An unusual week in the life of a Brit in Tokyo

Japan is infamous for its much loved, city and country immersing, sakura trees. Ugly as sin for most of the year but breakout in gorgeous fashion toward the, give or take, closing days of March. And so, Saturday was spent sitting in a local park under the beautiful cherry blossom. Hanami is a time the entire country finds somewhere to locate oneself under the trees, crack a few beers, catch up with friends or simply relax and take in the pleasure of spring. Didn't hurt that the weather couldn't have cooperated more either. And so began my birthday week in Tokyo.

Sunday, I was supposed to be meeting an old friend for lunch at a pleasant French restaurant we both have old memories of. My friend lives out of town near Fuji these days and we don't catch up as much as we used to so was very much looking forward to an afternoon of chat, wine and excellent food. Arriving at 1.30pm (again in perfect weather) I walk over from where I live and there, much to my genuine surprise, was the entire ensemble, nearly twenty friends in all, to congratulate me on getting just that little bit older (including the suitable red jacket, celebrating my age).

Monday, my actual birthday, we were invited to our Japanese friends' home near where we live. This is rare here, it's unusual to be invited to someone's house, dining tends to be out on the town. They set about imbibing me with shochu (knowing that's my poison of choice) and they fully succeeded in their objectives. Don't really remember the end of the evening. One thing I do remember though was the present from my son. A t-shirt from every concert we'd been to since he was seven. Seventeen in all from Eric Clapton, the first, to Queen and Adam Lambert, the last (Oasis in 2025 he took me to so that one didn't count). I'm not going to forget that gift, the thought or the effort. Ever.

The next couple of days were a blur of a birthday hat to replace the Panama I've had for thirty five years, which admittedly has seen better days but I'm not letting it go whatever, coffee with an old friend who had started my son's school many years ago, and in the evening I streamed in to a friend's funeral, he was young and cancer had taken it's toll. The service was an easy to access but I wish I'd received more invites to weddings rather than funerals if you see what I mean.

To brighten the mood, Thursday was shoot day. Photography is a passion of mine (portrait before you ask, put me in front of Fuji on a glorious day and I'd take a tourist snap, but people, I can make them relax and the results will make them smile). This one was a very beautiful Japanese lady who's an awful lot of fun and agreed to the shoot on the basis of I let her play with my dog when we finished. The pictures turned out stunning and if interested (or even if not) you can see some of them on my IG here but that's just me, blowing the proverbial self trumpet. Another great day.

The car is now in the shop in Yokohama (needed a specialist for this one). In Japan your car requires a service every couple of years which can run into thousands of pounds, so it's good to get problems fixed prior to the mandated bi-annual review (shaken) as it's usually significantly less expensive. The shop is doing the fix for a little over GBP2,000 but the brands own service center quoted a little over GBP10,000. See what I mean.

And the week finished with a regular medical check up which included being injected with what the doc referred to as a "radio-active isotope". Hmm, no additional details provided but it turned out to be a CAT Scan in the end. Funny, and a little unnerving, when you see your entire skeleton lying there. Japan works on a preventative medical basis rather than waiting until you're actually sick. No one spoke English but when they motion for you to lie on a bed that is clearly about to carry you into a large machine, you get the idea. Turns out I'm ok and even better, didn't glow in the dark afterwards either.

So, on the whole, not a bad birthday week and thank you so much to all involved. I had no idea about the surprise party if you were wondering. How they kept that from me is a miracle of the age. And now the week if over, it's raining here in Tokyo, but I have a smile on my face.

The sakura tourists of Tokyo

It's sakura season, the time of year when the (frankly ugly duckling) cheery trees come out in bloom. Over the previous few weeks in the spring time of Japan, the colour of the the flora of Japan has been tuning from brown to white in a pedestrian stroll from south to north. And then the hotels became full. For the first time, hanami parties are bringing in the tourists and Tokyo is looking for a little extra space. Japan's 2020 vision of twenty million tourists has already happened. And largely in the last week of March / first week of April.

At first this was a little surprising. Why would tourists want to arrive in droves and see the cherry blossom? Stay at home and a wave of colour and scent will slowly cross your own township. And then talking to the hotels in and around Tokyo, it became clear, the tourists aren't from Japan, they're from overseas. And this is one of the most incredible times of year to see the sights. So forget about temples, Fuji and sushi, come see Japan when every village is something special.

Of course that means there wasn't a hotel room to be had for love nor money this last weekend. Cheep and cheerful, business and luxury alike, they've all been maxed out to capacity. Which makes you wonder, Japan as a country is at capacity with twenty million visitors. Paris alone manages more than that on an annual basis. The world will applaud Japan focussing on increasing global communication and cultural integration. But where exactly are they all going to sleep?

From cherry blossoms to the ghosts of spring

So spring is slowly walking its way north through the archipelago of Japan and soon the parks will be full of celebrations, beer and old friends under the sakura trees of Tokyo. The famous cherry blossoms will be out, the weather still a little cool, and the junior staff from every company, sitting on a blue tarpaulins awaiting their daytime colleagues whilst holding onto the best locations and avoiding being overrun by early revellers. And that includes the preparations for the parties in Aoyama Cemetery. 

Central to the metropolis, the gravestones lay home to the mourning trees of the capital. "The dead centre of Tokyo" as a friend used to say every time we drove by. Families will pack the rows between  the stones and enjoy a reminiscence of times gone by but often of days yet to come. As someone whose home country lyes overseas, it's a fascinating time to watch an appreciation of nature, in all its forms from the families with children to the those visiting an ancestor in an urn.

A cheerful place at this time of year, I once found myself walking through the two and a half hectares of city centre listening to "The Women in Black" on a cold and somewhat dark evening. Strongly suggest you don't do that. Unless you like the feeling of inquisitive spirits following in your footsteps. Which is the reason the nearby Meiji Forest was hand planted around the famous shrine a few kilometres away in the first place. As you walk through the trees, the Emperor Meiji and his wife may just be looking over your shoulder. And that's why the forest is there. But watch out for a light tap on your shoulder....

The Hanami Parties of Japan - time to get planning

The hanami party is as much part of the annual cycle of the seasons in Japan as are Golden Week shopping and being stuck in the Obon U-turn rush. Hanami refers to the viewing of the cherry blossoms that bloom in late March and early April marking the end of the long, cold Winter and the onset of Spring with the warmer weather to come. It also usually marks unexpected rainstorms and the end of under floor heating until needed again in November.

However, it has to be said that Japan knows how to party and when the weather turns, the parks will be filled not so much with purveyors of beautiful flora but the bon viveurs of Asahi Super Dry and Kirin Lager Beer. Friends will have organised a gathering in a favoured location and will spend the day enjoying each others company. The main park in Shinjuku actually tries to ban alcohol and suddenly young mothers with babies become popular as they sneak the bottles in under the push pram blankets.

As ever the atmosphere will be relaxed and jovial, some may even bring mobile karaoke systems but no one will play music so loud as to annoy anyone else. Those partaking of the event a little too much will be wrapped in coats and allowed to sleep it off while the festivities continue into the night. And at the end of the day everyone will pack up their litter in carefully separated recycle bags and in the morning you would never know anything had happened at all. And then it starts all over again.

Spring arrives in Tokyo

Yesterday was the first day of Spring in Tokyo. Although by definition it arrived last Friday with the Vernal (Spring) Equinox, no one is really interested in technicalities, the important question is when has the sakura arrived? Throughout the year, the cherry trees with their tangled branches are an ungainly, even ugly, sight. But when the blossom announces the onset of the hanami parties it's time for people to enjoy a beer under the branches and Spring is here.

Hanami parties will happen all across Tokyo for the next two weeks. People will take blankets to the parks and rivers and celebrate with friends. Yasakuni Shrine and the walk around the Emperor's palace are famous for their beauty at this time of year but my favourite is a walk along the Meguro River. Although an open concrete storm drain these days, for the next two weeks it transforms. If you have a spare afternoon, there are worse places you could go. Happy Hanami everyone!