Tokyo user guide
Sleeping in Tokyo
Welcome to your hotel room, in which you will not be able to take more than a few steps around the bed; unless you are in a capsule hotel, tubes of plastic or fibreglass stacked in Japanese style: in which case you will only be able to lie down. If space is optimised in this way, it is because it is scarce, and with good reason: Tokyo, ahead of Jakarta and Delhi, is the most densely populated urban area in the world and an expensive city. So we mingle with other city dwellers, following the frenetic pace of the Tokyoites.
Eat in a Michelin-starred restaurant for less than 10 euros
Nakajima*, a small restaurant hidden beneath a building in the bustling Shinjuku district, is the place to discover the finesse of sardines. Whether tartar, fried or grilled, the chef has no shortage of ideas for showcasing this inexpensive fish. Served with delicate accompaniments, the queen of the lunchtime menu is well worth the queue that forms in front of the restaurant.
Bathing in incense in Asakusa
The oldest Buddhist temple in the Japanese capital, Sens?-ji, dedicated to Kannon, with its five-storey pagoda, is located in the Asakusa district.
Once you have passed under the Thunder Gate, the "Kaminarimon", the entrance to the sanctuary, you will find yourself in the alleyway of stalls, in the middle of the crowd! Here you can sample some "dango", delicious sweet kebabs that resemble the famous Japanese "mochi".
Before arriving in front of the main building, the " hondô "At this time, the faithful bathe in incense smoke, reputed to have therapeutic and purifying properties. It is then customary to bow to the altar, join hands and throw a coin into the trunk.
The cult of Kannon
Every third weekend in May, the Sanja Matsuri festival wakes up the Asakusa district and attracts large numbers of onlookers. They invade the streets of the district to watch the procession of sacred altars, the mikoshiin honour of the three founders of Sensôji temple.
According to legend, the two brothers Hinokuma, Hanamari and their friend Takenari discovered a statuette of Kannon (bodhisattva of compassion) in the river Sumida in 628. A wealthy landowner by the name of Hajino Nakatomo converted them to Buddhism, and they dedicated a temple to him, the Sensôji. The neighbouring Shinto shrine, Asakusa, was subsequently built and dedicated to the three brothers, who reside there permanently, transformed into kamideities of the Shinto cult.
Batting in the middle of the night
What could be more exotic than to see no difference between day and night, apart from the odd drunk exorcising themselves from their working week? Try as they do to catch a ball thrown by a machine at 100 km/h with a baseball bat, and you might just get a taste for it!
Sake in one of Golden Gai's 200 mini-bars
It says it all: no more customers than the number of fingers on your hand, it doesn't fit. Here, we only speak Japanese and we manage to order something!
Visual experiments at TeamLab Borderless
This project, which marries art with new technologies through digital images and interactive installations, brings spectators together in a digital and phantasmagorical atmosphere, somewhere between dream and reality. From a labyrinth of giant light bulbs to a field of digital flowers, wandering around TeamLab (and its associated queues) will plunge young and old into a grandiose technological and fairytale universe. Behind the project? Around fifty artists from a wide range of artistic disciplines. A successful gamble, given the number of visitors to the site and the quality of the installations, which have enchanted us! In just one year, the Mori Building Digital Art Museum* has become one of the major tourist attractions in Tokyo Bay.
Wakayama and its onsen, Kansai region
Shirahama
Location is everything, as the saying goes, and this is particularly true of onsen, hot Japanese thermal baths whose water comes from volcanic springs. Most of them are located so that you can enjoy the view while relaxing. Such is the case at Saki-no-Yu Onsen in Shirahama, one of the oldest hot springs in Japan. This rotenburo (open-air bath) overlooks the Pacific Ocean, spraying mist onto the relaxed faces of bathers on one side and bathers on the other. Extend your relaxation with a stroll along the seafront, along the superb white sand beach (shirahama means "white sand" in Japanese), which is very popular in summer.
From Kumano Hong? Taisha to Yonomine
An hour's drive from Shirahama, the Shinto shrine of Kumano Hong? Taisha Shrine is one of the three shrines of Kumano Sanzan. It is dedicated to Kumano Hatayama o kami, the deity of moving water. It is a much-visited shrine, and the atmosphere is almost solemn.
The torii (traditional gateway separating the sacred enclosure from the secular environment), located nearby, is the most important torii gateway in the world.
It is also the start of a hiking trail, lasting around an hour and a half, which links the sanctuary to the spa town of Yunomine Onsen.
The region's paths are steeped in spirituality and lined with mossy statues. Pilgrims began travelling to this remote and sacred region during the Heian period (794-1185). It is also known as the 'pure land' where Buddha dwells.
Yunomine is a picturesque collection of ryokan, small traditional inns tucked away in a valley deep in the sacred Kumano mountains.
It?s easy to tell that you?re in the spa town: the tourists? faces are reddened by the fumes and their steps are light. If bodies are sometimes put to the test in these scorching mineral waters, it's because the heat allows some to cook their eggs in them.
As well as the two public baths, don?t miss the small cabin by the stream that runs through the centre of the hamlet. Here you can bathe for 30 minutes in private. Tsuboyu is very popular with couples, as it is one of the few mixed onsen.
Kawayu
Last stop Kawayu ("kawa" means river, and "yu" means hot water), a small town at the foot of the river Oto. The hot springs rise directly from the riverbed, turning it into a highly original and rustic onsen. It's a geological and thermal wonder. You can dig your own hole (bring a shovel).
Practical info
*Nakajima
3 32-5 Shinjuku | Nichihara Bldg. B1, Shinjuku 160-0022, Tokyo Prefecture.
Mori Building Digital Art Museum : teamLab Borderless
Odaiba Palette Town 2F, 1-3-8 Aomi, Koto-ku, Tokyo, Japan https://borderless.teamlab.art/
Adult price: approx. 26 euros (3200 ?)
Set aside in advance.
Japan National Tourist Office
4, rue de Ventadour,
75001 Paris
Official website https://www.japan.travel/fr/fr/
Facebook Discover Japan https://www.facebook.com/DecouvrirleJapon/
Text: Capucine Ferry
Photos: Capucine Ferry, Jérémie Josten and JNTO