Tokyo Desu: From Shinjuku to Shibuya – Welcome to Tokyo!
Welcome to my new series, Tokyo Desu – literally meaning ‘It’s Tokyo’ – where I’ll be showing you all the many nooks, crannies and lady bar strewn streets that Japan’s capital has to offer. The Tokyo metropolitan area is one of the biggest cities in the world, home to over 9 million people, living closely in what is, a comparatively low city. Even, after over two years living in Japan, it’s still as big an adventure living in Tokyo as the first day I moved here. I thought it only fitting that Tokyo should have it’s own category, as I continue to explore it’s charming streets. And all you can eat restaurants…
I want to start this series with what many tourists would consider the holy trinity of locations – Shinjuku, Harajuku and Shibuya. Let’s set the scene. You’ve flown long haul and landed at Narita airport. After collecting your bags, you’ve made the three and a half day camel trek from Narita to central Tokyo. You’ve eventually found your hotel, after accidentally standing on the right-hand side of the escalators to the annoyance of many angry commuters. Finally, you’ve crossed the road on a red-light. Despite the fact that the nearest car is, seemingly, somewhere in Northern Hokkaido, you’re being scorned by locals for jaywalking to your heart’s content. Where do you go first? Let’s start by checking out the busiest train station in the world – Shinjuku.
Shinjuku has many things to offer. Whether that be it’s high and spiralling business district (visible above), lantern strewn alleyways, shopping and department stores or it’s wonderful menagerie of a red-light district which is oddly welcoming and fun to hang out in. First of all you have to tackle Shinjuku’s evil step-sister – the train station. The main concourse alone has over 12 platforms, some of which have trains arriving every 2-3 minutes, making Shinjuku the train station that never sleeps. That’s not including several other underground railways linked to the concourse, amongst a maze of underground malls and walkways that stretch to – what feels like – the Pacific Ocean. On today’s journey, I took the East Exit and walked towards Kabukicho – the red light district.
The streets leading away from the station and down, towards Kabukicho, are lined with convenient restaurants and cafes, crammed together in sharp contrast to the nearby, expansive business district. At night, salarymen and women often take the same trail, stopping in for a quick bite to eat before drinking in Kabukicho’s watering holes until the early hours. Not long afterwards, you’ll stumble upon one of Japan’s busiest cinemas(below), watched over, loomingly, by Godzilla himself – destroyer turned protector in this case.
Shinjuku isn’t just high-rise buildings and shopping malls, it’s also full of quaint alleyways packed with petite bars and yakitori joints – grilled chicken – often overflowing with customers, piling into the alleys. These are the parts of Shinjuku, and Japan, that I love the most, although they’re often too small for my 6-foot plus frame and should really carry a health warning. But sure, potential brain damage is all part of the charm, right?
Below is, arguably, Japan’s most famous cluster of alleys – Golden Gai. At night, bar signs are lit up like a collection of neon stamps and the alleys are bustling with drinkers – often tourists – packed into tiny little bars or hopping towards the next. In the daytime, however, you can see the variation of bars and proprietors just by observing the miniature, hobbit-like doors. From Kenzo’s Bar, for instance, who welcomes all ‘foreigner people’ to chat and talk about different cultures to the bar which simply states, ‘Members Only.’ Not everyone can be a people person…
Deathmatch In Hell. ‘No fuckin’ cover charge. No fuckin’ tax,’ but most importantly, there’s free WI-FI and popcorn. I honestly don’t know whether to be excited or terrified. I’ll decide, next time, whilst I’m mulling over my ¥666 beer to make sure.
Just like those pesky banks who are closed on weekends and holidays, unfortunately, the door to Narnia was also closed this day. Sometimes you just can’t get the service.
From Shinjuku-sanchome – the area in which Golden Gai is located – I decided to take the lesser travelled path and walk towards Harajuku. Harajuku is, depending on who you talk to, the fashion capital of Tokyo and, thus, I guess, Japan. It’s not your usual kind of fashion, however. Rather than seeing young men and women dressed in the usual high-class brands such as Gucci, Chanel and Armani, you’re more likely to see young girls and (sometimes) middle-aged women and men, yes men, dressed up like distorted versions of Alice in Wonderland. Known as ‘Kawaii(cute)-culture/fashion’ it has a big influence on many aspects of – mainly female – society. It’s not just limited to clothing, however. For example, someone who has everything from a Hello Kitty pen to a Hello Kitty fridge at home, could be seen as expressing themselves as part of ‘kawaii culture.’ It’s largely seen as a form of escapism from the daily grind of Japanese citizens, who, more often than not, have incredibly long working hours and very few holidays and the centre of that expression can be found around Harajuku.
Whilst Harajuka is only two stops from Shinjuku via the JR Yamanote line, I decided to walk between the two and see more of Tokyo on foot. Living in Tokyo, the train lines are super convenient and highly reliable, however, there is an aspect of never actually seeing the city itself by constantly commuting by train. It took me around 25 minutes to walk and on the way I got to see an authentic Chinese restaurant. Robert is a traditional Chinese name, right? I also encountered the Mexican restaurant below, which, as is often the case in Tokyo due to overcrowding, is completely underground. In many other countries, if someone directed you to an underground bar or restaurant you’d, perhaps, think twice about going in. In Tokyo, though, there are so many businesses stuffed into every little nook and cranny, that places like this become more norm than exception.
By walking, rather than taking the train, I was able to observe the lesser known parts of Harajuku, often forgotten about by tourists which, as impressive as they are, tend to flock to more tourist-central areas such as Takeshita Street and Meiji-Jingu Shrine. Whilst Takeshita Street is a lively and bustling avenue with more crepe shops, seemingly, than the entirety of France, I prefer the alternative side of Harajuku, featuring what is known as Cat Street. It’s here you can queue for 45 minutes to get some lobster; pick up some craft-coffee; shop for the latest outdoor gear – which you’ll never actually wear in ‘the outdoors’ – or relax quitely, despite only being a few minutes from the bustling avenues. I must add, though, that I’ve not once spotted a cat on Cat Street. Sorry to disappoint any feline lovers out there…
What could be Japan’s next top boyband, enjoying a stroll through Cat Street, above, with plenty of man-bags on show, below.
After finishing your wanderings in Harajuku you can walk a mere fifteen minutes to, arguably, Japan’s most photographed area – Shibuya. I decided to take the backstreets to Shibuya, walking via Yoyogi Park – another place worth checking out on the weekend to experience the normality, but also, the darn right insanity of Japanese culture. You will find everything, from potentially the world’s most populous picnic area to a numerous variety of performers debunking any myth that the Japanese are ‘shy’ people. My reason for taking the back streets, however, was to appreciate Shibuya’s quieter, more tranquil side, full of independent retailers and craft beer bars buried deep underground. Walking through these peaceful areas, below, it’s hard to imagine that you’re less than a ten minute walk from one of Japan’s busiest urban areas.
During my first visit to Tokyo, I didn’t actually visit Shibuya until the fifth and last day of my trip. Despite already walking amongst a maze of lights and madness for the previous four days, I never forgot that feeling I had walking around Shibuya for the first time. Downtown Shibuya is, essentially a clusterfuck of neon, smashed together into tiny little streets, all leading down a hill to it’s infamously crowded crossing. Whilst, not entirely different from Shinjuku, for me, Shibuya feels cosier and more inviting. Despite it’s numerous love hotels – where Japanese people looking for privacy from families and, em, spouses go to enjoy after dark activities – it also feels a lot safer and welcoming. Even after two years in Japan, I still get that feeling of excitement every time I visit Shibuya, mesmerised by the neon illuminated businesses crammed into every bit of space.
Tourists and locals, alike, crossing from Shibuya station towards the famous illuminated buildings you can see below. What the photos don’t convey is the cocktail of traffic signal noise; the patter of hundreds of feet and music emanating from the different advertisements blasting from the buildings, making it a truly unique atmosphere. It’s also the only place in the world where you’ll see someone standing in the middle of a road for an extended period of time and be safe in the knowledge that they’re not waiting for a truck to hit them. Just a time-lapse for the ‘gram…
Pikachu is watching you…
