oldest wooden building that’s still standing.

Nara is quite famous for its mostly tame deer that bring visitors to locations such as Nara Park. The deer are protected and allowed to roam because of a Shinto legend that spoke of white deer that carried the god Takemikazuchi into Nara. You can even purchase shika senbei (“deer biscuits”) from vendors in the park to feed the deer. The deer will walk right up to you to eat these biscuits out of your hand. Don’t be surprised if the deer bow to you–they’ve learned to mimic the common Japanese gesture of bowing! Still, although the animals are mainly tame, they can be aggressive when it comes to eating. Try to avoid the ones with large antlers for your own safety.

Nara is about a four-hour train ride from Tokyo to the southwest. It’s only about an hour south of Kyoto by train, so you could feasibly visit both cities over the course of a few days. However, don’t be tempted to squeeze a visit to both cities in only one day; after all, there’s so much to see in Nara alone!

Have you been to Nara? What was your favorite tourist site? Did you feed any deer?

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17
Sep 10

Utashinai: Japan’s Least Populated City

So far we’ve covered a number of Japan’s most populated cities in this blog. For example, Tokyo, Japan’s most populated city, is home to about 13.01 million residents in only about 845 square miles of space. (That’s about 15,144 people per square mile.) Conversely, Japan’s least populated city is Utashinai in the Hokkaido region. Utashinai is home to about 4845 residents in about 22 square miles of space. It may have much less space then Tokyo, but it’s far more spacious for the residents, as the density translates to about 224 people per square mile.

Utashinai is about a 7-hour train ride from Tokyo in the central part of Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost prefecture. Like the rest of Hokkaido, Utashinai is known for cold, snowy winters as well as beautiful, spacious landscapes. For tourists, there are two reasons to head to Utashinai, besides perhaps the peace and quiet that such a small town affords. The first is the ski season, which can last anywhere between November and May, particularly December through March. Travel to Utashinai to tackle the Kamoidake ski hill (about a medium-sized hill). The ski chalets and hotels in the area offer Swiss-style ski-centric decor and often host ski groups and meets during the primary skiing season.

The other reason tourists visit Utashinai is the outdoor onsen. Kamoidake has a popular onsen resort and there’s another onsen called Tyrol no Yu. (In the spring and summer months, local sports teams may practice at the Tyrol arena.) You can stay at the onsen or spend only about US$5 per adult and US$3 per child to take a dip in the Tyrol onsen.

The appeal of visiting such a small town as Utashinai is that you’ll witness a completely different type of Japanese culture than you would in the larger cities. It can also prove extremely relaxing after some time in one of the world’s largest metropolitan areas (Tokyo) to retreat to a much quieter, more scenic area.

For residents of Utashinai, partaking in the skiing and onsen are a part of their daily lives, but there isn’t a lot else to do. In 2007, the local high school closed and high schoolers have to trek to neighboring cities for school. The town once thrived on a number of coal mines established in the 1890s and was home to a record of nearly 46,000 people in the 1940s; however, since the three coal mines closed in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, the town has struggled to find an economic identity.

Would the idea of visiting Japan’s least populated city appeal to you? Why or why not? Do you enjoy winter sports and visiting onsen?

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30
Jul 10

Kobe: Mountains, Business, and Beef

With about 1.5 million people, Kobe is Japan’s 6th most populous city. Located in the Hyogo prefecture, Kobe is nestled along the coastline approximately 310 miles west of Tokyo and is reachable from Tokyo in about 3 ½ hours by train. Once among the most important port cities in Japan after Japan opened itself up to trade, Kobe is still the fourth busiest seaport city in the nation.

Kobe is home to a number of famous Japanese companies, such as Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Kobe Steel, and ASICS, which is a sportswear and athletic equipment company. Global companies that make their Japanese headquarters in Kobe include Nestle and Proctor & Gamble. With so many companies and trades in Kobe, the area among the busiest for business and office jobs in Japan.

If you’re just there to sightsee, the first thing you’ll notice is the Rokko Mountains, which frame the long, rather thin city of Kobe on the opposite side of the ocean. The apex of the Rokko Mountains is about 3055 feet high. If you’re interested in seeing the city of Kobe from the mountains, there are a number of observation decks, restaurants, museums, and even a botanical garden along the mountainside. Perhaps most famous is the Arima Onsen (read here about onsen) atop the mountain, from which you can bathe and see the city at a stunning height. Taking a bus to the onsen from the city will only cost you about US$20 round-trip.

You can’t leave Kobe (unless you’re a vegetarian or not a fan of beef) without trying some Kobe beef. Easily one of the highest quality beef types in all of Japan, other Japanese cities import Kobe’s black Tajima-ushi Wagyu cattle beef. Some of the highest quality cuts of steak made from Kobe beef can cost about US$500 (!), but you can sample much more affordable Kobe beef in anything from burgers to shabu shabu to sushi (cooked) to sukiyaki.

Your trip to Kobe would be incomplete without a ride on the giant Ferris wheel at Kobe Harborland. The view from the Ferris wheel at night is stunning!

Have you ever been to Kobe? Have you ever tried Kobe beef? Is the beef worth the rave reviews it gets? Have you ever visited the Rokko Mountains?

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11
Jun 10

Yokohama: Japan’s Second Most Populous City

Because it’s so close to Tokyo—and Tokyo “spills” over into its suburbs so that Tokyo seems far bigger than it is—it’s often forgotten by tourists that Yokohama is actually a separate city. With about three and a half million residents, Yokohama is Japan’s second most popular place to live. The capital of Kanagawa Prefecture, Yokohama is actually widely considered part of “the Greater Tokyo Area,” but it’s worth a visit on its own.

Yokohama is only about 28 miles south of the city of Tokyo and is nestled along the Tokyo Bay. You can easily catch a train from Tokyo to Yokohama in just over an hour and for only about ¥740 (about US$8). Yokohama is actually one of the cities with the greatest immigrant population; about 75,000 of its residents are from countries such as China, South Korea, the Philippines and Brazil. (As far as its immigration goes, Japan has a high rate of Brazilians, both legal and illegal [by overstaying their work visas] due to the need for laborers.)

Because Yokohama is a somewhat southern city, you can expect humid, hot summers and mild winters with virtually no snowfall. That said, although summer may be the peak tourist season, you’d be better off touring during the fall or winter when fewer visitors pack the streets.

Yokohama is well known for Kannai, a historic district featuring thoroughly modern architecture and stores (but many “firsts,” such as the first place in Japan to sell ice cream and the first place to sell beer). Yokohama is also home to Japan’s tallest building, the Landmark Tower, as well as the Cosmo Clock 21, the world’s largest clock and one of the world’s largest Ferris wheels, which offers a stunning view of the city that’s not to be missed after sunset. You can expect lots of great places to shop in Yokohama, such as the Motomachi area, as well as great places to stroll along the harbors.

For more classical Japanese architecture enthusiasts, you may want to head to Sankei Garden, which features a gorgeous array of classical Japanese gardens and buildings. Tickets cost only around ¥500 (about US$5.50)

Have you ever visited Yokohama? If you’re touring Japan, would you prefer to visit the big metropolitan areas or the areas with more historical sites?

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31
May 10

Kyoto: The Original Capital of Japan

With nearly 1.5 million residents, the city of Kyoto in the Kyoto Prefecture is the 7th largest city in Japan, but it’s also one of the nation’s most important cities, in terms of history and culture. The city, located about 300 miles southwest of Tokyo (and accessible from Tokyo in around 3 ½ hours by train), is centrally inland, so you can’t see the Pacific Ocean or the Sea of Japan from the city limits. The large population’s water needs are met by the plethora of locations at which a water table breaks through the ground’s surface, leading to attractive ponds and small lakes. There are also three rivers surrounding the city: the Kamogawa, the Katsuragawa, and the Ujigawa.

Home to historic locations such as the Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion Temple), Kyoto was once Japan’s capital city for a period of almost 1100 years from 794 CE to 1868 CE. (There was a brief time in the 1180s CE, however, in which it was not the capital.) During this time, Kyoto was known as Heian-kyo. Kyoto was home to the imperial family for all of these years, even when the imperial family lost much of its power to the shoguns (military leaders), so it served as the nation’s capital, at least on paper. In fact, the label of “capital” was never officially transferred from Kyoto to Tokyo in the 1800s even after the imperial family moved, so there are some who believe that Kyoto remains the capital officially, despite the modern government being seated in Tokyo.

Originally modeled after the Chinese city of Xi’an (at the time the capital of the Tang Dynasty), the city of Kyoto retains much of its imperial and historical significance. There are plenty of modern buildings, but there are far more historic buildings per square mile than you would find in Tokyo and much more of the traditional history is preserved in Kyoto culture. For example, the most prestigious area of geisha culture remains in Kyoto, not Tokyo. Other sites of interest include the Heian Shrine, the Shimogamo Shrine, the Daigo-ji, Ninna-ji, and much more.

The American military knew about Kyoto’s rich cultural and historical significance to Japan and strongly considered Kyoto as a target for the atomic bomb during World War II, hoping to devastate the Japanese people’s morale by destroying so much of their history at once. However, it was spared from the atomic bomb and even from the rest of the bombings thanks to Edwin O. Reischauer, a “Japan expert” liaison to the U.S. military (and later ambassador to Japan), who had been to Kyoto and wanted to preserve its beauty.

Have you ever been to Kyoto? What’s your favorite historical site in Kyoto? Do you agree with America’s World War II decision to spare Kyoto in favor of Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Tokyo (which was devastated by firebombing), and other cities? Why or why not?

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