This entry was posted on 2001-04-05
Tokyo
I'm in love with Tokyo. I know that this may not seem shocking, but if you knew me you'd be surprised. Back when I lived in Japan, my favorite parts of the country were the quieter, greener places. I loved Hiroshima for it was a large city with much green space. I also loved parts of Kyushu and the mountains of Hokkaido. Tokyo was never one of my favorites. It was just an ordinary, but gigantic Japanese city. I guess that I didn't really know Tokyo.
Sure, I had visited before. But I never spent much time exploring the city. I'd have specific sites in mind and only go to those places. For the past two days I have fallen in love with Tokyo. I've explored as much as one can in two days. Tomorrow I leave this city for Sendai in Tohoku to explore the northern part of this beautiful country. One thing is for certain; I will come back to Tokyo before my travels are over.
Why Tokyo? Unlike Osaka (where I lived when I lived in Japan), Tokyo is beautiful. Seriously. You may not believe me. You may conjure up images of neon and concrete jungles when visualizing Tokyo. But let me assure you, Tokyo is so much more than that. Let's take Shinjuku-ku, the ward that I am staying in. Beyond the massive train station, beyond the large department stores, and beyond the noises from the wide boulevards, Shinjuku-ku is beautiful. There are parks, shrines, temples, and traditional wooden Japanese homes. The people are extremely friendly and helpful. And even the neon at night has a sort of abstract beauty. Sure the sakura make this part of the city even more beautiful, but even sans sakura, Shinjuku is lovely.
The same can be said for a lot of other Tokyo wards.
So yes, I will be back to Tokyo. In fact I am crossing southern Kyushu (Kagoshima-ken) off my itinerary in the interest of coming back to Tokyo. I've been to Kyushu many times. It's nothing new. But I still have so much more of Tokyo to explore. And since Tokyo is centrally located and this country is fairly small (and I have a JR pass) I can base myself out of Tokyo and take a few day trips. I'm still going to go to Kansai (Kyoto/Osaka) sometime after I get back from Tohoku but I plan to spend a lot more time in and near Tokyo.
While I lived in Japan, I never really saw nor appreciated Tokyo.
Enough about that (I do not feel I need to justify my love for this city). I promised that I'd write about Kinswomyn, Tokyo's premier (and perhaps only) lesbian bar. First of all, that place was impossible to find. I asked about 12 people on the street (for the building name, not the name of the bar), went into 3 convenience stores, and stopped by 2 police boxes (Sensei was so right when she tells her classes that those police boxes are there mostly for directions). Finally, an hour and a half after searching, I found it.
Kinswomyn is about as large as a university professor's office. It is pretty dim and smoky. The two women who work at the bar are really friendly and obviously not used to having foreign patrons. At first I felt a bit uncomfortable. I was the only person who came stag. And I was the only non-Japanese. I had no confidence in my Japanese speaking ability, so I just quietly sipped my drink (vodka and fake orange juice) and kept to myself. It wasn't until a couple about my age wandered in. They were both drunk (beron beron), but not scary-salaryman drunk. Fun drunk. The mood of the place changed. They got everyone to talk to everyone else. I started talking to the woman who was sitting next to me. I learned that she and her partner were living together (her partner was next to her) and that they were both sociology graduate students at a prestigious Tokyo university. We talked about our travels (she had been to Australia a few times so we had that in common), homosexuality in our respective countries (it's definitely more prominent and open in the US), and our studies. And since our conversation was entirely in Japanese, I began to gain confidence in my speaking ability.
It's a shame that gays and lesbians here in Japan still hide it and are embarrassed about it. My new friend could not believe that I asked where the building (not the name of the bar) was. She couldn't believe that I openly told a friend of mine in Tokyo where I was going that night.
Here in Japan, homosexuality is still very much hush-hush.
I left the bar around midnight. I exchanged e-mail and snail mail addresses with about four people there. I hope that we stay in touch because I'll be interested to learn about how the situation for gays and lesbians in Japan changes over time.
Since today was my last full day in Tokyo before hitting the narrow road to the deep north (Basho), I took care of some banking issues. One huge advantage of having lived in Japan is having a Japanese bank account. When I left Japan, I decided to keep a little money in it so that it wouldn't close. Good idea. Foreign ATM's are hard to come by in Japan. In fact, foreginers can access money with their ATM cards in large cities. So this morning I took a lot of money out of my American account and transfered it to my Japanese account. Since my Japanese bank is one of the largest banks in Japan, I am not worried about finding branches in the more rural areas of Tohoku. And when I'm about to leave Japan, I'll simply move all but a few dollars back to my American account. And when I come back to Japan next, my Sumitomo account will still be active.
After I dealt with the banking issues, I went over to Tokyo-eki to book my train ticket to Sendai and ask some of the travel agencies about cheap lodging in that city. Since my train arrives fairly late in the afternoon (and tomorrow's Friday), I figured advanced reservations would be good.
When I finished at Tokyo-eki I hoped on the Yamanote line to Waseda. Waseda Daigaku (University) is one of Japan's prestigious schools. For a college campus in Japan (most are fairly ugly), Waseda isn't bad. I just love the neighborhood. Lots of cheap places to eat and shop. And I like the student-oriented atmosphere. If I had to do it all over again, I would have chosen to study at Waseda instead of Kansai Gaidai. But the past is the past and I can go wherever I want for graduate study abroad.
Speaking of graduate school, being here makes everything so clear for me. I know why I'm studying Japanese language and culture: because I love it. I love this country and it is my hope to one day become a professor and teach my students about how amazing this culture, language, and land really is. I don't just like to travel Japan. I am obsessed with this place to a level that academia is the only place for me!
From Waseda, I caught the train to Shibuya-ku, Tokyo's capital of hip. Shibuya is the place for young people to see and be seen. The shopping is magnificent and outrageous. The atmosphere is young and vibrant. And every time you turn the corner there is something new to see. I went to the a Sanrio (Hello Kitty, Keroppi, etc) store, oozed over the additions to the Shinkansen line (yes, Sanrio has turned the bullet train into a smiley happy character, and yes that is my absolute favorite Sanrio character) since the last time I was in Japan. I ended up spending about $20 US on notebooks, stickers, and a new vinyl wallet (my old Sanrio "We are Dinosaurs" wallet has seen better days). I wished that my feet were small enough to fit into the Shinkansen slippers!
By then my feet were aching. So I caught the Yamanote line back to Shinjuku. I tried going to Shinjuku-gyoen (a park) for hanami (remember, sakura viewing?) but it closes at 4:30pm. So I headed back to this place. Now I'll probably rest for a while and then go back out to (just in Shinjuku, not far) enjoy Tokyo's nightlife.
It just took me longer to realize it, but I, like most other travelers to Japan, have fallen in love with Tokyo (and I don't feel the least bit guilty about that because Sensei, who is so immersed and interested in Japanese culture and speaks the language fluently, also loves Tokyo).
Tomorrow I will write from Sendai...