A few weeks ago I was in Tokyo for business and had a free Sunday on my hands.  I’m an avid disc golf player and manage to squeeze in a few rounds per week.  I have heard that disc golf has a quite a small, loyal following in Japan.  Additionally, I’ve heard that there are disc golf courses in or near Tokyo.

I was staying in the Ginza area was so excited to learn that there was a disc golf course approximately 4 stops away on the Yurakucho line (subway line).  At the stop called 辰巳 (tatsumi), there is a huge sporting complex that houses a small 9 hole disc golf course.  It’s so close to the belly of Tokyo that you’ll be slapping yourself for not going sooner.

You can bring your own discs, but don’t bother.  It’s a short 9 hole that doesn’t allow for much more than the use of an Aviar putter from Innova.  You can rent a disc at the park office, assuming you go there during business hours.  They’ll be open on weekends too.  They can rent you an Innova Condor.  It’s more like a frisbee and less like a hard core driver or mid range disc.

Here’s how to get there:

1. Identify where you are in Tokyo and then look at a subway map for the Yurakucho line.

2. Take the Yurakucho line East-bound and get off at Tatsumi Station.

3. Exit for the sports park, etc

4. After you exit, you’ll see a pedestrian bridge and a giant dragon head made of rocks.  Walk that bridge.

5. After to walk the bridge you’ll see a giant asphalt cone.  Walk past that and then make a right down the LONG tree lined walking path.

6. Walk approximately .5 miles and you’ll see an opening or exit to the left.  You’ll see a convenience store on the corner.  It’s the only one around.  This is where you’ll purchase your water if it’s a hot day.

7. Walk past the convenience store and past the tall apartment complex

8. Go into park entrance on left.  When you walk down the path, you’ll see a small park office where you can rent very basic discs and frisbees

9. Don’t make the mistake of thinking the first tee for the disc golf course is outside of that building.  Continue walking down the path.  Just as it begins to gently wind to the right, you’ll see the tiny disc golf course on the left.

Below you’ll see the map of the 9 hole disc golf course.  If you want to play like the locals do, you can play in a skip style.  Incorporating a skip style in 9 hole disc golf on short courses requires you to keep your numbers straight.  For example, on the Tatsumi disc golf course in Tokyo, you’d tee off on #1 and aim for the #3 basket.

]]> http://www.brendondavid.com/2011/08/disc-golf-in-tokyo-closer-than-you-may-think/feed/ 0 http://www.brendondavid.com/2011/07/fly-jin-the-mass-exodus-of-foreign-professionals-and-ex-pats-from-tokyo/ http://www.brendondavid.com/2011/07/fly-jin-the-mass-exodus-of-foreign-professionals-and-ex-pats-from-tokyo/#comments Fri, 15 Jul 2011 15:25:14 +0000 admin http://www.brendondavid.com/?p=1209

We all know the trauma associated with the Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear Disaster (東北関東大震災) that occurred in Fukushima, Japan.  We’ve seen the destruction on television and the Internet.  What many people have not seen is what is referred to as the “Fly-jin” phenomenon.  A spin-off of the term used for foreigners in Japan (Gaijin), this word “Fly-jin” was coined to wrap a name around the mass exodus of white-collar professionals following the tragic natural and nuclear disaster.  Some say that as much as 40% of the foreign white-collar of the workforce have left Tokyo since March.

I came to know this term while having lunch on a hot, steamy day near Shibuya this past week.  Sharing a dish of broiled fish and cold wheat tea, a colleague told of his experience during the disaster.  In part of his story, he mentioned the word “Fly-jin”.  What a genius term.

His experience, like millions of others in the Tokyo and greater Kanto region of Japan during this disaster, was something out of the movies.  It goes a little something like this…

He and his clients, with which he was about to finalize a deal, were at the coat check on the top floor of the Hilton in Shinjuku when it all happened.  The walls began to shimmer and then everybody was thrown to the floor and against the walls.  It was beyond vertigo and feeling queezy.  This was more like being thrown around like a rag doll.  By the time they could get to a side door it had already become jammed.

While the Shinjuku Hilton was a hotel with which he was familiar, that was the only exit he knew on that floor.  They opted to run (as best they could) down the hall past employees cowered on the floor covering their heads and not responding to shouts of “Where are the stairs?!  Where is the exit?!”  Luckily, they were able to find the exit and stumble down the stairs.  With the surrounding buildings still shaking and people in shock in the streets, he ran to the large Chuo Park across the street.

As the aftershocks began to strike, people began to become more terrified.  He took that as his queue to begin his journey to the middle of the park so that he could be away from any potential falling poles or building pieces.  With each aftershock he could hear the sizzle sounding of the sakura tree buds as they shimmered against one another.  This was the icing on the cake for a very real and traumatic situation.

After leaving the Shinjuku area and heading towards Shibuya station, he continued his walk home along the actual rail tracks and sidewalks leading to his family.

He, like so many millions of others, trudged for hours along the somber pathways to their friends, family and loved ones.  This was before anything about the nuclear disaster.  In their minds, the earthquake was bad enough.  It wasn’t until everyone made it home and turned on the TV that that they learned of the true horror of the disaster.

For many of the foreign white-collar professionals, it was time to leave Japan as soon as they could.  Everything from Coca Cola to global financial firms began to see their foreign employees jump on the first out of the country that they could find.  “Fly-jin” had begun.

Now, a few months later, people are still leaving and jobs opportunities are abound.  Nobody knows if we’ll see a reversal of “Fly-jin” and what the true effect will be on the international business community in Tokyo.  Let’s hope that it doesn’t leave too much of a mark.

What most people don’t realize is that there is so much to see in Tokyo that does not revolve around the JR Yamanote line.  Next to Shibuya and Meguro, this little gem is where you want to go to feel like you are in an odd hybrid of Japan + Paris.  The area around Setagaya park is where I suggest you go to take a load off and sip a coffee, grab a vegan meal, wash it all down with an organic Japanese beer and go pick-up a fresh loaf of Parisian style bread for the ride home.

Here are some of the great things near the Setagaya Park in Tokyo.  One of them is arguably the coolest and most relaxing Tokyo vegan restaurants.

Olu Olu Cafe (Vegan Cafe)

This is the place you want to go for a great, relaxing vegan meal or snack.  They walls are open-air so on nice days you get the perks of eating outside without the noise of the neighborhood.  They have organic beer and wine.  It’s a casual sort of place.  It feels downright tropical.  Don’t be surprised if you hear some reggae music piped through the speakers.  The proprietors are quite nice and always ready to smile.  Here is the Olu Olu Cafe entry on Tabelog.

Setagaya Park 世田谷公園　 (5 minute bus ride from Shibuya Station)

This park is great.   If you have kids (kids the age that still like playgrounds), do yourself the favor and spend a morning here.  You and your kids will be so happy.  Hey, grab a vegan snack from Olu Olu Cafe and eat at the park.  This park has everything: tons of trees, tennis, baseball, archery, skateboarding, mini-train for young kids, DIY playground.  The playground is the sort of place that everybody wishes they had growing up.  It is all hand made with plywood and lumber.  There is no plastic and no metal.  It’s like a huge fort complex.  It’s completely shaded in dense forest and is flush with Tarzan rope swing, mock food stands, etc.

Nozy Coffee Shop

This is one of the cooler coffee shops I’ve seen in Tokyo.  While it’s not worth a bus ride just for the coffee shop, it is definitely worth the stop while in the area.  It’s minimalist-meets-nordic-meets-Japanese style.  There are a few stools near the window on the upper level.  If it’s too crowded, act like a local and take your coffee to go or to the Setagaya Park.  Here is the Nozy Coffee entry on Tabelog.

H Tokyo

This is the hippest handkerchief boutique you’ve never heard of.  Do yourself the favor and go check this place out.  If you go to Tokyo and don’t have a handkerchief, you’ll soon realize that you’ll need one ASAP.  H Tokyo has a great concept.  They use the same textiles that fashion companies use for dress shirts.  That carries a much bigger cool factor in Tokyo where the average young businessman looks like he just stepped off a boat from Paris.  They also have some custom pieces that are like artwork.   Apparently, this place has been receiving a lot of press in the fashion magazines in Japan.  Pricey, but can one really put a price on coolness?  Here is the H Tokyo website.

How to get to the Setagaya Park area:

1. Get to Shibuya Station

2. Take the West Exit (follow the yellow signs)

3. When you exit you you will see a small bus depot

4. Walk across and go to the bus stand for Buses 21, 22 or 23.  They all go the same direction.  Cost: 210 Yen

5.  You’ll be on a main road for approximately 5-10 minutes (depending on traffic)

6.  Get off at “Mishuku” stop (pronounced: Mee-shu-ku).  That’s on the corner of a well known area called Minshuku Crossing

7.  When you get off the bus, you’ll take a right and walk the direction the bus travels after it drops you off.  Walk 2 blocks and you’ll Olu Olu cafe on your left after the police stand on the corner.

TIP: You can tell/ask the bus driver “Mishuku Kosaten” (pronounced:  Mee-shuku Koh-sah-ten).　三宿交差点

This a book that you should read if you are a fan of Japan, mob stories, Tokyo, saitama, kabukicho, snack bars, hostess bars or anything related to the yakuza.  Jake Adelstein did a great job of “pulling back the kimono” on the mysteriousness for which Japan is known.  On the surface, it appears to be an autobiography about the yakuza and not much more.  However, if approached the way one would approach Japanese culture then the subtleties that fill in the cracks are what make this book what it is.

The book is divided into 3 main sections:  college grad wants to be a reporter in Japan, young reporter finds himself in the middle of yakuza, reporter grows and understands how the police and yakuza truly work.

Adelstein, like many exchange students living in Japan, wanted to grow his language skills as quickly as possible.  He decided to combine his journalistic skills with his Japanese ability.  He did what no foreigner ever does.  He signed himself up to take the entrance examination for the Japanese media.  The catch was that he was a foreigner and the test was 100% in Japanese.  He passed and was offered a job at the Yomiuri newspaper covering the police beat.  Most, if not all, rookies are placed on the police beat when they begin their journey into the complex and sometimes nonsensical waters of Japanese journalism.

Adelstein goes on to spend most of his time in Saitama and Tokyo.  As he grows as a journalist, he befriends prostitutes, policemen, pimps and all sorts of folks that have dealings with the underworld or what is called the “Water Trade”.  Though Adelstein is never fully sucked into the shady world of the Water Trade, he works with the key players to get more information for ongoing stories.

These connections place his path right in the way of the yakuza.  Over the years, Adelstein holds many meetings and conversations with key mobsters that keep him alive.  Adelstein wins their respect because he understands Japanese culture and because he takes major risks that the average person wouldn’t take with high ranking yakuza.

There are many other tidbits about this book that really make it a wonderful read, but I won’t spoil it here for you.  Grab the audiobook or paperback and you’ll not be disappointed.

Allison day of SushiDay.com and Brendon David of BrendonDavid.com at WordCamp LA 2010. photo by Bryan Villiran

This past weekend, LMU hosted the 2nd annual WordCamp LA.  Like 2009, WordCamp LA 2010 was an undeniable success.  Of the many great sessions I attended, Allison Day’s session was the type of lecture I love to see at events like this.  All too often many perspective attendees opt not to attend due to the intimidation factor.  The truth is, that many felt WordCamp LA was going to be too advanced.  I can think of 3 different associates that decided against attending for those very reasons.

Day’s session was the perfect type of session for a person new to using WordPress:  Web Development for Beginners: Decoding the Code Behind Your WordPress Theme. She did a masterful job of  presenting a topic that scared the crap out of most of us when we first began blogging.  I wish I was able to attend this lecture years ago when I was spinning with confused thoughts of PHP, HTML and CSS.  Sometimes all it takes is a professional or expert to explain things in simple, digestible terms.  Day did *just* that.

WordCamp LA is designed for all folks.  Whether one be a super techie guru or a new blogger that just wants to write about yoga or travels, this event is worth attending.  In addition to all of the great lectures, the attendees are as diverse, interesting and engaging as you’ll find at a computer event.

To all of you that told me you were thinking about attending WordCamp LA 2010 and didn’t, you missed out.  This was the session you should have attended.  If you’re lucky she’ll be presenting at WordCamp 2011.

On a side note, she just returned from a trip to Tokyo, Japan.  Check out her site and see the photos from that Tokyo adventure.  She and Son did a great job of capturing a lot of the subtleties of Japan through fantastic photography.

This is what I like to call the Shibuya Loop.

This a fun way to see the busiest intersection in the world just out side of the Shibuya stn and to walk through the Shibuya Senta Gai (series of narrow walking streets filled with bars, shops, stores and anything else you can imagine.  Not too many foreigners in this area.  Then it you’ll head to Harajuku and see all of that craziness.  You’ll wander around the back streets of Harajuku for a while, then you can work your way back to Omotesando Subway station (purple line station that you transferred to from the green Chiyoda line that will take you back to Akasaka).  Super easy.

This is the ultimate, fastest and most epic way to make use of your vacation time in Tokyo.  The truth is that when most people are visiting Tokyo they don’t realize that they have to plan and stick to that plan because there is so much time and money tied to traveling via subway and train.

SHIBUYA – ( http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2976604 )

• From the Akasaka subway station (which is the forrest green Chiyoda Line) take that a few stops up to the Omotesando station.
• Transfer to the Hanzomon line (purple) and get off at Shibuya station.  Look at the yellow signs above and on the walls to find the “Hachiko Exit”.  Shibuya station is MASSIVE with a zillion different train lines and levels and stuff.  Don’t let that throw you off.  Hachiko is a VERY well known exit.  You’ll find it easily by just saying “Hachiko?” and people can point you in the right direction if you miss all of the signs.
• Once you exit the station, you’ll be facing a massive intersection (busiest in the world) with a huge 2 story Starbucks staring at you from across the street.
• Go that direction and continue past the Starbucks on the left side down the walking streets.
• Just hang out down there and take random turns down alleys and stuff.  Really cool.
• THEN,

• Go back to Shibuya station and get on the Green JR Yamanote line.  This is the above ground line that forms an oval around Tokyo.  
• Take this to the next station called Harajuku.  If you are good with maps and walking you can easily walk there, but if you aren’t so hot with maps, then just jump on the train and you’ll be at Harajuku station within 3 minutes
• When you exit, you have two options:  1)  go see Meiji Shrine  or 2) skip shrine and continue through Harajuku.  I strongly suggest you go to the Meiji Shrine first.  Really major shrine in Tokyo and beautiful.   
• For Meiji Jingu, take a right out of the station and walk just a short way and you’ll see all of the trees surrounding the shrine and you’ll see a lot of kids loitering in front of it.  That’s a main hangout spot for gothic kids.
• After you’re done with Meiji Shrine, walk back towards the JR train station you left from and pass it.  You’ll come to a big walking street on the right with a McDonalds.  Take that right.  (you’ll see on the map it’s like a 3 min walk from the entrance of the Meiji Shrine)
• Walk that way and cruise down this very famous area.  You’re going to see all sorts of young fashion and funny stuff
• Once that ends at the main street, cross to the opposite side of street
• Once you’ve spent enough time rolling back there, go back to the boulevard with the trees.  Go LEFT
• After about 1/2 mile or 1 mile, you’ll see the Omotesando station (purple line) and you’ll be able to jump right back on the forest green Chiyoda Line back to Akasaka

Gropers in Tokyo get a monkey wrench thrown in their plans after the JR train line launches “women only” train cars.  Japan has many things that make it endearing and unique.  However, one of the sleazier sides of the country are the perverts that grope and talk dirty to innocent women on the crowded trains in Tokyo and other major cities.

The sad truth is that Tokyo and it’s surrounding bedroom communities are overcrowded.  This becomes painfully clear each morning and evening when business people are commuting.  Like a bacteria in a stagnant pond, this is where the perverts thrive.

Finally, Japan Railways (JR) is beginning to do something about it.  This has been serious problem for so many years that they finally created a “females only” car on one of the busiest train lines (Chuo Line) for commuters to Tokyo that passes through the busiest train station in the world called Shinjuku Station.  Fortunate women who can get a space on the special “female only” car are able to be crammed like sardines like the rest of the commuters, but without mystery hands grabbing for their unmentionables.

Though perverts, “chikan”, prey primarily on Japanese women, ex-patriot females have been known to fall victim to the groping hands.  Women are told bits of advice here and there.  Sometimes conductors will announce over the loud speaker to be careful of gropers.

One way to ensure a groper thinks twice before whispering low perverted phrases or grabbing a woman at a future date is to get aggressive.  You can grab his wrist,  jerk his hand in the air and then scream “chikan!”  This employs the embarrassment tactic that is a highly effective angle in Japan.

So, you’re a badass because you’ve partied in Manhattan, San Francisco and may have even been to London.  Whoopty Doo.  What are you going to do when you get to Tokyo on a layover and realize that the airport is actually in Narita?  Curl up in the corner and cry about how you can’t read Japanese?  Get yourself together!

Does this sound familiar?:  ”We’ve got a limited amount of time (or layover) in Tokyo and we’re super excited.  But, we have no idea what to do or how to plan.”  That phrase is so common, that I decided to devote an entire article to it.  But, let’s get something straight from jump street.  You’ll be starting from Narita, not Tokyo.

The airport is in the Narita rice paddies; a city over 100 km from Tokyo. This means that if you take a cab from Narita to Tokyo you are either so flush with cash that you don’t care about spending $300 USD on a one-way cab ride or you’re dumber than most of the characters on MTV’s The Real World.  Don’t ever take a cab from the airport to Tokyo. Actually, you’ll not want to take a cab to Narita City either. Jump on the train.

You have 3 solid train options if you are skipping Narita and heading to Tokyo.

1. Narita Express: high-class looking red & white train with tinted windows on the right side of the platform. Expensive, but extremely fast.  Good to get these tickets before you go, but don’t stress if you don’t.
2. JR Keikyu: Silver and blue train in middle platform. This one is MUCH cheaper than Narita Express and still quite fast.  You can purchase a JR Rail Pass in advance if you want.  BUT, go here for JR Rail Pass to determine if it’s actually a good deal or not.
3. Keisei Skyliner: Is an express line that goes the same direction, but it’s a secondary private train line that doesn’t always take you where you want to go. Also, the JR Rail Pass doesn’t work on this.

TIP: Use the restroom at Narita Airport before you depart for Tokyo, since the restrooms at other train stations are quite sour smelling (but they are NOT dangerous).

The trains and ticket machines are located on the bottom floor of the airport.  You’ll see plenty of signs in English directing you to them after you get your bags. Don’t forget to look for the “English” button on the ticket machines.  It’s important to note that if you are opting for the Keisei or Narita Express lines listed above, you’ll need to purchase a ticket at the counter on the right side of the entrance to the escalator that goes down to the platform.  For those of you going to Narita City because you don’t have enough time to get to Tokyo and back in time for you flight departure, use the green JR ticket machine and choose “Narita”.

Cultural note: When on the trains, take off your backpack and place it between your legs (when standing or sitting).  The trains get quite crowded in Japan.

NARITA CITY

The best thing to do if you’ve got 4 or more hours of layover is to get the keikyu train from Narita Airport.  One the coolest things to experience when visiting Tokyo is sitting right there in Narita City.  Lucky you!  The Narita-san Temple Complex is a beautiful and massive temple complex flush with zen gardens, tea ceremony gazebos, calligraphy museum, huge temples, chanting monks, tree-lined walking trails and if you’re lucky…goats.

When you exit the train at Narita Station after departing from the airport, you’ll walk upstairs and walk through the ticket turn-style. Once through, take the exit on the right. Now you’ll be facing the big area where the buses and cabs wait for fares.   Don’t get a taxi, unless you have a bad leg or something.  This is where you can put your bag in a locker if you don’t want to lug it around with you.  If you need a locker, you’ll see them on the left once you’ve walked outside.  Don’t be that jackass that goes to the convenient store next door to ask them to give you change.  Buy something, and they’ll give you some coins.

After you’ve dropped your bag in a locker.  Walk 100 meters to the street light signal and turn left.  This is when you’ll want to soak up the cultural stuff.  You’ll be walking past all sorts of unique shops, restaurants, etc. If you want to grab a pint of beer or a cocktail, you’ll pass a British style pub a few hundred meters down on the right side called The Barge Inn.

To get to the Narita-san Temple Complex, keep walking down the road.  You’ll notice that the road will begin to descend.  Go down the hill and you’ll begin to see the huge complex on the left. You’ll enter through the rough stone gates at the bottom of the decline.  Give yourself at least 1-2 hours to walk around the temple complex once you enter.  Have your camera ready!  You are going to get so many amazing photos that you’ll want to go pro.

Keep in mind that the video above only shows about 20% of the entire temple complex.  The video above is just the tip of the iceberg, people.  Trust me!  Once you’ve finished taking your 1000 photos and begin going back to the station the same way you came, don’t forget to purchase a train ticket again.

You fall into 1 of those 5 categories.  Don’t lie to yourself.  You’ll hate yourself for it.  If you are planning on traveling back and forth to small towns across bigger cities to get to other cities over the span of a week or more, then the JR Rail Pass might be worth it.  But if you are going to Tokyo, then the JR Rail Pass is a waste of money.

The best way to travel around Tokyo is via subway and the above ground Yamanote Line (this is covered by the JR Pass).  Subways are NOT covered by the JR Rail Pass.  The cost to ride the Yamanote Line around Tokyo would never be justified by the cost of a JR Rail Pass.  Having said that, you may consider purchasing a pass if you are staying with friends that live 1 hour train ride outside of the city and you want to take an express train or a super express train numerous times to Tokyo.  Going back and forth from outlying areas into the city center can start to add up.

On another note, if you plan on making a short trip down to Kyoto and then return back to Tokyo, the JR Pass will be worth it for sure.  Just keep in mind that you can’t use the JR Rail Pass for the super express bullet train called the Nozomi.  But you can use the pass for the other bullet trains.

Overall, there are few instances when the JR Rail Pass make sense for the normal traveler.  Here are a few that were put together by my good pals at TTA, Inc.  (I’ve actually never met them, but I’m sure they love to party.)

Though this sounds like something right out of anime or theme for a manga series, Tokyo is very serious about their giant robotic underground parking for bicycles.  I couldn’t be more excited about the idea of getting bikes off the sidewalks and out from in front of train stations in Japan.  Like many other foreigners in Japan, I’ve taken many-a-photo of all of the bikes clustered throughout Tokyo.  It’s amazing how many bikes can be crammed into a single tiny area.  Here’s what it can look like:

In true Japanese form, they have created a solution that is so obvious most are forced to smack their forehead and say, “of course!”  Taking a page from their robotic car parking garage systems, they’ve created what seems to be a bike door.  All a person has to do is swipe their membership card ($19 per month) and  roll their bike up to the door.  The machine takes the bike and then drops underground and finds the appropriate slot for it.  It truly is that simple.

Want to see the video that is going to make you drop your teeth?  Feast your eyes on this: