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Japan Is a Mix of Modern
and Centuries Old Culture
Skyscrapers and Tea Houses
By Arvin Steinberg
 I recently visited Japan for the first time. It is a
country of modern technology mixed with a culture that is centuries old,
steeped in tradition. One the one hand, Japan is one of the world’s most
energetic and industrialized nations. You can see skyscrapers, modern
department stores, and people everywhere checking their e-mail on their Palm
Pilots. Yet, on the other hand, its people still cling to their ancient
rituals. There are teahouses, where people remove their shoes and are served
tea by a tea master wearing her traditional gown. The Japanese are humble
people who bow in their everyday lives in respect of others. A visit to
Japan is a unique experience, one that will long be remembered by the
traveler.
My first night in Japan
was spent at the ultra-modern Park Hyatt Tokyo hotel. The hotel is located
in the West Shinjuko section of Tokyo where you will see skyscrapers and
offices of many high-tech companies. The Park Hyatt Tokyo hotel occupies
the top 14 floors of the 52 story Shinjuko Park Tower; offices occupy the
lower floors. The lobby of the hotel is located on the 41st
floor and provides a spectacular view in all directions of this city of 12
million people.
The hotel also has a
health and fitness center and a 65-foot swimming pool with stunning views of
the city. From my room on the 49th floor, I was able to see the
snow-capped cone of Mt. Fuji, Japan’s tallest mountain at 6 A.M., but after
15 minutes, Mt. Fuji, which is 75 miles from Tokyo, disappeared from view
behind the clouds.
 At
6:45 A.M., about 30 minutes after I last saw Mt. Fuji, I took a 15-minute
subway ride to the huge Tsukiji Fish Market in Central Tokyo. It is reputed
to be the largest fish market in the world, 11 times the size of the Fulton
Fish Market in New York City, with 60,000 employees and 30 million dollars
in sales daily. Each morning there is an auction beginning at 5 A.M. where
thousands of restaurateurs and other food sellers from all over the city buy
the sea produce they need.
Shinjuko Station in
western Tokyo is the busiest train station in the world and is only a
12-minute walk from the Park Hyatt Tokyo hotel. More than two million
people pass through it every day. During morning rush hour, station
employees wearing white gloves push passengers into crowded subway or train
cars making sure no one is caught in the closing doors. Shinjuko Station
and other train stations throughout Japan are clean and have no graffiti.
They are also huge and have lots of shops and restaurants. Refrigerated
food in plastic containers can be purchased there if you want to eat while
traveling. A packaged meal of rice or noodles in one compartment, and
cooked chicken or fish and vegetables or sushi in another compartment, is
very good and sells for about $5.00 (U.S.). These types of meals can also be
purchased in convenience stores throughout Japan.
Despite the hustle and
bustle of western Tokyo, there is an “inner garden” there, the Meiji Shrine
situated on 175 acres of land. It was built in 1920 to commemorate the
Emperor Meiji. It is quiet and beautiful with well-kept grounds and thick
forest areas. But it is not a park. There are no benches to sit on and no
bicycling or jogging is permitted. Meiji Shrine is a Shinto shrine, and
Shinto is Japan’s oldest religion. Weddings are performed on weekends at
Meiji Shrine and at Shinto shrines throughout the country.
 Shinto
is the oldest religion in Japan, but most Japanese practice two religions,
Shinto and Buddhism. The Senso-ji Temple, is Tokyo’s most sacred and
spectacular Buddhist temple. It is located in the Asakusa district of
northern Tokyo. While the Shinto Meiji Shrine is quiet and serene, the
Buddhist Senso-ji Temple is loud and festive and has a carnival atmosphere.
Small shops selling everything from shoes to crafts to silk kimonos line
both sides of the two-block approach to the temple. People constantly
surround an incense burner allowing smoke to flow over them “to keep
healthy”. Others wash their hands in sacred water from a fountain. Still
others toss coins into a trough before praying. Many purchase good-luck
charms for health, traffic safety, and for passing entrance exams.
 The beautiful Ueno Park
is the dominating attraction in the Ueno district in northern Tokyo. It
contains many important museums and other landmarks and is a wonderful place
to stroll and relax. The Tokyo National Museum in Ueno Park has over 89,000
items on display and is considered the best assembly of Japanese art in the
world. The large and picturesque Sinobazu Pond in Ueno Park is an annual
stop for thousands of migrating birds. Ueno Park seems far removed from the
high paced activity of the skyscraper district in western Tokyo, yet it is
only a half-hour ride by subway from the Tokyo skyline.
 Across
the street from Ueno Park and overlooking Sinobazu Pond with its flying
birds and colorful rowboats, is the newly renovated Sofitel Tokyo hotel that
opened September 1, 2000. The hotel is famous for its five-tier pagoda
shape that is reminiscent of a Christmas tree. I stayed at this lovely
boutique hotel which features the largest rooms in Tokyo. It has only 86
rooms, each with Internet and modem srvice. It was like my home away from
home. The bathrooms have gray or magnolia marble and the rooms offer
stunning views of either Ueno Park or the Tokyo skyline. I found the
service at the Sofitel Tokyo hotel to be superb, and the staff knows each
guest by name.
Tokyo is Japan’s
largest city. But, Japan’s second largest city, Yokohama, with a population
of three and one-half million, is only 18 miles from Tokyo. The
Tokyo-Yokohama area is the largest urban concentration in the world. I
traveled by train from Tokyo to Yokohama, a ride of about 45 minutes with
stops.
 Yokohama
is a port city on Tokyo Bay. The new Minato Miria 21 waterfront area on the
bay is a spacious area with wide boulevards and skyscrapers.
I stayed at the Pan
Pacific Hotel Yokohama, a large hotel in the waterfront area with 485 rooms
and an elegant-tropical décor. From my room I had an excellent view of the
bay and a new amusement park that features a roller coaster and huge Ferris
wheel. Weddings are a big business at hotels in Japan, and 650 weddings are
performed at the Pan Pacific Hotel Yokohama each year, mainly on
weekends.
There are several
museums in the Minato Miria 21 bay area. The Mitsubishi Minatomiriai
Industrial Museum is an interactive science museum about two blocks from the
Pan Pacific Hotel Yokohama. The museum offers two floors of advanced
technology exhibits for students and adults. The exhibits deal with
subjects such as space development, environmental needs, and energy
supplies. I have never seen science exhibits with this level of
sophistication.
A fun place to go in
Yokohama is the Shin Yokohama Raumen Museum, which is actually a theme
restaurant. After paying about $3.00 (U.S.), you walk downstairs and enter
a dimly lit back street reproduction of 1958 Tokyo. There are several small
bars and restaurants, the type you would see in old movies where sailors
hang out. You then purchase a ticket for the meal at the restaurant you
choose. The most popular food at the restaurant, and also a popular
Japanese dish, is “Raumen”, a noodle soup. I tried it and the soup is
delicious. A waiter told me that the proper way to enjoy this soup is to
drink the soup first, and then, using chopsticks, slurp and gulp down the
noodles before they become soft and mushy.
No visit to Japan would
be complete without seeing Kyoto, the former capital. This city with a
population of one and one-half million, is about a three hour ride on the
bullet train from Tokyo. Kyoto has 1,600 Buddhist temples, although many
are small neighborhood temples, and 200 Shinto shrines. Kyoto also has
pagodas, museums, and lovely gardens. An excellent way to explore Kyoto is
by a four-hour walking tour offered by an experienced Japanese guide, Hajime
Hirooka, better known as Johnnie Hillwalker, call (075) 622-6803. This
private $18.00 (U.S.) walking tour will take you through the back streets of
Kyoto, and along the way everyone is treated to a piece of sushi and a
Japanese pastry with tea.
While in Kyoto, I
attended a tea ceremony at Yoshi-ima Shinbashi.gion teahouse, phone
561-2620. After walking through a garden and crawling through a small
opening in the teahouse to make yourself “humble in mind”, the simple but
impressive ceremony begins. In feudal times in Japan there were classes of
people from the warrior, the highest, to the merchant, the lowest, and
everyone and their descendants always remained in the same class. But
whenever any person was inside the teahouse with others, everyone was equal,
and this lovely ancient ceremony has endured for centuries.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Japan National
Tourist Organization
One Rockefeller Plaza
Suite 1250
New York, NY 10020
212-757-5641
fax 212-307-6754
www.japantravelinfo.com
Photos by Arvin
Steinberg and the Japanese Convention Bureau
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