I got back from Tokyo a few nights ago. It was a great trip. I have to say that India and Tokyo have been my favorite Asian destinations in seven years here. They're the richest cultures with the most color and life.
Before I went, I was quite agitated to compose a full itinerary for my four days there. I wanted to make sure I squeezed every drop from the trip.
In practice, the commuter friction was so high that there was way more to do than I could ever accomplish in a meager four days there. The taxis are enormously expensive (seemed like every trip was at least $20USD), basically forcing you to use their train/subway system.
I was staying at the absolutely brilliant (and spanking new) Grand Hyatt, right in the middle of Roppongi. This is a premier location and right along some of the bigger subway lines.
Although the actual distances aren't that far, it took a long time to commute because the subway network is truly labrynthian. Many lines intersect at different stations, arriving and departing on different levels, stretched across vast undeground stations. Exits might be more than a quarter of a mile apart, and at times it's necessary to exit the station and reenter it through a different door to get to your target. (Well, at least it was for me, maybe not a more knowledable commuter) Every trip involved a lot of backtracking and map reading. If any city deserves a strong urban GPS with sophisticated mapping/routing software, it's Tokyo.
So what did I do? My biggest achievement was my photography and reconnaisance at Tsukiji Fish Market. I am absolutely fascinated by the place. I definitely want to go back for a more serious shooting session. Everything else I did either involved trying to find my way around the subway system or involved the Yakuza.
Admittedly, I know next to nothing about Japan, but what little I did see suggests that (at least in Tokyo) the Yakuza (the Japanese organized crime) is a very visible niche in Tokyo society. It wasn't nearly as furtive as I would imagine the average Mafia to be.
My (ignorant) interpretation of things is this: Tokyo is incredibly cramped and congested. People seem to go overboard being polite and assiduously following the cultural mores. But on reflection, it's not 'going overboard', because if Tokyo was anything less than extremely polite and sensitive to others, it would be an absolute intolerable hell hole.
So how does the Yakuza fit into all this? Japanese society is very clearly organized. It has been however decided that the Yakuza serves some role in this social structure. So as long as they stay in their special pigeon hole and observe whatever mores are expected, they're left alone.
In Japan I felt like the government didn't want to destroy the Yakuza, they just want it to stay in its niche. Compare this to America, where the FBI truly wants to exterminate the Mafia. Yes, neither can achieve this, but the interesting difference is the desire in American law enforcement and the apparent non-desire in Japanese law enforcement.
I'll end this first entry with this teriffic story from |\aj, another guy on the trip:
Somehow he attracted the attention of the Yakuza, who recruited him to Japan to compete in a submission wrestling circuit. So his life now is spent alternating three weeks in LA with his wife and child and three weeks in Japan wrestling for his Yakuza keepers. (Be all that you can be!)
But where it got interesting was when two big dudes came in, beckoned over this Green Beret fellow, and challenged him to some arm wrestling. Green Beret is a monster and he whipped both fellows handily. Thinking it a friendly wager, he had turned down the money he'd won from them, and returned to his station on the bar.
Some minutes later a guy came over, worried, and pointed out to the Green Beret that the two guys he had beaten were actually members of the Russian Mafia. (It wasn't clear what the Russian Mafia does in Tokyo, but I doubt it is wholesome) Somehow he had gravely insulted them (either by beating them in the first place or perhaps not accepting the money he had one) and there was imminent trouble.
So Green Beret tells the messenger to explain to the Mafiosi that the Green Beret is sponsored by the Yakuza.
Apparently this cowed the Russians, because moments later we're drinking shots of vodka sent over by the now-respectful Mafiosi.
Excellent story and totally true.... If standing in a Tokyo bar at 3AM with a Green Beret in the hire of the Yakuza, while drinking neat vodka paid for by Russian Mafiosi isn't straight out of a William Gibson story, I don't know what is.
The only way I'm going to outdo |\aj is if I score a liquid nitrogen thermos full of pituitary gland extract or something...