Uchimizu in English

This blog is not active anymore

2009-08-25T21:02:00.001+02:00

Dear readers, this blog is not actively maintained anymore from today, as I wish to focus my spare time on the French version of this blog. I am happy to leave the content online, and would be glad if it can help.

Hakone

2009-02-13T13:41:00.001+01:00

The view of Mount-Fuji over Hakone Lake is one of the picture-postcards of Japan. As every tourist spot in the country, Hakone can get overcrowded. People who lined-up for two hours to board the cable card will indeed have a bad memory, especially if they were rewarded with a view on … the clouds in front of the famous volcano. However, outside of the busy period and if the weather is fine, Hakone will be an unforgettable trip only one hour away from Tokyo: the volcanic activity, outstanding views and pleasant hikes will make the perfect getaway to forget about Tokyo. Hakone is a nice place to spend a night. It should be part of any trip of Kanto (Tokyo region) that could also include Nikko, Kamakura, a trip in the mountains and the Izu peninsula.

There is plenty to see and do there, but the trip from Tokyo is also interesting in its own right. The “Romance Car”, a special service of the Odakyu company, offer a few panoramic seat with a direct view on the railroad (the driver’s cabin is elevated in order not to spoil the view). As the train goes through the whole Tokyo suburbs from the major urban center of Shinjuku, this is probably one of the best ways to get an overview of the city. High-rise buildings soon make the way for ordinary suburb condos, with a surprising number of detached houses even close from the city center. Near every station, the urban density increases, with more condos and commercial buildings. There are only a few rice or vegetables fields at first, but at some point, they occupy most of the land, and the typical Japanese countryside landscape appears: small rice fields and always some hours nearby. After crossing a few hills, the train crosses the small town of Matsuda (松田), and Odawara (小田原), before making its way through a narrow valley to Hakone Yumoto (箱根湯本).

Hakone Yumoto is a trendy hot spring (onsen) station from where the Hakone-Tozan (箱根当山) train starts. You may wish to enjoy the Fujiya “Classic Hotel” near Miyanoshita station (宮ノ下駅), which is also an outstanding place just to have a drink or a tea, and you may want to go there just to buy the “Curry Pans”, with a reputation as some of the bests in the country. This is a much quieter place than Hakone Yumoto. Gora station (強羅駅), the final station of the Hakone-Tozan line, is also a nice place to enjoy onsens. There are many isolated hamlets around with one of two onsen hotels for those of you who prefer to be surrounded by nature. If this was not enough for you hotspring-wise, the Izu Peninsula is only a few minutes train from Odawara, especially Atami station, which is now back in fashion.

Hakone is located in a collapsed crater of a volcano, and the famous lake is the lowest point of the resulting “caldeira”. The last eruption was 3000 years ago, and created the lake Ashinoko (芦ノ湖) and the Owakudani valley. Between Hakone Yumoto and Ashiko lake, Owakudani (大涌谷) looks like Hell's gate. Sulphurous smoke gets out from the ground, and there are numerous hot springs. This being Japan, a special souvenir food was created for the place: Black eggs « kurotamago » (黒玉子), are boiled in volcanic smoke. They are supposed to make life 7 years longer if eaten with moderation, a very convenient custom to increase sales. You can reach Owakudani from the cablecar and the ropeway from Gora.

The main reason to come to Hakone is for the outstanding views of Mount-Fuji. They are at their most impressive between the end of Autumn and the start of Spring, when the mountain is still covered with snow, and the weather clear enough to see he volcano. One of the most pleasant places is a garden located on the site of a former imperial residence (onshi-hakone, 恩賜箱根) in a small peninsula halfway between Moto-Hakone (元箱根) and Hakone-machi (箱根町). Following the standard tourist itinerary, Moto-Hakone can be reached from the boat starting near the cable car terminal at Togendai (桃源台). One should be prepared for a reproduction of a French ship of the line, or a Mississippi steam boat, and should remind that eclectics is a very important part of Japanese culture. Once in Moto-Hakone, the garden can be reached by a pleasant 15 minutes walk in a very pleasant alley bordered by old pine trees following the lake shores. This is a section of the historic Tokaido road. After visiting the garden, you can continue your walk on the road heading to Hakone-machi, and you will find the old custom gate of Hakone (HakoneSekisho, 箱根関所). This used to be the entry of the Kanto (literally meaning “east of the gates”) region, and could not be crossed without a special permit. The control of domestic travel was one of the bases of the power of the Tokugawa shogun, who ensured he always had hostages from all the warrior clans in the capital to guarantee internal peace.

From Moto-Hakone, a pleasant trip is the old Tokaido road, called Kyukaido (旧街道), which goes down the mountain to Hakone Yumoto. As may hikes in Japan, it is a pleasant way to enjoy the forest which covers this narrow valley. Hiking boots are compulsory. It can be surprising that the main road of ancient Japan was so narrow, but ancient roads, such as the famous Roman roads, were never actually used to move goods, as this was very costly: business was made by boats on rivers and sea, so roads were used only by travelers and by the army. After one hour of walk, you will come across Amasake-Chaya (甘酒茶屋) which offers welcome warm “sake”, and a small museum presenting the old Tokaido road. After 45 additional minutes, you will reach the small Hatajuku (幡宿) village, which is specialized in wooden boxes, of course sold in many souvenir shops. From the village, you can continue the walk down to Hakone Yumoto (which would take half a day in total), or take the bus to the village.

Practical Information

The Romance Car will set you back Yen 2020 from Shinjuku to Hakone Yumoto, there are approximately two trains per hours. A “free pass” is available to non-residents for Yen 5000 (38 Euros) for 2 days or Yen 5500 (42 Euros) for three days. The company site gives detailed information in English: http://www.odakyu.jp/english/rc/index.html

The classic tourist itinerary from Hakone Yumoto includes the Hakone Tozan train from Hakone-Yumoto to Gora (Yens 390 one-way), then the Hakone-Tozan train to Sounzan (早雲山), and the cable-car (Hakone Ropeway, 箱根ロープウェイ) to Togendai (桃源台) (Yen 1330 (10 Euros) one way, Yen 2340 (18 Euros) return).

Although the trains and cable cars are pleasant, the most convenient way to reach Moto-Hakone is the bus : 40 mintes from Hakone Yumoto (Yen 930 (7 Euros) one way).

Summer should be avoided, as Mount-Fuji will certainly be hidden by the mist. Official Japanese holidays will bring great crowds, so Hakone is also better avoided at that date: golden week from April 28th to May 5th and New years holidays around January 1st.

This map provided by the Japanese tourism Information Bureau is very convenient: http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/map/009_Hakone.html

The « Secret Japan » site gives many useful tips on hot springs in the region: http://www.secret-japan.com/forum/hakone-(kanagawa-ken)-t18.html

The official Hakone site lists 17 onsen hot springs. (http://www.hakone.or.jp/english/midokoro/onsen.html)

The woodprint shown here is issues from the “53 stages of Tokaido” (東海道五十三次) series from Utagawa Hiroshige (歌川広重)

You may want to continue reading and organizing your trip with those stories about “Classic Hotels”, “Onsens” and the “Izu Peninsula”.

Merry Christmas 2008

2008-12-26T15:41:00.004+01:00

I sincerely wish all the readers of this blog, and their family a very merry Christmas. I hope you will have a good time and forget the worries of the time.

The picture has been shot in Ryoanji (竜安寺) à Kyoto just after a snowfall. The temple is reknown for its stone garden, which is quite suprising under a show cover.

You way continue your reading by an article written last year about Christmas and the New Year in Japan

International couples with a Japanese partner

2008-12-26T15:37:00.000+01:00

Living in a foreign country certainly makes someone more vulnerable. Whether as a student or an expat, this is an easy time for starting a relationship. Those seem more frequent between European men and Japanese women. This may be because Japan mainly attracts western males, and Europe is more to the taste of Japanese women. Maybe this is also due to the fact both are used to the active role in romance in their own country. It seems anyways that falling in love is more common abroad. The attraction of an unknown culture, the interest of discovering even the most insignificant details of daily life far away from home, and, it has to be said, less acuity in evaluating the beauty of someone from another ethnic group, all this makes the “love blindness” more acute than in a normal relationship. However, if the beginnings are straightforward, life as an international couple is not easy to organize. This article gathers, for what they are worth, some pieces of advices.

Respect

A couple feeds on mutual respect. However, in this case, there is strong temptation to establish a hierarchy between the two countries: Europeans will look down on the chaotic planning and architecture of Japanese cities, the sometimes inefficient relentless Japanese way of working, and the specificities of local politics. Japanese people will despise train strikes, dirty streets and indifferent service in restaurants. However, this is very dangerous for the couple: even if one is aware of his country limitations, nobody likes to be taught a lesson from a foreigner. And any attempt to put a hierarchy between the countries will immediately be understood as an attempt to create the same order inside the couple. One should be especially wary on information about the partner’s country in internet forums, blogs and expatriate sites: some western sites gather some very debatable information on life in Japan, with doubtful shortcuts being commonplace. One common mistake made is to describe a marginal behavior, which can be shocking in any country, as the norm.

It is probably much wiser to declare once and for all that Europe and Japan are equally developed, which is actually true if living standards are compared. This does not forbid from discussing, with kindness and a sense of humor, the typical drawbacks from a country or another, and even to actually enjoy it, as this is part of the pleasures of travel: a European café needs a busy and rough waiter as a Japanese train line needs an employee waving a small red flag on the platform for the “experience” to be genuine.

It is also important to respect the efforts the uprooted spouse to adapt to a new environment. This is never easy, and at times discouraging. This is an excellent time to prove attachment to ones partner by helping and listening. On the contrary, if the blues of the partner is seen only as an obstacle to watching the football game or going out with friends in the latest trendy restaurant in Daikanyama, it can be quite a destructive experience for the couple.

Home

A couple is made of affection between spouses, but it is also the choice of a common lifestyle that is acceptable to both partners. In this case, there are several challenges: the choice of a home country will mean at least one spouse will be far away from family, the country culture and products, and very likely, this will also decrease career opportunities. Internet allows for free communications and access to the origin country news, but this is not everything. You need to have been an expatriate to understand this strong need for a special meal you are used to since childhood: despite the outstanding Japanese food, after one year in Tokyo, I would have happily exchanged a diamond for a good “saucisson lyonnais”, the sausage from my home town. I believe it is important to speak with one’s partner of the life envisioned for the future before taking any hard commitment. Settling abroad is never insignificant, and very often, the spouse living in his or her home country will not be aware of the difficulties, especially if he or she never experienced living in another country. A decent compromise is probably to settle in one country, but to keep open the possibility of coming back to the other country if circumstances are appropriate. This will reduce the pressure for the expatriate partner to ‘integrate at all costs’, and so increase the rate of success. Settling abroad is of course easier if the expatriate spouse has an interest in the host country.

Japan is a very urban country. This certainly has drawbacks, from crowded trains to cramped houses. However, those are also vibrant cities: shops open at any hour, any show or cultural activity you can think of, numerous excellent restaurants, and very fashionable boutiques: all this is usually less than a few subway stops away. If a Japanese person from a metropolis (Tokyo, Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto, but also Nagoya, Hiroshima or Fukuoka) comes to Europe, the same opportunities are only available in the biggest metropolises. In France, Paris would definitely be OK, and Marseille Lyon or Toulouse may be tolerable. Settling in a small town may be a shock for a Japanese person. This is even more acute in American suburbia, where, despite excellent living conditions, life is so far away from Japanese cities.

Money

A trip back to see the family may cost more than 1000 Euros for the spouse with a far-off family. Imported products and books may be hard to find and very expensive. A simple Japanese magazine may cost between 10 and 15 Euros in a Japanese shop in Paris, and it will be impossible to find it in other French cities. Japanese people settling in France, even from modest origin, are used to clean and safe street, and to an excellent quality of service. They will adapt better to pleasant downtown districts than to plebeian suburbs. The other way round, a European person settling in Tokyo will feel better at ease in a pleasant district with large avenues and parks. This is why money will go a long way in a successful expatriation. Also, many young adults are living at their parent’s place and use their whole salary (often around 1500 Euros monthly) as pure pocket money. If they settle with their spouse in Europe, their standard of living will certainly erode significantly. I could not recommend enough building estimates of the couple budget, and the way of life that could be achieved (housing location and size, holidays...), before taking any hard commitment.

Some practical details, such as the combination of pension benefits from two countries, should be studied in details. Double contributions are extremely costly and can reduce income by 20%. There are some agreements though between European countries and Japan (The agreement between France and Japan was signed in 2005, and deployed in 2007), and the situation has been improving a lot, but it is anyways better to check. Career opportunities in Japan for European people should be realistically evaluated. Even with a good position in a multinational company, it is not always easy to find a similar job in the Japanese subsidiary of the company. And this is the most favorable case: the professional horizon for many foreigners is limited to conversation teacher, a precarious position with limited income that some people may also find unpleasant. This may be a good second salary in a couple, but may not be enough to raise a family.

Mariage

Whatever your opinion on couples that do not want to wed, immigration laws are such that it is often compulsory to get married to be able to live together. In certain cases, only the Shengen tourism visa (3 months of stay every 6 months) is available for a non-married spouse visiting Europe. And this is not the only reason to get married: the expatriate partner will feel more secure moving to another country with the couple having an official status. Also, unmarried couples are exceptional in Japan, where less than 5 percent of children are born out of wedlock. Wedding will be an almost compulsory step, and it may come slightly sooner than ideally wished. Japanese families will however not easily accept a wedding if the man is still a student, as they consider he does not yet have a job to sustain a family. Most Japanese ladies will also wish to work for a few years in Japan after they graduate before getting married and maybe following their husband in his country. Also, it seems to be easier for families to accept their children’s chosen ones when they are in their late twenties or early thirties, as this may be seen as one of the last opportunities to “marry on schedule”. This is not actually specific to international couples.

Language

Terrifying letters on one side, absurd grammar on the other side, Japanese and some European languages (especially French) are amongst the most complex to learn. Some international couples communicate in English, others in Japanese or their mother European language, if one of them learnt it at university. The truth is that learning a new language as a young adult why having a full-time job is difficult for most people. This is however compulsory, as only reasonable abilities in the spouse language will allow a good communication with the families, and speaking the language of the country of residence will help with integration. As it is often hard to start working on a list of “Kanjis” back from work at 10pm, a 3 to 6 months sabbatical to learn the spouse language in the country may be a good idea.

Ways of life

Some people explain the difficulties of international couples by complex cultural differences due to the gap between Christian and pagan philosophy. This may be true, but the more mundane differences between the ways of life are also important. In the couple’s home, shoes can be either worn (European style) or taken off (Japanese style). The bath can be in the morning (European style) or before sleeping (Japanese style). Young Japanese ladies usually spend the last weeks of their pregnancy in their parent’s home, whereas they would stay in their marital home in Europe. Women usually manage the couple money in Japan, whereas this is more a shared decision in Europe. Holidays are short and luxurious in Japan, whereas in Europe they are longer and often just mean going to a relative’s house in the countryside. Grocery is bought everyday in Japan, every week in Europe. Good beef meat does not include fat in Europe, whereas it does in Japan. Also, Japanese people do not like surprises, and will appreciate that a schedule is established and respected. So the couple will have to decide on all those lifestyle topics of varying importance, with the good solution probably a compromise between the ways of life of the two origin countries. It is probably better to discuss the most important items before moving together.

Those few lines may have convinced that building an international couple is not trivial. Sharing another culture is a wonderful experience, but this also includes important constraints. Honest communication is key to anticipate difficulties, and find a middle way acceptable for both.

Additional Informations

Previous stories have been published on Japanese couples, and about life as an expatriate in Japan.

I would be glad to complete this story with your experience. I will enrich the topic with the best comments.

Nikko under the snow

2008-12-14T22:05:00.000+01:00

The beauty of Japan is sometimes hard to grasp. Just like a bitter vegetable or a glass of red wine, you sometimes need to taste it several time to really appreciate, besides Tokyo (東京) old concrete the small charming gardens and neighborhoods. Even Kyoto (京都), the historical capital mixes centuries-old temples with pachinko parlors and crappy flats. There are however some pure instants of fleeting beauty : cherry blossoms in a remote countryside, a temple lost in the forest, or a neighborhood garden set alight by autumn colors at dawn. I was lucky enough to visit Nikko temples (日光) during a snowfall.

The town of Nikko is at the foot of the North Kanto (関東) mountains, around one hundred kilometers from Tokyo. Recorded history starts there in the 8th century when a monastery is founded by a famous Buddhist monk. It became a famous training center for monks before going back to obscurity until the 17th century, when it is chosen for the mausoleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川家康), the general who succeeded in unifying Japan. He was buried there in 1617, and it is during that year that his grandson Tokugawa Iemitsu (徳川家光) started the construction of the shrine and the mausoleum that is still visited today.

Even without the additional charm of a snowfall, Nikko is with Kamakura (鎌倉) a must-see historical sites in Tokyo surroundings. Its style is atypical in Japan: most of the monuments dears to the Japanese hearts have a plain style. They use beautiful raw materials and elegant composition. Nikko temples on the other hands have exuberant colors and overloaded decorations by the finest craftsmen of the time. This may be why some Japanese people despise them. Anyways, the contrast between those finely carved monuments and the beautiful cedar forest is very pleasant. The impression is probably closer from the Palatine chapel in Palermo than from the Zen gardens of Kyoto, but one can spend hours to admire the details of the bas-reliefs, with a thought for the fifteen thousands workers who had been building the monuments for two long years. And anyways, 5 minutes of Japanese television will convince anyone that the country culture is also made of bright colors fighting each other.

The main monument is Toshogu (東照宮,) it hosts the grave of Tokugawa Ieyasu, and is located in a nice forest that can become very atmospheric in the fog or, as in this beautiful morning, under the snow. The temple is reached by a long path with a 5 storey pagoda on the left. Its structure is very ingenious: the main axis of the pagoda does not touch the ground, so that it can be used as a counterweight in case of an earthquake. A similar solution is now used in modern high-rise buildings. Back to the Nikko alley, with the trees covered of snow and the foggy atmosphere, one would not be surprised to see a horde of wolves or maybe an Oni, a local ogre, appear from behind the trees. After reaching the first door of the monument, one can see the famous 3 monkey carved in wood, representing the Buddhist precept of ‘see no evil, hear no evil, tell no evil”. A picture of them is included in every Japanese guidebook, and, just like Mona Lisa, I must confess I was slightly disappointed by the crows and their relative small size.

However, the other buildings of the complex are outstanding, and, in this snowy morning, the bright colors seem ever livelier surrounded by the white snow. The contrast between the smooth carvings of the bas-relief and the rugged texture of fresh snow is striking. And any ray of sunlight will transform the temples in a baroque orgy of colors that would perfectly fit to Mozart’s requiem. The first monumental door is the Youmeimon(陽明門). It is the most decorated, and the legend has it that one of the pillar was mounted upside down as the craftsman was afraid the gods would be jealous of such a perfect masterpiece. The wall just right of the door is decorated by superb colourfull carvings surrounded by stone lanterns. Going up a stairs, visitors enter the inner shrine through the beautiful Koreimon (唐門).

A small path on the right leads to the inner shrine (Okusha奥社) through a long and mysterious stair in the forest. Even if the architecture is less impressive, the feeling of entering the holiest place, the grave of Tokugawa Ieyasu, is worth the ascent. The mausoleum is very Japanese in its simplicity, quite a surprise after the exuberant decoration of the Toshogu.

The Toshogu temple is the main reason to come to Nikko, but other historical sites are worth the visit: the Rinnoji temple (輪王寺) and the futarasan (二荒山), in the vicinity of Toshogu. Nikko is also surrounded by beautiful mountains: Chuzenji lake (中禅寺湖) appeared when a lava flow closed the valley, the famous Kegon falls (華厳の滝) and the Senjogahara swamps(戦場ヶ原) are very pleasant from June. The region is certainly worth a two or three days trip.

You may want to continue your reading by this story about Autumn in Japon.

Practical Information

The temples are at the end of Nikko main street, on the hill just the other side of the river. From Nikko station, you should turn right and walk around 30 minutes. Alternatively, you can board the bus from platform 1 or 2 up to Shinkyo station (神橋) (Y190, 1.60 Euro).

You can make the trip more pleasant by boarding the limited express « Tobu Spacia » which will allow you a VIP crossing of Tokyo’s never-ending northern suburbs (1h50, Y2720, 22.60 Euro). You may have to change trains at Shimoimaichi (下今市). The trip is more pleasant and the seats more comfortable than in the standard service from the Tobu line (東武伊勢崎線快速, 2h04, Y1320 11 Euro departure every hour).

Travelers with a generous budget may want to spend the night in the « Classic Hotel »Nikko Kaneya (日光金谷ホテル). The others may also stay at the nearby Kinugawa-Onsen (鬼怒川温泉) hot springs popular resort, a few minutes train away(from 20 to 30 minutes, train change in Shimoimaichi, Y300, 2.5 Euros).

The town also has a JR station, with a less convenient service (45 minutes from Utsunomiya宇都宮)

The Nikko Tourist Association site (http://www.nikko-jp.org/english/) offers detailed information in English.

Japanese couples

2008-11-29T15:08:00.002+01:00

A few westerners come to Japan with a mission: to liberate the poor suffering Japanese women from their macho society and their awkward men. They will teach them LOVE. This self assigned role is certainly gratifying, but one can be forgotten for failing to identify most expats in Japan as modern-day Casanovas. And actually most of my Japanese female colleague has many good things to say about the men of their country. While they acknowledged the relative lack of love declaration and roses, their boyfriends were usually kind, patient, and mindful of their desires. Far from the worn-out clichés, Japanese couples try to balance love, material life and social demands. The constraints are quite different from the west, but this does not mean the couples are less successfull.

The first love affair often happens while a teenager in the West. In Japan, high school is the toughest period of the educative system: most ambitious middle-class children aim at joining the best universities, which will give them an ideal career start, and work day and night to succeed. Teenage crisis and discovery of the other gender is often postponed to university, in the early twenties. Young couples are a very private affair. Japanese people seldom introduce their significant other to their parent before things get really serious, and more often than not, they will go alone to parties with friends. Japan is often described as a society where the group primes the individual, but it seems Japanese people defend even more their private life from outside intrusions. This goes a great length in explaining the success of “love hotels”, those flashy buildings where rooms are rent by the hour: couples can spend some time together without family or neighbors being aware of anything. Japan culture does not share Christian taboos, and while it is common to wait for a few weeks to ensure the relation is sincere before spending a night together, nobody seems to wait up to the wedding, a practice which is still common amongst religious people in the west.

After graduation and the integration in a Japanese company, people usually start considering marriage. A few people already met their partner at university, especially in student “circles”. Other may fall in love with a colleague. However, most “salarymen” (employees) have long work days, which do not leave much time to find a mate. Young people organize time-efficient go-kons (合コン), small parties with an equal number of men and women, typically 6 to 10 people, hoping that a few couples will be made. An efficient “Go-kon” organizer is a coveted friend. Although the tradition is almost lost now, there is also « omiai » (お見合い), the famous Japanese weddings arranged by the family. Resumes with a picture are circulating between the young people relative, and introduction meetings are organized between potential mates. I only heard about this practice from friends in the countryside, and it seems to be very marginal nowadays.

Romance usually last a few years, and include several “dates”. The inevitable ones include Christmas, where couples go out. All the trendy places are booked months in advance. On Valentine day, women offer chocolate to their men, and during the “White Day” one month later, the man has to offer a present double the value. Many couples only choose to settle together while married, and stay at their parent’s home or their single flat until that day.

Wedding (kekkon, 結婚) can be celebrated in a number of ways. The traditional Japanese way happens at a Shinto Shrine, but Christian ceremonies are very popular, as they remind of the Hollywood movies, up to the western priest. It is said that quite often, those priests also double up as English conversation teachers or bartenders during weekdays. A great Japanese wedding ceremony lasts for a whole afternoon and includes family, company colleagues and also the business relations of the parents. Some young couples prefer a more intimate setting by organizing a “restaurant wedding” with only friends and the close family. Wedding registration at the town hall is just paperwork, a form to fill at the counter without any ceremony of any sort.

It is very uncommon to have children while not married, even if children born out of wedlocks are since a few years ago equal in law with legitimate ones. Contraception is also less sophisticated than in the west, the “pill” is not so common and generally has a bad reputation. So there are many “dekichatta kekkon” weddings, organized because the bride is pregnant. The expression has a connotation of “wedding after a mistake”. Everything is organized in a hurry, sometimes without a ceremony: it seems the marketing efforts of the industry to promote all inclusive packages for "sazukarikon" (授かり婚), or ‘priceless wedding’ are not yet bearing their fruits. Everybody will do its best not to notice a child will be born 6 months after. This is anyways a quite common situation, some people say it represents close to half the weddings in the country. I sometimes wonder if some young Japanese people were choosing it consciously in order not to have to negotiate the wedding with their future spouse family. As young Japanese people do not usually introduce their significant other to their family before they decide to marry, some parents learn about the existence of the spouse, the child and the wedding at the same minute, which must be quite an emotion. Pregnancy is followed up more closely by doctors than in the west, and the woman usually spends the last weeks of pregnancy at her parent’s home. This can seem a shocking custom, but it is actually quite convenient in a country where most young men work very long hours.

The situation of women in the workforce has been evolving a lot. The tradition used to be that women quit their job when they marry, but this is very marginal now. However, if both the groom and the bride work in the same company, the woman usually quits her job. Limiting the amount of gossip is certainly a significant motivation for the move. It does not prevent the bride from finding a job in another company though. Almost all Japanese women continue working until they bear their first child. With the decline of the birth rate, companies anyways have to hire women employees. However, most women have “second rate” careers as a result of child bearing, which means some ambitious women may differ wedding until quite late to ensure they stay on the “fast track”. Hospitals and many public services offer nursery to their employees, but many women in the private sector also continue to work while having young children by leaving them in the public nurseries (takujisho, 託児所). There are of course waiting lists in major cities. In addition to emancipation, there are also economic reasons for female work: incomes got lower during the decade of economic crisis, and life employment is less and less common: a second income allows the household to limit risks. The extended family, especially the grandparents, takes a significant part in the children education, and the father is also doing more and more. There is at least a good thing in Japan for working mothers compared to Europe: it is easy to buy already prepared good food at a price very close to the one of the raw ingredients, which may help a busy woman with the preparation of family meals.

Japan does not have enough children, and it is thought, probably naively, this is because the couples do not spend enough time ‘very close to each other’. But asking Japanese couples why they do not have bigger families, the answers always boil down to the cost of child bearing: lodging is expensive, and so is food, even bought in bulk. Not all medical costs are covered by the social security security system. And education is an expensive affair: private schools and universities are very expensive. The tax system is also less favorable to families with children than in most Western countries with a decent birth rate. One additional child may be the difference between a comfortable middle-class life and a precarious existence with no money left on the 20th of each month. “Career women” will also often postpone their wedding until their late thirties, which does not help the birth rate.

Tradition is that the wife gets the husband salary and manages the household finance, and leaves to the husband some limited pocket money (okozukai, お小遣い). It seems this is still common, and it certainly gives women the last word in the household matters. Most advertisers aim their commercials to women. As school curriculum is quite strict in Japan, it is not easy for a family to move to another town while children are at school: the children would lose the advantages of being enrolled in a good school. So there is a common situation of “remote couples” (tanshinfunin, 単身赴任), where the wife stays in town with the children, and the husband goes working at the other end of Japan for a few years, only coming back every week at best, or more realistically every month. This is usually well accepted. Japanese people usually keep more personal freedom after wedding. It is quite common to go out without ones spouse for a party with colleagues and friends. Japanese companies are famous for organizing parties to strengthen the cohesion between coworkers, which does not help employees to have a family life. Those parties are however less and less common, as they cannot be passed as company expenses anymore. I heard mostly of weekly and more commonly monthly parties, whereas daily drinking seemed to be the norm during the eighties.

Divorce (rikon, 離婚) is more and more common in Japan, even if it is less prevalent than in the West: some couples seem to defer the break-up until the children education is over, which may explain the recent trend of “aged people divorce”. But not all couples are drifting. Most of the middle-aged people I met in Japan seemed to love their spouse, or at least they had respect for each other and found a way of life that was suitable for both. Most of the young couples I talked to were very similar to the ones in the west: a Japanese friend of mine even adapted his career to allow his wife to accept an out-of-town promotion, and young fathers seem to help educating their children as much as they can despite their very busy working lives.

You may want to continue your reading with this story about international couples with a japanese partner.

Red leaves in Japan

2008-11-15T15:57:00.000+01:00

Enjoying seasons is at the heart of Japanese life. Cherry blossoms in spring are the most famous sights but autumn can also be very pleasant : at the end of november, parks and forests are covered with beautiful bright colors. More than in Europe, there are glorious sunny days at that time of the year, the light going through the leaves with blue sky in background and the pure cold air is a wonderful sensation. This is certainly worth a trip, at least as much as the humid summer and its fireworks, or Sprint and its flowers.

The tradition of walks in the autumn forest goes back to the Heain era, where Momijigari (紅葉狩り), or « maple hunting » was a refined hobby for noblemen. Maples (紅葉Momiji), especially the Japanese species, take bright red colors in autumn. Most Japanese gardens and temples include, in addition to the sakura trees, a few maple trees that will delight the visitors in autumn. This is even more enjoyable as the colder weather makes it hard for Japanese party-goers to eat, get drunk and listen to a portable karaoke machine under the trees. The atmosphere is more contemplative, which is perfectly suited to the season.

The best places to enjoy autumn leaves are the famous gardens and temples: it may be a very good time for a trip to Nikko or Hakone, and probably the best time to visit Kyoto, even if most accommodation will be fully booked in that period. Temples of the quiet neighborhood of Arashiyama (嵐山), especially Joojakkooji (常寂光字) offer outstanding sights. One of the most beautiful spot is Tofukuji (東福寺) temple. Kyomizudera (京都), uphill from Kyoto, is as great for red leaves as for cherry blossoms. In Uji (宇治), Mimurodo temple (三室戸寺) garden also has a great garden. It is in a remote place, and not that crowded. In Kansai, the ancient city of Nara is also certainly worth a visit.

If you cannot arrange to visit the best sights, or if you prefer the more transient feelings of daily life, you may enjoy a simple walk in the suburbs of any major Japanese city. You will find there beautiful maple trees stuck between a wall, an electric and a phone line. The smallest neighborhood park, with its two old benches and its plastic children toys will take outstanding colors. Even this small garden stuck between two grey office buildings downtown is worth a visit. It is certainly less impressive than the temples mentioned in the guidebooks, but those small spots of wilderness in the ocean of concrete are more moving.

Autumn is also a great season for a walk in the Japanese forest. Ome valley (青梅), a few kilometers outside Tokyo is a wonderful place for some hiking. If you manage to get a room, a stay in a remote onsen will be a great experience. The cool autumn air makes even more pleasant the rotenburos (露天風呂, hot springs with an outside pool).

After those outings, you will get very hungry, so you may want to taste a few chestnuts, or a grilled sanma (焼き秋刀魚), the seasonal fish, or rice with Matsutake (松茸), one of the most delicious Japanese mushroom. The wintry weather may also be a good time to have the first nabe (鍋), of the year, a pot dish cooked on the table in front of the guest.

Informations pratiques

Hébergement: Hotel bookings: You may find hotels in Kyoto solidly booked in the « Koyo » season. It will however always be easy to find an hotel in Osaka, especially on week-ends. From there, you are only 40 minutes away from Tokyo and 30 minutes away from Nara by train. In case you cannot book a hotel in Nikko, you may give a try to the nearby Kinugawa onsen resort, which has a large room capacity.

Access to Ome valley: Chuo line (中央線) from Shinjuku (新宿) to Tachikawa(立川), then Ome line (青梅線), with a transfert at Ome (青梅) for the train bound for Oku-Tama (奥多摩). There are also direct trains from Shinjuku to Ome.

Access to Tofukuji temple: JR Nara line (JR奈良線), Tofukuji (東福寺駅) station from Kyoto station, or Keihan line (京阪線) Tofukuji station (東福寺駅) from Osaka yodoyabashi (淀屋橋) ou Kyoto Keihansanjo (京阪三条). Entrance fee: Y400 (around 3 Euros), address: 京都府京都市東山区本町15-778 Honcho tozan-Ku Kyoto-Shi Kyoto-Fu

Access to Joojakkooji temple:15 minutes walk from JR Saga-Arashiyama (嵯峨嵐山) l Sanyo Honsen line (ＪＲ山陰本線), (20 minutes from Kyoto, Y230). Access also possible from the terminal station (Arashiyama) of the streetcar KeifukiDenkiTetstudo (京福電気鉄道) gare de Arashiyama. The line starts on Shijo avenue in Kyoto center at Shijo Omiya station (四条大宮), 22 minutes trip from Shijo Omiya, Y200 (around 1.5 Euros).

Access Mimurodo-Ji temple : 京都府宇治市菟道滋賀谷21Todo, Uji-shi, Kyoto. Entrance fee Y500, 5 minutes walk from Mimurodo station on Keihan Uji line (京阪宇治線), with a transfer at Chushojima (中書島) from Kyoto or Osaka. From the station, take the road crossing the keihan line just in front of the station exit and heading for the mountains.

Japanese weather forecast sites propose a red leaf forecast service. Yahoo Japan’s site is : http://kouyou.yahoo.co.jp/. Similarly to cherry blossoms, the peak time moves from north to south. In northern Japan, the best colors can be seen from mid-october, while in Kyoto or Tokyo, the best time is at the end of November.

Shitamachi, Tokyo low town

2008-11-13T21:33:00.000+01:00

While the hills of the Yamanote (山手) area were housing the Japanese noblemen during the Edo era (16th to 18th century), the plain in the north of Tokyo (東京) was the heart of the plebeian city. Shitamachi (下町), literally “low town” was originally used to designate Nihonbashi (日本橋), Ginza (銀座) and Ueno (上野), but the word now refers to all neighborhoods north of a Shinjuku (新宿) – Ginza (銀座) line. Other cities in Japan also imported the name to designate similarly working class areas. Only a few minutes walk from a subway station is enough to leave trendy and noisy modern Tokyo and dive into those delightful quiet and outmoded area, a perfect cure to the hustle and bustle of the metropolis.

Shitamachi does not offer spectacular tourist sights, but untouched islands of traditional Japanese town with their chaos of small houses often decorated with a few flowerpots. Shops are often as out of fashion as their aging owners. Between the houses, some warehouses and cottage industries are still open for business. The population is usually quite old: most young people overlook those areas as they do not offer all the facilities of modern life despite a far better location than most residential suburbs. A walk in those areas offers a rare glimpse of postwar Japan, a frugal era where the country was not the economic powerhouse it is today. The small size of the houses and cheap layout of the stores is a good reminder of the frugal life of the postwar generation now in retirement. The most pleasant is to walk randomly in the streets. A compass can come in handy to follow a given direction and find back, after a few minutes walk, a major avenue.

An interesting walk starts in Iidabashi (飯田橋). While our goal is to visit the « low city », we will first walk uphill on Kagurazaka street (神楽坂); a quite trendy area in Tokyo, with some kind of French touch. If you feel in adventurous mood, the nearby alleys are certainly worth a visit. After two left turns, we will take on our right the “Waseda Dori” (早稲田通り) avenue, walk in front of the Kagurazaka subway station and continue for around half an hour in this quiet area of Tokyo. Just after the Waseda subway station, we will reach the campus of the most famous Japanese private university: Waseda Daigaku (早稲田大学). It has an excellent academic level, but, just like for American universities, it is also possible for the sons of the rich and famous to enter if they follow the expensive private lessons offered by the university from primary school. At the Nishi-Waseda (西早稲田) crossing, we will turn right and head north to our first objective: the final station of the streetcar Arakawa line (荒川線). This being a post in my blog, you were probably expecting some kind of railway to pop-up and you were right.

This venerable line is one of the two survivors of the streetcars of Tokyo (the other is the Setagaya line). It goes through many low-key areas that are not well deserved by other public transport means. You will need 50 minutes to ride the 13 kilometers of the line going north-westward to the Minowabashi (三ノ輪橋) terminal. This is an excellent way to discover areas that are not mentioned in any tourist guide. On the way, you may want to stop at Otsuka (大塚), and from there visit Sugamo (巣鴨), the shopping center of elderly people, just a train station away. The Rikugien park (六義園) is worth a short stop, as is the surprising Kyu-Furukawa-Teien (旧古河庭園), a surprising upper-class mansion in this otherwise working class neighbourhood. It is worth riding the streetcar up to the terminal station, which has an interesting architecture. Nearby covered streets have a feeling of small-town Japan. Let’s hope this streetcar, who is in competition with the more modern « Fukutoshin » (副都心) and « Nippori – Tonari Liner » (日暮里舎人ライナー) transit systems opened recently will not be retired. Minowabashi is also close to the famous “slum” of Sanya (山谷), which is not a recommended place to go for a walk. Eldery and poor daily workers, almost exclusively males, often working on construction sites, are living there. Contrary to the working class but socially integrated inhabitants of Shitamachi, they may not appreciate your visit.

After a ride on the subway, we are back in Ueno (上野), the most « working class » of the major urban centers in Tokyo. It used to be the arrival station for immigrants from poor areas in the Tohoku region (North East of Japan). It is famous for its park, which contains, in addition to the very nice National Museum, a small Shitamchi Museum. It is close to the south-eastern end of the Ueno pond, just nearby the Keisei (京成) train terminal. From Ueno, it is very pleasant to walk to Yanaka (谷中). To reach it, we will go back to the far end of the Uneo Park, and turn left on the street crossing the park just in front the National Museum. This street goes to the Yanaka cemetery, crossing through one of the quiestest areas in town. It is easy then to reach the Nippori station, and enjoy the small shops of the “Yanaka Ginza” street.

From Ueno, it is only a short trip to Kappabashi (合羽橋). This is a cluster of kitchen ustensil shops, the ideal place to find original or rare kitchen wares. Most shops were built decades ago and are worth a visit even if you do not wish to buy anything. The nearby area has been urbanized for a long time, but is still very “working class”.

Other neighbourhoods are also worth a random walk in the streets. Hongo (本郷) is a quiet oasis just behind the Tokyo Dome. It is also close to Tokyo University campus, that can be reached by a pleasant walk northward. The area east of the campus, just across Hongo-Dori avenue is well preserved, and there are still 3 storeys wooden appartments there, including the famous Hongo-Kan (本郷館, just nearby the address Hongo 6-20本郷6丁目20). Nezu (根津) is also worth a visit. The commercial street follows a small valley and will lead you directly to Nishi-Nippori (西日暮里).

While this is a little bit off-track, the Edo-Tokyo museum is also interesting. The building has a shape that reminds of a dinosaur or some star wars vehicules, but its exhibitions on urban life in the city centuries agowill pleasantly complete a walk in Shitamachi.

Practical Information

The areas presented in this story are certainly worth more than a day of visit.

Shitamachi Museum (下町風俗資料館): 2-1 Ueno Koen, Tokyo, 〒110-0007
台東区上野公園2番1号, : Y300, open every day except Monday and on the new Year, Tel : +81 3 3823 7451, Japanese site. Just nearby Uneo station (JR Yamanote et subway Hibiya (日比谷線) & Ginza (銀座線) lines)

Edo-Tokyo Museum (江戸東京博物館): 1-4-1 Yokoami, Sumida-ku, Tokyo 130-0015, Tel 03-3626-9974, open every day except Monday from 9.30am to 5.30pm et up to 7.30pm on saturday. Entrance fee : Y600. Volonteer guides propose interesting guided visits, and speak a variety of languages. Access by JR Sobu line (総武線) et par subway Oedo line (大江戸線), Ryogoku station (両国), English site.

Toden Arakawasen (都電荒川線) Flat fare : Y160, departures from Waseda (早稲田) or Minowabashi (三ノ輪橋) from 6am to around 11pm, one train every 5 or 6 minutes on peak hours, japanese site. Access to Minowabashi by the Hibiya subway line (日比谷線), Minowa (三ノ輪) station.

Rikugien Park (六義園): Bunkyo-ku, Hon-Komagome, Rokuchome 〒113-0021文京区本駒込六丁目, Open from 9am à 5pm (last entrance 4.30pm), closed between December 29th and January 1st., Entrance fee : Y300. japanese site.Close to JR Yamanote Sugamo and Komagome station, the latter also reachable by the subway Nanboku line.

Kyu-FurukawaTeien Park (旧古河庭園): Nishigahara Ichome, kita-ku, Tokyo 〒114-0024北区西ヶ原一丁目Open from 9am à 5pm (last entrance 4.30pm), closed between December 29th and January 1st., entrance fee : Y150. Japanese site. Close to Komagome and Nishigaoka stations (subway Nanboku line).

A day in Osaka

2008-09-21T22:35:00.000+02:00

Modern Japan is definitely a materialistic society, and Osaka metropolis (大阪) is leading this trend. This is the least one can expect from a town where the traditional greeting, now slightly out-of-date, is « Mokarimakka ». An approximate translation would be « How is business? » or « Did you make any money today ? », a refreshing sincerity I found elsewhere only recently in a surprising greeting card wishing me “Big bucks and a good health” for the new Year. Osaka was, for the most of Japanese history, the economic center of the country. More than the great rival and more recently urbanized Tokyo (東京) with its villages and parks, Osaka is the quintessential Japanese town, vibrant, noisy, and very likeable.

For French or English people, the rivalry between Tokyo and Osaka regions is hard to imagine. There are of course sports duels between the baseball teams: Yomiuri Giants (読売巨人) in Tokyo and Hanshin Tigers (阪神タイガー). There is also a gap in behaviors between the exuberant Kansai dwellers, always ready to make an exhibition of themselves, and Tokyo people remaining aloof in all circumstances. The Tantei Knight Scoop (探偵ナイトスクープ) television show produced in the Kansai region is amongst the best examples of the inhabitants taste for making fun of themselves. The region also has its special Japanese dialect, Kansai-ben, quite distinct from the Edo dialect that became standard Japanese. You will be called “Aho” in Osaka, whereas you would be a “baka” in Tokyo, both words used to mean you are a fool. There are enough distinct words so that, in addition to the colorful accent, Kansai-ben can be immediately distinguished from standard Japanese.

Osaka is at the heart of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto (京阪神) region, with 18 millions inhabitants on an equivalent area to Greater Paris, with 2.6 million inhabitants in the downtown area. Called “Yamato” in the past, this plain was at the heart of Japanese history until the Shogunate moved the country administrative center to Tokyo in the 17th century. Osaka, formerly called Naniwa (難波) was even the Japanese capital in early times. The giant keyhole-shaped grave of the Emperor Nintoku (仁徳天皇, 4th century), in Sakai is one of the most impressive remains of its early history. Osaka is not only a giant warehouse, it is the birthplace of bunraku (文楽), a traditional puppet show, and had a major role in Kabuki history.

More recently, economic rivalry with Tokyo is found in the competition between Matsushita (松下, owner of Panasonic and National brands), headquartered in Osaka, and Sony, a company from the south of Tokyo. Osaka is also home to Sanyo, Sharp, Suntory, Daijin, Mizuno, and Zojirushi to quote only household names. This sounds impressive, but this very industrial city suffered a lot in the 90s crisis. The city is still considered as a place which enjoys good food: Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き), Takoyaki (たこ焼) and Udon (うどん) are amongst the most famous local delicacies. We will conclude this short overview of Kansai, by mentioning that the region mainly developped around the private local trains lines, with a final result quite as convenient as the one in Tokyo.

A walk in Osaka can start in Umeda, the modern area around Osaka station. North of Osaka is the shopping center, with branches of the main Japanese department stores. In the south is the business district with modern buildings. It is a pleasant walk to Namba (難波), the heart of the city, with a few buildings dating back early 20th century. The branch of the Bank of Japan has the neo-classical style so common in Japanese government buildings, and the headquarters of Osaka Gas (大阪ガス) company, in the south, is a nice piece of 1930 architecture. The area west of the pleasant tree-lined Midosuji (御堂筋) avenue, is the most interesting.

Namba is the vibrant center of Osaka, spreading along the Dotonbori (道頓堀) River. With its original giant signs, such as the famous giant crab, this is a concentrate of Japanese consumer society, and also a convenient and very interesting shopping area. Its covered streets give it an air of provincial Japan, It is historically the entertainment center of Osaka, and used to house many kabuki theaters.

This short tour of the city could end in Tsutenkaku (通天閣), a metallic tower built in 1956 and sponsored by Hitachi. The site hosted a replica of the Eiffel tower destroyed during the war. A few minutes walk from the Ebisucho mae(恵美須町駅) subway station, this is a representative piece of «Showa» architecture, from the name of the post-war emperor. After a few years in Japan, many people enjoy the quaint atmosphere of this style mixing concrete and metal.

A tour of Osaka can be completed by a visit to Universal studio Japan, and also the superb aquarium (Kaiyukan, 海遊館). Osaka is also a good base to visit the neighboring historical towns of Kyoto and Nara(奈良), especially during Japanese Obon and Golden Week holidays, where accommodation is almost impossible to find in Kyoto, but most “Business hotels” in Osaka will be almost empty.

Practical Information

Access to Osaka : direct flights from Paris with Airfrance (1 daily flight) and most European cities. « Open jaw » tickets (onward flight to Osaka, return through Tokyo) can be very handy, and often cost no more than a regular return ticket.

Access from Tokyo: Tokaido Shinkansen Nozomi : 2h36min, 14,050 Yens, Hikari 3h07, 13750 Yens

Access to Kyoto : Keihan line (京阪線) from Yodoyabashi (淀屋橋to Keihan Sanjo (京阪三条) (51 minutes, 400 Yens), or JR line from Osaka station to Kyoto (less convenient).

Access to aquarium: Chuo-sen subway line, 7 minutes from Honcho station to Osaka Ko. transfer from the JR Loop line to Chuo line at Bentencho ou Morinomiya stations. Open from 10am to 8pm, entry Y2000 for adults. More details on http://www.kaiyukan.com/eng/info/index.htm.

Access to Universal Studio Japan: JR Yumesakiゆめ咲線 line, Exit at « JR Universal City », 5 minutes from Nishikujo station on the JR Osaka look lne (大阪環状線). More details on http://www.usj.co.jp/e/.

10 years in Japan

2008-09-07T22:47:00.000+02:00

I went back to my parent’s home this summer and found there in a bookcase an old and dusty Tokyo guidebook dating back 1995. I bought it for my first trip to Japan as a student during 1998 summer, exactly 10 years ago. Since then, except for one single year, I have been always coming back in the country. I had been working there for three years, and I now have personal reasons to go back often. A decade is a significant time interval, around the fifth of a healthy human adult life. The world and Japan certainly changed in this decade, but probably less than many people think. On a personal level, I believe I grew up a lot during that time in my opinion and my understanding of Japan.

1998 was the year of the perfect football game for all French fans, and probably the only time since the end of WWII that you could see all people in Paris smiling. The Lewinsky affair was all the rage, happier times where all that the American president was blamed for was an inappropriate conduct with an intern. A financial crisis was spreading from Russia and South Asia to the wider world. The reasons changed, but financial issues still made the headlines this year. In this decade, the rise of big emerging countries continued, with China forecasted to be the 3rd economic power this year up from the seventh ranking a decade ago.

A significant change to daily life became clear to me while searching for pictures to illustrate this story. On my first trip to Japan 10 years ago, I briefly played with a prototype digital camera with a resolution barely sufficient for small format printing. Today, digital photography is all the rage, and it is even hard to buy a film camera. Some people think that colors were more beautiful on film, and they may even be right. Our readers may form their own opinion by comparing pictures of this story, shot with a film camera, with the pictures on other storied, all shot whit digital camera. Anyways, film pictures were not so convenient, as they were expensive to process, inconvenient to store, and could only be shared by sending a physical copy. Digital pictures can be immediately viewed and shared at no cost through a computer. The switch to digital photography was fast, and companies had to adapt quickly. One French picture processing shop chain has transformed itself into a mobile phone retailer chain, with a small counter at the back of the shop, or even sometimes underground, for extravagant people still wishing to process film or print pictures.

Innovation ideologues may not like it, but digital photography is a rare example of a technological revolution happening in less than a decade. A sector of direct interest to travelers, aviation, continued its slow evolution, with prices mostly stable during the period. The cheapest direct flight to Japan from Paris now costs between 900 and 1000 Euros, slightly more than ten years ago. I remembered buying a ticket around 5500 French francs, now 833 Euros, on ANA in 1998. Flights are slightly more pleasant now, with modern A330/340 and B777 rolled into service, and on-line entertainment much more developed with games and video-on-demand. Old B747 sometimes only had basic earphones and a shared TV hanging from the cabin ceiling with a single program. However, the most important feature of air travel, flight time, did not change at all, and will probably not for the foreseeable future.

Many Internet services were already existing at the time of my first trip to Japan: e-mail, forums (then called newsgroup), and the web, which was much more confidential. It was the realm of universities and geeks; most sites had a very bad taste design with useless animations, awful background textures and poorly chosen fonts. The web is now a much more popular place, layout and design has been vastly improved, maybe thanks to the many women now using it. The biggest change on the internet is probably Google, the famous search engine (and host to this site), who was just starting then. By providing an efficient search on the web, Google allowed anyone to access the information put on the internet by millions of anonymous contributors, which is very powerful. I found out thanks to Google about a dedicated « Ni-Channel » thread badmouthing about the project I was working on. This ease of search encouraged the development of forums and personal sites that publish freely available information of mostly high quality. This is a precious help for the traveler: 10 years ago, you only had your guidebooks and tips from friends to prepare your journey: you would have been very lucky to find information on a specific destination if it was not a major sight. Today, almost any specific question can be answered on an internet forum, and on any topic, you will probably find, in addition to the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, a few personal sites or blogs.

Internet also gives expats timely access to local news: when I was living in Japan three years ago, I could watch the training sessions of my favorite football team; and I was escaping my headaches as a manager in Japan by watching Juninho, Fred and Tiago (major players of my hometown team Lyon) scoring in the UEFA Champions League. During my first trip, it was probably possible to find about football results on the Internet, but it was much more difficult. I remember getting French news by practicing "Tachiyomi" (立ち読み), the Japanese custom of reading while standing in bookstores, on French newspapers. Modern Internet also means free international phone. A few hours of conversation with the folks back home can go a long way in keeping sanity while living abroad for a long time. Do people even remember a call to Japan used to cost around 70 Euro cents a minute?

In the late nineties, Japanese electronic stores were still selling the PC9800, a Japanese computer system developed by NEC and similar to the IBM/Microsoft PC platform, but with distinct hardware and software, and, to be honest, some improvements on the standard IBM spec. This was probably one of the last remnants of an ambitious era where Japan thought it could build everything by itself. This euphoria stopped with the bursting of the financial and real-estate bubble in 1989. In 1998, the country was still in its “lost decade”, with a sluggish economy. After claiming that Japan was on the verge of conquering the world in the eighties, our brilliant thinkers now saw Japan as a sick economy in terminal phase, with homeless tents in Japanese cities a preview of the 21st century favelas. 10 years later, the country has become a quite standard developed country with a purchasing power comparable to major European countries, while still keeping its very distinct way of doing business. On one side of the economic range, Toyota is probably the best car manufacturer in the world, and Japan manufacturing is still performing very well: Casio, Nikon, Yamaha and Sony, to name only a few companies selling consumer goods, are still setting the standards in their respective industries. On the other side, some financial transactions are only performed by foreign banks in Tokyo with no local player able to compete. Overall, the trend of the last years was an improvement in the economic conditions: it is easier for young graduates to find a job, and homeless people tents are a rarer sight on cities.

Japanese cities were significantly improved during those ten years. Tokyo prefecture (東京都, 12 millions d’habitants) has built more than 80 kilometers of entirely new, and mainly underground railway lines. As a comparison, greater Paris (10 million inhabitants) has seen only 30 kilometers of new lines, and this is a generous estimation, as more than half is actually tramway some of it built on existing rail lines. Tokyo skyline also changed a lot, with several new towers including offices, hotels, and shops. The last ten years saw the major projects of Roppongi Hills (Roppongi), Tokyo Mid-town (Akasaka) and Maru-Biru (Marunouchi), in addition to the Shiodome area near Shinbashi, where 13 new towers were built. In the same time, Paris office district “La Défense” only saw 10 new and far smaller towers (around 68.000 sq.m for “Tour Granite” in La Defense whereas the Roppongi Hills have 380.000 sq.m of office space). Tokyo is, much more than Paris, a still evolving city, with infrastructure being significantly improved, larger flats and less crowded public transport: I was surprised to learn that the average house size in Tokyo was larger than the one in Paris. Of course, Tokyo’s large urban projects have a cost, and certainly contribute to Japan debt. Another dark side is that Real-Estate is also no long time investment in Tokyo, as a flat bought by a young couple is almost worth nothing when they retire: a tragedy for middle-class Japanese people who cannot build-up savings.

When I first came to Japan, I was completely fascinated by an idealized image of the country tradition, full of bushido (武士道, Japanese chivalry code), wooden temples and Zen gardens. I was so enthusiastic I even read the whole of “Genji Monogatari”, the first Japanese novel, a quite lengthy story. I was spending most of my idle time watching Japanese historical dramas on TV, although I did not understand anything, just because I liked the atmosphere. I considered Japanese-western cuisine from Tonkatsus (豚カツ) to Omurice (オムライス) as a treason. It is only later that I authorized in my mind Japan to be also a modern country. If most French people going to Japan start with “mangas”, those very diverse Japanese comics, but the end-result is about the same: while in Europe, we know only about a bit of Japanese life, and tend to idealize it: during the first trip, we try to make the reality match with our dreams. It takes a while to realize that Japan is a complete society, with university teachers and their worn jackets, skin-tanned surfers, and ordinary retired people.

My opinion on Japan went through ups and downs. I was first completely fascinated by the country, and I would find a hidden truth and outstanding aesthetics even in a toothpaste commercial. I was sure I found the Promised Land, and I was going to settle there to live in a brave new world of politeness, tolerance and harmony. This probably lasted one year and the time of two trips. My integration dreams were broken when I realized the country does not offer that many opportunities for ambitious young westerners, especially the ones not speaking fluent Japanese. I do not blame Japanese people for that, as integration of « gaijins » (外人) in Japanese companies is often difficult, and to be fair, most westerners are not ready to adapt enough to Japan. So in the following years, my opinion on Japan sank, this contempt being largely fed by Anglo Saxon media uncompromising, and sometimes unfair, coverage of the country. By the virtue of speaking English and having escaped the Japanese education system, I thought I could solve all the issues the country was facing, from digestive troubles caused by the lack of vegetables in Japan food to banks saddled with bad debt. This sounds like very naïve, but a surprising number of expats in Japan have this attitude. I think my relation became more balanced when I took a though decision two years ago: my career in Japan was in a dead-end, and my frustration ran very high, so I decided to leave the country to come back only later on favorable terms. I also stopped thinking I could blend completely into Japanese society. Even when I come back to Japan now, I do not try to mimic the typical Japanese behavior, but I keep some of my European identity. This helped me a lot to stand back. I also escaped some common paranoia of foreign residents who see racism at the slightest weird glance in the train.

On a more pleasant topic, my opinion on Japanese ladies also changed a lot during the decade: I found most Japanese ladies absolutely fascinating, and beautiful in my first trip. This was probably due to my general enthusiasm for the country, but also of the time and effort Japanese ladies put on their clothes and make-up. With time, I got used to this, and my opinion is now that Paris and Tokyo are quite comparable, and more elegant than most cities, with perhaps a slight advantage to Paris girls for their style. I apologize to my women readers that I am not able to judge Japanese males: the only information I have comes from a female European friend who was very critical of Japanese males when she came to Japan, but then threw her life in a mess for a hopeless relationship with a Japanese man. I do not know what to make out of this story.

My adventures in the far East certainly changed my behavior. I am now able to take part in most Japanese conversations, but speaking Japanese does not mean being able to read it. I was quite busy during my stays in Japan, and I could not spend enough time studying kanjis, Chinese characters used to write most words: reading a newspaper is still painfully difficult for me. Being half illiterate did not prevent me from enjoying the very fine food and traditional arts that Japan probably preserved better than most countries: my stay there certainly contributed to refine my taste for the beautiful and the delicious. A long-term stay in Japan also made me much more demanding on quality of service: I now show more often that I am disappointed when I think I am poorly treated. Tokyo is at the center of a 30 millions inhabitant metropolis. If I appreciate the atmosphere of European cities, I find most of them, even Paris, quite sleepy in comparison: you would need to choose carefully where you go out in Paris if you wish to find people in the streets on a Sunday evening. Many services are subsidized in France, and taken for granted. In Japan most of them are billed at the true cost: education, health, public transport, leisure or sports. Paying also means appreciating things for their true value, and my trip in Japan helped me appreciate all the small pleasures of everyday life in a developed country.

A stay in a big Asian country with no ancient historical link to Europe is an excellent way to avoid racism and ethnocentrism: one can have a colored skin, no knowledge of Christian religion or ancient Roman and Greek culture, and still be refined and modern: this is a self-evident truth for anyone who knows World history, but it is certainly better to feel it through everyday life than in a book. I was also surprised how many people have a different opinion. If there are great countries of each I had been working several months in a very tense atmosphere between westerners and Japanese, this was a great lesson on the way to manage different national cultures, and I was able to apply my Japanese experience to other tense situations, with some success so far.

If I assess those 10 years with Japan inside of my life, I had a very positive and fulfilling experience, even if it was sometimes a rough ride. I tried to write a realistic account which may be useful for those who also want to start their own “Japanese journey”.

Appendix

List of the 80km of new railways entering service between 1998 and 2008 in Tokyo Prefecture:

South section of the subway Nanboku line (from yotsuya to Meguro, 8km)

Sourthern extension of the Subway Mita line from Mita to Meguro (4 km)

Fukutoshin subway line from Ikebukuro to Shibuya (9.9 km)

Nippori-Toneri liner (9.9 km of elevated tracks)

Ooedo line (from Nerima to Tocho-mae), 40.9 km
Tsukuba Express railway line (15 km inside Tokyo prefecture)

List of 30 kilomètres of new tracks entering between 1998 and 2008 in Greater Paris :

Subway line 14 (7.5 km) from Madeleine to Bibliothèque

Extension of Subway line 13 (Gabriel Péri to Courtilles, 2 km)

Suburban train RER E (new tracks from Hausmann Saint-Lazare to Gare de l’Est, around 5 km

Suburban train RER E (new tracks from Hausmann Saint-Lazare to Gare de l’Est, around 5 km

Central Tokyo

2008-08-28T23:55:00.002+02:00

On a first trip to Tokyo (東京), visitors often look for « downtown » around the great suburban rail terminals of Shibuya (渋谷) and Shinjuku (新宿), or even in the “Foreigner Ghetto” in Roppongi (六本木). While those are lively areas, they were only recently urbanized. Akasaka would deserve more to be called “Central Tokyo”, but It is around Tokyo stations and the Imperial palace that the oldest and most prestigious areas can be found, with a wide range of atmospheres and architecture. The area deserves two visits: one when Japanese office workers are present on weekdays, and another on Sunday, when the roads are closed to traffic and given back to pedestrian and cyclists.

We will start our walk by late afternoon at Sakuradamon (桜田門) station. It is just south of the huge moats of the Imperial Palace (皇居). The pine forest can take southern Europe colors at sunset. On the other side is the administrative district of Kasumigaseki (霞ヶ関), home to the Japanese government. The old building of the Ministry of Justice (債務所) was built in 1895 by German architects (Boeckmann et Ende) and restored after the war. It is just across the crossroad from Sakuradamon and is now used as the ministry training center. There are other buildings in red brick « London Style »: Tokyo station and its «Classic Hotel» and the « Tokyo Bankers Club » (東京銀行協会) Building. The original front of the building was kept, while a modern office tower was built above. The area around the « Bankers Club » is called Otemachi (大手町). It gathers most Japanese press headquarters since 1957, where the land was freed by the government move to Kasumigaseki.

From Sakuradamon, Otemachi can be reached by crossing the Palace Outer Gardens (皇居外苑). The main luxury of this park is the indecently wide area in a town as crowded as Tokyo. It is the most impressive just before sunset. To have a complete view of parks in the area, we can also walk through the Hibiya Park (日比谷公園), a miniature of New York Central Park, also surrounded by high buildings.

The business center of Marunochi is located north of the Hibiya Park and south of Otemachi. The word means “inside the castle fortifications”, and is used to designate areas in most town that possessed a castle. Many banks and traditional Japanese companies are headquartered in this Tokyo district. It is the area downtown with the best access to public transport: 11 out of 14 subway lines in Tokyo have a station in the areas described in this story, all enclosed in a square kilometer, there are also very convenient connections to the northern, southern and western suburbs, and fast transport links to Tokyo two commercial airports. Architecture is uncluttered, and square: Neon light and billboards, so common in other districts, are completely missing here. The atmosphere is definitely snobbish; there is even an expression for the female office employees of the area, famous for their classical and elegant style: “Marunouchi OL”. “OL” or “Office Ladies” are the female employees performing clerical work, with sometimes much more responsibility than their title imply.

If the district was the most distinguished address for an office in the city, it had a quaint and boring image and until the mid 90s. Since a revitalization plan was launched in 1996, new buildings such as the “Marunouchi Building », nicknamed « Marubiru » (丸ビル) were launched. Similarly to all new towers built in Tokyo, they gather office space, restaurants and shops. So the streets are not anymore the realm of « salarymen », male japanese employees of large established companies usually wearing a dark suit, a white shirt and a necktime with colors that can go as exuberant as marine blue or grey : their skin sometimes has a tan called sakeyake (酒焼け), meaning « alcohol-tanned », a consequence of decades of after-work drinking with colleagues.

Most lively areas in Toyko have their International Top-End Hotel, from the « Park-Hyatt » Hotel in Shinjuku that got famous thanks to « Lost in Translation » to the « Ritz-Carton Tokyo » in the brand new « Tokyo Mid Town » Tower in Akasaka. Marunouchi also got one recently when the “Peninsula Hotel”, the famous chain from Hong-Kong built a branch near Yurakucho. The famous « Imperial Hotel » (帝国ホテル), one amongst the three traditional great hotels in Tokyo (the others being the Okura and New Otani) is also located in Marunouchi. I personally often prefer the relaxing atmosphere of those typically Japanese establishments to their more trendy successors, especially considering the facts those traditional hotels are often much more affordable.

We will now go south of Marunouchi around the Yurakucho (有楽町) station. Tokyo International Forum (東京国際フォ－ラム) is a modern conference center, with a shape that reminds a boat hull, and is certainly worth a visit. If you wish to buy electronics, the « Big Camera » (ビックカメラ) shop nearby the station is as convenient as going to the Akihabara (秋葉原) Electric town. Yurakucho also has another face, with the small down-to-earth Yakitori (焼鳥) restaurants where skewered chicken can be enjoyed while drinking alcohol. Most of them are located under the railway archs south. The atmosphere is much warmer there than upstairs in the offices. There are also small ambulant “Oden” restaurants (a Japanese pot dish) with no more than 2 or 3 seats, and plastic sheets as walls. Office workers and bureaucrats enjoy there the contrast with their luxurious, but probably impersonal offices.

On the other side of the railway is the Ginza (銀座) “silver mint” area, a reference to mint workshops that were located there during the Edo area. This is traditionally the luxury and fashion district, with plenty of department stores. Mitsukoshi (三越) and Wako (和光) are located near the intersection of Chuo Dori (中央通り) and Arumi Dori (晴海通り). This crossing is the center of Ginza, the place where postcard pictures are taken. There are also company showrooms, Sony’s one being located near the Sukiyabashi (数奇屋橋) crossing.

After dawn, the area located nearby Shinbashi in the southern part if Ginza gathers the smartest hostesses of the city. They are easily recognized as the only ladies to be wear evening dress. Westerners do not usually understand Tokyo hostess bars, where businessmen and bureaucrats have drinks with beautiful young ladies who listen patiently and empathize with their trouble and worries, without offering more intimate services. The best hostesses take their jobs very seriously, and regularly read about finance and business to be ensure they have an interesting discussion with their guest. Discussing sub-primes or hybrid engines with a beautiful young lady is certainly a subtle pleasure worth the very expensive fees of those establishments.

Ginza is also a great place to find second hand cameras and eat sushis (寿司), as the Tsukiji (築地) fish market is only a few blocks away. Following some abusive behaviour by tourists, they cannot go freely anywhere anymore, but the atmosphere is worth getting up early. The market will move to the artificial island in Toyosu in 2012, and many people think the unique atmosphere will disappear with the old market, and certainly most of small merchants who may not afford the new fees will also do the same.

The business center of Shinbashi (新橋), south of Ginza, has developed around the oldest station in Tokyo. It had a quaint image until a fret terminal nearby was redeveloped in a modern office center called Shiodome (汐留). Some sights of this compact area could easily be recycled in a SF movie. The contrast with the old warehouses of nearby Tsukiji bursting with people is impressive. Our walk in Central Tokyo ends here. We will propose in further articles other highlights on the many interesting areas of this endless city.

Suggestions for a meal or a drink

Tsubakiya CoffeeTokyo, Chuo-ku, Ginza 7-7-11 Sugawara Denki Building 2-3F, 東京都中央区銀座7-7-11菅原電気ビル2・3F, tel : 03-3572-4949, open from 10am to 4.30am on weekdays, and from 10am to 11pm on Saturday and Sundays: a quite expensive coffee shop but one of the best places to watch people in Ginza. Coffee from Yen 880 (5.50 Euros), lunch sets from Yen 1100 (6.8 Euros). From Shinbashi, go northward on the Chuo-Dori and turn left on the first small street after crossing the elevated motorway. The shop is fifty meters away on the right side of the street(http://www.tsubakiya-coffee.com/)

Ginza Rengatei (煉瓦亭) 東京都中央区銀座3－5－16 Ginza, Chuo-Ku Tokyo, tel : 03-3561-7258,open from 11:15 to 14:15 (last order), and from 4:40pm à 8:30pm (last order) on weekdays, and from 11:15 to 14:15 (last order), and from 4:40pm to 8:00pm (last order) : one of the best places in Tokyo to experience Japanese “western” cuisine, including Deep Fried Pork cutlets (カツレツ from Yen 1200 – 7.50 Euros) Japanese Style steaks and Home Rice (オムライス, from Yen 1250 – 7.80 Euros). The restaurant is on a block opposite the Matsuya (松屋) department store, in a small street parallel to the Chuo Dori.

Lounge Faro ShiseidoShiseido (ファロ資生堂)　東京都中央区銀座8丁目8-3東京銀座資生堂ビル１１Ｆ, Tel : 03-3572-3922, open from 11:30am 11:00pm from Monday to Saturday, and from 11:30am to 6:00pm on holidays. A trendy coffee shop with a futuristic white decoration, and a superb view on Ginza, on the last floor of the Shiseido showroom. It is a nice place for a pleasant lunch or afternoon tea (sweet and hot drink set Yen 1500 –9.30 Euros ). The Shiseido Parlour (資生堂パーラー) on the fourth floor is one of the more emblematic places in Ginza, probably the only place in the city with curry rice costing more than Yen 10.000.(http://www.shiseido.co.jp/faro/). Located on Chuo-Dori avenue south of Ginza near Shinbashi

Umai Sushi-Kan Kan (うまい鮨勘), Floor B2 (underground), Karetta Shiodome 1-8-2, Higashi Shinbashi, Minato-Ku, Tokyo〒105-7090 東京都港区東新橋1-8-2 カレッタ汐留B2. This branch of the Umai Sushi-Kan chain has sushis sets from Yen 1500 (9.30 Euros) to Yen 3000 (18.60 Euros) per person. Open from 11ham to 11pm on weekdays, and from 11am to 10pm on holidays (http://www.sushikan.co.jp/)

It is a good idea to look for a restaurant on Yahoo Gourmet http://gourmet.yahoo.co.jp/ or Gunavi http://www.gnavi.co.jp/ (Japanese language site). Restaurants go quickly out of fashion in Tokyo, so it is better to get updated regularly.

Japanese guests in Europe

2008-08-27T13:40:00.000+02:00

Last month story gave a few pieces of advice to westerners visiting Japan. I gathered in this story tips about the reverse situation: Japanese acquaintances coming to Europe for a personal or business trip. This is more delicate, as you are the host and responsible for the success of the visit: it is not enough just to be open-minded and adapt to the environment. This time, you have to take appropriate initiatives so that the stay of your guest is a success.

You probably have to organize a meal. You may hesitate between receiving them at your home or in a restaurant. Opening your house may be a way to show someone you already know that you consider him as a friend. If are living in the countryside, your friend may be impressed, and even embarrassed by the size of your garden, as flat land is very expensive in Japan even in remote areas. You may want to explain that it is not always expensive in Europe, where 10.000 square meters of agricultural land can often be bought for a few thousand euros.

With a Japanese person you are not intimate with, I believe a meal in a restaurant is preferable: Japanese people do not often invite for a meal at home as most apartments or houses are small, so your hosts may feel uneasy that they cannot return your invitation. As a general rule, it is better avoiding a Japanese restaurant, as offering a foreigner his own national food is considered bad taste. With a few exceptions, it is better to avoid foreign food, as large Japanese cities often have better foreign restaurants than most European cities. This is especially true for Italian and Chinese food. However, you may want to try an Indian restaurant in UK, or a North-African or Lebanese restaurant in France, as those are managed by natives from the country, and the food is authentic. If you know your host has already been in Europe for a few days, he may want his stomach to “have a rest” and eat a Japanese meal. If so, it is likely your host will drop a few hints. In that case, you will make a point of careful of choosing a true Japanese restaurant, not the sushi-Yakitori eatery at the street corner. Japanese Internet forums will have more information about the best places to enjoy a real Japanese meal. It may not be easy to find one in small cities though. In Paris, most of them cluster near “Rue Saint-Anne” nearby the Opera.

Japanese people are often gourmets, so you should choose a place with good food: you should stick to a reputable and well-known place, the kind that has been in the gastronomical guides for the last 30 years. This is preferable to the latest trendy restaurant where more emphasis is sometimes put on the decoration than on the food. Japanese people will appreciate restaurant rooms in old buildings, as this is very rare there. In France, “Brassseries” will do the trick: “La Coupole” or “Le Train Bleu” in Paris, “La Brasserie George” in Lyon or “La Brasserie des Beaux-Arts” in Toulouse.

If your hosts are eager to taste good food, they may not appreciate meals that is « too colourful » or with a too strong « taste ». They may not want to sample offal, but may stick to plain meat or fish. Most Japanese people do not eat raw oysters, which is unexpected in the country that invented “sashimi”. Meat with a strong taste like game, mutton or lamb may be too aggressive to some Japanese palates. Some Japanese people can barely survive without rice at each meal, so you may want to choose a restaurant where rice is served. Some Japanese people, especially men, do not enjoy wine, so it is better to choose a place where drinking beer is acceptable. Cheese may, or may not be, appreciated by Japanese people. You should not insist if your host abstains from eating them. Goat and cheep cheese may also be too smelly.

You shall book a table in advance, as it would be very unfortunate not to find a table when you arrive. If your host just arrived from Japan, you will have dinner as early as possible, as he will be tired by jet lag. He will not find it too early if you start eating at 7pm or even earlier, which is common in Japan. You will ensure that your host can come to the restaurant: the best would be to pick him at the hotel, or go directly with him from the office, as he may not feel at ease in English or the local language, and could be afraid of taking a taxi or the subway alone, especially on a first visit. If you cannot pick him, you may help him a lot just by booking a taxi and writing the address on a piece of paper, or buy a subway ticket and explain the trip to him. Once in the restaurant, you may have to explain the meals, as our chefs often use supposedly elegant but very obscure sentences for the meal names. You may also want to choose the meal for your guest, and check that your selection is OK for him. You will explain that meals are eaten one after another in most European countries, while everything is often put on the table at the same time in Japan. Meal size is usually smaller in Japan, so your guest may not be able to finish all the food presented to him even if he really enjoys it. Some Japanese men do not enjoy sweets, so you may want to ask your male hosts if they wish to finish the meal on a sweet flavor or only with a coffee. You will make sure the glass of your host is always full of wine, or order new pints of beers, and you may want to order some bottled water too.

The duty of a host is to ensure a pleasant conversation during the meal: if you know your guest has a hobby, you can start discussing it. You can also ask questions about Japan to show your interest of the country, or about your host family. You may want to explain briefly the history of the city you are in, and sights worth seeing during spare time. It is perfectly acceptable to speak about work, but this should not be the first topic to come in the conversation. Your host will probably speak-up his mind much more freely than in the office. Anyways, the most important thing is to let him speak, and not try to impress too much with your intelligence and your culture, which would be bad manner. You also express your opinions with some reserve, and accept that your interlocutor’s point of view, while different, may be as interesting as yours. In case you are inviting a person from the opposite sex for a business meal, I would strongly advise against ambiguous attitudes that can be understood as seduction. If you are interested anyways, you will probably impress much more by being slightly distant. You may want to know that in Japan, it is often the lady who shows her wish to go further by subtle hints in her speech and attitude.

A small personal present will be appreciated; it is common in Japan in many situations. You may want to offer a nice pen, or some find foods or alcohol. Do not be afraid of classic presents (Scotch whisky, Porto wine, foie-gras…), and put attention to the wrapping, which will be almost as important as the content. I believe you should avoid offering a necktie, but if you do, you should choose classical design and sober colors. A lady will always appreciate good jam or chocolate, but you should never offer perfume, as it is too personal a present, and some western perfumes do not match with Asian skins. At the end of the meal, you will not split the bill. You will excuse yourself for a moment and discreetly go to the counter to pay. Your Japanese guest will probably insist once or twice for paying, but you should refuse, and say that anyways, it was not that significant a present. After the meal, if your guest still has energy, you may want to have a glass with him in pleasant surroundings. This is what Japanese people call “Nijikai”, and is a privileged time for confidences. When you are finished, you should make sure your host can go back to the hotel by bringing him back or at least ordering him a taxi and explaining the address to the taxi driver.

You may have to organize some tourism for your Japanese acquaintances: they may want to see the most famous sights, and will likely be very well documented. Do not be surprised if they ask to see cute villages or small museums. They may also enjoy very much having a drink at a terrace, or visit a street market. You may also want to bring them to the countryside, where vast landscapes and animals will impress them. In any case, your hosts will want to bring back souvenirs for family, colleagues and friends. You should plan for a visit to the souvenir shop selling local craft or delicacies, with enough time to buy an appropriate gift for the impressive list of recipients they have in their mind.

This is the end of this small series on manners but also on the way to work with Japanese people. Those are of course general pieces of advices, but I believe they may come handy in most cases. Other people will have different experiences, and may offer slightly different recommendations. You should always seek different opinions when available, and in any case adapt to the context by using your common sense.

Tea, pinetrees by the sea and a great Volcano

2008-08-04T20:36:00.001+02:00

Located on the fertile Pacific coast of Japan, just midway between Tokyo and Nagoya, Shizuoka (静岡) is the nineteenth stage of the old Tokaido (東海道) road linking Edo (江戸, now Tokyo東京) to Kyoto(京都). Recent excavations have found a village with rice paddies on Toro (登呂) site, a sign that humans settled the site in early antiquity. More recently, the young Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川家康) was held as an hostage in Sunpu Castle (駿府城). He was to unify Japan later in his life, and retired in Sunpu after his abdication. Today, Shizuoka is a lively city worth visiting for its outstanding scenery and food.

With 700.000 people calling it home, Shizuoka ranks amongst the 20 first Japanese cities and is well served by modern transport. The shinkansen express service stops in the station every hour. The lively downtown area is just by the station, where department stores, offices and restaurant cluster. Sunpu castle ruins, now converted into a garden, are nearby. The regular Tokaido service stops in the trendy suburb of Kusanagi and in the port of Shimizu in addition to the main station. A small local train (Shizutetsu 静鉄) also links downtown (Shin-Shizuoka station 新静岡) to Shimizu (Shin-Shimizu station 新清水). The locals will tell you proudly that it is not the smallest train in Japan, as it is a genuine double track all along the 11 kilometers of the line, and there is a frequent service of up to one train every five minutes. The most famous industry in the city is toy manufacturing, with a tradition of wooden toy going back centuries ago. The town is home to Tamiya, the famous plastic model manufacturer.

Shizuoka is an interesting stop on the way from Kyoto to Tokyo. The city is built in an outstanding location, and the climate is said to be the warmer of mainland Japan. The town is bordered on the west side by the Abe-Kawa river (安倍川), and on the north side by the foothills of the southern Alps (南アルプス). Shizuoka was build around the Sunpu castle, just north of the station, unfortunately destroyed at the end of Meiji era. It is worth a walk to enjoy the beautiful traditional garden, and the fantastic view from the top of the Prefecture building (free access). One aisle and the main door of the castle were rebuilt in the traditional way, and the moats are well preserved. Shizuoka center ends on Nihon-Daira (日本平) foothills.

Nihon-Daira is classified amongst the hundred beautiful views of Japan (観光地百選). It is an undulating hill covered by forests with beautiful views of Mount-Fuji (富士山) and Shimizu port in the foreground. The famous volcano is only 20 kilometers away, which makes Shizuoka one of the best places to watch the mountain.

From the top of Nihon-Daira, a cable car goes to Kunozan Toshogu (久能山東照宮) shrine, just uphill from the shoreline. It was built just after the death of Tokugawa Ieyasu, in a colorful style close to the one of Nikko that blends well with the tropical vegetation. The shoreline road is a pleasant way to go to Shimizu. The natural port lays in the bay sheltered by the Miho peninsula (三保半島). The peninsula is famous for the superb pine-tree plantations by the beach at Miho-Matsubara (三保松原). It also offers beautiful views of Mount-Fuji. Shimizu harbor was pleasantly renovated around the “Dream Plaza”, a modern shopping center. From the port, ferries leave to Toi, a small port on the Izu Peninsula (伊豆半島).

Shizuoka area has one of the mildest climates in Japan and rich soil, so it can grow some of the best tea of Japan. Numerous hillside fields are located near the Abe-kawa banks and the Nihon-Zaka (日本坂) hill west of the city. Shimizu port has the most important tuna fishing fleet of Japan, and Yaizu (焼津) port, just west of the Abe-kawa is also an important fishing hub. Sushi restaurants in the city have no issue finding excellent supplies. There is even a sushi museum in the Shimizu “Dream Plaza”. The town is also producing tuna preserved in Miso. Suruga Bay ((駿河湾) is famous for its Sakura-Ebi (桜海老), tasty small shrimps that are often fried, but can also be made into crackers (sembe). They can be harvested in April and Novembeer. Shirasu, young shrimps with a strong taste, are also excellent. In early spring, from February to April, « Ichigo-gari » (苺狩り) can be enjoyed in the strawberry fields near the road between Nihon-Daira and the sea. This is an « all you can eat » formula where you pick the fruits directly on the tree in the field.

Ideally located, Shizuoka is an excellent location for a pleasant stop-over between the Hakone / Izu region and Nagoya. The arrival from Toi by ferry well be unforgettable by fine weather.

Practical Information

Access to Shizuoka by Tokaido Shinkansen Hikari service from Tokyo (1h03, Yen 6.380, 40 Euros), or Shin-Osaka (1h50, Yen 10.780, 67 Euros), 1 train every hour; by car : Tomei motorway, Exit at Shizuoka IC or Shimizu IC.

Access to Shimizu: by Tokaido line from Shizuoka station : 10 minutes, Yen 230 (1.40 Euros), by Shizutetsu line from Shin-Shizuoaka : 20 minutes, Yen 290 (1.80 Euros).

Access to Miho: Bus line 57/58 (Miho Yamanote Line, from Shizutetsu company) from Shimizu station or « Dream-Plaza », exit at « Miho-Matsubara Iriguchi (三保松原入り口) bus stop, one bus every 10 minutes.

Access to Nihon-Daira: line 42 (Nihondaira Line, from Shizutetsu company) from Shizuoka station (platform number 13), one bus every hour on week-end, 4 buses a day on week-days, exit on the last stop.

Access to Toro: line 10 (Ishida Kaigan line) from Shizuoka station (platform 4), exit at ToroIsekiIriguchi (登呂遺跡入口).

Nihondaira cable car (access to Kunosan-Toshogu shrine): one car every 15 minutes and 10 minutes on peak hour, return ticket Yen 900 (5.60 Euros), one-way for Yen 500 (3.10 Euros).

It is much more convenient, and often cheaper, to visit the region with a car.

Useful Links

Toshogu Shrine (http://www.toshogu.or.jp/)
Nihon-Daira Cablecar (http://www.shizutetsu.co.jp/park/guide.html#ropeway)
Shizutetsu bus company timetable (http://db.shizutetsu.co.jp/bus/)

An outstanding sushi restaurant in Shimizu: Suehiro Sushi (末廣鮨): lunch from Y2000 (13 Euros), dinner From Y8400 (53 Euros), telephone : +81.54-366-6083 (〒424-0815 静岡市清水区江尻東2-5-28), 5 minutes walk from Shimizu station, open from 11 :30 à 22 :00, closed on Wednesday.

Gentleman in Japan

2008-07-24T15:14:00.001+02:00

Japan has a well-deserved reputation of deep traditions and subtle social rules. Westerners on a private or business trip in the country are sometimes petrified by the possibility of committing an unforgivable offense. One should not worry, as Japanese are very tolerant of etiquette mistakes by foreigners. A basic knowledge of Japanese lifestyle will certainly help, but it is not necessary to master every etiquette rule. The most important is to show an open mindset and respect for the people you meet and the customs of your host country.

Manners aim at making social life easier by preventing avoidable personal conflicts and ensuring one does not become a nuisance for others. This starts with a clean body and appropriate appearance. My English teacher gave us a very useful piece of advice before a key oral examination: “take a shower in the morning, and wash your teeth before speaking in front of the jury”. This is especially true in Japan in summer, when the humid heat makes the crowd unbearable. It is also impolite to blow one’s nose in public, so you should head for the restrooms.

Dress should be adapted to the context. This should not be hard as Japanese people mostly wear western clothes. You should just remember that people usually dress-up more than in the west for office work and for ceremonies. A suit and a tie, preferably in plain color, will be perfectly suitable. “Casual Friday” is not enforced everywhere so you should enquire before bringing your jeans to the office. In universities and research labs, you may dress in cotton trousers and a shirt or a polo shirt. Between students or on week-ends, whatever clean clothes will be OK, but you may want to choose plain colours to blend more easily in the crowd.

Good manners start with abiding the rules, which are more seriously enforced than in some western countries. You should abstain from lighting a cigarette in a non smoking area, use your phone in a “silence” zone, cross at red lights or overtake other people while standing in a queue. If your Japanese acquaintances suggest that you respect a custom or a minor rule, you should show your flexibility by apologizing and abiding the rule, without challenging its soundness. By doing this, you will learn more on local customs. If you complain, your Japanese colleague will explain wearily that “This is the way things are done in Japan”, and you will feel uneasy. Abiding the rules is also compulsory in the only activity in daily life when one can kill at all time: driving. The “highway code” is the first book on good manners. You should be aware that in Japan, pedestrians and cyclists share the same space on the pavement. Both should be careful, and pedestrians should avoid sudden change of directions. Punctuality is key to good manners, especially in Japan when no tolerance is made for late arrivals, be it for business or a private appointment. You should build a realistic schedule that will allow you to be always right on time.

In all countries, a gentleman listens carefully. Many westerners have the habit of interrupting their counterparts to show they are smart by making an exciting comment. This is considered extremely bad manners in Japan, and in many other countries, so you should refrain from doing that. If you do not speak Japanese, you should be extremely patient while speaking English, as the locals may not feel comfortable communicating in a foreign language. You should ensure you speak slowly and clearly, while avoiding colloquial expressions that are often hard for foreigners to understand. You’d rather say “Rough estimate” than “Ball-Park figure”. Jokes are often poorly translated, so you should favor easy to-understand humour. Dirty jokes should be avoided at least when everybody is sober and ladies are present. Some foreigners develop an ‘almighty’ feeling in Japan, as they speak decent English, have blond hair, are praised by their Japanese colleagues and are taller than most people. If this happens, you should avoid bragging and being arrogant, as this is considered vulgar.

During private conversations, you should avoid discussing controversial topics at all cost, especially if you are convinced you are right. It is not very smart to discuss, even with close Japanese friends, about awful war crimes, Whale hunting, or some marginal and perverted local lifestyle, often inaccurately reported in western media. Even if your point of view was correct, nobody wants to be taught lessons by a foreigner. This is true in all countries, but especially here, as social harmony is praised. If you start discussing such as topic, you will mostly create an embarrassed silence. But some people may start an argument with you, and you may land yourself up in trouble, as on most topics, European, American and Christian history is not cleaner than the rest of the world. You should rather ask your acquaintances to explain one aspect of Japanese life. At least you will learn something, and everybody will be delighted that you show interest for the country.

Nothing so far was specific to Japan, but some basics about the country lifestyle may come handy. The first rule enforced with no exception is that shoes should be taken off when entering all private homes, but also in temples, sports locker rooms and Japanese style rooms in restaurants. Areas forbidden to shoes are always elevated. If you are not sure, you should ask. A “shoes OK?” in English while showing your shoes will be understood everywhere. Even for a business appointment, you may end up in a restaurant where shoes should be taken-off, and you should always wear clean socks without holes. Mocassins are more convenient, but shoes with lace are perfectly acceptable.

If you stay in a private home or go to a public bath, you should follow local customs: wash yourself thoroughly outside the bath, and wash the soap off completely before entering the bath. You should not empty the water after your bath as it may be used by other people. This rule does not apply to your personal bath in a western style hotel where you can play with soap as much as you wish.

Meals are the core of social life, and the time where most etiquette mistakes can be made. But again, a few simple rules are enough. Japanese people eat with chopsticks, but perfectly understand that you may not master their use. The best thing to do is to ask for advice and try your best, even if it does not work perfectly at first. Japanese people value more the effort, the famous « gambaru » (がんばる) or « do your best » than the final result. As some point, you may want to ask for a fork and a knife, which are available everywhere, explaining that else, the dinner may be too slow because of you. Passing food from one person’s chopsticks to another’s is taboo in Japan, as it is part of the funeral rites – family members pass the bones from one person to another with chopsticks. Rice is eaten blank, without adding sauce in it, but you may ask for “furikake”, a mix of spice, if the rice is too bland for you. You should never forget to thank warmly your hosts at the end of the meal. Most of the time, your host will pay the bill, but it is more polite to enquire and propose to pay.

It is perfectly acceptable if you cannot eat some food at all, and you can explain it to your Japanese hosts, so that they adapt the schedule. It is always better to warm in advance and discreetly. The strangest food for westerner is raw fish: “sushis” and “sashimis”. If you do not want to try, you may invent a fake medical reason for avoiding them. But you should certainly try local food. Most Japanese food is pretty standard stuff, with fish, meat, and vegetables cooked in a sour and sweet Soy sauce (醤油, Shoyu). You do not have to like everything. Some ingredients such as Natto (納豆), sticky fermented soy beans with a cheese smell, are disgusting for most Japanese people, but if you try even once, it will be really appreciated. Drinking alcohol is the way social bonds are created, so you should always participate in drinking rounds. Your neighbours will make sure your cup is always full. If you do not want to drink much, or at all, just taste alcohol with your lips, leave your cup full and order a glass of water. Everybody will be grateful you did you best to follow the custom.

Exchanging gifts is common in professional and personal life. It is acceptable to offer even gifts worth a few euros. A small pack of shortbread or some toffees will be very much appreciated. You should make sure the wrapping is elegant, and you may want to offer a renowned brand, as it will always be welcome. You should not praise your own gifts, but giving a few precisions on them if asked for is OK. When you receive a present, you should enquire if it is OK to open it before actually doing so: the local custom is that gifts should not be opened in public in order not to embarrass people who can only offer low value gifts. For every present you receive, you should make sure to offer back a gift of around half the value, but this can happen much later, for example during your next trip to Japan. During weddings, you should offer cash in an appropriate envelope, with bank notes always in odd numbers. For someone who is not a close friend 30.000 Yens (185 Euros) or even 15.000 Yens (93 Euros) are enough. The envelope should be given in the dedicated stand near the party hall.

Let’s mention last that Japanese etiquette is based on « gentlemen first », the opposite of what most western countries practice. European ladies should not be offended that they will sometimes come after men. And gentlemen should be ready to come before the ladies. The best approach is probably to offer Japanese ladies precedence, and many of them will be delighted to accept. If they refuse several times, you should accept to go first to cut the conversation short, and to avoid making a shy Japanese lady uneasy.

In a following story, I will try to give some advicee about being host to Japanese people in the west.

You may want to check also this story with more details on how to work with Japanese people.

Tokaido Shinkansen

2008-07-07T22:19:00.001+02:00

The old Tokaido road (東海道) linked the imperial town of Kyoto (京都) to Edo(江戸), the former Tokyo(東京) following the Pacific Coast of Japan. It is the most peopled in the country as the weather is warmer than on the side of the Sea of Japan. Today, the Tokaido axis links the three greatest metropolises in Japan: Kanto(関東), Nagoya area (名古屋) and Kansai(関西). With Japan development in the 50s, the need of a large capacity and modern transportation system appeared. Japan invented at that time high-speed train. The line is still in service today, with an unparalleled reputation for speed, punctuality, frequency, security and comfort. The Tokaido Shinkansen is without doubt the best high speed train service in the world.

Back in 1940, Japan felt the need to build new rail tracks on the Tokaido road. Japan uses a narrower gauge (1067mm) that did not allow as much speed as the European trains of the time. In the fifties, the Kodama Express linked Tokyo to Osaka (around 550km) in 6h50 (average speed of 80km/h), wheras in the same period, the French “Mistral” service ran the 863km between Paris and Marseille in 7h10 (average of 120 km/h). The project was however canceled due to the war.

In the fifties, economic development meant the old Tokaido trunk line was close to saturation, as it was also ensuring freight transportation on an axis that did not have a motorway in service. The National Train company first thought was to double the tracks on the old Tokaido line, but it was not easy as the tracks crossed many urban areas, and it would have been necessary to destroy the buildings close the the railroad. So the alternative project of 1940 was started again: the building of standard gauge (1435 mm) tracks dedicated to high speed train. They were naturally called Shinkansen (新幹線) “New trunk lines”. The huge works was completed between 1959 and 1964. Many bridges and tunnels had to be built. Elevated tracks, bridges and tunnels account for around 80% of the track length. Some tunnels, such as Nihonzaka’s (日本坂) in Shizuoka (静岡), were directly reused from the interrupted works of 1940. The trains required an important amount of research, as electric engines of the time generated too much vibration. Technologies from the Japanese Naval Air force were introduced to solve the vibration issue by Tadashi Matsudaira and other aerospace engineers who joined the railways after the war. Thanks to the efficient cooperation of the JNR president Shinji Sogo, and his chief engineering officer Hideo Shima, everything was completed on time for the inauguration en 1964. Travel time between Tokyo and Osaka was reduced to 4 hours in 1964, then 3h10 in 1965. It is now down to only 2h30.

In the eighties, Japan privatized the heavily indebted National Railways. The network was separated in six companies, and the lines was attributed to “JR Central”, also called “JR Tokai” (東海), the company also managing standard lines in the Nagoya and Shizuoka region. Proceeds from the selling of the very profitable Tokaido Shinkansen allowed the debt to be paid back. Even today, part of the profit of the line is used to finance track improvement work in rural parts of Japan. Some people estimate that it represents an additional cost of 30% for the passenger. Since privatization, “JR Central” managed the line very efficiently. There was no casualty or injuries in the 44 years the line was in service. Average delay of trains was less than 6 seconds in 2003, including delays caused by earthquake, typhoons and heavy snowfalls.

There are plans to construct a new line based on ‘maglev’ technology between Tokyo and Nagoya following the mountain route “Chuo” (中央線). The last plans from the “JR Central” company plan an entry into service in 2025, and a test line has already been built in Yamanashi prefecture (山梨).

3 different types of train run on the line: Kodama (こだま) is the local service. There is a station every 20 or 30 km to serve medium-sized towns on the way. It usually runs between Tokyo and Nagoya, and between Nagoya and Osaka. Hikari (ひかり) stops in Hamamatsu (浜松), Shizuoka or Atami (熱海) in addition to the main stations. Nozomi (のぞみ) only stops in main station: Shinagawa (品川), Shin-Yokohama (新横浜), Nagoya, Kyoto and Shin-Osaka (新大阪). During peak hours, there are up to 11 departures every hour.

High-speed train is an high-tech industry with heavy investments. However, the passenger experience is mainly the result of the cabin layout. Shinkansen coaches have rows of 5 seats with a 2 and 3 layout. Seats are always turned so that passengers always face ahead when the train is moving. It is also possible to create a friendlier layout by turning back one row of seats so that groups of 4 or 6 people travel facing each other. Leg space is very large, so that even tall people can seat in comfortably in regular coaches. In comparison, French TGV or airplane economy class is a nightmare. Cabin decoration is simple, with white and beige the dominant colors, and shapes reminding of aircraft cabins. A display on top of the door gives information about the trip, news, and weather forecast. In the last generation trains (N700), passengers have plugs for their laptop and internet wi-fi access. The restaurant car service was discontinued in 2003, but there are trolleys selling coffee, drinks and sandwiches. There are coaches without reservations with free placement so that it is always possible to take a train at the last minute. It is easy to arrive by subway in Tokyo station without tickets, and to board a train departing 5 or 10 minutes later.

The Fare for the 450 kilometers between Shin-Yokohama and Kyoto (2 hours) is Y12890 (80 Euros) for a regular seat on Nozomi service with reservation. On a Hikari service, the same seat would cost Y12590 (78 Euros). A non-reserved seat valid for Hikari and Kodama is Y12080 (75.5 Euros). Children up to 11 years old pay half fare, but there are not that many other discounts. A completely flexible ticket between Paris and Lyon on the TGV is slightly more expensive, at 81.5 Euros, but the quality of service is less impressive (comfort, frequency, punctuality). However, there are more discount fares on the TGV (advanced non-refundable tickets can be bought for 62.90 Euros. However, the Shinkansen fares are also used in Japan to cross-subsidize the rural network, and are more expensive as a result.

Japan Railways has an up-to-date English site.

The most outstanding view in Kansai

2008-07-06T21:28:00.002+02:00

Japan is a mountainous archipelago. More than two third of the land are made of abrupt moutains covered by forest. There are sometimes only a few hundred meters of plain between the hills and the sea for humans to settle. I suggest we leave today for the “Rokko-san” (六甲山) range near Kobe (神戸) to get a spectacular summary of Japanese geography, and to enjoy the most beautiful panorama in Kansai (関西). You may want to end the trip in the hot-spring resort of Arima (有馬), probably the oldest in Japan.

For the less brave, a ropeway leads to the top of the moutain range. The observation platform near the upper station is worth a few minutes to enjoy the outstanding view of Kobe harbor. A bus then allows you easy access to the main tourist attractions. You may also want to hike you way to the summit. Departure of the trail is near the ashiya-gawa (芦屋川) station on the Hankyu Kobe (阪急神戸線) line. You should first follow signs to the « Rock Gardens » (ロックガーデン), then the well-mark track to the summit of Rokko-san. You will spend around 5 hours to climb and go down to Arima onsen. As always when hiking in Japan, you should be adequately equipped.

Mount Rokko is a climatic resort since 1895, when a British resident, Arthur H Gloom, installed a mountain hut near the summit. The place developed then as a resort where residents could enjoy the cool weather. The mountain is an important part of the city identity: the song of “Hanshin Tiger” (阪神タイガー) baseball team is “Rokko Oroshi” (六甲颪) or “The wind of Mount Rokko”. According to Hanshin fans, it is best song after a few beers during an outstanding victory against the Yomiuri Giants (読売巨人), the rival team from Tokyo.

The place has all the usual spots of Japanese tourism. The “Rokko Garden Terrace”, a replica of an European village, is a cluster of trendy shops. It even includes a castle tower, with a wall that reminds more of Japanese suburban houses than of Scottish castles. Rokko-san is also famous for its sheep farm, where local cheese is made. A restaurant near the “Rokko Garden Terrace” of course offers the “Genghis Kahn”, a mutton stew. The oldest golf of Japan was also built nearby, and you may enjoy the botanical garden and the “Country House” that also includes an artificial ski run.

More than the tourist spots, the most pleasant is the wonderful view from the mountain. The terrace at “Rokko Garden Terrace” is a wonderful place to watch Kansai from above. The panorama extends from Kobe to Osaka, with the sea in the background, just a few kilometers away. If the sky is clear, you may also see the Kansai International Airport built on a man-made island. This is a huge metropolis, with concrete as far as the eye can see, but high rise buildings are few and far apart. The Japanese cities are often chaotic: heterogeneous buildings are gathered randomly, with the exception of downtown Kobe, an area that was rebuilt after the earthquake. Reclaimed land area is visible all along the shore. In Kobe, two large man-made islands were built, “Rokko island” and “Port Island”. With the long recession, not all of this expensive land is used. During the earthquake, they proved especially unstable due to the high amount of water in the ground. This did not prevent the city from building an airport on reclaimed land, even further off the shore than Port Island.

Once you enjoyed the view, you may want to come back to Kobe through the other side of the moutain. A cable car will get you to the Arima. The 12 minutes trip above the forest is very pleasant. Once in Arima, you may want to go back to Kobe, but you may also spend a few hours enjoying the hot-springs. There is a legend that a 7th century emperor stayed several months there to enjoy the bathes. The town had ups and downs, and was almost destroyed by a major landslide in the 11th century. It was rebuilt by General Toyotomi Hideyoshi during the 16th century, and has thrived ever since. Two public bathes, “Kin-No-Yu” (金の湯) and « Gin-No-Yu » (銀の湯), can be visited during the day. There are many ryokans if you want to stay overnight.

Access to Mount Rokko

The « Rokko Cable car » goes all the way to the summit of the range. The departure station is close from the “Rokko” train station on the Hankyu line. One way ticket: Y570 (3.45 Euros), return ticket Y1000 (6 Euros). A return and summit bus ticket « Omote Rokko Shuyu Joshaken » is also available for Y1300. Access to the cable car is easier by bus 16 from the Hankyu « Rokko » station and JR “Rokko-michi” station.

« Rokko Arima Ropeway » links Arima station to the summit. Ticket is Y980 (6 Euros) one way, Y1770 (10.80 Euros) for a return ticket. A formula including the summit bus “ Ura Rokko Shuyu Joshaken” costs Y1900 (11.52 Euros).

A one way ticket from Kobe to ARima including the cable car, the summit bus, and the ropeway called “Rokko Arima Katamichi Joshaken” will set you back Y1700 (10.30 Euros).

You may return from Arima to Kobe using the Shintetsu (神鉄) train line, with a transfer in Arimaguchi (有馬口), and then a transfer in Tanigami (谷上) to the Kobe subway. The trip to Sannomiya (三宮) costs Y900 (5.45 Euros) for 30 minutes of train.

Kin-No-Yu: Admission Y650 (4 Euros), opened from 8:00 to 22:00, closed every second and fourth Tuesday of each month.
Gin-No-Yu: Admission Y550 (3.3 Euros), opened from 9:00 to 21:00, closed every first and third Tuesday of each month.

Romantic week-end in an onsen

2008-06-30T23:15:00.001+02:00

Japanese urban life is certainly exciting, but one sometimes feels the need of a break. In this hard-working and crowded country, there is an ideal getaway to forget the stress of urban life for the time of a short week-end. Whether you wish to rest after an intense week of work, have some private time with your special one, or enjoy a friendly family outing, Japanese traditional inns (旅館, ryokan) will welcome you for a night. Most of them are located in hot-spring resorts, and offer bathes in natural hot water (温泉, onsen). More than an accommodation, ryokans offer a show, a travel in an idealized traditional Japan.

Starting from the main cities, you can reach hot-spring resorts in one or two hours. They come in all size and various degree of refinement. The mass-market Kinugawa-onsen (鬼怒川温泉), a few kilometers away from Nikko(日光) was built in a modern style that would not be out of place in the suburbs. The smart Shuzenji-Onsen (修善寺温泉), 90 minutes away from Tokyo gathers luxury inns, some of them comparing well to the most beautiful wooden temples of Japan. Isolated Ryokans also propose a friendly rest in isolated places. The very convenient resort of Atami (熱海), just 50 minutes away from Tokyo looks like a small Monaco, with its large buildings on the slope of the mountains by the sea.

A week-end in a “Onsen” starts on Saturday morning in the station or the car rental agency. You will then leave the city. You may want to have a nice lunch and one hour of sightseeing on the way. Travelers on their way to Shuzenji may enjoy a well-deserved rest in Mishima (三島) to taste the local eel (うなぎ, unagi). Hosts to the Kinugawa onsen resort may enjoy climbing the local mountain by foot (山頂) or cable-car. It is recommended to reach the ryokan by mid-afternoon. Their architecture is very diverse: some of them are wooden buildings in traditional Japanese style, old or recent. Others are very modern-looking hotels with concrete walls shamelessly exhibited. You should not let the outside appearance repel you, as the service at those hotels is usually outstanding. Some of them may even offer a traditional service in a tatami room. And once inside, you will not care about those ugly concrete walls.

You will be warmly welcome by the house staff, in traditional attire. They will lead you to your room. Some of them are Japanese style (和室), with tatami floor and wooden walls. The traditional service includes the meals served in the room. The table is then put aside, and the traditional Japanese bed is brought out of the closets: it is made of a mattress on the floor and a duvet (布団, futon). This formula has some drawbacks: the guests are often disturbed by the staff, first around 6pm to set the dinner table, then to put the table away and install the bed, and early in the morning (7 or 8am) to install the breakfast table. Some western style rooms (洋室), with a meal served in the restaurant are also available, but have less appeal, and the restaurant is less suited to private discussions. Most young Japanese enjoy the serenity of traditional Japanese rooms, but do not wish to be disturbed. This is why most modern onsens have a “mixed” formula, probably the most pleasant: guests can enjoy a Japanese style room, with a small alcove containing western style beds. Meals are taken in a private space separated from the room.

Once installed in your room, you will be served a small sweet and green tea. The staff will discuss with you as if you were a long time guest. If the buildings have an interesting history, it will be explained in details. Do not be surprised if the staff calls your husband (旦那さん, dannasan) or "your wife" (奥さん, okusan) the date from 3 days ago you bring with you there. Once alone in the room, you will change to the yukata (浴衣) provided, a cotton dressing gown that will be much more comfortable than your travel clothes. If you look like a rugby player, the staff will do its best to bring you the only « extra long » (特大Tokudai) yukata they have. It is perfectly acceptable to wander outside your room wearing the yukata. As you are now ready to go to the bath, you should put your valuables in the safe of the room, or in your luggage. Then, you will put your room key, and your towel in the small bag provided.

The traditional collective bath has separate spaces for men (indicated by a blue colour and the sign 男) and women (indicated by red and the sign 女). Moth bathes use traditional materials: stone, wood, and bamboo. The simplest bathes are small square pools in wood or stone less than a meter deep and wide enough to stretch the body inside. The room wall may be decorated with a paint of various artistic qualities. Some bathes are small stone pools looking like a small natural pond, artistically integrated in the landscape. This is not just a bath, but a show. The first step is to thoroughly wash yourself in the showers adjoining the bath, then to enter the bath naked. You may want to hide some parts of your body with the small towel provided until you enter in the water. Anyways, the chance is you will not think about it anymore after a few seconds. The bath water is often very hot, and, after a few minutes, you should exit and cool down. There is sometimes a cold water pool nearby for that.

Outside bathes (露天風呂, Rottenburo) are the most pleasant. They often offer a pleasant view on the surroundings. The contrast between the hot water and fresh air is ideal. Even when the outside temperature is negative, the warmth accumulated in the hot bath will allow you to stay naked outside for a few minutes without feeling the cold. The writer of this story has unforgettable memories of a bath in a rottenburo under the snow. Private bathes can also be booked, often for half an hour, without an extra fee. They allow a fun and intimate bath. In some ryokans, a private bath on the balcony is also available. This is probably the most pleasant formula, but is slightly more expensive. Whatever the formula, the greatest pleasure of the onsen is after the bath. The whole body relaxed by the bath, it is very pleasant to wander in the hotel, have a tea, and slowly read a well chosen book in its room, while enjoying the subtle tatami smell. There is always a sweet and tea available for this moment.

The dinner is served at Japanese time, from 6 to 9pm. Several dishes are served. The meal makes the best of seasonal and regional ingredients that will be explained in detail by the staff. All the dishes are elegantly set. Classical examples are small wooden boats on which sashimi (刺身, sashimi) is served, and food served on bamboo. The plates are always in traditional Japanese style. Very often, enjoyable « cook-it-yourself » dishes are part of the menu. Meat to cook on a hot plate, or tofus cooked on the table are common. There are also many pot dishes (鍋, nabe) heated on the guest table. Japanese sake and beer are always available, and a reasonable price even at the most expensive places. There is often enough time after dinner for a second hot-spring bath. Alcohol and the hot water will ensure you will sleep very well. Breakfast is served between 7 and 9am, and is made of sweet and salty regional delicacies.

After a last bath in the morning, departure is quite early. There is enough time left in the Sunday to perform ambitious sightseeing. From Kinugawa-onsen, it is possible to go to Nikko. Izu Peninsula (伊豆半島) and Hakone (箱根) also offer first-class tourism. A car is very convenient to go to remote places as countryside buses are expensive and infrequent. However there will be awful traffic jams on Sunday night on the roads back to the cities. Public transport is less convenient for sightseeing, but reserved limited trains are a very convenient way to go back home in style. From the train window, the landscape will become more and more urban, the neon’s will be brighter, and after crossing a few rivers, the trip will only end on the train station, back to daily life.

Onsen resorts close from Tokyo and prices

In Tokyo areas, the most accessible areas are:

Izu peninsula: the towns of Atami, Ito, Shimoda, Toi and Shuzenji cluster many onsen ryokans. There is much sightseeing available in a scenery mixing the sea and the mountain;
Hakone: this mountain resort close to Mount Fuji is a first-rate sightseeing spot, with impressive volcanic fumes, and the beautiful lake on which Mount Fuji reflects. Odakyu Line offers reserved limited train services (1h31, Y2020 - 12.6 Euros) to Hakone Yumoto (箱根湯本)
Southern Alps are the highest mountains in Japan. A car is necessary to reach those remote valleys, and on the way, the Fuji five lakes will make a memorable stop. Onsens are often in remote places. It is better to avoid returning to Tokyo by the “Chuo” motorway (中央高速道路) on Sunday night. It is common to spend 5 or 6 hours to come back to the city;
Kinugawa-onsen: the Onsen “Costa Brava”: easily accessible from Tokyo, this resort gathers large hotels built around a river canyon: the atmosphere is quite urban, but the service offered by the hotels is often of good quality. The superb temple complex of Nikko is only a few minutes train away, and will make an unforgettable week-end. Access through the special reserved Tobu “Kinu” train (1h57, Y2800 - 17.5 Euros)

Le The “non-profit” independent site Secret Japan is a huge database about onsens, with explanations in French or English.

Prices vary with the quality of service and prestige. They are always higher on week-end.

The “Biwa” ryokan (枇杷) in Toi (土肥) is offering a two-meals and night formula with a massage included for around Y75.000 (470 Euros) for two people on weekdays, and Y95.000 (600 Euros) on week-end. The hotel is new, but built in the traditional way, with wonderful wooden “pouters”. Each room has a private rottenburo bath on the balcony, with a view on the sea and the city. Food is excellent, and served in an individual space. Address: 静岡県伊豆市土肥259-1 Toi Izu-shi Shizuoka-ken. Tel 0559-97-3124. Access to Toi: ferry from Shimizu, bus from Mishima or Shuzenji.

The hotel “Asaya” in Kinugawa-onsen has several hundred rooms, and offer two-meals formula with Japanese dinner at the restaurant, large (15 tatami) japanese room, and all-you-can-eat breakfast for 42500 Yens (250 Euros) on weekdays et 47000 Yens (300 Euros) on week-end for two. Entrance to the bath, including a rottenburo on the roof, is included. There are less expensive formulas in the hotel. Address: 813 Taki – Kinugawa Onsen, Nikko-shi, Tochigi-ken 321-2526 栃木県日光市鬼怒川温泉滝８１３Tel : 0288.77.1111. Direct Access from the Tobu Asakusa station in Tokyo by the trains of the Tobu company.

Both Ryokans can be booked through Yahoo Japan Travel.

Private train networks in Tokyo

2008-06-13T22:01:00.000+02:00

Generations of would-be town planner spent whole days on the American videogame "Simcity", in the shoes of the mayor. The aim is to tax city dwellers, and to develop the town by smartly spending public money. The equivalent game in Japan is called "A-Train", but players are in the role of the president of the local railway company. The goal is then to build train lines, and speculate on land close to the stations, by building office blocks, hotels, supermarkets and even theme parks. This is an excellent symbol of the major role of private railways in the development of Japanese cities. The result is certainly confusing, but those rail suburbs are very convenient and easy to live in. This story gets us to the south-west of Tokyo, at the heart of the “Tokyu” empire, for an impressive lesson of private urbanism.

Keita Kobayashi, a brilliant high school student from rural Japan was admitted in the prestigious Tokyo University where he met Takaaki Kato, a politician later to become prime minister, who took the young Keita under his protection. He spent fifteen years as a civil servant, and was then nominated as the president of the struggling Musashi railway company. He turned it around, and put in service between 1922 and 1938 the four minor lines of the Tokyu network in the close suburbs of Tokyo:

Oimachi line between Futago-tamagawa and Oimachi : 10.4 km
Ikegami line between Gotanda and Kamata : 10.1 km
Meguro line between Meguro and musashi-kosugi : 9.1 km
Tamagawa line between Tamagawa and Kamata : 5.6 km

Through an aggressive acquisition campaign, the company, renamed as “Tokyu”, bought the two major lines of the network:

Toyoko line between Tokyo and Yokohama in 1939 : 24.2 km
part of the Den-enToshi line between Shibuya and Futago-Tamagawa in 1942, extended after the war to Chuo Rinkan: 31.5 km

During the war, Keita Kobayashi bought the other networks of western Tokyo suburbs (Odakyu and Keio), and built part of the Tokyo subway, but the group was dismembered at the end of the war by the American Occupation Authority, and only kept control of the six lines mentioned above.

The company was a major driver of post war urbanism. It was directly involved in the development of the most important new Town in Japan, the “Tama Den-En-Toshi”. In 1953, only 20.000 People were living in the rural zone between Mizunokochi and Chuo Rinkan. Tokyu built the railway line, and recouped its costs by developing areas adjoining the railways. 550.000 people are now settled in the well-regarded area. This operation stayed unique in the history of Japan.

Works did not stop after the war. The network is regularly upgraded. Three lines are connected to the subway network, which allows very convenient through-services from suburban stations to almost everywhere in the city center. The company is current working on two new interconnections, and to increase capacity on a busy section. Upgrades are partially subsidised by public money since the 1970, especially the elevation of tracks, which contributes to road safety.

As early as 1937, the president of Tokyu had the briliant idea of building a department store in its terminal station in Shibuya. The store is still active, and includes the famous “Tokyu Food Show”, a well stocked food supermarket. The group has also created two very famous chain stores: “Tokyu Hands”, a unique do-it-yourself shop, and “book-off”, a second-hand book store.

The company also developed major real estate projects around its stations: the most spectacular is probably the Carrot Tower, a surprising office building in Sangenjaya. It also owns several hotel chains in Japan and overseas, and created a domestic airline, "Japan Air System", now merged into JAL. The company also built the « Izukyu » rail line that offers easy access to one of the most beautiful areas in Japan. Leveraging on its rail infrastructure, it developed a cable company serving around one million households. Diversification went as far as commercials, as Tokyu owns a famous communication agency. In addition to developing its piece of Tokyo suburbs, the company is an engine for the Japanese economy.

Life in Tokyo suburbs is centered on the rail network. Train is the easiest way to commute to work, which is made convenient by the interconnections with the Tokyo underground. Coaches are clean, safe and fully air-conditioned. As it is the company main cash cows, the network is managed very seriously. Overcrowding is less and less an issue, as the capacity is regularly expanded. Car is a marginal transportation mode: wide avenues are rare, there is no parking in the street, and there are tolls on urban motorways.

The first place to go out is the vicinity of the station (around 30 of them on the Toyoko line). Restaurants and shops cluster around, and very often, a supermarket owned by the train company is the best shopping option. Most places are open until 10 pm, so it is very convenient to buy food or essentials on the way back from work. All stations have their taxi stand, and a safe bicycle park, ensuring easy access to those that are living 10 to 20 minutes walk away from the station. Most roads in the vicinity are very narrow, and almost pedestrian. High-rise condos are usually located near the station, where the rents are slightly more expensive.

For a more elaborate shopping, destinations around the suburban rail network are the best option, as access is fast and the fare is cheap, especially as it is also sometimes possible to use the point-to-point rail pass paid by their corporation for office workers. Connection stations developed naturally into fashionable areas with the help from the train company: restaurants, fashionable boutiques and major stores cluster around the stations of Jiyugaoka, Futago-Tamagawa, Sangenjaya and Naka-Meguro. They can be reached from most places in the network in a few minutes.

Most suburban rail networks also serve recreational areas. The Tokyu network is less endowed than others, as the Tamagawa river banks, the exclusive suburb of Den-en-Chofu, and the port of Yokohama are almost the only options for a Sunday walk. However, the company also developed a small amusement park, “Kodomonokuni”, served by a special rail branch. Some private networks deserve major tourist areas like Hakone or Nikko. They often have special services on comfortable coaches bound for those destinations.

For very special shopping, or a night out, most inhabitants of the Tokyu Empire head for Shibuya, the terminal station of the two main lines in Tokyo. The station platforms directly lead to the Tokyu department store, the most simple place to go shopping. Shibuya is also a famous night spot with bars, night clubs, and its famous "love hotel hill". Modern Tokyo was developed around those suburban rail terminals. The likes of Ueno, Shinjuku, Ikebukuro and Shibuya are dynamic downtown areas, each of them comparing well with European or American cities.

Urbanism based on train has many advantages: a car is not necessary even in the suburbs. Station surroundings are lively commercial areas. Transport is safe, fast and air-conditioned on the whole network. This way of life seems perfectly suited for a 21st century that needs to limit its environmental impacts.

Fares and Travel times :

Shibuya – Yokohama : Y260 (1.65 Euro), 30 minutes, 24.2 km
Shibuya – Jiyugaoka : Y150 (0.93 Euro), 11 minutes, 7km
Shibuya – Chuo-Rinkan: Y320 (2 Euro), 38 minutes, 31.5 km
Kamata – Gotanda: Y190 (1.18 Euro), 23 minutes, 10.1 km
Kamata – Tamagawa: Y150 (0.93 Euro), 10 minutes, 5.6 km
Oimachi, Futago-tamagawa : Y190 (1.18 Euro), 22 minutes, 10.4 km
Meguro – Musashikosugi : Y190 (1.18Euro), 19 minutes, 9.1 km
Sangenjaya – Shimotakaido : Y140 (0.87 Euro), 17 minutes, 5 km

Interconnections between suburban trains and subway:

Hibiya subway line from Naka-Meguro on the Toyoko line
Nanboku subway line from Meguro station on the Meguro line
Mita subway line from Meguro station on the Meguro line
Hanzomon subway line from Shibuya on the Denentoshi line
Minatomirai subway line in Yokohama from Yokohama station

Japan on the Internet

2008-06-13T20:40:00.001+02:00

This page gathers useful and otherwise interesting links on Japan. Please do not hesitate to suggest any site worth the visit by a comment to this page or by e-mail.

Embassies

Embassies should be the first stop on your Internet search about Japan. They all maintain accurate and up-to-date information about the country:

UK Embassy (http://www.uknow.or.jp/be_e/)

US Embassy (http://tokyo.usembassy.gov/)

Embassy of Canada (http://www.canadanet.or.jp/english.shtml)

Embassy of Australia (http://www.australia.or.jp/english/seifu/)

Yahoo Japan (http://www.yahoo.co.jp)

Managed by the company “Softbank”, Yahoo Japan provides numerous services to the users, including cards (地図), public transport trip calculator (路線), an online travel agency (旅行), online real estate (不動産), a restaurant guide (グルメ). There are competitors providing equivalent services in each category, but Yahoo is a convenient « one-stop shop » for everyday life in Japan.

Information

Two daily newspapers have an online presence:

Le « Japan Times » (http://www.japantimes.co.jp/) is an English-language daily geared towards the expat anglo-saxon community in Japan.

Le « Daily Yomiuri » (http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/) is the English version of the most popular daily newspaper in Japan.

English forums

Most expats frequently use internet forums, which are often the quickest way to get precise information, and at no cost. There are also long passionate discussions. Each forum has its own personality and style. Newcomers are welcome, as long as they respect the rules which boil down to “search before you ask a question” and “be polite and use correct English”. I also advise to avoid political or ideological discussions, and to respect forum moderators who spend a lot of time to look after their site.

The elegantly named “fuckedgaijin” (http://www.fuckedgaijin.com/): is a very lively forum, certainly not restrained by political correctness. Members experience is represented by bottles of beer.

Japan Reference (http://www.jref.com/) has a more neutral presentation. It is to my knowledge the most lively forum about Japan in English, with an especially rich section on Japanese music.

Blogs and personal sites

Numerous blogs relate their author experience on Japan. I will try to maintain a list of the most outstanding ones:

Old Photos of Japan (http://oldphotosjapan.com/en), outstanding old photographs on Japan, with detailed explanation of the context.

Japan: the country where life is cheaper

2008-05-30T19:43:00.001+02:00

During the economic bubble of the eighties, Japan was the costliest country in the world. Surfing on the upswing mood, companies sold their ware as expensive as possible, playing on brands and fashion. Ten years of economic stagnation followed, with many of them having to struggle for survival. Most reduced their expenditure to the minimum in order to lower prices. Not everything became cheap. Housing is still expensive, and, as it loses most of its value after a few decades, is not an investment. The motorways are very expensive, sometimes twice or thrice the price of already costly French or Italian motorways. However, many goods and services are now offered at a price far lower than in Europe, with far superior service standards.

This story takes as an illustration half a day in the Kansai (関西) area. It regroups in less than 100 kilometers the economic powerhouse of Osaka (大阪), the fashionable port of Kobe (神戸), and the major tourist attractions of Kyoto (京都) and Nara (奈良). This is not countryside, but a region that compares well with Paris, Amsterdam, or Hamburg in population and wealth.

Our day started, quite predictably, in a hotel. We booked a double room in a western style “business hotel” located downtown Osaka. The accommodation was quite new, and perfectly clean. The room was not so large, but included free high-speed Internet, a shaving kit, a toothbrush, and a cotton yukata for the evening. A buffet style breakfast was served in hotel lobby in the morning. The price for a night is around Y8700 (54 Euros) for an advance internet reservation. As a comparison, a room in the central Ibis Hotel in downtown Bristol will set you back £56 (90 Euros). This price does not include internet connection, the shaving kit, and breakfast is extra.

We then left for shopping in downtown Osaka. As my glasses were worn out, I went to the “Alook” shop. Having chosen the frame, the attendant proposed to perform an eye test, or to use lenses identical to my current glasses. After a quick try, the frames left for the workshop, and were ready one hour later. The price of this very efficient service is Y5050 (around 31.5 Euros) for classical organic glasses. The cheaper French glasses shops do not go under 39 Euros.

After shopping, we left for Kyoto. The Keihan (京阪) company has a “limited express” service running on the 50km tracks links the downtown area of both cities. The seats can be oriented in the direction the train is running, and all coaches have air conditioning. The train is always running on time, with an excellent service: there are employees at most stations, and a conductor is on board of the train in addition to the driver. The fare is Y460 (2.80 Euros). In comparison, the very decent Transpennine service between York and Leeds (42 km) is around £9.20 (12 Euro) for a full fare ticket.

In Kyoto, we were in the mood for Tofu, and we headed for the sosoan (爽草庵) restaurant, close to the silver pavilion (銀閣寺), a major tourist spot. A very refined lunch is served every day: starters included a grilled trout fillet, Japanese omelets and a delicious steamed bun. The main dish was a pot of Tofu (豆腐), served with rice and miso soup. The menu also included dessert: a white wine jelly with strawberries. The atmosphere of the restaurant was peaceful, and the service was fast and elegant. As in most places in Japan, guests are welcome with a glass of fresh water and a hot towel, and excellent tea is served at no cost during the whole meal. The menu price is 2500 Yens (15.6 Euros). A decent meal in a parisian « brasserie » will set you back at least 25 Euros.

The examples highlighted here are not the most extreme. We could have spoken about the numerous healthy and cheap fast-food joints, such as the Otoya (大戸屋) chain, with grilled fish menu served in very decent restaurants for around Y700. Yoshinoya (吉野家) is even cheaper, at Y400 for a rice bowl with sliced meat on top. We did not speak here about high tech stuff, such as cameras, often far cheaper in Japan.

Those low prices have many reasons. VAT is only 5% in Japan, and social contributions are far lower than in Europe, especially for student or temporary workers. Competition is often more intense in Japan than in Europe: there are 4 different companies (Keihan, JR, Kintetsu et Hankyu) offering train service between Osaka and Kyoto. This does not explain everything, and one can wonder if France or England would need a few years of recession to get back in touch with reality.

Note : this article does not want to shame European companies chosen here, most of them being amongst the more competitive of their industry, and with very different constraints from their Japanese colleagues.

Sosoan　爽草庵　京都市左京区浄土寺下南田町１２９shimominamidacho jodoji sakyo-ku Tel : 0757713617. Close to Ginkakuji (銀閣寺), and 20 minutes walk from Demachiyanagi (出町柳) station.

Gathering bamboo shoots

2008-05-17T23:18:00.000+02:00

Bamboo thickets (竹) are often found around Japanese temples. The delicate blow of the wind in the leaves and the beautiful light create a peaceful atmosphere well suited to such places. This astonishing plant is also put to less spirirtual uses. It has the fastest growing rate of all species, up to a meter per day. Some people in Asia use it as an awful way of torturing prisoners. Light and strong, bamboo is also used in China as scaffolding for buildings. Also, bamboo shoots (竹の子) are a delicate spring meal in Japan, where they are harvested in April. In this story, we are leaving today for the Boso Peninsula (房総半島) near Tokyo with a spade, a large basket and gloves to pick fresh shoots.

Some species of bamboo only flower every fifty year or so. This is considered of bad omen in traditional agricultural societies with good reasons. The large increase of bamboo fruits means a boom in rodent populations, which will often devastate the harvests. Also, the death of all bamboos after their flowering will leave local cottage industries that use it as a raw material idle. Between two flowerings, bamboo is extending by creating clones. During the spring, each bamboo will create a few of them. Those are linked to their parent by the root at the start of their life. In the first days, only a small green cone 4 centimeters high is appearing out of the ground. The bamboo shoot should be gathered at that time, as it is still tender. When a bigger cone is out of the ground, it is already too late, as the plant has started to solidify.

To harvest a shoot, we should first dig around 30 centimeters deep. It is important not to break the precious shoot when digging. Then, the shoot should be separated from the parent. It is possible to see the direction of the parental root by looking at the leaves at the top of the bamboo shoot. They are curved in the direction of the parent. To separate the shoot, we should hit vigorously with the spade at the base of the shoot in the side of the parent.

An afternoon of gathering will make for a pleasant work-out in the Japanese country-side. Private bamboo plantations will allow visitors to pick bamboo shoots for a few hundred yens. The gathering is quite exhausting, and your hands may suffer a little if you are not used to gardening. A pair of all-purpose gloves (軍手) will come in handy, and can be bought in all gardening or do-it-yourself stores. A big basket will also help you bring back the shoots, and you should plan for a large pan to boil them.

You will find the bamboo shoots in many different Japanese meals. Before cooking, the shoots should be boiled in water during one or two hours, with some rice bran (米ぬか) in the water. The soonest you can boil them, the more tasty the will be. You should leave the shoots in the pan one night after boiling them, and then peel them.

One simple recipe is Bamboo shoot rice. Wash 3 cups of rice (540 ml), and put them in the rice cookers. Add two large spoons each of sake (酒), mirin and soy sauce (醤油), and around one cup of bamboo shoots cut in fine slices. Add two slices of fried tofu (油揚げ) and two large spoons of dashi. Add water up to the level indicated by the rice cooker. After the rice has cooked, stir it gently, and wait for 30 minutes before cooking. It is also possible to cook rice in a pan on very gentle fire with the same volume of water and rice.

Access to a bamboo plantation: “Yamada” park in Yokosuka can be accessed easily by public transport and car from Tokyo. It is open everyday from 10am to 5pm. Entrée fee is 500 Yens per person, and you can use the tools provided by the park for the harvest. Le parc can be accessed from the Keihin Kyuko line (京浜急行), YRP Nobi (野比) station. You can then take the bus bound for TsushinKenkyusho (通信研究所) or YokosukaShiminByoin (横須賀市民病院) et stop at « Sengen Jinja »　(浅間神社). Owner : M Sato Yamada 山田聡 (phone : 090.1530.3576. Address : 6-33-12 Nagesawa, Yokosuka, Kanagawa 239-0842神奈川県横須賀市長沢6-33-12). Site : http://yasai-jp.com/. There are of course many alternatives that can be searched on the internet.

Warning : Raw bamboo shoots can be poisonous. You should avoid pick them in the wild, and go to a serious bamboo plantation. It is required to cook thoroughly the shoots in boiling water, which destroys the toxic element. Both shoots bought in supermarket and those harvested by yourself should be cooked. It is normal that a slight ammoniac smell is emitted during the boiling, so you should take care to air your kitchen appropriately.

More tips for a manager in Japan

2008-04-20T20:40:00.006+02:00

Most forums and stories about Japan focus on the practicalities of getting a visa, and on areas accessible to foreigners, the most obvious being English conversation teacher. Expat Managers in Japan have a smoother way into the country. The paperwork is taken care of. A nice apartment is already booked for them in downtown Tokyo, and they have a position waiting in the Japanese subsidiary of their company. This does not mean they have it easy, and Japan can be a career graveyard, especially for very bright and successful people in the west. I published last month a few tips about working in Japan. This story gives more of them.

Lesson 6: Leverage on your expertise areas

Once in Japan, you will probably lose some of the strengths you leverage at home. You may be an eloquent and convincing speaker, but this will be lost through translations. Japanese people are also more likely to want to review the details than to buy a brilliant theory. Obviously, your carefully crafted network in the company will be of almost no use in Japan. You may be brilliant in motivating your team, but this will also not translate well in Japanese due to language and way of working. One of the only leverage you can still use in Japan is your expertise. A well-written computer program is well-written in all languages. A precise planning also stays a precise planning. Stress Calculation for Mechanical parts is the same in the west and Japan. A skilled chef remains a skilled chef whatever the country. My experience is that Japanese people respect expertise far more than they do of important, but harder to define, ‘managerial skills’. If your position in Japan is in line with your expertise and experience, it will be a powerful base you can build your position on.

Lesson 7: Forget about abstraction and concepts

The most brilliant, or supposedly brilliant, managers in the West love abstraction and concepts. Every year, business schools and consulting companies produce new concepts that are supposed to provide answers to company issues. Communication around those concepts is usually very sophisticated, as the organizations producing them have to justify their high fee. Hours of meetings can be wasted by rival managers fighting over their favourite ideas. Sceptics will say that most of those concepts are useless or even dangerous, and those that are not usually boil down to a two-line sentence when the hot air is removed. Whatever your opinion on this topic, you are likely to have a hard time using your favourite concepts in Japan, as they probably are not so popular here. Your Japanese employees, customers and suppliers are also likely to be very sceptical about abstract reasoning. My personal opinion is that there may be deep cultural reasons for that, but this is off-topic. You will have no choice but to elaborate your favourite idea down to concrete things like productivity improvement, better sales, reduced cost and better quality. For each of those topics, you will then be able to discuss productively with your Japanese counterparts about concrete improvements. This is actually a way of working that you may want to bring back home as most people find it more efficient.

Lesson 8: Do not play with the truth

Many managers, not to mention politicians, have the temptation to play with the truth. There may be good intentions behind. Making a good dossier even better can speed-up decisions. Hiding the pain in a change can help make it accept, sometimes for the own interest of the people “cheated”. However, the decision cycle is going to be very long in Japan, and your propositions will be explored in detail by all your Japanese colleagues and partners. You may find yourself in a very delicate situation explaining them the points where you “massaged” the truth. At worst, you will lose your credibility, and the goodwill you started to build with your counterparts. By being honest, you will build trust with your colleagues. You may also be better prepared to address the risks in the plan you present. As a common example, moving offshore or outsourcing looks nice to reduce cost, but how do you address quality issues and make sure the experience of the in-house employees is not lost? Did you account for the full cost of firing the people concerned, including loss of morale for the employees remaining? In the end, considering everything, is it really worth it? Would not you be better starting on a small scale and see how it goes? I believe you may also want to bring this habit back home.

Lesson 9: Negociate in the backroom

In theory, the most important meetings should be the ones where decisions are taken, as all the stakeholders in the company are present, and a lively debate can take place. In the end, one opinion, or a compromise, is agreed as the company decision. This decision may be in contradiction with the suggestion of one or several stake-holders. It means the company thinks those people were wrong, or their concern were not the most pressing ones for the company. This can be understood as the normal course of business in anglo-saxon culture. However, in many other cultures, this can be resented as a public humiliation for the people whose opinion was disregarded, and the different opinions expressed may just be seen as a “mess”. Of course, there are very different opinions in a company in Japan as everywhere else, but Japanese people think it is worth reaching a consensus before the “big meeting” by conducting bilateral discussions between all stake-holders to reach the best decision for the company. By doing this, everybody saves face, and the harmony inside the company is preserved. Of course, this has a drawback, as it is extremely time consuming. But it is probably better than the alternative. If you do not take time to build consensus, you will hold the big meeting and tell your opinion. Most likely, the Japanese guys will politely say “yes” to express the fact they have understood your opinion, not that they agree. They may not realize the decision has been taken. When they do, they will fight by all possible means to have the decision reversed, or to make it meaningless. One example is a company that set an amount (let’s say $1M) above which projects need to be approved centrally, in order to control spending. Most Japanese people just ended-up splitting their projects into $995K packages that they could continue as before.

To conclude this short series, I would like to point to a quite interesting book telling the story of the Nissan take-over by Renault, and how his president, Carlos Gohn, managed it. While the magic has worn off a little bit, he still managed to transform a struggling traditional Japanese company into a profitable one. I wished all my colleagues in Japan read the book.

Turnaround: How Carlos Gohn rescued Nissan, from David Magee. Edited by Collins, ISBN 978-0060514853

Note: the buildings appearing on the pictures of this story have been chosen for esthetic reasons only. I did not conduct business with companies located in those buildings, and none of my stories is based on them.

On the tracks of the Izu Dancer

2008-04-05T21:29:00.002+02:00

I may not be the only one to have been introduced to Japanese literature by the short “Izu Dancer” (伊豆の踊り子) novel. It tells the story of a young high-school student going on a vacation trip to the Izu Peninsula (伊豆半島) in the early 1900s. He starts the trip alone and sad. Later, he meets a group of entertainers and travels with them down to Shimoda(下田). His mood gets a lot better, thanks to his cheerful company and especially the attraction he feels for a young dancer. The young age of the girl and the gap in social status will not allow him to have an affair, but our hero leaves for Tokyo from Shimoda by boat with much lighter feelings. The story is gracefully told by Kawabata’s elegant prose.

During my first trip to Japan, I ran into Izu Peninsula again when I looked for a quick “onsen experience” outside Tokyo. This brought me to Atami (熱海), the gateway to the Peninsula, and a popular modern resort. Being on budget, I did not go there by the aptly name “Odoriko” (Dancer) Express, and restricted myself to a cheap but pleasant onsen afternoon in a modern hotel, before going back to Tokyo by the regular commuter train and eating cheap ramen noodles again for dinner.

A few years later, I could at least discover more of the Peninsula. The orange and green regular train brought me from Tokyo to Ito(伊東), a small fishing town and a Hot Spring (温泉) resort. I was quite disappointed by the outside aspect of the onsen ryokan (旅館) I booked, which looked more like a Tokyo suburb building than a holiday resort. However, the experience was unforgettable, as the staff was extremely helpful, and I could enjoy a relaxing tatami room. Food in ryokan is also great, with an elaborated dinner and breakfast served in the room. In Izu coast, it almost always includes raw fish, whereas boar (猪) is more common in the mountains. The best of an onsen trip is of course the long evening when there is plenty of time to enjoy the hot and sulphurous water, and to sleep with the whole body relaxed. Some ryokans are also set in old traditional house, with a great atmosphere. Old Japanese buildings however sometimes lack the sound isolation that would be suited in such a favourite date spot.

The coastal road south of Ito is interesting enough for an afternoon stroll, and offers beautiful views of Oshima(大島) islands. However, it is worth taking the train south to Jogasaki Kaigan (城ヶ埼海岸) Station. Nearby is the beautiful shoreline of Jogasaki (城ヶ埼), with its lava cliffs surrounded by pine trees and going straight into the see. The shoreline is beautifully preserved, and offers several kilometres of hikes. Nearby is also the surprising Mount Omura (大室山), a now sleepy small volcano that can be climbed by a chairlift. It offers nice views over the Izu Peninsula, nearby islands, and Mount Fuji. After climbing down the volcano, you could continue to Shimoda, at the southern end of the peninsula, by train. This historical port is where the famous American “black ships” landed in 1858, putting an end to two centuries of almost full isolation for Japan.On the way, you could stop on the famous “Shirahama” (白浜) beach, a popular swimming spot in summer, and a surf spot all year round.

It is however possible to reach Shimoda via the mountain road. This is the way taken by the party in the Izu dancer novel. Your trip will start in Mishima (三島), and should definitely include an Unagi (うなぎ) meal. The eel is grilled over a charcoal fire, with the sauce giving it a sweet flavour. You may also enjoy near Mishima the beautiful Kakitagawa (柿田川) springs. The very pure deep blue water is said to come from Mount Fuji, and the surrounding wetlands are very pleasant.

Back in Mishima, the train will bring you to Shuzenji (修善寺) town in central Izu peninsula. The nearby “Shuzenji onsen” (修善寺温泉) resort is home to some of the most renowned ryokan in Japan. There are also more affordable options, and It is a good place for staying overnight. From Shuzenji, you can travel by bus through the central road that goes down to Shimoda. The Joren waterfalls (浄連の
滝) are certainly impressive, but the best is probably a hike in the Amagi Toge (天城峠) road, now closed to cars. I was lucky enough to hike it during a misty afternoon, and the fog gave a touch of mystery to the forest. I would not have been surprised if the travelling party of the Izu dancer just came out of the fog in front of me. Also impressive was the completely dark tunnel one has to cross at the top of the road. Travelling further down to Shimoda, the road crosses twice a weird loop-shaped bridge, an original and supposedly earthquake-proof way of climbing the mountains.

Another way to travel to Izu from Nagoya or Osaka is the ferry connecting Shimizu (清水) to Toi (土肥). It crosses the Suruga-bay with beautiful views on mount fuji on clear time. A reasonably frequent bus links the small town of Ooi to Shuzenji. Of course, it is possible to board the ferry with a car, and you may avoid the frequent traffic jams around Numazu on week-ends

Practical information:

Access to Atami: Tokaido Shinkansen Kodama(Y4288 - 27 Euro, 46min from Tokyo), Special ‘Odoriko’ Service (Y3900 - 24 Euro, 80min from Tokyo) or Tokaido main line (111 min, Y1890 - 12 Euro from Tokyo). The Odoriko service continues to Ito (Y4420, 104min) and Shimoda (Y6290, 164min). There are also local train services between Atami and Ito (JR Ito line), and between Ito and Shimoda (Izu express line).

Access to Mishima: Tokaido Shinkansen Hikari (Y4600 - 28 Euro, 44min from Tokyo), or Tokaido main line (119 min, Y2210 from Tokyo, train change in Atami)

Access to Shuzenji: Izu Hakone line from Mishima to Shuzenji (33 minutes, 500 - 3 Euro) Frequent buses from Shuzenji station (every 15 minutes) to Shuzenji Onsen resort (Izu Hakone bus or Tokai bus). There are around 20 buses a day between Shuzenji and Toi. Buses bound for Matsuzaki (松崎) stop in Toi.

Access to Joren Fall and Amagi Toge: bus from Shuzenji bound to Kawazu. Approximately one bus every 30 minutes. 30 minutes, Y800 - 5 Euro to reach Joren Fall, Y1060 - 7 Euros, 45 minutes to reach Amani Toge

Access to Toi from Ferry. Dream Ferry from Shimizu. Around 65 minutes, between 4 and 7 return trips a day. The first ferry leaves Shimizu at 8am, and Toi at 9.20 am. The last ferry leaves Shimizu at 4pm and Toi at 5.20 pm. One way trip is Y2000 - 12 Euro per person, and Y4300 - 25 Euro per individual car (less than 3m long).

Izu Hakone bus: http://www.izuhakone.co.jp/bus/rosen/index.htm (In Japanese)
Tokai Bus: http://www.tokaibus.jp/mainroot.html (In Japanese)
Toi bus schedule: http://www.toi-annai.com/access/basu.html (In Japanese)
Toi <-> Shimizu Ferry: http://www.dream-ferry.co.jp/

Unagi Restaurant in Mishima : sakuraya (桜家) 三島市広小路町13-2 hirokoji-cho Mishima. Tel 055-975-4520. Open from 11am to 8pm or when sold-out. Meals from Y2620 - 16 Euros. Closed on Wednesday and holidays.

Booking an onsen hotel or ryokan: Yahoo Japan (http://www.yahoo.co.jp/ offers comprehensive accommodation booking service under the category ‘travel’. The secret Japan (http://www.secret-japan.com/) site offers independent advice in English and in French on Onsen destination, and also includes a guide to west Izu coast.

Foreign manager in Japan

2008-03-25T22:33:00.011+01:00

I had the opportunity to work on a large-scale project in the Japanese subsidiary of an Anglo-Saxon multinational. Things did not turn out according to plan, and the project soon became a huge power struggle between the western managers and the Japanese employees. Being a “latine” European, and almost the only foreigner speaking Japanese, I was somehow considered “neutral”, and alternatively the confident of westerners and Japanese alike. This was the ideal position to ”make sense of it all”. I have tried to boil-down my thoughts into a few key lessons that will help me next time and may be of interest to other western managers assigned to Japan.

Lesson 1: Have realistic expectations

You may be a very efficient manager in the west. However, the odds are you will spend much time here convincing Japanese people that your ideas are right, and then, things may work-out much slower than what you are used to, if they progress at all. Unless the situation is critical, Japanese people are very unlikely to accept radical change in their way of working. They may also consider that your assignment is only for a few years, and they will stay longer, so they would better please their Japanese colleagues and customers than yourself. Those are reasons why you should you take as a baseline for your assignment objectives what your predecessor in Japan has achieved, not what you have achieved in another country. In most situations, it is probably safer to promise that you will implement consensual and incremental change, correct obvious flows, and give visibility to your management.

Lesson 2: Only accept a position with power attached

Western and Japanese people seldom work together efficiently, as the way of thinking and background are quite different. Also, communication is usually poor due to translation. Quite rationally, most Japanese employees would rather leave you idle on the side, and continue managing the day to day business themselves. They believe they will lose more time engaging you than they will gain, and they sometimes fear you will break all the relationships and organization they put in place. You may enjoy a two years holiday in Japan with all the perks of an expat. However, if your idea is to get real work done, you should make sure your position is designed so that you stay in the loop of most decisions: a good idea would be to have control over the budget, or to have strategic technical knowledge that is positively necessary for your Japanese colleagues. By doing so, you will not have to convince your Japanese colleagues to keep you in the loop, as they anyways need you.

Lesson 3: Do not expect to be trusted just because you are a westerner

Anglo-saxon companies are amongst the most efficient and well-organized. As a result, western managers, especially American ones, often think their way of working is the best, and expect Japanese people just to admit it, listen and adopt their way. This feeling is especially true as most Japanese employees may not master well the English language, and will not be able to explain eloquently their ideas in English. If you hear about the other side, Japanese people are justly proud of their achievements: they have built the second world economy on a narrow piece of land (thirty times smaller than the USA), managed the most efficient and fastest transition from the feudal world to a modern country. Japanese people also often think that their society is more harmonious. We could spend hours comparing Japan and the West, but there are for sure areas where Japan is very competitive with the west, the most obvious example being the automobile industry. Your subordinates will not take your statement as face value and always challenge them. So, to succeed, you will have to listen to your employees, prove them that your ideas are right, and, especially, that they are suited to the Japanese environment.

Lesson 4: Adapt to the Japanese environment

While local people tend to exaggerate the specificities of Japan, there are some objective differences between the “West” and Japan that usually boil down to the following ones:

Houses are small and land is scarce, so the people have an adapted lifestyle. Obvious examples are that people buy food on a daily basis, as they do not have room to store a week’s worth of supply, and buy small cars to adapt to the narrow roads.
Japanese people are very sophisticated in their taste and lifestyle: Tokyo compares well with the most elegant cities in the west such as Milan, Paris, New-York or London, for fashion, food and nightlife. You may not find a market here for second-rate products.
Standards of service are also very high in Japan. While expats often take the example of the ATM closed on Sunday to show Japan has poor service, this is in my opinion more the rule than the exception. I had the chance to live in several countries in Europe, the USA, and Japan, and I found service consistently better in Japan. This is true as an individual customer to restaurants, hotels, travel agencies, moving companies, phone companies, real estate agents. But it also applies to internal services in most companies I worked with. I regret every single day the extremely efficient Japanese assistant that helped me sort small issues on the project. The dark side is of course that processes and products often have to be over-engineered to provide the required quality of service. This may not be always cost effective, but it may be the only way to do business in Japan.

Lesson 5: Work hard

There is a general feeling in the west, especially in Anglo-Saxon culture, that spending long nights in the office is a proof of poor personal productivity, as brilliant people will organize themselves better and finish their work early. This is certainly often true, but there is also a dark side. Dig a little bit, and behind a self-declared productive person leaving the office at 5pm, there is often a hard-working subordinate or subcontractor making long days to compensate, or a fine-tuned rhetoric to push difficult work to other people. Japanese people generally respect hard work and long hours. During my experience in Japan, I could observe the relative success of two dozen western executives, and the hardest working people were consistently and significantly the most successful, even if they were not always the most knowledgeable or experienced. By spending long hours at work, they gained respect from their colleagues, they had time to put attention to details, and they were in the office when decisions were taken late at night. The most effective meeting I experienced was an infamous 14 hours session that started at 4pm and finished at 6 am the following morning having worked through all the details of a complex contract. This is somehow extreme, but you should expect to finish work regularly between 9 and 11pm. To be successful, you would be wise to forget about evenings in the American club and regular dates with your wife on weekdays. A good compromise is probably to work intensely on weekdays, but keep your week-end to yourself and your family.

In a following story, I will share with you other lessons I got out of my experience in Japan.

Party under the cherry blossoms

2008-03-22T12:21:00.014+01:00

The first sign of spring in Japan is the plum blossom, or« ume » (梅) in Japanese. However, cherry blossoms, « sakuras » (桜), are more spectacular, and are the favourite of Japanese people. During a week, the trees are entirely covered by elegant pale rose flowers. In Central Japan, the Sakura season is also the start of the fiscal year, and is associated with big changes: the start of a new school year, and new assignments in companies. Cherry blossoms are forecasted using the most modern weather forecast science. A dedicated computer analyses a sample of trees, winter temperatures and historical data to compute the date of blossom. A special story in the weather forecast shows the position of the “blossom front” (桜前線) on the country. It starts in the south, and from March to April, travels up north through the main Japanese islands. In the north and in the mountains, there can be sakuras up to May. At a given place, the flowers are usually visible for a week. But a heavy rain or wind can disturb well-worked schedules, by making all the flowers fall early. Most current trees are of the « Somei Yoshino » (染井吉野) type, created in Toshima(豊島), a district of Tokyo, in the 19th century. The trees are all identical and so usually blossom at exactly the same time.

The most ancient Japanese chronicles mention flower viewing, or « hanami » (お花見) as a hobby for the nobility. Sakuras are taken seriously in Japan, and every garden or public building should have its own tree. Dilettantes will be happy with a simple walk in the park near their home, or slightly better, in a famous « hanami » spot. Several thousand trees are planted in the most famous places, sometimes lit-up at night. There can be long queues in front of the best places. However, the true “hanami” amateur will book a few square meters in a park under the trees several days in advance. This is done by laying a big blue plastic sheet with the name and date of party on the floor. Friends, colleagues and family will meet there for a “hanami party”. Newcomers who want to show their dedication to the company often wake-up very early in the morning to book the best spot to have a party with their colleagues.

Every available corner under the trees ends up being covered by a not-so-charming- blue plastic sheet. The atmosphere of hanami party is not really contemplative, as guests enjoy the food and alcohol they brought. Food stalls also sell hot food and more alcohol. Sometimes, a portable karaoke engine adds to the noise. A few dozen beer cans later, the party will be drunk jokes and loud laughs. The Japanese proverb “cakes, more than flowers” (花より団子), seems perfectly suited to the situation.

In China, sakura flowers are a symbol of womanliness. However, Japanese people associate sakuras to the transient nature of life, and a gentle nostalgia of passing time “Mono no Aware” (物の哀れ). Yakuzas, the japanese mafia, use sakura as a symbol of their short and exciting life, and often have the flowers tattooed on their back. The pink flowers were sometimes painted on Second World War fighters. They are also a symbol of Japan, and are also drawn on the back of the 100 Yen coin. There is also a “sakura” diplomacy, such as the double gift of several thousand trees to the United States in 1912 and 1965 to celebrate friendships between the two countries. The trees are now planted in Washington DC, where an annual festival is organized to enjoy the blossoms.

Sakura trees are close relatives to classical cherry trees (さくらんぼ), but do not bear fruits. Flowers and leaves are preserved in salt to be used as a condiment. They appear in numerous pastries, both modern and traditional. Sakura-mochis, a rice cake wrapped in a sakura leaf, is eaten especially on the “Girl day” on the 3rd of march. As every traditional Japanese food, there are regional differences: in Kanto (関東), a rolled pancake is wrapped in the leaf, whereas in Kansai (関西), a rice ball is wrapped in the leaf. Sakura herb tea is served to the bride and groom on their wedding day, as the flower is of good omen. Their delicate pattern is also printed on china and kimonos to give them a fresh spring feeling.

It is very easy to find sakura trees in Japan, as there is at least one in every park. A hike in the mountains at the right season will allow you to enjoy cherry blossoms in a pristine environment. We could write pages comparing the best sakura spots. The following places are anyways worth a visit:

Ueno Park (上野公園) in Tokyo, close to Ueno station (上野駅) served by JR trains and subway Hibiya (日比谷線) and Ginza (銀座線). This vast park is host to the National Museum of Japan. During the sakura season, the park is full of walkers and sakura parties.
Inokashira Park (井の頭公園) near Kichijoji station (吉祥寺駅), served by JR Chuo line (中央線) and Keio Inokashira line (京王井の頭線). This charming park is in a posh Tokyo suburb. It is possible to rent a small swan-shaped boat to enjoy the cherry blossoms from the lake. Rumour is that the local goddest will bring bad omen to couples riding this boat, and the couple will soon separate. You may want to adapt your itinerary in the park to your personal situation.
Shinjuku Gyoen park (新宿御苑) near Shinjukugyoen-mae station (新宿御苑前), served by the subway Marunouchi line (丸ノ内線). There is an entrance fee.
Meguro River (目黒川) near Nakameguro station (中目黒駅), served by the Tokyu Toyoko line (東急東横線) and the subway Hibiya line (日比谷線). This narrow river is entirely covered by cherry blossoms. This is not the best place to party, as there is not much space under the trees, but it makes for a wonderful walk..Kyomizudera temple (清水寺) in Kyoto, 20 minutes walk uphill from Gojo station (五条) on Keihan Line (京阪線). From the old wooden terrace up the hill, you have a superb view on a sea of cherry blossoms and Kyoto city. The sakuras are wonderfully lit-up at night. There is an entrance fee (700 Yens, 4 Euros), and partying under the trees is not authorized.