My first 7 days in Japan was spent in Tokyo. There were several things that I accomplished while in Tokyo.
- Adaptation/Acclimation
- An 11 hour flight no matter how you fly is draining and the time change can do havoc on your body’s system. Very true in my case. I think it took me over a week for my body to adjust to the time difference, not to mention the heat and humidity. Being able to send a little time in a familiar place made the adjustment much easier.
- Covid Impact
- I was very curious to see how this Pandemic that held up my plans to move to Japan affected things here. To my surprise, yes, visually there were less people out and about. Everyone, I mean EVERYONE had their masks on, EVERYWHERE! But then again masks were very common here prior to Covid.
- I was particularly interested to see how the Economy has been affected. To my surprise all of the places, stores and businesses were all still open.
- Catching up with old friends
- On one of my trips to Japan in 2019 I met a few people for the first time. Each trip back, I try to get together with them. Each very different in their own ways and each for very different backgrounds.
- I met Kazu Shimoda of Warakuya Yanaka on one of my random walks around Tokyo, looking at its unique community atmosphere and vibe. I was drawn to Warakuya Yanaka as I peered into its storefront to see many Japanese Crafts and Artifacts. With a background in Graphic Design he has assembled Japanese Crafts, from Urushi to Ceramics from around Japan. Through his introductions, I’ve been able to make contact with Crafts People in my pursuit to discover and learn more about Crafts unique to Japan. http://warakuya.info
Kazu has graciously provided me with contacts to Japanese Crafts people that I will visit here in the Tokyo are as well as in Ishikawa.
- Some may know that I’m a huge Automotive nut and through FaceBook, I’ve been able to meet many Automotive enthusiasts here in Japan. And coincidentally some are originally from SoCal. I met up with one of them here in Tokyo at a local Tempura House that he is trying to bring to the United States. Plan on meeting up with a Porsche enthusiast later in my trip and will be going to a Porsche Corral in Hiroshima. Excited to see!
- Meeting up with new friends
- One of my sources to learn more about Japan has been YouTube and NHK. During the Pandemic and even now. I have one of them running in the background as I do work or just lounge around the house. In fact, I have it on right now as I write this blog. One of its contributors is Ruthie Jarman (https://www.jarman-international.com). Her company’s goal is to bring unique Japanese content (places, products, cuisine, experiences, etc.) directly to internationals living in Japan. I had reached out to her several years ago in hopes to meet with her and gather input related to my goals of establishing a Cultural Institute here in Japan. We were able to meet on this trip and exchanged ideas. Many thanks to her for providing her insights to Japan.
- Exploring new townships
- Since I’m from SoCal, land of beaches, I heard there were also beaches here in Japan. I wanted to see how they compared so I hopped on the train and went to Zushi, Kanagawa. Zushi is approximately a 1 hour train ride south of Tokyo. As I walked from the train station towards the beach my first impression was that it was similar to a small Hawaiian town. But as I got closer and closer to the beach things started to change. There were more people and when I got to the beach, a Sea of not water, but people. I think everyone was there to escape the heat and humidity of a Japan summer.
- Exploring Cultural Crafts
- One of my goals here in Japan is to learn more about some of the Japanese Cultural Crafts, in hopes to, not only learn but also, to develop relationships that hopefully in the future can develop into working design collaborations. At Kazu’s suggestion I visited a Japanese Lanterns Company: Suzumo Chochin. About a two hour train ride North East of Tokyo I arrived just as it started to pour. Unfortunately it was Obon Festival time and manufacturing of the lamps were suspended. I was able to view items in the showroom and was invited to come back at a later date and participate in a lantern making workshop. I strongly believe that if you are going to design something you need to know how it is made because this will help you understand its limitations.
My next stop will be Shizuoka. Check back for future blogs and follow me on Instagram @shimazustudio for more Japan Travel content.