Japan trip notes

Japan has been known as one of the world leading countries in technology and development. Although it is just a small island, it is a home to 127,3 million people and has a rich cultural history.

This was my first time to Japan and I wanted to scribble down the experience and my journey. From the start, I had a lot of expectations as to witness the bustling streets, historical spots, and urban development. Japan has been through massive destruction via wars and natural disasters. Much of the built structures, along with them the historical places were destroyed as a result. Despite all the damage, country has regained its speed to recovery and came to today’s Japan. I wanted to see Tokyo and its surrounding areas and experience the urban transition; how they transformed from ruined, damaged country to one of the leading countries in the world. To truly feel the city, I was also recommended by friends to just walk around the city and experience Tokyo streets, besides the obvious touristic spots. Since this was an university field trip, we had a full schedule to visit urban development related places everyday and were looking forward to learning new things about Tokyo.

To visit Japan, Mongolians need to get a visa first but the requirement for visa was not difficult. Because my classmates and I planned the trip more than a month earlier, there was enough time to prepare the necessary documents and file for a visa. Normally, the processing time is 2 weeks but it took only one day to issue our visas. For accommodation and flight ticket, we booked a month ahead, so there was not much difficulty. Our hotel was located near Asakusa where our first scheduled trip was going to take. We left Taipei in the evening of November 19th as our flight was 2 am in the morning on the 20th. Our arrival day and departure day was schedule-free, so we had free time to explore the city as we wanted. After we landed in Tokyo in the morning, we went to Ueno Park where various museums and beautiful park reside.

The trip was planned together with the Real Estate department and around 20 other students participated from the RE department. Our itinerary started with Tsukuji fish market on the first day and Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI), Yokohama urban development center, Tokyo Rinkai Disaster Prevention Center, Feng Chau market, Yanaka Ginza, and Tokyo university area in the following days.

Tsukuji fish market is the biggest seafood market in the world and it is located in downtown Tokyo. The market consists of inner and outer market and opens very early. Besides the wholesalers and buyers, the place is crowded with tourists. People have the chance to try fresh seafood from the small booths and retailers. Due to approaching Tokyo Olympics 2020, Tsukuji fish market was to move to a new location, as the city needs its downtown location for Olympics preparation. The new market Feng Chau is 2 miles away in Toyosu, one of 7 sub-centers surrounding Tokyo area. Moving date was scheduled in August 2016, however, because of the high contamination and pollution of the underground water and soil in Feng Chau, it was postponed until it was properly cleaned up. The market complex seemed quite big and modern, in comparison to the old Tsukuji market. Toyosu reminded me of Taoyuan city as it is developing rapidly but with lesser density.

Japan is prone to natural disasters. From Great Kanto Earthquake to recent Fukushima earthquake, it has been through large turmoil over the history. On our 2nd night in Tokyo, we have witnessed another big earthquake. 7,4 magnitude earthquake hit Fukushima around 2 AM and brought tsunami threats to the surrounding area. One of the first steps to take after any natural disaster is to scan the area thoroughly. For that, various kinds of map are needed. Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI) is the institution that is in charge of surveying and mapping of whole Japan. GSI surveys offer accurate positional data of particular point on earth, including sea level, longitude, and latitude. They carefully monitor the land using GPS stations, using satellites and other devices. In case of emergency, helicopter and special plane is used to survey and monitor specific areas. Naturally, GSI is not only for disaster prevention plans but also for land development and planning. Accurate and up-to-date maps are used both by private sectors and government agencies for urban development. GSI is also making efforts to make it more available to general public; hence they offer tours and workshops to anyone who is interested. We have visited the permanent exhibition at the center and learned about the natural disasters in the past, which affected the Tokyo area the most. This trip was closely connected to our other trip to Tokyo Rinkai Disaster Prevention Park. This facility provides experience-learning that gives guidance on how to survive the initial 72 hours after an earthquake. Participant takes a quiz throughout the tour while experiencing what it feels like to be in that position. It is important to know how to take care of yourself in the first 3 days, because it takes time for government aid and any help to arrive. Simulation of the disaster is much like the real situation and we were supposed to do small tasks like finding objects and unlocking information. After the experience zone, we went to the learning zone, which teaches different techniques and ways to survive and prepare for natural disaster. The facility is kids-friendly and provides many programs for children. In fact, they think it is important to educate children about this as early as possible. Not only people from Tokyo but from all around Japan come here to learn about survival methods and everyday measures to be prepared. The park is a great way to raise awareness in public and inform citizens about possible disaster preventions. Informed, aware people can lead to less damage when disaster hits.

Our visit to Yokohama Urban Development Center introduced us to the port city and its transformation history. Yokohama is one of the most important port cities of Japan. The city started as small fishing village and turned itself into powerful foreign trade base in mid 1800’s. However, it was ruined to a great extent during the great Kanto earthquake and once again during the World War II. Today Yokohama is fully recovered from the damages and turned itself into modern city. The feel of the city area was rather modern and expensive. Even the China town was very clean and Japanese-style.

Not all towns were transformed into modern, high-tech spots. On our last day schedule, we visited Yanaka Ginza in Taito ward where residents are trying to keep their old traditional lifestyle. The area is a small shopping street but the style can bring one back to the old days of Tokyo. It is, of course, nothing to compare with the Tokyo Ginza, which, in comparison, is a concrete jungle. For any city, it is crucial to save and keep the historical aspects and culture of the community. Urban development does not necessarily mean skyscrapers and modern architecture. To have an identity, city needs to nurture its old structure and history and the perfect example of that was Yanaka Ginza.

Walking around Tokyo gives one the time to feel and digest the surrounding environment. Tokyo University area in Hongo is the right place to roam around and explore the community and development. Maybe because of the limited land, many smaller sized cars were common. Even the construction vehicles were apparently smaller. Most of the resident areas are 2 story houses with a garage. Streets were calm and peaceful even though it was a weekday, compared to downtown. We could tell that this high-end neighborhood was an ideal place to settle. Although peaceful, new high-rise buildings are seen in the background in not so far proximity. Modernization is catching up.

During the trip in Tokyo, we used metro, bus, and express train. Train system is bit complicated as they belong to different companies. Metro, subway and local train are all separate yet together. Thanks to pasmo and suica card, an equivalent of Taiwanese EZ card and Korean TMoney card, transportation ticket is easy. However, commuting cost is very high. In the 6 days of commuting, we have spent more than 12000 JPY or 120 USD (rate of that time). On the other hand, food was relatively affordable. People say that food cost a lot in Tokyo but for travellers, staying for a week, it was affordable and tasty food. Streets are clean and hard to find trashcan. This situation is very similar to Taiwan and we can tell the Japanese influence is strong in Taiwan.

Overall, Tokyo trip was worth every long walk, every language mix-up and every early morning. We have experienced many culturally and historically important places both during the scheduled time and free time. If travelling just by ourselves, we probably would have missed those places. It was one of those enjoyable, great trips that ignites your curiosity, brings out an appreciation for the culture and leaves you wanting for more. Till next time, Ja Ne!

Related posts:

Getting Started with the code To add data binding wrap your parent view/view group with the <layout> tag <data> the tag can contain 2 more tags, <import> & <variable>, as the name shows import is…

The capacity of ChatGPT, an advanced language model created by OpenAI, to produce human-like writing and participate in conversational conversations, has led to its enormous appeal. You, as a user…

Crypto.com DeFi Wallet now supports Binance Smart Chain (requires DeFi Wallet V1.16.0 or above). With DeFi Wallet, users can easily send, store, and manage 200+ DeFi tokens — including ATOM, AAVE…