Walkin' in Tokyo

The ultimate Tokyo walk

2009-11-11T08:24:00.001+09:00

First segment

View Ikebukuro -> Takadanobaba in a larger map

This is an immensely satisfying walk in Tokyo I have done it many times. You can achieve it walking steadily in a little more than an hour, meaning you should at least take an hour and a half or more to enjoy brief stopovers. It is enjoyable because it wraps up in one shot many sights, altitudes and a variety of districts from uptown countryside like residential areas to downtown and seedy Tokyo. It more or less covers the distance between Ikebukuro, following broadly the Yamanote train line segment down to Shinjuku. It goes down to Takadanobaba, then up again to a plateau at the level of Okubo, then flat straight to Shinjuku.

Start at Ikebukuro station West exit and head for the Myonichikan, previously a school for girls built in 1921 on a plan drawn by Franck Llyod Wright. It is a little bit tricky to find the Myonichikan, but a little while before you reach the building, you will have noticed how Ikebukuro noisy, modern area suddenly gives way to that typical urban countryside atmosphee of so many areas in Tokyo. The district that starts from there and stretches down to a short distance before Takadanobaba comprises Mejiro and Shimo-Ochiai. It is a hill, and on top of that hill, you can find many luxury houses adorned with many patches of private green and gardens.

But before that, you may have found the tranquilness of the Myonichikan. It is usually open from Tuesday to Friday, the week-ends being reserved for wedding parties. You can buy a ticket for a simple visit, or pay an extra 200 yens for drink and biscuits.
I could write pages on the pleasures of being at the Myonichikan through the seasons, but the single fact that makes it stand apart from anything else that is not modern in Tokyo is that, this historical place is less a museum than a living building which is also part of the present. The classrooms are not only spaces to visit but can be rented for conferences or workshops. The central hall where you can have a cup of tea is not a holy church but a living space. Same for the refectory. It is also used for restaurant events. The Myonichikan is an historical, though soothing place in action, not a stultified museum.

From the Myonichikan, we head south, crossing the Tobu railway tracks. Further on, we walk along but at a fair distance from the JR train tracks. Later on, when closing on Mejiro station, we will cross the Meijiro boulevard for a oisy break before plunging again in silent Tokyo. On the right hand of Mejiro JR station when you stand in front of the building, you will notice a staircase that leads you down a level to the ground. Walk down through it, and when you emerge, don't follow the straight road parallel to the tracks but enter instead the steep slope that starts cllmbing up the Ochiai hill. From there on, there are many possible paths. The idea is not to veer much on the West side, but stay for a while on top the hill walking on the East side. When the hills starts to lower down, there are several small to medium sizes parks to see and go through. At the bottom of the hill, you will feel that the plushy Ochiai and Mejiro districts are over. You will reach the new Mejiro boulevard, cross it to further walk toward Takadanobaba. Takadanobaba is downtown heavily shaped by the nearby presence of Waseda university. Nearby, there are other hills and different sights of that tranquil Tokyo countryside to be enjoyed, but we will instead follow the trail of the students for a while, and leave them somewhere at the level of Toyama Park

View Takadanobaba-Shinjuku via Okubo et Kabukichô in a larger map

The Cocoon tower of West Shinjuku has been visible in the distance starting from Mejiro station. It is the perfect post sign to keep going without getting much lost. Past the Toyama Park, we approach Okubo and its Korean downtown neighborhood. Once the busy street is crossed, there is another tranquil segment of walk through smaller houses to reach the backdoor of Kabukicho. The red light district Kabukicho gives a totally and immense perspective in daylight, an unsettling view at times as you can embrace the hugeness of some building, the breadth of roads that seem much smaller at night. The end of the trail at Shinjuku East side is a few minutes walk ahead. There are as everywhere many side paths and variations to this walk. It is an endless pleasure of discoveries through a variety of Tokyo layers through all seasons.

Beyond Shibuya

2009-07-27T17:06:00.001+09:00

The lazy provincial Shibuya, with love hotels, drinking bars or not, is to still to be tasted a mere 15 minutes walk from busy Shibuya station. Head for the hilly Maruyama district and Shinsen station to get a different taste of Shibuya.

A few places I want to share with you

2009-07-18T17:06:00.003+09:00

Tennôzu Isle. In winter and early Spring, clear sky and sharp lines can be dramatic. But you won't want to stay long here.

Morning in Kichijoji. Most shops start at 10 am. The district is a different place until then.

Huge villas of Shimo-Ochiai, not far from Ikebukuro.

Again Kichijoji with Inokashira park in Spring.

Iseya for a beer and the yakitori that come with it.

In and around the Myônichikan (spell Franck Llyod Wright).

The Mingei-kan at Komaba.

The real Kôenji temple.

The National Astronomical Observatory campus.

The Zenpukuji park.

The Kyû-Furukawa garden.

The Hara museum of art.

Give me Walk ... in Tokyo

2009-05-25T14:23:00.001+09:00

Just launched, or plucked for the tree. Starting June and for two months only before a world wide concert spree and show in Las Vegas .... Give me Walk ... in Tokyo, project, beta, version 2.0, etc.

Still walking

2009-05-23T05:21:00.002+09:00

I almost forgot that the last post on this blog was stranded in year 2008. Interestingly enough, the subject of that previous post is still valid, the Myonichikan not far from Ikebukuro station is currently a weekly station of relaxing, solitary solace and at times discussion site with friends. Back alley Tokyo is way much larger than the Tokyo you see on TV, the Tokyo that have lured you to come and confirm by being a part of it the tangibility of movies in Youtube. Isn't this an era of confirmation travels?
Some time ago, we made a Japanese trip, that is, a short stay in Taipei. We did not check for pictures, online movies of your last trip there, live webcams. I bought a guide book with pretty bad black and white small pictures. When we got there, everything was in color, a somewhat soothing because what we saw was less sophisticated, and less frigid, than your standard Tokyo touristic place. I am preparing something in terms of a new free experimental service in Tokyo. The idea popped in my head while I was heading for my weekly dose of Myonichikan. It's no longer bliss, the chairs are not comfortable. It's a place to deconnect.

Hidden spot

2008-11-07T17:41:00.003+09:00

Beyond the mirror of Ikebukuro, at about 10 minutes, walking fast from the Tobu exit, one enters the 5th dimension. The transition is sudden, from the busy, raunchy Ikebukuro to leafy, provincial territories leaning not far from Mejiro, and even further down close by to Takadanobaba. Lately, I have been visiting time and again the Myonichikan, a former school built in 1921 and drawn mostly by Franck Lloyd Wright. It is a soothing place, lovely under the sun, thoughtful under grey skies. Closed on Monday, and partially closed on week-ends when they lend the place for wedding ceremonies, get there between 10:30 am and 4 pm. Take the 600 entrance ticket for a light drink and biscuit. Enjoy. Then walk around south and get lost in urban countryside.

Secret destinations in Tokyo

2008-08-21T09:25:00.003+09:00

The thrill of boredom? Where not even the Chinese tourists tread in? The neighborhood. Where people live, small shopping streets, sometimes real small. With the strong tendency to live indoors, small streets in the cities are eery, that is, extremely tranquil, or put into unconventional, repellent jargon: boring. That is, until you stop applying to reality the fancy of your fancies about Japan. Boredom is allover the places, everywhere in Japan or elsewhere. Understanding the dynamics of boredom in thy common neighborhood is a sure fix to that very feeling. I never feel bored in Tokyo, especially where there is nothing to "see" or to "do", in the Lonely Planet meaning of those verbs. A huge majority of the Tokyo area, like any other cities in the world, does not generate any blip on the standard tourist criteria screen.

The other day, we leisurely walked the trail from Edogawabashi via Zoshigaya to noisy Ikebukuro, then moved a little by subway back to noiseless neighborhoods close by Kohinata, around the Tokyo university botanical garden, the lovely Hakusan hill, to end up at (noisy) Ueno. The best kept secrets of Tokyo are the gazillions of sleepy neighborhoods where you have glimpses - faint because again, they don't live outside - of daily life. My walkers customers usually very much enjoy the tours à local supermarkets (in addition to the must see department stores luscious food spaces). With the coming Autumn - wait for another month and a half, or if you can be patient, wait until November - walking in Tokyo will turn more pleasurable that ever, in those neighborhoods garden cities like.

What to do on those gray days

2008-05-26T15:36:00.004+09:00

With the rainy season visiting soon, gray days in Tokyo are getting numerous. What to do and not feel the gloom? Head for neighborhoods with nothing bu mazes of clustered detached houses fit with lumps of green. There are many such neighborhood in Tokyo by the way, so much actually that the choice is infinite. I would add to the requisite some location with declivities, hills that is. Yesterday was such a gray day in Tokyo but I didn't feel the drag I would have if walking in some busy shopping centers. Hilly greenish neighborhoods are soothing the mind because of the profusion of green that adorns tiny garden, and when no garden is available, covers houses thanks to thick layers of potted plants all around. There is a quality of green for all season but in Tokyo at least, May and June is the richest, lushest, ripest time of the year to enjoy. I spent the afternoon on bicycle getting lost with a vengeance, first at the base of the lovely Hakusan hill, then further atop around the proximity of the Tokyo University campus, where a noisy festival was in full spring, but I avoided like a cat.

Zushi off-season

2008-04-06T08:04:00.002+09:00

A quick walk at Zushi en route back to Tokyo. What a lovely city to live in close by the sea. I envy the residents. One hour away from Tokyo station by train, micro climate, a good old shopping street - Zushi Ginza - a scenic bay - the road along it is the bad thing - makes for the perfect sea escape, except in the two Summer months. I made a mental reservation for September, but why not June as well?

Technorati Tags: Japan, Tokyo

Walkin' in Tokyo: Off-the beaten-tracks walks - for leisure and business

2007-10-30T08:53:00.000+09:00

Read about Leisure and Business Walks Services through this link

Promenades sur demande et sur mesure à Tokyo

Technorati Tags: Japan, Tokyo

Provence in Tokyo

2007-10-29T17:26:00.001+09:00

Perfect light around 2:30 pm. Following what should be the last typhon to run close by Tokyo, a warm, Provence light was illuminating this cosy area around the Hakusan hill in Bunkyo-ku ward. Bunkyo-ku ward is my favorite place in Tokyo with a rich topography and various landscapes, nooks, mountains and valleys, parks, shrines and temples, the luscious Tokyo University campus, a treat of Indian summer leaves in Autumn.

Escapation

2007-09-03T09:40:00.001+09:00

It's not about English competence or the lack of it as that Business Week article suggested. It is not about safety and overall helpful locals as suggested in that article's comment. You have to be here and stay a while to understand how safety indeed is a major competitive advantage of Japan. But will a catch phrase like "Tokyo is 10 000 times safer than New York" ever entice tourists to visit? Lack of aggressiveness alone does not make for a tour theme. Even the newest plushiest luxury hotel in Tokyo will not save the day. You may stay in there for a week and feel like a superstar, but you won't stay four days in a row in a high class traditional inn and not feel longing after dat two for something else, including a pool or beach. My friend C who comes in Japan twice a year, exclusively for vacations, is part of a trend that sees Japan, and for good reasons, as a destination for "escapation". She invariably stays in a favorite traditional Kyoto high end inn and marvels each breakfast and dinner at the ravishingly mysterious kaleidoscope of foods. Well, they are mysterious mainly because nobody around can tell her in English what the ingredients are. But as she told me the other day, on the fourth day, you simply can't eat anymore of this superlative cuisine. But you have no choice except eating out. It is high time for her to go back to the dusty trail and move places.

A major reason why Japan can't be a major tourist destination is that tourism infrastructures that are plenty, are designed to meet expectations of most of their major customers, that is Japanese people. Anyone with an experience sharing leisure time with locals will tell you stories that are very similar. They spare a short time into doing a lot of things. Farniente is a sin. An average - read maximum standard - Japanese stay in a single spot is three days. You can spend three days in a natural spa, be delighted the first day, but chances are you won't ask for more after the second and almost feel relieved to move away. Not that what a spa offers is dull, but it is valuable for a very short time, and chances are one start getting bored very quickly. I see myself staying at a sea location for a week and enjoying it inside down. But Japanese bath for 8 days, no way. Pristine beaches with leisure hotels featuring large pools, breath taking sceneries, ample time to decide on ones own when it is time to have breakfast or dinner, veranda and basking under the sunset are things especially younger Japanese will love as anyone else. That's why they go to Hawaii or Thailand. If it were readily available at home, they would stay here. There are such facilities for sure in rare locations here, but something will be missing in the list of requisites, and most probably, flexibility given to the customer will be one of these items. In traditional inns, you wake up at the time fixed by the hosts to have breakfast. Not the time you may may want to have breakfast. Breathtaking sceneries will be another reason to go elsewhere. Japan has some but very few. Overall, concrete and shapeless cities are the main dish more than often, and huge parts of the countryside are simply underdeveloped locations focused on single trades and activities where tourism doesn't fit. I remember still vividly how we rode along the - at times beautiful - coast of Akita up to Aomori, desperately looking to eat fish. They have noodle shops and huge fleets of fish catching boat, but the fish is sent down to Tokyo.

Japan is a place to visit two or three days maximum at the same spot, and very often one will feel it to be enough. It is a place of encounter with spot experiences, not to also enjoy farniente and the dolce vita. The crave for Japan is currently for some people nurtured since the cradle with the land of Japanese anime the ultimate place to be, especially Tokyo. It is, as with my friend C who does not bask in Japanimation, the ultimate destination where to escape from daily routine. As she always say, "only when being here in Japan do I really feel disconnected with the daily grind." It is for some the ultimate escapation place. I sometimes dream of Italy though.

Technorati Tags: Japan, Tokyo

Lost in affabulation

2007-08-26T02:43:00.001+09:00

Business Week has a lame and short article on the flawed Yokoso Japan campaign and the difficulties of the country to bring in more foreign tourists in - read, more Americans. The journalist puts the blame on communication and the language barrier. This is a well entrenched myth, what with the fact that the bulk of foreign tourists are from Asia and do not need English to swim the streets. Part of the poor results are related to the fact that "The language barrier is close to impenetrable, and many streets in Tokyo don't have signs—even in Japanese, let alone English." I could not help laughing at this. Since when language has been a barrier to tourism development? An annoyance? Sure, but a barrier? Come on! With such criteria, how could Paris be the world number one touristic destination? OK, Paris has street names, but who cares about the lack of these with the Lonely Planet in hand? Even if tourism account for 2% of the GDP, touristic infrastructure is very well developed here but it may be that locals idea of enjoying oneself when touring places is way too foreign, and hospitality in your average or even luxury ryôkan where the honorable guest is waked up at around 7 am to have breakfast served until 8 am is not to the taste of what comfort means elsewhere. Besides, the contemporary attraction for Japan has been informed by a deluge of information in English. The backpackers all know in advance where the cheap joints are and blogs keep English speakers, and even French, informed about what's new since 5 minutes ago at Akihabara. For more wealthy grown-ups though, the Japanese version of the dolce vita may wear off quickly once the kaiseki ryôri is gulped down, the ravishly shrines toured and the plushy luxury hotels of foreign extraction in Tokyo enjoyed. That's where Lost in Translation was not wrong.

Technorati Tags: Japan, Japanese language

The lonely gourmet

2007-08-23T03:23:00.001+09:00

We went to Paris and met with Japan. Paris, at least the younger generations, is enamored with Japan, that is, mostly Tokyo. Japanese restaurants are endemic. The purists shun at most of these that are not managed by Japanese nationals but by Chinese. Too many sushi are topped by salmon. But the most striking feature is the volume of manga, and by extension, the astounding space taken in bookshops by manga, comics and everything visual. The next step is for visual to be the primary means of brief communication for the masses, including grown-ups, as it is the case in Japan.

Food is everywhere a daily concern. Japan, like other places I know in Asia, is a country where eating out is daily routine, due to, among many factors, the fact that it can be cheap and satisfying at the same time. One of the successful manga translated in French is the work of Jiro Taniguchi untitled "The lonely Gourmet" (in French, Le gourmet solitaire). It the story of a businessman walking around common places in Japan and having lunch of very common fares with descriptions. For someone having lived or just dropped by in Japan, it is a manga choked full with nostalgia. For a foreign businessman hoping from high end hotels to lavish dinners offered by local customers, it is a manga full of oddities missed in Japan. In "Lonely Gourmet", you first have "lonely", because for lifestyle many reasons, many people, mostly male, do end up having lunch and especially dinner alone in cheap joints all over the places. Japan can be a treat for solitude. As for gourmet, it is very often a matter of discrimination among standards, like gourmets of breakfast parlors with keen taste buds for eggs and bacon. It has nothing to do with haute-cuisine and the obsession, the dream of it like in France. Basic grub in Japan can be tasty and not looking like grub, enough to please the mass for its variety and good looking, and please the purse. Back in Tokyo, we went the other night at a curry rice joint not far from home named Manten, meaning something like "perfect". The menu is a less than 10 items, all curry of the thick, no, extra thick type that is Japanese curry. The curry is a single brownish rare concrete mud like stuff gently boiling in a single pot. What makes the differences are the toppings, or lack of these, and the quantity. There is no beer, no choice of drink, no side dishes. The average patron will stay 10 minutes, no more, and leave immediately after the plate is cleaned. The curry at Manten is comforting. It is comfort food, tasting like mama's curry when the lonely child came back from school at night. It fills the gizzards, plugs the holes. It is spicy but not hot. Once the treat is over, the belly is full, so connoisseurs of the place and of their appetite will order "less filled" plates. The king topping is pork steak battered and deep fried. It cost 550 yens and comes with water as you like and a cup of cold coffee. Kids love it although the majority of eaters are grown-ups working around and a few students. The heaviest topping are Chinese dumplings called Shumai. I must say that the combination of thick curry with shumai that are also very consistent, is overwhelming. But for a student or a white collar on shoestring budget, it is the perfect treat.

Something so obvious I forgot to mention is that Manten curry, the core gravy, is simply delicious. It is the closest experience to daily life one can have when visiting Japan.

Technorati Tags: Food, Japan, Tokyo

Sugamo

2007-05-02T09:19:00.000+09:00

After you have checked that Ginza, Omotesando and the likes have the same boutiques as elsehwere, it may be time to go back to Japan. Ueno is an endless area to discover. Sugamo, on the Yamanote line, is another, more compact, popular place with elderly people.

No Tokyo

2007-05-02T09:10:00.000+09:00

Far away from Tokyo, we headed last month close to the tip of this archipelago, to Taketomi Island in Okinawa. The weather was not tropical except for a single day, but we loved the place anyway. Taketomi is a disappearing opportunity to walk around in a place largely devoid of touristic attractions and the stale architecture that come with these. A 10 minutes boat ride from Ishigaki city port, then a 5 minutes drive ushered us into a lush, calm atmosphere where one of the essential occupation was to listen to the wind. We hired a local guide for a short walk around. She was a local 82 years old lady. She sung songs and showed Ulysse how blow sounds with a local shrub leave. We had not left yet Taketomi that we already wanted to come back.

Zushi

2007-05-02T08:57:00.000+09:00

The other day, we went to Zushi for the sole purpose of gulping down a bowl of rice with a generous topping of nama-shirazu, or fresh whitebait, that is, baby sardines. A seasonal total treat. It is no secret that coming from Tokyo to Zushi, an hour train ride, is much like going to Summer vacations for a few hours. Zushi city is surrounded by gentle hills that create a microclimate one can feel just when landing on the station plateform. The Sun was however no matching to the fierce afternoon wind on the Zushi beach. We retreated back to Tokyo after five minutes.

Too much under the Sun

2007-05-02T06:12:00.000+09:00

Too much under the Sun to catch up since February. The Sanshin Building of early 1930, located in front of the Hibiya Park, will be brought to the knees soon. A tiny, feeble campaign to protect the rare remnant of Tokyo before WWII had no result, as usual. Building conservation is not part of Tokyo blueprint.
The "Beautiful Japan" conceptual slogan of current PM Abe is all in the mind, not in the landscape. Sad as it is, for some at least, a new comer at a stone throw from there is the soon to be open Peninsula Hotel is a distinctive addition to mushrooming Tokyo landscape. Now that Showa era nostalgia is in full bloom, the best way to ponder and remember is to flip the many picture books on the subject. Head to Maruzen huge bookstore on the corner of Tokyo station in the Oazo building.

Ueno on my mind

2007-02-12T11:56:00.000+09:00

Lately, we have been walking in and around Ueno and loving it each time more. There is an incredible arrays of popular sights, the food market, the commercial alleys, small alleys with smelly cosy popular joints for a bite or more. Everything is in Japanese. Unfortunate. But I'll guide you, how fortunate! Red-light districts with what comes with it less the sense of insecurity. After all, this is Japan, and a way much more real chunk of it than the Omotesando and Shibuya of LonelyPlanet fame. I for one like this place way much more. The reason simply put : in Ueno, Japan looks pretty much like Japan.

Walkin' in Tokyo 2007

2007-01-03T14:35:00.000+09:00

So we went just by chance to the Daihiganji shrine somewhere not far from Itsukaichi. Itsukaichi, a shapeless village, is far away on the West outskirts of Tokyo, but still metropolitan Tokyo though. It is one gateway by train to the extreme Western Tokyo district which is as a matter of fact a mountaineous area and a national park for real trekking. The train was basically empty as one expects on a January 2nd, and the air and light were of Spring. Strangely enough, there are plenty of signs that Spring may come early this year. Tiny purple flowers supposed to pop up in Summer can be found in shiny spots to be in almost eery full bloom. Cherry trees buds are already morphing from grey stony like matter to something with a tangible bud shape. When tired with all the ultra-urbanities of Tokyo, it is good to know that countryside and mountains are a matter of 1 hour away from central districts. A Happy New Year walkin' in Tokyo.

Higanbana

2006-09-26T10:24:00.000+09:00

Higanbana is Spider Lily and they are this year all over the places, in parks of the cities as well along the rice paddies in the Western outskirt of Tokyo. Besides the red lovely variety, we spotted pale yellowish ones at the Tokyo University Botanical garden in Bunkyo ward, a place I would rank above the well-trodden huge parks like Yoyogi and Shinjuku-Gyôen.

Hayama

2006-09-26T10:14:00.000+09:00

Could not help but go to the sea again. This time at Hayama, a famous resort past Kamakura, a 15 minutes ride from Zushi station by bus. But the single road along the coast being narrow, that 15 minutes can easily double in heavy traffic. We went to the imperial beach, that is the one laying in front of the so-called "Gôyô-tei", an imperial residence guarded by policemen all over the place. But one should not worry. The policemen are smiling and say "hello" to the visitors. That must be part of a strategy not scare the bathers. Bathers there were only but a very few because bathing season ends on August 31st, so you are not supposed to bath unless you are a sea-kayaker, surfer, or a foreigner. The water was still warm enough and welcome due to a strong and a little bit chilly wind. There is a wonderful promontory with lawn where to have a picnic, granted the wind is not here. Beware of the tombi birds of prey that will fall down like a log from above to snatch your sandwich. Impressive but not that scary.

99%

2006-09-22T13:33:00.000+09:00

MIT senseable city program plots mobile phone and other hand-held devices signals to draw real time maps that tell about human dynamics in the urban landscape. I recently heard in a radio show that foreign visitors in Rome basically follow two major trecks. How to plot foreign visitors? By plotting based on mobile phone country codes. The same conclusion would be drawn out of plotting other touristic movements in any cities for sure. Including Tokyo. 99% of a city is left unvisited, unknown. The 99% left-overs do not all deserve a visit, but a large portion of those do. I do not pretend to show the whole gammut of left-overs, but many places marginal to the must-see locations, where you will acquire a different sense of realities, a little far-away from the myth. Inquire about Walkin' in Tokyo. The house pictured here is located in central Tokyo, among many others, on a noiseless provincial hill, 10 minutes away from a suspended highway and all the bustling scenary you can think about.

Last Summer day

2006-09-12T13:29:00.000+09:00

We met the last day of Summer 2006 at the Zushi beach on Sunday Sept. 10. 33 degrees, dry, blue sky all the way. South wind, nice waves for grown-ups and the kids as well, diner in our secret inn - you can see the delicious lawn here at dusk - and back to Tokyo.

Amamushi

2006-09-11T12:59:00.000+09:00

About two hundred steps to reach Amamushi shrine top. Although I have been going around this part of Tokyo countryside for close to 20 years. I climbed the stairs the other day for the first time. We better know the shrine's remote post, a bare to minimum shrine on the opposite side of the valley, pointing to the main Amamushi shrine. People living on that opposite side can pray and have prayers delivered to the main shrine automatically. No wifi needed.