WHERE I WAS: TOKYO INTRO
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Tokyo doesn’t need another definitive list. Because in a city teeming with this much life, the essentials can feel infinite rather than conclusive.
So cherry pick what feels like your vibe (big brands versus little shops, flashy foodie moments or ad hoc street fare) research it and begin to make your wish lists before you go.
Because visiting, or really tackling, Tokyo can feel overwhelming. So you want to be organized without being too rigid. It takes mental and physical exertion to navigate, but you will be richly - and infinitely- rewarded at every step and turn.
This Virtual Postcards is more of a love letter to this city I 've been to four times now in the past four years and where I’ll keep discovering as long as I am able.
So what follows is less of a map but more of a memory reel that will help you create your own.
My viewing lens is always about the artfulness of design: whether I’m buying tea, a tumbler, a scarf, or sake...
Tokyo’s arresting architecture is the constant the back drop: be it a sensuously sleek high rise...
or a little house down an alley with a profusion of potted plants outside its doorstep.
And its artful culture is always my constant companion.
Tokyo is all about intentional gestures meant to make you feel appreciated. The way they pour your personally roasted coffee while the Rolling Stones plays on an old turn table, how they wrap a tin of pistachio cookies in the train station as though its orgami, or personally walk you where you need to go when you ask directions, no matter how far. You may feel you’re in a strange land, but never a stranger.
TIPS
The world’s largest city offers millions of wonderfully intimate experiences but geographically it is sprawling.
Waking up and wanting to go from here to there to there can be a 30 minute cab drive or a good 50 minute walk between destinations. Taking the subway is efficient but a little complex for a first timer on heavy jet lag: something I suggest when you’ve found your sea legs on your second trip or by the second week.
Since Tokyo isn’t one vast metropolis but more a mosaic of neighborhoods, I am going to organize my suggestions by neighborhood. Tackle one a day or two that are close by.
Customs Entry Into Japan
Get a QR Code before you go. Go to the website: Visit Japan and get the QR code you’ll need to enter the country.
It’s now one code for immigration and customs. You’ll flash it as soon as you get off the plane before you get to luggage and then again after you’ve gotten your luggage before you exit the airport.
Trust me you want this code already on your phone. It’s easy but it does require information you’d rather not input while standing in line, tired.
Sightseeing/Jet Lag
When you first get arrive, do as much exploring in the early morning (feast on a healthy international Japanese breakfast buffet that jet packs you as far forward as possible because at about 3 pm you’re going to get slammed with another kind of jet: laaaag.
Of course you will want to get in sync with Japan time, but measure where you are accordingly at this hour for the first four days. I call it the witching hour and you won't want to be too far from your hotel when it happens.
Garbage
There is no litter.
Why? Because there are no street garbage cans anywhere in this incredibly clean city. The Japanese carry their errant waste home.
So if you get something to take out, know you’re going to literally then carry that empty packaging with you all day.
So pack some kind of low slung bag to wear in addition to whatever else you carry for packages.
Public Toilets
Keep a look out for the famous Tokyo public toilets - 17 of them situated across the Shibuya Ward- designed by top architects who transformed these restrooms into little landmarks. (Made iconic by their key role in Win Wenders’ movie Perfect Days.)
I was so excited when I suddenly came across one- like a mirage!- and marveled at its spotless inside.
Then I hailed a cab and the driver pulled over and motioned to me to wait while he used it. Then he came out and we were merrily on our way. Such is wonderfully efficient life in Tokyo.
Taxis
You would think such a streamlined society would be equally smooth when it comes to their taxi service. And it is. You can hail a taxi anywhere and they will pull over. Their interiors are spotless and often covered carefully in white lace. Their drivers are mostly elderly men and they often wear white gloves. (I had one wonderful gentleman use a magnifying glass when reading my address.)
But be prepared to use patience when you first tell them where you are going: unlike New York, they don’t zip off to the known landmark or quickly punch in the address into their iPhone.
Since the city doesn’t have simple street number systems they must first make sure they are going to your correct address. So before you get in a cab, have that address already up on your phone. The driver will often take it and input it and hand it back. They usually do not speak English. Goggle Translate is a fabulous help: I type and then they audio hear the Japanese translation back. (I once told a driver via Google Translates that I just got engaged. At the light he read it and almost exploded with excitement. Then at the next light, he fervently typed back the translated: “From the bottom of my heart I wish you every happiness.” Did I tell you yet that I cry a lot while in Japan?
Trust
Once our hotel laundry came back without my husband’s tie. Incredulous, I Iooked repeatedly through our meticulously folded pile tied with a bow that had been personally handed to me on a wood tray. I couldn’t believe a mistake had been made. I didn’t care about the tie. I cared that I would have to alert this culture, whose very essence is the pursuit of perfection, that an error had been made.
I almost didn’t, but unfortunately, my husband needed his tie. So I called housekeeping. “I’m sure it’s my error,“ I kept repeating. “But just in case you ever see it…”
“We will call you right back,” they told me calmly. Five minutes later, there was a knock on my hotel door. (In Japan, knocking is not a hard rap: it’s a soft kind of flap with measured gaps in between so you can barely hear it. )
“It’s me who brought your tie today,” a woman introduced herself. Then gently gestured to my closet. “I put it there.” There was the tie, perfectly pressed, encased in wrapping. It had been separately escorted straight to the closet as it was not part of the laundry. I was flooded with relief. Not about finding the tie. But that my beloved culture had not wavered.
Trust you are in now Japan. Things will go smoothly and safely with deep respect for the smallest detail. It feels wonderful and it will also feel hard to transition home, no matter how excited you are to one day return.
