Ulla kirjutab maast ja ilmast: Tagasi k6rgtehnoloogilisse tsivilisatsiooni Tokyos // Back to hi-tech civilization in Tokyo

P2rast kuute n2dalat Vietnamis ja Filipiinidel oli Jaapanisse tulek paras shokk, ent positiivses m6ttes. V6rreldes eelnevaga on Jaapan eriliselt viisakas, v2ga k6rgtehnoloogiline, imeliselt vaikne (!) ja lihtsalt nii puhas et ajab 6nnest nutma. Tuleb t6deda, et see on olnud v2ga meeldiv muutus. Isegi t2navatel jalutamine on olnud niiv6rd l66gastav tegevus, vaatamata sellele, et Tokyo on megasuur linn (13.5 miljonit inimest linnas endas, ja 37 miljonit ymberkaudses linnastunud alas). Peale tipptunni-aegse metroo ning teatud linnaosade nagu Shinjuku v6i Shibuya, on linnat2navad h2sti vaiksed ja rahulikud. Ja ilmaga on meil ka vedanud, oleme saanud eriti m6nusa kevadise ilma osaliseks - soe p2ikesepaiste ja 25 kraadi. Esimesed p2evad Jaapanis on seega kulgenud ylimalt meeldivalt.

Me saabusime siia lennuga Cebust, p2rastl6unal, ning asusime lennujaamast teele hosteli poole, mille me olime oma esimeseks 88ks kinni pannud. Kuna me teadsime, et Jaapan on kallis (kuigi nyyd siin olles n2me, et pole ta midagi Euroopast kallim), oli meil plaanis nii paljudel 88del kui v6imalik couchsurf'ida ('sofasurfata'). Couchsurfing on veebisait/initsiatiiv, mis paneb r2ndurid kokku v66rustajatega - esimesed saavad viimaste juures tasuta 88bida, ning m6lemad saavad sellel2bi kogeda uut kultuuri ning tutvuda uute inimestega. Me olime mitmetele potentsiaalsetele v66rustajatele kirjutanud ning olime juba yhe Yuta-nimelise poisiga kokku leppinud et j2rgnevad kaks 88d oleme tema juures. Teel lennujaamast linna aga kirjutas ta meile, 8eldes et tema ja ta korterikaaslased peavad 6htul nende pool pidu, ja et me v6iks yks p2ev varem tulla ja nendega yhineda. Meie jaoks oli see super v6imalus oma Jaapani reis uhkelt avada, mist6ttu l2ksime me korraks hostelisse (mille eest me niikuinii maksime), et seal dushi all k2ia ja tunnikese magada, misj2rel suundusimegi Yuta poole. Pidu oli tore ja tutvusime paljude huvitavate inimestega yle kogu maailma, enamik kellest elasidki Tokyos. Ja saime ma maitsta erisugust sake't (jaapani riisiveini), n2m. Yks oli ploomimaitseline, mitte liiga magus ja mitte liiga tugev, ja naljakal kombel oli ta maitselt v2ga sarnane portveiniga. Igaljuhul maitses ta h2sti.

J2rgmisel p2eval l2ksime me Paologa Tokyo uuemat osa uudistama, ja tegime pika jalutusk2igu, alustades Shinjuku linnaosast (kus asub maailma tihedaim transpordikeskus - Shinjuku rongijaam, kust k2ib igap2evaselt l2bi yle 3,5 miljoni inimese). Sealt liikusime me edasi Harajukusse, kus saime n2ha jaapani teismelistekultuuri ja uudistada igasuguseid nunnusid ja kummalisi asju mida seal poodides myydi. Siis l2ksime me kaunisse Yoyogi parki jalutama, kust edasi suundusime Shibuya ristmikku vaatama - mille puhul on tegu Tokyo kuulsaima vaatamisv22rsusega. P2eva l6puks l2ksime me sushibaari, et esmakordselt maitsta p2ris jaapani sushit.

Sushi oli v2ga maitsev, ent baar ise oli t6eline kogemus - me istusime pika baarilaua taha, ja meie ees asus kaks konveierlinti. Igal istmekohal oli oma isiklik varustus, sh kastmed, s88gipulgad, kraan kust tuli kuuma vett (joomiseks) ning - nutitahvel, millega toitu tellida! Kogu tellimisprotsess k2is nutitahvliga, milles sai n2ha tervet menyyd koos piltidega. Tellimiseks tuli lihtsalt vajutada sellele, mida soovisid ning paar minutit hiljem veeres tellimus m88da linti sinuni. Lahe! Jaapanlased on myygiautomaatide j2rgi t2itsa hullud. Paljudes restoranides k2ib tellimine l2bi automaadi, st et p2ris inimesega sa ei r22gigi. Meie jaoks oli see v2ga huvitav ja uudne ning eestlase jaoks on tegu p2ris mugava korraldusega :) Mugav on ta tegelikult yleyldse turistide jaoks, kuna automaatidel on enamasti ka inglisekeelne versioon. Enamus jaapanlasi, seehulgas teenindajad ise inglise keelt ei r22gi.

Peale sushi oleme me ka ohtralt ramen'it (nuudlisuppi) s88nud. Tegu on v2ga maitsva ja taskukohase einega. Jaapani toit on yleyldse meie jaoks superhea olnud, eriti p2rast Filipiinide t2iesti kohutavat ja ebatervislikku toitu. Me kohe tunneme, kuidas meie kehad taastuvad, t2nu korralikule toidule ja heale unele (Filipiinidel ei saanud me myra t6ttu h2sti magatud ka).

Teisel Tokyos oldud p2eval kylastasime me Keisripalee aeda (palee ise on j2tkuvalt keiserliku pere elamine ning rahvale on ta avatud vaid kahel p2eval aastas) ning jalutasime Taito linnaosas, mis olevat yks Tokyo vanimaid osasid kus senini leiduvad m6ned vanemad ehitised. Tokyo on yldiselt v2ga uus ja modernne ning palju vanu maju siin ei leidu. Seda 't2nu' topeltkahjule mida tegid 1923. aasta mega-maav2rin (mis h2vitas kogu linna ja tappis yle 140,000 inimese) ning Teise maailmas6ja-aegne pommitamine.

P2eva l6puks jalutasime me Shinjukus, mis 6htuti muutub t2ielikuks neoondzungliks. Tundus nagu oleksime ulmefilmis!

P2rast kaht p2eva pealinnas, otsustasime me midagi teistsugust n2ha ja s6itsime bussiga Fujinomiya linna, millest saab meie baas homseks Fuji m2e avastamiseks :)

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Coming to Japan after having spent six weeks in Vietnam and then Philippines was a proper shock, albeit a very pleasant one. In comparison, Japan is ultra-polite, very hi-tech, incredibly silent (!) and just so very clean. I can't deny that it has been a very pleasant change. Even walking on the streets has just been so relaxing and quiet, despite Tokyo being a huge mega-city (13.5 million in city proper, and 37 million in the urban area). Apart from during rush hour on the metro, or in very busy areas like Shinjuku or Shibuya, the city streets are just so quiet and peaceful. And the weather has so far been amazing, very nice spring weather, with warm sunshine and temperatures of around 25 degrees. So we have thoroughly enjoyed our first few days in Japan.

We arrived from Cebu in the afternoon and headed to our hostel which we had booked for the first night. As we knew Japan would be expensive (although, being here, it's not more expensive than cities in Europe), we were planning on 'couchsurfing' for as many nights as possible here. Couchsurfing is a website/initiative/community that puts travellers and hosts in touch - the former can stay for free at the latter's home, and the benefit for both is a cultural exchange, and an opportunity to meet new people. We had written to a number of potential hosts and had arranged for the following two nights to stay with a Couchsurfing host called Yuta. However, as we were travelling towards the city centre from the airport, Yuta texted us to say that he and his flatmates were having a party at the flat, so why not come and join them, and begin our stay one night earlier. This was a brilliant opportunity for us to start our stay in Japan with a bang, so we dropped by the hostel (which we were paying for anyway) for a shower and a nap and headed to Yuta's place. The party was great, we met lots of interesting people from around the world, most of whom were living in Tokyo. And we got to sample lots of different sake (Japanese rice-wine), yum. One was plum-flavoured, not too sweet and quite mild, and funnily enough reminded me a lot of port. Very tasty, anyway.

The next day Paolo and I went to discover the newer parts of Tokyo, and went for a long walk, starting in the Shinjuku district (which has the busiest transport hub in the world - Shinjuku station, used by over 3.5 million people daily), moved on towards Harajuku, where we got a taste of the teen subculture scene and saw lots of cutesy and weird stuff on sale. We continued the day with a walk in beautiful Yoyogi park, after which we went to see the Shibuya crossing, the most famous landmark in Tokyo. To finish the day, we went for dinner to a sushi bar, for our first taste of real Japanese sushi!

The sushi was delicious, but the setup of the bar was the real experience - we sat down to a long bar table, which had two conveyor-belts in front of it. Each seating space had its own equipment, including sauces, chopsticks, a tap for hot water (for drinking), and - a tablet for ordering food! The whole ordering process was done through the tablet, which displayed the whole menu, with pictures. All we had to do was to tap on the stuff we wanted and a few minutes later, ta-da, the order arrived on the conveyor belt. Amazing! Japan in general is crazy about vending machines. Lots of restaurants have ordering machines for placing your order, so you are not actually interacting with a person. It's very novel and for an Estonian, highly convenient :) Convenient also actually for all tourists, since as long as the machine has an English interface, you know what you are getting. Most Japanese don't speak English, including restaurant staff.

Apart from sushi, we have also been eating tons of ramen (noodle soup), which is absolutely delicious as well, and a very affordable meal. Japanese food has been so good for us, particularly after the absolutely horrible and unhealthy food in Philippines. We can feel how our bodies are recuperating now with proper nourishment and good rest (since we didn't get to sleep that well in the Philippines either, due to noise).

The second day in Tokyo we visited the Imperial Palace gardens (the actual palace is still the residence for the imperial family, and is open for visitors only on two days per year) and walked around the Taito neighbourhood, which is the older part of the city, where some more ancient building still remain. Tokyo in general is all very new and modern, with not much old buildings left, not after the double destruction of the devastating earthquake in 1923 (that destroyed the whole city and killed over 140,000 people), and the bombings of WWII.

We ended the day with a walk in Shinjuku, which becomes a proper neon jungle in the evenings. It felt like being in a sci-fi film!

After two days in the capital, we decided to see something else and took a bus to Fujinomiya town, which will be our base for exploring Mt Fuji tomorrow :)

Sattusime traditsioonilise pulma peale // We happened on a traditional wedding

Harajuku

Jaapanis on paljude poodide ja restoranide ees saadavalolevate toitude mulaazhid. Need siin on pannkoogid. // In Japan, restaurants and shops often display plastic models of their foods in their windows. These are sweet crepes, yum.

Sissep22s Yoyogi parki // Entrance to Yoyogi park

Saketynnidega // With barrels of sake

Templites riputavad inimesed oma soovid soovipuu kylge // People hang their wishes on the wish tree in temples

Shibuya ristmik // Shibuya crossing

Lahe maja // Cool building

K6rgtehnoloogilises sushibaaris // In the hi-tech sushi bar

Veel mulaazhe // More plastic food

Pargis lebotades tulid meie juurde skaudid, intervjueerisid meid inglise keeles. P2rast tegime pilti ka :) // When we were lounging in the park, we were approached by these boy scouts for a wee interview in English, afterwards we got a photo too :)