07/16/2018

My First Visit to Japan

Tokyo, Kyoto, and a stop to see family in Seoul

The long-awaited high school graduation gift: my first trip to Japan.

As soon as my mom and I boarded the taxi that would take us from the airport to our hotel, we sensed a trip unlike any other was upon us, despite our extensive travel repertoire. We were about to immerse ourselves in the richness of Japanese food and culture that we’d coveted our entire lives. But as we drove deeper and deeper into the heart of Tokyo proper, the unfamiliar alphabet spanning every sign in sight and the very real language barrier between us and our taxi driver emphasized how far from home we had flown.

有楽町

After checking in and dropping off our bags at the hotel, we set out to explore the surrounding neighborhood—Yurakucho, a business district. The sun had finished setting. Men and women in suits flooded the sidewalks and sought after-work refuge among the innumerable bars and restaurants that lined each street. As New Yorkers, we were no strangers to seeing an abundance of restaurant businesses, but it seemed our city had met its match in Tokyo. After a light dinner, we rushed back to the hotel to sleep, in preparation for an early-morning excursion to the world-renowned Tsukiji fish market.

築地市場

There is plenty of quality sushi to be had in New York City, but ask any sushi chef where their most prized ingredients come from, and they’ll tell you. The Tsukiji fish market. On food and travel TV shows, I had seen footage of the market bustling with vendors, chefs, locals, tourists, and, of course, the whole gamut of edible sea creatures, but, in-person, it was larger and more intricate than I could possibly have imagined. Between broader rows of fresh seafood, produce, dried beans, and rice, there were endless narrow alleyways, stacked with boxy restaurants and smaller vendors of prepared food. Trying to decide which tasty bite to sample first was almost paralyzing. Would it be the sizzling skewers of grilled octopus, tender fish cakes, giant oysters, sweet beans, or rolled egg omelets? We savored bites of each of these offerings and closed with glistening uni-ikura rice bowls. On leaving Tsukiji, the tastes of subtly-vinegared sushi rice, nose-stinging wasabi, briny urchin, and succulent roe lingered on my tongue.

明治神宮

Throughout our trip to Japan, my mom and I visited a wealth of traditional temples. It was at Meiji Jingu that I first observed Japan’s unique light. At once soft and stark, it falls through tree branches in graceful streaks. If New York’s light is warmer—radiating and capable of penetrating asphalt, glass, and humid air, Japan’s light is cooler—nimble and gentle like the Greek moon goddess Selene.

On that note, here’s a poem by Inuo Taguchi, translated.

根津美術館

Nezu Garden

京都

After a week of dining, sight-seeing, and shopping in Tokyo, we boarded the Shinkansen bullet to Kyoto. Of course, the bento boxes we purchased at Tokyo Station were beautifully arranged and delicious. I’m envious we have no elegant bento box equivalent for on-the-go meals in the US—and, for that matter, quality convenience store offerings that aren’t highly-processed health demons. I’m thinking of simple rice balls and the iconic Japanese egg salad sandwich.

In Kyoto, we stayed at a traditional ryokan. The full Japanese breakfast pictured below was one of the most memorable meals from the whole trip: agedashi tofu swimming in a lightly sweet broth, grilled salmon, salty pickles, steamed rice, and hot tea. Each component was subtly flavored, thoughtfully prepared—the epitome of good Japanese cooking.

嵐山

The Arashiyama Bamboo Forest is a quintessential Kyoto destination. Japan’s soft, magical light continued to prevail at Arashiyama.

金閣寺

Another quintessential Kyoto destination, the Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavillion) seemed shrouded in divine energy. Though it was breathtaking, the sheer opulence of its golden walls was also belittling. It seemed that the slightest misstep would incur the wrath of a lurking Japanese demon.

서울

Finally, before returning home, my mom and I stopped in Seoul, Korea to spend time with family. After relaying our experiences in Tokyo and Kyoto to my grandparents and cousins, I was left most impressed with the food we had eaten and the beautiful light that had graced all that we’d seen. We’d only scratched the surface, and I was eager to return to Japan soon—I was already itching to visit Hokkaido, for its vast lavender fields and much-lauded dairy.

Above all, Japanese hospitality is unparalleled—engrained in the culture, and I don’t think one could reasonably go to Japan without coming away with a sort of regal satisfaction.