Dear Japan

I think I really like you as a friend, but I am no longer in love.

It’s not you, it’s me. The love of the new, the unknown, the forbidden is gone.

It is not the great public transport, the very friendly and courteous people. The wall-to-wall shopping.

I am sure we can still be friends.

My third trip to Japan, even with the earthquake and typhoon, was pleasant enough. I think however that to know you better, I would have to move in with you and learn your language. At this stage in my life, it’s a commitment I cannot make. I am just too tired and grumpy for that.

My genes are calling me to follow my DNA back in time. Germany and Scotland call.

This begs the question of why I travelled to Japan in the first place. Good question. I think I should have had a holiday while I was not working.

You have shown me the future: it’s vertical and it’s mobile. Even the geek (otaku) side of Japan was interesting — but not engaging enough unless you like manga, gundam universe and other slices of culture I cannot explain.

Yours

Nick

Picture: Distant view of Typhoon clouds from Hotel Room

Typhoon number 4 (official name) hit Okinawa, and skimmed the eastern shores of Japan. Completely missing Tokyo, but stopping many services for a few minutes on Sunday. We were out in the worst of it in Harajuku on Saturday. Wind+Rain = Shopping in Japan. Everyone was out and about.

Then on Monday morning at around 10:19am, a magnitude 6.8 earthquake hit to the north of Tokyo. We were in the hotel room at the time, and Avril thought I was being funny rocking the bed. I thought she was muddling around packing bags. Nope, it was an earthquake. My greatest fear was that I was only in my jocks. Avril and Liam were concerned about our greater welfare. Within a minute or two, it was over, and we watched the aftermath on TV.

Note: my mum reminded me that this was my second earthquake. When I was 5, Nowra NSW had an earthquake. I must admit I don’t remember the earthquake, but I do remember our cat.

It seemed that Tokyo went onto its main business: shopping. So we joined in the crowds at Akihabara

Thankfully the organisers of Japan have nice maps virtually everywhere, and you should not get lost.

Ginza is the home to shopping in brand-name stores. Today we visited the Sony, Nissan, Canon and Apple stores.

After visiting Yodobashi, and the Sony store, I am of the belief that we get the crappiest stuff in Australia. The Toshiba and Sony laptops in Japan are beautiful. In Australia, everything is grey and horrible. The above is a small PC with wireless, bluetooth, TV and a whole bunch of things running in Vista. Do Want! Oh, that’s right. Not in Australia.

Buying food from pictures is one thing, but pharmaceutical items? It’s a hoot — you are likely to get almost anything.

Paul Macartney playing in the Starbucks, Ginza Matsuya-dori is putting everyone to sleep. (note: this Starbucks in now 10 years old!). Why Starbucks? You can taste the distance between the coffee in Japanese coffee. Starbucks is denser.

The new Canon store just a way down from the Starbucks has excellent photos, and displays of their devices. Above is a paper model of Pirates. Excellent way of selling more printers, inks and paper.

And yes, before heading back to the hotel, I visited teh Apple Store Ginza and refrained from purchasing anything. Might get one of them new MacBook Pros when I return to Australia if I can find a new owner for my old one. The store looks a little bare without the iPhone. Way more sales people than customers. Very non-Ginza.

Picture: Yodobashi Camera, Shinjuku, Games Store. Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii.  Maybe something Xbox360. If you look hard enough.

The normal PC “bits” store in in the lower level (B1) of the main store. Here is absolutely anything and everything you will ever need for PC stuff:

Picture: Image, on tree in Shinjuku

Picture: Quality merchandise from Japan

Picture: I jump on a busy JR Yamanote from Shinjuku to Tokyo Station. Goal: Imperial Palace Gardens

From note in the above picture: “Shelter for People Who Cannot Go Back Home” That is, homeless

Picture: Guard House (old, not new) at Imperial Palace. Note: the guards are not ninjas

Picture: This was taken at the Eastern entrance to the Imperial Palace. I loitered around this area as there were many security guys with ear pieces looking nervous. More nervous with a sweaty anglo-saxon guy standing around watching (ie: me). They waved me on, just in case I was a white terrorist intent on doing something evil. I was just interested! Eventually, a car rushed past on this road and everyone returned to normal.

10th July: Up early, JR train from Osaka to Shin-Osaka to capture a new N700 Shinkansen train to Tokyo. 9:00am at Osaka, 9:30am at Shin-Osaka, 10:30am Shinkansen via Kyoto, Yokohama etc. We’ve gone for Green-class which provides more room. Whilst we’ve paid for 3 seats, we get a set of 4 between us. Which is just as well, as we have a new companion on our journey: Mr Fast Bastard Bag:

Arriving at Tokyo in the early afternoon, we weave our way out the large Tokyo JR Station the Maronouchi Subway line. 7 stops later, we are at the Nishi-Shinjuku station. Navigating the exits, we find ourself at the Hilton and we’re home for 9 or so days.

After a quick unpack, we go out into Shinjuku to the Yodobashi, and Tokyu Hands store.

Ordering dinner, we broke the intricate system by adding on desert. Oops.

Up at 6:00am to get ready for a long day. Osaka JR train to Osaka-shin. Catch the Shinkansen to Hiroshima via Shin-Kobe and other stations that mix together. The Hodge’s almost broke the whole system by inserting our Suica cards into the wrong machines. Friendly JR staff kindly help us for gaijin out.

Just like the blur of the Shinkansen passing in the opposite direction, with many many tunnels. And also like yesterday, all land us used. Fukuyama has a large catholic cathedral clearly visible in the centre of the town.

Avril and Liam had fun feeding me unknown Japanese foods. They tasted awful. Do not want.

Off at Hiroshima, and a short walk to the Street Cars. Choice: Y600 for a day ticket or Y150 for each trip. A picture of the railway station from August 1945 clearly demolished, over 1.2kms away from the hypocentre brings you back to the reality why Hiroshima is now a city name everyone recognises.

The street car takes you on a short 20 minute ride into history.

The Atomic Dome is a silent, yet stark reminder of our history. Our shared history. Not a pleasant history at all.

The building, right next to the Aioi Bridge, is one of the only buildings to survive. The hypocentre (the ground nearest the blast, the blast being only 580m from the ground). The original iron girders are now inside in the Peace Museum. There is a slight twist against the force of the blast. Touching items such as roofing tiles that have bubbled; bricks that have fused together: brings home the blast.

The city of Hiroshima has left the Atomic dome as a reminder to us all of the effects of the bomb. The whole area of the Peace Park was once a bustling part of the city centre. Now gone. Various peace organisations populate the edges of the park, along with statues. These organisations present the Japanese perspective on American militarism — and vastly different to the sitting on the fence of the Peace Museum.

The museum shows how Hiroshima was the home of the 5th Division (note: this division served in Java and Timor during WW2) and alter the HQ of the Second General Army. The tasking documents from US Military command do not mention the military nature of the target.

No matter how man justifies his horrific actions to other men: religion, ideology, perceived differences; the horrors of war are clearly on show at Hiroshima. It is neither shrine nor temple. It is a living reminder of what humans can do to others. No matter the couching in strategic, political or tactical terms: war is most unwanted.

There are many clocks in the Peace Museum at stuck on 8:15am. The time that the bomb blast hit. Hiroshima remains staunchly anti-nuclear weapons to this day. And with clear justification.

The Peace Museum, with its purposeful highlighting of the effects on children: showing the innocents in the war; heightens the parent in all of us.  Whilst the technology of the bomb is shown with a menacing scale replica of the bomb sitting over a part of the display — all seem to disregard it. The after-effects are rightly shown.

Another moving place to visit is the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Hall. It has a downward spiralling walkway into a room. This room has a 360degree picture of Hiroshima, post bomb. However, this picture’s dark/light is made from the names of 140,000 (various places in Hiroshima report 350,000) victims. It is a powerful display.

On our long return to the Shinkansen station, we pass through many malls and shops. Strangely, a Yellow Submarine store selling B29 models sits directly underneath the hypocentre.

We point at menus, get more strange food; and return to Osaka via Shinkansen and JR. Hotel at 9.15pm.

Hiroshima is no modern shrine. It’s name is the shrine.

Up early, walk to JR Train: Osaka to Kyoto via Express Line. Cityline Bus around to the middle of Kyoto suburbia. Express Line is faster as it seems to skip 2 stops out of 3. A Rapid, in comparison, skips 1 out of 3. A local stops at every stop. The nuance between Rapid and Express means the difference of 30 minutes between Osaka and Kyoto.

Rushing through the country-side between Osaka and Kyoto, it is easy to miss the actual country part. Yes, the mountains are all very verdant and green — the farms can be seen in the triangles between houses. Farming is squeezed into the left overs of suburbia. All the spare space in Japan is used. Rice paddies, soccer fields on the flood plains of rivers; vertical car parks. All the space is wisely used.

Imagine a modern city, wrapped around large plots of land conveniently containing shines, temples and gardens. Gone is the deep green of the countryside: here it is orange. Lots of Orange. It is a shame that digital cameras miss the deep oranges and purples. There is lots of orange in Kyoto.

The bus system is perfect for Kyoto’s sprawl. Only Y500 for a day pass is excellent value. The JR trip from Kyoto to Osaka was Y540, one way. This is a mere AU$10 for a day’s worth of travel, each. Enter from the rear, and exit (after paying) from the front. A smart system that ensures an efficient flow of people through the bus, onto the street and into the money making temples. For the JR, we re-charged our Suica (stored value) cards from our last trip in 2005.

Japan, whilst exhibits many features of the future; cashless is not one of them in small stores and restaurants. Thankfully, the JR trains use these new stored value cards and the places where you can get money from your accounts seems to be greater.

Every temple/shine I’ve seen is surrounded by mechanisms for taking money from the attendee. Whether for long life, good marriage, for ancestors — the temples/shrines take your money in multiplicity of forms. At least this investment results in some of the world’s best vistas, and the raw earth and nature calming suburbian nerves.

Our first shine/temple/garden/shopping trap was the Kiyomizu (largest) etched into the mountainside of Kyoto. We had Meiho, Yuka and Shiho escort us (for free!) around this large temple. They were using the experience to learn English.

Picture: some fat bastard looking for Charlotte.

In Lost in Translation, Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) calls her mum still in the US and says “she went to a temple, and didn’t feel anything” I can understand why. Whilst the temples and shines are meant to evoke spiritual feeling; the sheer number of people and the shopping stalls dampen the spiritual feeling somewhat. A calmness does decend on you in the gardens. Sitting and watching the Koi (think: carp) and turtles fight it out for illicit scraps of food thrown down into the water.

The second was the Heian. The gardens here are brilliant. I think there is a scene from Lost in Translation (Charlotte crossing the pond) shot in this garden. The garden is situation around a stark white and orange courtyard temple thing. Venturing through the portal into the garden, you see a cooler, calmer world where the sounds of Kyoto traffic disappears.

The JR train returning to Osaka we passed Suntory Whisky distillery. Just like Lost in Translation.

Dinner at a random place with some random Japanese food. “setto menu”. Buying food late in the day from the department store resulted in discounts; although it was still a little expensive.

Tired legs, broken feet. Tomorrow is another day.

Picture: Can Has 8-bit Text! Shinkansen timetable

First stop: JR station to purchase tickets. Eventually lining up in the correct queue, we spent about AU$1200 on carious Shinkansen (bullet/fast train) both to Hiroshima for Sunday, and going into Tokyo for Tuesday next week. Kyoto is a short 30 minute train ride north-ish tomorrow.

Yodobashi Camera. My nemesis on previous trips; this trip is no different. Purchased a new Canon IXY 1000 10 megapixel camera and handed the old Canon down. This will be my 4th IXY camera, and they are real workhorses.

Now Yodobashi camera. Think of a department store, but with electronics galore. Every brand, software, hardware, whitegoods, obscure accessories: the list goes on. In a vertical store 7 stories high. Now non-geeks, before your brain explodsed, there is are two floors of fashion and another 2 floors of food.

Picture: many, many isles of geek gadgetry. There are 6 floors above this full of geek stuff.

Osaka is missing the vending machines of Tokyo. In Tokyo, they exist everywhere. In Osaka, the only vending machines are for cigarettes.

TV is Japan is as weird as portrayed on Australia TV. Considering the range, and HD quality of TV’s as demonstrated in Yodobashi, I wonder what Japanese people watch.

Not happy just to watch TV at home, there are now phones that have TV and all the other phone stuff. The TV isn’t beamed over the network: there is a little antenna:

Liam witnessed some animated underpants at 2pm, and the morning show has its own Karl. Happy whales in catalogs, and less English signs than you find in Tokyo.

Up at 6:00am, arrive at airport at 8:30am and through checkin, customs and immigration. Our checked in baggage weighs 31kg; and other carry on is 25kg.  Including assorted liquids under 100ml.

OK, what’s the deal with putting your 100ml liquids into a plastic bag. The security guys at Sydney International grabbed some poor Chinese student’s fish oil tablets and poured them into a plastic bag. Then handed him the plastic bag and the empty container. The poor bemused student just walked away. Still cannot work out why the baggie was required.

The exchange rate with Japan Yen is highly favourable for this trip: Travelex at the airport is 94.4 Yen to 1 AU. If you are a NZ’er, time to come to AU as the exchange rate is 1:1. Quick purchases at the airport included a new Lonely Planet City Guide for Tokyo.

Through Gate 31 onto the JetStar Airbus A330-202 into our Starclass seats. Yes, Starclass. Paid the extra and the unexpected result was 5 seats over 3 of us. Starclass to Osaka Kansai was 50% full. Half of the Economy seats were populated with about 2000 Japanese school girls.

Sleeping over PNG, watching various movies on the small, self-contained “digi-E-Players”. JetStar gets a solid 7 out of 10. –1 for food, –1 for lack of movie selection and –1 for the old, slighlty smelly Airbus. Looks distinctly like a Qantas hand-me-down.

Landing took all the Kansai terminal buildings. Yes, we landed at one end of the terminal at a couple of hundred kms/hr and slowed down and taxi’d into the other end of the terminal. It’s that big. Our arrival gate, gate 6, was sponsored by Panasonic.

Liam meets Samjung at Immigration control. Same school and year as Liam, but from Korea. Arrived in Osaka on a Qantas flight yet was 10 people ahead of us in the immigration line. Their family plans is to go to Universal Studios in Osaka.

We’re through immigration, collected the 31kg behemoth bag and onto the Limousine bus to Osaka CBD within 10 minutes. Osaka is 25degC and rather humid, fully expected.

A 50 minute ride through the Kansai night looking at love hotels, pachinko bars, canals, heavy industrial works and finally Osaka.

Lemon flavoured beer? Liam explores the minibar which has lemon gel. The dunnies are very modern with their heated cleaning jets (DO WANT) and more knobs and dials than a Russian spacestation.  Gel drinks. Toilets. Wow.

The future is vertical people. Vertical. Everything is vertical.

I love arriving into new places at night. The morning always surprises.