It\u2019s in the district of Shibuya\u2014home to the Meiji Temple\u2014a pagoda and a Shinto shrine that my love story with Japan begins. Shibuya reflects the intersection of the rich and preserved Japanese culture and the vibrant\u00a0 trend of the new era.<\/p>\n
My expectations of Japan were high. It\u2019s a country I\u2019ve always wanted to visit and I was eager to sample and dabble in the unique and crazy lifestyle I’ve only seen on television. I was very much excited about those fancy bidet toilets with fountain-like functions.<\/p>\n
I ventured into some of Tokyo\u2019s more modern areas: Shinjuku, Shibuya, Harajuku and the \u2018electric city\u2019 Akihabara. Each area is an over indulgence on the senses, crammed full with neon twinkling lights, robotic voices, and students dressed in anim\u00e9 costumes.<\/p>\n
Japan is one of those countries you can\u2019t really prepare for \u2014 the beautiful yet complex traditions; the famously impenetrable etiquette; and bitingly modern pop culture combined into everyday life that could wrong-foot even the most experienced traveller.<\/p>\n
Tokyo is a city that can roar one moment and whisper at the next, a place where almost anything seems possible. It’s a one-stop centre for the best of Japan \u2014 its culture, quality products and impeccable service.<\/p>\n
But you can’t say you really know what to do in Tokyo until you spend your mornings walking through its temples, shrines and parks; your afternoons exploring its neighbourhoods and back streets and your nights feasting in its restaurants, gliding through the endless mecca of shopping malls, and drinking in its bars.<\/p>\n
For the visitor wondering what to do in Tokyo, the choices are limitless. A little knowledge of the Japanese language goes a long way.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s always a good idea to learn some Nippon-go when you travel, if only out of courtesy. From my experience, even managing a hesitant \u201carigato\u201d when you buy something or a tentative \u201csumimasen<\/em><\/strong>\u201d when you need to get someone\u2019s attention will have a marked effect.<\/p>\n You will make some mistakes\u2026 <\/strong><\/p>\n During the brief one and a half weeks I visited Tokyo, here are just some of the hard lessons I learnt: don\u2019t wear shoes inside; never stick chopsticks upright in rice; don\u2019t leave a tip; never blow your nose in public and always bring a gift when you\u2019re staying with someone, or at a AirBnb location. Unfortunately, there is no way you\u2019re going to get everything right. One of the many good things about being a gaijin<\/em><\/strong> (a foreigner) in Japan is that, when you make a mistake, you\u2019ll most likely be forgiven.<\/p>\n Why you\u2019d be coming back <\/strong><\/p>\n Crazy festivals, complex etiquette, incredible food, stunning landscapes, beguiling history\u2026 There are so many amazing experiences in Japan that you\u2019ll never even scratch the surface in one trip. Whether it\u2019s the genuinely warm, hospitable people, or the desire to visit that one famous temple you missed (oh, that mountain you didn\u2019t climb, and of course that restaurant your friend recommended, and that day-trip you couldn\u2019t squeeze in). You\u2019ll leave with some inarguable reason to come back to this bizarre, beautiful country and learn everything all over again. In Japan, culture meets crazy \u2014 and to experience one without the other would do the city an injustice.<\/p>\n Domo Arigat\u00f4 Gozaimasu. ?????????????<\/strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s in the district of Shibuya\u2014home to the Meiji Temple\u2014a pagoda and a Shinto shrine that my love story with Japan begins. Shibuya reflects the intersection of the rich and preserved Japanese culture and the vibrant\u00a0 trend of the new era.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[76,77],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4081"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4081"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4081\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}