Praise be !!! There is, after all, a god. Let joyful shouts ring round the Yamamote line, let thankful foreigners prostrate themselves at the powers that be – Diet Coke is now available in Japan.
Of course, Diet Coke has always been available in Japan, just not
in descent size cans. Some stores sold a descent sized 500ml bottle, but these shops were far and few between. The odd vending machine (and remember that Japan has more vending machines per head then Angola
has land mines) which did sell Diet Coke sold it in ridiculous 200ml cans.
However, earlier this month Japan suddenly woke up to the choice of a new generation and now you can’t enter a convenience store without tripping over cases of Diet Coke, vending machines are positively bristling with 350ml cans of Diet Coke and there are even adverts on TV telling you that drinking coke will make you live for ever.
I am now lobbying McDonald’s to sell Diet Coke instead of that gloopy purple drink the Japanese seem to consume in copious quantities (but as most McDonald’s carry the odd foreign newspaper I won’t be lobbying too hard).
So, without further ado I present the September update.
This month the weather is calming down, and if the typhoons don’t hit us too badly it’s an excellent time to get out and about and do some exploring. One of the best weekends away from Tokyo is Nagano in the
Japanese Alps which soar to the sky in the centre of the Japanese archipelago.
The beauty of these 3,000 meter high mountains has prompted people to call them “the Roof of Japan.” Surrounded by these towering mountains, Nagano Prefecture has often been compared to the Alpine regions of Europe. Both areas are known for their rich natural splendour, peerless winter sports, and panoramic scenery.
Nagano
Several years ago, thousands converged on Nagano for the XVIII Winter Olympic Games. Many more millions of viewers tuned in via satellite television, radio, and still more followed the events as they unfolded in the newspapers, and magazines in every possible language,
in every country, and in every home. But crowds are no new thing to Nagano. For centuries Nagano has been accepting travellers in their thousands. But Nagano is more then just a winter sport resort and you may want to take a look at what made Nagano the city it is today.
Boarding the new Asama Shinkansen from Tokyo, you can be in Nagano in only 1½hrs. Nagano City, the capital of aptly named Nagano Prefecture, has flourished around the Zenkoji Temple for 1,400 years.
The temple was founded in the 7th century. The current main building was reconstructed in 1707 and has been designated as a national treasure. Open to all denominations (even scruffy English backpackers), Zenkoji attracts over 6,000,000 visitors every year.
Nagano escaped the last war mostly unscathed, and so retains much of the old flair and flavour of an old Japanese city. We wandered its quiet streets and were almost suprised we didn’t bump into a Samurai.
Climbing into the Temple itself, the atmosphere is quiet and familiar, a far cry form the bustle of Tokyo’s shrines and temples. A humble but picturesque statue sits out side the sanctuary at this temple. The
holy man, the story goes, was corrupted by human sin, some say alcohol, others women (sounds like a relative of mine), and so could not join his brethren in the inner sanctuary. The statue is worn thin by humble
pilgrims who touch it in the hope to bring good luck.
Temple Lodging
For centuries Japanese pilgrims have travelled the roads of Japan to scenic and religious places, including Kyoto, Tokyo, Koyasan and other sites. On the pilgrimage routes they would rest in tranquil Temples along the routes. While the number of pilgrims has decreased and the modern pilgrim’s attire no longer consists of the traditional white robes (most of the time), the temples still offer a roof and comforts of the aesthetic life style. Temple lodging can be found throughout Japan and are a definite must on all but the most whirlwind tours.
At Temple lodging you are likely to find a Japanese style room, with the traditional (tatami) straw matting on the floor, low wooden tables, paper screen doors, and views of gardens, though some offer western
style rooms, with spring beds rather than a futon bed (Roll-away mattress and comforter). Here is a list of temple lodgings.
One of the best temples to stay in Nagano, if not the whole of Japan, is at the fantastic temple lodgings at the Zenkoji temple itself, where the elderly mama-san will load you up with steaming meat buns, guide you
through bath time etiquette and lay out your futon for you. She does not speak English but appears quite happy with dealing with clumsy foreigners.
Okonomiyaki
After all this temple bashing I am normally hungry and head off in search of some traditional Japanese food. This time of year, Okonomiyaki is especially good.
Okonomiyaki restaurants (okonomiyaki-ya) serve large, savoury pancakes made with diced seafood, meat and vegetables. “Okonomiyaki” literally means “cook what you like,” and customers get to choose their own
favourite ingredients and then cook up their pancakes right at the table. Because the customers choose their own ingredients, Japanese sometimes compare okonomiyaki to pizza, although the similarity really
ends there.
The menu will list the main ingredients available; an order of okonomiyaki consists of a bowl of pancake-like batter, plus a dish of diced vegetables and the main ingredient, such as shrimp or pork. A
regular order of shrimp okonomiyaki is called ebi-ten (or ebi-tamayaki); some restaurants also serve monja-yaki, which is a somewhat thinner and more watery pancake.
The waiter or waitress will come by to turn on the grill at your table and brush the surface with oil; after that you’re on your own. Mix together all the ingredients, then pour the mixture onto the grill when
it’s hot enough. You’ll find small spatulas for flattening the pancake and pushing it into shape, and a larger spatula for turning it over.
Before and after turning, you can brush the top of the pancake with
Worcestershire sauce, then you can sprinkle it with aonori (green seaweed powder) and katsuo (dried bonito shavings) before eating it. Sounds easy ? On one memorable occasion I managed to cause chaos
in a restaurant as I launched a pancake across the room into an unsuspecting Salary mans lap, but generally, you can’t really go wrong.
It takes a bit of experience to figure out when to flip the pancake and when to take it off the grill. Okonomiyaki takes longer to cook than you might expect, and the finished product doesn’t hold together nearly as well as a pancake. You might ask your waiter for advice, or else pay close attention to the technique of the people at the next table.
Good luck and bon apetit!!!!
General Info Section
Japan with a population of 125 million is one of the most densely populated areas in Asia. Tokyo, its glorious capital city throbs to the beat of 8 million people, all of which seem to be in Ueno station on a Saturday afternoon.
It is the land of sumo, sushi and kimono, a land where the delicate
kimono clad lady fights against drunken salary men for a seat on the subway. A land where ones preconceived ideas are often shattered and replaced by something much more surreal.
Geography
Japan is in eastern Asia and an island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula. Here’s a better view.
Accommodation
Like any big city, Tokyo can be expensive. However, there is no need to spend any more money for a decent place to sleep then if you were staying in a major European capital. Tokyo has more then its fair number of super expensive 5 star hotels, but tucked away down the back
streets are some of the funkiest, coolest hotels anywhere in Asia.
A night in a love hotel will set you back upwards of 5000Y, which is about half the normal room rate for a conventional hotel. The only drawback is the rooms are only rented for the night after 11pm. But as most of these hotels are close to pubs and bars, it never seems a problem.
A book source of information on hotels.
Long term residents details on housing.
Transport
Most people enter Japan through either Tokyo’s Narita or Osaka’s Kansai International (KIX) airports. Narita airport has recently undergone a face lift which means it is no longer one of the worst airports in the world. Terminal 2 is particularly impressive, though how long it
will stay this way is another matter.
From there trains link to major cities in their respective areas and also to Tokyo station (from Narita) and Shin-Osaka station (Kansai) from
where you can change to Shinkansen (bullet) trains which will take you to other cities in Japan.
Getting around is easy on the speedy and convenient subway.
Although often crowded it is cheap, clean and safe.
Money
The last few weeks has seen a strong fight back by the Yen against the greenback, this has resulted in prices going up quite a bit for tourists. As a rough estimate if you start eating from convenience stores, sharing rooms in love hotels, keeping off the beers and getting round on foot or subway, US$55 a day would be sufficient.
Set price menus are generally cheap, especially at lunch time. As an alternative, all convenient stores sell tasty lunch boxes which
range from the culinary incredible to the sublime. Check out the summer eel, which at about 500 Yen for a box, is divine.
Traditional Japanese souvenirs need not blow a hole in your budget
either. Check out the convenience stores for weird and wonderful things like sock glue, dried squid and sheets of seaweed.
For the best of the rest check out this site.
The Author
The author has been living in Japan for what seems like an eternity. He chose to work in Japan because it was easier to spell then Venezuela and has a burning ambition to have a Russian republic named after him.
When not scouring the streets of Tokyo in search of the bizarre he can be found hanging around South American airports trying to get someone to buy him a beer. The author would also like to apologise to the Danish Gas Institute for the unfortunate events in Copenhagen.
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