Places in the Tokyo/Kanto: Other

[Chiba] [Inage] [Kichijoji] [Shinjuku] [Shibuya] [Harajuku] [Yokohama] [Asakusa/Ueno]
[Ikebukuro] [Other places]

This section is devoted to the many places in Kanto which rate a mention but not enough to get their own section. But before that, first of all I would like to make mention of a cultural aspect familiar to anyone who lives in this place - the shuden (short for saishu densha or the final train). Since taxis are far more expensive here than at home usage for anything more than very short distances is not feasible and so we must all rely on catching the last train back to our homes or be stuck somewhere for the entire night. The latter results in time spent in karaoke or an izakaya, a convenience store or an all night curry/beef restaurant or a combination of the above but too much of this can be bad for the wallet since it results in boredom and thus you keep spending. The shuden is always crowded although how much depends on the line and always takes much longer since the train waits at each station for people to rush on just in time. Worst of all is the heat from so many people packed into a small space and the muscle cramps from such packing plus the combined stench of sweat, alcohol and smoke often to be found emanating from neighbours. A few of these neighbours are usually intoxicated and lacking a few inhibitions they would be better off retaining and thus can occasionally be the source of unwanted attention. As a result of all this, standing on the train is to be avoided at all costs and thus there is a most comical ritual of rushing to catch the seat and elbows are even sometimes known to fly in desperation. It is all truly an important part of the Tokyo experience.

Shimokitazawa

On the Inokashira Line between Kichijoji and Shibuya two stops from Komaba where it meets the Odakyu line from Shinjuku, nestles a little village known as Shimo-Kitazawa or Shimokita for short. Particularly with regard to music, this place has replaced Harajuku as the home of alternative culture. Harajuku may remain the place where it is displayed but Shimokita is more and more the place where it 'lives.' For the visitor it provides a large range of eateries, cafes and bars, set in a lively but quiet shopping strip. It is a great place for having fun with friends.

Takadanobaba

Halfway between Shinjuku and Ikebukuro on the Yamanote line lies the place with the bizarre name, Takadanobaba (meaning 'the horse place of the high rice paddy'), or just 'Baba' for short. It's near the University belt and Waseda University in particular is close plus there are many prep schools and language schools so it has largely become a student hangout. It therefore has a lot of moderately priced places to have a good time. I have been there a lot lately because it is at the junction of not only the Yamanote line but also the Tozai line which heads to and from Chiba and also the Seibu Shinjuku Line out to Saitama. The latter also passes through Iogi station which is most convenient to the place where I was staying with Efaniel for a while (see below). Added to that, my friends Kudo and Maki both work there and a few friends live nearby.

Todai Komaba

I come here often of course and it is a place holding over a year's worth of memories. These days it is a little strange since I know few people here. I spend time either in the AIKOM Office or chatting with Professor Yoshie in his office and of course I have one class a week. Yet the Komaba of today is quite different from the Komaba we attended four years ago. The buildings remain the same but most of my friends are now gone including of course the exchange students with whom I studying. Yet also the area on the either side of the station, called Koma-shita (or lower Komaba). The Sanwa Bank we used to use has now been converted into a McDonalds although some ATMS still remain and this new addition has changed the economy of the area from what I can tell although the rest of the strip still has the same shops it always had. Todai's best time is April with the cherry blossoms and while the architecture is similar to Chiba Uni's and too concrete, the surrounding areas display some character.

Tokyo Station area/Imperial Palace/Marunouchi

I have said before that the Station os the centre of a city but Tokyo station is probably the exception to this rule. That's not to say the area around Tokyo Station, known as Marunouchi to the north and Yaesu to the south, has nothing but it is definitely not as vibrant as Shinjuku, Shibuya or even nearby Ginza. On the Yaesu side, there is a Daimaru department store, an extensive underground network of shops and the Yaesu Book Centre, biggest book department store in Japan (although most books are of course in Japanese). The Marunouchi side has a few offices, the Central Post Office, a number of hotels and also the park in front of the Imperial Palace. So unlike other stations, Tokyo is mostly a point of transition, rather than a destination. Still Kyobashi on the other side of Yaesu has plenty of offices as does the finance and banking district of Otemachi to the north all have their share of workers arriving from the station but both have their own subway links, particularly Otemachi which is the hub of the subway network.

Tokyo station is the JR rail hub with 6 local lines, each with many express and rapid services, plus the five Shinkansen (bullet) train services which head (very fast) in each direction. The train station is immense covering two levels plus underground extensions to the more recent additions and most map books also include a map of the station itself so tourists don't get lost.

The Imperial Palace is the number one tourist attraction in Tokyo, a place which, like Melbourne, is not really known for tourist sights perse. Still even on a cold weekday morning there always seem to be people looking at the palace. It is not open to the public, except on two days of the year, December 23, which is the Emperor's birthday, and January 2. So far I haven't had the chance to see inside but perhaps will visit this year. On the outside, the most famous place and another must for postcard collections is Niju-bashi (Two-fold bridge) which crosses the innermost moat and always has Imperial Guards much like those at Buckingham but without the big hats. Also interesting are the Imperial East Gardens which are particularly wonderful in cherry blossom season and autumn with many-coloured leaves but is worth a look at any time. It is all the more amazing for being right in the middle of the city.

Behind the East Gardens are Kitanomaru Park which houses the Science Museum, the National Museum of Modern Art and also the Budokan which was used for Judo in the Olympics but is now known for its concerts. They are still being held here although it's been eclipsed in size by the nearby Tokyo Dome in Suidobashi. Passing through Kitanomaru, one is greeted on the other side by a huge steel torii (the tallest in Japan) which marks the entrance to a long boulevard at the end of which stands the infamous Yasukuni Jinja. This is a shrine originally dedicated to those lost in the battles leading to the Meiji Restoration but as with our own Shrine of Remembrance, added to in the battles and wars since. The difference is that according to the Shinto customs, the nearly 2.5 million souls commemorated have been enshrined as 'gods' and it is with this in mind, particularly when you see the adjoining war museum, that one is filled with great sadness, on a par with that you get at Hiroshima in my opinion. Yasukuni (which means 'for the repose of the country') had and still has a noble purpose but unfortunately has become infamous since it was used as a focus for the pre-war ultra-nationalism which sparked so much enthusiasm for Japan's cause in World War II and is still a focus for the Japanese right-wing nationalists who still hang around today and thus treated as anathema by left-wing liberals. In postwar years with the coming of the new 'Peace Constitution,' it has become the subject of many discussions, particularly when senior politicians come to the shrine to pay their respects and also when in 1979 the Class A war criminals hanged in 1948 were interred there. it was in this light that i first visited it as a part of what Professor Boccellari calls his 'right-wing tour' which also included Nogi-jinja and the Meiji Memorial Picture Gallery. Personally while I think Yasukuni Jinja is a place that must be watched with care and caution, its main purpose is still to highlight not only the valour of war but also its loss.

Yurakucho/Ginza

To the south of Tokyo Station lies Yurakucho station and in between them beside a long alley of nomiya under the tracks, is the architecturally impressive Tokyo International Forum which is of note from my point of view as the home of a bookshop and also the main Tourist Information Office. The Yurakucho area is also full of cinemas, especially as it blends into the famous Ginza. Ginza is known for its shopping and particularly its prices which are expensive to the point that I have only been there a few times. Still going to look is free and certainly worth it and it is actually possibly to find some affordable restaurants if you look hard enough.

Tsukishima

At the very north tip of Tokyo Bay at this stop on the Yurakucho subway line is a hidden mystery of Tokyo. While Osaka and Hiroshima are famed for their okonomiyaki, it is a variation called monja that is the specialty in Kanto. And this tiny strip hidden among the concrete jungle has created itself as a town devoted to monja. Everywhere you go, it is just monja monja and more monja. And even worse most places give you deals that involve all you can eat and drink. I went with my friends from Monash and had a great time but my stomach was bursting by the time we finished. I cannot count how many different concoctions we tried and while we tried the regular ones which had beef in them and so on, we ate most at the end when we went for dessert types and ate strawberries and cream, senzai with cornflakes and other such delicious treats. These only become strange when you realise that monja involves a pancake base cooked on an iron hotplate. For the record, senzai is a Japanese dessert made from soybeans similar to anko. The strangest thing about this was that the desserts actually tasted good and, being lighter than the meat dishes, it was possible to eat much more although I shouldn't have eaten as much as I did. The whole street is devoted to 300 or so such shops all making monja. We needed some time to recover and thus went to karaoke in a nearby street. But it's a fun place for a unique Japanese meal. You can of course eat monja anywhere around here but having been to Tsukishima, it's just not the same.

Narita

Narita is not just the home of the new airport and attracted tourists well before that event in 1978. These days it supports itself largely on the airport and the British pub in the town centre is full of all sorts of international guests (the flight attendants are quite famous). However, it used to be an agricultural town and of course that has not been forgotten. The original source of Narita's tourism, however, was the local mountain, Narita-san on which stands a Buddhist temple which was a common destination for pilgrims not just from Edo but from further afield as well. These days, the place is most popular at festival times including New Year's. I visited it with a group from the Chiba Uni Arts Faculty. It is a nice temple with a beautiful garden which is a more recent attraction with influence from France quite apparent.

On that trip with the Arts Faculty exchange students, we also visited a place called Bosomura. There are many such places littered throughout Japan, recreating scenes from Japan's past. Bosomura is named after the Boso Peninsula on which much of Chiba is situated. The name Boso is a combination of the names of the old countries which now form Chiba prefecture and the spacious village is divided into sections according to the three different countries, as life in each was quite different with fishing predominating in the south and agriculture in the north. Of particular interest in this place, however, is its focus on tradition and it has interactive displays. I was able to make a couple of toy tops with the help of a traditional top maker, others made some origami and two others, Sai from China and Zina from Russia were able to try on Samurai suits that looked very impressive. There were displays of stilts and children's games and since the weather was fantastic, we had a great time. To survive the heat we ended things with a try of some ice cream with traditional flavours (Ujitoki, a combination of green tea and azuki beans). It is a nice place to visit but a little too isolated.

Sakura

This city is much as any other in Chiba but I have been there many times. I used to work in a suburb of it called Usui but have since given up the job. I also went there during my homestay in neighbouring Yachiyo. However, more importantly, Sakura is the home of the National Museum of Japanese History. It is only recommended for those who are interested in history and folk tradition but must be one of the best museums I have ever seen (I still haven't been to the museum in Ryogoku - some time soon) but it sequentially displays folklife in Japan from the days of archaeology all the way to today. When I visited it with the new generation of AIKOM students in November 2000, there was also a special exhibition which pandered to my interest in Japan's castles and I wish Bowo (AIKOM student of my generation who shares my castle interest) could have seen it as well. Most impressive was a display of computer graphics (which are becoming very popular in Japanese museums) to recreate the atmosphere of long gone Azuchi Castle, central domain of Oda Nobunaga who began the unification of Japan in the 16th Century.

Nerima - Shakujii/Iogi/Minami Tanaka

After I came back from Australia I was originally staying at the apartment Efaniel and I rented in Nerima Ward in Tokyo's northwest. Nerima has a reputation of being in 'inaka' (the sticks) among other Tokyoites who make fun of its agricultural aspects. Indeed there are many small plots among the urban sprawl near our apartment and there is a lot of greenery in the area, which as far as I'm concerned is a good thing but it gives the impression that Nerima is far away, more so than Kichijoji/Mitaka and even distant Inage but this is not the case by any means. It's only 15 mins to Shinjuku and 10 mins to Ikebukuro on Seibu's respective lines with about 10 mins walk to each.

The apartment is in a suburb called Minami Tanaka but the area is called Shakujii and is rather distinct from the 'Nerima' or 'Hikarigaoka' areas of Nerima ward to the north. The focus of Shakujii is the park, called Shakujii-koen, which has a couple of ponds and is almost as large as Inokashira Koen near Kichijoji. It is a nice place to relax and known for its sakura although I won't have a chance to see them, this time around at least. The other thing for which the park is famous is the 'yagamo' (arrow duck). I think it has passed away now but it made news some time (I don't actually know when) for being, as the name suggests, a duck with an arrow sticking out of it. It seems to have been shot but somehow survived which is pretty impressive.

North of the park is a station on the Seibu Ikebukuro line which takes its name from the park and wedged between station and park is a substantial shopping area which includes a Mos Burger, a Mister Donut and all the requisite banks which is convenient but in truth I rarely got to use it because I spend so much time working in Chiba and travelling to and from. The north side of the station doesn't have much to talk about except for a Seiyu supermarket and also a bit further way is a branch of J-Com, a telecom company whose free internet service I have availed upon a number of times since I can't go to Chiba Uni any time day or night like I used to.

The more common place for me to go, however, is south to Iogi station on the Seibu Shinjuku line from which I can more quickly head off to work in Chiba. It too has it's own shopping district although not nearly so extensive. It is not actually in Nerima Ward but Suginami Ward which by contrast has quite a nice reputation as a place to live. Incidentally there is actually no place called Iogi. The area around is called Igusa but the stations on either side have Igusa in the name so I'm guessing they took the 'I' and added the 'Ogi' from Ogikubo to the south. Ogikubo is on the JR Chuo line and I sometimes take a bus down there when heading to work especially in the mornings when the train is too crowded. The bus takes about 15-30 mins depending on traffic, as buses in Japan unlike trains are just as slow as those at home are, but at least the bus stop is just near the apartment. As for crowded trains, Efaniel has to endure them every morning I guess but they are too crowded for me. The one time I took one, I actually experienced my first (I think) time to be pushed onto a train, when transferring to an express from the local train I had been riding on. I have heard of the practice and been in many train crushes before as mentioned in the 'Shuden' section above but being pushed is a completely different affair and somewhat painful as well as the platform guard shouted out "I'm pushing now" and proceeded to do so with all his might.

The apartment is on the second floor of a complex called Chateau Yaji in the Japanese spirit of real estate exaggeration. The landlord's name is Yaji (surprise, surprise) and he runs an English language school called U & I. In this respect he is quite gaijin-friendly and thus provides apartments that foreigners will appreciate. This includes waiving the extra cost of 'reikin' (present money) and 'shikikin' (partially returnable bond) which most Japanese landlords impose on their tenants. Adding real estate agent handling fees (which we also didn't have to worry about with Yaji) most Japanese have to hand over at least 5 or 6 months worth of (expensive) rent upfront, with only the possibility of about half a month of it ever being seen again. Even Japanese people get annoyed with their real estate system. Lately since the economic bubble burst, it has been a renter's market and the amount of extortion is lessening but will remain severe for a long time to come. Added to that is the fact that many landlords refuse foreign tenants.

Anyway, back to the apartment. Walking in the door (and taking off your shoes) leads you into the kitchen/dining area. One more good thing about Yaji is that he provided some essential furnishings/appliances as a service. So the kitchen has a gas stove with two plates, a fridge, a toaster etc. Turning right you see the washing machine and turning right again at the washing machine you enter with bathroom which has a small bath as well and even space beside it a luxury in Japan which usually does not have separate toilets. We do and it comes from the kitchen. Moving out of the kitchen we enter the living room which also acted as my bedroom. The futon folded up to make a couch and we store the stereo, TV, various book etc etc there. That room is 10 tatami mats big (18 sq metres for those who don't know) and it also has ample wardrobe space. Then there is a ladder to the loft near the kitchen. The two girls sleep up there and it's about 6 tatamis (10.8 sq. m) in size. Most of the furniture, upstairs and downstairs, came from a girl called Itsuko who we met through the Tokyo Classifieds. She went off to Canada to get married and needed to get rid of her furniture which is all really cool and mostly hand-made. It was a perfect arrangement and the room looks great.

It was interesting living in Nerima but the distance was a real problem. Working five days a week in Chiba and sometimes visiting there on one or both of the other two days for whatever reason makes for a lot of travel. It is mostly against the flow of rushhour traffic and so not as bad as it might be but takes a long time, especially at night when there are less services (although of course it is far better than Melbourne) so that I end up spending about 4 hours each day travelling. It is occasionally more if you add bike time since I travel to some of my work sites, especially those in Inage Kaigan, by the bike which I keep stored at the Inage Dormitory. Moving to Nakayama is bliss. Especially since I will have the freedom of living on my own although the companionship of Efaniel and Maki was great too.

Funabashi/Nakayama

My new apartment is back in Chiba Prefecture, near a station on the Sobu line (which goes from Chiba to Kichijoji through Shinjuku) called Shimousa Nakayama. It is on the edge of Funabashi City near its border with Ichikawa City which is in turn adjacent to Tokyo. It is therefore halfway between Tokyo and Chiba and makes everywhere much more accessible. A place in Inage would have been even more convenient but there weren't many available at the kinds of prices I was looking at although there were a couple of options in central Chiba. Still this seems like a really good deal, especially since, like Chateau Yaji, there are no extra upfront fees charged and even better with this I can pay on a daily rate if I'm not staying for a full month. I actually found it on the net at Tokyo Room Information run by a foreigner named Anton. I will be there from December 17, 2000 to whatever day I leave. This is my last move, no doubt about it. Nakayama is most famous for its nearby horseracing stadium. I haven't seen much of the town yet but it is based around a temple and has a 'shitamachi' feel to it but is under redevelopment as well so it seems to have all you'd need in terms of shops. The apartment is one room of six tatami size and a kitchen area on the first floor upstairs. It too is furnished and in western style and while the toilet and bath are not separate, the setup is not inconvenient, especially since I only intend it to be a pad in which to sleep. Things are looking good.

There are many more interesting places around here and maybe they will be added to this as I visit them.

- View photos -

[Chiba] [Inage] [Kichijoji] [Shinjuku] [Shibuya] [Harajuku] [Yokohama] [Asakusa/Ueno]
[Ikebukuro] [Other places]