Old Tokyo

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Actually, there is no such thing as an "Old Tokyo". Unlike most of big European cities, the capital of Japan doesn't have a typical old town or even any other major concentration of old architecture. Whatever historical sites are still left to see, they are pretty much scattered all over the metropolis and well hidden in between modern urban areas. This makes Tokyo a city of interesting contrast but also deprives its visitors of chance to experience the past Japan. Of course it is still possible to taste a bit of the samurai life while walking around some narrow, crowded bazaars or picturesque temple parks but these are all together quite rare in comparison with more present-day-like districts. As a result, those wanting to really immerse themselves in the past should take a trip to Kyoto, the old capital, and it's surrounding cities like Kobe, Osaka and Nara, where the old is still well preserved and Japanese traditions seem to be more visible than in the westernised Tokyo. Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to go there yet, so right now I want to share with you my impressions about some historical sites of the Eastern Capital (and this is what the name 'Tokyo' stands for, in opposition to Kyoto lying to the west).

Tokyo is a relatively old city, dating back to Kamakura period, when it was simply a small fishing village with no significance at all, then called Edo, after a minor samurai clan that was governing it. In the late 12th century it was first fortified and in 1457 the Edo castle was built in the place where the Imperial Palace now stands. Throughout the course of history, Edo became more important and in 1590 it was finally obtained by Tokugawa Ieyasu, a powerful warlord, whose mausoleum is now in Nikko. When Tokugawa became the shogun and de facto ruler of Japan in 1603, Edo's rank and wealth grew as the new military capital, while the Emperor, the highest priest, was still residing in Kyoto. By the 18th century Edo was already the biggest city in the world with a population of around one million inhabitants (almost twice as populous as the biggest European cities of that time, London and Paris). The picture (or rather photochrom) below shows the panorama of the city around 1865.

The Japanese political schism came to an end in 1868 as a result of the civil Boshin War and the Meiji Restoration. The Emperor moved to Edo in 1869, making it the official imperial capital and the single military, religious and cultural centre. The city was renamed as Tokyo and the Edo Castle became the Imperial Palace. Tokyo entered the period of rapid growth and versatile development, which more or less continues to the present day. So what are the reasons for Tokyo losing most of its old urban areas and replacing them with modern structures? Unfortunately, the capital suffered some incredible catastrophes as well, mostly in the first half of the 20th century. First of all, the 1923 Great Kanto earthquake devastated most of Tokyo and Yokohama in only 10 minutes, killing up to 150.000 people. Not only was Tokyo hit by one of the most powerful earthquakes recorded in Japanese history, but also by extremely high winds from a nearby typhoon, that caused the fires to rapidly spread all around the city.

The other catastrophe (and by far worse) was the bombing of Tokyo by the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It started in 1942 as a 'morale breaker' and a direct response to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, but soon changed into a full scale strategic bombing of 1944 and 1945. The fire showers consumed most of the beautiful old wooden buildings and more than 50% of the city was destroyed. The estimated number of 100.000 deaths seems to be greatly lowered by both American and Japanese authorities interested in maintaining the friendship between both nations. Unfortunately the savage bombings of Tokyo by the USA are not a well-known fact, despite being maybe more devastating than both Hiroshima and Nagasaki atom bombings combined.

Going back to the present matters, it is really amazing how Tokyo has managed to recover from all these damages, transforming into a true global city and still keeping some of its bygone charm. Bits of it are well visible in the district of Ueno with it's well-known park and a neighbourhood of finest cultural sites, like three National Museums, temples, shrines, libraries and a lively street market. There's also Japan's oldest and most famous zoo established in the late XIX century. Another place worth seeing is the Asakusa district, home to the great Senso-ji, an ancient Buddhist temple from the VII century (the capital's oldest). Asakusa used to be Tokyo's main entertainment district with many theaters (later cinemas), festivals and a small carnival. Although it is now far less popular with the young people than newer districts like Shibuya or Shinjuku, it's still a major touristic attraction. It is said that Asakusa's narrow alleys (like the pretty Nakamise-dori), filled with traditional music coming from shop speakers and the smell of food hastily prepared in street stalls, are somehow reminiscent of Kyoto. And there are also 45 actively working geishas in the area.

Finally, the most impressive historical area of Tokyo must be the Imperial Palace itself and it's surrounding Gardens. Located in Chiyoda district, the huge Palace area consist of the Emperor's residencies, archives, museums and administrative buildings. Unluckily, normal visitors are not allowed into the heavily guarded inner grounds, including the seven-winged Kyuden (the main palace), and can only stroll around the Gardens, watching the palace from afar. There are special times of year, however, when everyone is allowed inside. These include the Emperor's birthday on December 23rd, when he even greets the cheering crowd that gathers in the Reception Hall. This year I was unable to attend, maybe I'll go some other time. And this concludes the small tour around the capital's history. The bonus movie shows a small shrine in Harajuku visited by me and my good friends a while ago after a night out in Tokyo.

In the city of the future

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...it is difficult to concentrate. For someone born and raised in a very beautiful but still quite marginal periphery of Europe, the modern Tokyo seems like a city of tomorrow. Not everything here is perfect, obviously, but for the most part it's a relatively clean, well-organised, safe and truly exciting place. Also very different from some big metropolises of the Old Continent I've visited, since it combines the all-around comforts of technology and state of the art urbanisation with traditional elements of Japanese culture and popculture. So next to the tallest glass towers there are some small wooden temples snoozing quietly in lovely parks with fish-filled ponds. Just a few steps after the biggest crossing with six-lane multilevel streets, five different pedestrian bridges and ten lines of metro, monorail and regular train intersecting above and below, you can stumble upon a narrow picturesque street with traditional small stores, ramen shops and stalls selling all kinds of stuff. Tokyo is a delightful city of many colorful contrasts.

At times, however, it can be somewhat depressing. In this ocean of people, wealth, fashions and success you can painfully see how small, unnecessary, insignificant and imperfect you are. And the everlasting loneliness is multiplied by all the passers-by you want to talk to or touch but you can't... by all the places you want to go but don't have time... by all the things you want to have but can't afford. And you miss your previous life back in Europe, your friends and loved ones, your favourite places and drinks but you grow apart and they start to be just memories, fading away each day. But than you realise that you can't really replace them here with anything new because of this perpetual loneliness and isolation. Finally, you find yourself suspended in this dream world, not wanting to go back home but also not having anything to look forward to or even relate in to this surrealism. Maybe it's the language, maybe the mentality, maybe the stereotypes or fear of rejection but it's so hard to really integrate and finally feel secure, valuable. Only the everyday obligations like school or work can keep you in touch with reality but kind of suffocate you at the same time, which doesn't help in the long run.

Tokyo is neither an utopia nor a dystopia, it's just a few years ahead of the world I'm used to. It's definitely not a soulless concrete giant like some like to depict it. Even though it sometimes tends to bring up some gloomy feelings, I got to like it a lot, but it's more of an addiction by now. Still being in one of the biggest, if not the biggest city in the world gives me some satisfaction. And I'm not done exploring it yet. Linked to this post you can find some pictures I took all around Tokyo that I think correspond to it's futuristic, astonishing nature. But mostly they are just random. They show the most impressive commercial and business districts of Shinjuku and Chuo (both alternatively considered de facto city centres) but also some more obscure places visited with my friends. Enjoy... and check out the Radioheads.

Nikko is Nippon

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Nikko, which means "sunshine", is a small town located around 150 km north of Tokyo, exactly between the capital city and Aizu Wakamatsu. It is placed in an impressively mountainous surroundings highlighting the most representative and beautiful features of the natural Japanese landscape. Dense forests, lakes, waterfalls and hot springs, as well as monkeys running through the streets of small picturesque settlements. Combine it with some well visible cultural and historical sites and you'll get a perfect short-term trip destination for Japanese and Gaijinese tourists. On the last weekend of November we also decided to visit Nikko in order to escape from the city and for a second forget about the upcoming horrors of school, like tests and final presentations. The team consisted of some of my European friends, Taiwanese girls from the School and Matija (a guest star from Slovenia), who came to Japan to visit his brother and one of the Vulcanuses, Grega. Complicated enough? Ok then...

We took the early Saturday morning train from Asakusa and by noon were already accommodated in a cold but cosy hostel right next to the Nikko station. The owner was very friendly and, being used to hordes of foreigners visiting his place, spoke some pretty good English. After a brief lunch (and a visit paid to a Hello Kitty shop) we headed for the nearby mountains by a bus packed with eager hikers - native as well as Russian, Indian, Chinese, Spanish (we met a couple from Barcelona at the hostel), etc. The view from the windows was truly breathtaking - as the overcrowded bus climbed up the spiral of steep slopes, we could easily admire the rocky horizon of the entire Tochigi Prefecture. Japan (or the Tokyo Area, to be precise) is generally much warmer than Poland and even in late November the weather is pleasantly warm. But the cold air from mount Nantai really made us remember that the winter was coming.

That did not, however, stop us from exploring the area - we saw the impressive Kegon falls and some Japanese macaques (the famous Snow Monkeys) hanging out on the rooftops. Some of them were even bold enough to approach us asking for food (fortunately they seem harmless). After strolling around the magnificent Chuzenji lake (brilliant light) we stopped for some hot chocolate in a wooden coffee house. Just a small trip to local Kotoku hot springs and we could go back to Nikko to get some well deserved rest. The night bus trip downward was crazy and nothing short of a roller coaster ride, leaving me quite dazed. And in the hostel we managed to wake some poor Japanese guy and an Australian girl up with our whispering. The Sydneysider told me about her trip to Poland and how she loved Cracow. The 'Nature' day was over.

The next morning we were woken up by the town's trademark beautiful sunshine and with good moods set out to marvel at the monuments during the 'Culture' day. We basically toured Nikko's World Heritage Site, which at that time of year was still elegantly decorated with the autumn leaves. We started from the old Japanese garden (Shoyo-en). The one in Wrocław, although simply beautiful, is still nothing compared to the real thing. Very close was the Treasure House, a small gallery with portraits of all the shoguns as well as some old pieces of art. We visited the Rinno temple dating back as far as the 8th century and saw the enormous golden statues in the Three Buddha Hall, making the one in Kamakura look a bit poor (no pictures were allowed, though).

Then we continued to the impressive 17th century Tosho-gu shrine, which holds the mausoleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu himself and his grandson Iemitsu, both great and respected shoguns. The shrine's other attractions include the Three Wise Monkeys (yes, the famous "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" statue), a small tour of an old Japanese brewery and of course a traditional five-storied pagoda. Needless to say, we saw a lot of wonders that day, like the Sacred Bridge Shinkyo (which you cannot cross) at the Futarasan shrine and countless gates, wooden sculptures, detailed altars and many more. Enchanted by all of this, the delicious food (fried octopus? why not?) and good friend's company, we finally took the evening train to Tokyo. We got enough positive energy to deal with the passing of everyday human events.