Tokyo – a city that will not cease to surprise

Konichiwa,

Our first two weeks in Tokyo are over, and even though we are still very early in our new adventure one can say without doubt that we will be in for a big surprise, in a positive way!

Now, the first impression I got from Tokyo is that it is not a nice city – that being judged only from the outside, my first view over the first few days. Obviously it is huge, but it appeared as well very grey (despite lovely sunshine) and yeah I may say it came around as plain.

Having said that, that was my first “bird’s view” impression, on a second view you will see hidden gems, curious, interesting, crazy areas, areas too crowded to be believed, areas with a lot of culture and history, temples and shrines spread all over the place and totally new, super neat modern areas. Sometimes it is a bit overwhelming, yet mostly it feels good and less crazy than expected.

Despite being such a massive and huge city it can appear small at times and not crowded at all! Don’t laugh, it is true! I would say the city sets itself together of different clusters of smaller ‘cities’ (I can’t really say suburbs or villages with that many people living here, can I?) So I am sure once we figured out the main areas we will know where to go for what we need, respectively depending on which mood we are in – we will know where to go for some action or something more quiet.

Having said that – Tokyo …

…did surprise me that people speak even less English than I expected – I knew it wouldn’t be a lot, but didn’t expect  that little. Yet you still make yourself understandable with hand and feet and people are helpful and friendly. This experience takes me back to our time in Cairo and trying to communicate with the people at our local Zouk; good memories. And it reminds me to definitely start listening to the Japanese CDs and to get a language teacher asap!

…is indeed crazy during rush hour and you do not make too many friends by being there with three kids – and sometimes even with a buggy. A buggy and three kids may interrupt the super organised and structured ‘ant-like’ walking process. Over daytime and at weekends it is a whole different story and easy as anywhere else.

…is a huge city with millions and millions of people but the restaurants and café’s are often smaller than you would believe, just a few seats, small tables. Our buggy definitely needs to stay outside. Obviously, space is rare and costs a lot of money and that represents itself. But it is funny to come here and see so many small – yet absolutely fabulous – eating places. Any café or restaurant in the small village we lived in Germany prior to moving here is bigger. I found that rather interesting if not to say stunning.

…has small and it seems not that many supermarkets. Same like the restaurants the supermarkets are pretty small – yet you get everything you need – and more, and all is nice and fresh. There might be bigger ones somewhere – which would come in handy being here with a family of five – but we still have to discover them!

… does still have a lot of bookstores – and most are filled with shelves over shelves full with Comics / Mangas. A culture I still have to get deeper into. So I better get started with the much-needed Japanese lessons soon!

…is in Japan and Japan is famous for its toilets. Yes, having kids you won’t get around mentioning that subject! We came across a vast array of toilets already; heated seats, sprays for the front and back, music to avoid that the neighbouring toilet person hears what kind of ‘business’ you do and every toilet seems to have a flush at a different location and some even with a remote control flushing system. Definitely one of the kids’ highlight!

…is an earthquake city. That fact is apparent all over the place and an earthquake education definitely recommended. The school has helmets under every chair and the teachers have an emergency kit in the classrooms. So does my husband at the office. I will have an earthquake education by the end of the week. The thought of experiencing my first earthquake freaks me out, but hopefully we will only encounter small ones and hopefully the family is together when it happens.

And whereas I always thought of Tokyo as super modern, watching the men’s business clothes it is all very clear-cut – dark suits or trousers and white, max light blue shirts, no strong colours. Yet others have definitely their own style, a style that may come into your mind when you think of Tokyo – crazy and vibrant.

I knew before coming here that one can’t compare – not only by size – Tokyo with Singapore where we lived overall for 7 years and a city we came to love and feel home. Yet, despite being so much bigger, some comparisons are possible – it is clean, safe, easy to navigate, very organized and seems very friendly. There are food stalls/restaurants, cafes, small local shops all over the place. And I am sure that once we found our way and are more settled we will be able to find and get everything you need (and won’t need) – the world comes together here, too. Whereby Singapore is definitely much more much westernized and cosmopolitan than Tokyo, Tokyo still managed to keep its ‘Japanese personality’ and I hope it will manage to keep it!

It is still very early in our new adventure but we had a good start and are all looking forward to what is to come – all the fun, joy, excitement, surprises yet not to forget the frustration, the need to get out to ‘breathe’ and annoyance that comes along with every move and every big city – and yes the earthquakes. And when times do get hard and difficult it is not to forget that there are hard and difficult times no matter where you live! But it is important to learn to focus on the good and positive small things again to see the bigger picture!

We hope this gives you a little picture on how we are doing so far!

Lots of love, Have a lovely day

AK