A strange Tokyo Walk

• Walking through a strange Tokyo

It seems often the case when the country heard about a lot of things, and its culture is very different from what had ever seen before. Especially that major Japanese association - it is rather a scene from "Memoirs of a Geisha", the scene yutyubovskih clips of disastrous tsunami and a foretaste of what you will get in the future world from the first minutes in Japan ...

reflections of pine trees

In fact, nothing. Normal train, although a high-speed, decoupling, skyscrapers - if you were ever in the city, not surprising. The most unexpected moments occur suddenly, if you look closely to the details. The first thing that really surprised - clean. Not just carefully, but as in the operating room. Nothing sticks out and is not lying. Because it's ugly.

Beauty - one of the key concepts in Japan. All that on the surface, all that meant to be beautiful. Dirt, it's not pretty, untidiness - not beautiful, they say that hara-kiri (Japanese seppuku) must be done after three days of fasting, so everything was clean and tidy. In general, at some point, after listening to the stories, comes "understanding of the absolute lack of understanding" of the Japanese concept of "beautiful". As well as all the Japanese mentality, behavior of Japanese people with whom you have to communicate, not in local moments, but in general. The logic is absolutely incomprehensible to us, we can only watch, hoping that at some point will come enlightenment.

I was lucky - from the balcony could see Mount Fuji, when the afternoon we climbed the skyscraper, the main mountain in Japan is already dissolved in the daytime haze.

The most famous Tokyo intersection favorite broadcasters for the mass "passing" of the people on green traffic light signal

to view channels from the Imperial Palace from the room

The Japanese McDonald's, where they teach the lessons of the Japanese schoolgirl and consume "unconventional" for Japanese cuisine

Again the disciplined Japanese

A in the lanes life rages even more serious

A separate phenomenon - gambling halls. They do not remove, probably because here the locals are absolutely blow your socks off - as an institution, they shake the buttons hoping to beat the machine. Each machine separately cutting a loud rumor sounds, it all merges into incredible sonic mush, and in fact, any normal person, after ten minutes in the room has to get crazy ...

purity as one of the fetishes of Japanese society is supported in every way possible. In Japan, a lot of onsen - hot springs. Since the country is at the junction of four tectonic plates, the volcanic nature of the islands breaks through to the surface in the form of thermal waters. This is a manifestation of the Japanese have managed to tame and use to their advantage. All sorts of ennobled onseny and arranged bath. Japanese bath tradition is very old, before baths were common. But with the penetration of European culture and Christian traditions common bath and began to prohibit definitively the tradition disappeared after the war. Because right now the Japanese have to bathe in the company of friends, and not neighbors and friends.

We go to the onsen near the center of Tokyo. Near the same bath, but ... for dogs. From there come the mistress satisfied with even more comfortable with freshly scrubbed pudelkami. Once you understand that you are not in neighboring Korea. It happened in Tokyo Hachiko Monogatari - dog breed Akita Inu, who for nine years was waiting at the station suddenly deceased owner. In short, the dog has to be beautiful, so clean and tidy and you should start with the dog onsena. The first ad in the "human" Onsen - not to remove the photo, and nothing to show because. But clearly in the onsen is to go. At first a little unclear how to navigate in the hieroglyphics, but if you do not get nervous, you can find a number of onsena map where clearly enough drawn baths diagram and transitions between them. The main thing to remember is that the blue color - are men. Red - women. This color coding is used everywhere - from the marking on the toilet door on a random gas station on the road to the most expensive hotels. Accordingly, in the onsen blue curtain leading to the men's locker room, and red - the female.

You should not be confused, because some people may lose face ... This is the most terrible sin that can threaten a person in the Japanese system of values. Redeem this can only be timely harakiri ...

Two of my colleagues journalists a few years ago have forgotten in the hotel onsen camera and decided to return. Meanwhile, the onsen instead he became the male - female. Being a drunk they met there a cheerful young girls, but later came to the onsen their mother - the wife of a senior official ...

About how much serious it became clear in the morning, when the head of the Japanese delegation, which consisted of Russian journalists, was on his knees and begged forgiveness. And one of his colleagues jokingly asked:

- Well, we drank and did not understand where to hit, now what do hara-kiri?

Answer Japanese guide was simple:

- It's too late, so if you do hara-kiri before 8am, then you would not lose face ... And so all ...

After the bath. If it is not immediately clear is room for dogs. This is not Korea

On the fiftieth floor offers one of the classic "neboskrebnyh" species in Tokyo.

Peep the locals - a very interesting lesson

Just living in a big anthill

The Japanese life in pictures and in reality

Above the city is flying a blimp with unclear functions

Iron-concrete-and-glass cell Tokyo

By noon, dozens of skyscrapers are dissolved in a haze, Fuji did not see any eyes or through binoculars

TV Tower seems a copy of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

Our hotel is in Tokyo right on the shore of Tokyo Bay, opposite a small copy of the Statue of Liberty. The room on the tenth floor offers a great view of the Bay Bridge. I admire maple red spots on the waterfront, when I was suddenly distracted air wave, which has a slightly webbed. As a strong draft, but there is no cotton. The next moment, I realize that the walls shake and go to my eyes collapsing one of the principles of Euclidean geometry - angles are no longer so. Since childhood, taught that in case of an earthquake is not necessary to crawl under the table, and you need to stand in the doorway, open the door to the hall, is engaged in a safe position. However, in the corridor of silence, guests ignored an earthquake of 5.5 points. A hotel poskripel another minute and a half, as the yacht, met on a calm sea of random waves, and again made friends with classical geometry, if not retracted.

Our guide Ishida-san, a very optimistic person. With a smile, he tells us that the Japanese are very fond of various natural disasters (although I think he is cunning, playing us on a misunderstanding of the Japanese mentality). Especially on fires all gather around, watching as the fire chief gives orders ... Then came the dates: 1657 - a terrible fire in Tokyo, while there was no bridge, and all the people crowded into a bay where they were burned. Now, the death of a Buddhist temple. Kanto Earthquake 1923 8.1 points almost completely destroyed Tokyo and Yokohama ... in 2011 it was 9.1 points. Tsunamis often come the most terrible happened when Chile shook, and the wave of Japan.

Japan lies at the junction of four tectonic plates, shaking constantly, eruption, pyroplastic flows ... Recently, during the tsunami crew stood on the shore, where the water is getting higher and higher, they take off, joking, and then the phrase: "All the same, probably, dangerous .. "- at which point the shooting stops.

Ishida-san does not seem very pleased with the impression on us, and continues the story, almost in the style of horror movies: "Especially in Tokyo's dangerous to walk the streets at the time of the earthquake, glass skyscrapers flying especially for a long time and it's very, very dangerous ... One - and everyone will cut like a hot knife through butter is possible to suffer or to die at any moment ", - he concludes with a smile, Ishida-san. Positive Japanese. Like everyone else.

But it seems to me that it is not courage. Since you are Japanese, even horror movies have to be beautiful, but falling transparent glass with 89 floors, it's so beautiful!

The view from the hotel window, immediately after the earthquake. The lobby was quiet, no one in particular did not even react, the walls just go shake

All the chefs in Japan are very positive guys. Other cast the same smiling and courteous Japanese - drivers.

Master sushi - hands work tirelessly

Watch how prepared sushi - a separate pleasure

Japanese Cuisine - a topic for another study. Everything is very unusual, ranging from cooking to serving. But the main thing for the Japanese - everything has to be beautiful and elegant

The eggs are not eaten with a spoon, as in neighboring Kamchatka caviar - a delicacy. However, and the rest of the food served in tiny plates and saucers

A Japanese garden should be everywhere and even a sushi restaurant

The first acquaintance with real wasabi - the bottom of the plaque is the root of the wasabi, which is rubbed on a grater and get familiar green mass. Only here you need to understand at a glance - a real wasabi can be found almost exclusively in Japan - in the rest of the grated horseradish with dyes and substitutes taste

A lot of cups, plates, and serving not seek, and reached perfection

After dinner, accidentally fell on a photo tour of Japanese photographers. They flock go for the teacher and from all sides remove the model ordered

So I built into the company of Japanese amateurs, although caught a couple of disgruntled views from the organizers - "drew fans of a freebie"

Skyscrapers to the horizon and beyond

Youth fashion sometimes similar to Anime Comics

Pine Park near the Imperial Palace

Doll Japanese woman in city park

Shibuya - one of the lush areas of Tokyo, where to eat, things to do closer to the night

The Imperial Palace, we did not make it because of the rich program. Viewed only from the top of the hotel in the morning

A strange group of old men in a city park at the dawn

Urban avenues Tokyo

Palace Hotel - advise, excellent views of the city and Mount Fuji.

A copy of all the familiar statue

Only the smaller size copies of the original

That we accidentally hit the wedding.

Unequal Marriage in Japanese. The feeling that the bride is not very happy. A bride knows that she is not very happy.

A girl angels should accompany the bride

The futuristic design of the boats in the Bay of Tokyo

On the waterfront of Tokyo Bay, a short walk for boat trips, where you can cook your own meals, but it is not for tourists, but for locals. And more interesting to get to the event