Semi [OT] - Abeno Walking - Part 1
Anthony D. Baranyi
that I wrote down at times during a week long business trip to Japan that I
just finished. This was my second trip to Japan – I went at the same time,
for the same conference in 1999.
General Observations –
If a local tells you that it is cool in Tokyo in July, take it with a big
grain of salt, along with a lot of water. "Cool" is a very relative term,
and unless you live somewhere like Houston, it doesn't describe Tokyo in
early July very well at all. At 98% humidity, 20 deg C is warm, 28 deg C is
hot and 33 deg C is death.
As a corollary to that, you can never bring enough shirts, as I found out on
my first trip. This time I brought a shirt per day, plus spares. The same
goes for underwear and socks, unless you intend to spend most of your time
at the Tsukiji Market. As a corollary to this thought, walking by the
Tsukiji market on a hot afternoon is an "interesting" experience. Also,
bring very comfortable walking shoes, ever your dress or business shoes need
to be comfortable. If you don't have comfortable walking shoes your taxi
expenses will soon rival your air ticket cost.
A JR Rail Pass, bought before you go to Japan, is a real blessing. Not only
is it great for going outside of Tokyo, but it can be used within Tokyo too.
The JR is generally more comfortable to ride in than the subway. BTW 1 – the
Shinkansen wasn't as crowded as I expected, particularly in "Green" class.
And the three hour ride to Osaka goes by a lot faster than you think. (But
then, anything goes by faster than the 14 hour flight to Tokyo.)
BTW 2 – Osaka will be hotter than Tokyo, again, despite what the locals may
predict.
Speaking of Osaka, I have a totally personal and very biased opinion – I
found the women in Osaka to be generally more attractive than the women in
Tokyo. Maybe it is the dialect, maybe it is the smiles. But if I were 20
years younger and single I would still be there.
Some anime-related notes:
There really are Tokyo cop-chicks driving around in mini police cruisers,
just like in YUA. However, the cop-chicks that I saw appeared to spend more
time in the local donut stores than "walking the beat".
On Sunday afternoons young couples do come out in droves to wander places
like Ueno park. However, none of the guys I saw in these couples were stupid
enough to treat their girlfriends like dirt, as is stereotypical in anime.
My guess is that the guys who try that get to spend their afternoons by
themselves, watching anime.
BTW 3 – Tokyoites are like Montrealers – they don't like to get up early if
they don't have to. So although the museums open up at 9AM on Sundays, there
is no one there but a few jet-lagged tourists.
Getting back to anime and Ueno Park – I did a double take when I walked by
the gates to the Ueno Zoo – it was as if I had been there before. Then I
realized that it was just a case of seeing the entrance in so many anime.
BTW 4 – None of the inner city schools I passed look at all like the typical
anime school – none of them have anywhere near the space around them that
you see in anime depictions. Also, the "spacious" 2-story house that is so
common in anime is also rather absent from most of Tokyo or Osaka proper.
You have to get out to around Narita to start to see anything like that.
Back now to Osaka – the temples in "Abenobashi Mahou Shoutengai" do exist
and my friend took me to two of them. You can even get good luck charms with
that 5-pointed star from one of them. They just aren't as big as they appear
in the anime.
BTW 5 – As far as shrines go, I very heartily recommend visiting the "Tada"
shrine in Kawanishi-shi, which is actually a suburb of Osaka. The Tada
shrine is on a wooded hillside and quite extensive, with a number of well
preserved buildings. It was originally founded in the 10th Century and
rebuilt extensively afterwards up until the 17th Century, from which the
present buildings come.
The main grounds of the shrine are usually not open to the public, but my
friend's family "has connections" and we were able to go in and wander
around in the quiet shade. At the back of the grounds there is a locked
gate, leading further up the hill where several Shoguns were buried. In
addition, there is an ancient, algae-covered pool, where legend has it that
an oni's head was thrown in to trap its evil. The pool is still surrounded
with wards for protection. ( I wouldn't want to wander around there at
night. )
My friend and her mom also bought some "victory" charms for me there. They
invited me to choose a charm from various little white envelopes in a box.
Out of a possible 12 possible charms, I picked one that contained a tiny,
golden grain of rice. Now, I know enough comparative anthropology to have a
pretty good idea what that charm means, and the reactions from my friend,
and particularly from her mom, told me that I was right. Maybe it's just as
well that I'm not 20 years younger and single.
Dave Baranyi