When I arrived in Japan after a pleasant nine-and-a-half hour flight with JAL (Japan Airlines), I was ready to be pelted by a deluge of neon lights, geishas, and buildings covered in giant plasma televisions emitting loud advertisements in speedy Japanese (a la Bladerunner). On the short bus journey from Narita Airport to nearby Chiba (the first stop of the famil), my face was literally planted to the window as I searched for any signs of hovercrafts or sumo wrestlers.
But it wasn’t long before I realised my idea of Japan wasn’t matching up with “real life” Japan, and I must say I was disappointed. Obviously I’d been watching too much television and playing too many computer games. There was a distinct lack of anything neon on the road to Chiba.
We spent the first night at The Manhattan Makahari Hotel, which very much resembled a Beverly Hills mansion from the 1920s. The old-world charm of this beautiful hotel had a lasting effect on the famil participants, all three of us. “The previous owner really liked New York,” we were told, and it was strikingly obvious. The theming was perfect, from the mahogany-filled meeting rooms, and art deco-style bars down to the shoe horns and crooner tunes in the guest rooms. The hotel was in fact one of the highlights of the trip.
First thing in the morning we took a stroll around the nearby Japanese Gardens, stopping only to kick our shoes off and enter a Western-style tea room to partake in a tea ceremony. It was there we tipped back the first of many green, frothy (and bitter-tasting) Japanese teas.
We then walked over to the impressive Hotel New Otani and the attached Makahari Messe Convention Centre which can hold seated banquets of 9000 in its exhibition halls. With our tummies rumbling, we welcomed the opportunity to get involved in a sushi-making session, and created our own sushi which bore some resemblance to the real thing. It’s not as easy as it looks!
After travelling about 20 minutes out of town to Maihama, where we would be spending the night at The Hotel Okura, we eagerly checked out the facilities at Tokyo Disney Sea, next-door to Tokyo Disneyland. In our short amount of free time, we couldn’t resist test-driving one of the park’s more impressive rides, a rollercoaster inside a volcano. The park was packed, which seemed strange for a Monday, and meant lines were long.
That evening, our shoes were cast aside once more as we stepped inside the one-year-old Hotel & Spa Maihama Eurasia, which houses 83 traditional Japanese-style guest rooms and a bevy of hot pools (the venue is built over natural hot springs of about 1700 metres deep). We enjoyed a soak and then a traditional Japanese meal complete with sake, seated on tatami mats.
Next day we were off to Tokyo – I held out hope that the big city would deliver on the neon lights and geisha front. After the short drive, over and under spiralling freeways, most of which were built in time for the Tokyo Olympics in 1964, we got a taste of the first religion in Japan, Shinto, at the Meiji Shrine. Apparently eight million people visit the shrine each year, and there are around 80,000 shrines in Japan. Whoa.
Like a tropical refuge, the shrine, located in the middle of Tokyo, is filled with bird and plant life. You wouldn’t even know you were in the middle of one of the world’s largest cities.
We moved on to the Meiji Kinenkan for lunch, a unique venue which is sort of like a Japanese version of a Rotary Club, with beautifully-manicured gardens and meeting rooms. Afterwards we were treated to a demonstration of the traditional art of Ukiyoe print making at the Adachi Institute of Woodcut Prints – the only place in Japan dedicated to print making – and then a visit to the Sensoji temple and shopping street.
The highlight of the day was by far our trip to the Kokugikan Sumo Hall in Ryogoku, where the annual Grand Sumo Tournament was taking place. Sumo wrestling started 1500 years ago as a ceremony, and is now Japan’s national sport. You’ve got to love the history in that.
Following dinner at Gonpachi Nishi Azabu, a lively unique dining venue where one of the scenes in the movie Kill Bill was filmed, we settled into our rooms at the two-year-old Hotel New Otani Tokyo, which has a huge 1500 rooms. You literally need a map to get around the hotel. I went to bed wondering whether tomorrow would produce a geisha or two.
The next day we were ferried in and out of a string of the city’s hotels and meetings facilities, including Conrad Tokyo where we had lunch overlooking a slightly smoggy Tokyo, the tranquil gardens of Happoen, the huge Tokyo International Forum (which 50,000 people go through every day), and the high-tech Tokyo Prince Park Tower, where we were treated to an interactive and very tasty tempura dinner.
Day four began with a transfer to Yokohama, about 30 minutes from Tokyo. We visited a selection of hotels in the compact and lively city, and also had a tour of the large Pacifico Yokohama, a convention centre built in 1992. Lunch was held behind the venue on a floating restaurant overlooking the harbour.
We then jumped aboard a train to Kamakura – our first “real” outing, as until then we’d been chauffeured around in luxury private buses. We walked from the station, through the streets lined with stores selling all sorts of nik naks (none of us walked away without a kimono) and stopped to see The Great Buddha, standing more than 11 metres tall. We also visited the Tsuruoka Hachimangu Shrine before embarking on what was yet another highlight of the trip, a rickshaw ride. Two string-thin men helped us into traditional rickshaws and then sped us around town, through back streets and busy intersections, for a tour with a difference. We stopped along the way for photo opportunities (there were many!).
Returning to Yokohama, we boarded a small boat which casually cruised around the harbour while we enjoyed a traditional Japanese dinner with the crew from the local convention bureau. After what was the most enjoyable night of the trip, we ambled back to our hotel (the Yokohama Royal Park Hotel) to recharge for our final day.
Returning to Tokyo in the morning, we were fortunate to have free time before we would need to leave for the airport, so we decided to brave the train system ourselves and attempt to get to Akihabara, the world’s largest electrical equipment town, which promised duty-free shops as far as the eye could see. Known as Electric Town, the mini city only five minutes from Toyko Station finally delivered the things I was looking for! Neon lights, streets flanked with colourful billboards and big screen TVs promising the best in electrical equipment, and vending machines galore selling everything from underwear and flower bouquets to collectable cards and beer!
Alas, there was not a geisha in sight, but I was told the previous day that geishas were so rare these days, and if you were lucky enough to see the genuine article, it was likely to be in the cultural centre of Kyoto.
Feeling satisfied with our efforts of exploration, we departed for Narita International Airport, via the JR Narita Express train, for our flight home.
Returning to Sydney, I realised just how empty our city streets are in comparison to the busy, vibrant and culture-soaked Japan.
Jasmine Cook was hosted by the Japan National Tourist Organisation (JNTO).
When many of us think of Japan, we ultimately think of crowds. And that’s understandable, given there are 127.5 million people crammed into a country which has a land mass half the size of New South Wales. The Greater Tokyo Area alone, which includes Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, contains 30 million residents (more than 1.5 times the population of Australia) making it the largest metropolitan area in the world – and an agoraphobic’s worst nightmare.
At least that’s what the figures would lead you to assume. When I visited the island country for the first time recently, armed with these statistics, I expected my trip to include a flattening (or two) by a torrent of Japanese people.
However, even after visiting the giant metropolis of Tokyo, and braving peak hour at Central Tokyo station, I went unscathed. With surprise I realised the “crowds” were, at worst, manageable and the chance of a flattening was negligible. I found myself wondering how this was possible considering I was sharing the same footpaths with millions of people.
It didn’t take long to work out that a lack of crowd chaos could be put down to the impeccable manners and extremely polite nature of the Japanese. Despite its bulging population, the entire country seems to operate in a polished, precise and proficient fashion. Everything works to schedule, but without seeming robotic. People respect systems and take pride in timing precision (because of this, it amused me to think how a Japanese person would fare on a timeless tropical island such as Fiji, where time doesn’t really exist).
For event planners, the notion of a country that functions on time and to schedule is almost too good to be true. But it’s not just the absence of frenzied throngs that makes Japan a country you can rely on when it comes to events. There are three key things that make this historical and hospitable nation stand out.
Firstly, Japan is possibly one of the cleanest places I have ever been to. Littering is seriously frowned upon, shopping malls are sanitised and smoking, in many places, is banned. Its transportation systems, in particular public trains, are spotless, and private taxis are gleaming (every taxi I saw came complete with fresh-white doilies on each head rest) – luxurious compared to what we experience in Australia. Even its public toilets are respectable, many offering both squat and Western-style flush toilets (complete with bidet, drying and automatic flushing systems).
Secondly, while it might be a novelty to learn the basics of Japanese, it’s good to know you don’t need to rely on it once you’re there – the English language is widely spoken throughout the country, particularly in major cities and tourist centres. English is in fact the foreign language that Japanese must learn as part of compulsory education. Public transportation announcements are frequently made in both Japanese and English, and signs generally include decipherable roman characters or an English explanation.
And thirdly, despite what you may have heard, Japan is not very expensive – certainly not when comparing prices in Japan to those in Sydney or Melbourne. The strength of the Australian dollar, paired with the robust recovery of Japan’s economy over the past few years, has made the destination a realistic and viable consideration for those looking for a sophisticated Asian experience on a budget. One Australian dollar will buy you around 95 yen, and prices seem to be relative to what you’d pay here. For instance, a coffee from Starbucks would set you back around 300 yen – that’s around AU$3.20.
While there are a number of hot spots about Japan that are ideal for meetings and incentives, it is hard to go past the Kantõ region on the eastern side of the main island Honshu. The region encompasses seven prefectures, Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa, and overlaps the Greater Tokyo Area. It’s said to be the most highly-developed, urbanised and industrialised part of Japan, and is densely populated.
The region encloses a diverse array of geographical treats, including mountainous peaks, far-reaching plains, hot springs, lakes and coastal edges. From the “secret spas” and hot springs in Tochigi and inspiring scenery of mountains in Gumma, to the thriving hub of economy, culture and industry in Tokyo, the Kantõ region offers surprises around every corner.
The region is home not only to Tokyo, but also the major cities of Yokohama and Chiba. Most Tokyo-bound visitors arriving on international flights will land at Japan’s main gateway, Narita International Airport, which is also situated in the Kantõ region, in the city of Narita which is located around 70 kilometres from Tokyo in the Chiba Prefecture. The airport is connected to Tokyo by the East Japan Railway’s Narita Express and the Keisei Electric Railway’s Skyliner.
Located at the southeast of the Kanto Plain and adjacent to Tokyo, Chiba is considered the gateway to Narita International Airport, and while its capital of Chiba City is not necessarily a bustling metropolis like Tokyo, it does offer a smart mix of hotels, meeting facilities, unique venues and sightseeing spots.
Chiba’s population is one of the wealthiest in Japan due to the prefecture’s strong commercial and industrial sectors. It’s also one of Japan’s largest industrial areas, thanks to its long coastline on Tokyo Bay. The bay area along Tokyo Bay is one of the busiest development zones in Japan, and boasts a number of major establishments including Tokyo Disneyland Park and Resort, several international hotels including Hotel Okura Tokyo Bay and Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay, and a number of large shopping centres, such as Lalaporte Shopping Mall.
Chiba City is clean, crisp and well laid-out. Everything seems like it’s in walking distance from the six major hotels in the CBD, including the large convention centre, Makuhari Messe which can hold seated banquets for 9000 in its exhibition halls.
Getting around is easy via the public train system which connects Chiba to Tokyo. Southern Chiba is also connected to the Kanagawa Prefecture by the Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line bridge-tunnel – a 15-kilometre expressway, partially submerged by Tokyo Bay.
WHERE TO GO IN TOKYO
1. The Imperial Palace – visit the home of Japan’s representative figure, the Emperor, located in the centre of Tokyo. Its precincts are open for sightseeing with many historical landmarks scattered throughout.
2. Asakusa – Sensoji, famous for its huge Japanese lantern on the Kaminarimon, is the representative sightseeing spot of Asakusa, with a shopping street of about 260 metres called Nakamise leading to the Temple.
3. Harajuku – shopping hotspot and cultural haven for Tokyo’s youth, Harajuku is home to the Meiji Shrine, NHK Broadcasting Centre, fashionable restaurants and designer clothing stores.
4. Tokyo Disneyland Park – The full cast of Disney characters and a host of other attractions and rides await you at the park, which is located adjacent to Tokyo Disney Sea, a world of adventure built around seven themed ports.
5. Akihabara – Electric City is a conglomeration of electrical appliance and computer-related stores, renowned for its infinite selection of products. Most of the employees working in Akihabara are fluent in English.
It’s amazing to think that the mega city now known as Tokyo was originally the small fishing village of Edo. Tokyo has endured and recovered from several major catastrophes in its time, namely the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923, World War II, firebombings in 1945, and the atomic bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After the war, Tokyo was completely rebuilt, and showcased to the world during the city’s 1964 Summer Olympics.
Today, the city is an exciting conglomeration of high-rise developments, ancient shrines, neon light-filled streets, an array of tempting cuisine, a complex but effective network of train tracks, and a bevy of beautifully-manicured Japanese gardens. It’s a veritable hub of colourful festivals, performing arts, museums and culture. The shopping in the city is incredible, particularly if you’re after anything that needs electricity to function.
Tokyo is home to a bank of hotels, from the simple and smart to the looming and luxurious. Some of the city’s largest meetings facilities can be found in these hotels, notably the shining The Prince Park Tower Tokyo, the brand-spanking new The Peninsula Tokyo, and the stylish and contemporary Conrad Tokyo.
The city also boasts a range of unique venues perfect for events and conferences, such as the Happoen Japanese Garden, and the Meiji Kinenkan with its 27 banquet rooms, plus the Tokyo International Forum, Tokyo’s first convention and art centre, has an impressive range of spaces over its 14 storeys, including the representative hall which seats more than 5000.
If you are visiting Tokyo for business or pleasure it is hard to go past the Hilton Tokyo located in the heart of the city. Overlooking bustling Shinjuku, the Hilton Tokyo has “got the lot” when it comes to hotel accommodation and facilities.
The property has large 30 square metre rooms, an indoor swimming pool, two rooftop tennis courts, an executive lounge, health club, and 16 meeting rooms that can seat between nine and 1200 delegates.
The Hilton Tokyo is also home to the Michelin-starred Twenty One restaurant which specialises in French cuisine, and also offers traditional Japanese food in Musashino Japanese Restaurant – one of eight bars and restaurants at the venue.
The Hilton Tokyo is just five minutes from Shinjuku Station, accessed by a free bus service. Visit www.hilton.com for further details.
A short trip south from Tokyo, by train or road, is Japan’s second largest city by population, Yokohama. Since the opening of its port in 1859, the city has been one of Japan’s principal portals to the outside world.
Yokohama retains the charm of traditional Japan, combined with international flair, to create a unique city which is easy to navigate, despite its size. Its compact design means that shopping, sports and sightseeing are all a stone’s throw from most of the hotels in the city, including the sail-shaped InterContinental The Grand Yokohama, the Pan Pacific Yokohama and the 603-room Yokohama Royal Park Hotel. The city’s largest convention centre, Pacifico Yokohama, offers a main hall with 1000 seats and several large meeting rooms. The new waterfront area of the city, known as Minato Mirai 21, is a base for many festivals and events, adding to Yokohama’s lively and colourful nature.
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