Heated Floors

This is coming a few weeks overdue, but rest assured it is not for lack of interest. To me Japan has been many things, a fetish- sure, a muse- definitely, a destination- finally.

Growing up, I regularly became more aware of my exposure and affinity to Japanese pop culture. Whether it was watching ‘strange’ cartoons at 5am, playing my Gameboy in bed, or drawing, it seemed that all of my favourite stuff came from the land of the rising sun. I’ve always wanted to visit Japan but I never really imagined how that would go. Let me tell you, as most of our trips do, it involved a lot of walking.

Our immediate impression of Japan was one we didn’t expect. We were looking forward to pretty specific things, like exploring temples or arcades, we didn’t think our first impression would be so overarching but it was. Tokyo is clean. I mean, really clean. Coming from Canada to Korea wasn’t much of a switch, there is litter here and there, alley’s can be grimy, with dirt, leaves, and other scrapings collecting in corners. Not Tokyo, it was spotless. We didn’t even see so much as a remnant of some ill-discarded gum. Even hobos were clean, using what seemed to be brand new boxes to build they’re perfect little huts. This observation was also probably more than a little inspired by our time spent in China in previous week…

We found our little hostel in the spotless alley, checked in and tried to sleep in what was essentially four walls built around a bunk bed. It was almost too small for us and our luggage.

Getting there, and around Tokyo, was a real treat. For the first few days we really struggled with the train system. There are two companies running trains through the city so you have to be aware of what kind of station you enter, though it seems to be one unified subway system. There are also different types of trains on each track, some express, some local. What this means is even if you’re on a train starting at a station in the right prefecture you may not be able to get where you want to go. It is complicated, but it isn’t a bad system. Travel times were really quick because there were so many lines and so many trains, pros and cons.

We stayed in Asakusa, one of the older parts of Tokyo, home of Senso-ji temple. This was our first authentic experience with a Japanese style temple and they are definitely less decorated than their Chinese and Korean counterparts. Heading through Kaminari-mon Gate [ABOVE] to Senso-ji temple was a treat. We walked under the biggest lantern we’ve ever seen, and through Nakamise St. Here we bought many souvenirs from small shops that lined the street, but eventually we got to the temple. The smell of incense, welcomed us to what was a rather modest structure compared to what we had seen in Korea and China before it. Nonetheless it was a good way to start our trip.

From there we took a little cruise that took us under 18 bridges that spanned the Sumnida River. It took about a half hour and we landed at Hama Rikyu gardens. Our slow day continued. We walked through small swathes of forest, flower patches and traditional duck hunting fields. 

After a few hours of frolicking here, we head out towards the Tsukiji Fish Market. It’s the biggest wholesale seafood market in the world, but when we got there everybody had already gone. The infamous Tuna auction starts around 5am, but you have to get there a lot earlier to see any action. We walked around the deserted lot a little disappointed. It was an eerie place, and that made us hungry.