Tokyo / Tokyo

Tokyo, Japan

June 26, 2009

Tokyo has two faces. Yamanote and Shitamachi: uptown and downtown, mod and trad, respectively.

The dichotomy is not as physically striking as, say, Pudong and Puxi in Shanghai, which are geographically distinct. In Tokyo, the separation is more subtle, with one side bleeding into the other. They are not districts of the city, but a subcultural distinction. Nevertheless, the two areas’ antithesis was palpable as soon as I met my friend-cum-guide, Mr. A.

High Fashion and High Jinks in Yamanote

Mr. A, who has lived in nearby Kawasaki on and off for some years now, planned our city tour. I noticed, though, that the spots he would take me and my travel buddy to visit were clustered on one side of the city – the western part. It all seemed both logical and practical: it was a time-, money-, and energy-saving itinerary. However, when I suggested a particular place on the other side I got a stern refusal. As human nature would have it, the forbidden fruit looked more enticing than the permissible ones in the basket.

The Mikoshi, a Symbol of the Traditions of Shitamachi

Mr. A, perhaps unconsciously, limited his tour to Yamanote, the face of modern Tokyo. Literally, the name means “towards the mountain” – it sits on an elevated area preferred by the feudal privilege class for its cooler climes. Today, it is the “uptown” part of the city, not only geologically but culturally. This is the face that Tokyo puts on to occupy its niche among world-class cities: upscale, state-of-the-art, avant garde, forward-thinking, Western.

Yamanote is best exemplified by Roppongi, a newly developed district gleaming with high-rise condos, high-end brand-name shops and entertainment, high-brow art installations, and high-class denizens of yuppie Tokyoites and expats. But all that glitters is not gold; I heard some of the habitues here are arrivistes. Show-biz types, IT moneymakers, all sorts of gaijin (foreigners), and allegedly even Yakuza members comprise the Roppongi demographics.

Despite its raunchy reputation (most of the locals, usually the older set, I had talked to had low regard for Roppongi), art is alive and well in the district. In fact, this is where “the art triangle” is: The National Art Center Tokyo, Mori Art Museum, and Suntory Museum of Art forming acute angles of galleries. But browsing modern art was not part of our agenda, which was such a pity because the exhibitions were open to the public for free.

National Art Center in Roppongi, Tokyo

Maman in Roppongi, Tokyo

Just outside the 54-storey high Mori Tower stood Maman, the famous Louise Bourgeois spider sculpture, which I had previously seen in a friend’s photo taken at Guggenheim in Bilbao, Spain. I had certainly not expected to see one in Roppongi! But there she was in all her ten-meter-tall pregnant glory. I went directly under its latticed sac to check her marble eggs. All accounted for – she hadn’t lost her marbles!

Another kind of giant jumped at me – humongous video screens that camouflage entire walls. It was on one of these vidi walls that I confirmed Michael Jackson’s death (which I initially thought was just a bad-joke-gone-viral). It was one of those “where were you when it happened” events – and I’d never forget hearing about it in Roppongi.

More of Mori Tower in Roppongi, Tokyo

Showing on the Wall: Video Wall in Roppongi, Tokyo

Behind the skyscrapers, public art, and mod glitz, our feet led us to a vestigial oasis of traditional Japan in the form of Mori Garden. Located beside the TV Asahi (a national TV station) headquarters, the garden was quietly Zen. Old camphor and cherry trees in the area had been preserved here, as well as the original terrain that directed the water flow in the garden pond, a soothing water feature of this modern development.

Adding an “only in Japan” touch, Mori Pond contains the Space Medaka, descendants of rice fish spawned in outer space aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia in 1994. About 10,000 of them were released in the pond in 2003. They were so tiny though that it was hard to catch a glimpse of one! The pond symbolizes the unity of Tokyo’s old and new faces, the crossroad between Yamanote and Shitamachi.

Mori Pond: A Symbol of Old and New Tokyo, of Yamanote and Shitamachi

It was late in the afternoon and I had seen Tokyo’s new face, but I couldn’t shake off the allure of the old. Besides, I wanted to rendezvous with a local Tokyoite I know in that area. Finally, I was able to convince Mr. A to let me go by myself. I braved the convoluted Tokyo Metro alone to Shitamachi, the face of traditional Tokyo.

Literally, Shitamachi means “low city” as it is located in the marshes of Sumida River and Tokyo Bay. Historically, this was where the lower castes of Japanese society lived – the merchants, entrepreneurs, and artisans. This community was presented so vividly in a recent Japanese period film I had seen: Always – San-chome no yuhi (Always – Sunset on Third Street). This is the face of Tokyo that is more akin to Kyoto: traditional, working class, collectivist, and holding on to the past.

I took the Ginza Metro to Ueno. This line is the oldest in Tokyo (it opened in 1927); its yellowed tiles and smaller, shaky trains gave its age away. It was like being transported to Tokyo of decades past. It actually reminded me of NYC subway back in the 80s. Curiously, it was only in this line that I saw protective railings between the platform and the railway – to keep suicidal people from jumping onto the tracks of an approaching train.

Chuo-dori in Downtown Ueno, Tokyo

I emerged from Ueno Station to the busy Chuo-dori (Chuo Avenue). At first glimpse, this downtown didn’t seem any different from, say, Ginza or Shinjuku: busy and lit up by neon lights. But its lack of sheen and a rather stale air soon emerged. My Tokyoite friend and I cut through Ueno Park, known as a haven for the homeless. I did see some pushing their shopping carts on the sidewalk but mostly keeping to themselves in dark corners. The homeless here seemed more discreet than their in-your-face Third World counterparts.

Kaminarimon in Asakusa, Tokyo

Our leisurely stroll from the subway station through Asakusa, the heart of Shitamachi, was poles apart from my Roppongi experience. We entered through the Kaminarimon, a gate of the Senso Temple, which had a giant chochin, a hanging lantern made of paper or silk. The whole thing screamed old and quaint. Shitamachi brings you back down to traditional Japan from the extraterrestrial futuristic world over at the Yamanote side.

I found Asakusa a charming place conducive for unhurried exploration on foot. The Nakamise Shopping Street and alleys that bisect it perpendicularly exuded this Shitamachi vibe (as I’ve seen in the aforementioned movie): low wooden structures, lighted lanterns, traditional merchandise, and the occasional jinrikisha (rickshaw) zipping by. Smaller versions of the chochin adorned the pedestrian streets flanked by small souvenir shops and traditional Japanese restaurants. My friend’s elderly parents had a kimono shop in the area.

Shitamachi Spirit on Nakamise Shopping Street

My Friend from Asakusa

What made the whole promenade come together was the koto music wafting from unseen speakers. The sparse plucking sound of the koto (a traditional Japanese stringed instrument) is an ethereal minimalist music that is both unobtrusive and unyielding to other aural stimuli. It might be a tad contrived, but I realized there were tourist traps that could pleasantly detain. Along the way I saw many Japanese traditional items on display, such as the mikoshi, a portable Shinto shrine carried by devotees on their shoulders.

Finally, I capped the day of pounding the pavement with a rejuvenating and wonderful dinner at Tofuro Bakufu-cho. I devoured hefty servings of tempura and wasabi-dipped delights. The most delightful item on the menu though was ganso mocchiri tofu (original creamy tofu) – a soft round tofu that melts in your mouth. I melted with it; I thought I’d died and gone to heaven! Could this be the forbidden fruit that Mr. A didn’t want me to partake?

Heavenly Tofu Ball from Tofuro Bakufu-cho, Asakusa, Tokyo

This day-long tour around Tokyo was a great face off between the city’s two faces. Yamanote versus Shitamachi, Roppongi versus Asakusa. Ultimately, there was no contest. They are two phases of one face – the yin and yang of Tokyo. Was it a toss between a bronze arachnid sculpture and a fluffy tofu ball? It may be a cop out, but really it was a draw. Otherworldly and heavenly – both were a delight to the senses. Both represented Tokyo in distinct, complementary ways.