Japan’s cities have managed to strike a balance between the pursuit of modernity and the embrace of culture and tradition. (JG Photos/Sylviana Hamdani)
All cities in the world are rushing to develop themselves these day. But in their relentless pursuit of modernity, nature and culture are often neglected.
To make room for more residential and industrial complexes, wilderness areas are cleared, traditional buildings are often demolished and, in their place, modern high rises are built.
Yet some cities manage to embrace modernity while still holding tight to their heritage and traditions, and among the best examples of these is Tokyo, which, with a population of more than 35 million, is undoubtedly the greatest city the world has ever seen.
The Jakarta Globe was recently invited to Japan to witness how Tokyo and other cities strive to be ultra-modern and efficient, as well as remain naturally and culturally rich and beautiful.
Tokyo
Tokyo is undoubtedly one of the busiest and most developed cities in the world.Glitzy high rises dot the skyline, and the high-speed rail line, the Shinkansen, connects the capital with other cities with the precision of a Swiss watch.
Tokyo today is a far cry from the small fishing town of Edo from which it started. One of the things for which it is best known today is its high-end shopping experience. The Ginza area, in particular, is home to international fashion houses such as Chanel, Dior and Prada. And on weekends, from noon to 5 p.m., the main street through Ginza is closed off to road traffic, allowing people to walk freely.
The nightlife scene in Tokyo is also among the best in the world, particularly in the hip Shinjuku area. This area offers everything from bars and nightclubs, to the more seedy pachinko parlors and love hotels.
Despite its fast-paced lifestyle and modernity, Tokyo still maintains its cultural reserves, including Asakusa Temple.
“According to the legend, the temple was built by two fishermen brothers who found the Kannon [goddess] statue in the Sumida River,” says tour guide Thomas Tan, a native Malaysian.
The temple, built in the seventh century, is the oldest in Tokyo and one of the most popular cultural attractions here.
Thousands of visitors from across Japan and the world visit the temple daily, but the original Kannon is kept out of sight.
“It’s hidden somewhere in the temple. No one has ever seen it,” Tan says.
There’s a reason for that, he adds.
“The priests think that it’s better that the people don’t see the statue of the goddess, because by not seeing it, the people will think about the goddess more. And when they think about her, the goddess will be more involved and help the people in their lives,” he says.
The 200-meter street leading up to the temple is lined with souvenir shops that sell everything from yukata (Japanese robes), to silk hand fans and manekineko, the beckoning cat deemed inauspicious.
Fujinomiya
Fujinomiya is a small industrial city of some 130,000 people at the foot of Mount Fuji in Shizuoka Prefecture.
Despite its industrial leanings, Fujinomiya is very picturesque. Modern and traditional structures line its leafy boulevards, and beautiful parks, adorned with artistic stone statues, embellish the city. Almost every part of the city boasts a clear view of the majestic Mount Fuji.
The city is home to food and beverage, paper, and pharmaceutical factories.
Among them is the Asahi Soft Drinks Mount Fuji Factory, which bottles the vanadium-rich water from Mount Fuji, as well as produces bottled blended teas and fruit juices.
“It’s one of the largest beverage factories in Japan,” Sugi Tani, the factory guide, says of the 98,000-square-meter plant.
Despite its size and its high output of some 230,000 cartons of beverages per day, the factory employs just 200 people, with most of the menial tasks done by machines. The workers, in turn, monitor the machines and carry out administrative tasks.
Tani says the factory recycles 100 percent of its waste.
“We produce many things, but we [also] make many kinds of garbage. We have to recycle all [of the waste] to reduce the effects on the environment [and] to protect the resources,” he says.
These measures include recycling the PET bottles for soft drinks into the blue uniforms worn by the factory staff.
For visitors to Fujinomiya, the list of activities is boundless.
Among them is a visit to a traditional Japanese hot spring, or onsen, which is usually available in guesthouses and hotels across the city.
“Onsen means hot water bath. But not all hot water baths can be called Onsen,” Tan says.
To qualify as an onsen, the water for the bath must be heated by a nearby volcano and contain minerals that are beneficial for the body.
Those thinking of taking a dip need to shed their inhibitions as well as their clothes, as the communal baths are a birthday-suit-only affair, with separate areas for men and women.
Before taking the plunge, visitors must wash their body and hair first to keep the water at the pool clean.
“Don’t swim in the onsen,” Tan says. “It’s only for soaking and relaxing.”
A sign that you’ve been in the 40-degree-Celsius water long enough is when you start sweating, he says.
You don’t need to rinse off after taking an onsen bath, as the water contains rich minerals that are beneficial for your body and skin. But don’t forget to drink a lot of water afterward to stay hydrated.
Kyoto
The city of Kyoto is as romantic as it is heartwrenchingly scenic. It served as the capital city of Japan for more than a thousand years, from 794 to 1868, before Tokyo took over that role.
As the city was spared from the bombings of World War II, Kyoto still boasts traditional buildings hundreds of years old. Many of them are massive rectangular structures with sharp pointed roofs.
“The city was modeled after [the imperial city of] Chang’an in China,” Tan says. “At that time, Japan was still learning a lot from China.”
One of the sacred ancient structures here is the Yakasa Inari Shrine, a Shinto shrine in the Gion district of Kyoto.
The original shrine was built in 656 as a tribute to the god of prosperity and good health, Susanoo-no-mikoto.
Within this large complex are a number of shrines dedicated to other gods, including the god of love, the god of wealth and success, and the god of beauty.
Visitors can buy small wooden placards on which they write their wishes and hang them in front of the shrine. In this way, the prayers of the priests and priestesses in the shrine will help to make their wishes come true.
At the shrine of the goddess of beauty is a small fountain that is said to be the fountain of youth and beauty.
“You may wash your face at the fountain and, it is said, the water from the fountain will make you as beautiful as Gion’s geishas,” Tan says.
Gion district, just across from the shrine, is one of the most popular remaining Geisha districts in Japan.
“But usually, you can only see them in the evening,” Tan says of the geishas.
Toward evening, the geishas begin to emerge from their okiyas (geisha houses) to entertain guests at the ochayas (tea houses).
Although it was still early afternoon, we were very lucky to see a couple of geisha crossing the road at Gion. They were wearing peach and pink kimonos embellished with beautiful floral embroideries. Exquisite smiles beamed out from their white powdered faces as we trained our cameras at them from across the road.
It felt a bit strange to spot these two geishas in their elaborate traditional costume and heavy make-up among the modern buildings and heavy traffic of Gion at that moment. But like the well-preserved nature and culture in Japan, the geishas, too, are a living testament of how modernity and tradition can co-exist in harmony.
The writer went to Japan as one of the winners of a writing competition held by Asahi Group Holdings in February 2014
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