From Edo to Akihabara

Tokyo is the capital of Japan. It wasn’t always that, however. The ancient Imperial capital was at Kyoto. Later it moved to Edo, which grew from a fishing village on the banks of the Sumida River to a city of over a million by the year 1700. Then, under the stewardship of the clan of Tokugawa Eiyasu, the greatest and most important of all Japan’s Shoguns, it was the largest city in the world. Edo later became known as Tokyo and the Imperial capital of Japan was fixed there. Destroyed more than once by fire and earthquake, Tokyo is a multifaceted city. Parts of it are dull and grey. Apartment buildings are built functionally and with little imagination. Because land is scarce, dwellings are perforce small and cramped. High-rises look crowded, even from afar. Then there are other parts of Tokyo which are beautiful. My personal favorite is Tokyo’s municipal government buildings, designed by Tange Kenzo. These are spectacular towers that leap into the sky. The New York-based Uruguayan architect, Rafael Viñoly, designed the Tokyo International Forum, with its immense glass and steel interior - makes you gasp! The skyscrapers of Shinjuku are actually enjoyable. The governing authority of Tokyo has succeeded in this area to combine architectural creativity with day-to-day functionality, and it all helps make at least parts of Tokyo relatively easy to navigate. It’s hard to believe that this was once a simple fishing village.


No visit to Tokyo is complete without a stop in Akihabara, where any and every electronic gadget is available for sale. The area started as a market place where local students, after World War II, would come to by cheap parts from Japanese army surplus supplies. They would manufacture home-made transistor radios – the hit gdaget of the day – and sell them to desiring customers. After that, the electronics trade never moved out of the area. While the main drag hosts large stores with wares ranging from digital camera chips to extra-large refrigerators, once I headed into the alleyways, I came to places where the ultimate tourist activity really takes place – bargaining! What a place! And there were deals to be had here. Refurbished laptops for $150 and second-hand cellphones for a song.

Another thing I came across in Akihabara was store staff who spoke English! And what was even more interesting was that many of them were from all over the world and the English accents were fascinating! Some accents were pronouncedly Russian, others overtly Indian. Some were inflected with Spanish and yet others had Germanic/Dutch tones.

As I walked down the street, a muslim couple walked by me (I could tell by the way the woman was dressed). A customer representative stepped out of the store in front of them – in the manner that Japanese switch between the R and L letters - and said “Sarraam Arreikum!” They responded in kind, but declined his offer to enter the store and walked on.

I was standing there watching this exchange with some wonderment, when, seeing my kippa, he nodded at me, and said “Sharrom!”