Visiting Japan: 5 thoughts on why it’s so different… and so great

By Matt Carroll <@MattatMIT>

I spent a week in Tokyo in January, my first visit to one of the great cities of the world. I work at the MIT Media Lab and we visited to help run a “comedy hackathon” for Japanese companies. It was a fascinating trip. The people were wonderfully warm and welcoming; the food was fantastic. I loved the city. Spending a few days in a foreign country also allows a person to reflect on how it differs from his or her own country. Invariably, there are differences — some small, some major. Here are my observations.

I ate ‘poison’ fish — and lived to tell about it

Fugu fish are a delicacy in Japan. The fish also happen to be the “second most poisonous vertebrate in the world,” according to Wikipedia. Some internal organs, such as the liver, are fatal if eaten. So you better hope your chef can identify fish liver. Cook the fish wrong, and the diner can suffer from numbness, dizziness, paralysis … and death.

So naturally a group of us from the MIT Media Lab headed to a local fugu restaurant to try this fish out. We were in high spirits, after helping run a very successful comedy ideathon/hackthon for Japanese companies. Besides, the possibility that death might be lurking in your next mouthful adds a certain … zest? … to the meal.

A tank of fugu fish — also know as “pufferfish” — faced the street where we entered, and we made some jokes about which fish was destined for our plates. Little did we know…

The preparation for serving and cooking the fish is fascinating. A wicker basket is lined with water-tight paper and filled with hot water, making it in essence a cooking pot. The basket placed over a heater in the center of the table. They also provided a small grill.

A plate of diced fugu was now carried in and placed on the table. I took a look at the fish and blinked once or twice. The pieces twitched noticeably, as you can see from this video by Dan Novy from the Media Lab. This fish was fresh — no doubt about that. I was a little startled and wondered if this happened all the time. Apparently it doesn’t — even our Japanese friends were a little taken aback. They had never seen this before either.

But we shrugged it off and dropped the pieces of fish into our boiling pot and on a grill. Recommended cooking time in the boiling water: six minutes. Believe me, we didn’t take a chance and undercook. Then we ate. Delicious. No one even had indigestion, never mind fatal numbness.

But the idea that the next bite could be your last does add a certain something to the experience.

It was one in a long line of excellent meals. I ate several times at ramen noodle shops near the Shinegawa train station, close to the hotel where we stayed. Fantastic. Too bad I have no idea what I ate so I could order it again next time. No one spoke English at the shops I entered, so I took a menu and pointed at an item that looked good. Not a fancy way of getting food, but it worked.

Runner’s delight: The Imperial Palace

One of my great joys while traveling is running through new cities. I pick a new route every day to help me get a better feel for my temporary home. When people found out I run, several suggested running at the Imperial Palace. The five-kilometer route circles the beautiful palace grounds.

It was charming and scenic. The ancient high walls, made up of dark, rough rock, are a reminder of what a formidable defense they presented in more ancient times. Now they serve as a kind of dark palette that climbs high above our heads, making it difficult to see what lies beyond. Water birds of all kinds speckled the broad moat that encircles the walls, some diving for fish. On this clear, bright morning, the walls and low arching bridges were reflected clearly in the water.

It’s a popular meeting spot. Several youth baseball teams were stretching in a large parking lot. Bikers in colorful helmets and sleek riding clothes streamed past on the street. Walkers took their time, dawdling with children.

And runners ran. There were a lot of them on a Sunday morning. The sidewalk route is wide and smooth. Distance markers are every few tenths of a kilometer. And I confirmed to myself yet again how slow I am — the only person I passed was older than my father.

Running the neighborhoods is a different kind of joy. Slowly jogging different streets each morning, I get a feel for what the bustle of life is like here — the rush hour crowds slipping in and out of the massive Shinegawa train station. People standing in line at one of the numerous coffee shops to buy a tea or coffee. The delicious smells from the bakery shops. School girls in uniforms and knee socks laughing as they head to classes. Gamblers intent at a pachinko parlor, where the flashing machines are a cross between arcade games and a slot machine. And a barber opening his shop, sweeping the sidewalk in front with a traditional broom.

Running does present the usual challenge faced by anyone whose cars drive the other side of the road — your instincts are exactly wrong for preventing you from getting run over. Lost in thought, I looked to my left as I stepped off a curb. And was nearly wiped out by a truck coming from the right.

Yes, it’s just as efficient as you’ve heard

Tokyo is amazingly orderly, compared with East Coast cities. I heard one car honk in a week. Even on the sidewalks, the pedestrians follow the rules. Yellow lines run down the middle of busy sidewalks, providing a guide for walkers. Not everyone stays on the correct side, but far more do than don’t.

Cab drivers are just as aggressive as their brethren in the States, but the cabs (at least the ones I rode in) were much cleaner and nice. The cabs, like the buses, have doily-like lace coverings on the headrests to prevent soiling. Cabs can only open their doors to pick up customers on the curb side of the vehicle, apparently to keep passengers from getting hit by passing cars. And the passenger doors open and close automatically — no need for a passenger to even touch the door handle.

Drivers on the buses to and from the airport wear white gloves (as do many other workers). The bus attendants bow the bus away as it pulls away from the curb at the airport. Somehow I don’t see that coming soon to Logan Airport.

Like all big cities, construction is everywhere and a pain for traffic. It’s everywhere from utility lines running down the middle of the road to new buildings. Here though there’s no doubt when you come close to a sight — there’s a man waving a light to helpfully guide drivers past the construction. I saw at least one such man, and sometimes several, at every construction site we passed.

Sometimes it’s the little touches that appeal the most. Our hotel, the Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa, pipes in the faint sound of birdsong in the corridors. And a restaurant we visited had birdsong playing in the men’s room, of all places.

25 hours of flying = 5 Japanese movies

The flight from Boston to Japan takes 13 hours; back takes about 12. Since I sleep poorly on planes, this gives me a lot of time to watch movies. Since I was flying to Japan, why not concentrate on Japanese movies?

Here are my capsule reviews:

• “Lady Maiko.” “My Fair Lady” takes a detour to Kyoto, where a young girl with a bad country accent wants to become a geisha. It’s a song and dance fest that consciously copies “Lady” even down to the linguistics professor having a bet on transforming the speech of the young lady. The songs echo the wonderful Lerner & Loewe lyrics, with such lines as “When it rains in Kyoto, where does it mainly go to?” That’s pretty close to, “The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain.” It was an OK flick, but I’m sticking with Julie Andrews. Stars: ***
• “Tada’s Do-it-all house.” A charming movie about two Japanese slackers whose lives are thrown into turmoil when they unexpectedly must care for a young girl. The two stars are trying to pull their own shambling lives together while running a general fix-it company and trying to fend off job offers from local mobsters. Definitely a step up from Lady Maiko. Stars: ****
• “A Samurai’s Chronicle.” A samurai is ordered to kill himself for the crime of others. But first he is given 10 years to research and write a chronicle of the clan. A member of the clan is instructed to keep an eye on the samurai and make sure he does not try to run away. A marvelous study of grace under pressure and what it means to follow one’s duty. The acting and costumes are top notch. A moving tale. Stars: ****
• “Cape Nostalgia.” A widow runs a small coffeehouse in a desolate seaport. Her friends and townspeople visit every day. Her deluded (if good hearted) nephew lives nearby in a shack. A sweet movie about small town life and dealing with loneliness. Some slight drama and modicum of mysticism. A little slow but enjoyable. Stars: ***
• “Oh brother, Oh sister.” A bittersweet comedy about a brother and sister living together. Their romantic lives take a beating, but this brother and sister remain devoted to one another in this poignant tale. ****

Cherry blossoms

Who doesn’t like cherry blossoms? The Japanese love them, and other kinds of flowers. They show their affection by decorating all kinds of objects with flowers. Everything from manhole covers to taxi lights can be adorned. Here’s some pictures of what they decorate, as well as some other pictures.

Matt Carroll runs the Future of News initiative at the MIT Media Lab. He can be followed @MattatMIT. Blog posts on everything I write can be found here.

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