Tag Archives: Japan

Best of Tokyo

Me and my wife have been to Tokyo twice now, and I am still enchanted by this fantastic city. I miss it and have no doubt that I will return to it later in life.

I want to share a few of the things that I like about it. What you can’t see in the photos is how extremely friendly everyone is; not just the people trying to sell you things, but strangers in the street who will go out of their way to help you in any way they can.

And it’s clean. I mean really clean. If anyone sees a candy wrapper on the street, they pick it up and bring it with them until they find a trash can. This doesn’t happen very often in Stockholm.

Anyway, here are a few of my favorite things about Tokyo. Click to enlarge:

The view from the 41st floor
The view from the 41st floor

This photo was taken from the bar on the 41st floor in the Park Hyatt hotel. This is the bar where Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson meet in Lost in Translation.

The streets at night
The streets at night

I can’t put my finger as of why, but I really like walking around the streets of Tokyo at night. It might be that I feel completely safe and can relax.

Godzilla
Godzilla

It turns out that Godzilla is real.

Yes, Godzilla
Yes, Godzilla

A close-up of Godzilla. Nicely done, Godzilla-game-for-PS4-marketing team!

The side streets
The side streets

Parallell to the main streets, things slow down a bit. But these stores and restaurants are often more enjoyable that the ones on the main streets.

The back alleys
The back alleys

The back alleys are often filled with hole-in-the-wall restaurants. Highly recommended if you have a limited budget and/or want a more genuine culinary experience.

The ninjas
The ninjas

As  in all big cities, the buildings are crawling with ninjas.

The old stores
The old stores

This is adorable.

The new... whatever this is
The new… whatever this is

This is not… quite as adorable, but definitively different.

The restaurant blackboards
The restaurant blackboards

Outside a small restaurant in a remote back street.

The smoking prohibition on the streets
The smoking prohibition on the streets

This should be implemented world wide! Smoking in Tokyo is prohibited on most (all?) streets. Aside from the obvious health benefits for both first- and second-hand smokers, it also helps keep the streets and sidewalks clean from cigarette butts.

The food
The food

The food is so good! Well, most of it anyway. I tried to eat something I’ve never tried at least once a day, and not everything was a jackpot. But sushi, udon and the other “classic Japanese” dishes are superb (as you can see from my wive’s expression).

The pastries
The pastries

Found in a bakery/candy shop. I think the picture speaks for itself.

The Engrish
The Engrish

The Engrish was actually not as widespread as I hade expected, but did see it a couple of times a day.

The toilet controls
The toilet controls

Japanese toilets are crazy, often with built-in automatically extending bidet arms with multiple spray modes and water temperatures. And built-in air driers. The really good ones practically eliminates the need for toilet paper.

The guest bathroom in a coffee shop in a suburb, way off any major street, gave me this experience:

  1. I enter the room and the lights turns on automatically.
  2. I approach the toilet, and the lid opens automatically.
  3. When I sit down, I notice the porcelain ring is not cold as I expected, as it has a built-in heater adjusted to about the same temperature as my skin.
  4. Sitting down also activates the sound system which plays nature sounds with gentle streams and babbling brooks, teamed with rustling leaves and singing birds.
  5. After I’m done and get up, the lid closes automatically and proceeds with flushing and self-sanitizing.
  6. Sensors at the sink activates the soap dispenser and water tap when I simply hold my hands under them.
  7. The airblade hand dryer also activates when simply putting your hands in it.

Aside from opening and closing the door, I never had to touch any buttons, handles or lids with my hands.

The fashion
The fashion

Far from everyone walks around like this, but it’s not uncommon.

The fashion
The fashion

This is more common than the kimono getup, at least in the Harajuku district.

The street performances
The street performances

Street performances, festivals and other celebratory events seemed to happen almost every day.

Big in Japan
Big in Japan

Being big in Japan was fun. 🙂

The biker culture
The biker culture

You see a lot of scooters in Tokyo, and hardly any European or American motorcycles. But I did find this beauty from Spice Motorcycles.

The biker culture
The biker culture

Despite being on the other end of the biker scope, this guy still managed to stay (sort of) cool.

The small shrines
The small shrines

Often crammed in between large buildings, these tiny shrines could be found every now and then.

The larger shrines
The larger shrines

Larger shrines can also be seen here and there. This one in Ueno Park houses a flame that was taken from the burning ruins of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (later merged into a single flame). It has been burning ever since the atomic bombs were detonated over the two cities in 1945.

The temples
The temples

From small to huge, the temples are plenty.

The pagodas
The pagodas

The 5-story Kan’ei-ji pagoda was built in 1631, rebuilt 1639 after a fire, and still stands today.

Wedding ring in titanium with a diamond seen.

The beautiful cemeteries
The beautiful cemeteries

The absolute serenity of this cemetery was stunning. We came to see a single, specific grave, but couldn’t help but walk around among  the others as well.

The grave of the real Hattori Hanzō
The grave of the real Hattori Hanzō

This is the grave of the real Hattori Hanzō. Not the fictional sword maker from Kill Bill, but the real-life ninja, samurai and general that helped Tokugawa Ieyasu become the ruler of a united Japan in the 1500’s.

The nature
The nature

Even in the middle of a city with more than 35 million citizens, nature like this exists.

The parks
The parks

Got to love the parks. Beauty and stillness unlike anything I have  ever seen in a large city. This was a fairly short walk from our hotel near Shinjuku station – which is used by about 4 million people per day.

The turtles
The turtles

We also found turtles! I think this is Donatello.

Sharing this with my wife
Sharing this with my wife

Call me sappy, but the best part of these trips to Tokyo was that I got to share them with my wife.

Moving to Japan!

Japan!In June me and Marianne will be moving to Tokyo.

I recently got a job offer as a graphic designer at a big (and I mean BIG) telecom company in Japan. Since we hadn’t decided whether or not to go through with this we have decided to not tell anyone until now. Last night we sat down again and came to the mutual agreement to take the job and go through with the move.

The company has arranged an apartment in Shimokitazawa, Setagaya district. It’s an older (but newly renovated) apartment fairly close to the subway. And most important, it has a 100mbit Internet connection. 😉

The salary is good enough to provide for us both, but Marianne should have no problems finding job as an English teacher there either.

Now we have a little over two months to sell of our stuff. Some will be placed in storage at our parent’s places, but most electronics and furniture will have to go.

By the way, is anyone interested in our current apartment, 79 sqm in Helenelund, Sollentuna? Otherwise we will cancel the contract fairly soon.

These are exciting times. 🙂

Update:

As I still get questions about this half a year later, I feel I should explain that this was an April fools joke, originally posted on April 1st.

Still, I wouldn’t mind to actually move there. 😉

Soon, my precious netbook

After long wait I will finally get my own netbook this week.

Last christmas I gave M a voucher for a netbook of her choice. However, after several months (almost a year after the first international release of the Asus Eee 701) it was still not available in Sweden, so I had a Eee 900 imported from Hong Kong instead. So far it’s been very nice to her (and me), and was a lifesaver when in Tokyo this summer.

The reason for me wanting one of my own is mostly just want. Plus it has better battery, more storage, larger screen and faster processor than the 900.

Anyway. About a month ago the first pre-orders came up at various stores here for the Eee 1000H, and since I had read a lot about it previously, I placed an order at Webhallen. It is now scheduled to arrive in two days.

I have ordered many a gadget from international stores and sellers, but there are three nice thing about ordering this one locally:

  1. The HDD is 160GB instead of the 80GB version 99% of the sellers abroad carries.
  2. The keyboard is already in Swedish, saving me the trouble (and money) to buy a new one via Asusparts.
  3. Guarantees and replacements are so much easier. And the more complicated a machine is, the easier it tends to break. :p

Unfortunately, it is about 1000SEK more expensive than an import model. But then you have to add international shipping and risk paying customs and extra tax (which I recently did, having to add about 60% of the cost to an extra battery for M’s 900), and that would make it more expensive. But a whole lot faster. So in the end you have to choose between Time and Convenience.

Anyway, me happy. Me more happy when me have Eee in hands.