Travelogue from Japan: Tokyo

In 2018, Michelle visited Japan. Read about her experiences in the metropolis, Tokyo, below.

My travel companion Trine and I landed at Haneda Airport in Tokyo. We were excited about what was in store for us, because neither of us had been to Tokyo – or Japan for that matter – before.

Tokyo is a vast metropolis with 23 districts and more than 13 million inhabitants, which can make it seem confusing and overwhelming. It’s also a city where you can’t get around to all the famous sights on foot, so you have to be prepared to spend a fair bit of time on public transport.

Thanks to a map of the city and the metro stations, which we received in our welcome pack, and not least a highly developed infrastructure, we actually really got to grips with the city and the metro after day one. Remember that they drive on the left and that you also have to stand on the left on escalators.

Tokyo is a wonderful city that manages to surprise you wherever you go. There are narrow streets and wide boulevards, cat cafés and Starbucks cafés, old buildings dating back to the Edo period and modern skyscrapers, European fashion houses and hip Japanese pop culture. World-class food, ancient traditions and an important tea culture are also found here. You could say that Tokyo upholds it past, traditions and history while keeping up with the present and looking ahead to the future – that’s probably the best way to describe Tokyo.

You will instantly find that everything is incredibly orderly and well organised. The trains do not arrive 10 seconds late. You stand in a straight line before boarding the trains, and there is no waste and rubbish on the streets despite the fact that there are almost no rubbish bins to be found. The Japanese take their rubbish home with them.

We quickly realised that the Japanese are both a very polite and superstitious people. So there are certain things that are important to be aware of. It is not the done thing, for example, to talk on your phone in the metro, to raise your voice in public or to leave your chopsticks in the rice bowl, as this is associated with death and funerals.

As not all Japanese people speak English, it is a good idea to practise a few expressions before leaving home, such as “konnichiwa” which means hello, “arigatou gozaimasu”, which means many thanks and “sumimasen” which means sorry or excuse me.

With hand on heart, I can say that Tokyo is the coolest city and one that you could go on exploring forever. The possibilities are endless…

Michelle, TourCompass