A Moment of Silence

Meiji Jingu Shrine People-less on a Sunday Morning

This morning I decided to walk to school. Sunday's have been my favorite days in Tokyo as most people have the day off from work and school, and opt to stay home or do things outside of the city. I am not saying that I do not like people watching or encountering people in the streets, but there is time on Sunday to relax and appreciate the scenery and the general atmosphere of the city. That is, without being afraid of being murdered by 15 bicyclists gunning it on their way to wherever.

Anyways, in Omotesando Hills this morning, that oh-so-famous window-shopping street, I experienced a moment of complete zen silence at around 8:45. It was something worth noting because even though there were still groups of people around me, not one person was talking. This coincided with a stoplight at the crosswalk I was at, so the cars were all stopped too. Complete, utter silence. In the middle of the busiest city in the world. I only had time to take note of it before the light changed to green and a motorcycle roared off up the road.

I wanted to mention this because I feel that often in our busy busy bee lives, we get so caught up in deadlines, schoolwork, family drama, blah blah, that we don't take time to reflect on ourselves and on our life directions. I believe it is important to stop once and a while and just take life in, really notice things. I just think that if Tokyo can stop for a second, so can we.

Hoofing It!

Anyone who has spent 5 minutes in or around Detroit will note the marked lack of public transportation available. Yay semi-present Smart Bus and our automotive-fueled American Dream!

Anyways, this usually results in me piddling around in my Kia Rio most days in order to get where I need to. And let me tell you, it is hard enough to convince my brothers to walk across the street to the Chinese restaurant instead of driving there. It is just not a part of our whole ssssystem in SE Michigan to walk anywhere unless it is for EXERCISE. In which case we jog for miles.

Flash forward to now, and my visit to Tokyo, Japan. I have probably walked more in the last couple of weeks than I have since November. On my best days I walk 5+ miles from Shinjuku (apartment) to Shibuya (school) and back. On my worst days (i.e. since I've figured out the train system) I walk upwards of two miles.



Three things that are nice about this:

1) Working that cellulite!

2) Seeing the people, dog-walkers, posh ladeez, slinky street cats, advertisements written in really questionable English, tall buildings, art galleries, Italian restaurants, Chiaki-senpai lookalikes, spot-the-Gaijin contests, workers trying to hand you fliers or tissues, and having funny conversations with elementary school kids in their uniforms (i.e. they run up to you and shout HELLOHOWAREYOU!?!?! and want to take pictures with you).

3) Having somewhere to walk to. It is so nice to be in the city and have a destination. And along the way, you often discover little shops or restaurants that you didn't know were there previously. We are lacking this in our strip mall-choked suburbia.

So that is my (brief) account of walking in the Tokyo-city, which has almost 13 million people and would take several years and volumes to describe the experience more articulately. You'll just have to be happy with this (for now).

Youkoso!

What up, Japan!? I have had an awesome "youkoso" (welcome) so far, and I plan on going to explore the city today. Here are some ABC's of the trip as it stands:

A is for Ayako-san, my host here. I am staying with her at her apartment in Shinjuku, one of Tokyo's business districts. I actually have known her for about 12 hours, and I couldn't ask for a more gracious host. Seriously.

B is for "bath", which I clearly need right now. Ayako-san's bathtub fills up when you press a button, and stops automatically. Then it tells you "Bath is Ready!" with musical tones. Kind of awesome.

D is for "daijobu", Japanese slang for "ok", one of my first vocab words.

H is for "Harajuku", a busy fashion and entertainment district that I am about to go experience this morning.

K is for "kotatsu", a type of heated Japanese coffee table. I am sitting at a kotatsu right now, and let me tell you, nothing beats sitting under a blanket typing at a table with your legs toasty warm. Need one at home now. I want to live in one of these.


S is for "Shibuya", the area of Tokyo where my school is located. My goal for today is to map out my route to the university, so as to not get lost tomorrow morning.

T is for tomorrow, which is when my classes start. I have class all day on Sunday and Friday, but Monday-Thursday it is only from 6-9pm. So I basically have the day to myself, to do homework (yay?), volunteer to teach English, and roam.

W is for weather, which is about 50 degrees Fahrenheit right now and sunny, and I am loving it (especially after all that snow got dumped on us!).


More ABC's of my Japan trip coming soon, I look forward to bathing, seeing my professor tomorrow, and exploring Tokyo today. Ja-ne!