The evening I arrived in Tokyo, Marië and her parents prepared a sumptuous feast of fresh fish. This was the first of many meals to sweep me off my feet.
At a train station...Toyko has the most extensive subway network in the world. There are a mind-boggling number of subway and train lines crisscrossing through the city and they travel very fast. Some of the lines are owned by the state, some are owned by the city and some are private. And, of course, stylish haircuts are everywhere.
In the shopping district of Ginza
Shinjuku
Old barrels of sake
In Asakusa...I was very impressed with Toyko. Despite being one of the larger cities of the world, the streets are relatively quiet and there seems to be very little air pollution. Since everyone rides the trains, there's not an immense amount of traffic in most areas of the city. Coming up from the subway, you might feel like you're in a small town except that when you look up there are skyscrapers towering overhead. There are, of course, some exceptionally busy areas of the city, but in general, Tokyo feels neither noisy nor congested with cars. In Tokyo, I often felt like I had taken a trip through time into the Future. The way folks dressed, the immaculate condition of the streets and the efficiency of the trains all contributed to this feeling... (as well as having spent five months in India). And on top of this, I was amazed at how respectful and considerate the Japanese are. You don't hear their cell phone ringers and if speaking on their phones in public they put their hands over their mouth so as to minimize the disturbance to others. Once in a shoulder to shoulder crowd to enter a station, everyone politely waited their turn in line and I didn't even get bumped in the slightest way. I don't think I met a rude person in Japan. Sometimes, being in Japan made me feel like I come from a country of barbarians.
Many Japanese dress in extreme ways, taking fashion fads to the next level. From goth maids to 1950's greaser outfits, there's a bit of everything. Here an adult seems to be dressed as a child.
24-hour private karaoke room seen from the outside. Marië, Gabe and I rented a room here for a few hours and sang some classics while waited for morning so that we could catch the fish market at sunrise.
Discarded boxes at market
Gabe, who happened to be on vacation with his family in Japan at the same time that I was there, enjoys hot miso soup before 7am. Adjacent to the fish market are several sushi restaurants that serve up some of the freshest fish in the world. We arrived as early as possible to avoid lines.
Sea urchin/uni
Marië took me to her uncle's beautiful vegetable garden outside Yokohama not far from the Tokyo metropolis. Above her father weeds the sweet potatoes. After helping in the garden, we soaked in a hot spring spa perched above a shopping mall that pipes its hot water from 1500 meters below the ground.
Marië and I took the train down the coast to the sleepy town of Yuguwara, where we stayed at a lovely hotel with hot springs on site. Pictured here is the amazing meal that was served in our room.
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