Samuel Cockedey, a French photographer and video artist based in Japan, has put together another ethereal time-lapse film of the Shinjuku area in Tokyo set to the soundtrack of Blade Runner in tribute to Ridley Scott and Vangelis.
Tokyo is often portrayed as a high-tech wonderland being run by robots and full of futuristic gadgets you can’t find anywhere else. While the truth is rather more mundane it can certainly be said that Japan is a leader in the field of robotics and a few concepts are on show at Toyota’s MEGA WEB Universal Design Showcase on Odaiba island in Tokyo Bay.
On my final day in Japan I visited the artificial island of Odaiba (お台場) in Tokyo Bay. The island was originally part of a number of coastal fortresses but was redeveloped in the early 1990s as Tokyo Teleport Town, a showcase for futuristic living. It suffered when the “bubble economy” burst but has since rebounded as a commercial and entertainment zone.
At the end of my week in Tokyo I had the great pleasure to meet up with my friend and former Japanese teacher at Sensō-ji Temple in Asakusa who had moved back to Japan since I graduated over five years ago. It’s hard to believe that it had been so long and we had a lot of catching up to do…
Tokyo’s transportation network is as staggeringly efficient as it is complex. I don’t think I ever had to wait more than a minute or two for a train to arrive and while it sometimes get crowded at rush hour it wasn’t too uncomfortable since everyone is so polite.
Usually the last thing you want to be doing while on holiday is waking at 4am in the morning but that’s exactly what I did on chilly Saturday morning in order to pay a visit to Tsukiji fish market (築地市場) in Tokyo, famed for its daily tuna auctions. If you’re not a fan of eating animals then you’ll probably want to give this post a miss.
After visiting Tokyo’s Imperial Palace I took a train to Ginza (銀座) which is recognized as one of the most luxurious shopping districts in the world. Shopping holds little interest to me but I did want to get a feel for the area and pay homage to a couple of places, namely Japans flagship Apple and MUJI stores.
Marunouchi (丸の内) is an upscale commercial district in Chiyoda (千代田区) ward between Tokyo Station and the Imperial Palace. It’s the center of Japan’s financial industry and is packed with glistening skyscrapers and identical-looking men wearing dark suites. After a night of heavy rain I visited on a bright Friday morning and wandered through the business district to the outer edges of Tokyo Imperial Palace (皇居).
I thought I’d take a break this week from relaying my travel tales to bring you some useful info for anyone planning a trip to Japan themselves. For me the planning part is as much a part of the holiday as the time spent travelling itself – there’s something innately enjoyable about working out where you want to go, how to navigate your way around and where to stay.
Harajuku (原宿) is an area north of Shibuya (next to Meiji Shrine) which is renowned as the center of Japan’s extreme teenage fashion styles where young people gather on Sundays to socialise and show-off. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to visit on a Sunday but I did wander around the adjacent shopping district and came across a few interesting places of note.