Japan - Part One - Surprised

I am here merely as accompaniment to "Visiting Graduate Professor" Rob. Professor Rob is scheduled to give two keynote addresses at the Kanazawa Institute (actually same talk, two different locations) and I'm here to see Tokyo and to finally meet Rob's friend, Dr. Kitatani.  Above is the Tokyo Tower which is right alongside our hotel (on the right).

My first introduction to Japan was in an airport toilet stall. I am thoroughly in love with toilet gadgetry here and especially with the descriptions of said gadgetry. Here is what I saw:

How could one not be charmed by such language as: "Equipment to cleansing the buttocks with warm water"? Or "Extra deodorizing with increased absorption strength for removing odors"? And my favorite - "Flushing Sound - press to play back flushing sound to muffle toilet sound" with volume control, no less.  It sounds like a recording of flushing sounds. Awesome.

This is the first trip where I had't done my homework first. The guidebooks that I'd carefully chosen through Amazon are still back in Woodland Hills. So, sadly, no research was able to be done on the ten plus hour flight here. Good thing Rob knew how to get us from the airport to the hotel. He is practicing his limited Japanese with great success. Everyone seems surprised that he can say whatever it is he says. They all giggle.

The first thing we did was navigate our way to a bookstore to buy some guide books. Each book was gently wrapped by the employee in a paper jacket, with origami-like folding precision. I have become obsessed with Japanese gestures and hand movements. So unique and so expressive. I don't speak Japanese, but I can read their hand movements pretty well now.

Surprise #1 - Not very many of the people we encounter speak English. I am shocked, frankly. In another country this might make me a little nervous, but here everyone goes out of their way to help, even if they have no idea what you need help with. So I think we'll be fine.

Surprise #2 - There are a lot of Japanese people here. That might seem obvious. But in other international cities, I'd see many different types of people. Here, most of the time, Rob and I are the only Westerners as far as the eye can see. Where are our fellow tourists? We have no idea.

One thing I can't get enough of is the graphic design. All the advertising look like children's cartoons, screaming with color and exclamation points! Even the card asking you to buckle up in the cab looks totally adorable, doesn't it? (Note the awesome white lace taxi seat covers!)

Next, here's a photo of the very happy taxi driver who found Rob's missing wallet and received lots of yen for a reward when, in the excitement of getting his wallet back, Rob got momentarily confused about the exchange rate.

Our first adventure was to the Imperial Palace, in the center of Tokyo. The walls and moat date back to the 16th century. It was once the site of Edo Castle, the fortress of the shoguns from 1619 to 1868. Its current resident is His Imperial Majesty the Emperor and family. The Nijubashi bridge dates from 1888 and is a popular spot for photos.

I'm not sure any girl hasn't fallen in love with a moat at one time or other in her life, whether real or imaginary. And I fell for this one, with its mossy green color and massive black stone walls.

Rob apparently preferred to contemplate the expanse of green lawn.

The gardens of the palace were open to the public so we strolled inside. For the first time in my life I understood why someone would carry an open umbrella on a sunny day. Very hot. Very humid.

Rob practiced his Japanese with automated direction-giving construction workers.

From there we went to the Ginza district and went inside the Sony building. After slowly wilting in the heat and humidity, this ice cream parlor looked like a little bit of heaven until we realized it was all a set for customers to try out a new Sony camera. Note the ice cream sundaes travelling on a little conveyer belt.

Lots and lots of people shopping.

We stop at the Apple store which is jammed. We are the only Westerners.

Rob stops to bring up his WTPC website with a 1975 photo of himself as dj for all to see...

We then travel to the Akihabara district (aka "Electric City") which is the hub of all things electronic and manga. I thought it would be more like the Sony building - all clean and white and hi-tech. But Surprise #3 - it's not. It was a colorful, loud, zany combination of hi and lo tech. Of big screen tv's and spools of cable you could buy by the foot. And each shop had someone in front hawking their wares with a microphone.

Where else but in Japan could you find "Gloomy the Naughty Grizzly"?...

And, of course, girls dressed as french maids advertising a nearby restaurant.

To end things on a more uplifting note, we finished our day with a visit to the Kanda Myojin Shrine. It's tucked away in the middle of a busy neighborhood. It has a beautiful bright shiny red gate.

Inside is the Shinto shrine. People come to pray to the spirits of marriage and success. There are wooden ema prayers hung outside on a wall.  And paper wishes for health and happiness hanging from metal frames. There was something very humbling about being in the presence of so many visible prayers and so I offered my prayer for their prayers. A perfect close to a perfect day.