It’s strange sometimes how you can get something so wrong. I thought I had a handle on Tokyo, even though I had never visited the city, or Japan for that matter, but images and the perception of the place were way off my mark.
I imagined Tokyo as Lost in Translation, a bigger Hong Kong, crazy and crowded, neon chaos and edgy. Not so.
What I saw over a brief visit was an elegant, immaculately clean and well kept city and one that works its mood and tempo to the will of the people there. With a population of 12 million, and that number rising close to 20 million when commuters and locals are in town, you would expect that push would turn to shove on a regular basis. Not so. Everyone works together and with the Japanese innate good manners and collective courtesy, plus the fact that everything (automobiles, trains, boats, planes) works to schedule, things are pretty organised.
I went to Tokyo with a few PCOs who, like me were virgins to Japan. And after our little holiday getting there – gourmet food, nice lie-down/sleep in business class of Qantas - we were ready to rock’n’roll. A nifty transition through Nagoya Airport saw us smoothly transferred to the Four Seasons Hotel. And the journey began.
Undiscovered by many people in the western world, Tokyo is exciting and vibrant, and there are 2000 years of history to draw on.
Tokyo has been the capital of Japan since 1600A.D. and it was probably then that the idea of a mass transit system was mooted for the crowds to come! This century it’s an excellent way to get around; stay away from the trains and stations at peak hour or you will be confronting millions (I kid you not) of people moving around the city.
The map of the trains looks like a bowl of spaghetti – but, find your destination, work out where you are (all names are in English), take note of the colour, buy a ticket and head for the trains. If you haven’t purchased the correct ticket there are machines to ‘top up’ your tickets mid-trip. In just a couple of days we saw a great deal of the city. What we did would suit any top shelf incentive.
Staying at the Four Seasons Hotel set the pace and standard of what we experienced. The hotel is brilliant for exceptional service. It’s a resort setting in the middle of the city. The hotel is at Chinzan-so, nestled in the heart of Chinzan-so Gardens, a wonderful location in a crowded metropolis. This peaceful and elegant setting affords views of trees and gardens from beautiful rooms, and common areas and restaurants have the full ‘green’ view too.
After a tour of the Four Seasons Hotel Chinzan-so, accompanied by a very impressed group, we visited the new relative, the Four Seasons Tokyo at Marunouchi, a funky, boutique-style hotel that overlooks the almighty terminal rail station of Tokyo. See the bullet trains sitting in the terminal like sleepy dragons, waiting to leap out for the next journey. We headed off to the Sensoji Temple, weaved through the crowded shopping arcade that leads to the temple, breathed in the healing powers of the incense, nodded our respects and were off again to eat. Because of the quality and reputation of the variety of restaurants in the Four Seasons Chinzan-so, we did most of our eating there. Stunning Japanese (of course) cuisine; Italian inspired menus and a western/eastern combo mix had the group swooning with pleasure and planning corporate gourmet events. The group was hosted to a traditional tea ceremony, which was held in the tea house in Chinzan-so gardens. Willowy ‘tea-makers’ painstakingly prepared the tea by whisking the green powder into a frothy mass to drink from a bowl. A fascinating experience for an incentive group – but the taste was not quite my cup of tea!
If you knew sushi
At dawn we hit the world-famous Tsukiji Market, the largest central wholesale fish market in Japan. As dawn approaches the frenzied activity includes the auctioning of tuna, brought in from all over the world. And with the Japanese penchant for only the best seafood, bidding is serious as the representatives from restaurants all over town want their buys to be the best. We had a great breakfast after a walk through the markets and the sushi bar served warm sake, fresher than fresh raw fish packed into little sushi’s and all this was served up with theatrical flare.
A luxury spa treatment followed at Fours Seasons Chinzan-so’s newly opened ‘Yu’ serenity spa. Judging by the blessed-out somnambulist appearance of my companions, they had just as exquisite treatment as I did. We explored the colourful and crazy streets around the precinct of Harajuku, and at Harajuku Station on the bridge we found high-school girls dressed to attract attention. Doing ‘Cos-play’ (Costume play) – the girls wear intricate costumes, beautifully made – currently in vogue is ‘Gothic Lolita’ and ‘Little Bo Peep’ or ‘Rock Star’, a 70s look costume with a small bandage happening across the nose! Night time and we head for Roppongi, a precinct of mega building complexes and the main nightlife drawcard in the city for funsters. Roppongi Intersection is where the action is, a neon-lit canyon where everyone (or at least it seemed like there were a few million people there) goes to drink after work to chill out – or fire up! It’s an amazing crowd to-ing and fro-ing across busy streets to get to the next bar. Ex-pats, tourists and locals all mingle as they move to the bars. Male office workers, in uniform dark suit and swinging a briefcase are like a band of night-time warriors.
Most of the bars are crowded but fun. Patrons are friendly, the booze doesn’t break the bank and the music’s good. Most bars are miniscule, so squeeze in. So many sides of Tokyo to look at; typically Japanese – tranquil gardens, a tea ceremony, the Imperial Palace and Shinto shrines – combined with teenagers who look and act like anime characters, hoards of dark-suited 21st century workers streaming into offices, gigantic TV screens seducing consumers. Old and new Japan collided long ago - there was no crash, just a melding of the cultures. Not a perfectly smooth combination – but it’s getting there.
Travel tips
Japan is pretty much a cash society. Many shops/restaurants/bars etc. do not take credit cards; so cash up before you go. Also ATM’s are hard to find. It looks like there are a lot around but they are only for the locals and domestic banks.
You do not have to sell your kidneys to survive in Tokyo. Public transport is cheap; you can seek out great little restaurants and cafes where the food is inexpensive and the quality high. Read up (Lonely Planet guide to Tokyo) before you go.
The Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo has its own private golf club regarded as one of the best in Japan.
Love the taxis – immaculate and the door opens automatically!
Bev Malzard was hosted by Qantas who flew her business class (flat-bed, lovely!); Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo (luxury and charming service all the way).
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