Tokyo - Nintendo does what others don't

A train ride that's fun... 🚉

It's Wednesday, and temperatures are expected to reach their peak today - 30° C. Luckily, I have to work. But before that, I can explore Tokyo again. I still have a few days left in Japan.

I take the train to the north, stand in the last wagon again and look out the back. Somehow, I can already understand why being a train driver is such a popular profession. You are an essential part of society, because without trains, the system would collapse here. You are probably respected in your work. And, most importantly, you enjoy the view that stretches out in front of you. You drive along tracks that snake through the city between all the buildings, sometimes up, sometimes down, until you reach the terminal station, past all the cute level crossings that are built in a small space. Yes, that may be romanticized a bit, especially as the son of a tram driver who wore himself out for his family in his job. After everything I've experienced here, probably hardly any railway employee would be rudely confronted here, in contrast to Germany.

Nintendo Tokyo 🎮

I go to Shibuya Parco, a mall among countless others here. But this mall has something that all the others don't have. The Nintendo Store Tokyo. Basically, it was only a matter of time before I ended up here. I let myself get carried away and throw two games for the Switch into my shopping basket, the souvenirs here are no good. Why buy Japanese games for the Switch in Japan? Because they are multilingual (except for the packaging) and up to 15% cheaper than in Germany. I join the line at the cash register, with all the other nerds, and am two articles richer. But also a few euros poorer. 😁

A walk in the park 🌲

After visiting Nintendo, I wander around a bit, including the north, where there is a really beautiful park. As I enter one of these large parks, I am greeted by a three-member band that also plays 'Champs Elysees', among other things. The park is easily one of the most beautiful parks I have ever visited, and it is also super empty. Well, none of the locals will voluntarily go out on the street when it's 30° C and sunny at noon, when they can have air-conditioned malls without end.

A lonely policeman happily rides his bicycle through the park. Just like with konban, the simple presence of one of these uniformed officers is enough to establish not only security but also trust. It's not like in our country or even in the USA. There, even as an innocent passerby, you sometimes get the feeling that you have to behave overly well, otherwise you'll be the next one with your face on the ground. And here? The police are not the state's power or Sauron's eye. They are the friendly neighbor who you respect. But not out of fear, but because they help you and are your friend. I'm sure that also applies to the friendly women next door, but I haven't seen any of the less than 10% of women in the police.

Here, too, the usual image of Japan is different from elsewhere. There are a few small collection points for garbage, and you can also throw your plastic bottles into the vending machines. Otherwise, there are simply no trash cans as you are used to them. Trash cans overflowing and garbage piling up around them. These small trash cans are not a rarity in Japan, they simply do not exist here. And yet the park is as clean as no other.

I decide to go home again. On the way there, my navigation fails me in the park, so I take the 'second right', which would normally be wrong. It's only because of that that I pass by the Bird Sanctuary, the first of its kind in Japan. There I heard something that I still can't classify today. It's too irregular for a defective device or anything like that. It sounds as if a bird is in desperate need of a Heimlich maneuver. I guess I'll never be sure.

Goodbye ⛩

On the way to the train station, I catch sight of a torii out of the corner of my eye. It's beautiful, it's big, brown, and surrounded by trees. I like it. I keep going, only giving the torii a moment of attention, but then it grabs me. You know this torii. Yes, exactly! It was the first torii I passed through here in Japan on the first day of my group trip. 8 weeks ago. When everything still seemed so unfamiliar. Goosebumps, the hairs on my arms vie for standing room. Let's go home.

Gotta catch them all 🐞

After a few hours of work, I take a break and go to the supermarket. Fruit and a baked sweet potato, I just can't resist them. It has cooled down by now, the sun is setting. I step outside and here, too, I notice the curious interested glances at me, just like today on the train. Westerners are simply not a constant sight here. I decide spontaneously to go two corners further instead of taking the straight path and am promptly rewarded for it.

The creator of the Pokémon franchise once said that as a little boy, he was an enthusiastic bug collector, just like certain characters in Pokémon. Until today, I thought that was .... I don't know what I thought it was. Bug collector? Who walks around with a butterfly net? But I never thought it was something I would ever encounter. Until today.