It's only been a few weeks, but I’m in Tokyo’s rapture. The energy, order, beauty, cleanliness and sizzle of this city of 14 million is enthralling.
One of my first thoughts was about my decade living in New
York City (NYC); an experience invaluable living here. I left the Big Apple 11 years
ago, so the endurance a NYC requires wasn’t top of mind. The stamina needed was
a bit of a surprise during the beginning moments in Tokyo, although I quickly felt comfortable
with the rapid pace of the world’s largest city. The walking and enormous subway system alone
is hectic, but if you’ve never had this type of lifestyle, the acclamation
could be difficult.
We hit the ground running after arriving on a Saturday
morning. Time waits for no one. During the weekend, we explored our area of
Shibuya and bought some basic needs for the apartment. We went to a local
park, had dinner out, went swimming, visited a playground and soaked in the
newness and uniqueness of Tokyo.
Colossal is another word for this place, as some streets are
packed beyond belief and as far as the eye can see. Watching 500-800 people on
a street corner has not been an uncommon sight. The walking was tough on the
kids initially, as not only did we walk more than they are used to, but the
temperatures were humid and hot (23c/74f to 26c/82f).
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| Takeshita Street in Tokyo |
The cleanliness of the entire city is almost unreal. I don’t
know how they keep everything so spotless.
During our June visit, I saw a worker tidying up a perfectly clean and empty subway car. That picture painted a thousand words about Japan.
After three visits to a store, my
lovely wife cooked a delicious chicken curry stew for our first Sunday night
dinner. In addition, one of the few appliances we have is a rice cooker, which
we managed successfully, although never expecting it to take 50 minutes. It was
perfect though.
The food here is outstanding,
as I expected from Japan’s
stellar reputation. The Japanese have the globe's best longevity (88
for women and 83 for men), and the way they eat is a big reason why. One
can buy very good sushi in a local supermarket and eating simple food out is
much cheaper than cooking food at home.
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| Yoyogi Park on a Sunday |
Across the street from our
building is a large sports complex with a gym, swimming pool, track and soccer field
– which is a great luxury. The 2 pools were a boatload of fun with the kids on
Sunday, although they have a lot of rules, including everyone wearing a cap in
the pool - even bald guys.
After the first 3-5 days, reality started to set in when my
wife was getting ready to begin her new job and the kids were starting at their
International School. Needless to say, our children were extremely
tired after day one, but their optimism about this new atmosphere made us feel
good about our school choice. There are 330 students and 50 nationalities; and they
get 50 minutes of Japanese everyday.
I’ve kept my running up during the first two weeks, which
helped me to get over my jet lag. I visited a friend in Seiju (35 minutes by
train) for a 5k, which will be even more picturesque in the spring, as the
cherry blossoms span the whole length of the small river running path we took.
Exploring is a vital part of getting to know a new city, so I plan to do as much as I can.
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| Meiji Jingu (Shinto Shrine) |
We’ve also met quite a few Swedes here, which give us that
touch of familiarity. In addition, the expat community is strong and I’ve had
numerous conversations with people from all parts of the world. The majority have been lively and
interesting, which has been refreshing. My son had his 2nd Sunday of
soccer practice already, which he is happy about as he loves the game and the
club has an international flavor.
A few invitations for dinner and brunch came our way
promptly. Gaining insight and tips about Tokyo
from folks who have been living here much longer than we have is important. I
also had a friend visiting for business, who invited me to a wonderful rooftop
bar. It had magnificent views of the city! Although I was supremely tired
that Friday night, I made sure to push myself out the door at 10:30pm, as I
hadn’t seen this former colleague in 13 years.
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| Andaz Tokyo Hotel |
Finally, a rare ‘wow’ moment hit me as I was visiting Costco
with a long time USA
friend. She has been living here for 18 years. As we were walking the enormous
aisles, I couldn’t help but wonder….”what are the chances of two east coast USA expats being on the outskirts of Tokyo shopping together?”
A wave of gratitude ran through me.
This is the third country (Sweden
and Serbia being first) I’ve
lived in outside of my birthplace in the USA. I never imagined having the opportunity to live in such thrilling and/or interesting places around the
world. I’m thankful.
It's crystal clear that Tokyo is a city like no other and I can’t
wait for it all to unfold in the next 3 years.
I don’t foresee any journey equalling the Manhattan
magic, but Tokyo
is on track to be a worthy sequel.
Happy Gswede Sunday!
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| Tokyo at Night |
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