I’ve Lived in Tokyo For 20 Years and This Is My No. 1 Journey Tip

The practice station closest to my home has a break up character. Exit north and also you’ve acquired an orderly bus lottery, tidy streets of chain shops, and the ever current Starbucks. Exit south, nonetheless, and also you’re in a warren of tiny streets, many too small for vehicles, lined by ramshackle buildings with overgrown Japanese kerria and trumpet vines.

It was idly wandering these alleys that I found the Woodworker. That’s not his actual identify, in fact. We’ve by no means met. In truth, in 10 years I’ve solely seen him a handful of occasions. However he delivers a burst of pleasure at any time when I move as a result of his backyard is a menagerie of mechanical dioramas, hand-carved from wooden and powered by little photo voltaic cells. Clicking and clacking, a tiny wood marionette lifts an apple to his mouth advert finitum. A twee carousel of tiny horses solely ceases to show when the solar disappears. The crowded panorama of ticktocking containers is ridiculous and charming and completely unforgettable in its barely manic demonstration of Japanese hobbyism.

The Woodworker’s home is hardly one thing you’d put in a journey information. And but, I’m certain it’s a fond reminiscence for guests fortunate sufficient to encounter it.

Over 20 years of residing right here, I’ve usually had family and friends go to. We make the rounds of the standard vacationer websites, which they discover duly spectacular. However the tales we recall to one another years later are concerning the unplanned encounters. That sake bar the place the proprietor’s canine greeted each arrival exuberantly however growled and nipped their ankles once they tried to depart. That little neighborhood shrine the place the rubbish cans had neatly lettered English indicators studying “Field for FILTH.” That random espresso store that had essentially the most beautiful assortment of Arita porcelain and stacks of specific manga.

Tokyo rewards the flaneur. Perhaps as a result of a lot humanity is packed into a comparatively small area. Perhaps as a result of there’s some cultural inclination in the direction of making an idiosyncratic mark on one’s little nook. Who is aware of? However the metropolis is filled with delightfully small discoveries.

So, my journey tip for guests is to depart room for serendipity. Tokyo has a lot to supply, it’s straightforward to overplan, to hurry from one well-known museum or temple to the subsequent. However you’ll miss quite a lot of what makes Tokyo Tokyo. As an alternative, depart a while to wander aimlessly, taking whichever turns appear most intriguing. Town will reward you with some impromptu jazz riff of humanity that you would by no means have anticipated and will definitely always remember.