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Urban Japan & its pop culture

From Tokyo to Osaka

By Ellen

October 18^th, 2017

left our hearts in tokyo

That’s what happened in 2014 after our first trip to Japan (check out my previous posts about Tokyo and Central Japan), so we had to get them back. Without success though, Japan stole our hearts forever!

Nakagin Capsule Tower

The Nakagin Capsule Tower is a mixed-use residential and office tower designed by architect Kisho Kurokawa and located in Shimbashi. Completed in just 30 days in 1972, the building is a rare remaining example of Japanese Metabolism, a post-war Japanese architectural movement.

The building is strictly off limits to people not living or working there, so we booked a tour with Access Point: Architecture-Tokyo. They own one of the capsules. Nahoko guided us along some other metabolist buildings to finally show us the inside of one of those capsules. A-MA-ZING! Such a shame the building has fallen into disrepair.

Extraordinary Experience

We tried finding a place to eat under the brick arches beneath the train tracks of the Yamanote Line. Restaurants under the tracks are known as Gado Shita (literally: under the girders). But we ended up in an Izakaya (tiny family-run restaurant) near Shimbashi Station. It was all hands and feet, because they didn’t speak much English, luckily the neighbouring bartender did. We politely refused the chicken sashimi (raw chicken), but allowed them to serve us anything else. We kicked off with a huge snail, yum ... Er, not really.

The owner turned out to be a fan of our fellow Dutchie Candy Dulfer. With Ando, the guy sitting next to me, we talked about Gundam, kawaii (cute), French Bulldogs (French-u Bullodo), mochi (my favorite Japanese sweet snack) and anko beans. Which led the owner to get me some mochi for desert, but he couldn’t find any so he brought me a Dorayaki (sweet Japanese pancake). To top it all of, Ando decided to pay our bill!

Gundam Heaven

Across the so called Rainbow Bridge (very Mario Bros.) lies Odaiba, this place is heaven for Gundam lovers like my husband.

Gundam is a science fiction media franchise that features giant robots (mecha) called mobile suits bearing the name Gundam. It began on April 7, 1979 as Mobile Suit Gundam, a TV series that defined the real robot or “mecha” anime genre by featuring giant robots in a militaristic setting. The popularity of the series and its merchandise spawned a franchise that includes television series, films, manga, novels and video games.

Fuji TV Building designed by Kenzo Tange

Life-Size Unicorn Gundam

This life-size RX-0 Unicorn Gundam has replaced the RX-78-2 Gundam we visited last time. It even transforms and lights up!

Gundam Base Tokyo

The Gundam Base Tokyo is a store and museum themed after the Gundam franchise.

Shibuya Crossing

Shibuya is famous for its scramble crossing and stops vehicles in all directions to allow pedestrians to overrun the entire intersection. Its heavy traffic and overwhelming advertising has led to it being compared to Times Square in New York City.

conveyor belt Sushi

At this kaiten sushi restaurant you can binge on delicious, fresh sushi for next to nothing! You order your sushi on an iPad and it gets delivered to you on a conveyor belt.

We took this opportunity to try some natto, fermented soy beans usually eaten for breakfast. It is known to be an acquired taste due to its smell and stringy texture. Not our cup of tea ...

Pretty in Pink

In Japan, pink is the colour most commonly associated with springtime due to the blooming of cherry blossoms. The country’s love affair with this colour is often translated into everyday objects.

Uneven Topography

The topography in Roppongi is a consequence of inheriting the town layout of the Edo period, the plateau designed as land for the samurai, the lowland area as land for the townspeople and artisans.

Tokyo City View

The best observatory in Tokyo from which you can see the most iconic sights of the city including the famous Tokyo Tower. We paid extra to get up on the roof which is very rare in Tokyo for a building of this height.

Something Fishy

We strolled the rainy narrow streets of Golden Gai a bit too early, but luckily Ramen Nagi is open 24/7. We entered through the solid door, up a steep flight of steps and into a tiny space with just ten counter seats. We were squeezed into a very tight corner and placed our order using the small vending machine at the top of the stairs. Although I’m not a big fan of fishy liquids (the broth is made with dried baby sardines), it didn’t disappoint and was actually very tasty.

Culture of Cute

The strange, fascinating world of kawaii, or culture of cute, is largely what we came back for. The kawaii craze has been a rebellion against the seriousness of adulthood, a counterbalance to the harshness of the real world. Cute elements can be found almost everywhere in Japan. Many companies use cute mascots to present their wares and services to the public.

Shop till you drop

My husband packed his suitcase full with Gundam model kits. I managed to find myself an awesome turquoise and pink coloured glow-in-the-dark kaiju (Godzilla, not pictured) for my sofubi (soft-vinyl toys) collection.

Japanese Curry

We had to revisit this place, who doesn’t want to eat at this giant Gorilla. It’s one of the view places where you get to eat with a fork instead of chopsticks, so that seats become available more quickly.

Curry is one of the most popular dishes in Japan. Katsu-karē is a breaded deep-fried cutlet (usually pork or chicken) with curry sauce. Curry was introduced to Japan during the Meiji era (1868–1912) by the British, at a time when India was under the colonial rule of the British Raj. The dish became popular and available for purchase in supermarkets and restaurants in the late 1960s. It has been adapted since its introduction to Japan, and is so widely consumed that it can be called a national dish.

Arcade Fever

Where we won two plush French Bulldogs last time, we didn’t win anything this time around. My Totoro coin pouch came in handy though.

Meiji Shrine

To clear our heads from the hustle and bustle of the city we took a relaxing stroll to Meiji Shrine through Yoyogi Park. The shrine was completed and dedicated to the Emperor Meiji in 1920, it was destroyed during the Second World War and rebuilt shortly thereafter.

Buzzing Harajuku

Renowned for its colourful street art and fashion scene, with quirky vintage clothing stores and cosplay shops along Takeshita Street.

Cappuccino featuring a Gundam character named Haro at 3D latte art café Reissue

Best Tonkatsu in Tokyo

That’s what other people said anyway and as Tonkatsu-lovers we follow up on these types of claims. Maisen promises Tonkatsu that is so tender you could cut it with your chopsticks. Even though the atmosphere felt like a social club for old people, they didn’t disappoint foodwise.

Earlier that day we had the best shio ramen and gyoza (dumplings) in a random alley off of Omotesando Avenue. We love affordable, high quality alley-food and eating shoulder-to-shoulder with locals.

Moment of Zen

We travelled a little bit south of Tokyo to visit the spacious Japanese Sankeien Garden. Sankeien contains many historical houses and buildings that are recognized as being culturally significant by the government. These buildings were brought to the park from locations all over the Japan, and include a three storied pagoda, originally constructed in Kyoto in the mid-1400s.

Book shop

A random book shop in between our hotel and Mos Burger (Japanese Mickey D's) in Chiyoda, Tokyo.

Public Transport Tokyo

Public transport in Japan is the best! Trains are very punctual, everybody lines up before getting on the train, eating or drinking in local trains isn’t allowed and people generally sit or stand in silence as being too loud is considered rude.

Gachapon hunting

Gachapon machines are similar to the coin-operated toy vending machines seen in other countries. In Japan you can find them in every nook and cranny of malls, arcades and stores. While American and European coin-operated vending toys are usually cheap, low-quality products, Japanese gachapon are normally a much higher-quality product. They are often constructed from high-grade PVC plastic, and contain more molding detail and intricately painted features. Many gachapon are considered collector’s items, with rare ones fetching extremely high prices in secondhand markets.

Gachapon is a onomatopoeia from the two Japanese sounds: “gacha” for the hand-cranking action of a toy-vending machine, and “pon” for the toy capsule landing in the collection tray.

Let’s-A Go!

It still feels a bit surreal that we cruised the streets of Tokyo dressed up as Mario and Luigi in a go-kart. Mayo and Yosuke guided us and 5 others on a 3 hour tour around the city center past Tokyo Tower, through Roppongi and Shibuya, at high speed over Rainbow Bridge to the bay side area and back. I would highly recommend this to everyone!

Leaving Tokyo Behind

We took the so called Romancecar, with its panoramic windows, to our next destination in Hakone.

Fuji-san, Finally & Luckily!

We came to Hakone for a sighting of Mt. Fuji and we finally did, it wasn’t for long though because the weather turned fairly quickly. We sailed across crater lake Ashi, walked a bit of the old Tokkaido Road and visited Hakone Shrine and it lakefront torii gate.

Public Transport Osaka

The first thing that a traveller coming from Tokyo notices in Osaka is the custom to stand on the right side of the escalators and to walk on the left side. This is entirely counter-intuitive for a country with left-hand traffic. Other than that Osakans are less formal and more down to earth compared to Tokyoites.

Neon Galore

Osaka is known to be a food lover’s paradise, therefore the entire area of Dotonbori is crammed with an unbelievable number of restaurants. At night it is lit by hundreds of neon lights and mechanised signs.

As-You-Like-It Pancakes

After some hesitation (we don’t like wasting time) we joined the cue at Mizuno for some Okonomiyaki, a pan fried food that consists of batter and cabbage. You can top it with all sorts of meat, vegetables or seafood. In fact, “okonomi” literally means “to one’s liking”.

Osaka’s Kitchen

Kuromon Ichiba Market is more than 190 years old and offers some of the best and freshest seafood in Osaka.

Squid Balls

That's what we like to call Takoyaki, a ball-shaped Japanese snack with cooked octopus (tako) inside. Takoyaki are brushed with takoyaki sauce (similar to Worcestershire sauce) and mayonnaise, and then sprinkled with seaweed and shavings of dried bonito.

Hozenji Yokocho Alley

This narrow, stone-paved alley in the heart of Namba feels like the Osaka of hundreds of years ago. Cozy and quaint, lined on both sides with small izakaya, bars and eateries.

Kushikatsu at Angry Man

We had kushikatsu at Daruma twice because is was so incredibly crunchy and delicious. Luckily there was this very sweet waiter explaining the rules to us in English. The main rule as written on the menu: please do not put sauce twice! The bowl of sauce is passed from one guest to the next, therefore double dipping is a big no-no.

White Heron Castle

We didn't visit Himeji Castle last time because we knew it was covered in scaffolding for renovation, this time we did take the opportunity to visit Japan’s most spectacular castle. Unlike many other Japanese castles, it was never destroyed by war, earthquake or fire.

Me with my inflamed eye and crazy samurai husband

New World

Shinsekai is a district that was developed before the war and then neglected in the decades afterwards. Paris was chosen as the model for Shinsekai’s northern half, complete with an Eiffel Tower-like structure (Tsutenkaku Tower), while the southern portion was built to imitate Coney Island in New York. It is supposed to be one of the most dangerous neighbourhoods in Japan. Well, dangerous by Japanese standards. The streets are a little grittier than elsewhere in Japan, which gives it a Blade Runner-esque feel (in a good way).

Janjan Yokocho Alley

We did some cork gun shooting at Hihokan, played retro games at Kasuga Gorakujo and passed a shogi (Japanese chess) parlor full of elderly players. As recently as 10 years ago, the alley was home to nearly a dozen such parlors, but this is the last one still in operation.

Osaka Obachan

We knew about the oldest Japanese idol group KBG84 from Okinawa with an average age of 84, so when we noticed a similar, younger group of women from Osaka would perform in the basement of Tsutenkaku Tower, we were willing to stick around. We enjoyed watching these older Japanese ladies have so much fun!

Floating Garden

The Umeda Sky Building is a spectacular high rise building consisting of two towers that are connected with each other by the “Floating Garden Observatory” (it wasn't really a garden though), with great views of the city from its open-air deck.

Rainbow Sweetness

Rainbow everything, rainbow cotton candy, rainbow ice cream ... Okay, maybe not everything rainbow, I blame Halloween.

VENDING MACHINES

We are always on the hunt for unknown and cute looking drinks. Gotta taste ’em all! Below is just a selection, among which hot coffee, solid jello, melted soft serve ice cream and cream puff filling.