10.01.08
Posted in Food and Drink, Japan, Travel at 6:24 am by Benjamin Ross
It’s been almost two weeks since my most recent repatriation, and I wanted to give a final pictorial recap of my brief stopover in Tokyo. Enjoy.
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| On my first night in Tokyo, my American friend asked if I wanted to go out for a “cylinder” of beer. Originally, I thought this was some new English slang phrase I which had yet to make its way into my lexicon. But no…in Tokyo they do in fact serve beer…in cylinders. |
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| Here’s a shot of a cubicle from a Japanese Internet cafe, basically the same setup as a Chinese net bar. You can see the computer, webcam, headphones, a food menu to order from, and so on. The only things missing were the clouds of cigarette smoke, the grime on the keys, the cacophony of pop music, and the empty peanut soup cans filled to the brim with cigarette ash. Other than that, it was just like any old Internet Cafe in the Middle Kingdom. The cost was roughly $3 USD per hour. |
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| You can’t really see it so well from this picture, but Tokyo is easily the cleanest major city I have ever been to. Even down the restrooms in public parks, Tokyo looks as if they have an army of Japanese Danny Tanners running around the city 24/7. |
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| One of the highlights of any trip to Japan is the food. Sometimes I find myself seriously wondering why more food isn’t served via conveyor belt. |
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| Sometimes I also wonder why the human race ever came up with the crazy idea to cook its fish. |
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| In addition to all of the endemic Japanese snacks, baozi have now fully been thrust into the Japanese culinary radar. In Chinatown, those lovable steamed buns are now the hot item sold in every nook and cranny, as shown by this Chinese woman preparing her baozi for Japanese patrons. |
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| Outside my friends apartment in Ikebukuro, I had the chance to experience this Japanese street festival. |
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| Groups of men and women, each dressed in matching outfits, carried several of these sedan chairs through the street, as the surrounding people banged drums and other musical instruments. |
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| My knowledge of Japanese folk customs is quite lacking, so if anybody has more insight into what is going on, please feel free to comment. |
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| Tokyo has the best rail-transit network I have ever seen in Asia, and arguably the best one in the world as well. Train tracks, such as these, run all throughout, above, and below the city, making it so that virtually any destination is conveniently reachable via public transit. |
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| Signs in most stations are written in both Japanese and English transliteration, making the subway system easy to figure out, even for those who don’t read Japanese. |
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| The one downfall of the Tokyo transit system, and this is a major downfall, is that the entire thing shuts down from midnight until 5 am. Since a cab ride in Tokyo can cost as much as a routine surgical operation in China, a typical night out in Tokyo forces the decision to either stay in one’s own neighborhood, be home before midnight, or party until 5. |
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| It’s really a shame that the main frame of reference for a “hamburger” in the Middle Kingdom is KFC and McDonald’s. After three months in China, I couldn’t help myself, and had to splurge on Wendy’s in Tokyo. If by chance anybody within the Wendy’s organization is reading this, will you please, please, please, consider expanding your operation into mainland China??? |
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| Like my own country, Japan (or at least Tokyo) is vigilant on the anti-public smoking trail. In order to light up in public places (city streets included) smokers must do so in designated smoking areas. |
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| Every day, Tokyo police stations publish a count of how many traffic fatalities and injuries occurred during the previous day. The figure in red is for deaths, and the one in black for those injured. |
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| The big gambling rage in Tokyo these days is Pachinko, which according to Wikipedia is a “cross between pinball and a video slot machine.” Day and night, Tokyoers can be seen staring at the screen, following the balls, and playing for hours on end. |
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| This is the name of a clothing store. I am at a loss for more words. |
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| And finally, one of the busiest street corners in all of Japan. This view is just a few feet from the exit of Shibuya Station. Possibly my all-time favorite venue to people watch, Shibuya is one of the hotter, trendier areas in Tokyo for night life and shopping…definitely a must see on any Japanese excursion. |
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shoe
said,
October 1, 2008 at 6:19 pm
still,i dont see much excitement in the pics.I’d definately enjoy my town better without the red circle stuck on the streets.
David
said,
October 1, 2008 at 6:55 pm
Forget Wendy’s – I want Freshness Burger to come to China!
I was happy to see that Freshness Burger has recently opened in Hong Kong and hope its part of their march into China. Beats the bland pap that is available in China today and they certainly create a less sterile an environment than the other major Japanes player Mos Burger.
John
said,
October 2, 2008 at 1:50 am
I had to smile when I read that “the big gambling rage in Tokyo these days is Pachinko.”
(“The big gambling rage in Tokyo these days” has been Pachinko for a long, long time.)
Dave!
said,
October 2, 2008 at 2:14 am
The street festival is a pretty common occurrence, it seems. I saw several when I was in Japan (in both Tokyo and Kyoto). I think it’s a Shinto thing, they take the local shrine on a tour of the neighborhood, essentially. Wish I knew more…
And John’s right, Pachinko has been around for a *long* time…
sarah
said,
October 2, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Hahaha, how many of your readers do you think got the Danny Tanner reference?
After being in Beijing for three weeks now and comparing it to my trip to Japan six years ago, I am amazed at how completely opposite these two countries are. Oh how I miss cleanliness!
Benjamin Ross
said,
October 2, 2008 at 11:28 pm
@ John & Dave
According to my friend who has lived in Tokyo throughout the majority of the Bush administration, Pachinko, while around for a long time, has seen a boom in recent years. Being as I have only spent around one week of my life in Japan, I unfortunately have to rely on second hand information for these kinds of things. I was not meaning to imply that Pachinko is new. Thanks for keeping tabs though, as I’m sure your collective knowledge of Japan exceeds my own by several degrees of magnitude.
@ Sarah
Nice to hear somebody got the Danny Tanner reference. As a child of the late 80’s and early 90’s, Mr. T (as Kimmy Gibler would say) was the archetypical anal parent that every kid loved to have drive them crazy. I can only imagine his response to a trip to the Middle Kingdom. Would airport security confiscate his dust buster before he arrived?
Tina
said,
October 6, 2008 at 5:34 pm
I have a friend who works for Wendy’s HQ in Ohio, I will forward your blog to him. P.S. They were bought out by Arby’s
kayaitch
said,
October 6, 2008 at 11:25 pm
noticed in one of the train photos you’re on a women only carriage, hope you didn’t make the same mistake as me and get on it after office closing time, only after many stares did i realise!
Another Ben R. from KC who lived in China (now in Vietnam)
said,
November 15, 2008 at 11:32 pm
There is no Wendy’s in China now, but Burger King has opened
some restaurants there.
http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12488790
What are you up to in the US, Ben?
Benjamin Ross
said,
November 18, 2008 at 1:16 pm
@ Another Ben R. from KC who lived in China (now in Vietnam)
I must say, I have never been a fan of Burger King. I’ve always felt that while their burgers seem to be of relatively high quality (compared with other fast food joints), they just don’t taste so good. I’ve always been partial to Wendy’s, or even McDonald’s.
As for me, I am in Chicago now working as a Chinese healthcare interpreter. Any far off chance you will be in Kansas City for Thanksgiving? I will be there from 11/21 until 12/1.