My First Trip to Japan

My first trip to Japan as an adult a few years back was for work, travelling with a few colleagues (one of them my boss at the time) for a conference. Having spent the majority of my youth studying in England, Japan never really crossed my mind as a destination for travels and/or holiday. So far as I know people always mentioned travelling to Europe, and of course the United Kingdom, London in particular. But I was curious. Japan gained popularity as a destination for holidays in recent times but I myself never considered it. I heard that it is one of the safest places on earth. So when I was scheduled to go there, I wanted to find out for myself if this would be true for a solo muslim lady traveller. To that end everyday after all work related matters were completed, I would venture to different areas of Tokyo on my own. Since the trip was a short one, I tested the waters by visiting the usual touristic areas that people - content creators on social media talked about: Shibuya, Shinjuku and of course Asakusa. I do owe so much to the content creators on Youtube for the information that they shared.

Since each area had so much to offer this article is more like an introduction. A summary of the places I visited during this trip. And the experience and details in each area will be shared in later articles.

The Arrival

We arrived in Tokyo late at night. After clearing Immigration and Baggage Claim we proceeded to wait for a Taxi - I was travelling with my boss at the time (lets call her Sally from now on for convenience) and it was her decision. So I simply agreed.

The taxi ride itself was quite an introduction to Japan. It was akin to a scene in the movie “The Fast and the Furious”. Scared and excited at the same time, I trusted the Taxi Driver knew what he was doing. The ride highlighted his skills in handling the vehicle - though he was fast even at corners, he never lost control.

Upon arriving safely at our hotel we proceeded to check in, Sally went first of course and that was how our first night in Tokyo concluded.

The next morning I woke up to a beautiful view of a big mountain far away - it was magnificent. Every time I think about it I always laugh. I did not inform Sally of the view from my room as she was complaining at breakfast that all she could see was the apartment in front of the hotel. I just nodded along - afraid that she would ask me to switch rooms. I learned later that the mountain out my window was indeed Mount Fuji herself, I simply couldn’t believe it. What rizk Allah s.w.t. granted me to see Mt. Fuji on my very first visit to Japan. And it was magnificent even from far away. I am so grateful to Allah s.w.t. for all that He has given me, and indeed He has given me a lot. A lot more than I think I would ever deserve.

First Day in Tokyo - Ginza

Since we arrived a day before the conference, the first day was spent visiting stationery stores in Tokyo. That was what I planned when I found out that I would be attending the conference.

Over the years I developed a great interest in the arts and at that point I was painting with watercolours regularly and even explored Sumi-e painting. So naturally before the trip I did my research, that is on Youtube, on the stationery stores in Tokyo. A big thanks to @pawshire on Youtube for her very helpful content.

The first place we visited was Itoya in Ginza. When we arrived at the store I was super excited and wanted to scream. Reviewing the video I took, I actually did (a little and quietly of course).

Itoya did not disappoint. The beautiful window display made clear that this was a creative space. Upon entering, the sounds of soft calming music with the chirping of birds instantly made me feel joyous, calm, and excited all at the same time. Twelve floors of stationery and art related items, ok the 12th floor was a cafe and the 6th floor was for home items but nonetheless I was excited to explore each of them.

In summary, as I decided that the experience in Itoya and all related stationery stores should be in a separate article, Itoya definitely is a place for stationery lovers. From unique greeting cards to fine pens, home decor, washi tapes, stickers, journals and more it will make you feel like to want to buy everything even though you don’t need it - which applies to almost everything I came across in Japan. Visiting Itoya was a wonderful experience in itself. Be prepared for it to be crowded especially where the standard pens are since it will most probably be filled with stationery lovers from all over the world busy testing all sorts of pens to bring back home. And be even more prepared to surgically remove yourself from the building after buying a bunch of things that will make you question the purpose of life because the products they offer are simply mesmerising, at least for stationery lovers. (I’m still trying to figure out a way to live in that shop - yet to find success for now).

The Loft experience

Loft is a variety store carrying home products, cosmetics, luggages, and of course stationeries. One was located nearby to Itoya and so it became the next destination.

I was told that the Japanese took their bath time seriously. But seeing the range of bath salts in Loft made me understand how seriously they took it. I cannot begin to imagine how you are supposed to choose from such a wide variety of bath salts. But I suppose you just have to because unless you are a gaziillionaire or something, there’s too many to buy at one go. And even if we can do that, that would be excessive spending which is not praiseworthy in my faith.

Back to the stationeries - the range that they carried left me speechless. Rows of pens, notebooks, stickers, washi tapes, cute notepads, sticky notes, and fine pens from a variety of brands made me I wonder, how do people even get out of the stores here?

So after our short visit to Loft, we proceeded to get dinner at a place that Sally picked out because it was viral - Tsujihan. And yes Alhamdulillah it was delicious. After that we went straight back to the hotel to call it a day and prepared ourselves for the conference we were to attend the next morning.

Shibuya - First Impression

I visited Shibuya in the evening after having dinner with the bosses. First impression - “my God it is huge!” Lights from electronic displays everywhere. Tall buildings that made me question proportions. And of course since it is a hotspot for tourists, people covered the streets from every angle. Extolled everywhere on social media beyond my comprehension - I of course had to walk across the infamous Shibuya Crossing - but to be honest I thought - is this it? It was so short. Maybe I just built this image and expectation in my head that it would be grander - like I had to walk inch by inch as it will be super-packed. But in reality the cross was pleasant and breezy enough. I actually crossed it twice just for the sake of it (silly things we do as foreigners). Maybe it was just one of those nights. Maybe their crowd control mechanism and culture are simply superior - that even though there are a lot of people no one will suffocate from it. Maybe I simply failed to appreciate it. Regardless, the experience was an interesting one and Shibuya Crossing remains to be one of the busiest crossings on the planet.

Shibuya seems more like a  party spot to me. With eateries and entertainment establishments abound. You go there to be amused by technology, shopping, and more. After exploring it to decide whether it would be a place that I would like to return to I concluded in the affirmative (mainly because there is another branch of Loft there which is bigger).

Shinjuku - First Impression

The visit to Shinjuku was a funny one. I was not exactly aware that it was THE Shinjuku. We were there because Sally wanted to eat at a particular place which I had no knowledge of. When we arrived at the station she asked me the location of the restaurant. Interesting behaviour I thought. I was trying to help, but it was my first time in Japan trying to navigate via google maps which I think was not really working at the time ( since then I found that this happens sometimes. One day google maps will work fine and the next day it decides that I should collect 50,000 steps and send me around in a goose chase through the many side streets of Tokyo but whatever - the streets of Japan are always interesting and more importantly clean anyway, but this behaviour of google maps is not amusing when you are exhausted).

So we finally found the place, had dinner, took a few pictures, and returned to the hotel for the conference the next day.

First impressions of Shinjuku - again a huge area but it has more big department stores as compared to Shibuya. Don’t get me wrong, Shibuya was lined with shops too but they were individual stores being part of a block of buildings as oppose to rows of big department stores as in Shinjuku.

Exploring Sensoji

I did have the opportunity to explore Sensoji in Asakusa - mentioned by @paolofromtokyo and @suitcasemonkey on Youtube as a must visit spot in Tokyo. A place with history, culture, many many souvenir shops, and eateries offering local food. It was indeed an interesting place to visit. You will be able to witness those who practice the Buddhist faith perform their prayers and rituals there. The temple grounds were massive and needless to say filled with tourists.

The architecture and craftsmanship were of course worth appreciating, with its intricate paintings and carvings. If you were to venture slightly away from the main temple you would find a lovely koi pond, and other historical monuments honouring Japan’s history.

It was fun to watch people dressed up in kimonos and taking pictures around the temple grounds. What was more endearing to me was to see how people from different backgrounds were able to embrace and appreciate the culture of others. It seems to give an impression that people, in everyday life and except for the few tourists who misbehave, do not really have a problem with respecting and even embracing the culture of others. At least when they are on holiday. Maybe the antagonism towards other cultures exist and becomes a problem when we are made to believe that it is bad, that it may destroy our own. But truly if we can just respect each others’ cultures and maintain our own without imposing and claiming which is superior, much problem in society would be reduced if not vanish - I believe. Did Allah s.w.t. not say in His book that He created different people so that we can learn from each other? Is it too naive of an idea? I will let you the readers decide for yourself. But for me, it is a wonderful thing to be able to learn from the variety of cultures that exist. Learning is what makes us grow as humans.

I digress. Back to Sensoji. What I would say after my short exploration of Sensoji and its surroundings during this visit is - do not neglect the side streets. They are also lined with many eateries and snack stands offering delicious local food. One in particular I would mention is a Daifuku shop that I never fail to visit each time I was in Tokyo since then and a tea shop selling matcha and sencha which I would say is to die for. You would also be able to see cute and interesting decor of different shops for example a figure of a cat on the rooftop and a character from Ukiyo-e in full size again resting on the roof top. Something different and interesting I thought.

CONCLUSION

After exploring the different areas of Tokyo albeit briefly, navigating through its public transportation system, and having a taste of the local culture I concluded that Japan is indeed a safe place for a solo Muslim lady traveller. The public transportation system is convenient and reliable, combined with the culture of silence in public spaces seemed like a great combination to me since I do not favour places with a lot of noise. Introvert much. The public restrooms were equipped with bidets which is a major plus point for me - hygiene is very important is it not? And the display of creativity combined with harmony with nature was an interesting mix that I would love to experience time and again. And so just like that Japan became the top destination for my solo travels. Honestly I lost interest in all other destinations after this visit and felt that I was brainwashed into believing that Europe is the ultimate holiday destination in the past. Whatever.

I hope this article was able to give you the reader a glimpse of what Japan has to offer and until the next article where I will share the details of the areas that I visited, have a delightful day ahead.