Arrivals and Departures - Jon Van Dalen's Photography and Travel Blog » Travel

This morning I stopped by the local department store / grocery to pick up some of those sweet tofu rice sushi thingies and orange juice to bring back to the hotel for breakfast. The same woman was there, who had sold them to me earlier in the week, so I asked her what they are called in Japanese. Apparently they are called inari-zushi. Good to know. I snapped some photos along the way.

What’s the Secret to Smoking Without Lung Cancer?

It’s incredible how many people smoke in Japan. Every cafe, video game arcade, crosswalk, restaurant etc is filled with smokers 24 hours a day. Despite this, Japan (and much of Asia in general) seems to have little or no fear of smoking. Perhaps rightly so- the rate of lung cancer is very low in Japan. It’s still very much the norm for young people to smoke here. Not to say there aren’t many Japanese who are suffering with lung cancer, but the lower rate is definitely something that remains unexplained.

Teresa definitely wanted to see Ginza on our last day. Ginza is Tokyo’s home of the biggest designer brand name stores that strike fear into the hearts of men everywhere. Louis Vuitton. Chanel. Prada. Tiffany.

Of course, I had my own interest in Ginza. Bic Camera, one of the biggest electronics stores in Japan, has a flagship store in Ginza, right near the train station, in fact. I had tried out Jeffrey Friedl’s 24-70 2.8 lens a few days ago in Kyoto and hoped to take a look at it again at Bic in Ginza. I was also looking forward to seeing the store in general… it’s known for a huge selection of fun toys.

Teresa Reacts as I Reveal the Price of the Lens in US Dollars

I’ll take that as a “no.”

The video game section was definitely entertaining. When a game comes out in Japan, especially a big name like Dragon Quest or Monster Hunter, it’s more than an announcement and a release date. These games are celebrated and the hype is intense. Right now, it turns out there is both a Monster Hunter and a Dragon Quest newly released. Toys, accessories, strategy guides, books, figurines and more are simply everywhere.

Even 7-11 near our hotel had Dragon Quest 9 guide books prominently on display. I read somewhere that Japan actually had to pass a law stating a Dragon Quest game can’t be released during the work week because attendance at workplaces dropped dramatically on that day.

Dragon Quest 9 Guides for Sale at 7-11 (earlier this morning)

We then proceeded to shop around Ginza and visit all of Teresa’s favorite stores. Unfortunately it began to rain fairly heavily and we had to make good use of our umbrellas (a standard must-bring item in Japan) The designer stores were elaborate and many featured unusual design.

Stopping at TEN Chinese Restaurant for Lunch

We walked a bit more around Ginza, stopping to see some unusual establishments including the BEAT diner. Home of the B-E-A-T Burger and the Special Burger Beat Devil (and Angel).

This is the HAMBURGER

After this adventure, we stopped for coffee. I enjoyed the beautiful light for photography on the way back to the train station as the sun went down.

Beautiful Light in Ginza

Kaiten (conveyor-belt) sushi for dinner. This time I got some nice photos of the experience.

Kaiten Sushi in Shibuya

Some random other photos from the evening:

That more or less wraps it up. The next day we headed to the airport earlier than we originally planned, because we didn’t want to miss our flight (Jared informed us that the train rides to the airport took quite a while).

Definitely some regrets, but many more happy memories of Japan. I can’t wait to return.

SEE YOU SPACE COWBOY.

Day 11 in Japan, July 26

Jon Van Dalen — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 03:00:47 +0000

Today we will visit the hip and cool Harajuku, not too far from our home base of Shibuya. Harajuku is known for trendy and often outrageous youth culture, interesting shops and, best of all, delicious crepes. It’s not uncommon to see a group of young people dressed as vampires or gothic lolitas – completely made up right down to eye-color changing contacts – casually perusing the clothing stores, trendy shops and snack vendors here. Sadly I didn’t get many photos that show the unusual fashions because it was so very crowded. We must have come on a particularly busy day. As we entered the main shopping streets, we were swept up in a surging wave of young people doing whatever it is that they do.

The train station for Harajuku is a standard part of the ever-popular JR Yamanote line, but it is fairly unique- fashioned after some sort of gothic style structure. It features a big mechanical clock and pointed roof which are reminiscent of vampire movies. Even as you exit the station and head towards Takeshita-dori (a famous street) you can begin to see the character of Harajuku.

As we got further away from the crowds of Takeshita-dori, we found ourselves heading towards Kiddyland, a famous toy store. Inside, we found many treasures. I purchased an adorable stuffed edamame bean with a face known as “Mameshiba.” (TV cartoon character, a cross between a soy bean and a dog)

Probably my favorite part about visiting Harajuku is eating the awesome crepes. Yes, crepes… like the french ones, but done just a bit better. There are many shops specializing in crepes in Harajuku because the youth in the area love to eat them. No boring strawberries and whipped cream here… there are tons of options, most of which include ice cream and various fruit or other flavors. The crepe is made instantly on a large griddle as you order. Ingredients are placed inside and the whole thing is wrapped up like an ice cream cone and served to you in a paper. I can’t even begin to say how good of an idea this is. The stores are all packed and everyone loves to eat the crepes.

This trip was a bit tiring and it was HOT today. Really hot. Everyone carried umbrellas and/or fans and still the effect of the summer sun was intense each time we stepped out of the shade. So, we headed back to the hotel to cool down and rest. Later on we headed out for Mos Burger and to explore and shop a bit.

Tomorrow will be our last day in Tokyo… I can’t imagine returning to the States after this experience. I don’t feel that I’ve even scratched the surface of Tokyo as a tourist, let alone a photographer. I’m no closer to understanding Japanese life than I was 2 weeks ago and I am sure we have missed many times more than we have seen. All I know is that I feel good when I’m here, and I want to come back.

Day 10 in Japan – July 25

Jon Van Dalen — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 23:36:27 +0000

Meiji Jingu shrine in Tokyo is a shrine built in 1920 for the emperor Meiji and his wife. It was destroyed (so many of Japan’s temples and shrines are destroyed) in the air raids of World War II and so was rebuilt in 1958. We want to visit this shrine today. First, a brief look around Shibuya and then brunch in nearby Harajuku (I can’t wait to visit Harajuku, but that’s for tomorrow)

Lunch turned out to be just “ok” but the atmosphere in Harajuku was fun to see. The buffet had a lot of western food on it, but with odd flavors and sauces we didn’t recognize. The interior certainly had a lot of character, though. We weren’t sure what to do with our plates when we were finished. In an American buffet, you usually leave your plate. At some places you take your plate to a counter. Here, they didn’t collect our plates and we didn’t see anywhere to put the used ones. We never did figure out what to do.

On the other side of Harajuku station is the Meiji shrine. There is a long walk to the shrine itself, completely wooded. This was a surprise to see such a long, wide wooded path, as we were still in the heart of Tokyo. You get the sense of being deep in the forest even though the park is in the middle of the city.

As luck would have it, a wedding procession arrived and we got to watch as the bride entered the complex.

After this excursion, we parted ways with Jared at the train station so that he could catch his plane. We go back to the hotel to rest for awhile and decide what to do about the evening’s plans.

Lawson convenience store. As I’ve mentioned previously in this adventure, these places have it all and are like oases in Japan. Good thing there are thousands of them everywhere. We stopped at this one for milk coffee, snacks and other goodies quite a few times as it was near the hotel.

You get these plastic fans with ads on them all over Japan. There are people giving them out everywhere. Most people carry and use fans in Japan. It’s not uncommon to see men, even older successful businessmen or macho college guys fanning themselves in the heat. I don’t think it will ever catch on in the states. It’s too bad… it gets hot out there! Tired from the heat and the day’s adventure (not to mention 2 weeks of nonstop madness), everyone agrees it’s time for a nap.

After some rest, we felt better. We decided to try the hotel’s restaurant. I don’t normally like to eat at these. In my opinion hotel restaurants are overpriced and not authentic or interesting at all. They are almost designed to prevent adventure and experiences while traveling. But, the Cerulean Tower boasts a restaurant owned by Iron Chef Chen Kenichi, AKA Iron Chef Chinese from the Japanese TV show. We had already eaten at Morimoto’s (Iron Chef Japanese) restaurant in Philadelphia, so we were excited to try another Iron Chef’s place.

Unfortunately, “Chen” at the Cerulean Tower was just not what we hoped for. I can’t say I was too surprised. It seems like Chen has put his name on many restaurants since appearing on the show. It’s a shame, because Morimoto pays close and personal attention to his restaurants. The presentation and quality at his places is way above and beyond. “Chen” was just “average to good” and very expensive. The decor was fairly nice. I didn’t take a photo. It was a classy place. Sigh.

Maybe the other restaurants are better. I didn’t do much research on Chen’s food franchise. This place seems like a licensing deal rather than a real experience to me however.

After dinner, what else? Another walk around Shibuya. That’s the nice thing about staying in a hotel that’s right smack dab in the middle of a major downtown hub- especially one as crazy and intense as Shibuya. We walked around Shibuya almost every day of this trip and never even started to get bored.

Signing off…