Tokyo Through My Eyes – Little Wonders and Lasting Memories

I have always been an observer, noticing the small details in the world around me. Here in Tokyo, I have spent a good amount of time taking in the small details as we walk around this amazing city. This is my first experience with an Asian country and culture, and so many aspects have fascinated me. Here’s some observations that I found interesting.

The Quiet

The streets of our neighborhood are unbelievably quiet. I have lived in quiet places before. As I’ve mentioned, I grew up on a farm in a very rural area. However, we are currently in the most populated city in the entire world. Tokyo has more than 37 million people in it’s greater metropolitan area. To put that into perspective, that is more than the entire country of Canada! When walking down the street, we rarely hear people talking and to be on your phone is considered rude. We have also experienced this quiet while riding the trains, walking along the Sumida river, and just about everywhere.

More Heat – More Clothes

The Japanese dress more modest than what you typically see in the states. They often wear neutral tones and it seems the higher the temperature, the more clothing they put on. Women are often seen carrying sun umbrellas, known as a higasa. These are made with UV-blocking material to prevent sunburn and long term skin damage. Higasa umbrellas come in stylish designs and are often coordinated with outfits. Historically, pale skin has been associated with elegance and refinement in Japan. I have seen women running in 90 degree heat literally covered head to toe (hat, gloves, and even a face shield). We also often see men and women carrying portable little fans pointed at their face while they walk.

Note all the umbrellas in this picture:

Cleanliness

I’ve always heard that Japan has a reputation for being very clean, but experiencing it first hand is pretty remarkable. There is an over arching respect within the Japanese culture that spills over into everything. If everyone is conscious of picking up their trash and keeping things nice, a place stays nice. The children learn from a young age in school to clean up after themselves. We follow this philosophy in our home and therefore have a tidy house the majority of the time. It’s amazing to see this in action on such a large scale!

Public bathrooms are extremely clean as well. The toilet seat is often heated and they have these toilet seat cleaning instructions in each stall. This is every girls dream! They also have a ‘privacy button’ you can push to play music while you do your business. This alone expresses so much about the reserved nature of this culture.

Random Little Things That Caught My Eye

Stores have a designated place outside to put your umbrella while you go inside. Maybe this is a common thing in places where it rains a lot, but I have not seen this in Colorado.

Locals ride bikes everywhere! Bikes like these are very common, often with a kid in the front and the back.

Restaurants

Water is often self-serve at a restaurant, however this isn’t always clearly stated and we often don’t know what to do. Should we get our own water? Will they bring it to us? Sometimes they realize we are Americans and bring it to us by default.

Meals are not served at the same time at a restaurant. When we went out for pizza, Alexis and I got our pizza’s before they even started making Dave and Braxton’s. We have yet to be served our food all at the same time.

Wet wipes are given at each restaurant for you to clean your hands before you eat. We’ve also been given a cold washcloth at some locations.

Favorite Memories

As our time in Tokyo comes to an end, we have been talking about all the things we loved about this city and the abundant memories we have made. From our favorite restaurants, to Dave wowing the locals with his Japanese (and me accidentally answering in Spanish), to Alexis finally winning at a claw machine, to Braxton running along the Sumida River like a local – our list of memories is long. I asked everyone what their favorite memory was and each one of us struggled to pick one single thing. Some of our favorites included conveyor belt sushi, karaoke, electric town, teamLabs, and countless walks along the Sumida river – we really loved it all!

We are taking a bullet train to Osaka tomorrow where we will finish our time here in Japan. Everyone is looking forward to exploring another city in this spectacular country. And also ready for a place with a bit more space!