Culture Briefings

Love for Tokyo

I type this as I watch one of the most fascinating documentary of the year- - Tokyo Revealed. (If you didn’t already know this, I am a Tokyo-phile) 10pm on Travel Channel.

So, I just watched this segment on cell-phones and it is ridiculous how advanced these people are- They actually video-chat via their cell phones and it is so simple. They buy drinks and condoms on the vending machines with a cool technology that connects their cell phones to their bank accounts.

Another interesting fact — Tokyo has a very low crime rate. According to the documentary, intense gun control is one of the factors that contributes to this safety.

And please, how can we miss the Capsule hotels?! Literally, it’s a– capsule-like quarters that have radio, tv, alarms and a bed. I guess it feels like being in a space shuttle of sorts? Mostly business men use these capsules costing $40 a night as opposed to $100 something a night in a hotel. The catch? most capsules hotels are only for men. hmm, now I wonder why/

and how cool is their transporation system? if the trains run LATE (which according to this doc. is highly improbable) anyways, if they do run late– the stations actually vend out a ticket/recepit stating that the train was late so that they passengers can show it to their bosses!

according to my roommate, who was in Tokyo for 2 weeks on business, a 2 hour commute to and from work is very normal in Tokyo. (it would be like traveling from ny to philly and back from philly to ny in the rickety chinatown bus every single day!!)

fun fact– the shibuya crossing is the world’s busiest crossing. 1,500 ppl cross every light everyday!!

(I’m sorry if it sounds like I’m giddy with enthusiasm and intrigue- - because I am!) I usually don’t use this many punctuations but I wouldn’t know how to communicate my dormant passion for this country in words alone.

When I interviewed Patricia Field, the designer/stylist for Sex and the City, I asked her why she sourced so much from Japan. (Her new store in the Bowery has an eclectic collection of little known Japanese designers and even Hello Kitty stuff.) She said to me, “They respond to popular culture — they breathe popular culture. I guess me and them speak the same language and we understand each other.” Right on.

I’m watching a segment on the fish market in Tokyo now — and although I don’t understand anything, I can tell when one of these fishsellers has made a good sale. They auction the fish at the market at 5am in the morning. You know, we talk so much about the volumne, chaos and color in Mumbai or even New York and ofcourse, I love these cities but I think sometimes, it pays to kinda just look outside your comfort zone and realize there are cities, huge metropolis’s just as alive, throbbing and glitzy as well.

In tokyo- its best not to order sushi on the wednesday. why? the fish market in tokyo closes every other wednesday so “there is a good chance that you may be eating yesterdays fish”

check out the toilet now– a self raising seat that is already prewarmed. a control panel, like a remote controls the water flow in the hole. even the surface is covered in bacteria-free substance. their toilets come with voice-drowning sounds AND a perfume emitter.

Hmm. Sumo wrestlers are celebrities in Tokyo — weeklies talk about their love lives and they are sorta pop icons. Interesting, iinit? And a ticket to a sumo wrestling costs $500. BUT– if you call the stable master (the sumo trainer) are polite, use the right words - you may get to see the training for free. The food receipes are secret, apparently. There is also a Sumo Town, a suburb of Tokyo. (How I wish I was the producer/director of this documentary)

And now… about the shopping disctricts in Tokyo - Ginza. “5th avenue meets Rodeo Drive” The Daslu of Brazil is like the WAKO of Japan. And oh boy, look at their electronics. Their Sony showroom in Ginza is a 6th fllor mega technology haven. “in a startship” setting. And ofcourse, the video games on flat plasma TVs.

The final segment, Tokyo’s nightlife. A cool new concept of mini-bar where “6 is company, 10 is a crowd.” Interesting, huh. A lovely intimate atmosphere that attracts Tokyo’s “bohemian” crowd. And didn’t Karoke emerge in Japan? At some bars, regulars have their own microphones to avoid getting germs from using strange microphones.
Ofcourse, they have their share of exclusive clubs that cost a couple hundred dollars to get in and even more for a drink. What would I give for that cognac that costs $4000 a bottle, huh? Although I’m more of a dry white wine drinker… (that too, I only last a glass)

I had seen a documentary about Hostessing in Tokyo where young blonde girls act as hostesses at bars, acting as an accessory to rich Japanese business men who pride at the sight of a blonde woman on his arm. Reminds me of the obsession *some* Indian men have with white girls. (Is hooking up with a white girl a status symbol for fresh of the boat desis? No offense but I’ve encountered plenty with that kind of an attitude, but then again, how can we discount the white boy fascination with “oriental” beauty?) I do not sterotype, this is a general observation based solely on my personal experiences and media consumption.

The documentary is over. And now I feel wistful. I thought aloud to my better half, “maybe we should go to tokyo for our honeymoon.” he said, “sure.. uhh,. but what will you eat?”

Oops.