Field trip to Tokyo – Lost in Translation (Portuguese version)

Probably the worst time to visit Tokyo is during the golden week. So which time did we pick to visit? Golden week, what else? But it was far from unpleasant, as long as avoiding the shopping crowds in Omotesandō and Shibuya was part of the programme.

We booked a very nice hotel in the Chyoda ward. Tiny rooms but with all amenities (including PJs – this was a first!). After dumping the suitcases we started our culinary scouting with hot soba and tempura. We had to use a machine to order, everything was in Japanese. But an extremely nice lady working there spotted our confusion and came with a menu in English, plus she saved a nice table in the restaurant for us. It will be very hard to return to Europe and leave the Asian sense of customer service behind.

Buying a fish-shaped snack with azuki filling. In Korea it's called Bungeoppang.

Getting around in Japan can be tricky for first-timers but once you know the drill, it becomes logical and simple. Locate your destination on the map at the metro or railway station (if there’s no map in English ask a youngster and he / she will show how much it is on his / her phone app) and the ticket price will be next to your destination’s name. Buy the ticket for that price and off you go. If you change your mind halfway, there’s always a fare adjustment machine close to the exit.

Tokyo has two main subway network companies (Tokyo Metro and Toei) and you’ll have to pay a slightly higher price if you transfer between the two. They are gradually putting up barriers at the edge of the platforms in order to reduce the number of people “accidentally” falling on to the tracks. It's a complex society... 

Having a car is expensive (taxes are high and diesel is not an option), so the majority of the Tokyoites prefer to take public transportation (most of them commuting for hours), which improves air cleanliness and road congestion.

We spent the rest of the afternoon wondering around the Imperial Gardens and Ginza just after. Dinner was at a sushi place close to the Tsukiji Market. It was noisy, the communication didn't really flow but we got what we wanted except for a second bottle of sake, which was probably for the better.

Next day we did Shinjuku and Roppongi. We got amazing shots from Tokyo Tower and the Metropolitan Government Office tower (whose top observatory is free by the way).

View from Tokyo Tower

The highlight of our Tokyo trip was in Shibuya – not the crossing (which was anyway ultra-advertised by Coppola) but the Kaikaya restaurant. It was a feast for your eyes and mouths. A friend living in Tokyo took us there (thank you Hughes!) and it was "oishi" (delicious) and noisy all the way! Giant prawns, amazing sashimi, surprising tuna ribs and to top it up, an OMG-green-tea-cheesecake-awesomeness for dessert. The menu is in English but the waiters speak only Japanese and the smokers room is actually more interesting and livelier than the non-smokers’. If you tell the waiters that your food is tasty they will shout it out loud and the whole restaurant will roar. :)

We proceeded our journey in the Land of the Rising Sun to Kamakura for temple and shrine hopping. Problem was that half Tokyo was doing the same. 

Madness in Kamakura - Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū Shrine

Still, we managed to see a wedding, traditional style, yeah!

Wedding - Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū Shrine

It was a surprise to discover that Japanese don’t see the coastline as we do. We want bars, restaurants, esplanades, food stalls, ice-cream parlors… well, they want a road to drive through and don’t really care about cleaning the sand. Weird!

Kamakura beach

Next day was shopping time. And the thing that stroke us the most is that after paying one of the staff will take the bag and accompany you to the door, hand you the bag and will not move while you are still in his / her sight. So if you’re clumsy and disorientated like us (never know where to go, turning in all directions), then it’s a test to their patience but they will bear with it.

We couldn’t leave town without the earthquake experience. We were far from imagining that it would be 6.2 in intensity but ok. It helped that it was at 5am and we were too sleepy to understand the risks. Anyway, the hotel was quite safe, built for this kind of situation – we could feel the building swaying beneath our feet for a couple of minutes after. Freaky!

And then it was over… domo arigato!

We are now back in the Land of the Morning Calm, kind of…

Hannam-dong, Seoul