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