At 300 km/h – Impressions of Tokyo
This is my contribution to Shane’s Japan Blog Matsuri, where bloggers are encouraged to write about a specific topic. The topic for the month of August is “Impressions of Tokyo,” and you’re free to join in on the fun.
Tokyo’s a big place. There’s no doubt about it. For the longest time I had thought the sprawling metropolis was home to the same number of people that lived in Canada, but then I discovered that I was slightly off. Tokyo really only has the population of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, P.E.I., Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and the three territories (Yukon, Northwest and Nunavut) combined. It’s both a city planner’s dream, and nightmare.
I’ve had the opportunity to visit Tokyo just once. It was in December of 2006 when I had come to spend Christmas with Reiko. Because of the season, there were no more seats available on the flights from Narita to Nagoya. So, as a result, I had to take the train from the airport to the JR Tokyo station, then catch the Shinkansen to Nagoya. Doing all of this after a 12 hour flight from Vancouver was not my idea of fun but, considering how many stories I’ve heard of foreigners being overwhelmed by the city, I must admit the whole thing left me feeling a little underwhelmed by its normalcy.
JR Tokyo Station
JR Tokyo Station has one thing going for it: it’s big. Really big.
When Reiko had first sent me the map to the place so that I’d know where to go and how to get to the platform, I was completely blown away. Complex. Colossal. Colourful. The station is one of those places where you would hate to lose a child.
After getting off the train from Narita, it was pretty easy to follow all the signs to the Shinkansen gates. One of the things I did like about this journey was the bi-lingual nature of everything. All the signs were in both Japanese and English, and all the people spoke Japanese and cash. It was quite easy to get to the station, buy a ticket, and make my way to the platform where I would then take the second-fastest vehicle I had ever been on (not including all the different planes) to Nagoya.
Most of the experience is still just a blur, but there is one thing I do remember: being laughed at in the bathroom.
The Bathroom Experience
I don’t like the bathrooms on airplanes. They’re uncomfortable, always busy, unsanitary and largely odorous. For these reasons, I made the foolish mistake of not using them on the flight from Seattle to Tokyo. Normally this isn’t a problem, but about six hours into the flight I felt that familiar sensation that means “You’ll need a bathroom in about an hour, and you don’t have a say in the matter.”
Well … I did have a say, and I said no. So I held it until I reached the airport in the hopes that I could find a bathroom on the ground. No dice. There were bathrooms, but I had only 70 minutes after getting off the train to catch the Shinkansen that I needed to get to Nagoya in order to catch the train I needed for Gifu Station right after. Luckily, the simple act of standing and walking around was enough to help me away from the bathrooms but, after making my way to the JR Tokyo Station, I had been holding it for just over six hours and it was starting to get very uncomfortable.
Now, an interesting thing happens while holding for the bathroom for so long: it shrinks. Not a little bit, either. So, when I had run into the bathroom at the train station, it was just a bit more difficult to use the urinals. Unfortunately, the Japanese man next to me seemed to be rather curious and couldn’t help but look down and see … nothing.
He couldn’t help himself and blurted out something along the lines of “それは本当に小さい” (sore wa honto ni chisai | That’s really small), to which another man just happened to look at me and laugh as well.
Oh well. It’s not like I was trying to win any competitions or anything 
The View From the Shinkansen
My plane had landed at 4:10 pm local time, so by the time I collected my bags and got through immigration it was already early evening. One interesting thing I had learned about Japan is that the sun is either up, or down. There is nothing in-between as there is in many parts of Canada. By the time I made it to the Shinkansen terminal the sun was already on the horizon, and it was completely gone two minutes later when the kilometer-long train pulled into the station. Unfortunately, this meant that I could not enjoy the view from the window seat that wasn’t mine. But that’s alright … Tokyo had something else in store for this Asia-loving traveler from Canada: A stinky claustrophobic situation.
Japanese men love many things; two of which include 750 mL cans of beer and strong-smelling fish. I was in the unfortunate position of sitting in a middle-seat between two men who preferred to consume these things in great quantities on the Nozomi to Nagoya. It wouldn’t have been so bad if the trains had places to put luggage, like the JR trains from Narita, but mine had to sit between me and the seat ahead. Suffice to say, the ride was uncomfortable and quite odorous. To add to the whole experience, both businessmen were fast asleep and snoring like an ox half an hour after finishing the powerfully potent plates of fish.
It’s Not All Bad
Despite this less-than-ideal first impression, Tokyo is still a place I’d like to visit.
Reiko has been talking about going to Disney Sea, and I’d love to see some of the shops and sights around the city. Heck, depending on the cost, I’d like to take the missus on one of those dinner cruises. It’d be expensive, but having the opportunity to watch such a massive metropolis make the transition from day to night from the harbor would be worth the cash outlay.
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