Lost in Translation

Tokyo, Japan

Peter and I just returned from a week in Tokyo. Peter was on business and I tagged along - ahh . . the perks of the Expat wife : ) We had an amazing time! My first day there was filled with awe - so many people, restaurants, shops, and so much to do 24/7 ! It's a city that's always ON!

We concentrated on getting to know the area we were staying in, Shibuya. This area is known as the young, hip area of Tokyo where you can track down the latest trends and fashions. Teenagers spend a great deal of time in this area, shopping and hanging out with their friends after school.

Shibuya is inundated with advertising and marketing campaigns. There are people on the streets handing out pocket-size Kleenex packets containing advertisements. Competitions occur between co-workers within the same store - shouting through megaphones about product specials. The vending machines in the photos below are all over the city - and sell not only snacks and drinks - but sex toys. One stop shopping has never been easier! It is also not uncommon to see people walking around with masks over their faces - not because they're germaphobes - but because they are sick and don't want to spread their germs to other people.

Leave it to the Japanese to be this considerate..

Saturday, we visited the Imperial Palace Gardens, the Kabuki Theatre, and a shopping district called Ginza. Sunday, we visited a beautiful temple, Japanese markets, and the electronics hub of Tokyo. This is where the latest and greatest in the electronics world is showcased! Just imagine 5-6 floors of electronics under one roof - and that's just 1 of many stores in this area! It was definitely geek central! Monday and Tuesday I spent time shopping and touring around Shibuya and Omote-Sando. I ventured out on the subway alone - recalling the instructions our friends gave me on how to get to Omote-Sando from the Shibuya station. All the subway stops have their own little song which plays when the train stops at each station. The Shibuya song is so cute - a high-pitched female voice sings, "Shibuya, Shibuya!" We also were introduced to a great little snack stop in the Shibuya station - known as Greenfarm. This place has the freshest milk as well as hot mini waffles to go (chocolate, plain, cinnamon and almond - chocolate is the best!!) The milk comes in little glass milk bottles and cannot be purchased for take-away. You have to return the milk bottles to the cashier when you're finished drinking the milk.

As you can imagine, the food possibilities are endless and very tasty in Tokyo. Many restaurants are open extremely late - some until 4 AM. We went to one restaurant that specialized in Katsu - breaded pork cutlets. The menu listed a special entree titled Lady Set - which offered a variety of dishes for the discriminating taste of a lady - and more importantly included dessert. Strawberries seem to be a delicacy in Tokyo - and can cost up to $40 US for one large berry when not in season! A bowl of strawberries was pictured with the Lady Set - but not available at this time of year. The waitress made sure I understood that the Lady Set dessert would consist of melon - and wanted to know if I was ok with that! Needless to say, I ordered the Lady Set. When would I possbily get another opportunity to order an entree with Lady in the title?? The men at our table were green with envy when my meal arrived. Note: The menu did highlight with an asterisk * male customer may also take Lady Set.

We experienced a celebrity sighting after dinner Monday evening. We walked out of a restaurant and there was a small crowd waiting outside of a toy store in downtown Shibuya. People were anxiously waiting with their camera phones in the air - hoping to snap a photo of whoever was coming out of this store. I asked someone, who I overheard speaking English, who they were waiting for and he replied " I think it's Michael Jackson." So, we waited another 10 minutes and sure enough, it was Michael Jackson! He came out of the store with the aid of his bodyguards and whisked into a van. I did manage to see his fair hand as he waved to the crowd. As the van drove off - the crowd ran after it - and I was sucked into the madness - running with everyone (so I wouldn't get trampled, of course - and secretly to catch a glimpse of Michael himself - as I have to admit I was a childhood fan!) The van ended up stopping at the intersection and MJ rolled down his window to wave to the crowd again. I was able to see it was him for a few seconds. The crowd went wild - flashes everywhere - girls crying to their friends that they were able to see "Jackson, Jackson" as I heard repeatedly. It was pretty insane. Just to experience the madness of MJ obsession at this stage in his career. I'd always heard that Asia and Europe were still crazy about him - and got to experience it first hand in Tokyo .. definitely worth the few minutes wait.

Peter and I visited another temple on Wednesday, our last day in Tokyo. Meiji-Jingu - it was magnificent and quite picturesque. It's everything you would expect in a Japanese temple. It was extremely peaceful and serene - and not packed with tourists as the temple we visited on Saturday was - so we felt very calm and relaxed here.








What an adventure ... looking forward to our next trip to Tokyo!