DAY 14
Tuesday 11th May
Tokyo
Now clearly the quickest way to get from Kyoto to Tokyo is to just swap the letters around. Unfortunately we have to settle for a 7:30 a.m. start to catch an 8:36 a.m. Shinkansen.
As the train races eastwards the dark clouds grow lighter, then ragged, and finally we pass from under it completely, leaving a perfect blue sky ahead. Sat quietly in my seat, admiring the scenery, I glance to the opposite window and perform a textbook double take. To Paul's bewilderment, I shoot up from my seat; grab my camera and head to the vestibule window. The snowy peak of Mount Fuji sails majestically by, its base merging into hazy blue, the summit appearing to float. The volcano is a near-perfect cone, and the sheer size of it is something that can never be conveyed in photographs. It's easy to see how it has achieved such legendary status in Japanese culture. Unfortunately, the old battle of Industry vs. Nature rears its ugly head again. Stretching across the plain, from the rail line to the base of Fuji, is a smoggy wilderness of industrial buildings, power cables snaking in all directions. Most of these cables are thoughtfully placed right by the rail line, seemingly to infuriate train-bound photographers. Yet again, for such a revered national treasure and icon, careless planning has pitifully disfigured it, and diminished its power. I eventually discover that having used almost half a roll of film on it, only one shot is perfectly clear- all the rest feature the blurred smudge of a telegraph pole at its centre.
On arrival at Tokyo station, we spend fifteen minutes trying simply to escape it. Corridors and escalators lead off in all directions and most terminate in dead ends, or lead you back to the beginning. I now know how Japanese tourists must feel on the London underground. Eventually we find our way to the city streets, and the humidity and traffic fumes immediately smothers us. Towering skyscrapers cluster together, meaning that while the day is hot, you're not often in direct sunlight. Tokyo station is located in what appears to be a business district- we didn't get to see the glowing neon often associated with the city.
Crossing a few blocks, we locate the Imperial Palace and East Gardens. Again,
the Imperial Palace is hidden away in a restricted area, so not much to see
there. More impressive are the remains of an old castle, only the base of which
still remains (like the castle in Fukuoka). Walking around the periphery of the
castle, outside of the moat, we are passed constantly by hundreds of joggers
slogging away in the heat of the midday sun. Hey, leave that kind of stuff to
mad dogs and Englishmen. Near to the gardens we find a restaurant, which turns
out to be an interesting experience. Upon entering, we are confronted by a large
vending machine looking not unlike the machine you buy train tickets from. Each
button bears a label with the names of the meals: 'Curry Rice: 700 Yen', 'Soup:
250 Yen', and so on. A smartly dressed waiter stood beside the machine eyes us
slightly anxiously, and noting our confusion instructs us as to what we are
meant to do, and promptly takes his place next to the machine again. We follow
his instructions:
- Select meal from the list.
- Put money in the machine.
- Press the button for the meal.
- Collect the token that rattles into the tray.
- Hand the token to the waiter.
- Waiter heads off to get our food.
What a strange little charade that was. No wonder the waiter looked disgruntled, he was playing second fiddle to a glorified vending machine! The only feasible answer that we can provide is that it eliminates the transfer of 'dirty' money directly from one palm to another- something that is actively avoided in Japan, if the proliferation of change trays is anything to go by. Anyway, bar having to negotiate with R2-D2 to get our food, the meal is pleasant enough, and surprisingly cheap for such a tourist trap location.
Now for the main event of the day, something we'd planned to do once we'd seen it in the guidebooks. Finding our way back to the station, we jump on the Yamanote line to Yebisu- home of the Yebisu Beer Museum.
Yebisu Beer is one of those rare finds: a great Japanese beer. Emma introduces
us to it early on in our holiday and it soon became a firm favourite, the best
of all the beers we had there. Dark and roasty, it's a fine brew. On arrival at
the museum we discover that entry is free- result! Interesting animated displays
explain the convoluted process of beer making. Particularly impressive is a
holographic display, with little actors flickering their way around a doll's
house. No English translation, but it goes something like this: Far, far away,
at the Yebisu Brewery, a Beer Fairy assists the white-haired Lord of Beer in his
production of the quality brew. She is stolen away by an angry, jealous red imp,
who holds her hostage in his castle. Naturally, due to her distress, the fairy
is unable to produce good beer anymore- making the imp very happy indeed, being
of a mischievous nature. Fortunately, with the help of the Lord of Beer, a white
boiler-suited worker from the brewery rescues her- she is able to continue her
good work, and everybody lives beerily ever after. This display was obviously
created by staff that had spent too long hanging around the beer-testing
department.
On the subject of beer testing, at the end of the museum was the opportunity to sample some of Yebisu's other brands. Negotiating another vending machine, we hand the token to the dapper waiters at the bar and are handed a tray with four taster glasses. I estimate these to be the equivalent of around one and a half pint's worth, for 400 Yen (two quid). The best one was easily the ordinary Yebisu Black- some of the other beers were just plain wrong, almost like they were half-complete, and their attempt at ale was pretty woeful. The little packet of Sapporo beer snacks was nice, though. And judging from the amount of giggling going on around us, from slightly sozzled Japanese visitors, it does appear to be true that their reaction to beer is more obvious than ours.
Across the plaza from the Beer Museum is the Yebisu Tower, where we take in the stunning views across Tokyo from the 39th floor.
Our time in Tokyo had run out, and so we mooch back to the station for the 5:36
p.m. train back to Kyoto. Passing by Fuji-san again, it is beautifully
silhouetted against a golden backdrop as the sun sets. Still nothing we could do
about the power cables though.
My overall impression of Tokyo was far more favourable than I'd anticipated. I was expecting major claustrophobia from being stuffed into crowds of people- but this turned out not to be the case. As we only had one day, and seen only the tiniest fraction of the city, it was difficult to get a feel for the bigger picture. What I found was that the city was clean, effective and ordered, and not half as confusing as I had feared- based on reports from other travellers, I was half expecting to be wandering like a lost soul, head in hands, around the public transport system. Barring our fifteen-minute moment of confusion in Tokyo station, everything makes sense- if you've got your head screwed on correctly. It would have been interesting to visit more famous areas like Shibuya or Akihabara, to see the neon lights, and experience Tokyo at the time when it should be explored; night-time. Shame we didn't have enough time to fully explore the city that inspired 'Lost In Translation'- as it was, we were lucky not to spend the day lost in the damn station.