Friday in Tokyo

Friday morning was forecast as sunny, with not a cloud in the sky. The temperature was supposed to rise to 10C and continue to rise over the weekend.  it was a perfect day to go and look at the Tokyo skyline from the observation deck of some tower. In the city of Tokyo there are any number of towers to choose from and to the visitor it can be quite confusing as to which is the best. The tallest tower is a CN Tower clone (Tokyo Skytree) and there are a number of other observation decks atop office buildings, an Eiffel Tower look-alike (Tokyo Tower) etc.  So to help me decide which one to choose, I looked at Trip Advisor which is used regularly to identify hotels, restaurants and tourist sites. The beauty of Trip Advisor is that you are generally reading unbiased reports of regular tourists just like us.  A number of respondents recommended Bunkyo Civic Building. This is what we saw in guidebooks as the view from the top of Bunkyo...not my picture, but what I hoped we would see.

This is not a very tall building, it is just 33 storeys tall. But it is situated where you can see from one side of the building the Tokyo Tower and from the other side a concentration of skyscrapers with snow capped Mount Fuji peeking out from between the buildings, if you are fortunate to catch a day when Fuji is not covered in clouds. And the bonus of Bunkyo is that it is free.  When we got to Bunkyo, there was a flea market going on in the basement of the building which is attached to the subway. There was a variety of items available for purchase, some new, some old and it was a good opportunity to interact with locals on a one to one basis. As we circled the market, there were two young ladies playing beautiful music from matching organs and a table set up with women running a "chug" (Hebrew for activity) creating cards using the Japanese art of origami. As soon as they saw us, they asked us to sit down and participate. But knowing that it was clear outside (the first such day since we arrived) we did not want to squander the "Kodak moment" awaiting us on the 32nd floor, and so we told them that we would return after our view of the skyline. The origami that they were doing was very basic, not at all like what our son Ari does, (see the picture of Ari's work)

but the idea of interacting closely with locals when we had zero common language appealed to us and we really intended to return. We took the elevator up to the top observation deck and when we saw the view, we were a) pleased that the Trip Advisor reviews were very accurate and b) amazed that there were so few people seizing the opportunity.

We had read that the lines on a clear day at places like Tokyo Tower and Tokyo Skytree (where admission costs range from $10 to $30 per person) were packed, and here where it was free, it was empty! And one of the advantages of Bunkyo over Skytree is that from Bunkyo you can take a picture of the skyline which includes the very distinctive Skytree Tower. 

We spent a bit of time enjoying the magnificent views and even managed to catch snow capped Mount Fiji in the distance, and then headed downstairs again. 

Our origami women were waiting for us. And we created our cards, which was cute and fun, but the better part was communicating with these Japanese women. And Ari, please do not laugh at our creations! 😀

When we finished, we walked over to listen to the wonderful organ playing by the young Japanese girls. I filmed it and loaded it on to my site on YouTube (give a listen...it is worth it):

http://youtu.be/fyDQ-5WS23o

We were told by a number of people that Kappabashi was an amazing area of town if you enjoy the culinary arts as we do, and so that was our next stop. This area has been called Kitchen Town because for numerous blocks, every store is dedicated to some aspect of cooking; kitchen utensils, fake food used as samples outside restaurants, ceramic bowls and serving dishes, knives made by families that have been creating the finest cutting tools for centuries (think Samurai swords). As Fran said, this is a chef's dream, a true Gan Eden (Garden of Eden) for those who love cooking. 

It requires no map to know you have arrived at the street. All you have to do is look up and see the sculptured Chef and Coffee Cups on the face of the building. 

We walked into the first store (Niimi's) which has been there for over a century. If you think that Cayne's on Doncaster is the one stop centre for kitchen utensils in Toronto, come here and you will be astounded. Every conceivable kitchen utensil that has ever been created is available here in multiple styles, qualities and sizes. Here is a picture of some knives that are more than $400 each.

And some of the fake food that you use to display your restaurant's menu.

It was Erev Shabbat and these looked like perfectly good challahs, but they were fake. The real ones would come later that evening at Chabad. And when you then begin to walk down the street thru the hundreds of stores dedicated to some aspect of cooking, you are truly amazed. It may seem weird that tourists will use their travel time to visit this area, but it is really amazing.  We were watching the clock all the time we were in the area, as Shabbat would begin at just after 5 PM and we would need time to get to Chabad, so we decided to try and get back by 3:30 latest to prepare for Shabbat. On the way back, in the subway, we saw a shoe repair shop and Fran had walked so much in the first week that she decided to re-heel her shoes...15 minutes while you wait...and they even supply slippers and a blanket to keep you warm while you wait.... Usual preparations for Shabbat...check to make sure that the fridge light is off...get the Shabbat belt ready as there is no Eruv....set the lights for Shabbat and we were off by cab to Chabad.... We will post our entire Shabbat experience in an upcoming post All the best Fran and David

Thursday in Tokyo

Thursday was verrrry cold! The high was forecast to be about 4 degrees and that would not be till the late afternoon. So we decided to try and do as much as we could indoors to stay warm.  Late on Wednesday night on the way back to the apartment, we saw a glasses place where Fran saw frames that she liked and the price was quite reasonable (not at all like China but certainly cheaper than North American prices). So we began Thursday with a visit to the optician and we ordered glasses. 

We then headed to a section of town called Roppongi Hills, close to our apartment. This is a fairly upscale area and it contains many foreign embassies; as a result you see many Westerners in the area. The tallest building in the area is the Mori Towers, a 54 story skyscraper named for its builder Minoru Mori. It has a floor space of over 4 million square feet making it one of the largest buildings in the world. There is an Art Museum on the 53rd floor and an observation deck (one of many in the Tokyo area) on the 52nd floor. It was still quite

overcast so we opted to save our visit to an observatory for a clear day and instead went to the art museum. There were two exhibits; one of Rembrandt, Vermeer and their colleagues and one modern art exhibit. We chose the Rembrandt exhibit which had art pieces on loan from major galleries around the world.  It was a very beautiful exhibit and we spent a few hours marvelling at the numerous paintings by the Dutch Masters.  When we emerged from the museum, the sun had come out and even tho the temperature had not improved, the heat of the sun made walking quite pleasant.  We walked back to our apartment, ate lunch and then headed by subway to Ginza, one of the most famous

and most expensive shopping districts in the world. It is not the names on the stores but the very distinctive architecture of the buildings that amazed us. And as night fell, there was an exceptional neon display on all the buildings. 

We had arranged with Kyle, the chef from Chabad to prepare an authentic Japanese meal for us and had set a time for dinner at 7 PM. We were the only diners that night and Kyle had prepared a miso soup as well as three types of sushi; fresh tuna, fresh salmon and fresh sole. He must have thought that we were very hungry because this was the largest amount of sushi that we had ever seen; about 20 large rolls for each of us. We could not finish it so we gave whatever we could not eat to one of the local Chabad people. Here is Fran with what was on her plate after she finished eating!

After such a large meal, we decided that walking back to the apartment (about 35 minutes) would be a good idea and we staggered into bed after a very busy day. Tomorrow, Friday, as it is expected to be clear and much warmer, it is off to Bunkyo Civic Centre and its observation deck for a chance to get a good pic of the Tokyo skyline and perhaps a peak at Mount Fuji in the distance.  All the best  Fran and David

Wednesday in Tokyo Japan

We had a great day on Wednesday in Tokyo. But first the weather...it is cold here! The forecast had predicted 10 degree weather for the initial part of our trip but it has been hovering between 6 and 8 with zero sun and those few degrees coupled with heating in homes and stores below what we are used to in Canada means that even we Canadians are feeling the cold. So we are wearing more layers and looking forward to the weekend when it is supposed to be brilliant sunshine and 10 - 12 degrees. Yesterday, Wednesday, we spent the first part of the day with our personal one-on-one guide Takehito Minagawa.

We found him on line and he is part of the Tokyo Free Guide organization. They have a number of members who enjoy meeting foreign travelers and who use the opportunity to practice their spoken English. He is 61 years old and is the director of the Public Health Center in his neighbourhood in Tokyo. From the way he described it, it appears to be what we would call a medical center, consisting of a number of doctors, dentists, pharmacists etc. He works 4 days a week, and has off Saturday, Sunday and Wednesday.  He said that he guides people about once a month on Wednesdays. We had discussed by email our interests and his recommendations and we finally decided on a walking tour through the areas of Tokyo called Omotesando Hills and Takeshita Street which would lead us to the Meiji Shrine and then ending at the famous Shibuya Crossing.  He met us at our apartment at 10 AM and we began walking toward the Azabujuban Subway Station.  On the way to the subway, on a wide boulevard not far from our apartment, Takehito stopped at a stairway with a Torii Gate in front of it. He explained that this was a Shinto Shrine. The two main religions in Japan are Buddhaism and Shintoism. 

  A Shinto shrine is a structure whose main purpose is to house (or enshrine) one or more Shinto Kami. Kami is the Japanese word for deities or spirits that are worshipped in the Shinto religion.    Kami can be manifest in multiple forms, in rocks, trees, rivers, animals, as well as spirits of revered deceased people such as charismatic leaders like the Emperor.  A Torii Gate is the traditional Japanese gate commonly found at the entrance to a Shinto Shrine where it symbolically marks the transition from the profane to the sacred.    At the entrance to the shrine there is a place where you can wash your hands to remove any impurities and you also drink a bit of this water and gargle with it.

   

There is a vending machine where one can purchase a piece of paper which contains your fortune; it could be good or bad luck, and then you tie this to the bar at the shrine.   It is estimated that there are more than 100,000 Shinto Shrines in Japan.  We had explained to Takehito that we do not enter shrines and he explained all of this to us from the outside where we took a picture in front of the Torii. We continued to the subway and rode a few stops to the Omotesando station. As we emerged from the station, it was clear that we were in the middle of a very exclusive shopping neighbourhood. All the big names were here, Bulgari, Fendi, Louis Vuiton, Dior, etc. And all of them in architecturally striking buildings. 

We walked for a bit on this very high end shopping street, and then took a left turn to Takeshita Street, which is a shuk like street that is a favourite hangout and shopping location for young Japanese.  Along the street, we saw for the first time the fake food that we had read so much about. Japanese restaurants present samples of the food that they serve which are sculptured presentations that in many cases look very real. These are outside a crepe and ice cream place.

We walked the full length of the street and arrived at Harajuku Station which is right in front of the Meiji Shrine. The Meiji Shrine Is dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife Empress Shoken, who were the great grandparents of the current emperor. The shrine is located in a 170 acre evergreen forest, which consists of 120000 trees of 365 different species.

It takes about 15 minutes to walk from the huge Torii Gate through the forest before arriving at the shrine.  On the way we passed a large number of what looked like vats stacked up on one side of the pathway. These were vats of sake (Japanese Rice Wine) that had been offered to the spirits by the various sake manufacturers in Japan. 

Prior to entering the main area of the shrine, there is a large billboard upon which on New Years Day, the Emperor and his wife inscribe a poem for the year. This Year's poem basically said that one can choose the good path or the bad path and one should be blessed to choose good pathways for themselves, or something to that effect. 

Once again there was the washing basin and there were facilities for writing out your request for yourself and family. 

There was something additional here; tablets of wood where you can write with magic marker your requests. These were hung up on a structure just outside the shrine.

While we were there, we noticed a young woman dressed in the traditional kimono and we asked her why she was dressed like that. We were told that she had reached a certain age milestone, 20 years of age, and that this was a birthday to celebrate by coming to pray at the shrine. 

On the way out of the forest, we saw loads of school children who were taking a class trip to the shrine. What struck us was that all the kids were wearing a uniform. They were all dressed neatly.

We had explained to Takehito that we could not eat lunch with him as we kept kosher and he conveniently found us a food court at the Shrine visitor center where we could eat our lunch and where we could buy lunch for him as well. We explained a bit about our kosher rules and also our general observance.  When we finished our lunch, we took a train to the next stop which was Shibuya. Shibuya is a major Tokyo shopping district and is also the site of the famous Shibuya Crossing. If any of you have been to Kikar Shabbat in Jerusalem, where the lights all turn to red and pedestrians are permitted to cross in every direction simultaneously, think of Shibuya Crossing as Kikar Shabbat on steroids. You see, at the main crossing, 5 or 6 streets intersect and when the lights all turn to red allowing the pedestrians to cross, the sight is amazing. Here is a short 1 minute video that allows you to experience the crossing without travelling all the way to Tokyo:    http://youtu.be/QXtOdSgf6Ic

At this point, Takehito said he had to get back home as he had a guitar lesson and an English lesson that would fill the rest of his day. And so he carefully explained to us how to get back to our area and we thanked him for an excellent day of guiding. We took some time to explore the area around Shibuya and then took another subway ride for one more stop to get to the Ebisu Garden Place, a gentrified area of the city that Takehito referred to as futuristic. 

 

 

It consists of about a dozen buildings and skyscrapers with a mix between commercial and hi rise residential. It is built on the former site of the Yebisu Brewery that had been there since the 1890s. The area was redeveloped to afford the local residents a total living experience and they truly did a remarkable job. The central shopping area is covered by a glass dome and the signature French restaurant on the site is housed in a building that was constructed to resemble a French Chateau.

 

We finally headed back to the apartment, quite tired from a long day of walking. We have no idea how far we walked but we had been on our feet for about six straight hours and it was good to sit down to a delicious freshly prepared vegetable soup that we cooked from scratch and a TV dinner that we had brought with us. 

 

All in all, a very good second day in Tokyo. 

 

Before we sign off, for those who are interested, we did a little research on Japanese religions and there are a number of articles that speak about similarities between Judaism and Shintoism and the possibility that Japan might have been a destination for one of the lost tribes of Israel. Quite a fascinating theory and a very fascinating article.

 

http://www.biblemysteries.com/library/tribesjapan.htm

 

More tomorrow, Thursday.

 

All the best

 

Fran and David

     

Tuesday in Tokyo

On Tuesday morning we decided to join one of the many free walking tours available in Japan.  While setting our itinerary for this trip, we came across many groups that offer free walking tours in many of the popular tourist locations in Japan. Some of them are actually one on one custom tours which you coordinate with the guide as to the time of the tour and the location you wish to visit, and your only financial obligation is to pay for their transportation, lunch and admission costs, if any. Others are set tours with a set meeting point and are available to all who show up. They are all run by volunteers and at the end of the tour, you are free to reward them with a tip or gratuity.  This morning (Wednesday), we have one of the personalized custom tours where we are the only participants. The guide has arranged to meet us at our apartment. We will report on that one tomorrow. But yesterday we took one of the set tours. It was a 2 hour walking tour of the Imperial Palace Gardens and we were to meet at 10AM at Tokyo Station in the centre of town.

 We are using a number of apps to help us navigate around town on the subway system. We have tried a few and have now settled on one where you input your beginning location and your destination station and it gives you the choice of fastest route and cheapest route.  There are a few subway stations within a ten minute walk of our apartment. The trip to Tokyo station took about 25 minutes and required one change of trains in the middle.  A few words about subway travel in Tokyo. 

• Subways are spotlessly clean. 
• Although a number of our trips in the first day were on packed cars, subway riders are almost eerily quiet. 
• Riding the escalator is very orderly with those standing, all in a straight line on the left, and those walking using the open right lane. 
  
• There are posters, some cartoon like, around the subway which highlight various rules of travel.
• Actual talking on a cell phone is extremely rare and if you manage to see someone doing it, it is inevitably with their hand covering their mouth and they are whispering rather than talking out loud.
• Every station has one station employee, dressed immaculately in a uniform complete with crisp white shirt and tie, who can speak English and who is pleased to answer your questions with a smile and a bow.
• Stations can be huge, stretching for a few blocks, and they have multiple exits which take you underground to your closest destination above ground. So when planning your trip, it is good to know where you want to go and the station employee will happily tell you which exit to take. 

And so, our first experiences, especially with the assistance of the apps, have been stress free and quite easy to navigate.

 

We arrived at Tokyo Station and as advertised, there were two women wearing kimonos who were holding the Tokyo Free Walking Tour flag. We were the first to show up and it was 9:45 AM. But by 10 AM there were about 20 of us.

 

The leaders (now three of them) told us that Tokyo Station is one of the oldest stations in Japan, opened in 1914. It is also the busiest station in Tokyo in numbers of trains passing thru per day (3000) and the third busiest in terms of number of passengers (500,000). 

Tokyo Station at night 

 

The busieststation, Shinjuku, has an average of 3,500,000 passengers per day, making it the busiest station in the world! 

That is more people in one station per day than the total population of the City of Toronto.

Tokyo station was almost totally destroyed by B29 Bombers in WWII and it has since been rebuilt and modernized. It is possible to walk totally underground to 5 other stations with a distance of over 2 Kms. 

 

We walked a short distance from the station to the outer gates and moat of the Imperial Palace. The palace is built on the site of the former Edo Castle whose former residents, the shoguns, were hereditary military rulers of the country from 1192 to 1867. The palace now houses the Emperor of Japan and his family. It is a ceremonial position and is passed down from father to son. 

The palace, which cannot be visited, is surrounded by enormous gardens smack in the centre of the city. The size of the gardens is about one third the size of Central Park and is free to the public. Surrounding the gardens is the original fortified defensive wall complete with moat, guard towers and bridges. Upkeep of the gardens is the work of a large staff of people, but volunteers who wish to commit a minimum of 5 days can assist and their reward is a "wave" from the Emperor and his wife. 

 

There are many pine trees on the grounds and this symbolizes longevity as the leaves of a pine tree stay on the tree forever and do not fall off the tree in autumn.  Although the large open area in the centre of the garden was still straw coloured (it turns green in a month or so), we were fortunate to see the beginnings of the famous Japanese Cherry Blossom season and the blooming of the apricot trees as well in a number of locations in the garden. 

 There were also beautiful traditional Japanese Gardens complete with giant koi goldfish in reflecting ponds and despite the overcast grey skies, the view was breathtaking and a true "Kodak moment"!

At corners of the outer wall were strategic guard towers to ensure that the palace and the castle before it were safe from any intruders or enemies.

 

When we completed the tour, it was now past noon and we went to a local Starbucks store to warm up and to eat our lunch. It was filled with office workers from the surrounding office buildings. As on the subway, they were all neatly dressed, and the noise level in even this casual meeting place was muted with people talking in low tones. We noticed on a number of instances, how people would motion to a friend or business colleague to come closer, as he had something to say and would not speak loudly across the table or the room. 

As we were about 100 metres walk to the National Museum of Modern Art and because it was still quite chilly, we decided that an hour or two indoors would be a smart thing to do and so we were off to the Museum. 

We headed back to the apartment for a bit of a rest (hopefully getting rid of the rest of our minor jet lag) and then were off to dinner at Chabad Tokyo. 

Tokyo Chabad is housed in a low rise narrow building with the shul in the basement, a newly opened restaurant called Chana's Place and a social hall on the main floor, one floor which is rented out and the top levels for the Rabbi and his wife. The restaurant consists of about three small tables and the kitchen area which is the domain of Chef Kyle, originally from Australia. 

Fran with two men facing each other thru the window

There is a limited menu and Chef Kyle will prepare a totally authentic Japanese meal for you on order with notice of 24 to 48 hours. 

There was a couple just leaving and there were three other diners during the time we were there, two locals and one person who used to be local but who now lives in Australia and commutes back to Japan for business. 

We ordered the daily soup and an order of shashimi grade tuna steak with spicy salsa and a side of veggies. It was very good and cooked to just past medium rare. The other diners were all having the chicken dinner and they were very pleased. 

We ended up staying there for quite a while having a lively conversation with two of the other diners and with the chef. Before this job, chef Kyle only knew about Judaism from studying comparative religion in school. He has been at Chabad for quite a few years and he is the person with whom we reserved our Shabbat meals. We quickly met Rabbi Mendi who popped his head in to say hello. 

We now headed back to the apartment for some well deserved sleep, hopefully longer than our first night in Tokyo.

More to come, all the best

Fran and David

 

Arrival in Japan - First Impressions

After a very smooth, very long and very uneventful (Thank G-d) flight of just under 13 hours, that took us north thru James Bay, Hudson's Bay, over Northern Manitoba, touching the tip of eastern Northwest Territories and Alaska and then south, we touched down at Tokyo Haneda Airport. 

There are two airports in Tokyo, Narita which serves most international flights and Haneda which is primarily a domestic terminal. Thankfully, however, Air Canada's base is at Haneda, as it is very close to the city; Narita being about one and a half hour train or bus ride away.


We arrived on Monday afternoon at 4:55 PM in overcast drizzly 9C weather. Sunset is about 5:30 this time of year so it was already getting a bit dark. The terminal was very large and tho it was a long
walk from the gate to customs, the entire way was covered by rapid moving sidewalks. Getting thru
customs and inspection was a breeze and our 2 pieces of luggage were the first off.  Because we are travelling quite a bit within Japan and exclusively by train, we tried to pack as lightly as we could. And even tho much of one small suitcase was filled with snacks, Meal Mart Amazing Meals (more on those later), other food items, kitchen utensils etc., all we took with as far as clothes and shoes are concerned for three full weeks of travelling, was one more small suitcase between the two of us. As far as carry on, we each had one backpack. For us this is the lightest we have ever packed. 

 Once we got thru inspection, there were a number of items to attend to before leaving the terminal. When you are travelling a lot by train in Japan, it may be worth purchasing the Japan Rail Pass. This can only be purchased by foreign tourists and can only be bought outside Japan. When you arrive in
Japan, you cash in your voucher for the actual ticket. It comes in units of one week, two week or
three week unlimited travel. Because our first week will be spent in Tokyo, we bought the Two Week
Pass for the following two weeks and the two week clock begins ticking on our first train trip outside
of Tokyo, this coming Sunday evening to Hiroshima.  We also picked up some English language
maps and guides from the tourist office at the airport. 

 Wherever we went in the airport, people were extremely helpful and pleasant. There was a lot of bowing going on and what struck us most about the airport was that it was full but amazingly quiet. People speak quietly and this carried over to our first rides on the subway system. The cars were very full, but it was almost as quiet as being in a theatre.  And so we were on our way to our apartment using the directions of the person from whom we rented the apartment.

We took the airport monorail about 6 stops and then had to transfer to a subway line which would take us three stops to a station very close to our apartment.  Japan's subway system is vast and is integrated with its rail system.

So reading the subway map can be a challenge. And reading it in Japanese can be a real problem for us. Fortunately we had English subway maps and also had downloaded very useful subway apps on our new iPhone, which explained very clearly how to navigate the system. 

 But there were two challenges: first, when we had to transfer from one line to another, we did not realize that there was a four minute walk outside to make the connection and it was not signposted well. As we were standing looking dumbfounded, a local came over and asked us if he could help. He spoke English (he loves to ski in Kelowna) and even though he was headed in the total opposite direction, walked us all the way to our destination, and even carried our luggage for us down the long stairway to the subway entrance. It was amazing.

 And that leads us to the second problem. We were in a couple of stations yesterday that had escalators leading out of the deep recesses of the station toward street level and then surprise....the escalator stops and you are faced with long sets of stairs and you have a heavy piece of luggage. Once again, a number of locals offered to help but we could see how it could be a real challenge to elderly or physically challenged people to scale those stairs. It could be that we missed an elevator and from this point on we will be more cognizant of the location of the elevators. 

 The good news is that like a number of other cities we have visited, they sell a plastic card called Passmo or Suica that can be loaded with currency and then simply swiped to gain access to the subway or even used for purchases at the grocery or 7-11 store. We bought these when we reserved our Japan Rail Passes and they are real easy to use and very convenient.

 When we finally exited the subway, it was raining. Thankfully we caught a cab for a short ten minute ride to our apartment.  We are staying in the Roppongi Hills area of the city in an apartment that we found on the Internet.  We like to stay in apartments rather than hotels where possible as it gives us more room, allows us the freedom to prepare food in the absence of kosher restaurants, and in the case of Japan specifically, can allow us Shabbat friendly toilets.

You see, in Japan, the washroom has become a work of electronic and technological art. The flushing mechanism is electronic, the seats warm up on contact, the unit plays music while you sit etc. Not a problem during the week, but could be an issue for Shabbat.

 So when we were looking for an apartment, we made sure to email the landlord and ask whether the unit had regular keys, had a regular toilet and if it was walking distance from a certain address which was of course Chabad for Shabbat. His response Certainly got our attention: "do you perhaps also need a plata for Shabbat?", he wrote. You see, we were lucky enough to find Leo (as his ad said) or Lior (his Israeli name). He manages a bunch of Tokyo apartments and was certainly familiar with the local Chabad as well as the particular needs of the observant Jewish traveler. 

 The apartment is very basic but it has a number of conveniences that will come in very useful to us. A full kitchen, a microwave, a washing machine (that is how we can travel lightly) and a pocket wifi. The pocket wifi means that you can walk all,over town and you are always connected to wifi. And therefore we did not need to buy a sim card for our phone. In each of the apartments that we are
renting, they are providing us with such a gizmo.  We had a bit of a challenge with the microwave because it is all in Japanese and we could not figure out how to use it. 



 So using our pocket wifi connection, we called Lior and he walked us thru the use of the microwave using what's app, texting and sending pictures back and forth. Wow, we have finally entered the 21st century with all this technology.  After unpacking, we went around the corner to a small supermarket to pick up necessities, eggs, milk, veggies etc. Again, we were challenged by our lack of spoken or written Japanese, but a local who spoke a "rittle" English, helped us and we were back in the apartment ready to try and catch up,on our sleep. We managed 4 hours, were up a couple of hours and then back again to sleep from 4 to 6:30...so maybe we are over significant jet lag.  Today we are off on an organized tour of the Imperial Palace and we will hopefully see how we fare trying to figure out what appears to be a complicated subway system.  More on our first full day tomorrow Sayonara Fran and David    

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Japan 2016 Prologue

This coming Sunday we will be boarding an Air Canada plane for a thirteen hour flight to Haneda Airport in Tokyo.


This is our first time in Japan and we will be spending about three weeks in a number of locations including Tokyo, Hiroshima, Miyojima, Kyoto, Kobe, Osaka, Nagoya, Yaotsu, Fukuyama, Nara and Hakone.


We will be travelling domestically by train and much of the time in the high speed Shinkansen, or Bullet Train. We will be visiting national parks, castles, gardens, shrines, observation towers, busy shopping areas and as much of the Jewish sites as possible.


I have prepared for this trip like no other before it. Because of the difficulty with the language, our inability to read Japanese script, and the strange way that the Japanese structure street addresses, I have prepared Google Maps and detailed directions for each place that we shall visit.


We have watched YouTube videos posted by expats designed to make the travel experience easier; videos that explain how to use the train and subway system, how to shop for groceries, which tourist sites will be of interest to us, etc.


One of the most confusing aspects of Japanese travel has to be the addressing system. The address first gives you the city, then the area of the city, followed by the ward within the area. At this point you would hope it would give you the street name, but Japanese streets do not have names. The block of buildings within a quadrangle of streets has a number, and then just to confuse you more, the buildings within that numbered block are numbered based on when they were built not on their location. This is going to be fun!


We have met with and spoken to a number of people who have spent significant time in Japan in order to gain as much info as possible regarding kosher food, Shabbat issues and general challenges such as street addresses and the electronic toilet that will present themselves to the first time tourist.


The Japanese electronic toilet not only has a lid that raises itself based on motion, it also has a seat that warms up, plays soothing music and has a retractable spray wand that can be used as a bidet. These are becoming standard in good hotels and can present issues for the Shabbat observant traveller.




First some basic facts: Japan is an island country in East Asia. It is located in the Pacific Ocean, close to China, Korea, Russia and Taiwan. The symbols that spell Japan mean "sun origin" hence the common name given to Japan as the "Land of the Rising Sun".


Japan is an archiplelago of close to 7000 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku which make up about ninety-seven percent of Japan's land area. Japan's population of 126 million is the 10th largest in the world.


Approximately 9.1 million people live in the capital city of Tokyo which makes it the world's sixth largest city; however with the metro population of more than 37 million, Tokyo is the world's largest city. What is most interesting is that Japan is 4% of Canada in area and has a population almost 4 times Canada.


Look at the differences in population density:


Canada 4 per square kilometre - Japan 350 per square kilometre.


Toronto 2650 per square kilometre - Tokyo 6200 per square kilometre.


Tokyo was not always the capital of Japan. It was preceded by Nara and Kyoto. It was not until 1868 that it became capital; until then it was called Edo. Tokyo literally means "eastern capital".


In 1854, US Navy Commander Perry officiated at the signing of a treaty between the USA and Japan. This signalled the opening of trade relations between the two countries and as a result, Jews first came to Japan in 1861. They settled in Yokohama and more Jews followed from England, the USA and Poland, establishing a synagogue, school, cemetery and chevra kaddisha.


In the late 19th century, a community was established in Nagasaki consisting mainly of Jews from Russia. Its most famous citizen was Joseph Trumpeldor who played a prominent role in the Zionist movement and in the formation of the Israel Defense Forces.


After the earthquake of 1923, which devastated Nagasaki, the community relocated to another port town, Kobe.







Members of the Mir Yeshiva in front of a building in Kobe 1941


Kobe played an important role as a city of refuge to thousands of Jews fleeing Nazi Europe using the famous Sugihara Visa (more about him and his heroic act later in our trip) and was the home to members of the Mir Yeshiva before they relocated to Shanghai.



Today, there are about 1000 Jews in Japan, mainly in Tokyo. Kobe has a small community of under 50 families.




There are three Orthodox shuls and one Conservative shul. Tokyo has a conservative shul as part of the JCC and two Chabad shuls. Kobe has one orthodox Sefaradic shul. There are two kosher restaurants in Tokyo, each of the Chabad houses runs one of them. The interesting thing is that the two Chabad centres do not recognize each other but that is for a later post. There is not a great availability of kosher food, we are told; but after we have the chance to visit a supermarket, we will let you know just how many kosher supervised products we find. We have been advised to visit the National Azabu Supermarket in Tokyo which apparently carries many kosher supervised products imported from other countries.






Tokyo - Mount Fuji in the background




Our first stop will be Tokyo and we will be there from Monday February 22 till Sunday when we leave for Hiroshima.


In Tokyo we will be staying in an apartment in the Roppongi Hills section of town, not far from the Tokyo Hyatt Hotel.


We arrive in the late afternoon on Monday and will hopefully get over jet lag quickly enough to participate in our first walking tour scheduled for 10 AM on Tuesday morning in front of the Imperial Palace. We think we are ready and we are looking forward to a very interesting visit where we will hopefully gain much understanding into this unique and ancient culture. And we are very pleased to have you along.


All the best


Fran and David